Any bride who can describe herself as a “sewer/crafter/decorator/neurotic overly nutty woman” is A-OK in my book. As a fellow SCDNONW, I can definitely relate and I must say all the nuttiness sure did pay off. This bride knocked it out of the park with her DIY goodness photographed extraordinarily by Rebecca Croft Photographer. It’s modern, it’s rustic, it’s oh-so-cool with a cherry on top. See it all in the full gallery!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride…The most meaningful way we carried family into our wedding was having both of my grandpas officiate our ceremony. It is a family tradition for my grandpas as they have married off both of my sisters as well as my aunt as well so it was special to continue this tradition. We also had all of our siblings in the wedding party. My father-in-law woodworked our centerpieces as per my design. My aunt (a professional baker) volunteered to make our gorgeous cake (vanilla bean cake with lemon curd filling topped with buttercream and fresh seasonal berries). My father created a playful 1960s music playlist for dancing… the list goes on!
We had our ceremony and reception in a provincial forest, here in Manitoba, just outside of Winnipeg. We held the ceremony outside in an amphitheatre with a gorgeous aged wood stage. I sewed a beautiful, layered texture ribbon backdrop, but unfortunately the October winds blew the ribbons around and ended up not looking as gorgeous had it would have looked on a calmer day. These are the things you can’t prepare for! Our reception was held in a tent just behind the amphitheatre. It was important to us to have both events in the same area so there was less driving for people. Pineridge Hollow did all the food for our wedding and they have the most amazing menu of organic, local dishes. Our first dance was to Neil Young (our favourite musician, who happens to be from Winnipeg) song Harvest Moon. We ended the night with brilliant 36″ sparklers (did you know you can buy fireworks on the internet? It’s true!) held by our family and friends lighting our path.
I’m a graphic designer by day and a sewer/crafter/decorator/neurotic overly nutty woman by evening, so I went a little crazy doing things myself. I was inspired by the hanging ribbons draped across the streets of downtown Puerto Vallarta, so I sewed hundreds of feet of ribbon banners which stretched from side to side of the tent we had our reception in. I also sewed draping curtains for the entrance of the tent, made tissue paper pom poms to hang from the ceiling, made our favours (more below). As graphic designer, I designed our invitations, meal cards, food cards, ceremony programs, everything! I may have gone a little overboard. What couldn’t be made by hand was purchased vintage – I collected dozens of milk glass vases to hold billy ball flower shipped in from Australia. I searched out over a hundred vintage keys for seat tags and used vintage door plates as number indicators on each table. Guests scribed their well wishes on vintage postcards which were then placed in a recovered antique suitcase. Favours included organic herb seeds (I’m a vegetarian) and homemade meat rub (my husband loves meat) in glass test tubes with cork.
Wedding Photography: Rebecca Croft Photographer / Wedding Cinematography: At First Sight / Flowers: Elaine Stechisesn / Wedding Cake: Karen Penner / Event Design + Planning: The Bride / Ceremony + Reception Location: Pineridge Hollow / Wedding Invitations: The Bride / Bride’s Shoes: A Touch of Vintage / Wedding Dress: Labelle’s Bridal Boutique