{Real Wedding} Ila + Hiroki: a $10k culinary courthouse commitment
Hey everyone, we have a new Broke-Ass Correspondent joining the team today! The ever-charming, ever-lovely Lydia of Ever Ours will be bringing the pretty to you here on the regular, with real wedding porn! (This first one even includes a full-on budget breakdown!) We always say, its best to work with people you like, so we’re over the moon to bring another good friend into the fray! Please welcome Lydia!
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A few months back, The Broke Ass Bride joined up with the ever-so-darling Suthi from Picotte Photo and held a contest for free wedding photography!
Well here are the winners, in all their married glory! Congratulations to Ila and Hiroki!
Because Ila & Hiroki won the contest so close to their actual wedding date, rather than shooting an engagement session, Suthi tagged along for their charming Santa Ana courthouse wedding.
Ila and Hiroki then had a wonderfully intimate reception with close friends and family at Old Vine Cafe.
{On Saving Money} Ila: We didn’t really ‘try’ to save money, but since my sisters and I are a crafty bunch, we did a lot of DIY, which ultimately saved us a pretty penny. Also, not splurging on a wedding dress helped. We found a beautiful ivory dress in the prom dress section at Bloomingdales; when I tried it on, I knew that this was the dress. So comfy! And not restricting on the belly! (to ensure that delicious food goes into the belly).
Ila potted baby succulents and made fabric birds to scatter around the tables.
She and her sister also made strawberry-prosecco jellies, jarred them, and decorated them using leftover fabric from past craft projects, so the cost was really low. Read more about her details here.
Place cards, menus, and table numbers were printed at home on paper from the Paper Source.
{On their One Big Splurge} Ila: FOOD. My husband was gung-ho about serving good food, so we had our dinner at our favorite restaurant. Our budget was $10,000, and most of the budget went to food and wine!
Ila: Would I have done anything differently? NOPE. I think we did a darn good job for a 4-month engagement, and it was *the* party of our lives. Our small guest count kept it cozy like a family dinner instead of a meet and greet, and people still talk about the food to this day.
{Ila’s Best Bridal Advice}
I would tell you that research is important, but you knew that already (that’s why you’re reading Broke Ass Bride, right?). So here’s a few tips from me:
1. Brush up your computer skills. Knowing html, css, and Photoshop will save you money. If you can’t figure it out, make your husband-to-be learn it.
2. Buy stuff like card stock paper on Amazon or Overstock. It’s waaaaay cheaper.
3. Be nice to your friends, because they’re the ones who’s going to help you the most during this grueling process. Seriously, there’s no excuse for going bridezilla on your friends.
4. Eff ‘tackiness’. I bet your Mom thinks that your poof veil is ‘tacky’, and that Aunt Jo thinks that the charger plate is ‘tacky’ because it ain’t bone china. Something is going to be tacky to someone, so why bother?
5. Know your boundaries, your cans and cant’s. It’ll save your sanity. When my fourth attempt at macaron favors went kaput, I gave up and made something that I know I’m good at instead (jams and jellies).
6. Handy-pack wet wipes will save your day (from wine and spaghetti sauce and other things that are attracted to wedding dresses).
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{Ila + Hiroki’s Budget Breakdown}
Location: Old Vine Cafe, Costa Mesa
Number of Attendees: 54
Meal: 4-course wine paired meal, details here
Food + Wine + extra Prosecco for toasts (for 54 people): $6000, including tax and gratuity
Groom’s Outfit: Suit (already owned) + chucks ($40) + cufflinks ($40) + necktie ($60) = $215 + tax
Flower Bouquet for parents: $50
Paper for invites, menu, placecards, and stamps: roughly under $100 (not including printer ink)
Favors: $45 for jam jars, including shipping/tax
Centerpieces: succulents ($45) + pots (donated from Mom in law – $0) + cactus soil ($10) = $55
Centerpieces: fabric birds (hand-made = $0) + wooden stands ($5) = $5
Thank You Cards (including stamps): $120
Domain name for wedding website: $10
- free photography that I won on Broke-Ass Bride and Picotte Photography (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!)
- free photobooth (a wedding present from my friends who are professional photographers)
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Thank you so much to Ila and Hiroki for sharing their gorgeous day with you all!
And a side note, Ila writes an adorable blog called I Nom Things. So check it out. She has great wedding recap posts, scope them all out here!
Many thanks also to Picotte Photography for all these swoon-worthy images. See more of Ila and Hiroki here.
We accept Real Wedding submissions via Two Bright Lights or via email.
Love it! That menu sounds fantastic!
This is a wedding after my own courthouse-followed-by-tiny-family-dinner-party heart. Thanks for sharing!
"4. Eff ‘tackiness’. I bet your Mom thinks that your poof veil is ‘tacky’, and that Aunt Jo thinks that the charger plate is ‘tacky’ because it ain’t bone china. Something is going to be tacky to someone, so why bother?"
I LOVE this. Other examples I've run into are "prom-like" and "whoa, those are 80's." While typically not offensive statements, when applied to wedding choices those descriptives can make me stabby. I'm seeing already with some of my various decisions that my MOH and Mom may not share my taste… and that's ok. Don't take it as a personal attack, just let it ride and respectfully communicate that your dress/shoes/etc are exactly what YOU pictured.
Simple, beautiful and elegant. I <3 this.
Welcome to the best blogging team out there, Lydia! The Broke Ass All Stars! This is my go to blog site, all the cool kids are here, and it gets better every day.
Wow! Congrats, Lydia!! That's so exciting! And thank you so much for featuring Ila & Hiroki's wedding (budget secrets and all)!!! Xoxo
yay! so excited to be part of the team!!
looking forward to sharing lots!
Love it. Love. It. So incredibly cute and delicious-looking. Thanks for sharing!
I can't…explain how much I love this wedding…I love their quiet ceremony and their reception looks like a beautiful, classy affair, what's she talking about tacky?!
Love that the focus was on the marriage celebration . Beautiful decor, esp the wine bottle chandelier!
Probably one of the best breakdowns I've seen.
ack! thank you for posting this… and THANK YOU SO MUCH for this wonderful contest. couldn't have done it without you guys
[...] love Ila + Hiroki’s wedding details seen over at Broke Ass Bride! Moreover, with all these gorgeousness, their wedding only cost a [...]
I love the flow of this wedding – everything is simply beautiful!
My fiance and I are in love with the idea of making our own jam for favors. Love the look of this budget wedding!
[...] are so thrilled to have been featured on Broke Ass Bride last week- check it out . A Big thanks to Suthi of Picotte Photography for getting the [...]
Nickelodeon is my no. one, it is actually coming to existence superbly on screen also.Thanks Armin and co. for years well worth of enjoyable studying.
[...] of course, such a special wedding was featured on The Broke Ass Bride – be sure to check it out for more details! AND on [...]
Thanks for the tips that you share and for little crafts like creative souvenir.I really like your pieces I will share this to my coordinator for her to view.
Thanks for the tips that you share and for little crafts like creative souvenir.I really like your pieces I will share this to my coordinator for her to view.