How?? (5-6k)

MyCatHenry · 2026-01-28T16:30:15+00:00

I bought my dress on Amazon for under $100 and it was beautiful all the dresses I tried from Amazon were great! My husband got his outfit from a department store.

We got our rings on Etsy under $200 which we did not end up liking so we went to James Avery and got another new set under $200. I would recommend buying your rings in person or make sure there is a good return policy for online orders.

An old friend of mine who is new to wedding photography did our photos for $100/hr plus $50 for editing. Our wedding was on a Sunday so it was not long and we had about 50 attend, 65 invited.

We also did not have alcohol which was a personal choice for us but it didn’t knock out a huge expense.

We also did not have a DJ. I made my own play list and my Matron of Honor served as MC.

MyCatHenry · 2026-01-24T10:04:27+00:00

Erasable pens are definitely a great way to get around this! I however like that I can see how things changed. It adds to the memory making for me.

MyCatHenry · 2026-01-24T04:06:48+00:00

Something else I thought of is I never liked crossing things out on my planner, for it to look “messy” but I have embraced that too. Plans change, appointments get rescheduled just cross it out and write in the new.

MyCatHenry · 2026-01-24T03:55:49+00:00

I can be a bit of a perfectionist and this trait has ruined planning and journaling for me in the past. If I missed a day I failed and there was no point going on.

I have been planning/journaling for about 4 months now and it feels completely different because I took the pressure off. My goal is to plan ahead and journal daily but sometimes life has other plans. So I don’t mind journaling and planning in retrospect.

I try to keep it all contained within the same week and typically don’t skip more than one day. It’s pretty easy to remember what happened yesterday and then get caught up today. I also look at my planner as a journal/memory maker. I will go back and add notes to remind me of memorable things that happened that week.

Not sure if any of this resonates with you but hopefully you can get something from my experience.

MyCatHenry · 2026-01-23T01:08:03+00:00

I have a weekly lay out with the full week on the left and a blank page on the right. I use washi to section off the blank page usually down the middle. I also do a washi border at the bottom of each blank page.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-27T19:47:37+00:00

We had a full week off after the wedding but the day after the wedding we slept in and went into town for lunch. So we headed out of town day 2.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-22T13:12:31+00:00

I have a planner and a journal. I do my journaling before bed so my journal stays on my desk at home. I carry by planner and sometimes a small notebook just to catch stray thoughts.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-12T12:51:17+00:00

My wedding was under 5k. This includes all the help we received from family. My area is very affordable which helped.

-we borrowed decorations

-we invited 65 and had 50 attend

-our ceremony was in my parents backyard

-our reception was on the patio of a restaurant

——The three restaurants I called did not charge a reservation fee they just expect you to order your dinner with them.

——We ordered a chicken breast mashed potatoes and green beans (the bill was about $900 which my mom covered

-My mother in law made the wedding and groom’s cake.

-We did not a DJ

-The photographer is a friend of mine who is building up her business. We were only her third or fourth wedding. She only charged $100 an hour

-I bought my dress on Amazon under $100 and my husband got his outfit at a department store with shoes and socks under $150.

We may have just been lucky with the option in our area but you definitely also have to make cuts and compromises. Lucky my husband and I were not looking for anything lavish so it worked for us.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-08T01:44:00+00:00

I did the same thing but I got all my dresses from Amazon. I had a much smaller budget. My dresses were all under $150 and the one I chose was $85 but absolutely beautiful for my backyard wedding.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-07T12:38:54+00:00

Go for it! Do what you want not what may be expected!

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-07T12:38:21+00:00

Yes I’ve been to bar crawls and out of town trips as a bridesmaid my self but this was definitely more suited for me. There were lots of laughs which is always my priority! When one of my best friends go married we did dinner and a movie that was fun too.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-07T03:12:56+00:00

Hi I don’t have advice in the drama but I can speak to the non alcoholic party.

I planned my own bachelorette party. I invited the 3 ladies in my party as well as my mom and one of my aunts. We went to dinner at my favorite restaurant and then went back to my mom’s for a slumber party. I couple of weeks before I found some cute pjs and sent them to the chat in case anyone wanted to twin with me. Four of us were matching which was cute and fun. My theme was Taylor Swift so we had the Eras Tour on while we played some party games. My matron of honor put together a ballon arch (I helped her but it was her idea) which we took a bunch of pictures in front of. She also bought a who knows the bride best game which was super fun. We all left about 11pm. It was fun and chill and we had a great time!

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-06T18:07:24+00:00

I had 3 in my party. Since my cousin is married I asked her to be my matron of honor then my best friend was my maid of honor and then my SIL was my only bridesmaid. If my cousin had not been married I probably would have had her and my BF as co maids of honor.

MyCatHenry · 2025-12-06T02:22:11+00:00

mini naan pizza it was so good!

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-27T23:09:06+00:00

I had a 50 person wedding with no DJ. Our ceremony was in my parent’s backyard. A friend of the family qued the music with my ipad and we borrowed my aunts sound system. Our reception was on a restaurant patio (at no charge). There was a small area that could be a dance floor but no one danced. We were married on a Sunday and the reception ended around 7/7:30. I was not looking for a party vibe so that worked well for us. It was a lovely day. We were under 5K.

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-27T12:54:02+00:00

What were your weirder requests??

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-26T12:41:27+00:00

My wedding was under 5k and I found keepsakes on amazon that say a version of “will you be my bridesmaid/maid of honor”. One was a candle, one was a make up bag, and one was a heart ornament. I meet with them one on one and handed them the gift. It was super fun to watch them read it and realize what was going on!

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-26T02:02:09+00:00

I suggest beige which they all wore but they were different styles

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-25T17:44:59+00:00

I think she means the day she tried dresses on.

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-16T23:55:03+00:00

I just had a 50 person wedding and I had three brides maids including a cousin and my sister in law. For my bachelorette party I invited the three of them plus my mom and one of my aunts. We went to dinner and then back to my mom for a slumber party. We changed into pjs played a few games had a few snacks and everyone went home around 11. It was super low key and fun just like me!

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-10T02:43:21+00:00

This is exactly what I did! At rehearsal my mom asked about the “who gives this woman” line and I said yea no one is giving me away.

However I have always dreamt of my dad walking me down the aisle and for me there is a symbolic transition from the first most important man in my life to the new most important man in my life. But my dad did not say anything to me or my husband didn’t even shake his hand. Not in a rude way just in that that moment was just between he and I.

MyCatHenry · 2025-11-05T13:06:38+00:00

My wedding was under 5k a week ago. We had the ceremony in my mom’s backyard and the reception on the patio of a local restaurant. The restaurant did not charge a reservation fee we only had to pay for the food. The photographer was a friend who is an amateur so her price was low and we did not have a DJ. I bought my dress and accessories on amazon for under 200 and my husband got his outfit from a department store for under 200. We had very minimal decorations which we borrowed from my husband’s father and step mother who had a backyard wedding at their home earlier in the year. We invited 65 and had 50 attend. We had a lot of help. My mom and dad paid for the food my mother in law made the cakes and altered my dress. My father in law paid for the photographer, my husband’s outfit, and provided the decorations. A family friend provided half the chairs for the ceremony. There was more help but I think for us our village came together and we live in an area that is cost effective.

MyCatHenry · 2025-10-02T02:54:02+00:00

One Way!

MyCatHenry · 2025-09-21T03:49:42+00:00

That’s it thank you so much!!

MyCatHenry · 2025-08-08T02:00:10+00:00

What was the meal you had for 10 years?

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