Hey lovelies, happy Monday! Today is the start of what we’re calling DIY Wedding Week. One whole week, packed full of gorgeously creative wedding inspiration in the form of “real weddings”. These lovely, real events boast spirit, amazing projects, stunning light, gorgeous gowns, and true love… what could be better!?! Thanks for stopping by, we look forward to seeing you again tomorrow!
“Emily and Eric came together with their planner and florist to create a gorgeous DIY wedding day! We just loved all of their details! She had a monogrammed purse, gorgeous accent necklace, and stationery that perfectly showcased their theme! At the reception, there was a photo booth with paper flowers, little paper fans in the vases and a beautifully painted globe. Little details filled the space. It was a beautiful combination!” –The Cannons Photography
What is your favorite wedding day memory?
When I think about my wedding day, my mind goes straight to everything leading up to when I met Eric at the end of the aisle. I didn’t want the day to end! I loved getting ready with all my bridesmaids and getting pampered. I was going crazy the entire week, getting everything ready for the wedding day, but the morning of the wedding I was so calm and able to enjoy myself. I loved wondering what was going through Eric’s head, wondering if he was nervous or just as ready to be married as I was. The best feeling was when the church doors opened and as I started walking down the aisle, I could see tears in Eric’s eyes. Eric never cries. Never. Seeing him cry on our wedding day…I could feel how much he loved me and how connected we really are to one another.
What did you DIY for your wedding?
A lot! But, I did hire a designer for my wedding, to help decorate the reception venue and help me create some of the many projects I had filling my head. She also set up and tore down afterwards, so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything on the actual wedding day. We had numerous meetings before the wedding to brainstorm ideas and we had a shared Pinterest board so she could see what I was picturing in my mind. I knew from the very beginning that I wanted banners of ribbon or fabric and cafe lights hanging above the guests. Luckily for us, our venue already had cafe lights strung throughout the tent and Damara, the designer and owner of ReInspired Bride, was able to put together the banners of ribbon.
I also wanted tons of chalkboards so I rented chalkboards and collected some on my own. I found an adorable globe at an antique shop that I used to decorate the table with the guestbook board. My Mom and I chalk painted a piece of an old barn door and used it as the welcome sign when guests entered the reception. My venue had old shutters that I was able to use to tuck in each place card for the guests.
For the cake table, I connected two old screen windows together with hinges and hung a fabric banner my sister made for my bridal shower and we used that as a backdrop for the cakes. I wrapped cardboard letters that spelled “Bar” in yarn and spray painted the “A” with gold glitter and that sat on the bar along with a large glass dish filled with wooden matches for our guests to take as a favor. I bought an old frame with chicken wire in the middle off of a Facebook wedding resale page, painted it white and hung pictures of fun memories with my husband. When I picked up the frame with chicken wire, the women had another large frame with her and threw it in for free. I ended up using the extra large frame to showcase the menu at my rehearsal dinner. I spray painted the glass with a chalkboard spray paint and painted the frame gold. The large metal “Mr and Mrs” that was sitting on the head table, I bought at Country Living Fair the fall before the wedding. All of the painted mason jars and wine bottles were painted by myself and my bridesmaids during one of the many craft nights we had. I knew that I did not want my flower girls to carry petals or flowers, I wanted something different from the get-go. After deciding on having the flower girls carry large pinwheels, my designer, Damara, created the flower girl pinwheels, she made a pinwheel boutonniere for the ring bearer and she created a back drop for the head table, full of pinwheels.
Everything at the church was created and setup by myself and Bridesmaids as I wanted Damara to focus on getting the venue set up for the reception, so I took care of the church. I made coffee filter flowers for each church pew and spray painted old cans to hang them in. My Mom was a huge help before the wedding by helping me put some leaves and filler in with the coffee filter flowers. I loved how the flowers turned out! In the back of the church, I used an old pie cabinet my sister had found at a flea market, to hold my programs. All of the programs doubled as fans, which we simply made by gluing the large popsicle sticks in between two pieces of card stock. The program, I created and printed at home, but everything else that had to be printed {i.e. my save the dates, bridal shower invites and wedding invites those were all PDF files that I purchased on Etsy and printed at a local office supply store!} Another detail that I spent a lot of time on were the gifts I got for my Bridesmaid’s. I am obsessed with monograms so, for the Bachelorette trip to Savannah, GA, I got all of the girls monogrammed floppy hats and Oh Sh*t kits that had hair ties in them, Advil, Airborne, a hangover pill, and bobby pins. The night before the wedding, I also ordered the girls monogrammed clutches from Etsy and I bought each of them a plaid shirt and had their initials put on the front pockets at a local monogram shop. I know that numerous other little fabric banners and decorations were created for the wedding and my Bridesmaid’s created a lot of decorations for my bridal shower which I was then able to incorporate into the wedding. It was so nice to have extra decorations available for filler when certain tables looked bare. My wedding was just how I had pictured it in my head and this would not have been possible without all the help I received from ReInspired Bride, my family and friends! When I walked into the reception, it was like I was walking onto my Pinterest board!
Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?
I did, almost! My Something Old was my Kate Spade earrings my sister had gotten me on her wedding day. My Something New was my dress and shoes. My Something Borrowed was my gorgeous necklace I rented from Rent The Runway and my something Blue was supposed to be my garter, but on the wedding day, I left both the garter and toss bouquet at the hotel.
Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?
Have a long engagement and enjoy every second! It could get stressful at times, but I miss planning my wedding! Going to bridal shows with girlfriends, having craft and wine nights, bachelorette weekends, scouring pinterest for inspiration, I loved it. Don’t worry that everything has to be perfect or go a certain way. If you can’t book a vendor you originally wanted, you will find an even better one! A long engagement also will allow you to make payments on vendors and book one thing at a time. You can check one thing off your list, relax a few days and move onto the next. -Emily, the Bride
Event Credits
Photography: The Cannons Photography // Ceremony Venue: Christ the Servant Parish // Reception Venue: Sable Creek Golf Course // Wedding Planner: ReInspired Bride // Florist: Nikki's Perfect Petal Designs // Catering: Village Catering Company // Cake: Cakes by Stacey // Invitations: Pipetua // DJ: 2-Step Entertainment // Rentals: ReInspired Bride // Engagement Ring: Zales // Bride's Attire: The Dress Bridal Boutique // Bride's Earrings: Kate Spade // Bride's Necklace: Rent the Runway // Bride's Shoes: Gianni Bini // Bridesmaid's Attire: David's Bridal // Make-up: The Skin Experience // Groom + Groomsmen's Attire: American Commodore Tuxedo // Ties: Tie Obsessed // Monogram Clutches for Bridesmaids: Poppy Pine // Mother of the Bride + Groom Clutches: BOLD by Tina // Guestbook: AG Creations
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