“Hope works with children at CHOP as a creative arts therapist and is so incredibly talented. She had told me that she was doing all the flowers herself, by hand, with paper. It was hard to imagine just how beautiful they would turn out. They looked so realistic that I couldn’t believe they were paper flowers. Another favorite of ours was the table cards also created and painted and written by hand. They incorporated her love of the arts with a design element from her favorite book… The Deathly Hallows symbol from the Harry Potter books.” –Ardita Kola Photography

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

Matt and I have a shared love of music and both play instruments together. We wanted to surprise our family and fulfill a dream of performing with a band made up of our friends, so instead of a first dance, we had a first jam! We played Wake Up by Arcade Fire with my co-workers and had a blast – I played violin, Matt played guitar and we both sang our hearts out then cut up the rug at the end of the song!

What did you DIY for your wedding?

I made all of my floral arrangements {15!!!}, bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages out of paper. I used floral crepe paper, tape, and various pips {both bought and out of cotton balls} to create poppies, roses, peonies and blue button flowers. I filled in gaps with leaf bunches I made from grey and green floral paper. Then the final touch was gold glitter spray painted baby’s breath I got offline. I also made my chalkboard signs from old mirrors from thrift stores and tested my hand at calligraphy. My table seating numbers were the pockets you find in library books and each book due date card had the guests name, relationship to us, their meal and our wedding date on it. I also painted the table numbers, our save-the-date and made my own headpiece. I got jewelry wire, pearls and beads and created a large hairpiece for myself and two smaller ones for my maid of honor and bridesmaid. All of the rest of the decorations were books from my vintage book collection and battery-operated candles and fairy lights. Old book pages were put on the table underneath the centerpieces with small tea lights around. A shout out to my girlfriends and Mom who came over and helped with making all of the petals {and a few even tried their hands at assembly}!

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

My something old was my Grandmother’s bible that we used in the ceremony, my something new we’re my earrings from Matt, and my something blue was my shoes {they had blue underneath}. I didn’t have anything borrowed!

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

I’m a procrastinator, so I really tried to be ahead of the game and started making all of my flowers months in advance. I was still up late the night before my wedding making them haha, but I also am a perfectionist. I think the best advice I could give is to adjust your expectations so that the potentially tedious tasks of creating hundreds of flowers for example, is viewed as an enjoyable way to catch up on that tv show or podcast you’ve been meaning to enjoy while saving money and creating something that will be treasured forever! I truly would look forward to the quiet nights at home and was thankful for a creative outlet for some of my stress. -Hope, the Bride

Event Credits

Photography: Ardita Kola Photography // Venue: Duke Art Gallery // Catering: JAM catering // DJ: Soul Custody // Engagement Ring: Henri David // Bride's Attire: David's Bridal // Bride's Shoes: Betsy Johnson // Hair: Prep and Foxx // Groom's Attire: Jos. A Bank