Q: Why did you and Michael decide to get married in Auburn?
A: We decided to get married in Auburn for a lot of reasons. My mom no longer lived in Birmingham and I felt like my home was in Auburn and it was the only place that made sense because I didn't want a destination wedding or to get married on the beach. I wanted to plan the wedding myself without a lot of help and being in Auburn while planning the wedding allowed me to plan my perfect wedding because I wasn't traveling back and forth.
Q: What were some of the venues you looked at having the ceremony and reception, and what made you decide on the ones you chose?
A: Most churches would only confirm our date six months prior to our date and I was ready to confirm our ceremony venue 10 months early. I was nervous waiting around but it all worked out.
For the ceremony, Auburn United Methodist or First Baptist Auburn. I loved AUMC because it was gorgeous and it was my favorite of the two! As for the reception, Fountainview Mansion, Robert Trent Jones, and we kind of looked into Moore's Mill. I chose Fountain view because of the service and the fact that it is gorgeous. Gary Klarenbeek runs the mansion and he is absolutely wonderful I cannot say enough good things about him! He told me where to get my cake, how many napkins
I needed to order,and his wife even fixed my dress at the reception because my bustle broke. He is wonderful and he is a big reason our wedding was such a success.
Q: What are some tips you give someone planning their wedding in AU on a budget?
A: We didn't do save-the-dates because we had a 10 month engagement and we figured that the people that were important to us would already know the date because they would have heard through word of mouth or they would have talked to one of us.
For flowers, I just chose one flower (red and white roses) and I think that helped keep the costs down.
We got married at Christmas so the church and our reception venue were already decorated. Michael's mom and aunt's created centerpieces for the rehearsal dinner so we just used them for the reception the following night. We booked our band through Music Garden because I had worked with them before, for Sigma Kappa events and Michael's fraternity brother, Dobbins Cosby, told us which bands were the best and we went from there. I wanted Motown and I didn't think a DJ would really be able to give us the kind of atmosphere we wanted at our reception. We didn't do guest favors at the reception because we didn't want to have a lot of leftover favors I really don't think anyone noticed. Instead of leaving and having flower petals tossed we did sparklers and it made some great pictures! We had a huge wedding (500+ people) so it was less expensive for us to serve our food buffet style. Also, we used kegs for the beer instead of glass bottles. Our venue allowed us to buy our own alcohol which was a lot less of expensive. Michael was in charge of alcohol and he loved doing it!
Q: Was it difficult finding your dress while living in Auburn? How many places did you go before you found it?
A: The hardest part of the whole wedding process was finding my dress. I probably went to 10 or 12 places and tried on over 50 dresses. I knew exactly what I wanted I just couldn't find it anywhere! I finally found it in Atlanta.
Q: Would you suggest paying for a wedding planner or doing it yourself ?
A: I did it myself because I already had some experience when I was social chair for Sigma Kappa so I knew about venues, food, etc. I also wanted to be as hands on as possible. I never even considered getting a wedding planner because I am already really organized and I knew I could do it by myself. Also I had wonderful friends, Michael's mom and Mr. Klarenbeek who helped me out along the way.
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