Santa Barbara DIY Wedding from Jillian Rose Photography + All You Need Is Love Events
You know those adorable little restaurants in Italy, lit by dripping candles in old wine bottles? This Santa Barbara wedding has the exact same ambiance I imagine those charming little spots to have (having never been to Italy myself). The bride made the most beautiful centerpieces + with the help of All You Need Is Love Events, threw a beautiful wedding she and her husband will never forget. And with a gallery so pretty from Jillian Rose Photography, I doubt we'll be forgetting it anytime soon!
Click here to see the full image gallery!
As someone who works in this industry I felt the need to do something different! I've seen amazing flowers, beautiful candelabras, decor beyond your wildest dreams. For our wedding I wanted it to be about us. We love food, friends, wine, unique decor and we don't mind a little hard work.
For our venue we wanted something unexpected... we knew everyone thought they knew what a "courthouse" wedding would look like. Everyone was in shock and awe when they stumbled into our ceremony space at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. The Mural Room was filled with history painted all over the walls in beautiful colors, hundred year old drapes, rows of rustic spanish pews and elegant spanish tile.
Continuing with the unexpected, everyone traveled two minutes down the road after the ceremony to Arnoldi's cafe. As guests walked into the charming Santa Barbara venue, they are escorted to the back patio, where tasty appetizers awaited them along with two bocce ball lanes. Guests enjoyed cocktails and games and were asked to take their seats at long feasting style tables.
Decor was composed of over 200 decorated wine bottles which were placed down the center of the tables. Each wine bottle had the label and bottom of the bottle removed. Using a scoring tool ($15 on amazon.com) each bottle was scored at different heights then dunked in hot and cold baths so the bottom of the bottle popped off, this allowed for the bottle to be placed over the candles and give a true Italian feel to the reception. Many bottles were decorated with DIY flowers, each flower was handmade and glued onto each bottle, some were hanging by a chain to give every bottle a little something different.
Place cards and menu cards were hand made by the bride as well. Each card sat in a little cork holder to compliment the wine bottle decor. The seating chart was also hand made by the bride, after pondering for days (maybe months) on how the seating chart could be created there was only one way! Draw it out! It was drawn out just like a diagram so guests could easily find their seats!
Dancing shoes were also a HUGE hit! The basket of flip flops offered 3 different sizes (small, medium and large) each size was a different color so guests could locate their size with ease! It was the most magical day of my life, I truly have never been happier! Even though I spent months cutting bottles, writing out place cards and embossing menu cards, it was worth every minute of our special day! I truly owe all the decor placement and the seamless execution of the day to my wonderful coordinators! I couldn't have enjoyed the day without them!
Photography: Jillian Rose Photography / Wedding Coordinators: All You Need Is Love Events / Ceremony Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse / Reception Venue: Arnoldi's Cafe / DIY Flowers on Bottles: Claudia Hoste