Family, Favorite Things, Humor, Life, Marriage

I Had a Wedding in a Barn Long Before Pinterest

Kari
 

Actually, I have had two weddings in barns.

At my first wedding, we held our reception inside and outside of a family-owned barn in my home state of Ohio. At my second wedding, the entire ceremony and reception were held in a barn in the suburbs of Chicago.

That should be some kind of world record. Two weddings in or around a barn. 

During my first wedding, my suburban friends were all, so a barn? That’s… one way to go, I guess.

But once they arrived and saw the property, the pond, and the little white twinkle lights, they fell in love. The second time around, the barn was not out in the country but in a cool subdivision with organic farms tended by the homeowners. The barn itself was a working barn from the early 1900s that had been moved from another location in our county.

Mike and I loved it for the history, but mostly because it was the cheapest place to host a wedding in the area where we live.

 

To this day, people still tell me how beautiful and fun both weddings were. Maybe because of the atmosphere, people really let loose. It wasn’t a mansion or an upscale restaurant. It was a place where animals used to eat and poop.

This whole Pinterest trend of barns, farms, white twinkle lights, and chalkboard signs has been everywhere for years now, and honestly, I love it.

But it also makes me a little mad.

Because where in the hell was Pinterest when I was planning not one but two weddings?
And why didn’t I think to do a chalkboard?

Since this was my second and last wedding, I didn’t need a big to-do. But it was Mike’s first, and hopefully only, wedding, so I wanted it to be special for him. We paid for most of it ourselves because we were grown adults at the time, but we were on a strict budget after buying a house just ten months earlier.

Those centerpieces cost me about five dollars apiece to make, if that. I bought the white metal containers at Dollar General. The hydrangeas came from Hobby Lobby, on sale and with a coupon. We added floral foam and stuck the flowers in.

My mom, my brother’s godmother Laura, Rebecca, my sister-in-law Kristy, and I spent a Saturday afternoon churning out decorations: candleholders made from mason jars filled with birdseed and candles, hydrangea centerpieces, and both the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets.

I would also like it noted that I had mason jars at my wedding before Pinterest.

It was so much fun spending time with these incredible women and making things together. These are the people behind the scenes who made the wedding as pretty as it was. Thank God for women who pitch in.

Our wedding venue. Photo credit-Rebecca B.

 

We held both the ceremony and reception inside the barn, even though there was a courtyard option. We had our first dance in the exact spot where we said our vows, which made it even more special.

 

 

The hydrangea idea came from Martha Stewart Living, but her version cost approximately a gazillion dollars per table, so no. We also borrowed her table number idea, but again, I was not interested in paying my car payment for table numbers. I found ours in the wedding section of a craft store, and the holders were metal picture frame easels from Hobby Lobby at 60 percent off.

I did all of this on the cheap.

 

Rebecca and I made the archway the week before the wedding using fake flowers from Hobby Lobby and the arch itself from Michaels. It came in a box and had to be assembled by hand, but it was fun to put together. We left it behind after the wedding, which you can read about here.

If you want to know how to plan a cheap wedding, come ask me and I will help you.

If you want to know how not to get married twice, do not ask me. I would not know how to help you there.

 

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30 thoughts on “I Had a Wedding in a Barn Long Before Pinterest”

  1. I wore a poofy sleeved dress on the exact same day that you wore a poofy sleeved dress. The important question is, did you have a bow on your butt?

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  2. Does it count if you were not in one, not two, but count 'em THREE weddings in that era with interesting sleeves?

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  6. We should start our own budget bridal bouquet business. I wish I had a picture of your Ohio Barn :( But then again, who says I won't get one?

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  10. It was so much fun.I am so glad you all were there.Let's do it again!!Only no wedding, just food, cake and dancing.

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  12. OMG Vikki those are amazing!!! You will TOTALLY get one.If I ever move back home, you and I are starting a business.

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  15. Sister, if Pinterest was around back then, you'd be rocking it so hard. That said, you should totally do posts with titles like "10 ways to pull off a gorgeous barn wedding cheaply!".

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  16. I love everything about this post. And you. And the barn, hydrangeas and flower arch. I always wanted a flower arch. :)

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  22. Holy cow! I read your blog all the time, but can never remember my Discus password, so I normally start to leave a comment, start crying because I can't remember and sulk off. This is a miracle day for me!

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  27. Tell us about the little filled jars (favors?) cuz they be sitting there all adorbs wondering how they went unmentioned! Beautiful and fun! How about it you plan a blog barn convention!!!

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  28. I can't believe I didn't talk about them!They were from Container Store, probably the most expensive thing about our wedding.

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