February, 2014 - DIY Bride

Martha + Ryan’s Country Wedding in New Hampshire

So many of our talented couples we featured on our blog completely DIY their wedding, except well, the photography and videography. Our couple today, Martha + Ryan, is of no exception. With photography by Steve Holmes Photography, Martha + Ryan set their stage at a large field owned by their neighbor. With literally nothing on site, they had to figure out ways to not only to decorate, but also bring in electricity, water, and bathroom… and even make their own bar!

Bagpipes, fireworks, bird seeds tossing, sand ceremony, classic red pickup truck- this wedding with a country flair has it all. I adore Martha’s dances with their dog Axe, and gosh, that firework show! Lots of warmth brought in by the bright hues of red, gold, and orange, Martha + Ryan make sure their guests felt welcomed, had loads of fun, but most of all, a wedding they’ll all sure to remember for ages.

Congratulations to Martha + Ryan!!

Photographer: Steve Holmes Photography//Wedding Date: 08.10.2013//Caterer:Fiddleheads Catering//DJ:Peak Entertainment//Makeup Artist:Studio H//Submitted via Two Bright Lightstephanie Court Photography // Felice and Ben /// 9/14/2013

Kelly + Matt’s Violet and Burlap Wedding at the Mansion

Kelly + Matt’s purple affair at the Mount Airy Mansion is nothing short of amazing. Captured by Eastport Photography, this Fall mansion wedding features rich hues of violet and gold, with burlap used in many different ways. It is both sweet and vibrant!

For their gorgeous ceremonial backdrop, Kelly used old rustic doors that she found and decorated with a gold frame and initial “L”. I love all the burlap signs, such as “Love is Sweet” and the initials flags hung over the mansion balcony. And goodness, that candy bar featuring gold and violet cake pops is truly decadent!

I’m in love with how Kelly married her colors together and how the colors and burlap are used in a refreshing way. I also adore their adorable flower girl, and something sweet and sentimental to share here- the flower girl dress is actually one of Kelly’s dress made for her by her grandmother when she was young.

Congratulations to Kelly + Matt!

Photographer: Eastport Photography//Wedding Date: 10/05/2013//DJ: Bialek’s Music//Cake Designer: Cakes by Rachael//Event Venue: Mount Airy Mansion//Invitation Designer: Paper in the Park//Caterer: Pineapple Alley Catering//Hair Stylist:Up Do’s for I Do’s//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Heather + Chris’ DIY Wedding at the Family Farm

Our second feature for the day is brought to us by Nikki May Day Photography. This colorful summer wedding was held at a farm belonging to Heather’s relatives in Pennsylvania, featuring Lake Erie (for the ceremonial site) and a big barn where the reception was held nearby.

Both Heather + Chris are creative people (Heather art directed and Chris handled design and production). Together, they put lots of neat special touches to their day. From the photographer:

“They designed their own Save the Dates, Invitations, Thank You’s and Programs and they were AWESOME. They even designed their own H&D temporary tattoo’s (which were a huge hit) as well as making their own light up H&D sign. All of the direction signs were hand painted, the wedding pie was home made, the linens were all collected by Heather, and even Heather’s engagement ring was customized by Chris.”
I super adore their invitation suite, I mean, how can you not when you have a couple who are incredibly talented as Heather + Chris? I also love how they are not afraid to use bold colors such as yellow and red to showcase the playfulness of their wedding. Flower seed packets for favors? They totally have my heart!

Congratulations to Heather + Chris!!!
Photographer:Nikki May Day Photography//Wedding Date: 06/15/2013//Dress Designer: Saja//Dress Designer: Saja Wedding//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Erin + Randy’s Antique in the Fall Wedding

Erin + Randy’s Vermont wedding isn’t exactly the type of DIY wedding where everything was done by themselves or family and friends. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t do a whole lot of personalization and created a celebration that was truly theirs. Photographed by Orchard Cove Photography, this wedding features rich hues of the Fall colors- spiced wine, burnt orange, antique gold and lots of ivory.

During Erin + Randy’s 1.5 years of engagement, they spent many weekends driving all over Vermont antique shopping- mismatched whiskey barrels to mark the aisle, hobnob milk votives, old mason jars to line the perimeter of our venue to create a magical ambiance, antique bronze vases for single buds.

From Erin:

“We repurposed a wooden flower box as our card collector, used Vermont barn board for our ‘Erin & Randy’ sign for the side of the road, found reclaimed apple crates to bring height to our ceremony flowers, created cake stands from vintage cups and platters and opted for a $5 window display with handwritten details instead of typical wedding programs. We made a series of signs to pay tribute to our guests who travelled from all over the country to be with us, noting the distance they travelled to be part of our special day. Instead of paying for calligraphy for our escort cards, we hand-wrote them and stood them up with corks (that our bridal party had a fun time procuring!). We used twine and clothespins to display old photos from our childhood, our parents’ weddings and photos of our guests from years past.

