Well, regardless of what your budget is, you’ve got to decide what your priorities are, commit to those priorities and be willing to be more flexible with other areas of the budget.

Here are a few ways we stuck with our smaller wedding budget:

1) Save on flowers. Or consider a unique alternative. I had no desire to budget money towards something that was going to wither away and die. I spent weeks perusing blogs for floral alternatives. Thankfully I found my bouquet solution when I stumbled upon Amanda Heer’s amazing brooch bouquet creation. She created a beautiful piece of art that we now display in our home, plus 6 mini-brooch bouquets for my fabulous bridesmaids. (These also doubled as bridesmaid gifts.) We rescued some silk florals from one of my cousins who had recently gotten married and integrated those with our centerpieces for our reception. See below. If you’re set on real flowers, ask around. You may have friends who have connections and could help you get wholesale prices.

2) Serve guests buffet style. Philip and I LOVE barbecue. After a bit of research, we found that Whitt’s Barbecue could help us keep food costs under budget, while still serving a delicious meal. At the end of the day, we only spent about $550 feeding our guests…which came to approximately $4.75 per person. This included tasty barbecue, buns, potato salad, coleslaw, sweet and unsweetened tea, water, plus 2 people to help serve our guests. We felt like our reception was a fun, backyard barbecue!

3) Save on wedding stationary. It’s easy to break the bank with paper products like invitations, place cards, wedding programs, save the dates, etc. While these items are absolutely lovely, it just wasn’t in our budget to splurge in this area. The only paper products we used were wedding invitations, response cards, programs and thank you cards. I found a lovely wedding stationary design/set at Target and printed them myself. The paper was a cream color with an apple green letterpress-feel design. I setup the print design using a pretty purple font. See below. I bought a box of 50 invitations, envelopes, response cards and envelopes for less than $35 per box. Quite a deal! I also printed our programs using cardstock and scrapbook paper. Plus, I only printed two programs per reception table.  I did not print programs for every guest. This was one of my few DIY projects and I was very pleased with how they turned out and how much we saved.

So these are a few of the ways we stayed on budget with our $5,000 wedding. Many people think that lower costs means skimping on quality or losing the “wow” factor. I hope you can see that by setting priorities and staying flexible and creative, you can make your wedding a fun, thoughtful experience without going broke.

Are you planning a wedding? How are you splurging or saving? Do tell!

In the words of Minnie Pearl…How-DEEEE! I’ve missed you, friends! As you’ve probably realized, this blog has been on a brief hiatus for the past several months.

Towards the end of June, I quit my job to pursue my passion. That’s right…Mrs. Dial is now a full-fledged business owner and entrepreneur! Due to business, Becoming Mrs. Dial had to take a back seat for a while. I’m very happy to say, however, that she’s back up and running! (If you’re a business owner too, please go check out my other blog – Revealing You. Over there I’ll be covering social media, online marketing business tips and insight from other business owners too!)

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will open up about some of the things I’ve learned in my transition from “maiden to married”, offer insight for how you can get beautiful skin for your wedding day (and beyond!) and, as always, provide insight and inspiration about how you, too, can create a dream wedding on a budget.

I do hope you’ll sit down, kick back and stay awhile. I’m really glad to be back and can’t wait to stir up some great conversation with you…

Warmly,
Mrs. Dial

Not only was our visit full of time with family, friends and enjoying too much food…we also used up all of our giftcards from our wedding registries at Durham’s Hardware and DreamBaskets. SO much fun!

On top of that, we also had the opportunity to unwrap a few late arrival wedding gifts!

Philip and I LOVE art. We own several pieces of original art and have a handful of prints from Hatch Show. (We buy one for every show we see at The Ryman!) We’re excited to say that we have a beautiful new piece of original art to add to our collection…a picture of us on our wedding day from friend and artist Chelsea DeVillez:

This painting is inspired by her “hat lady” art. It’s nearly as tall as I am! We didn’t know whether or not we’d have a wall empty enough for it, but we found the perfect spot. It’s hanging directly above my glass-encased brooch bouquet. I’ve known Chelsea since kindergarten. We have a long, beautiful history of friendship. Although we live hours away from each other and don’t get to visit often, we get together and it’s like no time has passed. Chels, we’re so grateful for this unique, personal, heartfelt gift. SUCH a conversation piece. Thank you!

