postcards and pretties: {real wedding} melinda + matthew

True story, I've been waiting to see this wedding for almost a year! You might remember Melinda + Matthew as the winning couple from last year's huge photography's giveaway. They won us over with their choice to support their creative friends and local small businesses. Let's revisit Melinda + Matthew's vision "The ideas are still germinating, but we envision friends playing music on a rustic stage, a fire in the fireplace, tables decorated with wheat grass and bamboo plates, and a small selection of delicious food. Instead of do-it-YOURself, we’re gravitating toward do-it-OURselves, choosing options that support our creative friends and local small businesses, such as: renting the historic Gild Hall in the artist community of Arden, Delaware; brainstorming a low-cost, handmade wedding dress with a seamstress friend; providing locally brewed beer from Dock Street Brewery; ordering carrot cake from the West Philly “Carrot Cake Man,” who hawks his amazing $1 cupcakes on street corners; setting up a registry with a potter to add to our collection of unique, handmade dishes; and maybe (maybe!), if the budget allows, hiring a rapidly rising Mexi-Americana folk band that we’ve followed since we first saw them at a friend’s house concert. I want to hand-print each invitation with old metal typeface and string up excessive amounts of garland made from upcycled sheet music. He wants to build unusual wooden planters for the tables and find inexpensive ways to beautify every corner."

"When we made our initial list of “must-haves” for our wedding, I immediately said “amazing photography!” envisioning artistic compositions that would create a vivid memory of the day’s details. But the reality of planning a $12,000 wedding means that we have to trim every possible expense and it looks more and more like hiring a top-notch photographer won’t make the cut. So here’s to photography give-aways and the glimmer of hope that all things might be possible."

What was your favorite part of the day?

"Oh my, it's hard to pick a favorite part. Everything was wonderful and we had so much fun we were ready to do it all over again the next weekend. I guess if we had to pick, we both feel like the ceremony stands out. We were standing next to each other holding hands, listening to meaningful words and beautiful music from special people in our lives, looking out and seeing all of our family and friends supporting us. It was really a powerful moment and a wonderful way to transition into this new stage of our relationship."

Any advice you would share with other couples?

"The best advice we got, which we would absolutely pass along, is to designate someone else to manage logistics on the wedding day itself. Even if you're doing all of the planning yourself, regardless of how low-key your plans or limited your budget, pick one person you trust and give them the to-do list for the wedding day. We were so grateful to be able to relax and just enjoy ourselves.

The next advice we would give is to fill the day with people and things you care about. It doesn't need to be extravagant or turn out exactly as you'd imagined -- just involve the people you love and the things that are meaningful to you in your planning and it will be perfect.

Also, from one perfectionist bride to another, don't try to do it alone! I loved planning the wedding with Matthew: he was particularly good at brainstorming fantastic ideas, while I worked a lot on logistics and little details. We made the most of our respective strengths, had fun laughing at the especially ridiculous ideas, and ended up feeling like the day truly reflected who we are together -- which is, after all, the point. "

What inspired your wedding planning?

"Matthew proposed. :) Ok, seriously... We decided very early on in our planning that since even a low-budget wedding required spending a significant amount of money, we wanted to put our money where our hearts are. And since we are both artists and musicians, we decided to support the many creative people we know. My dress was made by a seamstress friend; the flowers were designed by a woman who used to work in my grandfather's flower shop; another friend created a registry of handmade pottery; our venue was a non-profit performance space in an artist community; our cake and beer came from vendors in our own neighborhood; we had friends perform music during the ceremony; we hired the band we first saw together to play our reception. So everything ended up reflecting our personalities and interests rather than conforming to any particular tradition. And it was FUN. Having so many great people involved meant every step of the process was fun."

"We feel very (VERY!) grateful to Postcards & Pretties and to 13:13 Photography for sponsoring the photography contest. For starters, it made us and everyone we know really excited about our wedding months ahead of time. But it also turned out that Ashley, Philip and Sarah were absolutely wonderful to work with. We couldn't have imagined a better photography experience and feel honored to have shared our day with them. So thank you!"