The Venue (continued)

I've fallen in love with another location, one that would be perfect to use for both the ceremony and reception since it has both indoor and outdoor areas. Casa Feliz in Winter Park, Fl is an old restored Spanish Farmhouse, from the website it seems to have the warmth and coziness that most banquet facilities are lacking, and it's pretty affordable. Here a a few shots I pulled off their site.



So cute! Their max capacity is 120 which is perfect for the size wedding I want (small) but of course won't work for anyone planning a huge wedding, they even have a smaller Garden House for weddings around 35 people. In any case here is their website for more rental info.

The Photographer

Now I assumed going into the planning process that one of the hardest aspects would be trying to find a local photographer who was both incredibly talented, completely original and also affordable. I have gone through a ton of different photographer's portfolios on the internet and so far no one had really stood out...that is until I came across an up and coming Orlando photographer whose style perfectly suits the overall look that I'm going for...and I found her on Craigslist of all places. This amazing artist's name is Shannon Nicole Smith and here are a few examples of her work.



I think what I love most about her work is how natural the shots seem while at the same time being quirky, colorful and just completely adorable. What's also fantastic is that at this time wedding packages start out around $1200, and for a talented Orlando photographer that is very reasonable. If you'd like to check out more of her stunning portfolio go visit her site.

The Flowers (or lack there of)

I feel like it's time that I mention one of the aspects of the ceremony and reception that will actually be done completely DIY style- the bouquets and centerpieces. Now while I find flowers beautiful of course I also feel like there is something a bit depressing about cutting them off of their plant homes and putting them in vases so that they will die after a few short days. additionally I think it's one of the most inflated wedding costs that can be gotten around pretty easily. One thing that helps a bit in this category is my intention to have the ceremony outdoors in a place that will likely be brimming with flowers of all sizes, shapes and colors, and if I get my way with the reception plans it will be in an art gallery which will need very little extra decor. While on etsy (my favorite place in the whole wide web) I stumbled across one of the most adorable lil things I've ever seen- button bouquets. Apparently these have been around for awhile but I had somehow never heard of them until now. So I'll show you a few examples of the amazing ones I have come across in my research.

these are a perfect example of bridesmaid bouquets and are made by lilfishstudios on etsy

and this is one that would make a beautiful bride's bouquet from letters4lilly on etsy

exactly what I want my own bouquet to look like, not too sure where i found this pic but it's stunning.
Here are are few examples of perfect versions for centerpieces

found on buttons.net

found at this websight which also includes a great tutorial.
So as much as I love all these designs and agree that they are completely worth the money you'd spend on buying them from their incredibly talented designers, I've decided to take the project on myself. I went on ebay and bought a lot of mixed buttons, I got over 500 of them for $16 including shipping and have started with designing my own centerpieces using the tutorials found on the last websight I listed and a few others. I have yet to find instructions on how to make the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets but I think I can figure it out once I get better at the centerpieces. I'll post some pictures of my attempts pretty soon, my buttons just arrived yesterday and I'm already midway through my second bouquet.

The Cake!

I've completely fallen in love with the notion of a cupcake tower although there are some details I havn't decided on completely like whether or not to do the top portion as a traditional cake so we can have something to cut into. Here are some delicious looking photos I've found.



This last one actually hangs from the ceiling which is too amazing for words. The great thing about these cakes is they traditionally cost less than regular wedding cakes, they are completely DIY friendly if you're up to baking the day before your wedding and you're spared the cost of a cake cutting fee. Plus they are just adorable!

The Reception- Food and Drink

I'm pretty dead set on the idea of doing a brunch reception. for a few reasons. Mostly because it's my favorite meal of the day also because you can get away with doing a really elaborate brunch for the same or less than the cost of a more simple dinner and it also gives us the chance to spend the whole day as a married couple with our friends and family (we're considering doing a second lil byob bbq type bash later in the evening in someone's backyard that way we can invite all the people we were unable to invite to the wedding). Some fun ideas I've had for the menu so far include the typical appetizer station but with brunch type items such as croissants, danishes, mini cinnamon buns, fruit with granola, maybe a lil version of eggs benedict, something involving smoked salmon and a donut tower. Here are a few pics I've been using for visual inspiration.



For the main course I'm leaning towards a buffet style (costs less and gives more options) with a few action stations such as eggs done any way and made to order belgian waffles, plus I'm thinking of a build your own grits station which would have different cheeses plus bacon, scallions and other yummy topping.

I also want to have a few more lunch type selections, maybe some salads like buffalo mozz with tomatoes and a really nice roast chicken cobb salad.


Considering it will be so early in the day I don't think I'll do any other desserts besides wedding cake which I'm going to devote a section to later down the road, so instead now we'll talk about the booze portion. Eric is pretty set on the idea of having a full and open bar which I support although I don't think it's necessary to have every liquor know to man, just a few basics like beer, wine, bubbly, vodka, rum and whisky. I think that's eclectic enough to please all 50 palates. I deffinitely want to do a few signature brunch drinks like a blood orange mimosa and and a bellini plus a bloody mary bar where the bartender would serve just the drink in a glass with or without salt and our guests could build their own garnish from a selection of items located next to the bar, I couldn't find any prettier pics but this one will give the idea I'm going for.

Now I'm sure some people such as my family won't really be up for boozing so early which will cut the bill down a bit, but we definitely do have a fair share of friends and fam that will be down for a party no matter what the hour of day.

