We were married on June 30th, 2018, in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada on the hottest day of the summer! Brian and I had been together for about 9 years at the time we got engaged, so this wedding was definitely a highly anticipated event for a lot of our friends and family. We heard a lot of “finally!” or “it’s about time!” when we broke the news of our engagement.

Even though I had been thinking about our future wedding for some time, it wasn’t the dress shopping or fancy parties throughout the planning process that I was most looking forward to – it was definitely all about the crafts and DIYs for me! Brian and I are both are fairly crafty and creative people, so this was one aspect of wedding planning that we were really excited about. One, because it would save us a lot of money if we made the majority of the things we needed ourselves, and two, because we actually really enjoy doing creative things together!

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

Other than walking down the aisle towards my soon-to-be husband and seeing everyone I love around me, one of my favorite wedding day memories was the first time I walked into the reception space in the morning and saw everything set up, and all of the flowers! Gosh, they were gorgeous! Brian’s uncle was our florist and he is a literal genius. It made my heart so happy to see him and some other family members putting the finishing touches on the space to make all of my Pinterest dreams come true!

What did you DIY for your wedding?

What didn’t we DIY?! From the beginning we were really passionate about making a lot of the décor pieces ourselves to really reflect our style and preferences without breaking the bank. We designed and printed our invitations and place cards. Brian’s incredible family spent a weekend making strawberry-banana jam for our favors. We also made the table numbers, ourselves, as well as all of the other directional signage we used at the ceremony and reception. Our wine company let us design the wine bottle labels, and I also made personalized dress hangers for the girls. The DIY that got the most attention however, was the massive head table backdrop that Brian built the week before the wedding! We also brought quite a few furniture pieces from our home and our parents’ homes to act as accent pieces and decor from the sweets and gift tables.

Also, because I’m already pretty low-key in terms of my style, (and wanted to save money), I decided to do my own makeup! I went for a trial at Sephora and had them tell me what I needed to buy, and they taught me how to do it myself for the big day! That was a really great way to save money, and way less-stressful than I had imagined! And my amazing sister is a hairdresser, so she did my hair, and all of my lovely bridesmaids did their own hair and makeup.

We also decided to write our own ceremony and had Brian’s Aunt Michelle officiate for us. I loved that we were able to do this, because we could really personalize the ceremony to our liking, and it made it that much more meaningful.

Overall, our wedding was such a labor of love, but it was so worth it! And we had tons of help from our friends and family to pull it all off. It really was the best day ever!

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

My advice for brides currently in the planning process would be to enjoy it as much as possible! Ours really was stress free, and I think it was because we were relaxed and having fun at every step of the way. I actually wrote a full blog post about this, but it really is so important to take your time, work as a team with your partner, and just have fun with it! It will all be over before you know it, so take the time to really immerse yourself in this extremely exciting time in your life! That, and if you’re worried on a tight budget for your wedding, don’t be afraid to DIY! You don’t need to be super crafty, plus your friends and family are probably happy to help, and it will be so worth it! -Julie, the Bride

Event Credits

Photographer: Sarah Antaya Wedding Photographer // Venue: St. Marys // Florist: 4165 Flower // Cake: Mel Makes a Mess // Cupcakes: Simply Sweet Cupcakes by Amanda // Crafts by the Bride: Lavender Julep // Wine: Pelee Island Winery // DJ: Music Central Entertainment // Bride's Attire: Leanne Marshall // Bridal Earrings + Belt: Hushed Commotion // Groom + Groomsmen's Attire: RW & Co.