A bit more from Rachel and her gorgeous Winter wedding…
With the exception of my dress and the tuxes, everything in the wedding was handmade. All the branches in the centerpieces and the “snowy” trees came from fallen trees at my husband’s family’s ranch. We hand-flocked them all ourselves and we flocked the branches for the bouquets as well!
I designed the bridesmaid & candle lighter dresses and picked out the beautiful raw silk material down at the LA garment district; that was an exciting part of the planning…being able to pick EXACTLY what I wanted for my bridesmaids instead of settling for an assembly line dress. In addition I designed (or had custom designed) my veil, bracelet and the “snow” girl outfits (which my mom made) .
The birds on our wedding cake were handmade by my mom, along with the tree stump that my uncle cut from a fallen tree. After the ceremony and into the reception, I wore my late grandmother’s fur…that is one of my favorite memories; being able to include her in such a special way. My husband and I PRAYED for it to be freezing that day…we even hoped for snow (It never snows here). Record breaking temperatures occurred that day…23 degrees. It was beautiful.
I wore a custom-made dress (from the fabric of the candle lighters dresses) and my husband wore a custom-made tie that matched to the rehearsal. My in-laws grow cotton and as a surprise to them, I wanted to carry a cotton bouquet in the rehearsal. So, my husband and I snuck out to the ranch one afternoon to pick cotton and my mom helped me make a beautiful cotton bouquet. They were surprised and honored when they saw me carrying it at the rehearsal. Later on that evening, I presented the bouquet to them along with a stand and dome for them to show it off in their beautiful home. It was special to be able to give them a piece of the wedding that has so much to do with their everyday life. Since I didn’t carry my “ribbons & bows” bouquet, my sister made a personalized bouquet for each bridesmaid to carry at the rehearsal out of the ribbons from my showers.
More to come, later today!
