Micies, meet Chrissy and Brad, who had an incredibly cute Chicago wedding. Yes! My city!
Chrissy also sort of shocked me by saying that flowers was where she managed to save some money. Impressive! She said finding deals is all about connections: "Talk to your friends--our florist was a recommendation after I met with several florists and couldn't find one that didn't have a $3,000 minimum," Chrissy said. "We ended up with amazing flowers and a florist who truly went the extra mile and who was extremely reasonable." They also found friends, or friends-of-friends, or recommendations from friends, for their invitations and several other elements of the wedding.

Chrissy also did some things herself, or with family, to save money. Favors were takeout boxes full of her mom's home-made cookies. "My mom is an excellent baker," Chrissy said, "everyone thought we had bought the cookies and it was a great treat after dancing all night! I also made a custom stamp online to create my own rehearsal dinner menu cards, programs and welcome bag letters for a fraction of the cost."

Brad also scored them an upgrade to a penthouse suite at their hotel, just by calling and asking nicely.
I really like Chrissy's bridesmaid dresses, by the way. She clearly did not get lured into the bridesmaid twilight zone I will tell you about tomorrow.*

(Photos by the talented Jeremy Lawson.)

* Which is scary.