Our First Meeting and the Road to Wedding Planning

We first met at a nightclub, where our lives took an unexpected turn. I remember it was a night like any other, but little did I know that this chance encounter would lead us down a path of love, laughter, and adventure. Henry stood me up, leaving me wondering what had happened, and yet, fate has a way of bringing people back together.

A Family Affair: Saving on Photography

My uncle offered to do our wedding photos, and we couldn't be more grateful for his kindness. The photography turned out to be an amazing surprise, and we were thrilled with the results. It's clear that my uncle had a knack for capturing special moments, and we feel so lucky to have him as part of our family.

Flowers from Fam Club: A Budget-Friendly Solution

My friend took charge of ordering all the flowers from Fam Club, which ended up being a game-changer for us. She creatively put together beautiful arrangements with CED ribbons, turning what could have been an expensive endeavor into a budget-friendly solution. This is exactly why weddings shouldn't have to break the bank – it's about bringing people together and having a good time.

A Meteorite That Broke the Ice

During one of our relaxed gatherings, Henry broke the ice with a rather unexpected topic: his meteorite. He turned around to reveal a giant meteorite sitting on his bookshelf, leaving me speechless. It was as if he wanted to spark a conversation that would change everything.

The Birth of Our Engagement Ring

I had always envisioned my engagement ring, but it wasn't until I saw the one Henry gave me that I realized what truly mattered – the memories and emotions behind it. The ring is made of two kinds of wood, a month and a half in the making, with materials that cost only $20. It's a reminder that sometimes, the most meaningful things in life are the ones we create ourselves.

The Cookie Table Tradition

In Pittsburgh, there's a beloved tradition called a cookie table, where family members and friends contribute cookies leading up to the wedding. I wanted this experience for Tracy and me, too. We were able to provide enough cookies for everyone at our wedding – 1,400 of them! This sense of community and sharing is what truly makes weddings special.

Learning to Let Go

At first, marriage wasn't on our radar. It wasn't until after 2011, when marriage equality became a reality in New York state, that we started joking about getting married. We live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but we were determined to find alternative spaces for our special day.

Finding the Perfect Venue

We discovered a beautiful custom barn house with the Hudson Valley mountains as its backdrop. The band was outrageous – they travel all over the country in their van – and the price was incredibly reasonable. It forced us to think creatively about our budget, and we're grateful for that experience.

A Proposal Under the Shower

I proposed to Tracy while taking a shower, getting down on one knee and asking her to be mine. I had found an amazing dress at Goodwill for just $50, although I did have to do some alterations due to the bus being too big. The suit was another lucky find – an online house sales guy helped me get everything for just $32 after tax.

Embracing Our Engagement Rings

We both loved our engagement rings so much that we decided not to change them. There's something special about keeping the memories and emotions invested in these pieces of jewelry, and I'm glad we made this decision.

A Lesson Learned

Weddings should be about bringing people together, having a good time, and creating unforgettable experiences – not about putting ourselves into debt. Tracy and I learned that with a little creativity and resourcefulness, we can have an amazing wedding without breaking the bank.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe first met at a nightclub and then he stood me up the photography for the wedding was an amazing C savings my uncle offered to do our wedding photos and they panned out to be unbelievable my friend ordered all the flowers from fam Club she basically just put them together and CED ribbons around them and they look beautiful weddings should not put people into so much debt at the end of the day is uh bringing family and friends together and just having a good old time one evening we were just hanging out and there was a lull in the conversation Henry broke it with do you want to see my meteorite he turned around and had a giant meteorite sitting on his book show I had wanted to make her engagement ring this is it's looking a little shabby but it's made of two kinds of wood probably took me a month and a half easily to make the ring the actual materials 20 bucks I really wanted a cookie table which is a bit of a Pittsburgh tradition I really like is that family members and friends can contribute cookies leading up to the wedding enough for 10 cookies for everybody at the wedding 1400 cookies I learned that I'm a bridezilla when Tracy and I met marriage wasn't something that was on the table so it wasn't until after 2011 when marriage equality became a reality in New York state that we started joking about getting married so we live in New York City which is probably the most expensive Market we started looking at alternative spaces so we found barn on the pond which was this really cool custom barn housee with the Hudson Valley mountains as backdrop the band is outrageous they just travel all over the country in their van her price was just really really reasonable for you know the quality of the music I think when you're crunched and you're forced to maintain a certain budget it it sort of forces you to think creatively we were taking Tak a shower and I got down on my knee and proposed I actually went to Goodwill on a on a whim and I got my dress for $50 and I had to do alterations on it because the bus was way bigger than what I could handle it still came out to maybe $500 I strongly wanted a three button suit and I ended up finding an online we house the sales guy got my suit jacket and the pants that came with it for $32 after tax we both really strongly liked our engagement rings so we kind of just decided to keep them we didn't really see a reason to switch out the band itself because there was so much memory invested in thesewe first met at a nightclub and then he stood me up the photography for the wedding was an amazing C savings my uncle offered to do our wedding photos and they panned out to be unbelievable my friend ordered all the flowers from fam Club she basically just put them together and CED ribbons around them and they look beautiful weddings should not put people into so much debt at the end of the day is uh bringing family and friends together and just having a good old time one evening we were just hanging out and there was a lull in the conversation Henry broke it with do you want to see my meteorite he turned around and had a giant meteorite sitting on his book show I had wanted to make her engagement ring this is it's looking a little shabby but it's made of two kinds of wood probably took me a month and a half easily to make the ring the actual materials 20 bucks I really wanted a cookie table which is a bit of a Pittsburgh tradition I really like is that family members and friends can contribute cookies leading up to the wedding enough for 10 cookies for everybody at the wedding 1400 cookies I learned that I'm a bridezilla when Tracy and I met marriage wasn't something that was on the table so it wasn't until after 2011 when marriage equality became a reality in New York state that we started joking about getting married so we live in New York City which is probably the most expensive Market we started looking at alternative spaces so we found barn on the pond which was this really cool custom barn housee with the Hudson Valley mountains as backdrop the band is outrageous they just travel all over the country in their van her price was just really really reasonable for you know the quality of the music I think when you're crunched and you're forced to maintain a certain budget it it sort of forces you to think creatively we were taking Tak a shower and I got down on my knee and proposed I actually went to Goodwill on a on a whim and I got my dress for $50 and I had to do alterations on it because the bus was way bigger than what I could handle it still came out to maybe $500 I strongly wanted a three button suit and I ended up finding an online we house the sales guy got my suit jacket and the pants that came with it for $32 after tax we both really strongly liked our engagement rings so we kind of just decided to keep them we didn't really see a reason to switch out the band itself because there was so much memory invested in these\n"