Erin + Randy did such a great job pulling together personal details to pull off this DIY wedding. I love the tribute sign post they made indicating the distance their guests travelled to see them tied the knot. However, my absolute favorite is Erin and her father’s daughter & father dance. How adorable were they!

Congratulations Erin + Randy!!
Photographer: Orchard Cove Photography//Wedding Date: 10/05/2013//Dress Designer: Allure Bridals//Bakery: Caketopia Cakes//Floral Designer:Erin Ostreicher//Dress Store: J. Crew//Invitation Designer:Minted.com//Hair Stylist:Scherdiva Salon//Band: The Grift//Event Venue: Tourterelle Restaurant & Inn//Equipment Rentals: Vermont Tent Company//Officiant:Wendy Bratt//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Kassie + Chad’s Swoon-Worthy Historical Park E-Session

Kassie + Chad definitely hit the jack pot with their engagement shoot location. George Ranch Historical Park, a 20,000 acre working ranch near Houston, Texas, features historic homes and buildings… and horses. Swoon-worthy photos by Dana Fernandez Photography, this engagement shoot is gorgeous to boot. It certainly helped when they were able to shoot at this picturesque location with no one else around (it was closed on Sunday, the day they had the shoot) since Kassie’s dad knows the owner of the Park.

What a dreamy location! I love all the buildings, the trees, and the space! I also adored their use of props- the sign on their dog, the gold-painted ampersand sign, and “I’m marrying him” chalkboard sign. Although we haven’t seen their wedding, but I can already picture just how sweet their wedding must have been!!

Photographer: Dana Fernandez Photography//E-Session Date: 05/19/2013//Event Venue: George Ranch Historical Park//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Jamilynn + John’s Summer Camp Wedding

Jamilynn + John’s wedding, brought to us by hillary maybery photography, really makes you feel like you’ve arrived to a cool, chilled, and fun family-run camp for the day that just happened to be also hosting a wedding at the same time. Seriously, this wedding was DIY, rustic, and so incredibly laid-back as they (and Jamilynn’s pretty little girl) said their “I Do’s” in front of mountain peaks, grassy meadows, and blue skies.

Lots of DIY went into this rustic wedding, from Jamilynn:

“We had saved glass jars for months and we painted the insides of them to hold our flower arrangements. We also saved soup cans and planted succulents in them to add to our centerpieces. Kaiser cut a large letter “K” out of sheet metal, then painted and aged it to look antique. People signed the back of the letter as our guest book. Now we have an “antique-sign” to hang on our wall that is great décor.

We also used reclaimed barn wood scraps for the hand painted signs we had around the wedding site. Each sign pointed to the different features at our wedding and to the other cities that people traveled from to attend. Another friend hand-sewed a variety of flags onto sisal rope for decoration on the main lodge. She got a bunch of random printed bed-sheets at Goodwill, cut and sewed 60ft of beautiful and colorful flagging.

Our guest favors were our custom napkins. We ordered peach colored bandanas and had them screen printed with the state of Idaho on the corner. All of the setup and tear-down was done by the wedding party, including fiesta lights, dance floor lights, some minor landscaping, custom wedding arch, PA system, dance floor lighting and catering logistics.”

I love how awesome everything is pulled together when family and friends get involved to help set up a beautiful wedding. Congratulations to Jamilynn + John and their beautiful daughter!!
Photographer: hillary maybery photography//WeddinDate: 06/29/2013//Reception Venue:4H Camp//Dress: ModCloth//Cake Designer: The Sweet Crumb//Food: Ketchum Grill (Pizza)/Bears BBQ/The Cellar (beverages)//Cupcakes: The Sweet Crumb//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Ellen + Wes’ Idyllic Winter Wedding

Such a treat I have for all you lovely DIY brides and grooms today. Ellen + Wes’ perfect southern-style winter wedding incorporated lots of white, blue, and grey details photographed by Catherine Guidry. Ellen is an interior designer graduate, so obviously, she had a clear vision on what her dream wedding would be and executed it very well. With a little mix of traditional and rustic, Ellen + Wes created their own dreamy wedding.

There were tons of details I just adore. I love that Ellen incorporated rice into her florals as well as created a rice bouquet for her flower girl since Wes is a rice farmer. Instead of expensive draping, she opted for making tissue pompoms and draped them with lights. True to the southern style, Wes had a pretty impressive groom cake featuring his favorite football team. And their kids dessert bar is completely decadent and to die for!

