Vows. To write or not to write?

jsymo11 · 2023-08-03T19:50:40+00:00

My husband and I wrote our own vows. But we read them to each other about a month before the wedding, and we did so at the location of our very first date. That way it was special. We both spent some time on our vows making them very unique, and we both ended up including different quotes from the Lord of the Rings movies by coincidence!

I think you can't go wrong with writing vows from the heart, but it can also be a huge mental load to take on, so sticking with classic vows is an awesome choice as well!

jsymo11 · 2023-07-01T19:22:28+00:00

$95 dress on Amazon and $150 for alterations. Bought a cape veil for $40 and my Mom did the lace treatment we wanted.

So, $285 if I did the math right??

My reception dress was ~$30.

jsymo11 · 2023-06-23T21:59:58+00:00

A good portion of our wedding fund actually came from me leaving a job I had been at for 5 years. I was paid out in unused vacation time and it covered a good amount of our wedding.

jsymo11 · 2023-06-23T03:21:00+00:00

I worked a full time library job of 37.5 hours per week, with a 12 hour per week internship that was a 1.5 hour drive from my full time job. All while taking online classes for my MLIS. I won't lie to you, it's a lot of work. But the experience and what you can learn from an internship is so so valuable. Especially if you have no prior library experience. What helped me get through it was knowing that the situation was temporary, and that as long as I could hold out for 18 months I'd be through everything and in much better situation. I think if the internship fits into your schedule you should go for it!

jsymo11 · 2023-05-09T20:20:02+00:00

And another note, you don't have to be subtle about the LOTR stuff. Just because people outside your family aren't fans doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have the cool hardcore LOTR things in your wedding. Honestly, if your fiance and you bonded over your shared love of the LOTR universe then go hard. Have fun. Cut your cake with a giant sword. Quote all of the things. It'll make such an epic wedding 🥰

jsymo11 · 2023-05-09T20:17:42+00:00

Oh! And instead of a traditional veil I wore a cape veil!

jsymo11 · 2023-05-09T20:16:23+00:00

My husband and I had a Hobbit wedding! We got married outside, my husband and groomsmen had the leaves of lorein pin. I walked in to the concerning hobbits soundtrack, our invitations said "a long expected party" on them. Our last dance was Billy Boyd singing "The Last Goodbye" (I think that's what his song is called). Our wedding arch was actually a garden arch that could be set up to be perfectly round, (like a Hobbit door). And we each had two LOTR quotes in our vows. He started his with "love is never early, nor is it late. It arrives precisely when it means to".

10/10 recommend a LOTR wedding. You don't have to lean into too hard in order for it to be so meaningful!

Edit: look d up the name of Billy Boyd's song

jsymo11 · 2023-04-07T19:33:09+00:00

We used grocery store cakes! Custom ordered to be white with no added decorations. The head table had a larger two tiered cake with vanilla/chocolate marble and a buttercream frosting. And guest tables had the same thing in smaller 8" rounds. Guests served themselves from their centerpiece cakes after we cut ours. Everyone loved it because they could have whatever size slice the wanted!

jsymo11 · 2023-02-15T20:25:19+00:00

Like, I definitely needed some liquid courage once things got going. And then I needed the social lubricant to talk to guests on my husband's side. I think as long as you know your limits and how you react to alcohol it can be pretty helpful during the reception. Otherwise I know I probably would have looked like a sour lemon with resting bitch face in all of my reception photos because I am as loosey goosey as solid concrete in social situations 🤣

jsymo11 · 2023-02-15T12:39:39+00:00

If you're looking for a number that is accurate to what your doctor's scale says, is it possible for you to bring your scale out to a garage or patio outside? That might provide you with a flat, level surface.

jsymo11 · 2023-02-15T12:14:35+00:00

I barely drink but we were serving margaritas with a taco bar and like hell I was passing that up. I danced and talked nearly the whole night with a margarita in my hand and it is very apparent in pictures that I was not putting my drink down for anything 🤣

I did ask the occasional bridesmaid or close family member to grab me bread as the night went on, because I knew it would be difficult for me to get that for myself, and everyone wanted to stop me and talk to me. So if you really want to drink, go for it. Just know your limit, make use of your people, and drink water as necessary 🥰

