We are SO in LOVE with this super cute couple and their amazing DIY wedding!
Shea Shoemaker
Shea Shoemaker June 21, 2017

DIY Wedding | Tom + Jessica

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“Jessica and Tom are quite the pair. They are full of joy and whimsy and their wedding day was true to them. Jessica did many of the details herself, but was smart to hire necessary vendors like a wedding coordinator. She sewed her skirt to match her dress and even made her own belt to go with her wedding dress! She also made the cakes {Tom is an Australian race car driver – thus the little nod to the Aussies with the cute Koala on the Groom’s cake} and planned out so many of the details herself. I was so impressed! They also strayed slightly from tradition and had a “Groomswoman” and a “Man of honor” in their bridal party. The venue was also a perfect match for this couple. The outdoor space at the Atlanta Contemporary is a charming open air space with rusting beams, but the inside of the arts center is white walls full of contemporary art work. It was a beautiful blend just like these two.” –Holly Von Lanken Photography

We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
Check out this super gorgeous invitations! Swoon!
This couple's urban Atlanta wedding is one for the books!
This Bride's stunning DIY wedding dress and gorgeous accessories are our fave!
The beautiful Bride getting ready for the big day!
The beautiful Bride getting ready for the big day!
The beautiful Bride getting ready for the big day!
Swooning over this gorgeous Bride and her handmade wedding skirt!
Swooning over this gorgeous Bride and her handmade wedding skirt!
Swooning over this gorgeous Bride and her handmade wedding skirt!
Loving these gorgeous snaps of the Bride and her Bridesmaid's (and Brideman!) before the big day!
The handsome Groom getting ready for the big day!
The handsome Groom getting ready for the big day!
The fun Groom and his Groomsmen + Groomswoman!
Swooning over this gorgeous Bride and her handmade wedding skirt!
We're in LOVE with these fun and hilarious snaps of this couple's first touch!
We're in LOVE with these fun and hilarious snaps of this couple's first touch!
We're in LOVE with these fun and hilarious snaps of this couple's first touch!
We love this couple's urban outdoor ceremony!
Loving these for your happy tears ceremony favors!
Loving these for your happy tears ceremony favors!
Loving these for your happy tears ceremony favors!
Crushing on this Mr. and Mrs. at their gorgeous ceremony!
Crushing on this Mr. and Mrs. at their gorgeous ceremony!
Crushing on this Mr. and Mrs. at their gorgeous ceremony!
Crushing on this Mr. and Mrs. at their gorgeous ceremony!
Loving these fun snaps of the bride and groom with their wedding party after the ceremony!
Loving these fun snaps of the bride and groom with their wedding party after the ceremony!
We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
We are in LOVE with this gorgeous couple and their ridiculously crafty day!
How great is this ride or die ring shot!? We're in LOVE!
We can't get over how cute this Mr. and Mrs. and their beer cheers is!
We can't get over how cute this Mr. and Mrs. and their beer cheers is!
Check out this AMAZING handmade seating chart!! We're in LOVE!
Darling DIY signage at this gorgeous Atlanta wedding!
Loving these fun DIY'd bar signs at this fun and crafty reception!
Family style reception seating is our favorite!
Family style reception seating is our favorite!
Loving the modern gold flatware at this couple's crafty reception!
Loving all of these modern details at this couple's crafty reception!
Loving all of these modern details at this couple's crafty reception!
We're loving the modern succulent table numbers at this gorgeous reception!
Family style reception seating is our favorite!
Family style reception seating is our favorite!
How fun are these customized corn hole game boards for the reception?! LOVE!
First dance as Mr. and Mrs!
We're loving this couple's darling dessert table!
Check out this super cute cut cake and gold cake topper!
Loving this Australian Groomsmen cake!
Loving this couple's super sweet sparkler exit!
Loving this couple's super sweet sparkler exit!

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

That’s a tough question! I think it would be the ceremony. It was short and sweet, the music was perfect. We came down the aisle to God Only Knows by the Beach Boys and the recessional was to Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson. By brother gave a reading of a sweet poem and the vows turned out perfect and made everyone laugh and cry! Even though it turns out both Tom and I wrote them when we were already at the venue ha! Talk about cutting it close! I literally finished up writing mine as someone came back to the room I was waiting in to get me to walk down the aisle! I kept the two bits of paper that we wrote them on and I plan to frame them for our apartment.

What did you DIY for your wedding?

A LOT! As I started planning the wedding and saw how quickly costs can add up I decided to tap into the craftiness that I get from my mother. I bought ribbon and beads and hand beaded the belt that went on my dress. I really struggled when dress shopping and couldn’t decide between a fitted or a full silhouette. So I purchase a fitted Theia gown covered in petals, and then {just for the ceremony} purchased a big tulle skirt from Etsy, to layer over it. I found fabric from JoAnns that matched my dress and Tom’s mother and Aunt and my Maid of Honor helped me cut out about a million fabric petals, which I then sewed onto the skirt so that it would look like it was meant to go with my dress. {I was totally still sewing petals on the afternoon of the wedding}.

