Real Wedding: Amber & Mark

Amber and Mark's wedding proves that you don't have to break the bank to have a lovely wedding - they managed to plan theirs, with 200 guests and full of darling details, for under $15,000. "It would have been less, but I had to have the dress," says Amber. So let's see how they did it...


Amber splurged on a dress by Rivini. The bridesmaids wore dresses from Anthropologie.




Amber printed ceremony programs on her computer, covered them with card stock, and made yellow and white labels for the front.


Guests were invited to sign their names and write well-wishes on a vintage typewriter that came from Mark's family - Amber and Mark now have those pages hung in their home.


Children were a big part of the wedding day. From Amber: We couldn't choose just one ringbearer and flowergirl, so we had eight little ones walk down the aisle together holding hands. Some ran and some straggled behind, but it was very cute to have all of them involved.


The wedding took place at the 4H Center in Columbiana, Alabama. The first few pews were padded with heirloom quilts to mark them as V.I.P seats. Amber's uncle sang and played guitar for the ceremony, and a choir sang You've Got My Soul Singing by the Black Crowes as the couple walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.




Amber wrote guests names and table numbers on chocolate card stock and hung them from a clothesline for seating cards. Instead of a cooler, bottled refreshments stayed cool in a canoe.


Amber printed table numbers on her computer. Her aunt made table runners from yellow gingham sheets.


I couldn't resist this photo! Catered by Bernie's on Main, the menu consisted of Southern favorites: fried catfish, parmesan chicken fingers, fried green tomatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and cat head biscuits.


The kids' table was covered with kraft paper, so younger guests stayed busy with crayons. Jars full of candy made the table even more kid-friendly.


Five types of miniature pies took the place of traditional wedding cake. The dessert buffet also consisted of family favorites: Meme's chocolate oatmeal squares, Amy's peanut butter crunchies, and Aunt Tabby's chocolate oatmeal toffee cookies, among many others.




Amber covered hundreds of matchboxes with yellow gingham paper for guests to light sparklers as she and Mark made their getaway. For favors, Mark made CDs of songs that were meaningful to his and Amber's relationship.





Congratulations Amber and Mark! Thank you so much for sharing your wedding day with us, and all of these great details! And thank you to Ann Wade Parrish for sending over these photos!