No matter what you plan to spend on your big day, this Florida wedding is a must-see. Sticking to their $18,000 budget, Alex and Joey planned the most beautiful fall wedding full of jaw-dropping florals, a beautiful outdoor ceremony and a whole lot of love from all the friends and family who worked together to execute their dream day. See all the pretty from Alisa Ferris in The Vault!
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From Alisa Ferris…Joey and Alex met in the most romantic way possible – on Match.com! Joey will tell you that after channeling his dating frustrations at the site, he prayed one night that if his wife wasn’t on the next page, he would cancel his account. And there she was – on page 19 of the search results. To commemorate this, they named their signature wedding cocktail the Page 19!
Joey proposed to Alex on New Year’s Eve 2015, where family and friends gathered for a big party at Alex’s childhood home. At the strike of midnight, while watching the ball drop, everyone went silent (they had all been told in advance), and Joey got down on one knee. After she said “yes,” he played a video he had prepared in advance with friends and family saying what they love about Alex and why they believe the couple should get married.
Alex + Joey had a budget-friendly wedding. To be perfectly clear, they threw the most stunning bash for just under $18,000. In order to accomplish this, they simply were honest with their vendors about their budget. Where possible, they asked family and friends to help out. The groom’s sister made the cake, a friend built their wedding arch, and a family friend (and well-known makeup artist), did Alex’s makeup. The groom, a graphic designer by day, designed the couple’s stationary set, signage and wedding website — the latter of which allowed guests to request a song before the big day! For their ceremony, Joey designed a special sign to hang over their heads at the altar, and even made a ”Here Comes the Bride” sign for his 3 nieces to carry. After that Herculean effort, Joey just might win “Groom of the Year”!
Their colors were Marsala Red, Cream, Black, and Gold. Touches of green were added in the greenery of their florals. The bridesmaids were allowed to pick their own dresses – they simply had to stick to a blush/nude color palette, dress length and fabric type.
Their ceremony was held outdoors, and seeing that Florida brings warm fall weddings, guests were greeted with fruit-infused water. Alex’s mom walked her down the aisle, and just before she did, Alex gave her an embroidered handkerchief. Members of the wedding party participated by singing all ceremonial music. True to form, Joey cried like a baby, but recovered quickly enough to high-5 friends as he walked down the aisle during the recessional (photo included)!
For their cocktail hour, the couple set out lawn games while guests gathered under the trees to taste the famous signature cocktail, the Page 19.
Their guest table featured a vintage typewriter Joey gave to Alex for their first Christmas together. To pass the time while being seated, the couple passed out an Ad Lib for guests to dole out marital advice.
To save money on their reception decorations, Alex and Joey’s wedding planner shopped at vintage thrift stores to buy gorgeous glass and gold lanterns, which served as their centerpieces. For their first dance song, they chose Celine Dion’s “A New Day Has Come”. What started out as a corny inside joke (the groom would sing the song to the bride when they were dating to make her laugh), actually stuck and gave their first dance extra special meaning. As a wedding gift, their photographer had the lyrics penned in calligraphy to stage details.
Photography: Alisa Ferris | Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero | Cake: Andrea Ward | Stationery: Joey Nay | Makeup: Carolyn Jones Makeup | Hair: Melanie Torres | Venue: Old Davie School House | Bridal Boutique: Happy Bride | Calligraphy - Song Lyrics: Weeds & Whimsy | Cape: Maggie Sottero | Event Planning + Floral Design: The ALTARnative | Signage: Sparrow + Grain
