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Blue Green and Blush Santa Cruz Wedding for $14K

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Micah and Cameron had big wedding and honeymoon plans that fell through because of Covid. But they relied on their family and friends and The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner and Organizer to help make their pivot possible! Micah's father built them their ceremony arch, their family played the piano, violin, and sung for them during the ceremony. Her friends helped with their DIY wedding favors and the calligraphy and signage were all done thanks to Micah's bridesmaids. Every single detail and part of their day was a showcase of their overwhelming amount of support and love. You will love this Blue Green and Blush Santa Cruz Wedding for $14K!
Blue Green and Blush Santa Cruz Wedding for $14K

Micah + Cameron

Santa Cruz, California
- 08/21/2020
Total wedding budget $14,000

Budget Breakdown

Below is an estimated wedding budget breakdown provided by the couple.

  • Attire
    9%
    $1200
  • Venue
    %
    $0
  • Photography
    24%
    $3300
  • Catering
    39%
    $5500
  • Videography
    6%
    $800
  • Rentals
    7%
    $1000
  • Coordinator
    4%
    $500
  • Flowers
    4%
    $500
  • Total wedding budget
    $14000

What was the biggest thing you did to save money?

When I got engaged, the first thing I did was buy a wedding planner. The wedding planner book I ended up choosing was your book! The Budget Savvy Wedding Planner and Organizer. I used it for tips on wedding etiquette to saving money in different areas etc. My initial budget for our wedding was $16,000 but we ended up spending around $14,000.

How did you meet?

This question is always the hardest to answer because it was a bit complicated. Technically we met through Facetime from one of our mutual friends. Cameron was all the way in Massachusetts and I was in California when everything started. God was a big component in us coming together.

Prior to being introduced to Cameron over Facetime, I had heard of him through my best friend, Jensine. Cameron and his youth group visited California to tour Golden State Baptist College and other colleges. I was a senior in high school at the time when Jensine said, “There’s a guy on our bus that you would think is cute. He’s Chad’s brother and he’s visiting.” I responded with a, “Who’s Chad?” At that time, senior year was very hectic and I quickly forgot about this ‘cute guy.’

Now, fast forward to the end of my freshman year in college and I’m sitting in the gym with Stephanie watching volleyball championships. I glance over at Marcus who happened to be Facetiming his best friend, Cameron. I saw him on Marcus’s phone screen and I whispered to Stephanie, “Oh, he’s cute.” Marcus heard and made sure to tell Cameron. Cameron then followed me on Instagram and messaged me. From there we exchanged numbers and texted back and forth for a few months until Cameron went to college.

We stopped talking because we never met each other, but there was something about this guy. I started praying that God would work in his heart to come to Bible college for one year, even though I thought it was impossible to happen.

I met Cameron for the first time in person in March 2018 when he came and visited Chad. After his visit, he decided to attend GSBC! God answered that prayer! The year Cameron lived in California was the best because I got to know him and fall in love with him!

What is your proposal story?

A few days leading up to the proposal, Cameron had asked me to wear something nice on the plane because after he would pick me up we were going to dinner with his parents. The night before I picked out a a t-shirt dress because it was cute enough for dinner but still comfortable enough to be on a 7 hour flight to Massachusetts. On my layover to Chicago, my best friend FaceTimed me and asked why I wasn’t wearing any makeup and that I should put some on because I was going to see Cameron for the first time in 4 months. (I was so oblivious to all of this, I had no idea what was coming.) I told her I checked in my makeup so I can’t put any on nor did I want to wear any makeup on a long flight.

Finally, I landed at the airport at 6 pm. Cameron does not get off work until 7 so I was just going to wait at the airport and read a book until he picks me up. As soon as I got off the airplane, I felt nauseous because of the flight, so I waited a little bit before I went to baggage claim. AirPods in my ear, a book in my hand, and carrying a full personal bag I go down the escalator to baggage claim. When I reached the bottom and turned toward baggage claim, someone shouted my name and I turned around and took off my AirPods…it was Cameron!

