Wyoming Weddings

AS promised, we have a great DIY project for you inspired by Cara and Spencer’s incredible tablescapes. I love, love, love the organic elegance behind the wedding day design and aside from perfect flowers, it’s the table runners that give the tables texture and style.

photo by Carrie Patterson

My mom’s a pretty amazing seamstress. She learned to sew in her teens, which means she’s been sewing for more than 40 years. In addition to sewing her own prom dresses, she made our Halloween costumes growing up, from princesses to cheerleaders to space women to ladybugs. Planning my wedding, she was a huge resource. And even though she has lots of sewing experience on her belt, she said that anyone with a sewing machine can make these super simple 14-foot long runners! Plus, you can customize your look and use any type of fabric/thread color combination!

Materials

One bolt of 54-inch wide burlap (you can use less, but 21 runners took the full bolt)
Teal Blue Thread

Directions

1. Cut fabric in lengths of 14 feet, two inches.

2. Cut in half lengthwise so that each strip is 27 inches wide

3. Turn the ends and sides under one inch and hem

4. Stitch with a zig zag stitch (my mom used the largest zig zag, about a quarter of an inch) on her machine and chose satin thread)

5. Iron flat

Today is all gorgeousness on SMP. Cara and Spencer’s wedding is unbelievably pretty and even better, it’s largely a DIY wedding! We have one of the perfect projects coming up next but for now, I wanted to share a bit more from the ridiculously lovely day.

I spent months scouring Style Me Pretty, The Bride’s Guide and other blogs for inspiration. Then, I turned to Sarajane Johnson with Lily and Company. Erin and I gave Sarajane a stack of pictures and left everything in her hands. Sarajane and the Lily gals really got my vision. They selected succulents and flowers that picked up the blues in the bridesmaids dresses. They also used tons of stuff that Sarajane picked up at antique stores. I didn’t want to spend the money to rent table runners, so my mom sewed 21 burlap ones with teal string to match the dresses. I used brown kraft paper because it seemed like something I would do for an impromptu dinner party, like cut up some brown grocery bags to scribble the menu last minute. I wanted the tables to seem relaxed.

Or course, I couldn’t relive this day for the rest of my live without the help of our amazing photographer, Carrie Patterson. Carrie and I met a few years ago when I wrote a magazine feature about her. With Carrie, I had to give little direction. I knew she would capture all those things about my day that I didn’t see. She has a fantastic eye. I am forever indebted to her.

Erin and I felt that the ceremony site was too expansive and that we needed a focal point. A groomsman offered to build an altar for us, and one weekend later he got permits to cut down trees in the national forest. He and Spencer built this amazing arch in a few hours. Later, the wedding arch turned into our photo booth, one of the best decisions I made. I bought about $100 in props, and my mom sewed the fabric for the backdrop. Taking the photos really got people in the mood to have fun. The photo booth also gave people something to do other than to look at us. Guests will get a copies of their photo booth pictures as gifts.

Thank you so very much to Cara and Spencer for sharing their wedding with us. It’s one of my favorite weddings EVER (I know, I know) and the details…well, I am pretty sure that most of you have saved them in your “inspiration” files. Here is a list of vendors that participated in the event:

Vendors

Wedding Coordinator: Erin Roy / Photographer: Carrie Patterson / Gown: Monique Lhuillier / Shoes: Stuart Weitzman / Hair piece: Oh My Deer / Groom’s suit: Paul Smith / Invitations: xowyo / Makeup: Jenny Hickey / Hair: Cynthia Estrada / Venue: Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis / Flowers: Lily and Company / Cakes: Rich McLaughlin / Band: Soul Impressions

I have been dying to share today’s wedding with you. I fell head over heels for it the moment I laid eyes on it, but since we wanted to use it as our debut on Martha Stewart’s The Bride’s Guide, I’ve had to stay mum for a little while. But today is the day that I finally get to gush and gush and gush.

For me, this wedding is the perfect example of DIY that looks REALLY expensive, really luxe. Together with friends and family, Cara (bride) kept their budget in check by doing little tidbits that added charm and personality. From hand sewn table runners to do-it-yourself invitations, so many of the details were made by hand. And the result was total perfection.

all of the gorgeous photos were snapped by Carrie Patterson

From the bride…

My dad actually found our venue with a quick Google search. Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis was perfect because it offered straight-on views of the Tetons. We thought the view would be magical for our 80 out-of-town guests. Golf and Tennis also had a big white tent with brick pavers, which gave us a perfect canvas for creating our look.