Gorgeous bouquets, gorgeous decoration, gorgeous bride and her equally stunning bridesmaids… complemented by lots of lights and tissue pom-poms, this wedding is definitely not lacking in the prettiness department. Thank you, Catherine Guidry, for capturing all the breathtaking details and sharing them with us.

Congratulations to Ellen + Wes!!!
Photographer: Catherine Guidry//Wedding Date:02/05/2013//Dress Store: A-Nets Enchanted Dream//Caterer: Chef Bobby and Dot//Cake Designer:Daisey Cakes//Pre Ceremony Location:Maison D’Memoire//Cake Designer: Short and Sweet Cakes//Reception Venue:The Warehouse//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Natalie + Dane’s Blue & Green Nostalgic Wedding

This sweet wedding photograph by Katie Lewis Photography was nostalgic of all sorts. There are classic blue mason jars, pretty tiffany blue bottles, baseballs, paper pinwheels, and the Chevelle. But what really struck me when I saw Natalie + Dane was how much they reminded me of what the quintessential high school Prom King + Queen should look like. When I found out that their venue was held at an old high-school-turned-lodge, all the bells and whistles went off for me. This wedding is sweet and dainty, and just reminds you of all the good ole days.

There were quite a few sweet details I love from this wedding. Natalie looked incredibly gorgeous and sweet in her simple tea-length wedding dress, her jeweled bouquet, and what girl doesn’t want a getaway car in the classic Chevelle? I also love the idea of having guests signed baseballs instead of a traditional guest book, and how cute were all the chalkboard signs?!

Congratulations to Natalie + Dane!

Photographer:Katie Lewis Photography, Inc.//Wedding Date: 06/15/2013//Floral Designer: Java Rose//DJ: Night Scene Entertainment//Reception Venue: Riverdale High Lodge//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Kim + James’ Laid-back Wedding in South Wales

The most important thing(s) that Kim + James wanted to make sure their guests feel about their wedding were that they had fun AND they were relaxed. To do so, they chose Glen Yr Afon House Hotel in South Wales, UK, where they fell in love with the beautiful house, the gardens, and the staff. Everything felt like it was just meant to be when they inquired about available dates, July 13 was the last Saturday left in Summer 2013 for them to book. Why they wanted July 13? Kim’s engagement ring has 13 diamonds in it, as well as her wedding ring (Her gran’s eternity ring).

Kim + James and their family worked on a few DIY projects for the wedding. Kim’s mom made 300 Welsh cakes to give out to guests right after the church ceremony. Kim, James, and bridesmaid Lucy made all the gingerbread man cookies as place cards, and James and Lucy iced each one by hand. James also made all the candle favors. James’ brother made the “wedding box” that guests put their wedding cards in. I think it’s so cute that James is the one making the cookies and the favors!

You may have noticed that Volkswagon (VW) has quite a presence at Kim + James’ wedding. That is because these two lovebirds met on a camping trip to Germany, and they quickly bonded over their mutual love for their VW’s! And when they got engaged in 2012, a VW T5 camper van apparently was involved 🙂

Also something very sweet and considerate I want to share about this easygoing couple. James was an altar boy at St. Arvans Church, and it has always played a role in his family’s life. But the main reason they chose to get married there was because James’ Gran Rene, who’s 92 years old, has lost most of her eyesight, and the church was somewhere she could remember what the inside looked like. Super sweet!

Congratulations to Kim + James!!

Photographer:Charlene Morton Photography//

Wedding Date:07/13/2013//Transportation:Lovebugweddings//Dress Store: Confetti & Lace//Tuxedo and Mens Attire:Dyfed Menswear hire//Dress Store:From House of Fraser //Ceremony Location:Glen Yr Afon//Floral Designer:Kay from Poppies of Lydney//Other Location:St Arvans Church//Hair Stylist:SW1 Hair//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Amanda + Dennis’ Cuddle in the Snow E-Session

I can’t think of a better way to round out our V-Day features than with this picturesque snowy e-sesh starring Amanda + Dennis. It’s been unbelievably cold here in the East Coast with the recent snow storms… and while most of us were dreading the winter chill and the ice AND the potential power outtage, my best friend, who’s getting married in June and has yet gotten to do her engagement shoot because she is currently in sunny San Diego while her fiance is in snowy NYC, told me just how “jelly” she is of all the snow we’re having and how she wish she can do a snowy e-sesh because… well, it’ll just be so darn pretty.

I have to admit… I was laughing at her at the time when she told me this, but as soon as I saw the submission for Amanda + Dennis’ e-session with Green Autumn Photography, I literally melted at all the gorgeousness, the colors, and the romance of it all (Hello! Doesn’t cuddling together and being wrapped in a super comfy wool blanket just seems oh-so-romantic??).

Photographer: GreenAutumn Photography//E-Session Date:01/09/2013//Submitted via Two Bright Lights