What is your favorite wedding day memory?

One of our favorite heartfelt moments was during the ceremony when we shared what we loved about one another using our handmade His + Her vow books in front of all our family and friends. We also loved dancing down the aisle after our kiss to Pharrell’s song Happy, and giggling with joy as our loving guests blew whimsical bubbles towards us.

What did you DIY for your wedding?

We DIY’d SO many things! We crafted our vow books, the card box, Groomsmen’s bouqtineers with silk flowers, bubbles for the ceremony exit, and dancing flip flops (which I actually got the idea from Something Turquoise!). We also had our own Polaroid photo booth to serve as both a guestbook and as favors. We decorated the booth with a string of Polaroid photos featuring my husband and I on our adventures together over the years, which I felt really added a cute touch to the booth. I had designed all of the stationary, signs (including large welcome sign), and wedding logo (that we utilized on everything such as our invitations and back wall spotlight) – all with a consistent simple and elegant greenery design. It was also important that I had to personalize the signs since a big portion of our guest list included my Chinese family, so we wanted them to feel included by designing and translating our dinner menus and programs into Chinese. I especially loved designing our table numbers, which included an interesting fun fact about our relationship with the corresponding number (for example, for table 3, that number was the number of years we dated before my husband proposed to me). Lastly, I DIY’d the Bridesmaid’s bouquets, greenery altarpiece/centerpieces, and aisle flower vases a couple days before the wedding with the help of my wonderful wedding party.

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

As a Chinese American, I wanted to incorporate that side of my culture into my wedding. Instead of doing something old, new, and blue, I did a traditional Chinese tea ceremony the day before my wedding where my husband and I poured tea to our parents as a sign of gratitude for all their years of care. I also had my bridesmaid’s host Chinese groom door games (a fun pre-wedding activity popular in southern China), where the bridesmaids would challenge the groom (and groomsmen) to do a series of tasks/difficult games to prove his love for his future wife.

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

My best advice is to do your DIY projects months in advance, if possible. It will save you TONS of stress knowing that you don’t want to worry about DIY things close to the wedding because you’ll inevitably be super busy with other things starting a week or two before the wedding. My other advice would be to look for good deals – either online or in stores. Again with the advantage of time, you can scout out good coupons for stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby and also be sure to even check out places like garage sales and Dollar Tree! You’ll never know what you can find in the most uncommon of places, and with a little bit of creativity, you can DIY anything into a wonderful wedding keepsake. -Liana, the Bride

Event Credits

Photography: Anastasia Strate Photography // Venue: The Terrace Club // Officiant: Austin Weddings Unlimited // Videography: New Beginnings Films // Catering: Gourmet Gals Catering and Events // Cake: Classic Cakes by Lori // DJ: Hype Rhythm // Flowers: Flower Moxie // Flowers for Bridal Bouquet: Central Market Shop // Bride's Attire: David's Bridal // Hair + Make-up: Bridal Beauty Austin // Bridesmaid's Attire: Lulu's