Heather & Shaun
Keene, New Hampshire
Bride: Heather
Groom: Shaun
Date: July 17, 2008
Location: Stonewalll FarmsKeene, New Hampshire
A Beautiful Wedding on a Budget An elegant wedding doesn’t have to cost a fortune. If you use a little creativity and do some research you can have a beautiful wedding without going into major debt. Last year when my son and daughter-in-law were planning their wedding we checked out just about every book the library had on planning a wedding. We also went to Borders and perused their collection. We decided which things we could make ourselves and which things we would need to buy or hire professionals for.
The most important thing was where to hold the wedding and reception. Since the bride’s cousin was a minister and would be performing the ceremony, they decided to find a venue where they could be married outside, and still have an inside location if it rained. After much research online my daughter-in-law discovered Stonewall Farms in Keene. It is out of town, but easy to find. There is plenty of room for an outdoor wedding and a lovely open airy building for the reception. There isn’t any air conditioning, so be prepared for the heat if it a hot muggy day. It was in the 80s the day of our wedding, but with several fans set around the room and the open doors, it wasn’t bad.
The Stonewall Farms staff made us feel very welcome and they were on hand if we had any problem. To add to the country atmosphere we were tickled to notice a rooster following the wedding party into the garden. There was a brook with a bridge and a garden swing that were ideal backdrops for the pictures.
We made the bouquets ourselves with the helpful advice of Nancy Downs of Fireside Gardens in Langdon, NH. She does flowers for weddings and was very good about advising us on the best flowers to use, when to pick them and when to make the bouquets so that they would be good on the day of the wedding.
The cake was created to the bride and groom’s specifications by Stone Arch Bakery of Claremont, NH. they combined frosting and fresh flowers and a fountain for a stunning cake.
We made the following items ourselves and it all looked fantastic- you can find a book on how to make almost anything!
The veil- material, diamante, comb total cost $12.00- cost of pre-made- $90 - $200
Flowers for the bridal party- cost of flowers $35.00, ribbon $2.00- total cost $37.00
Cost of flowers from the florist- anywhere from $139 – $1,499
Centerpieces- $10.00 per table- we used floating candles and gerbera daisies. Price for purchased centerpieces would have been at least $25.00 per table.
The pillow used by the ring bearer was homemade as were the flower girl basket and head piece. Cost of purchased wreath for hair approximately $25-$30, cost for flower basket $25-$50.
We used the following vendors and would again:
Stonewall Farms- Keene, NH
Heidi’s Bridal Boutique- Claremont, NH
Norm’s Home Town Deli (excellent food, but don’t use his bartender)
Stone Arch Bakery- Claremont, NH
Fireside Gardens- Langdon, NH
Another lifesaver-the father of the bride is a photographer and he took back up pictures that came out better in some cases than the ones taken by the photographer we hired. If someone in your family is good at taking pictures having them shadow the photographer is a good idea. You get back ups just in case and they may snap some pictures that the photographer misses. We also put disposable cameras on each table-just make sure your guests know why they are there! We didn’t get all of them back at the end of the day. Some people thought they were a gift, I guess.
Most of all on the day of the wedding don’t worry about every little thing, if everything isn’t perfect nobody will notice, but you! Just enjoy!
Everything came off without a hitch and best of all at the end of the day the wedding bills were paid in full!
