Erin Gartner & Keith Langenegger

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She loves orange. He loves blue. Add green for accent, and Erin Gartner and Keith Langenegger found themselves with an eye-popping bridal palette that captured their personalities and brought energy to their August wedding.

The couple kept a tight rein on expenses by doing a lot themselves. For centerpieces, family members saved clear glass jars for months. Erin found “unbelievably cheap” tissue paper online and the groom's mom went to work decoupaging 70 jars for the reception at the Bellevue Berry Farm.

Erin's florist with Bag & Save, 108th and Maple Streets, ordered dozens of loose stems of burnt orange Gerbera daisies for random placement in the jars.

“The daisies were exactly the right color and looked great all day,” the bride said. (Another flower may not have held up as well in the 100-degree heat.) After the reception, guests were invited to take a centerpiece as a wedding favor.

In addition to economizing on flowers, Erin and Keith saved money on their wedding cake. Inspired by a magazine ad for United Parcel Service, the four-tier confection featured two faux layers. The top layer went home with the couple; the bottom layer was served to guests along with sheet cake in different flavors. “That saved us a ton of money,” the bride says.

Their reception package included a catered dinner for 150, the hall decorated with Chinese lanterns and white lights, and tables and chairs, which minimized outside rentals. A disc jockey was included in the package, but Erin and Keith had already secured a DJ friend before they booked the Berry Farm.

A scheduling error at their original reception site forced the bridal couple to switch venues at the last minute. While stressful at the time, the crisis worked itself out.

“At the end of the day, we were married.” And that's what mattered most.