Mr. & Mrs. Audball ~ Savannah Elopement 10-30-13

[audball]

Stairs leading down to the river at Hilton Head.

 

[audball]

Last stop...The Lucas Theater! It was Film Festival Week in Savannah and the theater was showing...Bride of Frankenstein!!

 

[audball]

All done (at least for now!). Thanks for letting me share our special day with you guys!

 

[audball]

OMG Audball, I LOVE IT!!! I'm so happy for you. The pictures are amazing and your vows are just so endearing. You both look super happy and it was beautiful! May your marriage be as beautiful as your wedding day

Thanks WD! We are so happy with how our whole day went!

 

[audball]

Amazing, Congratulations!!

Thank you inflorescence!

 

[wakingdreams53]

Sorry for interrupting your photo-upload stream! Seriously awesome that you got so many beautiful shots. Since we're eloping too, I'm thinking maybe a dress like yours would be a little bit more practical. Were you always planning to wear a tea-length dress?

 

[Maisie]

Your photos are beautiful! I loved seeing them. You and your DH are just adorable and it looks like you had the most amazing day! Congratulations

 

[audball]

Sorry for interrupting your photo-upload stream! Seriously awesome that you got so many beautiful shots. Since we're eloping too, I'm thinking maybe a dress like yours would be a little bit more practical. Were you always planning to wear a tea-length dress?

Hah, no worries! I had lots to upload! We ended up with 673 finished and fully edited photos in high resolution. So.so.so.many! It's hard to go through and pick favorites which is why it had taken me so long to sort through and put together a post!

For the dress, I wasn't sure what I wanted until I started shopping. A zillion years ago, I was dead set on a short dress. And then I actually got engaged and was bitten by the big white wedding bug for a few months where I started picturing a more traditional wedding with a more traditional dress, etc. I actually even went with DH to two different dress shops to try on real wedding dresses. I tried on 4 at each store and at the end of the day there were two dresses I really liked, one was ~$400 and one was a bit over $800 if I recall correctly. The biggest thing, though, that stood out was how extremely uncomfortable they all were. Heavy, tight, and just plain uncomfortable, etc. Blah. I also am totally practical, some would say to a fault, and I further couldn't justify (personally) spending a few hundred dollars on a dress I'd only wear a few hours.

I stopped shopping for several weeks and DH and I agreed we needed to choose how we would get married first and in that time frame booked our elopement in Savannah which is what we ultimately wanted all along. To elope.

So then with our actual venue and date booked, I started thinking about the weather that time of year where we'd chosen and what we wanted our day to look like. When I realized we wanted to take pictures all over and that it could be cooler, I knew I really wanted something that covered my shoulders and that I could wear comfortably all day long. I knew that a strapless long gown wouldn't fit either of those criteria and started looking for short dresses with some type of shoulder covering.

I ordered 3 dresses from ModCloth that looked like they could fit the bill and liked one of the three. Until I found THE ONE. My DH and I went shopping at Macy's of all places over the 4th of July weekend and they were having a sale. I tried on 5 different dresses that day, one of which is my dress. I almost didn't even pick mine up off the rack because the beautiful cap sleeves were folded under and tucked into the little nook on the hanger making it look like a sleeveless dress which seemed odd for the lace. I grabbed it anyway and was SO SO pleasantly surprised when I got in the dressing room and took it off the hanger! I loved it. Everything about it. The tag didn't have a style number on it, but it's by Betsy & Adam. It was originally $179 and was on sale for 75% off. From the 4th weekend sale, we got an extra 10% off the sale price and I checked out with a total of $43.10 for my dress. I seriously couldn't be happier with it.

So long story short...lol, yes, I did kind of always want a short dress. But I wasn't able to definitely be okay about that choice in my head until I had tried on real gowns and short dresses to know what I felt right in. I agree that for the elopement we chose (knowing we'd be walking around in public streets much of the day) that I didn't want to drag around a pretty white dress. I stayed nice and cool, was super comfortable, and didn't need any fancy undergarments to hold it in place. I bought a nice near bra/panty set to wear under my dress and had some sheer panty hose to keep my shoes from rubbing my feet and give a more flawless look on my legs, but that was it.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope it helps! If you have any questions about our elopement at all, feel free to ask!

 

[audball]

Your photos are beautiful! I loved seeing them. You and your DH are just adorable and it looks like you had the most amazing day! Congratulations

Thank you Maisie! We had a totally amazing day and I wish we could do it over and over again! Thank you for your sweet comments about our photos, we cherish them already!

 

[Maisie]

Would you mind sharing what led you to elope? The place you chose was beautiful. Was that the main reason, the fabulous location? You said you spent a little bit of time considering a full on wedding. I'm only curious because it's our ten year anniversary in 2015 and we would love to renew our vows. We are having trouble choosing between a big 'do' back home or a smaller ceremony just the two of us in London.

 

[audball]

Would you mind sharing what led you to elope? The place you chose was beautiful. Was that the main reason, the fabulous location? You said you spent a little bit of time considering a full on wedding. I'm only curious because it's our ten year anniversary in 2015 and we would love to renew our vows. We are having trouble choosing between a big 'do' back home or a smaller ceremony just the two of us in London.

