bam - 08.13.22 (yes, i know that was months ago! - but it's photo and story time!!)

Hi all! In the whirlwind that was post-wedding season, I forgot to come back to WW and post my BAM!!! But I'm here now, so scroll on down to read all about our intimate destination wedding.

Cost Breakdown:
Guest Count: 31
Overall spend: $23,000
Plane tickets: $750
Hotel: $2500
Dress: $1800
Reception Venue, Food, & Open Bar: $6000
Ceremony Venue: $1010 (including a refundable security deposit for the beach)
Welcome Dinner: $2500 (all guests invited en lieu of Rehearsal Dinner)
Bridal Jewelry & Shoes: $150
Day of Coordinator: $900
Hair: $75
Makeup: $40 spent at Ulta + my own time
Stationery: $250 (everything designed in Canva and printed via CatPrint)
Officiant: $400
Ceremony Rentals: $1160
Florals: $960

*The remaining ~$4k was split between groom attire, bridal attire for pre-wedding events, bachelorette party and bridal shower costs, gifts for guests, food & drink throughout our 6 day trip, the rental car, parking fees, marriage license fee, boarding our pup, and other small things that popped up throughout the weekend.

We got engaged on June 12, 2021 in the presence of the bestie that would become my Matron of Honor and the photographer that not only shot our engagement photos, but would also become our wedding photographer (and convince me to do a boudoir shoot!!). He had me nice and fooled, and I was absolutely convinced he was not proposing during the photo session I had scheduled as an excuse to continue hanging out with my dream of a photographer.

We toured venue after venue in our new home of Wichita, KS, and while there were so many stunning ones, none of them felt like us. Also, having a Kansas (or Oklahoma, or Arkansas) wedding would have meant having a wedding with at least 150 guests, and that just wasn't what we both were picturing for our special day. While on vacation about a month after our engagement, we were laying on the beach with one of our eventual-groomsmen and I turned to Lucas and said, "What if we just did this? What if we just got married on the beach?"

And from then on, that was the plan. For me, the only beach that made sense was Coronado - it's where I had grown up going with my mom, and most of my happiest memories with her were made on that beach.

Staying at Hotel Del Coronado was wayyyy out of our price range, but I found El Cordova Hotel just one block away. It shares a courtyard with Miguel's Cocina - the Mexican restaurant we always went to when visiting Coronado. It's a boutique hotel with a few suites - the 3 largest of which are on one landing with no other rooms. My mom reserved the largest suite and that was our main base of operations for the entirety of the wedding festivities.

We flew in on Wednesday night, got Thai with one of the groomsmen and went to the beach with the best man. The next day we got our marriage license and picked up/met various family members from the airport before the wedding rehearsal!

Friday was spent at the beach with my soon to be husband, and spending time with our assembled family members. Before our welcome dinner at Miguel's Cocina, my dad asked all the guests to come up to the big suite at the hotel for a toast - featuring custom champagne labels!!

Dinner was followed by ice cream down the street and a moonlight stroll down the beach. Nothing could have been more perfect.

Saturday had a loose-ish timeline. My bridal party and I went to brunch down the street from the hotel (once again walking distance). We got back to the hotel around 11:30 to have our hair done (oh my gosh, there was a salon next door to the hotel and for $75 she came to our suite and did my bridal hair!!!)

We all did our own makeup but paid to have our hair done, then it was time for professional photos!!

Shay took our detail shots IN THE BATHROOM OF THE SUITE and I am SHOOKETH by how PERFECT they are!

The men were getting ready in our suite next door (and playing board games)...

...while the ladies drank wine and watched football (getting ready outfits are loungewear sets from Old Navy and they wre PERFECT!)...

My dad cried big 'ole tears when we did our father-daughter first look...

...and Hubs and I had our first look in the bathroom hallway (just trust your photographer, okay?).

We took allllll our photos with guests and the bridal party before the ceremony (golden hour was reserved for just the two of us)...

...and our ceremony on the beach was just completely and totally perfect (when in doubt, go with the furniture rentals anyway). We had a Polaroid guestbook, but apparently we never actually gave out instructions on what we wanted (oops). It gives it character or something 😂

After our ceremony, we took our couple's portraits on the beach during Golden Hour...

...and then made our way across the street for dinner at a restaurant (so no clean up required!!!) My DOC put together a few bud vases, I ordered a few table runners off Amazon about 3 days before the wedding, and we rented some coral napkins from the linen company the restaurant uses (which was included towards my F&B minimum). Her assistant set up the tables during our ceremony, and the effect was honestly perfect. Bridesmaid bouquets were then placed in some vases my florist provided for free as additional pops of color during the reception. My DOC then handled returning everything to all vendors as needed!

I think the only thing that wasn't PERFECT was the decoration of the cake, but honestly? I still DREAM about the flavor of that cake, so I can't even be mad!!

And that's it! You made it to the end! We're officially going on our honeymoon to Europe for the second half of April, and it'll finally be time for me to meet the German side of his family!

All in all, the day could not have been more perfect. It was so much better than I ever, EVER could have imagined, and I am so thankful for all of the friends, family, and vendors that helped make it happen.