Interviewing Bride: Backyard September Wedding

Apr 12

Written By Angélica Rodríguez

Vendor list at bottom// In these blog posts I get to reconnect with past couples and be as nosey as possible with their planning experience and wedding day. At the bottom they list vendors they loved working with, links they found helpful, and share their perspective on wedding day planning and all that comes with it. This is Chloe on their backyard September wedding.

BRIRO: What’s something you’re glad you did?

Definitely having a smaller guest list. That was probably the number one thing we were very happy we did, made it a lot less stressful. People have pressures to do big weddings, but I think it can be a thing of the past, unless you have a big family or you’re really on-board with it, and it’ll make the day a lot more special. Just don’t feel pressured to have a big wedding guest list if you don’t want that.

BRIRO: What’s advice you’re glad you DIDN’T listen to?

We did a lot of DIY and I would say that when you look online it’s all the horror stories highlighted. Most of the advice I saw was telling us to hire it all out, which I don’t think is bad advice, but that’s sometimes you can’t always make the budget allow. Once you break down the nitty gritty details and see what you can hire out vs. what you can do yourself it can be easier to stay within budget. We knew we were going to do our own flowers and decorations, so other than that, I tried to find food that was in budget and that was available on a holiday weekend. We had so much help from people we knew, who could deliver the look that we wanted and wanted to help out.

BRIRO: You didn’t hire out your flowers, what was that process like?

We had a ton of help from friends and family for days leading up to the wedding that had some experience doing flowers. Honestly I just kinda trusted that they would do their best to get the flowers closest to the inspiration I showed them. We went to wholesaler for flowers in a market here in Spokane. For my bouquet, I showed them a picture and they did it exactly how I wanted.

BRIRO: Where did you source decorations/glassware?

We collected clear vases for a year, and looked for cheaper glassware in Ikea. We also knew that a lot of people had bought stuff for other weddings, and we got lots of our glassware and chargers free because someone had them and were happy to let us use them for our wedding.

BRIRO: Finding vendors can be difficult, where did you look?

Honestly I liked the process of looking for vendors, not even booking, but just lookin. From the beginning I knew I didn’t want cake for dessert, I wanted something different and stumbled across Sweet Annies by looking at hashtags on instagram. I looked at planners in the area, who they tagged and reaching out that way. Working with them was great, we picked our flavors of ice cream for the event, they could even do custom flavors and they came and delivered everything! If I was looking for florists or rentals I would look up #spokaneeventrentals #Spokaneflorist #Spokanerentals. The 15 tables we used for the wedding were found through hashtags like that.

BRIRO: What’s some advice you’d give future couples planning their wedding?

Don’t be afraid of DIY. There's pressure to make some sort of big thing happen because of the internet, but we usually can’t afford all those things. It’s hard because of all the influence coming in but lay out your expectations at the beginning and find what's important to you. Don’t be afraid of what everyone else is going to say. If you want to do it yourself, try it. The point of the day isn’t that it all goes perfectly.

BRIRO: Where did you look for inspiration?

Don’t get caught up in the comparing yourself to others, really try to have as much as fun as possible, its’ only one day. Whatever that means to you. With that being said, pinterest isn’t always your enemy. I loved looking through Anti-Bride, it had so great ideas, and other Australian wedding blogs.

BRIRO: How did you feel about your timeline?

We were looking for something relaxed, and didn’t lay out the day, and it probably would have made it easier for everyone if we had planned it out, no regrets though. We let the night play out — but it’s really smart to have a day of coordinator. We got so lucky to have a team of people being able to run what we wanted. I'm glad we did it the way we did it, even though it might have been a little less stressful with a really defined outline.

BRIRO: Who did your hair and makeup?

I did my own makeup and hair and I’m really happy I did. It’s something that’s scary but I thought, if you want to look like you, you’re the best person to do it — you spend the most time doing it. I practiced, bought new makeup, practiced a some more . I got lash extensions, which was totally worth it for the day. but super high maintenance. I’m happy I chose not to spend the money on hair and makeup (this totally depends on the person) but for me it just felt like the right choice. But if you want to get the glam — get the glam! Basically, just remember it’s your day so do what feels right.

BRIRO: Who were some heros?

My Dad and Bailey built the lights above the reception! They built exactly my Pinterest inspo and definitely made the backyard gorgeous, they poured so much time in leveling out the valley our ceremony was in, literally, a second full time job! And my mom planting flowers EVERYWHERE, can’t forget that Queen . Lots of help from friends and family.

VENDORS:

Wholesale floral: Washington Floral Service

Tables & Benches: 15 Tables PNW

Chairs & Dancefloor: A-Z Rental

Umbrellas: Event Rents WA

Music: Shawn Stratte

Ice cream: Sweet Annie’s

Bride Ceremony Dress: Maggie Sottero

Bride Reception Dress: Shona Joy

Earrings: Mejuri

Bride Wedding band: SHW Jewelry NYC

Groom Suit: Calvin Klein