Growing up in the city I had always dreamed of living on a farm. In my last year of college, I met my husband, Addam. I knew right away that he was more than a casual relationship. Within a couple months he brought up the fact that if we were ever going to start a future together, that our future would be in the country on his family farm. This took me by surprise, because I had never really thought about it. I had only been to his farm a handful of times. He lived outside of a tiny town called Whitewater. There was no grocery store, one gas pump, a school, and a bar. As I approached graduation, we decided that I should start looking for jobs in his area. I moved soon after graduation and never looked back.
keep it simple
We decided to get married on his family’s land since that is where we would spend the rest of our lives together. We had 11 months to plan. Country weddings have become increasingly popular in the last decade. So, I was able to find many pictures and ideas for decorating. The problem was I liked too many of the ideas and was trying to cram them all into one wedding. I didn’t realize until the day of that the land and the barn were so beautiful that I’m sure many of the decorations were overlooked. I put a lot of money into decorations, since I didn’t have to pay for a venue.
Which was great by the way!
What I wasted money on
I ended up with boxes of decorations that I didn’t use. That I sold for only a fraction of what I paid for them. If I could go back, I would be a lot more mindful of what I actually needed. Your family and friends are there to see you and have a good time, not look at hundreds of mason jars that you glued burlap to. We did have some decorations that held duel purposes. For seating we used small square bales with large boards across them. We used the bales to feed livestock and we later used the lumber to build a large planter box. Which now is extra special.
Things to consider
Some things to consider are the weather. We had originally planned to get married outside by the creek, but as the day approached there was a chance of rain. So, we got the wedding party together to help us clean out an old barn. I never in a million years would think that barn could clean up that nicely. Another thing I didn’t think of was that there was no running water or toilets for 8 miles. So, we decided that our reception would be in town. We didn’t think it would be a good idea for people to partake in drinking and then drive 46 miles back to their hotels in town.
Spend your money on things that matter
I was one of those people that got all hyped up thinking I needed this big extravagant wedding. I will admit I spent way more money than I should have and ended up not getting to go on a honeymoon. Looking back a honeymoon would have been our last chance to take a trip alone. We ended up getting pregnant two months after the wedding and the dream of ever taking a honeymoon was soon forgotten. Take my advice, no one is going to remember all your decorations. Spend your money on a good photographer, food, and music. Everyone will remember how much fun they had, and you will have all the photographs as a special keepsake.
The great thing about country weddings is you can incorporate a lot of the family in the preparation. Choosing a location on family land or in a barn that has been in the family for ages is something incredibly special. You save money by not needing to pay for a venue. You don’t need a ton of decorations, because there will be plenty of natural scenery.
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