Haley + Seth’s Cute and Offbeat DIY Wedding

Today’s wedding is full of love, laughter, and DIY prettiness. Captured by Sur La Lune Photography, Haley + Seth DIY all their decorations. Coffee filter flowers? Check. DIY photo booth background? Check. Large piñatas that doubled as “hanging decorations”? Check. Come see for yourself how fun this wedding was!

 

 
Not only did Haley opted to not wear the traditional white, she and Seth also opted to get ready together and helped each other dress for their big day. Although Haley + Seth worked on many DIY decor projects, my ultimate love are the large coffee filter flowers that were carried by the flower girls. And how about them piñatas? What a fun, cool idea to have!

Congratulations to Haley + Seth!!

 

Photographer: Sur La Lune Photography//Wedding Date:09.07.2013//Event Venue: 1869 Homestead Bed and Breakfast//Hair Stylist:Bella Salon//Caterer: Chuy’s Restaurant//Equipment Rentals:Kentucky Music Company//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Knitted Fairytale Winter Wedding Styled Shoot

We’re featuring a super lovey-dovey winter styled shoot that’s not only romantic and sweet, but knitted-themed. Brought to us by Warmphoto, this styled shoot/e-session was shot in Russia earlier this year. With the main color palette full of browns + pinks and lots of vintage items and knitted and woven lovelies (from Miss Woolly), this shoot was not short on lots of warmth and sizzling fuzzy feelings from Elizabeth and Vladimir.

From Warmphoto:

“There was a decorated area in the park with large coils, tangles, knitted accessories and vintage items, hot tea, candles, birds, baskets with pine cones. It was comfortable and stylish! Nearly the whole decor was created manually by talented decorator Funt of Happy.
Photographer: Warmphoto//Shoot Date:02.09.2014//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Courtney + Will’s Pretty in Pink Sewing Wedding

Today, we are bringing you a super cutesy, melt-in-your-heart, and sweet wedding from Kate Bentley Photo. This gorgeous DIY/rustic/sewing-themed wedding came to us from Wisconsin and features origami cranes, homegrown herbs, paper hearts, and a wedding dress made by the bride. Courtney + Will are so adorable together, and with their awesome family and friends by their side, this wedding is just too pretty for you to miss!

As mentioned earlier, Courtney made her wedding dress that was short and cute and very perfect for her wedding. When she wasn’t sewing her dress, she was growing all the herbs she used to make her unique center pieces. And can I just say, how awesome were the copper cans? Instant rustic-glam effects!

Obviously, Courtney + Will could not have pulled off this dreamy wedding without help. The beer served were made by their friends, and all the beautifully folded origami cranes were by Will’s mother. I love how by using different paper patterns, the cranes were all unique. One of my favorites were the pair that were used as cake toppers! Oh, and the cake was made by a dear friend of Courtney’s.

This sweet sewing-themed DIY wedding is filled with laughter, love, and creativity. I love their use of colors (I maaaay be slightly biased towards pink!), their way of doing “here comes your bride”, and all the sewing-related items that tied everything together. Courtney + Will are a fun-loving couple, and their wedding is a perfect extension of their personalities.

Congratulations to Courtney + Will!

 

Photographer: kate bentley photo//Wedding Date:08.17.2013//Event Venue:Emerald Ridge Outdoor Weddings//Floral Designer:Jennifer Joyce Design//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Christine + Keith’s New York Rustic Wedding

We’re kicking off this Monday with a pretty DIY rustic wedding from Cassi Claire Photography. Right from the get-go, Christine + Keith knew what type of wedding they wanted: Adirondack-themed wedding- rustic, vintage, country, and just so them. They scoured up and down the Hudson River looking for the perfect venue that has the right rustic vibe, and they found it at Fox Hollow. With pretty pink and blue as the main color palette, this DIY New York wedding is just oh-so-sweet!