The Reception- Venue

Now I have to admit that for me this will be one of the hardest places to cut costs. I just absolutely hate all those generic banquet halls offered at hotels and other typical wedding venues, and since I hope to have an outdoor ceremony but an indoor reception there won't be a way of having one location do double duty (which would be a great money saver if I was willing to budge a bit). My idea of a great reception venue is an art gallery. For the most part the one's I'm going to mention are all pretty reasonably priced considering how lovely they are, plus you can save a ton on decorations since the place will already be decked out with art.
My first choice would be City Arts Factory in Downtown Orlando, it's got an art deco feel from the outside but inside it's all modern, plus they already have a beautiful built in bar so it would save on the hideous plastic rental bar. Here are some pics.


that second one is of the upstairs portion of the gallery, the part usually rented out for larger events.

and that's the downstairs portion also available for rentals.

Here's another beautiful lil downtown gallery just down the street from City Arts Factory called Gallery at Avalon Island.


The only rental info I've been able to find on the websight is for the cafe portion or the upstairs theatre so hopefully they'd be up for renting out the actual gallery as well.

The third Orlando option is actually not a gallery but the local science center, if I have a change of heart about the indoor reception I would definitely consider renting the Sun Trust Terrace, especially for an evening reception.

I havn't gotten a quote on this one yet but I'd imagine it's not too cheap, but as I said the reception venue is pretty important and I think worth splurging for.

The last one I'm currently considering is my favorite choice if we go for the Bok Tower wedding in Lake Wales, it's the local art center (surprise;) and it's prices are definitely reasonable. Although honestly I'm not super excited about the Spanish Mission look of the outside and inside it's nothing to write home about compared to the other 3 list here but hey it is Lake Wales so what can I really expect.




A few other back up options are to keep it outdoors like the ceremony if we go for the Garden option at the Maitland Art Center or at Lake Lily Park. I think outdoor receptions are just adorable my only worry is the unreliable Florida weather, hot and then rainy and then humid spells disaster!

The Ceremony

The most important aspect for the two of us on planning a ceremony site is that it be somewhere sentimental for us (oh and I insist that it be outdoors). That being said, one of the only things I had my heart set on as a young girl was getting married in the outdoor Chapel at the Maitland Art Center (this is about 10 minutes outside of Orlando). Unfortunately this spot was scooped out underneath me a few years ago when one of his ex girlfriends got hitched there and now according to him it's completely out of the picture. But for reference sake here's what the place looks like.
as a compromise I thought we might consider exchanging vows in a different part of the art center, the beautiful garden.

For further info on this venue visit their websight. http://maitlandartcenter.org/
So as far as places that we're both comfortable with, a friend of ours suggested Bok Tower. This is the place Eric and I went to on out first trip together so of course it has that sentiment that we're looking for and the place it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the spring which is when I hope to get married. However it is located in Lake Wales, Florida which is about an hour west of Orlando, pretty much in BFE. Now I know that people have these destination weddings where people fly all over the country to watch the happy couple exchange vows, but seriously there is NOTHING else to do in Lake Wales besides Bok Tower, and the definite down side is that they don't offer the choice to have your reception on site. Now I have done some research and there are a few suitable choices for reception venues which we will get into later, so this place is still in the running, here are some pics.



and the websight: www.boktowergardens.org
Following the idea of going with a place special to us as a couple, the first day of our relationship many many years ago we stayed up all night to watch the sun come up at a local park off Spring Lake in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando, unfortunately I can't find any info about this place on the web but if I do I'll post something later down the road, for now it's in the maybe stack.
Another place that's lovely and completely affordable is Lake Lily Park in Maitland. it's similar to the famed Lake Eola park in Downtown Orlando in that it has a beautiful fountain in the middle and hosts a farmer's market on the weekends, plus I have memories of my father pushing me on the swings there as a child. Unfortunately not much in the way of a garden here but it has a ton of great trees which for me is actually more important.


For more info you can contact the Maitland Historical Society www.maitlandhistory.org

That's just about it as far as affordable places that I find beautiful in Central Florida that don't have gazebos (have I mentioned yet how much I loathe gazebos?). Maybe later I'll post something about Dixon Azalea Park which I had considered briefly before realizing that my favorite spots there were way to small for the 50 some odd people we'd invite. I'm sure at some point some other spots will float in to my head so definitely expect more on the topic at a later date.

The Real Deal

So just to put this out in the open right from the start- my amazing boyfriend and I are not technically engaged at this point, however we have started to talk about getting married and since we have been together (on and off) for a little over 7 years now I feel like it's a safe enough bet to at least start the brainstorming process about what sort of wedding I'd like to have. I can say with a great amount of certainty that my parents are not in the position to contribute financially which will mean that Eric and I alone will foot the bill for the shindig. For me this isn't really a bad thing, I have never been the type of girl who dreamed of the big princess wedding with 300 of my closest acquaintances. Instead I'd like an intimate ceremony with about 50 of our nearest and dearest there to witness one of the most important days of our lives. The purpose of me using this blog is mostly just a place to organize my thoughts about the event so that when something pops into my lil old head I can remember it later down the road when we get down to the real nitty gritty planning. Other than that I hope that someone else comes across it and can find inspiration about budget friendly yet personal ways to pull off their special day, especially those in the Orlando area, considering it can at times be a place devoid of any real charm and individuality, unless of course you dig deep enough.