A big part of planning a wedding is picking out your ‘vendors.’ There are tons of bridal expos to browse through vendors and everybody has people they recommend or don’t recommend. Frankly, I skipped all of that. Everybody who helped with my wedding was either a family member, friend OR family member or friend of a family member or friend. Does that make sense? Basically I was pretty close to them or someone who knows them. Our home church is full of very talented people and I felt very blessed to have them help out!
Photographer:
I used Aron Wright Photography. Unfortunately, I was Aron’s last wedding. He is the son-in-law of a wonderful couple who goes to church with us and I am so glad they mentioned him to us! Before I booked his service, I checked out his packages and prices and was blown away by how perfect they were. I actually knew someone from Harding who had used him so I asked her about him and she only had good things to say so I booked him up. Aron did a wonderful job! He was never awkward or in the way yet he got the job done! He made sure every picture I wanted taken was taken and then some. The entire experience was so pleasant! You can see some of the wonderful pictures he took right here on photobucket.
Florist:
I am so very lucky that a lady who goes to church with us and is a close family friend is a florist! She has done so many weddings for my friends and other people at church that I absolutely loved, so asking her to do mine was a no-brainer! She was very reasonable and worked with me through every detail. Her number one priority was finding the flowers I wanted and arranging them just how I wanted them. And when she couldn’t find a specific flower I wanted, she went out of her way looking and made me feel so special! She is oh so very talented!
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| Top Left: Our wedding cake had purple icing with ivory details // Top Right: The grooms cake was brilliantly shaped and iced like an acoustic guitar (and a cutie of a husband) // Bottom Left: The deliciously perfect cake pops // Bottom Right: Our Candy bar |
Caterer(s):
Another lady from church is a caterer. She’s done many parties and weddings for friends and families that I knew from the beginning that she would help with my wedding! Unfortunately, she would be out of town for the week of the wedding but she worked diligently up until she left town and sent her trusty sidekick to make sure everything went smoothly! We had a dessert reception and the food was delightful! I also had some other close friends help make cookies and cake pops which were to die for! And lastly, believe it or not, our cakes came from Publix! Pearson’s dad is a manager at Publix and recommended the wonderful cake lady at his store. We couldn’t have been happier with the service or the how the beautiful and delicious cake turned out!
Coordinator:
One of our closest family friends was my wedding coordinator. She had done it for a wedding or two before and was very willing to help. She has a great personality and was not afraid to take charge and tell people what to do!
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| Top: the auditorium decorated for the ceremony // Bottom: the fellowship hall decorated for the reception |
Planner:
I had a couple ladies help me with the planning and decorating. One had been a wedding planner in the past and the other was just so good this stuff. They worked really hard making my vision for the ceremony and reception a reality. They also worked really hard setting everything up. They spent the entire day before the wedding making sure everything was perfect and running to the store to get last minute things. Everything turned out perfect!
Basically, my wedding ran pretty smoothly and it’s all thanks to some very talented people I just so happened to know! There are so many wonderful things about being in the Lord’s church and one is the wonderful friendships you form with so many different people with so many skills and gifts! Often times the only similarity we have is our love for God and each other. Having a large extended (church) family is absolutely incredible! I know any of them would do anything I needed with no problem!
My Advice:
Be willing to let friends and family help you! You don’t have to hire all these expensive vendors for everything. Ask around and see if any of your friends or family know any good photographers, florists, or caterers. Maybe they’ll give you a friends and family discount.
Did you have much help from friends and family for you wedding? Or did you hire outside help?
Thanks for reading!
