Wedding

We just got all of our pictures back from the wedding, and they're amazing. Thank you Patrick! I wanted to share all of the things we made and opted to do ourselves. It was an insane amount of work but so worth it!

I guess first thing's first: the dress. I used my grandmother's wedding dress that my mother wore when she married my dad. They gave me permission to do whatever I wanted with it, all they wanted out of the bargain was a picture.

My bouquet: I decided early on that I didn't want to spend a lot of money on flowers that might wilt on the big day and ultimately die. After a lot of searching, I decided the brooch bouquet was for me and that I could make one myself. I scored some vintage jewelry at an auction and supplemented the collection with jars of treasures from my favorite costume shop. The result was a perfect excuse not to do the bouquet toss!

Ahem, I also made something to get us out of the garter toss:

I made boutonnieres for the dads and groomsmen. My best girlfriends got mini ring corsages and the moms had similar pin-on corsages like the one in my hair.

My mom brought a mishmash of spring colored flowers from her garden and I spray painted some thrifted wire bird cages and candleholders for the centerpieces. A few friends collected glass jars for the flowers, candles and thousands of buttons! All the girls got together the day before to do the arranging.

I made all the tablecloths myself out of thrifted sheets. I made a pattern and cut out different sized squares for a quilted effect. That particular project was a ton of work, but I couldn't find reasonably priced tablecloths to rent or buy that were big enough, so this was the best we came up with. (Jon gets credit for making this project feasible when I had already bought a bunch of sheets but was about to give up.) The extra sheet fabric went to making the bunting that hung across the inside and outside of the building.

We did a lot of brainstorming on how to DIY a photobooth. We were afraid it might be overly complicated for guests, but everyone participated and we came away with some fantastic goofy shots in the guest book!

Instead of having a DJ or hiring a band, we decided to scrounge up our own entertainment. Jon and I played "Dream a Little Dream" instead of having a first dance. Then Jon's little brothers joined us for "Here Comes Your Man" by the Pixies. My girlfriends put together two amazing performances as well, "Higher and Higher" and "When You're Next to Me". Then we just turned on the ipod for dancing at the end of the night.

During family photos and before dinner, we wanted the guests to have something to do. So we made hoola hoops and corn toss. I'm not entirely sure why I thought it was important to actually make the hoola hoops ourselves, but we did.

We were so grateful to have all the help that we did. There were a lot of logistical issues that I wasn't really thinking of during the planning. Luckily it all worked out fine and without too much of a hassle, and added to the feeling for the day that I wanted: all of our family and friends pitching in to make the day that much more meaningful.