When Juan and Kristen got engaged in April 2008, they imagined having a large wedding with about 200 guests in a beautiful Japanese garden overlooking a lake. “I pictured us exchanging vows at dusk with lights reflecting off the water,” Kristen says. “During the process of planning the wedding, though, Juan had to relocate for a new job. At the same time, my dad left his job, so he wasn't able to put as much toward the wedding as he originally wanted to. We realized we needed to be more cautious about our spending. We weren't going to sacrifice having a beautiful and memorable affair, but we did decide to alter things a bit.
From left: The dress awaits its big moment. The color palette. black, white and purple. looked perfect on the cake.
To work within our new budget, we made two big changes: the size of our guest list and the wedding venue. We ended up with an intimate gathering of about 50 family members and close friends. Instead of having our wedding at the Japanese garden. which charged a $4,500 site fee, plus $130 and up per person for food and an open bar. we moved our ceremony and reception to The River House, on the New River in Fort Lauderdale. There, for a more reasonable $98 per person, we got a delicious meal (our guests raved about the food!) and an open bar. Our new location also offered the beautiful outdoor setting I'd wanted. With the water as our backdrop, we said our ‘I dos' on a romantic covered patio.”
SPLURGE-WORTHY
“Our biggest splurge was t...
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