Weddingbee Blog

[Shawna Noel Photography]

The Details

• Cities: Hillsboro and Grand Forks, North Dakota
• Budget: about $1350 (not inclusive of honeymoon or rings)
• Venue(s): Traill County Courthouse (ceremony), L’Bistro Mediterranean Grill (dinner), our new (at the time) home (cake-cutting)
• Wedding Date: September 9, 2009
• Bridal Gown Designer: Cachet, purchased online from Belk.com
• Florist: DIY bouquet with grocery store blooms
• Photographer: Shawna Noel Photography
• Music: N/A (no dance)
• Transportation: our own vehicle
• Stationery: DIY, supplies purchased at Michael’s
• Cake: Made by a family friend
• Catering: N/A
• Coordination & Event Design: DIY
• Hair and Makeup: DIY
• Spouse’s attire: Alfani Separates, purchased at Macy’s
• Menswear: N/A (Mr. MJ did not have groomsmen)
• Bridesmaids’ Dresses: N/A (I did not have bridesmaids)
• Honeymoon (taken 7/2010): Secrets Wild Orchid All-Inclusive Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Theme: Laid-back, simple, intimate, secular. Cheap

Color Scheme: Really, there wasn’t one. I’m not very good at that stylish stuff!! There was some green though. My shoes and many of my accessories were green: the color of peridot (that’s my husband’s birth stone). Mr. MJ wore a green tie too.

[Shawna Noel Photography]

Our invitation stuff was all over the place, color-wise. I just went to Michaels and chose things I thought looked good together.

[The 2 photos above are personal photos.]

Our ceremony site, by contrast (or in clash-tastic-ness?), was painted in shades of avocado, rose and mustard. Meanwhile, our paper products were brown with accents in blue, pink, and aqua. My bouquet was a wild-card. My bouquet and Mr. N’s bout contained bright oranges, deep reds, pinks and whites. (That’s what they had at the grocery store that day!)

[Personal Photo]

[Shawna Noel Photography]

[Shawna Noel Photography]

Matchy? No. Colorful? Definitely. Stylishly colorful? I don’t think so. Did I care much about whether it clashed? Not really!

[Personal Photo]

[Personal Photo]

Our wonderfully short (5 minutes!) marriage ceremony was attended by 7 guests (all immediate family plus one good mutual friend). The next thirteen photos are credited to the fabulous Shawna Noel Photography.

After the ceremony, we had dinner with our guests at a local restaurant before inviting them back to our home for cake. We also forgot about such details as cake cutting silverware or even napkins (Mr. MJ’s mom had to run to the store and buy some!!).

All photos to follow are personal photos.

We did not plan a reception; for us, the meal and cake-cutting was enough. But a few days later, Mr. Mary Jane’s parents graciously hosted a lovely BBQ at their farm in rural northern Minnesota. This allowed his extended family and the rest of our friends to come chill out with us if they so desired. I wish I’d taken more pictures of the happenings, but I guess I was too busy having fun!

Due to our jobs and our grad school schedules, we did not take our honeymoon right away. In July 2010, we had a great 10-day stay in Jamaica!

Our 2-year anniversary is approaching and I can’t believe it has already been so long! I’m so glad we followed our gut and had a small, low-stress, just-for-us wedding. (And the money we saved didn’t hurt either; we did manage to buy a house a few months before we tied the knot, and were able to take a fabulous honeymoon the following year too!)

I’ve tried to include several links in this post, but for your convenience, here are the links to all of my recap posts!

Wedding:

1. I tied up some last minute loose ends.
2. We fetched our cake at law-breaking speed and I spent hours creating my bouquet.
3. I got ready quickly (after spending all morning on the bouquet).
4. At the courthouse, Mr. MJ gave me a surprise.
5. We posed for some pix.
6. We had a 5 minute (or less!) ceremony.
7. Moooooar pictures.
8. We had dinner and finally, cake.
9. Picnic! (Pork! Beer! More Cake!)
10. Bonus post: Reflecting on our Courthouse Experience

Honeymoon (we went to the Secrets Wild Orchid all-inclusive resort):

1. Our Experiences and Overall Trip
2. What We Ate (yes, this needed its own post!)
3. Comprehensive Review of the Resort

And for more condensed details about my planning process and the wedding that resulted please check out my bio!

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Catch up on all of our Snapshot Sundays posts here.