“When a pair gets engaged through a surprise proposal where the Groom secretly learned to tango, you know the wedding will be full of energy! Katie and Nick, who had met at church, knew that they wanted to tie the knot at their meeting spot. Their warehouse-style church was the perfect backdrop for the look they were going for – romantic, industrial, and eclectic.
Although they did some Pinterest browsing in preparation, Katie and Nick pulled most of their inspiration from her dad’s warehouse and her step-dad’s carpentry workshop where they “borrowed” a lot of their décor. The wedding venue was dotted with DIY details, from the 30-foot galvanized metal ceremony backdrop to the steampunk-inspired cake topper all the way down to the wooden anti-gravity wine bottle holder favors. Even the giant chalkboard signs were built and handlettered by the bride and her friend. Despite being on a budget, the pair wanted to have their whole tribe at the wedding, so they opted for a late-night ceremony and dessert reception rather than a traditional full meal.
The personalization didn’t stop there, though. In addition to Katie’s wardrobe borrowing accessories and swatches from her loved ones, the pair of wedding rings were custom made by melting down their parents’ wedding bands and casting new, one-of-a-kind bands for the lovebirds.
Katie and Nick were truly the couple to laugh off the things that didn’t go as planned. Despite a Starbucks barista writing “Brad” instead of “bride” and the rain that opened up just as their first look was starting, they didn’t care – if anything, they embraced every moment for being special and glorious. They ended the night with marriage advice from an Uber driver and a pizza that they devoured on their hotel room floor. Although they didn’t have the most traditional wedding, it was the absolute perfect day for them to start their lives together.”
What is your favorite wedding day memory?
You can never choose just one! We loved the time during our first look. The morning had been busy with the guys doing final set-up for the ceremony and the girls getting ready and when it was time for the first look – it was a beautiful moment to slow down. We live in uptown Charlotte and planned to have our first look outdoors at Romare Bearden park. Moments before we were supposed to meet – the skies opened up and it began pouring rain. My wonderful photographer Amy asked if I wanted to change the plan and do something indoors. I appreciated how considerate she was however this was real life and our real wedding day and it was really pouring. I wanted our photos from the day to reflect the reality – not some picture perfect staged experience. Our new apartment {where I had been getting ready} was 2 blocks from the park and we raced towards the park. My heart was beating and the rain was pouring and the dress was SOAKED, but it was real and messy and authentic and true and all that we want our love and marriage to be. As we laid eyes on one another the rain faded away and it was just a moment to be still and slow and present in the big choice we were making. I would be remiss to not mention the moment we first walked into the church as well. We had prepped and planned and built for months and to actually see the experience we had created come to life with candles and flowers was incredibly surreal. I wish I could have just sat there for hours and lingered in the space we dreamed for our wedding day.
What did you DIY for your wedding?
I’m an artist and art-teacher, and Nick is an all round go-getter so when it came time to dream up the vision for our wedding celebration it was a bit of an all hands on deck experience. We drew inspiration from a variety of sources. We knew we wanted to get married at our church, Warehouse 242, as that is where we first met in April 2015. The Warehouse 242 gathering space has such wonderful and artistic bones to begin with – that all we had to do was create the ambiance we desired which was romantic, industrial and eclectic. We knew that we wanted a very meaningful ceremony and rockin’ celebration, but we aren’t the most traditional couple out there. Obviously there is no getting around the great ideas Pinterest offers these days and I’d be lying if I said we didn’t find ideas there, but our favorite thing to do was walk through my Dad’s warehouse {Industrial Manufacturing} and my Step Dad’s workshop (Master Carpenter} and beg/borrow/steal items that would work with our theme. We also knew that it was important to have our whole tribe together for the wedding so we worked within our budget and had a late night ceremony and dessert reception rather than a traditional full meal.
