What better way to bid summer adieu than to relish in the bright colors, beautiful flowers and sunshine of this DIY inspired summer wedding at Fields On West Lake. I absolutely love the cute caricatures on this couple's invitation, and the wall of old photos is such a great way to pay homage to the past. And does anything say summer more than warm pie, gerbera daisies and delicious cocktails in mason jars? Sigh. Summer, we will miss you, but thank goodness we have weddings like this fabulous one to keep summer around just a little bit longer! Create your own Indian summer by checking out the full gallery of images, provided by the oh so talented Lisa Kwan of Lisa Kwan Images.
Prince Edward County Wedding from Lisa Kwan Images
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From the Bride... Though we both come from big Canadian cities (Toronto and Calgary), we have found that we feel our best when we are away in the country. Originally we had wanted to get married at my family's cottage, but we soon realized that this wasn't very realistic if we wanted to have any more than 10 people at our wedding. As an artist and photographer, I have always been interested in old buildings and barns, and when I came across our venue on a fellow photographer's blog, I knew it would be perfect for us. The barn at the Fields on West Lake dates back to the 1860's and has a ton of old-fashioned charm, but it has been beautifully restored and renovated in order to comfortably host weddings and events.
I was at a friend's wedding a few years back, and his grandma had made jam for all the guests to take home as favors. I loved this idea and so our first DIY project was to start making jam for our favors. We started in the fall and made a large batch when peaches and apples were in season, then waited for berry season and made batches of strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry early in the summer before our wedding. Once all of our jams were made, we had a craft night where a group of friends came over to help us decorate the jars with twine and fabric. We also turned leftover jars into cute and simple candle holders by filling them halfway with barley and then adding tea lights. We knew that guests always enjoy a good slideshow of photos during the reception, but we didn't want to be bothered renting and setting up a projector and screen, plus we weren't sure if this would fit our simple and old-fashioned theme, so we decided to collect our old photos and hang them up like a clothesline along the side of the barn. The other simple DIY project I did was to make my ring pillow. I took inspiration from photos I saw online and sewed up a little pillow using brown linen and a piece I cut out from a fabric doily place mat.
If I could offer two pieces of advice to others planning their wedding, first I would recommend keeping the travel on your wedding day to a minimum. If you can bring people in to do hair or makeup, I'd highly recommend it (or chose a salon that is close by). I'd also try to minimize the number of locations for the ceremony, reception and photos. We spent our entire day and night on the same property and both felt that this really minimized our stress and helped to keep the events of the day on schedule. Secondly, my biggest piece of advice it to make a strict planning/stressing deadline for yourself. My husband and I made a deal that by the time we were driving out to the country (on the day before our wedding), we would promise to leave all stress aside. This meant that whatever was done by then would be done and whatever we missed would be forgotten. So I'd say make tons of lists, do errands and stress all you want up until your set deadline, and then do your best to put it all aside. We managed to do this, and it helped us to truly be present and have an amazing time at our wedding.
Wedding Photography: Lisa Kwan of Lisa Kwan Images / Wedding Venue: Fields On West Lake in Prince Edward County, Ontario / Floral Design: Drew of Blooms on West Lake / Wedding Planning: The Bride & Groom / Catering: East & Main Bistro / Wedding Cake: DIY by a Family Friend / Cake Topper: Vintage Green Limited / Jam, Seating Chart, Wooden Signs, Ring Pillow, Centerpieces: DIY / Wedding Dress: Barbra Allin for Becker's Bridal & Formal / Bride's Hair Accessory: Bel Ami / Bride's Necklace: Made You Look / Bride's Shoes: Jump / Hair + Makeup: Candace French / Bridesmaid's Dress: Brooklyn Flea Market / Groom's Suit: J.Crew / Groom's Shoes: Allen Edmonds / Tie + Bow Tie: The Belle and the Beau