Real Bride: Meganne Diehl

Your name: Meganne Diehl

Partner’s name: Jesse Diehl

Wedding date: September 9, 2017

City, State: Hollidaysburg, PA

Tell us more about you!

How long have you been together?

5 years

How did he propose? (Or how did you propose!)

It was like 2 weeks until Christmas and we got home from work and were hanging out on the couch watching TV and he was acting kind of odd, but I didn’t think anything of it. Next thing I know he's down on one knee in front of me while my dog was sitting beside me staring at us! He went on with what he wanted to say and I was so in shock I couldn’t say anything other than ask my dog if she knew about it, lol. It was perfect!

What was your favorite part of the wedding?

I think my favorite part was towards the end of the night when everyone else had left and it was just my close family and friends there dancing to the last songs of the night. One of my other favorite things were our flowers: my father-in-law grew tons of flowers in his garden and cut them and arranged them in vases, and we put them all over the venue. They were absolutely beautiful!!

What went wrong with your wedding?

Well our venue lost water halfway through the reception, so the guests couldn’t flush for 15 minutes before it started working again! And my rentals arrived and my linens were to be pressed and ready to go for us to decorate but they were wrinkled beyond belief! Luckily my superbly prepared friend had brought her iron, so my mom spent 2 hours ironing tablecloths on the tables! A bee also hitched a ride in my veil the whole way up the aisle and my fiance had to try to get it out, and of course he had a hard time getting it out because it was in all the layers of the veil, hah!

Did you find any tricks to save you money?

I bought a lot of things from friends and resale wedding sites. I also made lots of things, and my jack-of-all-trades fiance made lots of things for the wedding, too!

If you could go back and redo it, would you change anything; and if so, what would you change?

I don’t think I would change anything! If anything, I would have liked to have had more time to visit and dance because our pictures took a while.

Do you have any advice for new brides?

You don’t know who your real friends are until you need help setting up for a wedding! There were so many wonderful people that jumped in and helped us with everything! Family and friends are the best helpers you can ask for. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or think you can do it all yourself! Also, don’t forget to take a second and just take in the entire day; it goes by so fast and you'll still feel like you missed things or people. Just take a deep breath and go with the flow!

Did you over-plan or under-plan, or was it just right?

I feel like I planned just right. I didn’t have an over-abundance of stuff. I, of course, had a lot of extra food and drinks, but I expected that.

Did any of your vendors knock your socks off?

My photographer Nathan Weist was amazing! He was all over the place to make sure we got all of our pictures, he was timely and efficient and made sure everything was going perfectly. Not to mention he was a super nice guy and had my nephew taking pictures with his little camera right along with him! Eli thought that was the best thing ever. Also our DJ, Davey B, was fabulous! He kept the entire day running smoothly and everyone loved the music!

Did any of your vendors disappoint?

The owners of the venue and the rental company both were awful, but regardless we had a fabulous day! It could have been way worse than what had happened.

What was one (or more!) special element in your wedding that isn’t in most?

The only thing we really did super different was our unity ceremony where we planted a tree together instead of sand or lighting candles. It was really special!

What do you wish you’d spent more on (whether you were able to or not)?

I really can't think of anything. Honestly it was all perfect, I had everything I wanted that day!

Where do you feel like you could have saved money or overspent?

We could have spent less on drinks and I could have even done with less decorations, but I felt like it was just right. So really nothing but minor things like less soda, rolls and other little items like that.

How many guests did you invite vs how many RSVP’ed vs how many actually came?

We invited 140, and 130-ish rsvp'ed, and I would say at least 120 actually showed up.

Wedding Venue: The Big Barn

Caterer: Family!

Photographer: Captured Memories Photography - Nathan Weist

DJ/Band: DJ Davey B

Bridal Salon: Pine Ridge Bridal

Bridesmaids’ Salon: David's Bridal

Menswear: JCPenneys

Florist: Father-in-Law

Hair Stylist: My Mom!

Makeup Artist: My Mom!