Beautiful wedding on a budget

At the time my husband and I were engaged, we were very young and trying to plan an elegant, beautiful wedding on a budget. We paid for everything ourselves, with the exception of the catering and the flowers. For two college students who work part-time, this was not an easy task. Several factors helped immensely and could be attributed to luck or simply being in the right place at the right time.

There was an antique store near our college campus that we frequently visited, but never bought anything. One day soon after our engagement, we were browsing in that store and I remember distinctly turning a corner and seeing a beautiful Victorian style wedding dress up on a dress form. My heart skipped a beat because this dress was exactly what I had envisioned my dress would look like and I had a feeling that it was even close to my size. I tried it on and guess what? A perfect fit! It was amazing and so "meant to be." The best part was the price - only $65 for the dress, the slips, and the floor-length veil. I was one happy bride-to-be!

A few months later, when the wedding date was approaching and we had been shopping for wedding rings with no luck, we went to our antique store again. One ring immediately caught my eye and I knew that was the one. It was a bit pricey for our budget, but we figured since we got such a good deal on the dress, we could spend a bit more on the ring that I would wear daily for the rest of my life. I tried it on and guess what? A perfect fit again! I look at my ring every day and think of that story and am so thankful for our good fortune to have found both my dress and my ring, and my husband for that matter!

Unfortunately, men's jewelry is a bit harder to find, and the antique store didn't have anything that would work for my husband's wedding band. We ended up going to a mall jewelry store and having one of their rings custom made in white gold so it would match mine. The style has an antique look, and in the white gold it does match mine quite well and we are very happy with it.

We even got a good deal on the location for the ceremony and reception. We found a park with a historical Victorian estate that could be rented for weddings. Since it was in a park, the cost was minimal and it was exactly the style we wanted for our wedding. The grounds were beautiful, with lush grass, beautiful flowers, and an old fountain in the front. Our cake was made by a good friend from college, and one of our art professors took photos for us.

Thanks to all of our good fortune, asking for favors, and doing plenty of research, we ended up spending less than $5,000 on our wedding and honeymoon!

Simple pleasures

Now that my youngest child is three years old, I have started wearing jewelry again. That's one thing no one tells you - when you have babies, you can't wear jewelry for a couple of years. If you do, it will either get yanked off or broken, or both.

I'm glad because I have some beautiful bracelets, necklaces, and diamond pendants from my husband and other family members. Since I haven't worn them in so long, they are new to me and it's nice to unearth them again.

Sweet memories

Every time I look at my wedding ring, I remember when my husband and I found it. We were not even shopping for wedding bands at the time, but we were browsing in an antique mall in Denver, Colorado off South Broadway. We had already purchased my wedding dress at the same antique store and I was very fortunate to have found a dress that was exactly the style I wanted and fit me perfectly.

We saw all the rings behind a glass counter and immediately I was drawn to one in particular. We asked to look at it and amazingly, it fit. Then we asked the price and my happiness faded. Compared to new rings from a jewelry store, it was quite a bargain, but to two young college students on a budget it seemed just out of reach. I tried on several more rings that were nice, but none made me light up like the first one.

Then my wonderful husband-to-be said, "Let's go ahead and get it, OK? We'll be alright." And you know what? He was right, and I couldn't be happier with our decision. I still sit and look at my ring several times a day and I just smile. When I am stressed about money, I can look at it and hear my husband saying, "We'll be alright." And I know that everything happens for a reason and it will all work out somehow.

Status symbols

I used to wear a lot more jewelry and "accessories" with my outfits, but after having babies, it's hard to wear anything other than rings and maybe a watch. Why? Because babies pull on anything they can grab, especially if it is shiny. I've had necklaces broken and earrings nearly yanked through my earlobe by curious baby hands. It's easier to just go without. Now that my babies are over that phase, I still only wear my wedding ring and sometimes a watch. It just seems silly to spend time picking out jewelry to wear every day. I prefer spending those extra minutes in bed preparing to face the day.

When I do wear jewelry, I prefer simple and practical rather than fancy over-the-top brands like Rolex. They are basically just status symbols to show off wealth and I, for one, am not impressed. Rolex watches cost upwards of $26,000!! If I had that much money to spend, you better believe I would spend it on traveling around the world for a year.