Hi Maisie! Sure thing! We really didn't want a wedding. Most of the things that are encompassed in a traditional wedding were things we didn't want. Some examples of things in a traditional wedding we did not want for ourselves included choosing/having a bridal party, having a large wedding/reception, dancing at said reception, bouquet/garter toss, etc. When we pictured a wedding with guests, we wanted to do a simple/small ceremony and dinner with our nearest and dearest. When we were talking about the "real" wedding, our guest list would have been at 37 including the two of us. When we priced things out, it wasn't worth it to us. We tried to picture how people would be entertained without dancing,etc and we just pictured everyone leaving after dinner which would have made us sad. We also wanted tons of photos and didn't want people to just have to wait around on us. It was the right choice for us. We're throwing a dinner for our family's to meet in February that will be what we wanted in a reception at a fraction of the cost because it's just dinner in a private room at a local restaurant. We're renting AV equipment to show a slideshow of our photos but get to skip the extras we didn't want to do anyway and it's costing WAY less because we don't need a photographer for extended coverage and such. I'd been telling my family and friends for YEARS (LONG before I met my DH) that I was going to elope and skip the big to do. DH is VERY shy and introverted (very typical engineer) and was totally on board with that. After getting engaged I had a small change of heart due to pressure. Even though we'd prepped people of our plan to elope, we got a lot of pressure to do the real deal so they could attend and got lots of "but you HAVE to have a wedding" and "you'll regret it later" etc. Well, we did have a wedding. The wedding of our dreams, actually, we just chose not to have any guests. And 2 months down the line, we have ZERO regrets about how we chose to tie the knot.

The decision to marry in Savannah was in part due to proximity from where we live and also in part due to the beautiful place we found with an (almost) all inclusive elopement package that was no muss no fuss. The only thing we booked separately was hair/makeup for me and our photographer. Everything else from our couple nights stay there, the officiant, bouquet/bout, cake, carriage ride, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, arrangements for our wedding dinner, etc were all included in the package and we got to customize our choices for each.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! We LOVED our day and are very happy with every choice we made, every vendor we used, and would not change a thing about how we decided to tie the knot.

 

[yennyfire]

Oh my goodness! Your photos are amazing! You both look so very happy (and gorgeous!)! Looking at your photos, I almost feel like I was there! Congrats again on your marriage and thanks for sharing your special day with us!!

 

[audball]

Oh my goodness! Your photos are amazing! You both look so very happy (and gorgeous!)! Looking at your photos, I almost feel like I was there! Congrats again on your marriage and thanks for sharing your special day with us!!

Thank you yenny!!

 

[TooPatient]

OMG they are ALL so beautiful!

You both look so happy

 

[audball]

OMG they are ALL so beautiful!

You both look so happy

Thank you TP!! I'd been waiting for you to log in since I know you've probably been waiting the most anxiously for them to be posted!

 

[TooPatient]

OMG they are ALL so beautiful!

You both look so happy

Thank you TP!! I'd been waiting for you to log in since I know you've probably been waiting the most anxiously for them to be posted!

Every time I go over to BWW, I see the weekly photo thread and go "OMG!!! Audball got her pictures!!!! ..... Oh "

 

[antiquesparkler]

They are so beautiful Aud!! You both look so happy and cute together. What a beautiful bride you are.

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[audball]

Every time I go over to BWW, I see the weekly photo thread and go "OMG!!! Audball got her pictures!!!! ..... Oh "

WELL I finally got around to getting them posted!!

 

[audball]

They are so beautiful Aud!! You both look so happy and cute together. What a beautiful bride you are.

Thank you so much for sharing!

Thank you AS!!

 

[star sparkle]

Lovely photos, my dear, you look radiant!!

 

[audball]

Lovely photos, my dear, you look radiant!!

Thank you star sparkle!!

 

[Maisie]

Thank you for going into so much detail about why you eloped. Your reasons for going away are very much like our reasons for renewing our vows just the two of us in London. We aren't party people so the idea of recreating the evening reception didn't appeal to us at all. But we also worry about people getting a bit bored if we just have a nice dinner. There are also some family issues that would make going away on our own so much more appealing. I know my family would love to celebrate this milestone with us but there are some family members whose mere presence would ruin it for us. I think you did the right thing because they photos show how relaxed and happy you both are. The joy shines through in every photo and that is exactly how I want to feel when we do our renewal. We've gone through a lot to reach this point and we want to celebrate that without any stress

 

[recordaras]

I love love LOVE your pictures!!!! How incredibly sweet and romantic!

 

[audball]

Thank you for going into so much detail about why you eloped. Your reasons for going away are very much like our reasons for renewing our vows just the two of us in London. We aren't party people so the idea of recreating the evening reception didn't appeal to us at all. But we also worry about people getting a bit bored if we just have a nice dinner. There are also some family issues that would make going away on our own so much more appealing. I know my family would love to celebrate this milestone with us but there are some family members whose mere presence would ruin it for us. I think you did the right thing because they photos show how relaxed and happy you both are. The joy shines through in every photo and that is exactly how I want to feel when we do our renewal. We've gone through a lot to reach this point and we want to celebrate that without any stress

Aww, thank you! If you have any other questions, let me know!

 

[audball]

I love love LOVE your pictures!!!! How incredibly sweet and romantic!

Thank you recordaras!!

 

[maple2012]

Gorgeous pics! I love them all! thank you so much for sharing. You and your DH look so happy.

 

[artdecogirl]

Congratulations Mr&Mrs. Audball!!!!! Beautiful pics, It looks like a beautiful day with wonderful memories made, best wishes to both of you! (love love love your clutch, that is so cute )

 

[audball]

Gorgeous pics! I love them all! thank you so much for sharing. You and your DH look so happy.

Thank you maple!

 

[audball]

Congratulations Mr&Mrs. Audball!!!!! Beautiful pics, It looks like a beautiful day with wonderful memories made, best wishes to both of you! (love love love your clutch, that is so cute )

Thank you artdecogirl! I LOVED my clutch too and was so glad I bought it. It was much easier to tote around for picture than my bouquet and was useful too!

 

[zoebartlett]

Beautiful, Audball! I love your dress and your pics. It sounds like you had the wedding you've always wanted, which is how it should be. Congratulations!