Decorating on a budget? Nothing comes cheaper than paper and string. It’s what you do with those materials that can transform a room into a wedding venue any bride would be jealous of, regardless of her budget.

looks much fancier than wax paper to me

Grab a couple of extra rolls of wax paper at the grocery store for this project. Wax paper ironed together (3 layers on a dry heat setting) looks very similar to shells, like in this lamp. Stick with the original DIY decorations for hanging chandelier-style decorations, just skip the light bulbs. Or string the wax disks together with plenty of spacing and hang layers from the ceiling for curtain decorations.

streamers add an element of fun

Make a quick trip to the local party store for streamers to extend the paper and string theme to your wedding stationary. Fanfold the streamers and stitch them together then cut into pieces a few inches long. Glue these pieces onto cardstock to decorate table numbers, buffet food labels or escort cards.

bright vellum mobiles

Or splurge on some fancy paper and string and pick up colored sheets of vellum. Cut them into strips and use a sewing machine to run a line down the middle for an easy garland that will brighten up any table.

Flower arrangements for a wedding can pricey pretty quickly. While I am a huge fan of real flower arrangements for weddings, paper flowers are a cheaper, equally as pretty alternative for brides on a budget. Paper flowers add a shabby chic touch to reception tables or guests’ drink glasses. Be your own florists – but don’t just arrange your flowers, make them!

paper magnolias

It may be slightly time consuming and usually a little more difficult than Martha leads on, but these DIY paper flowers are a gorgeous detail. Since you make the flowers yourself, you can easily customize these flowers to your wedding color palette. Also, these flowers have no shelf life so feel free to make them far in advance so it’s one less detail you need to worry about near your big day.

paper swizzle sticks

And don’t forget to save a bouquet! Put it on display in your home for a constant reminder of your amazing wedding day.

The Bride: Christie, 26, Physician

The Groom: Kevin, 28, Owner and Operator of Rooker Angus Beef Cattle

The Location:

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church  in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, with a Tent Reception at the Groom’s parents’ home

Wedding Colors:

Casual rustic elegance - Shades of green, gold, and bronze

What made this wedding modern:

Christie and Kevin wanted their wedding to have a casual feel that represented their personalities.  To accomplish this, they chose Kevin’s home for their tent reception and complemented the site with tan tuxes for the groomsmen and short, vibrant green bridesmaid dresses.  Guests played cornhole (a bean bag toss game) and mingled outside in a lounge-type area during cocktail hour (so fun!).

“We like to think that we put our own personal touch on the day by paying attention to little details to really take care of our guests,” says Christie.

The groom's parents' farmhouse. Gorgeous!

The short green bridemaids dresses really made a statement towards the day's casual yet elegant tone.

Where they splurged:

“Definitely on the restroom trailor we rented,” says Christie.  The trailor had to be big enough for our 400 guests and make it through hours of celebrating.  Christie and Kevin took the time to spruce it up with toiletry baskets, rugs, and ferns.  They also went all out on the food by grilling beef tenderloin from Kevin’s family’s wholesale meat store on site (Yum!!!).

Where they saved:

Christie and Kevin saved a ton of money by doing a lot of things themselves.  Their handiwork was amazing and you’ll be blown away by what they accomplished.  They started with making their own fabric invitations, chair decorations, ceremony programs, stamped hankerchiefs for the bridal dance, and centerpieces.  Christie and her mom also made over 30 cheesecakes to serve for dessert as well as the appetizers that were served during cocktail hour!!!  The coolest part - Christie and her sister made 20+ gallons of white peach sangria for the bar!

Left-side: A basket with fabric pieces was presented to guests so that they could leave a special message for the bride and groom. Right-side: A circular motif was used for the seating chart and matching seating cards were hung on a clotheline for aesthetic appeal. Adorable!

Favorite Part of the Wedding:

“Our family and friends played such a big role in planning and preparation months before and on our big day - our favorite part was seeing how proud they were of what we had all done together.  Looking around on that day and seeing how lucky we were to have loved ones give so much to us really meant the world to us.”

A few slices of the 30+ cheesecakes that Christie and her mother prepared from scratch.

Looking back, what you would change:

“I think you always wish you could spend more time with your guests.  Other than that, we woudn’t change a thing - we enjoyed and savored every moment!  Our guests had an amazing time and so did we!”

Her Advice:

“Spend some time really thinking about what you want your day to be like - it will make the planning go much smoother.  If possible, spend some alone time with each other on the big day.  We were able to sit in Kevin’s house and watch all of our guests during cocktail hour - it really gave us time to take it all in!”

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The Bride: Ileana, 25, IT and studying to be  a Nurse

The Groom: Evan, 32, IT

The Location: Sayen Gardens, New Jersey

Wedding Colors: Cream, Ivory, Peach, and Orange with a Garden Theme

Budget: $10 - $15k

What made this wedding modern: Ileana says “The modern touch really took shape in the wedding party. The girls had on Jim Hjelm A-Line Tea length Ivory dresses with an orange sash. The dresses were very simple yet had the splash of color that made them pop. The men’s dark chocolate brown tuxes really blended well with the bridesmaids and made the wedding party image very sleek - that is until at any given time one of the 8 wedding party members broke out into horrific party faces - then we were just us!”

Where they splurged: Ileana said hands down, PHOTOGRAPHY. “We felt that 60 years from now as our memories begin to fade it is pictures that will transport us back in time. We wanted to make sure we had a photographer who knew us and knew how to capture key moments. Michelle was amazing. We chose to do a Trash The Dress session with her prior to the big day (with a Forever 21 stand in dress!)* and it really helped build a great friendship with her. We are so pleased with every single picture that the hard part is picking our album shots.”

*We will be doing a post on Ileana’s Trash the Dress session in a few weeks - you can’t miss it, the session was amazing!

Where they saved: Decoration. “Since it was in a garden, we needed limited ceremony decoration and the reception garden house was so cute and antique-y that it need very little to spruce it up. We opted to recycle some decor from my sister’s wedding and replace the flowers with our colors. We also hit up Michael’s for various accents and ALWAYS had our 40% off coupons in hand. The only flowers that were real were the bouquets, lapels & the garden around us.”

*As mentioned in the bio - Ileana and Evan had a budget of only $10k, which to me is pretty unbelievable considering how beautiful everything was!  Recycling decorations from another wedding is a fabulous idea.  Also, making your theme fit the venue rather than vice verse helps too!  Thanks Ileana for your wonderful tips!

Ileana made her theme fit the romantic vintage decor of the Sayen house, rather than the other way around, in order to save on decorations.

Recycling doesn't mean settling for second rate! These centerpieces were used in Ileana's sisters wedding, saved them quite a bit of money on decorations, and looked gorgeous!

How a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! The gummy bears represented the personalities of the bride and groom - fun loving and silly!

Oranges and whites with hints of pink and yellow made this the perfect bouquet for their garden wedding.

Illeana and Evan wanted to incorporate their three beloved kitties into their wedding day. Since they are housecats, they had to settle for miniature sugar replicas representing them in spirit!

The best part of the wedding:

“The laughter. Everyone was in such a great mood and happy that everywhere you looked people were smiling. We felt so blessed to have such a perfect day with the people we loved. It’s an amazing thing being surrounded by people who are sending you well wishes every moment. When you are immersed in good vibes it is hard not to get on a natural high. We were married and so happy. And that is what it was all about.”

Her Advice:

“Don’t splurge if you are going to feel guilty about it. ENJOY it. Smile and enjoy your man. The day is about the two of you - not just you.”

All photographs are copyright of Michelle King Photography.

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