Kyndra and Michael could have wed at home in New York, but their families didn’t live there, they knew their friends would be okay with traveling and the destination they chose ended up being a fourth of the cost of a New York wedding. The couple took their love from the Empire State to San Antonio, Texas for their wedding day.

Although not all received reactions were positive, the bride and groom wanted what was best for the start of their life together. The bride said, “I am convinced [if we got married in New York], the wedding would have left many of our friends and family out…we just could not have allowed the budget for as many people on a larger scale anywhere else.”

Kyndra and Michael enlisted Robin Reed and Melanie Taylor as their wedding planners. The process was so easygoing that it began to stress out the bride. “Months would go by and I felt like I was cheating,” said Kyndra. “It was so effortless; I was convinced something was missing or overlooked!” 

To put her mind at ease about all the details, the bride took a day to fly in and meet with the florist and wedding planners, and do a cake tasting. “In the end, it wasn’t necessary as a Skype call would have been more than sufficient to ease my mind.”

The couple said wedding blogs helped find smaller, more affordable vendors that were just as talented and capable of creating the wedding they wanted.

“In the last few months, my wedding planners, friends and family really helped me enjoy the whole experience to tie everything together,” recalled the bride. Planning out the wedding budget in advance left extra funds to be put toward the honeymoon and meant the couple wasn’t “bleeding money up [until] the month of the wedding.”

Kyndra knows it may sound cliché and something couples preparing to walk down the aisle have already heard a million times, but to help push the message, she advises anyone planning their wedding to not get caught up in the details. “There are endless Pinterest boards, wedding blogs and magazines you can easily get in over your head,” said the newlywed. “You will have to let some things go and, in the end, it will still be perfect and a reflection of you both.”

“Do not spend an abundance of money on sparklers or little details people will never remember because – trust me – neither will you,” the bride assured. “Save money for something special that the two of you can do together later, something meaningful!”

Vendors: Photographer: Eureka Photography, Wedding Planner: Robin Reed and Melanie Taylor, Florist: Flowers by Beverly, Stationery: Self-designed, Cake: Sweet Dreams Bakery, Hair & Makeup: Salon 605, Gown Designer: Matthew Christopher, Groom’s Clothing Designer: Armani, Registry Website: Zola.com