We received another piece of art from cousin Beth on my mom’s side of the family. Thankfully we don’t have to find a wall to display this one.

Beth created a lovely handmade quilt for us! I feel like quilting is becoming a lost art. I have a few handmade quilts that have been handed down to me and I’m so happy to have this quilt that was made just for us. I know it will provide warmth and comfort for many years to come. (We’ve already used it a few times these past few days!) Beth, thank you for sharing your quilting talent with us and gifting us with this treasured handmade piece.

From our friends Loyd and Deeann, we received a beautiful silver cake stand and candy dish: (This isn’t a photo of the exact gift…unfortunately between the Christmas clutter and bad lighting I couldn’t shoot a photo I liked…but this resembles the cake stand closely!)

We’ve been friends with Loyd and Deeann for about 3 years now, I think. (Time flies!) We were in small group together at Journey until they moved to Atlanta shortly after their wedding last year. Read all about Deeann and Loyd’s wedding here. Thank you two for these beautiful entertaining pieces! So pretty! Now I just need to make a bundt cake or something so I can show it off.

What a Christmas! We’re so blessed with the friends and family we have. It’s hard to believe Christmas has come and gone and 2011 is almost here. More wedding goodness on the way!!

So, its been awhile since my last blog post. (Almost a month, actually.)

Things in our neck of the woods have been CRAZY. Thankfully it’s a good crazy. I definitely can’t complain. The reason my attention has been so divided lately is because:

1) My Rodan+Fields business is rockin’ and rollin’! New customers, new business partners, new products from the doctors coming in less than a week…Needless to say, this business has kept me busy in a wonderful way!

2) My full-time business (through which I met Mr. Dial) is in an incredible transition stage right now. The company has migrated to a ROWE – meaning we get to work any time, anywhere we want…as long as our work gets done. AMAZING! Such a blessing!

3) My PR & new media consulting business is taking off. Within the past few weeks I’ve been blessed with a handful of amazing freelance clients. (Including an incredible wedding and event planner!)

WOW! See why I’ve been distracted lately?!

Luckily for you, ONE of my clients has a special treat for a lucky Becoming Mrs. Dial reader. Stay tuned to the next post for all the details! You DON’T want to miss this!!!

And for those of you wondering, no…this blog isn’t coming to a halt. Yes, we’ve been blissfully married a little over 3 months now, but there are SOOO many things I still have to share with you. My plan is that this blog will gradually expand from weddings to weddings, marriage, relationship topics, life, etc…to document my journey beyond the aisle. So don’t go anywhere. I have some fun videos and new, exciting things to tell you!

So back to my wedding recap. As many of you know, we chose Journey Church (our church home) at The Factory in Franklin as our ceremony AND reception venue. Journey Church leases Building No. 8 at The Factory. It’s SUCH a neat building with exposed brick, large wooden beams, super-high ceilings and all of these incredible wrought iron candleabras we placed everywhere. My favorite part about our venue was that it didn’t call for much decoration. It has so much character…it’s naturally decorated. Covering it up is just wrong to me. Here’s a look at the inside of Building No. 8:

This wall is inside our church and it was painted by my incredibly talented artist friend Deeann Carson. The wall reads “We dwell in soul environments, knowing, living and telling the love story of Jesus to the world…” I LOVE this!

This is the gigantic wall of old, distressed windows and doors you see as soon as you walk in the front door. It creates the most perfect walkway/divider from the door to the rest of the large room.

Here you can see the opposite side of the door/window wall, where my handsome father is greeting our family and friends as they arrive for our wedding. Just look at the beautiful lit branches everywhere. I mean, this building is just naturally beautiful!

You may recall the wedding wish jar idea I’d found over at Martha Stewart Weddings last year. Well, we DID incorporate a wish jar and our guests loved it! Not only was it a part of our sign in process, but it’s also made a wonderful keepsake which we now enjoy seeing every day in our living room:

Thankfully I’d hit a fantastic sale on scrapbook paper at Joann Fabrics and purchased 2 full books of beautiful scrapbook paper at a buy 1 get 1 free discount! Plus, my adorable little wish jar was 50% off from Swoozie’s in Green Hills.

