I Had a Wedding in a Barn Before Pinterest. So There

Actually, I had two weddings with barns that played the main character.
At my first wedding, our reception was held inside/outside of a family owned barn in my home state of Ohio.
My second wedding, the entire shebang was held in a barn in the suburbs of Chicago.
No there weren’t any animals or hay around.
As far as you know.
That should be like a world record or something.
Having TWO weddings in or around a barn.
I need to research that.

That up there is all you will ever see of my ex-husband on this blog. But look at the amazing backdrop. In front of us was a barn, I swear. I just don’t have a picture of it that I could find.

 

When my first wedding was planned, my suburban never seen a farm let alone a barn friendswere all, “so a barn. Huh. That’s one way to go.”
Then they got there, saw the beautiful property, the land, the pond, and the little white twinkle lights and fell in love.
The second time around, the barn was not in the country but a subdivision.
Of rich people who pretend to “farm”.
Organic tomatoes and lettuce.
But it was a working barn at one time.
In the early 1900s.
The hubs and I loved it because of the history, because of my rural background and farm ancestry.
And mostly because it was the cheapest place to hold a wedding in the county we live in.

I have so many people who still to this day tell me how beautiful both weddings were.
Maybe because of the atmosphere, people really let loose and had a good time.
It wasn’t in a mansion or at an upscale restaurant.
It was in a place where animals used to eat and poop.
Nothing says let’s celebrate getting married like cows.
Because everyone knows cows love to party.

This trend on Pinterest of barn/farm/white twinkle lights/chalkboard signs have been everywhere for the past several years.
I do love it and it makes me a little mad.
Because WHERE IN THE HELL WAS PINTEREST WHEN I WAS PLANNING NOT JUST ONE BUT TWO WEDDINGS?!?!?!
AND WHY DIDN’T I THINK TO DO A CHALKBOARD?!?!

I can’t find many of my first wedding pictures.
They are probably buried with the cool Ikea furniture from that marriage.
Damn, I miss that Poang chair.

Here is one gem:

You are welcome.

 

Look. At. Those. Poofy. Shoulders.

Here are some pictures of my second wedding.
Also, known as the wedding that took.

 

I had to add this one.
In my culture, the mother of the bride must feel up the bride while dress shopping.
It’s a tradition.
Just kidding.
I just felt my mom cringe from here.
Sorry, mommy. 
I just love this and my mom.
By the way, that wasn’t “the” dress.
As you can tell from my face.

 

anyone want a Pepsi? or a Snickers?

 

This was my second and last wedding so I wasn’t in need of a big to-do.

But it was my then fiance’s first and only wedding, so I wanted it to be special for him.
We paid for most of our own wedding because we were 36 years old at the time.
Grown a#$ adults.
And we were on a tight budget since we had just bought a home.
Those centerpieces cost me only five dollars apiece, if that, to make.
I got the white metal containers at Dollar General for $1.50 each.
The hydrangeas I bought at Hobby Lobby on sale and with a coupon.
I can’t remember exactly how much they were but knowing cheap me, I can guarantee I didn’t spend more than 15 dollars on the whole lot.
We added florist foam to the bottoms and stuck the flowers in.

 

My centerpiece party!
My mom, her friend, Rebecca, my sister in law and I spent a Saturday afternoon churning out my candle holders ( mason jars with birdseed and candles) and centerpieces as well as my bouquets.
Yep, we made our bouquets.
Well, the bouquets came from an online fake flower wholesaler…..that is TOTALLY the name of the place.
We added ribbon from Hobby Lobby (on clearance) with pins to the handles of the bouquets to make them look less fake.

I would like to add that I had mason jars at my wedding before Pinterest as well.
Ahem.
Thank you.

 

I love that we had our ceremony and reception inside the barn.
We actually had our first dance in the exact spot we took our vows.
There was an option of having the ceremony outside but it was May in Chicago.
Our odds of good weather were not in our favor.
And I am not a gambling person.

 

The tables all done up!
I got the hydrangea idea from Martha Stewart Living magazine.
But her version was, like, a gazillion dollars each.
So no.
The table number idea was also stolen from Martha but again, I didn’t want to spend what I pay for my car each month on table numbers.
So I found these in the wedding section of a craft store.
The holders were metal picture frame easels I found at Hobby Lobby.

 

This was all done on the cheap.
CHEAP.
So if you have no money, don’t fret.
You can still have a wedding that looks nice.
My advice to newly engaged couples: please don’t spend your wad on your wedding.
Save it for laundry detergent.
Because that crap is expensive.

 

I heart this so much.

Rebecca and I made that archway on a Saturday before the wedding.
Flowers from Hobby Lobby, the actual arch from Michael’s.
That thing was in a box and had to be put together by hand.
It was fun to put the flowers in it, I am sure I spent a lot of laundry detergent’s on fake flowers to fill in there.
We left this behind after our wedding.
I think they used it for another wedding.
I hope someone took care of it.
And not dumped it by the side of the road.
One sad little fake flower archway.
Geez, now I wonder where it is.

If you want to know how to plan a cheap wedding, come ask me.
If you want to know how to not get married twice, don’t come to ask me.
I wouldn’t know how to do that.