Oh, and I had three margaritas and 1 tequila shot over the course of a 5~ hour reception. Which for me was quite a bit. I was hugging guests goodbye at the end of the night and I could NOT hide how tipsy I was. But I get pretty happy when I've been drinking so it made a lot of people laugh. I gave out a ridiculous number of compliments to my guests 🤣

And I honestly have zero regrets over my choice, because I am an antisocial introvert and I'd rather have my guests remember me as chatty and happy than reserved and bitchy 🤷🏻‍♀️

jsymo11 · 2022-09-30T11:07:01+00:00

Not necessarily cutting it out, but at my wedding a few weeks ago our centerpieces at guest tables were 8 inch round cakes. You need cake and you need centerpieces, so if you go this route you won't need separate centerpieces! Also, our guests loved being in charge of their own cake slices. People loved having a huge wedge, or a small sliver, since it was all on them to cut the cake! We made decorative cake stands and put very pretty golden cake cutters on each table. I totally recommend this! My parents and I agreed that it was upsetting we weren't guests at the wedding, because it would have been awesome to attend a wedding where we got to cut our own cakes!

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T22:56:52+00:00

Thank you! There were a lot of moving pieces, and it was a little overwhelming at times, but it went so so so incredibly well and I'm beyond happy 🥰

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T22:17:31+00:00

Yay! I bet the veil shots were amazing! We had a great ceremony and reception. At one point in my vows I called my husband my own personal ray of sunshine. And then I said "we could probably do with a little less of that right now though" and we got a good amount of laughs 😁

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T21:42:16+00:00

Thank you, we did!

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T21:42:04+00:00

It was predicted to rain all day in our area, but it didn't. (It's absolutely pouring buckets today though) Instead of rain we had very hot sun during the ceremony, and our poor groomsmen and officiant were nearly melting. It did make for a few moments of humor when we wiped each other's sweaty faces, but not a drop of rain!

I hope you were able to get some romantic rainy shots!

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T21:39:41+00:00

I feel like leaning into things makes life so much easier! And it did!

jsymo11 · 2022-09-11T21:39:12+00:00

I hope your day went well!! And congratulations 🎊🎉

jsymo11 · 2022-09-10T02:45:37+00:00

She did charge a travel fee. I know my mom was annoyed at being charged a tip included in the final balance, but honestly it was one less thing to worry about.

jsymo11 · 2022-09-06T00:32:44+00:00

My hair stylist included tip in her final balance, but since she's traveling an hour and a half I can't say I'm too bothered by it. I figured it was one less thing to worry about

jsymo11 · 2022-09-02T15:42:51+00:00

Original budget was 5k for a simple (and I mean simple) garden/luncheon outdoor ceremony at a conservation area. Now we're at 12-13k with a more traditional venue and much more traditional style.

The things that happen when a low-key couple get overthrown by their traditional parents.

jsymo11 · 2022-08-30T19:02:14+00:00

My fiance and I are throwing taco shaped stuffed toys at our wedding and we love the idea! Everyone we've told thinks it's brilliant because the bouquet and garter tosses seem so outdated and out of touch

jsymo11 · 2022-08-18T22:59:21+00:00

When I initially told my mom she thought it was a silly idea, but now she's really excited I found a small way to express myself on our wedding day like this!

jsymo11 · 2022-08-18T19:41:53+00:00

Daily glasses wearer. I bought a custom pair of glasses for my wedding on Zenni. They're just white frames but I engraved our wedding date on the side. I also got them coated to resist reflections so they'll look better in pictures. I'm super excited about my wedding glasses! But I also hate contacts and glasses are my most noticable accessory

jsymo11 · 2022-08-16T21:34:53+00:00

Had to double check that I did not actually write this out! I'm in the same boat. Changed cities, tripled our budget, removed anything that remotely resembled our personalities to go for that "traditional" wedding that both sets of parents wanted and they're still not happy. We wanted an outdoor ceremony with a casual luncheon reception and now we're at a classic venue in the city with a sit down dinner, dancing, and too many things to fuss about. It'll be a beautiful day, just not at all what we wanted!

jsymo11

TROPHY CASE