Another thing I loved about our venue was that our guests didn’t have to drive somewhere else for the reception. See, our ceremony was “in the round”, meaning our guests encircled us, on one side of the room and our reception was setup on the other side of the room. We covered our tables with purple linens and were VERY creative and frugal with our centerpieces. We collected a large box of wine bottles from friends and family, borrowed 2 sets of Ball jars from wedding coordinator Emily Humphries and then used scrapbook paper beneath the bottles and jars. Easy peasy:

Thanks to Bridesmaid Megan who has lovely, calligraphy-like handwriting, we had simple, easy to read signs for our “in memory of” candles:

The following image allows you to see just how large Building No. 8 is. Note the incredibly high ceilings, the candles placed around the room and the gorgeous lights strung across the center of the room:

Here we are surrounded by our friends and family, sharing a moment of quiet prayer before we vow our lifelong commit to one another:

And here we are coming down the aisle:

*sigh* SUCH a magical day! I still get teary thinking about how beautiful and perfect it was.

There’s more where that came from, folks. STILL so many things to share and tell you about! I’m ESPECIALLY excited to tell you about what I’m up to this Thursday. And I’m going to get to treat a few other local Nashville brides and brides-to-be too! Woohoo, I’m pumped! Stay tuned, friends. I promise to focus and dedicate more time with you! You will NOT want to miss what I have brewing.

If you haven’t bookmarked Classic Bride…go add it to your blog reader now. This is one of my ALL time favorite wedding blogs. Sarah really bridges the gap between all things vintage and modern. You will love following along with all the pretties she posts.

Stay tuned for my blueberry buttermilk muffin recipe. Mmm.

First off, let me start by saying that this woman was an ABSOLUTE lifesaver:

Her name is Sarah Mallory and she runs SLM Designs & Something Old Designs. If you can dream it, Sarah can create it.

I was fortunate to meet Sarah at Bridesmaid Melissa’s birthday in May of 2009. Perfect timing…because just a few months later, I knew she would be JUST the person to help me create my dream wedding dress.

After several sessions of brainstorming and hours of looking through wedding magazines and blogs for inspiration, Sarah had sketched the final design for my dress. The starting point for the design was the handmade gown my mother wore on her wedding day in 1974.

Perfectly preserved in it’s baby blue box, Sarah lovingly took my mother’s wedding dress, with its high neck, sheer sleeves and A-line cut, and brought it into 2010 with a jewel neckline, cinched waist and mermaid-style cut.

Here is a picture of my mother in this gown on my parent’s wedding day:

And here is the very same gown, with updates and modifications, which I wore on our wedding day:

Note the lovely ruffle at the bottom of the gown. This was the same ruffle that made the v-shaped bust lining on the original rendition of the dress. The belt and the gussets (the “openings” along the bottom of the dress that make it flowy and mermaid-like) are both made of a raw, beaded silk that Sarah and I found at Textiles in Nashville. Sarah found a GORGEOUS feather rhinestone brooch at Francesca’s in Green Hills and it made a stunningly perfect addition to the belt. She also added a touch of French netting to the hem and the belt.

Sarah was instrumental in making me look and feel amazing and glamorous on our wedding day. She was one of the first to arrive that morning, helped all the ladies and gents get ready and even brought her steamer to keep everyones’ attire wrinkle-free. Sarah steamed, pinned, cinched, hooked, zipped, etc., until the time came for us to walk down the aisle, then she grabbed her seat for the ceremony and celebrated with us all the way through our departure that evening.

Here is Sarah strapping me into the dress before we head outside to meet with Philip for our “first look”. Philip and I decided we wanted to do photos before the ceremony. This is a big decision for many couples. Traditionally, the bride and groom don’t see each other until the father and bride march down the aisle, although many couples choose to break that tradition these days. We were one such couple.  (More on that decision for a later post!)