I had initially said that I didn’t want a DIY wedding. Coming from a family of event planners, carpenters, engineers and artists… who was I kidding? We built a 30 foot galvanized metal ceremony backdrop {to cover the drum kit that I didn’t want in every photo} and pallet alter that our parents whipped up two days before the wedding. My Step Dad, Randy, created a bespoke steampunk bride and groom cake topper for our dessert table. Nick and his brother Thomas, and Groomsman Chris created the wooden anti-gravity wine bottle holder favors for guests. My friend Jennifer owns the art studio that I teach out of and she was my right hand gal for all things DIY – she and I designed the stationary/invitations/print pieces, and we built and hand lettered the giant 8 foot chalkboard signs we had throughout the venue. After researching the prices of rentals, with the help of our aunts, we thrifted all of our dessert china, cake stands, vases, and candle holders. We made our “guest book” out of ladders, twine and industrial inventory tags from the warehouse. I’m incredibly grateful we decided to buy mason jars for beverages {rather than rent} as most people ended up bringing them home with them as a favor. I bought chalkboard stickers on Amazon and attached them to the mason jars as little place holders. Pro tip: Use an oil paint sharpie to pre-write the names. If you use a water based chalk marker – the names will bleed and smear if the jars have condensation or get wet!
Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?
Many of my favorite wedding day details were small elements but that carried a lot of meaning for Nick and I. We included rosemary from Nicks neighbors yard as a symbol of remembrance into the floral arrangements and a nod at the community and people that have shaped who we are. My accessories were all vintage items from within our family: the pin in my veil from my Grandfathers Freat-Aunt Gertrude, my beaded clutch was my Freat Grandmother Olava’s, I wore my Grandmother, Lorraine’s, blue and gold necklace. I had fabric from my late niece, Gracelyn’s favorite dance costume sewn into the hem of my dress and Nick’s handkerchief. One lasting piece from our wedding day that was old and new is our wedding rings. Our jewelry designer was CUSTOM in Noda. They took our parents wedding rings, which had been sitting in drawers for years, melted them down and cast them into one of a kind wedding bands made from the same metal. We love the symbolism of the melding of families and stories, as well as the unique asymmetrical design.
Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?
We had a lot of fun, #reallife moments throughout our wedding day and I’m so glad we just embraced them. If there was a perfect, pinterest worthy “Getting ready” scenario… that was not ours! I woke up to the dog having an accident in my bed {ON MY WEDDING DAY}, The Starbucks barista writing “Brad” as my name instead of “Bride”… and not to mention the pouring rain. But it was all those small happy, normal, real moments that made the day so great. The minute I put my wedding dress on – my 50 pound dog plopped herself directly onto my train {while my mother fought off heart palpitations!}. It literally started raining the moment our first look was supposed to happen – which was glorious and gorgeous and we didn’t even care.
There were also some incredibly beautiful moments: Nick gave me an amazing love letter to read before the ceremony – which included an email account in my new married name which he had been writing messages to for weeks. Praying outside in the rain with my bridesmaids and mom before walking down the aisle. Listening to our amazing friends lead worship as we walked into the ceremony. I can count on two hands the amount of times I’ve danced with my Dad and the day of our wedding was one of the best. Nick made us stop for a moment during the epic dance party to just savor and enjoy the fun our family and friends were having. The uber driver picked us up for the getaway and gave us marriage advice on the ride to the hotel. Last by not least, the pizza we DEVOURED on the floor of our hotel room at midnight!
My advice to brides currently planning, HIRE SOMEONE {not a family member!} TO HANDLE THE DAY OF DETAILS! You can paint, and plan and prep a million DIY details ahead of time, but you do NOT want sweat the set-up on the day of. Hire someone good who can execute your vision so that you are able to be present and enjoy the day. Before you begin planning, talk together about what your priorities are that are non-negotiable and then let the other small details go. You can’t control everything and so choose what is important. -Katie, the Bride
Event Credits
Photographer: Sunshower Photography // Venue: Warehouse 242 // Wedding Coordinator: Muse and Delphia // Florist: Party Blooms // Invitations: Modern Craft Collective // Transportation: Uber // Doughnuts Joe's Doughs // Cookies: District Baking Co. // Cut Cake + Cupcakes: Polka Dot Bake Shop // Late Night Snack: Jet's Pizza // Engagement Ring: Custom Jewelry Lab // Hair and Make-up: Makeup Artistry by Deme // Groom's Attire: Corner Tailors // Tie: The Tie Bar
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