http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2009/7/1/real-wedding-annie-and-jay-in-austin-tx.html

Venue:Free, Chapel Dulcinea, www.chapeldulcinea.org, ($200 for chairs and $20 for gas lamps)

Food and reception: $3,500, Mandola Estate Winery in Driftwood, www.mandolawines.com

Cake: Included in food costs at Mandola

Photographer: Jessica Monnich Photography, $2,000, www.jessicamonnichphotography.com

Dress:$1,500

Honeymoon suite:$230, Vintage Villas on Lake Travis

Other:Free helicopter ride from Mandola to Lake Travis and Vintage Villas, donated by pilot friend Ray Asgar of Austin HeliJet, www.austinhelitours.com

When Jay and Carol Smith set out to plan their big day, it was more about style and finding intimate locations for the ceremony and reception. Mission accomplished, plus they also spent less than $10,000 for a wedding attended by 100 guests. “We wanted a small wedding to include people who are very close to us,” says Jay Smith, a family law attorney.

A friend told his wife about Chapel Dulcinea, a small wedding chapel near Driftwood. It was free. “Most venues cost thousands of dollars, but we were kind of on short notice and we also wanted something outside. The date we wanted was open and we booked it online. We couldn’t dream of a better place,” he says.

After the wedding, they drove to nearby Mandola Estate Winery for a reception in a banquet room that overlooked the vineyards. After the reception, another gift: Helicopter pilot and friend Ray Asgar whisked them off on a tour over Lake Travis.

“It was all like a movie,” Smith says.

— Ricardo Gándara, American-Statesman