I had a wonderful wedding.
Almost immediately following I posted the event to social media and well wishes came from friends and family around the world.
A haute couture designer posted pictures of us to their social media pages under the heading, “Tara and her groom look so happy in these pictures. Congratulations to a gorgeous couple! The #bride is particularly stunning in her [designer name] #gown.’
It was the beginning of an experiment I had in mind which culminated in all the reactions I’d hoped for.
Some friends from abroad were upset they weren’t invited if it was going to be such a big event, one even wrote to me and suggested spending so much money on a wedding dress (the couture dress retails for $13,000 Australian dollars) was hypocritical, since I was having such a small wedding.
In appearances it could be argued that I was indeed a hypocrite, but looks can be deceiving.
The truth is that the dress wasn’t designer couture, it was made by Daisy, a 24-year-old from Jiangsu province China, where I’d previously visited, and cost $200.
Daisy majored in English in college, but trained in lining and she’s saving to start a family. The cake I made myself from supermarket refuse, the weeks leading up to the wedding I spent trawling wheelie bins for bunches of overripe bananas, which I washed, peeled before baking into a misshaped tiered cake.
(The cake was thankfully proclaimed as delicious, eaten and no one fell ill with food poisoning!)
The décor was converted from wood cutoffs near our home and carving our firewood into candle holders, we picked our flowers from road sides, pressed our own apple juice, my husband’s shoes were five years old, I didn’t get a facial or my nails done, we asked friends for digital copies of their photographs.
The children played DJ with a computer and speaker. The list of hacks is relentless.
It was a more of a special day for us, I believe, because we tried to limit our carbon footprint, and because neither of us went into any debt because of our union. It was memorable because it was truly a lovely, small event with 28 of our closest family and friends from France, where we live.
Top Comments
My wedding dress was second hand a cost $100 from a Facebook Buy Swap and Sell website. My flowers were expertly arranged by my mother after a quick trip to the supermarket that morning. My hair was done by my sister. Makeup by me. Food for a fantastic lunch bought by my husband and father-in-law at the market that morning. Cake provided by the local bakery, ordered the day before……… We spent the money on travel…….. our wedding was in the South of France and also celebrated in Israel and Canada on the same trip. The important thing was that we visited our family in their homes….. so they didn't have to spend money travelling to our wedding and then only spend a couple of hours with us at the celebration.
My Husband & I got married recently and spent all up 17,000 we paid full price for very little and didn't take out a loan to pay for our big day... After it is only one day. We enjoyed ourselves and had a relatively small wedding in comparison to our other family weddings, but we were happy and we can look back on that day and have memories that will last us a life time and not a debt!