I was so shocked that he was there and then I noticed he was in nice slacks and a shirt with a sign. After that, I noticed his brother in law with a camera… I was so confused. Then he showed me the sign “Micah, will you marry me?” and he dropped on one knee. I was not expecting that at all.. I was shaking with excitement and shock. I got proposed to at Bradley International Airport at baggage claim. (Later I found out that Cameron’s original plan was to propose was at the top of the Empire State Building in New York but Cameron couldn’t wait. haha )

Tell us about your wedding vision.

To sum it all up in one word, romantic. I was going for soft colors like blush pink and sage, lots of flowers and greenery. Originally, our wedding was suppose to take place at a beautiful victorian house with a gorgeous garden, but due to Covid-19 the venue cancelled on us so we switched to my home church.

Tell us about your attire choices.

When I was choosing the attire for the bridal party, I had the beautiful Victorian garden in mind, but luckily it still worked out well with church.

For the bridesmaids, I wanted to choose a flowy high low dress that was a soft pink color. Since the original plan was in a garden, I didn’t want the girls getting mud and grass stains on long bridesmaids dress so I opted for a high low dress with thick open toes heels.

For the groomsmen, I told Cameron he can decide whatever color he wanted the guys to wear but just to keep in mind that the girls were wearing soft blush pink. Cameron ended up choosing a navy blue suit for all of the guys and pink ties.

For the guests, we had asked them to dress semi-formal to formal.

What was most important to you two? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?

One of the most important things to us was for our family and friends to enjoy our wedding. We tried to save in a lot of areas for our wedding but we also did not want our wedding to look cheap. I specifically wanted to splurge on real flowers and food. Flowers are just a focal point at weddings and no one wants to eat gross food at wedding either so those two were the main focus.

What were your favorite parts of the day?

Ahhh, there’s just so many to choose from. One of my favorite parts was getting ready with all of my bridesmaids. It was going to be the last time we were all together at one place before I moved cross country and it was such a special time. Another one of my favorite memories was the first look with my dad. He had worked so hard raising alone for the last 5 years since my mom passed away and standing in front of him in a wedding dress meant that he did an amazing job. I wouldn’t have gotten to be the woman I am without him.

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

I love flowers. Can flowers be a love language? haha. My florist was actually one of my sweet friends. She is amazing with flowers. A few weeks prior to the wedding we went to a wholesale place and chose all of our flowers. The flower that I just had to have scattered throughout the ceremony and venue was anemones. Our flowers ranged from spray roses, dehlias, peonies, pom poms, etc. Also, we had a eucalyptus tree that we cut down and we saved money for the greenery.

Tell us about your wedding cake.

We wanted a simple wedding cake because we were going to have an entire dessert table. It was a one tiered strawberry cake with white frosting and my florist decorated it with flowers.

What did you do for favors?

I DIYed my favors with my made of honor. I bought these brown paper ziplock bags lined with aluminum foil from Amazon. Designed a logo that said “The Perfect Blend Cameron + Micah August 21, 2020” and had a large custom stamp made on Etsy. We bought some of my favorite coffee beans and filled these bags up with them.

Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.

I love that our wedding had so many hands involved. We were so blessed with such talented family and friends. With a budget, we wanted to save our money where we could. There were so many DIYs and personal touches throughout our wedding, but here are the biggest ones.

Invitations – I decided to design my own invites through a template on Etsy. I found the envelopes I loved through Amazon. I also wax sealed all of my invitations with wax and a stamp from Amazon. I found the ribbon at a local fabric store, and I also wrote the calligraphy for everyones address.

Written Decor – One of my bridesmaids is amazing at calligraphy. Any sign with words on it, she wrote. I also bought 2 pieces of canvas fabric and she wrote a quote for my mom’s ‘in memory of’ table on one, and on another, she wrote the order of events. These canvas fabrics hung on these copper pipes that my dad and I made.

Arbor – My dad made our copper house wedding arbor. I saw this unique arbor on Pinterest and I showed it to my dad and he said that he could make it for me. I loved that it was in a shape of a house. It symbolized that Cameron and I were going to become one home.

Tent decor – Instead of having the rental company decorate the inside of the tent, we decided to decorate it ourselves by draping eucalyptus leaves throughout the tent.

Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?

I used all of my mom’s jewelry for my wedding day.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

Enjoy every moment! Don’t focus so much on the little things because you are the only one that will notice that, your guest won’t.


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