My husband is incredibly creative and handy with graphic design, so I had him create our place cards, table numbers, menus and little framed signs to be put around the venue. He also designed a map of Atlanta that had directions to our venue, which we had printed on the back of our invitations. We picked up the rental napkins a day early and my mom folded them all and slid in the menus that Tom designed. We found a huge old mirror someone had thrown out which my Father-in-Law painted gold for us and my Sister-in-Law wrote a welcome message on with a glass pen. I found a photo of a seating chart that I wanted to recreate, so my Father-in-Law cut and stained the wood, and my WONDERFUL brother and his wife finished it with the nails, string, garland and paint. All of the names were written on by hand by my Sister-in-Law!

I didn’t see the point in paying for a cake when cake mix is so cheap, so I made the wedding cake {Pillsbury for the win!}. I pre-cooked all the layers on Thursday, assembled it on Friday and put final frosting on the morning of the wedding. The Groom’s cake was a beautiful chocolate ganache cake that we picked up from Publix the day of the wedding. We stuck a tree branch in the top of it and attached a little koala we always have in our apartment, because Tom is originally from Australia. I was blown away by how much flowers cost, so instead of ordering arrangements we purchase vases from IKEA {$4.99 a piece!} and ordered bulk flowers by the bunches from a local florist that we picked up the Friday before the wedding. I created one sample vase of what I wanted the arrangements to look like and then our wonderful neighbor, Sue Latham, let us take over her living room, where she and Tom’s mother and aunts created all of the floral arrangements. She even cranked up the AC at her house to keep everything looking fresh for Saturday! The morning of the wedding my Maid of Honor went to the grocery store and picked out 3 or 4 bouquets of mixed flowers and dropped them off with her sister, Nicole, along with some ribbon I purchased from JoAnn’s. Nicole pulled them apart and created and wrapped the bouquets for me and all of the bridesmaids! They turned out beautiful!! I also had grand plans for lots of cute wedding favors, but as the wedding got closer I downsized my plans. I got on a customization website and designed and ordered match boxes with our wedding date on them. They turned out great and we just put them in a bowl on the table next to our sparklers for people to help themselves to. Lastly, we ordered plain tissue packets off of Etsy and my Brother’s wife made the little tags and string that she decorated them with “for happy tears”.

Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?

Nope! I had such good intentions to have all of those things, but it was so hectic in the days leading up to the wedding that I didn’t really have time to pull them all together. However, both of my mothers contributed a “Something Old”. I had lunch with my mom the day before the wedding, and as a gift, she had the silver cake cutter from her wedding engraved with her name and wedding date, and my name and wedding date. We used it to cut our cake and I can’t wait to pass it down to my daughter someday! Then, at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, Tom’s parents presented me with a beautiful ornate, gold, vintage ring that had belonged to Tom’s great-grandmother. I was incredibly touched to receive both of those gifts.

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

Get creative and don’t sweat the little stuff. There’s so much you can do yourself! And if you aren’t particularly crafty, ask friends for help or go support an Etsy shop. There are lots a great things you can find on Etsy for much cheaper than in stores. I will warn you that when you go the DIY route, it can get stressful. You have to be organized and you’ll need help! You can NOT do it alone. I was a complete crazy person the week of the wedding with so much to do. But, by the morning of, I trusted that it would all fall into place, and if it didn’t, I was ok with it. Your guests will never know that something didn’t go to plan, because they don’t know what the original plan was! There were lots of plans that changed or didn’t happen at all in the days leading up to the wedding, but oh well! It’s not the end of the world. Nothing is worth getting upset over, and if you get upset you miss enjoying all the great things about your wedding. I was recently at a friend’s wedding, who seemed quite stressed and tired throughout most of it {and understandably so!}. That same friend was at our wedding and commented on how relaxed I seemed! I heard from so many people that your wedding flies by fast, so I made extra sure that once my dress was on I tried to have fun, take it all in, savor every moment with Tom, say hello to as many people as I could and I made sure I danced, a lot! -Jessica, the Bride

Event Credits

Photographer: Holly Von Lanken // Venue: Atlanta Contemporary Art Center // Wedding Coordinator: Then Comes Marriage // Catering: Sweet Auburn BBQ // Invitations: Minted // DJ: DJ Cuttlefish // Rentals: Peach Tree Tents and Events // Engagement Ring: Worthmore Jewelers // Bride's Attire: Borrowing Magnolia // Ombre Floor Length Tulle Skirt: Coco Tutuhouse // Floor Length Veil: Melinda Rose Design // Bride's Jewelry: Banana Republic // Bride's Shoes: DSW // Bridesmaid's Attire: David's Bridal // Wine Cork Place Card Holders: Krystles Weddings // Plain Tissue Packets: Jessica Rose Favours // Decals for Cornhole Board: Old Barn Rescue Company

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