From the start, my wedding was destined to look amazing because of my vendors. I hired Erin Roy to help me put it all together. I have a tendency to think of ideas that are too grand (I wanted to pickle 130 jars of beets this summer and give every guest a jar of “Heart Beets,” but that was vetoed). Erin kept all my ideas in check and cohesive and offered up plenty of others. I decided the wedding would be an Anthropologie meets comfortable Autumn outdoor dinner party.

all of the gorgeous photos were snapped by Carrie Patterson

My friend and I came up with the Western-inspired design and created the elk head logo (elk hunting season is in September), which we carried throughout the event. My mom stitched 130 invitations for me. And that was only her first sewing project. Some of the men even folded them in their suit pocket for the wedding. People loved the invitations so much that my friend and I are starting a company creating invitations and stationery with a mountain feel.

Through planning a wedding, I realized that I am very girly. I wanted the tent and tables to twinkle and sparkle – just like the necklace. I wanted succulents and hydrangeas because they remind me of my childhood – my mom had jade plants all over the house and a huge hydrangea bush. And I also wanted organic elements that reflected Jackson, mainly wood cuts. One day, I noticed my friend’s neighbor had cut down a big birch tree. Early the next morning, I drove back and put the stumps and branches in my car. Someone walking his dog asked if I lived there and if I should be doing that. Spencer used a table saw to make the cuttings.

I am basically like a kid in a candy store right now. If you remember…last week, we announced our new blogging partnership with The Bride’s Guide (Martha Stewart Wedding’s blog) and we debuted one of our favorite weddings for all of Darcy’s readers. Well today, we get to reveal the GORGEOUS wedding in its entirety on SMP, including the most adorable DIY project you’ve ever seen.

When I first approached the bride from today’s affair about doing a double feature on our blog and on Darcy’s blog, she was beyond shocked. She couldn’t figure out why we chose her wedding for our launch feature. Well for us, it was a no brainer. This wedding is the epitome of all things chic, the epitome of effortless elegance. It’s a little bit organic, a little bit eclectic, a little bit fresh-from-the garden chic…and we heart every bit of it.

all of the gorgeous photos were snapped by Carrie Patterson

From the bride…

It was just a matter of days after getting engaged that we started planning our wedding. We decided to be married in Jackson Hole in the fall, our favorite time of year because most of the tourists have left and the leaves are changing colors. We chose Jackson because that’s where we met. We wanted our wedding to be as much about our guests as it was about us. If 80 people were going to have to travel, we wanted to make it a trip of a lifetime for them.

photos by Carrie Patterson

A more than 100-year-old crystal necklace and earring set inspired the look of my wedding. The set belonged to my great-grandmother on my mother’s side. My grandfather inherited the jewelry after his parents died, but the necklace clasp was broken. They were a big Catholic family with seven kids, and fixing the necklace was never in the budget. Still, my mom remembers pulling it out of her mother’s draw just to look at the necklace. Aside from a few vintage pocket watches, my mom said it was one of the most luxurious items in their house. My mom inherited the set after my grandmother passed away and had it fixed so all the granddaughters can be married in it. She’s worn the jewelry twice in 20 years, and I was the first granddaughter to wear it.

The jewelry helped us find the gown. I knew I had found my Monique Lhuillier when I put on the necklace, and my mom and I cried. They looked perfect together, and I had tried on what must have been 50 dresses. I actually had to go to San Francisco for the dress because there are not a lot of options for finding a gown in Wyoming. We don’t even have a dress shop in Jackson. I also chose San Francisco because that’s where Spencer’s parents live, and I wanted his mom to be involved.

photos by Carrie Patterson

I borrowed a veil from my college roommate, Whitney, who owns the cutest boutique. Whitney, who’s having twin girls, was one of the first of us to get married. She wants all of us to borrow her veil and plans to embroider every bride’s initials on it. So with the necklace, the veil and the dress, my attire really set the tone for the rest of the wedding. Together, they looked very vintage and “Anthropologie-esque” to me.

My bridesmaids chose their gowns. Since there was nowhere for me to look in Wyoming, my mom, sister and Whitney went shopping without me in Charlotte. It was important to me that each girl have a dress that she really loved and felt pretty in. The gals selected the three Jim Hjelm dresses and the colors. I didn’t see them until wedding day.

We have so much more goodness coming up for you from this gorgeous wedding.