I must admit, I struggled putting together the post for this pretty-little backyard Pasadena wedding. There were too many handmade details to share that I simply couldn't narrow it down! Almost everything at this celebration was handmade by the bride, her Mr. and their family + friends...and the result of hours upon hours of thrifting and crafting? Pure perfection. See the rest from Studio 28 in the full gallery!
Backyard Pasadena Wedding from Studio 28 Photo
Click here for the FULL wedding!
From the Bride... Every since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of getting married in my grandparents' backyard. The home holds so many special memories for me, and is where my parents got married 32 years and two days before us. It's also just a few blocks away from where Chris’ parents were married. My grandmother so graciously agreed to open her home and garden to us, and she even planted flowers in our wedding colors!
We wanted our wedding to be the best day ever, focused on our love and the love around us. My dad, who is an architect and home beer brewer, was the brains behind the set up (and the yummy home brew!). Chris and I came up with some ideas of how we wanted to separate the space into ceremony, cocktails, reception and games, and my dad designed away. The boys (Chris, my dad, my brother and Chris’ dad) took to building, while the girls had plenty of crafting and thrifting days. I had my grandfather’s wedding ring stitched in my dress to keep him close to me on my big day, and we drove off in the classic Cadillac that Chris’ grandfather gave to him, in his memory. From invitations and collecting mason jars to creating a fabric backdrop and hand-painting names on window panes, we were overwhelmed with the love and help from our family and friends. For our invitations, I painted flowers that we digitized and printed on our stationery, along with kraft postcards for RSVPs. We kept the rustic elegance theme that our invitations set in the décor, using mason jars, flowers in shades of coral and blush, burlap runners, bistro lights and lots of candles. I spent most of my weekends crafting with friends and family (and Chris!) and will be sharing many of my DIY projects on my blog, including the hand-painted rustic table numbers, custom place cards and flower girl tutus.
The best piece of advice that we were given was to be present and take it all in – and we did just that! Chris and I didn’t stress the small stuff but instead made sure to enjoy each and every moment of the biggest day of our lives. We wrote our own vows (along with the traditional vows), laughed at our own jokes, stood on the same sprinkler head my parents did on their wedding day and took it all in. And we had a day-of coordinator — get a day-of coordinator! It was such a relief knowing that we had a go-to person to handle anything that would come up (and that I wouldn’t know about it!).
Wedding Photography: Studio 28 Photo / Wedding Venue: The Bride's Grandparents' Home in Pasadena, California / Floral Design: Donna Embree / Wedding Day Coordination: Mary deSilva (A Family Friend + Retired Event Planner) / Catering: Royal Court Catering / Wedding Cake + Cupcakes: Sweet and Saucy Shop / Wedding Invitations: KC Hopper / Paper Goods: Designed by the Bride / DJ: High Resolution Productions / Wedding Dress: Pronovias "Harlem" via 2000 Dreams Bridal / Bride's Sash: Enzoani "Diana" / Makeup: Liz DeRose / Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bill Levkoff