“Amber and David’s wedding was more thoughtful than so many weddings we have experienced. From the handmade ceramic vases that David created for their wedding favors to the handmade cactus cake topper to the love quote chalkboards – so much DIY! Amber and David wanted a truly magical wedding ceremony that was unique and special for their family and guests. The wedding took place at Wormsloe State Historic Park at dusk. Guests were greeted by a guitarist, a beautiful vintage Persian rug and a dresser with lanterns atop it. Guests were asked to each take a lantern. Once we were ready for their ceremony to start the guests walked down to the ceremony alongside Terry Thrift, their guitarist, while lighting the way literally with the lanterns. Following the guests came Amber’s flower girls, her grandmothers and then Amber herself along with her dad. After the ceremony Amber and David spent a good hour exploring around Wormsloe with their photographer taking magical photos. After the ceremony guests headed over to Cohen’s Retreat and first enjoyed the popcorn bar then Zunzi’s family style meals. Later in the evening Lytle Foto opened up their BohoBooth, a photobooth in a small camper, filled with fun props. We had such a good time planning this wedding, and making their dream come to life!” – Ivory & Beau
What is your favorite wedding day memory?
We were married at Wormsloe State Historic Park in Savannah, which is the site of an old plantation. The ceremony was held on a tree lined gravel road in the early evening. I had just arrived to the ceremony location, the sun was getting lower in the sky, and the rays of light were pouring through the live oak trees, and the dangling spanish moss, dotting the whole scene in golden light. We hadn’t planned to do a “first look” before the ceremony, but, David had arrived to the site earlier and we couldn’t miss the chance to get a few photos together in that setting, so we met each other on the road, and walked to meet one another in the glowing of the evening. Even the chill of the arctic vortex that had set in unexpectedly for the weekend couldn’t penetrate the warmth of that moment.
What did you DIY for your wedding?
When we set out to plan our wedding we really wanted to make sure that we set aside a nice amount of the budget for our honeymoon, so we knew that we would need to offset that with some projects made by us. As luck would have it we are both artists, and love to make crafty stuff, so we were up to the task.
I designed all of our wedding stationary, from the save the dates, to the invites, menus, and thank you’s, which were professionally printed through our photographer.
Our favors were probably the biggest project. My husband studied pottery in college, so we threw nearly 100 small bowl shaped planters on the potter’s wheel and glazed them in my favorite color (turquoise of course!). I even used vintage leather tooling stamps and pressed our initials on the side of each before they went into the kiln. The whole project took nearly 3 months of weekends to complete. Then we ordered in moon cactus from California, and our friends and family helped us plant them in the bowls the night before the wedding. We chose moon cactus because they are a hybrid plant that has been grafted together, two cacti that are joined together as one (we thought that was quite fitting on the occasion of a wedding), and I personally love plants and have a huge collection of succulents and cactus, which was a fun personal touch as well. I also hand lettered tags that attached to each and served as our place cards for the reception dinner.
David threw some larger vases that we used for flower arrangements, and vendor thank you gifts, as well as some mugs as thank you gifts.
My grandma helped with some of the projects, my grandma had been given a collection of crochet doilies that I thought I would like to incorporate into our decorations somewhere. She also crochets and made a beautiful bedspread in a similar style for our engagement gift, so I wanted to tie in the beauty of that style somewhere in the wedding. She thought I was crazy when I asked her to wrap river rocks in the crochet doilies for some of our table decorations. But they were a big hit with our guests, and added a touch delicate texture to our bold color palette.
My friends and family collected clear glass jars and bottles for months, which David and I (mostly David) spent hours cleaning labels and glue from, for our table “centerpieces”, which we filled with tea candles and single blooms and trailed them down the center of our family style tables at our reception.
David and I had picked a few quotes that we really loved, which I hand lettered to hang on the walls at the reception.
I also hand lettered our seating chart, which went in a vintage frame that was a gift from David’s parents to us. I also used small picture frames for the table numbers, all of which are now filled with pictures of the wedding that we’ve used to decorate our house.
Something old, new, borrowed and blue?
Again, since my favorite color is turquoise, and I love bright fun color, my shoes were an easy place to pop in a turquoise hue, for my something blue. For something borrowed; I wore my grandmothers diamond solitaire necklace. Something new; my dear friend, and former teacher, gave me a pair of handmade pearl earrings. My favorite, though, was my something old, I had always wanted my grandmothers first wedding ring set (my grandfather gave her a new set a few years ago for Christmas). David proposed to me with a ring that he picked out for me, but, when we were exchanging our vows at our ceremony, when it came time for the ring exchange, my grandmother presented her ring, for David to place on my hand, it was one of the best moments of our whole day. It was so sweet that they had panned that surprise for me together.
Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?
First and foremost don’t lose sight of what a wedding day is about. It is about the two of you, and your commitment to one another. No matter what you do, don’t lose sight of that in the midst of all of the decisions and planning.
I also think it’s important to make the event your own. I mean beyond the color palette and the dress and the location. Make the meaning and the feeling of the day reflect you as couple. Don’t be afraid to break the rules, and ignore other peoples opinions and expectations. We wrote our own ceremony and vows, because we wanted the message to be our own. We mingled with our guests before the ceremony so that we would make sure to spend some time with the people who had traveled from all over the country to be with us for our wedding. We had a family style meal, with big platters that were passed around a long thanksgiving style table, because we felt that it would make a more intimate and warm experience for our guests. We didn’t do formal pictures with our family and friends but opted to have our photographer capture candid moments throughout the event that were a true reflection of the events of the day. – Amber, the bride
Event Credits
Wedding Planning: Ivory + Beau // Photography: Lytle Foto // Videography: Scott Smith // Ceremony: Wormsloe Historic Site // Reception: Cohen’s Retreat // Ceremony + Dinner Music: Terry Thrift // DJ: All About You Entertainment // Dress: Eden Bridals // Shoes: Seychelles // Grooms Attire: H&M, Express // Food: Zunzi’s // Pew Rentals: Rentiquity // Chair Rentals: Amazing Event Rentals // Other Rentals: Ultra Pom // Flowers: A to Zinnias // Officiant: Bill Gillespie // Macarons: Marche de Macarons // Desserts: Rum Runners Bakery // Hair: Wicked Lulu // Makeup: Lydia Aguilera
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