First off, congrats! What’s the best thing about being a newlywed?
Thank you! The best thing is probably…being done planning the wedding! We finally get to enjoy each others company again without all our conversations revolving around RSVPs and money.
With the wedding over and some time to reflect on the celebration, would you have done anything differently—splurge on a dress, nix the favors, go for that extra passed appetizer?
I would have done a practice run with our slideshow. I spent so much time on it and was so excited to show everyone who helped me gather pictures, but we didn’t account for the fact that our venue was so open and the day was so beautiful, it didn’t play well with the lighting. Other than that though, everything was perfect!
What tips do you have for other Joy couples still in the midst of wedding planning?
You can have a really nice wedding for much less money than most couples. We found a venue that, although a bit pricey, provided everything. They had a sound system, so we hooked up a playlist instead of hiring a DJ, they provided transportation to and from hotels (which would have been 1/4 of our budget if we would have done that ourselves), they provided us busboys and servers at a decent price, so we didn’t have to find a caterer to included that.
I heard you went sans-photographer. Brave move! Do you think Joy allowed you to capture all your special moments? Would you make this choice all over again?
We actually had our ceremony on a Thursday, which was very small and private, and we had a professional photographer for that. But our big party was the next day, and saved money by not having her come then. We are extremely lucky that my husband’s grandpa and aunt both really enjoy photography, so we got a lot of nice pictures from that. Although not everyone uploaded to Joy, the page turned out really nice afterwards! I liked it – and yes, I would do it a hundred times over again! I like to save money.
How did you hear about Joy?
A friend of mine got married in December and he and his wife used Joy. I remember scrolling through their Q & A thinking it was so much fun to read! So when I was looking for a site, it immediately popped into my head.
What was your favorite part about using Joy for the wedding?
It was so easy to keep track of everything, or, for every decision we made I just logged into that page, updated it and pointed everyone to it. I really do like the Q&A though, it was something fun we could work on together.
What’s the one thing you wish Joy did (or did better)?
About a week before the wedding we were talking to my uncles about how no one RSVPs and how frustrating it is. We thought it would be nice if there was a nagging feature to spam people who didn’t RSVP until they finally do!
At Joy we believe that although a wedding lasts one day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you and your husband?
He’s not here right now for me to ask him – but to me it means that, even if there are ‘flaws’ on the wedding day, it will still be perfect, because it’s not so much about the day, its about everything that comes after that.
