Hey Budget Brides!
A lot of people I know are getting married soon and have asked me how we managed to pull off our wedding (we paid for it ourselves with no outside help). Our initial budget was $18,000.00 but, in reality, we spent just under $27,000.00.
Sounds like a lot, right? Here’s what we got for our money :

These shoes are amazing. I love my shoes!!
FYI, girls, Nina shoes are pretty comfy.
Whew. I’m sure there’s more but I can’t remember them.
Don’t worry if this seems overwhelming. It is (I won’t lie), but it’s totally doable. I know because I did it. I will show you how I did it in every post.
Now, keep in mind that what works for me might not work for you. The point of me sharing how I planned my wedding is to show you that it CAN be done on a small budget because where there’s a will, there’s a way. I was very determined. Maybe some of these ideas will work for you.
So. First things first. Enjoy your engagement! Don’t worry about planning yet. Just enjoy being engaged. I did this by staring obsessively at Bonzai Bling all day every day except when driving. Even then, it was kind of hard because it would catch the light and BAMM!!! Momentarily stunned. It was awesome.
I think his recipe is for more advanced health nuts. I’m more of a beginner.
Therefore, I’ve modified it a bit. I put two cups of kale, 1 cup pineapple, 1/2 orange, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 tsp maca powder and a tbsp of coconut oil and almond milk.
This is what it looks like. It’s pretty good this way and I drink it every morning.
I have no idea how Naked Juice gets theirs to that silly consistency where my smoothies require some chewing on my part but whatever. It’s tasty enough now to me.
Bottoms up!
I love green smoothies. I blame it all on Naked Juice. I’ve tried a lot of their flavors but my all time favorite is their Green Machine.

image source – naked juice dot co dot uk
I love this stuff. Yum yum, gimme some!
Thanks to the extra pounds I packed on during our awesome honeymoon, I’ve been grimly determined to ditch them. I’ve started working my way up to running miles. I’ve started to do some yoga again. I bought a jumprope and I’m not afraid to use it.
While this is all great, I know the biggest change has to come from my diet. From previous posts, you know I’m trying out smoothies and coconut oils. I love those. But I worried about possibly taking in too much sugars in the form of all the fruits. That’s when I saw Bob Harber on the Nate show.
I’ve been meaning to find a way to introduce more green, leafy veggies into my diet and Bob’s recipe for his Green Drink. I figured since my favorite Naked Juice drink is green so this must be tasty too! Nate tried a sip and proclaimed it delicious.
I wasn’t totally convinced but I remained hopeful. I faithfully made the drink like the recipe posted (I even bought dulse flakes and Maca powder) and was super excited to try it. I was a little disturbed by how….flaky my drink looked compared to the smoothly blended green wonder on the show.
Whatever. I shook it off and took my first big gulp.
My initial thoughts :
I have to be honest. It wasn’t tasty but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. After a few mouthfuls, the taste got better. My tastebuds either got used to it or all died off. I’m not sure which.
Since then, I’ve decided to add some more pineapple and swapped out the banana for an orange. This makes the taste more bearable for me. I think the quality of the blender makes a big big deal. Our blender isn’t the top of the line model out there. I think if we had a better one, the ingredients would’ve been better processed and smoother.
The kale and spinach were still in small pieces that I could chew along with the dulse flakes.
Would I drink this again? Definitely yes. I need to detox from all the junk I’ve been eating and it’s always good to eat fresh produce.
Do I enjoy it? ….not exactly….

I put in one banana, one mango, a fistful of chopped pineapples, a handful of strawberries, milk and A GIANT TABLESPOON OF COCONUT OIL.
This is so tasty. If you don’t like coconuts, never fear. It’s not a very pronounced, in-your-face taste. It’s very subtle and mellow. The overall effect is a light, tropical flavor.
I love our new blender.