Bride On A Budget

As I was lulling myself to zombiehood the other night tying name tags onto wine stopper favors for an upcoming birthday, I happened to channel-surf to a show called "Battle of the Wedding Designers" in which three wedding designers in Southern California are challenged to come up with a "Laid-Back Caribbean"-themed wedding for a couple with only $5000 to spend. Being in California by itself is already a major budget challenge, when weddings usually range to multiple times that amount they're constraining themselves to.

The wedding planners ended up having to pull all their cards for discounts based on long-time business relationships to dramatically, and fantastically, cut the wedding cost to a mere $5000. The ideas they came up with were interesting, but the budget really put them in a knot on some vital elements, such as the cake and food. To see the gist of the show and who the winner was, click here. It's also interesting to note that the couple did not have an entourage at all, just their guests and family.

These photos are of a couple being photographed at Chicago's Navy Pier. I stole a few shots myself. My cousin who's now a nurse (her second degree), has been with her boyfriend since highschool. She observed how "juvenile" it was to have wedding photos taken at Navy Pier, with the ferris wheel and giant carousel in the background. I suggested that maybe that was where they first met, or otherwise that place may be special for them in some other way. She complained about how expensive it was to get married when you're also trying to save money for your own house, making sure you get qualified for social security benefits in the future. She even joked that when she gets married, the reception will be at a Chinese buffet and her souvenirs will be the restaurant's chopsticks with the words "Thank You" and the date of their wedding inscribed with her own handwriting. Chinese buffet or not, I'm attending.