Once I was strapped in and belted up, MOH Jill fastened my beautiful vintage AB (aurora borealis) rhinestone bracelet. This was another find that came to me through the watchful, creative eye of Sarah Mallory.

Sarah found this stunning vintage bracelet at the Gaslamp Antique Mall in Nashville. Notice the feather shape on the bracelet too?! I just LOVE the feather theme that Sarah wove together with my accessories.

She said the feather theme was inspired by my headpiece which I purchased from Kathleen’s Bridal in my hometown – Harrisburg, IL.

My dress was JUST long enough that you could hardly see my shoes, so here is a closer look at my amazing Steve Madden purple satin, peep-toe pumps.

And guess what? These little beauties only cost me $15!! I purchased them as “gently worn” from Marti & Liz in Cool Springs! They looked brand new. Such a find.

I still have many more wedding day details to cover, so stay tuned for the next post! Until then, read up on The Thirty-Something Bride’s 40th birthday post and check out Little Spoon’s latest DIY project. I just love these gals.

Well, here they are, folks. The lovely people responsible for the amazing man I’m going to marry in 5 days. (!!!!!!!!)

This weekend was their 40th wedding anniversary. How wonderful! A surprise dinner celebration was planned for them Saturday night at Demos’ Steak & Spaghetti House – a Middle TN favorite.

With a divorce rate that seems to be increasing every year, it’s so refreshing and humbling to see strong, firm relationships that last. If you’ve ever met The Dials, you know what incredible, selfless individuals they are.

Charlie and Laura, I’m so thankful for you and your family. Philip is my best friend and I’m so looking forward to our future together.

These next 5 days are going to fly by. I just know it. I’ll do my best to keep you posted along the way! I have so much more I want to share!

An ice blue KitchenAid mixer, a Cuisinart coffee grinder, a Bodum French coffee press and a LOVELY 4-piece antique glass canister set.

A Goldtouch baking sheet and pizza pan from Williams-Sonoma.

A personalized, autographed copy of “356 Nights” and a beautifully handcrafted bowl.

A large bowl from DreamBaskets – apples not included.

Two place settings and the sugar and creamer pieces to the everyday china we selected at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, originally published in 1950!

Wow. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We also received a few pieces of Corningware, a Pyrex set, a dehydrator, a cookie press that creates 14 different cookie shapes (!), a deep fryer, nesting bowls, mixing bowls, a toaster oven, a crock pot, a pizza stone, a silicone bakeware set and SOOO much more!

We’re so grateful for the caring, giving, supportive family and friends in our lives and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for showering us with so many blessings. Not only in the form of gifts, but also in the form of your time and your wisdom.

Alright…now off to bed. OH! Have you voted for Nashville’s Best Bridal Blogger? Yours truly is in the running. More details coming tomorrow. To vote now, go here. Thanks to all who’ve voted so far!

Wow. Exciting!

Knowing we’re halfway through our engagement, you probably think I’m all aflurry between guest lists, decoration ideas, dress fittings, jewelry hunting, etc. While I am working on a few of those things, I’m nowhere near “aflurry” or stressed – mainly due to the fact that I am a conscious bride.

What does that mean? It means that planning our wedding is more than never-ending checklists that involve flowers, table linens, invitations, etc. We’re planning the ceremony and celebration of our love and life-long commitment to each other. That’s what truly matters.

When I say I’m a conscious bride, it means that Philip and I have started our planning by visualizing our wedding day. We’ve talked about our values and why we’re getting married. In all of our planning decisions, we’re comparing our options with the goals/vision/values we’ve set for our big day. The media and the wedding industry often focus on the materialistic, tangible objects of the marriage…but rarely does anyone urge the bride and groom to focus on the internal, intangible items.

Based on a recommendation from bridal coach Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, whom I met at the Franklin Bridal Ball last May, I just started reading a fantastic book titled “The Conscious Bride: Women Unveil Their True Feelings About Getting Hitched” by Sheryl Paul.

I can’t think of a more perfect way to start the year than by taking time to relax and enjoy this book. I’m about halfway through it and will keep you posted with final thoughts! Hope you’ve had a wonderful New Year’s Day!