I admit it. When it comes to crafty projects, I’m not exactly talented. In fact, I am fairly certain absolutely certain I am all together missing the DIY gene. So, when I first laid my eyes on this breathtaking Cape San Blas affair by Tana Photography, well… I was equal parts giddy and uber-impressed. Literally overflowing with one amazing detail after another, it’s moment after moment lovingly crafted by the stunning bride and groom, plus family and friends. Or as we like to call it, DIY perfection. Click here for more.
From the Bride… Our families lived on opposite sides of the country — my family in Georgia and my finance’s in Idaho. The distance made selecting a wedding location difficult at first — until I realized the location could be just as special as the day itself. As a little girl, my family vacationed every year in a secluded area of Florida known as the Forgotten Coast. I have countless memories of the area, from collecting seashells on the beach to capturing fireflies at night. I wanted to share those memories with my fiancé and his family, so we chose Cape San Blas, Florida, as the location. Then I realized I only had eight months to plan a wedding 2,380 away. The entire wedding was made up of many DIY projects and was a labor of love for my family and friends. The location of the wedding is naturally beautiful, so we tried to keep everything simple and chose colors to play off the surroundings. We focused on shades of blue, cream, and brown, and used touches of jute and burlap. I collected and hand-made many wedding day items ahead of time in Idaho. Once we were in Florida for the wedding, my sister and I went to all the surrounding antique shops and other stores to find a few remaining things — old antique crates for the dessert table, fresh salt water taffy, and anything else we just had to have while shopping. My sister found a vintage suitcase, and we filled it with sentimental memorabilia from my husband and I while growing up, including our Georgia and Idaho license plates, which we used in our engagement pictures. My dad’s girlfriend helped us create our guestbook: a giant USA map for our guests to pin “where they call home.”
On a previous trip to Cape San Blas, my sister collected all the driftwood, shells, and blue mason jars for our centerpieces. We hand-painted oyster shells with the table numbers. The edges of the burlap table runners were cut and shredded to soften the look, and a few of the runners also had the lace that matched the signs that hung from our head table chairs. I’d made the “Mr.” and “Mrs.” chair signs weeks before the wedding. They were easy to create with burlap, jute, letter stencils, white acrylic paint, lace and pearl garland, and a hot glue gun. I glued jute to the backs of each sign so they could be tied onto the chairs, but they could be sewed together as well. The save-the-dates and invitations were designed by a friend, and the day-of programs and menus I printed out on card stock, cut and tied together with jute. We borrowed apothecary jars for the salt-water taffy on our favor table, and hand-painted signs directing guests to the beach ceremony, reception and the evening bonfire. Our dessert bar was the work of friends — one made the cupcakes, and another brought Derby Pie (it was Derby Day after all.) I made cheesecakes the day before. The favors we gave were chocolate Idaho bars, made by my dad’s neighbor in Atlanta. We served my uncle’s “secret” margarita recipe as our signature cocktail, alongside sangria, peach iced tea and ginger lemonade. The Cinco de Mayo sign on the drink bar was made by staining card stock with coffee grinds, then stenciling on letters and attaching the letters to the jute with hot glue. My mom, with a few helpers, arranged all of our flowers, bouquets and boutonnieres using simple baby’s breath, ranunculus, thistle, statice, limonium, delphinium and bouvardia flowers. She drilled the shells and then attached them to my bouquet with wig wire. My stepfather built a huge bonfire on the beach for our after-party, complete with a s’mores station and fireworks.
A moment that brought me to tears was when the groom’s mother gave us an old Florida license plate. The card said, “Where Georgia and Idaho become one.” Some of my other favorite things from the wedding day were dancing with my dad (he took months of dance lessons to get ready!), laughing all throughout the ceremony with my husband, the fabulous food, walking down the aisle to piano music my mother recorded for our special day, listening to my husband’s niece sing during our ceremony, my bridesmaids rating the groomsmen’s behinds while taking pictures, the awesome “Super Moon” that rose over the water and actually being able to talk to every one of our guests. My absolute favorite part of the day was how during the ceremony, before he was allowed to, my soon-to-be husband kept asking if he could kiss me yet.
Wedding Photography: Tana Photography / Wedding Location: A Beach in Cape San Blas, Florida / Event Consulting: Soiree / Floral Design: The Bride’s Mother / Officiant + DJ: Dennis Rader / Catering: Dine by Design Catering LLC / Rentals: Panache Tent + Event / Paper Fans: BHLDN / Favors: Chamberlain’s Chocolate Factory / Wedding Dress: White by Vera Wang / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka + Ugg / Bride’s Accessories: Kevia + Nordstrom / Bride’ Perfume: Feerie by Van Cleef & Arpels / Bride’s Rings: Tiffany & Co. / Makeup: Gabrielle Marcantonio for Bobbi Brown / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Victoria’s Secret / Bridesmaids’ Bracelets: Amrita Singh / Groomsmen’s Suits: J.Crew / Groomsmen’s Shoes: Sperry Top-Sider / Men’s Ties: Countess Mara / Father of the Bride’s Suit: Tommy Hilfiger
Join The Conversation
favorite (0) share share (0) pin (0)
