Backyard Wedding on a Budget: Jadie + Johnny

bride and groom

Jadie + Johnny had a beautiful backyard wedding – and with just a $5000 budget! I love how all their family + friends really joined in to help them create their dream wedding. :) Their wedding was inspired by Jadie’s love for Disney and Johnny’s appreciation for classical storybooks (which many Disney classics originate from). They both dreamt of an outdoor wedding, so hosting it in the backyard Jadie grew up in was the obvious appropriate setting. Jadie + Johnny both have a love for children – they both serve within a children’s ministry at their church – so they had kids in mind when putting together their wedding. In addition to all the kids from their extended family, they also invited many of the kids and their parents from their church family since they are an influential part of their lives and were an inspiration to their wedding day. From Jadie + Johnny, “We knew if the wedding could be enjoyable and fun for the kids it would be also for the adults! Thanks so much to Bwright Photography for the gorgeous photos and congrats to Jadie + Johnny!

english house venue

childrens fairytale wedding invite


Our budget was quite small ($5,000) compared to most, so a DIY wedding was our only option which was really the best option especially for the style we were wanting to acquire. We had so many ideas but little time to complete it all. We were graced with a large community of friends and family who volunteered to be apart of the process. Truly the beauty of the day was displayed  through the commitment of a loving and thoughtful community of friends and acquaintances who made great contributions of time and resources. This allowed us a greater budget for important details such as photography and our wedding apparel. The best thing about true DIY weddings is that most of the best ideas or popular trends that are found in the mainstream blogs stem from a bride + groom who had a very small budget which caused them to get creative with what they could afford.

bride

bridesmaids in floral

white bridesmaids bouquet

vintage groomsmen photo

bride and groom

pink rose bouquet

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

here comes the bride banner

outdoor ceremony

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

Our first kiss was very memorable because it was actually our first kiss! Jezel from Disney's "Enchanted" would call it "True loves kiss". Other moments that are equally as memorable are the washing of the feet and our first dance. We choreographed the dance ourselves and not one person their knew about it.

outdoor ceremony

outdoor ceremony


Many of the details in our wedding had a history or story behind them. We had the privilege of hosting Reed’s Ginger Brews at our reception which has been our favorite beverage that we have enjoyed throughout our relationship. The candy bags were hand screen printed by Johnny (Johnny has a screen printing business).

Our dancing was inspired by our high school days. Every year of high school we participated in traditional ballroom dancing at the annual class banquets. We had a great time doing some not so traditional dancing that evening. Instructions were given on how to perform these dances by two of our friends. The guests loved it and everyone can participate!

Jadie handmade the maple-pecan cinnamon rolls for our cake the night before the wedding! Her aunt arranged it into a cake for us the morning of the wedding. It was topped with a cashew cream frosting (Johnny’s favorite pastry).

chalkboard welcome sign

succulent book planter

succulent book planter

sweet dessert bar

sweet dessert bar

bride and groom dance


It is still at times very difficult to understand how this all came together with our small budget. Before we could get into any of the fun crafty stuff we had to work the ground (literally). The landscape you see in the photos was all a dirt pile two months prior. My wife, and I and her parents and brother did a large part of the manual labor ourselves such as digging trenches for irrigation, weeding, raking, spreading mulch, building the gazebo, gutting out the barn, and countless other maintenance related duties. Along the way we were graced by family and friends who joined in to help us during our final weeks; some who even lent us their own personal resources such as tools and even workers form their own personal business. Once the literal ground work was behind us we all shared a sense of gratification. There is always something priceless about putting your own sweat and blood so to say in to a project.

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Details are important but don't stress...just remember what the goal is on your big day, to get married!

Be sure to have a good day of coordinator who knows all of the little details you are expecting, it will keep the stress off of your shoulders so you can enjoy your day!

Another very important nugget of wisdom is to hire creative, professional photographers who care about quality and have an excellent portfolio to show for it. Your photos will be your conduit into some precious memories for the future. Be sure to hire photographers who can capture the tone and style/character of the wedding and bride and groom. Bottom line: Don't compromise on the photography!

photography: Bwright Photography // venue: Country Cottage Estate // day of planner: Bridget Denton // floral design: RSVP Events // wedding dress: Mori Lee // bridesmaid dresses: ModCloth // hair + makeup: Katie Peters at Acappella Salon, Temecula // groom suit: My Tailor Store // invitations + paper goods: Paper Source, Cricut, Jadie and Johnny, Cregar // catering: Tony Rose Catering // treat bag printing: Johnny M of Squid Ink Printers

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