Caitlin Barrett
Sep 6, 20205 min
Let's be real, everyone is watching Selling Sunset on Netflix. If you haven't, you should definitely check out the reality series based around the real estate agents at the prestigious Oppenheim Group in LA. With a lot of drama, gorgeous multi-million dollar homes and weddings to swoon over, this series was definitely binge worthy for me.
When I got to the end of season 3, Christine Quinn's wedding blew me away. I mean... LIVE swans!? So I thought to myself, how many other brides-to-be out there would be inspired by these luxe weddings?
The series features two weddings (so far), Mary and Christine and while both are fabulous, they definitely are at the opposite ends of the style spectrum. Now, these ladies likely spent an absolute fortune customizing and picking the best of everything BUT you can achieve these weddings on a smaller scale with the same stunning effect (and without the $100K bill!).
In this post we will be dissecting Mary Fitzgerald's wedding to French model, Romain in season 2. Mary's wedding took place at one of the homes she had listed and actually sold the house ON her wedding day (#bossbabe). The theme was a Parisian Garden Party and she was able to take advantage of the natural beauty of the property to create a simple but stunningly elegant wedding day.
The ceremony took place in the backyard with simple, white chiavari chairs, white roses and simple greenery added to the beautiful garden backdrop. There were long garlands of what appeared to be eucalyptus hanging on the columns on either side of the couple and 2 large planters with some shrubbery. The wedding took place outdoors on October 12, 2019 in Los Angeles and hosted about 80 guests.
The bridal party was in neutral tones, with the bridesmaids in blush from Birdy Grey and the groomsmen in taupe suites, while Romain choose a more grey suit. Mary wore a beautiful white, lace Floravere wedding dress with cap sleeves and a keyhole back. The dress paired perfectly with Mary's dainty figure and chic french-braid up-do.
As California and other warm climates have weather that is a bit more predictable (i.e. rainy vs dry seasons), they were able to get away without a tent. However, here in good ole' Canada, our weather is all over the place, so a tent would absolutely be necessary for this style of wedding. Oh to have predictable weather....
The reception took place around the corner of the garden where a dance floor and a large U shaped table was set up for guests. The table had a long greenery runner with gold tea lights throughout and Edison bulb lights hung above guests for a very romantic atmosphere. The head table was distinguished from the rest of the tables with a large string light curtain behind the seats.
Guests were greeted to a cocktail hour featuring mimosas and mojitos before enjoying a sit down dinner with the newlyweds. Mary and Romain chose to go modern for dessert with a 3 tier cake to cut and the bottom 2 tiers stacked with doughnuts. The night turned into dancing, drama (duh!) and guests enjoyed the remainder of the night partying.
So, the is the simple, elegant wedding of dreams right? But what do you do when you don't have a $9.7 million dollar home (or budget) to host your dream soiree?
I have gone ahead and dissected Mary & Romain's wedding and found local shops to mimic items found in their wedding for a way lower price tag. While this wedding won't meet a $10K budget, couples looking to spend $15-25K on their special day can absolutely achieve the same wedding.
So without further ado, here is how you can have a Selling Sunset wedding.
The Dress
I was blown away going on the Floravere website to find the average dress is about $3,000, which is not too far above the local dress prices we see. Mary wore the M. MacIntosh style but I was unable to locate the exact same style, however, the simplicity of the dress is easy to replicate in your own style. Head over www.floravere.com to browse their collection of stunning dresses. Mary even kept her costs down by not wearing a veil - which can run you an extra $200!
Mary's hair followed suite with her wedding style and was a simple, chic up-do with a french braid going into a low, messy bun. This is extremely easy for a stylist to recreate, and even works on short hair as, like Mary, you can clip in a few extensions.
The Ceremony
This ceremony is, honestly, really simple to recreate. It is all about finding deals and looking in the right places instead of going mainstream and expensive. Remember, this day is about celebrating you and your partner, not showing off your finances.
As I've already gone through the details of the ceremony, let's get straight to the numbers:
White chiavari chairs: average $8 per chair from Cody Party
For 80 guests (80 chairs): $640
**also used for reception
Aisle greenery (on chairs): 12 bunches for $119 at Costco
For 80 guests (24 bunches): $238
White rose petals: over 5000+ count for $119 at Costco
For 80 guests (1 bag): $119
White roses: 48 stems for $49 at Costco
For 80 guests (144 stems): $147
Concrete planters: $69 each at Home Depot
For 80 guests (2 planters): $138
Baby's breath (for concrete planters): 120 stems for $129 at Costco
For 80 guests (240 stems): $258
Eucalyptus garlands: 4 x 6ft runners for $129 at Costco
For 80 guests (12 runners): $387
** the rest will be used in the reception
Budget an additional: $1,927
The additional budget in this case would be to cover ceremony chairs and decoration. This number will fluctuate based on your venue and what's included as well as your guest count. For example, my wedding venue includes standard chairs or an upgrade to chiavari for $3 per chair, significantly lowing the cost to recreate certain styles. However, to style your venue like Mary's you can still expect to add around $2000 extra to your ceremony budget.
The Reception
As above, so below. To the numbers we go!
Remember that we have already accounted for chairs - which your coordinator would swap over during cocktail hour, as well as the garlands for the tables.
Tables: $8 per 6ft table at Cody Party (seats 10)
For 80 guests (9 tables): $90
Table cloth: $18 per 90x156 white table cloth at Cody Party
For 80 guests: $162
Napkins: $0.59 per 20x20 inch napkin at Cody Party
For 80 guests (80 napkins): $48
Tea lights: $100 for 72 lights and gold holders at Yummi Candles
For 80 guests: $100
Dance floor: $800 for 20x20 ft subfloor including installation at Ottawa Party Tent
For 80 guests: $800
Curtain lights: $23 for 10x10 ft curtain on Amazon
For 80 guests: $23
Edison bulb string lights: $99 per 48ft strand at Home Depot
For 80 guests (144 ft): $297
** number can change based on floor plan, but I would budget this as a minimum.
Doughnut cake: $22 per dozen at Mavericks
For 80 guests (5 dozen): $110
Three tier cake: $366 at Thimble Cakes (The Ethel Wedding Cake)
For 80 guests: $366
Extra tables: $10 per 60x30 inch round table at Cody Party
For 80 guests (dessert, gifts & guestbook): $30
Extra Linens: $18 per 120 inch round table cloth at Cody Party
For 80 guests (dessert, gifts & guestbook): $54
Mimosas & Mojitos: average $6 per glass
For 80 guests (90 glasses): $540
Budget an additional: $2,620
Again, this cost will fluctuate especially depending on what is included with your venue and the vendors you choose to book. I would, however, budget a minimum of $2,500 additional to your venue and meal costs for the reception to resemble Mary's Parisian Garden Party. Meaning, for a whopping $4,500 added to your budget, you can recreate this wedding pretty closely!
Now, if I gave away the venues, photographers and other vendors I have in mind, what would you need to hire me for?
If this sounds like your dream wedding, hit the inquire now button and book your wedding or consultation to make your dream a reality!
xo Caitlin