With a crafty, can-do attitude, great things can happen without breaking the bank. Just take this outdoor Austin affair DIYed from start to finish. Thanks to a bride who wasn’t afraid to get her hands a little dirty, and a few key vendors like Tiny Pies who joined the day, it’s a lesson that limited budget can still equal all out style. Need more proof? Visit the gallery from The Bird And The Bear right here.
From the Bride… Wes and I are both from California but have been in Texas for three years, so we knew we wanted to have our family and friends come out to our new neck of the woods for our wedding. Before we got engaged, I had come across Three Points Ranch through the internet, and instantly fell in love for our “someday” wedding. Wes and I both love vintage airstreams and the Texas Hill Country, so it was perfect. The minute we walked the venue and met Sally, we knew this was where we wanted to celebrate our big day. She mentioned the 11 Oaks on the ranch, and the site of those beautiful oak trees, we knew that’s where we wanted to say our vows.
Then came the planning part! Because I am a very hands-on, DIY kind of girl (and a bit of a control freak) I knew I wanted to do as much of the wedding stuff on my own and incorporate as much of Wes and I into this day as I could. Plus our budget was limited, so keeping it simple was key. Wes is an avid home brewer, so he immediately volunteered to brew 20 gallons of home brewed beer for the reception. To incorporate his hobby, my sister handmade all the boutonnieres using bottle caps and burlap. Wes is also well known for his homemade jam, so naturally we had to make his famous peach habanero jam as our favors. I’m nuts about vintage mason jars, so I gathered my collection to use as centerpieces and kept it simple with candles and baby’s breath.
I also hand stamped our escort cards, added chalkboard labels and craft paper tags to all the mason jars for drinking, hand stamped the table name cards, made the flower girl bucket and my father made the wooden box for the ring bearer. My bridal bouquet was made the night before the wedding using flowers I picked up from Whole Foods. And since we both aren’t cake fans, it was only right to have mini pies (not handmade by me, but Tiny Pies). If anyone says a DIY wedding is hard, this is true! But I found it to be incredibly rewarding and personal.
Our day turned out to be so much more than we expected. One of my best friends married us, and her words were just amazing. Wes and I wrote our own vows, but to save us from having to speak and cry at the same time, she had us write them as “letters” to each other and read them. Our ceremony was equal amounts of love and laughter, and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
The reception was relaxing (we actually got to eat!) and we had so many of our friends and family stand up and give speeches, I didn’t know there could be so much love for the two of us. Not to mention all the laughter! The rest of the night was spent dancing, relaxing by the fire pit, cooking smore’s and enjoying homemade beer. I couldn’t have asked for better photographers, Caryn and Bryan not only captured so many parts of the night, but their pictures are so stunning. Looking at them made us want to celebrate the day and night all over again!
Photography: The Bird And The Bear | Caterer: Pok-e-jos | DJ: Tunes Across Texas | Baker: Tiny Pies | Location: Three Points Ranch