Catherine's Unconventional Wedding

When they decided to get married, Catherine and her fiancé decided they wanted a slightly unconventional wedding – a summer solstice wedding.

Three months ahead of time, they decided to get married in New Zealand during the summer solstice, which falls just a few days before Christmas. Because of the logistical nightmare of getting together all of their friends and family members, they decided to simply go and get married with two friends as witnesses and to tell their family members after the act. The whole thing went over surprisingly well with friends and family members, and Catherine and her husband got the beautiful wedding they wanted.

Clothing and flowers

Catherine went a typical with her wedding dress and wore a full length pink evening gown that she bought off the rack. The dress was exactly what she wanted, but because it was made by a new designer, it was much cheaper than a custom wedding gown or even an off the rack dress by a more well-known designer. Catherine's fiancé wore formal trousers and a white shirt that he already owned topped off by a pink vest that Catherine had made to match her dress.

For flowers, Catherine shopped around until she found a new local florist's shop with inexpensive prices. Catherine carried a bouquet of pink rosebuds and bought a matching pink rosebud buttonhole for her husband.

The set up

Catherine and her fiancé arranged to be married at the registry office, and afterwards, she, her husband, and their two witnesses enjoyed champagne by the nearby river. The whole set up was completely simple and relaxed, and their wedding pictures came from the rented digital camera that they borrowed for the whole day.

Afterwards

Instead of a honeymoon, Catherine and her husband visited with family for Christmas, as they would have every year. In lieu of a wedding reception, Catherine simply baked a fruit cake, which she had professionally decorated with pink icing and rosebuds, for her family get-together, where they announced their marriage for the first time. Throughout the Christmas season, Catherine and her husband saw different family members and announced their marriage in person several times. To announce the marriage to friends and coworkers, Catherine's husband sent out emails linking to the website full of their digital wedding photos shortly after their wedding.

On New Year's Eve that year, Catherine and her new husband travelled to Sydney to see a fireworks show. It wasn't a typical honeymoon, but it was an event that they'll never forget.

The most expensive items

Overall, Catherine's unconventional wedding was cheap, but the savings elsewhere freed up money for Catherine and her husband to get custom-made wedding rings from Canada, which, she says, were a worthy investment.

Catherine's best advice

Even though she only had three months to plan her wedding, Catherine pulled off the perfect day on the cheap because she budgeted well. The couple hadn't saved any money specifically for the wedding beforehand, but she used a spreadsheet to budget out everything exactly, which kept them from overspending. Although Catherine and her husband took a slightly different route than most couples on their wedding day, they got the wedding they wanted, hassle-free, beautiful and memorable.

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