I have actually saved the best for last in our Real Wedding Wednesday craziness. It’s the perfect combination of DIY charm, of unabashed elegance and of total style. Oh and the bride is a long time reader of SMP (which you know I completely love) and has actually launched a stationery line with her cute friend Kate, whose wedding was also featured on SMP. A pretty cool story, right? We thought so! It’s the perfect note to end this day of gorgeousness. If you want to see more from this lovely wedding, click right here.
click here to see the whole shebang!
I did many DIY projects and, with the help of my maid of honor Kate, my fiance, and my mom. Kate helped me design my invitation suite and we had them letterpressed at Studio on Fire, and she made all of the signs we used for the card table, cake table, baskets of flip flops (which you can see all of the guests wearing in one of the photos), bathroom baskets, guestbook, etc. I collected containers for our florals or used ones I already had (white pitchers, old milk bottles, mason jars, crystal punch cups for votives. My mom and I also collected antique keys, which I tied to each escort card and also to some of our florals. Keys were a big element (my husband even gave me a Tiffany key necklace as a wedding gift). I bought flip flops on sale at old navy for all of the guests, which were displayed in apple bushel baskets with a sign that said ‘dancing shoes’ and were so popular we only got a photo of an almost empty basket! So our wedding had some very budget friendly elements as well. I also used etsy for lots of stuff too. I also came up with some creative elements to our wedding (we passed our rings around all of our guests to bless them before the ceremony, which was a big hit, and we had my surrogate grandmother write a poem and read it at the wedding. She is 82, traveled from Ohio to be there, and had our guests in tears from laughing so hard.
My husband and I are high school sweethearts, so our wedding was the culmination of 14 years of working past obstacles, distance, etc. to be together. Because we went to each other’s high school dances and had been together for so long, I made a slideshow which our DJ ran on a loop outside once the sun went down, so that when people wanted a break from dancing they could sit where the ceremony had taken place and watch our slideshow under the stars. We really just tried to include everyone, make them feel like we thought of them when we planned our wedding, and made sure our wedding was a representation of us as a couple- full of love, laughter, and fun! And dancing!
My father passed away 10 years ago, and my mom and stepfather were the victims of a hit-and-run drunk driver a week before my wedding, so that was very difficult as well. My mom was able to travel to the wedding, but my stepfather is still recovering from a broken neck and was not able to come. She and my brother walked me down the aisle, and it was wonderful but emotional. La Venta skyped our ceremony to my stepfather who watched from home. We also had some California wildfires close by, but despite all of these scares or absenses, we had the most wonderful day of our lives. We are still getting notes from our guests that it was the most fun and most heartfelt wedding they have ever been to, which makes us so happy!
Photography: Jennifer Roper Photography / Venue: La Venta Inn / DJ: Danny Farrell of NYC DJ’s / Cake (cupcakes): Vanilla Bake Shop / Catering: New York Food Company / Florals: Greenwich Floral Design (containers were collected at flea markets by the bride and her mother) / Invitations and Paper Goods: Kate Derhake of Tilde Designs, printed by Studio on Fire / Calligraphy: Barbara Kua / Bridal Gown: Melissa Sweet / Hair and Makeup: Flawless Faces, Inc. / Bridesmaids: Lela Rose, Bella Bridesmaid in Chicago / Groom’s Suit: Brooks Brothers / Officiant: Rev. Bob Jabro / Earrings for bride and maids: Erin Gallagher / Hairpiece: clarkanddiversey