It’s no surprise that this Bride mastered the design of her summer wedding, after all, she’s a pro herself at Imoni Events, planning other lucky ladies weddings. But she not only scored style points for her own celebration but did it all on one amazingly savvy budget – we’re talking a $20 dress! Amy & Jordan Photography captured it all, and these pics are the perfect example of the Bride’s talent and taste, from the fun and fabulous bridesmaid dresses to La Tavola’s lovely linens. Don’t miss a second right this way!
From Amy & Jordan Photography… Our beautiful bride Rachael is an amazingly talented wedding planner with a renowned planning company here in Arizona, Imoni Events. We had a feeling that her wedding was going to be beautiful, but we were even more blown away than we could’ve ever imagined! One of the coolest parts of her wedding was that she planned the entire affair with budget-savvy ways to save big. She and her friends MADE the food served at the reception, which was hosted in a friend’s backyard, and she only paid $20 for her wedding dress! We really admired her ability to save money and still throw one of the most gorgeous weddings we’ve ever seen!
From the Bride… What made the planning process easy was simply letting some of the creatives do what they do best and that is to create! I inspired them with the color palette and gave them direction and said run with it, I trust you! When we started this process I had no idea what the color palette was going to be. A couple of my bridesmaids and I walked into Last Chance with low expectations and ended up walking out with five different colored dresses along with what would be my wedding dress. I had no idea what to expect when I walked into this place but for sure did not think I would walk out with a wedding dress that only cost me $20 and bridesmaids’ dresses that ranged from $15-$30! I was in awe and so excited to have what seemed like the deal of a century. I am glad I went in with no expectations and walked out with something that was literally perfect. The only thing I had mentioned to anyone at this point was that I really wanted a dress with cap sleeves and sure enough we found my dress right then and there. I had to get over the fact that I wasn’t going to be going to an actual wedding boutique to try on dresses and if you could see the iPhone photo of the people looking at me in the background you would laugh…not the typical wedding dress experience. No champagne or holding up a sign saying “yes to the dress” but it was perfect! I had three of my closest friends with me, we found a dress that was perfect for the feel I was going for and was definitely in my budget!
Perry and I knew that we were going to have to be savvy when it came to planning our own wedding especially on a budget! So from the beginning we talked through what was most important to us, which is what I tell all of my brides! We sat down and said, photography, music, flowers and drinks were the most important to us. So that being said we had to be creative with the rest…That meant I was going to be in the kitchen cooking! :) We of course wanted to feed our guest but knew we could not provide a sit down meal, we wanted to enjoy the night and have one big cocktail party. This helped so we went ahead and decided we would do stations of chicken tacos, pulled pork sliders, a cheese and meats station, and a dessert stations. This allowed for us to make some of the food beforehand! I recruited a couple of my friends along with a ton of crockpots to make 80 pounds of chicken and about 60 pounds of pork! What a couple of days that was!!! In the end we had an amazing team that helped us throughout the whole day!
It was one of the most magical days I have ever experienced! I loved going to bed the night before excited to wake up and say “I do” to the man God had picked just for me! I was so excited that this day would be a day that would hopefully reflect our love for the Lord and for one another! We know that marriage is a choice and Perry and I wanted the world to know that we were choosing to walk in the Lord’s faithfulness! One of Perry’s favorite things of the day was seeing the backyard come to life. He knows that this is something I do for a living but to be living it out as our own very day was like a dream. We were so thankful to all the people who helped prepare this amazing day and getting to see them, running waters out, and simply being able to see it transform before our very eyes was the coolest things. I was looking forward to our ceremony the most. I loved that the good news of the gospel was presented and our friends and family got to see our hearts behind the people we are today! I felt like I was glowing the whole day with our joy and peace. Walking into our reception seeing all our friends and dancing the night away was so amazing! I could not have asked for a better party to celebrate!
Photography: Amy & Jordan Photography | Cinematography: Serendipity Cinematography | Event Design: Imoni Events | Floral Design: The Flower Studio | Cake: Ruze Cake House | Invitations: Page & Mason | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Shoes: Nordstrom | Jewelry: Nordstrom | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Nordstrom | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Makeup Artist: Brenna Heater | Hair: Emily Hughes | Groom's Attire: The Black Tux | Venue: Private Residence | Bartenders: Pour Masters | Bridal Boutique: Nordstrom | Coffee Station: Adopted Coffee | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: Event Rents | Servers: Party Staff | Stationery Design: Freed Hands