To create that rustic romantic vibe, Christine + Keith decorated the venue with hints of burlap, wood, baby’s breath, twine, raffia, and lace everywhere. From the bride: “The centerpieces were curly willow branches in various spray painted liquor bottles with distressed and wood burned hearts to show table numbers and a quote like “laugh” or “lucky”, along with embellished mason jars which held flowers and floating candles, using burlap, twine, paper and crochet flowers to help make each table unique. The fireplace mantle showcased our Love Story in a barnyard wooden frame next to both of our parents wedding pictures. Our DIY card box was that of a wooden treasure box burned and stained which matched our somewhat untraditional guest ‘log’, a slab of varnished wood with our symbol of C+K burned in the middle for everyone to sign. On their way into cocktail hour, guests got to take their lantern favor with the DIY distressed escort card and skeleton key attached to show you where our favorite people in the world were sitting.”
Just how lovely was Christine + Keith’s night ceremony? All the gorgeous light shining upon the beautiful couple and that romantic arch. They definitely pulled off their vision of beautiful rustic vision with the warm colors and all the personal touches. And just how fun was the dance party!

Congratulations to Christine + Keith!

 

Photographer: Cassi Claire Photography//Wedding Date:09.14.2013//Etsy Designer:Amber and Earth //Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff//Dress Store: Bridal Reflections//Jewelry:Brookstone//Etsy Designer:Crafts and Goodies//Jewelry:Cynthia Cool Beans //Dress Store: David’s Bridal//Apparel:Enchanted Atelier//Favors and Gifts:Favor Warehouse//Reception Venue: Fox Hollow//Other:Gingham Grins //Jewelry:Maria Elena Headpieces//Shoes: My Glass Slipper//Shoes:Nina Shoes//Invitation Designer:Paisley Pear Designs //Cinema and Video:Paul Nameck Videography//Musicians:Shake Rattle Roll Pianos//Etsy Designer:The Art of Handmades//DJ:We Like 2 Party Entertainment //Etsy Designer:When Dreamz Come True//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Jennie + Jei-Wei’s Intimate Vegas Extravaganza

Fellow DIY Brides + Grooms, be aware! Today is a long and lengthy one because… well, we’re featuring my wedding! When the idea of me writing and publishing about my own semi-DIY wedding came up, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was up for the challenge. It’s just so much easier to marvel over other peoples’ gorgeous weddings and to criticize your own. But Khris mentioned how nice it would be that since I’m the one writing about my own wedding, that I could share with all you lovelies my experience as a DIY bride.

First and foremost, I want to mention that our wedding was a destination wedding. We, along with most of our friends and immediate family (both of our families are from Taiwan, so only our immediate family members live in the US) reside in the southeast United States, so it was a lot of effort and planning to get everyone to Las Vegas. We were engaged close to 1.5 years before our actual wedding, but we had been together for 9 years prior to getting engaged so I pretty much knew some basic stuff I wanted… a Fall wedding, gorgeous venue, delicious wedding food, and my flowers amazingly pink and romantic- a theme that I wanted to carry through everything set in place for the wedding. To get things started, we took a trip out to Vegas exactly one year before our chosen wedding date and interviewed a lot of vendors. I’m so glad we did that because I really needed to feel a connection with the people I worked with and feel at ease that they know my vision.

We definitely could not have pulled off our dream wedding without the constant support from friends and family, especially my amazing bridal party, and of course, my ever-so-patient vendors. Seriously, I don’t remember how many phone calls/e-mails were exchanged with my super talented florist, Catherine of Layers of Lovely, or with my awesome, multi-tasking venue manager + coordinator, Gina of Red Rock Country Club. They always made themselves as available to me as they could, and tried their hardest to stay true to my vision and budget.

Because we totally splurged on our venue + catering and insisted on having both a photographer (Ron Miller Photography) and a videography team (Something New Films), we tried to DIY everything else that we could. *Keep in mind that we had to worry about shipping and the time we would actually have to set up once we’re in Vegas.

We had a super small and intimate guest list of less than 30 people, so my husband and I set out to make our own invitation suite. I love making my own Christmas cards and already am a proud owner of too many craft tools (Cricut, anyone?), and my husband is pretty handy when it comes to doing quick designs on the computer. I wish Ron was able to take photographs of my Save-the-Date and invitation suite so that I can show you, but here’s a fun fact: Our invitation was modeled after Khris’ own Vegas-themed Save-the-Date shaker in her The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects for your Ultimate One-of-a-kind Wedding book.

My best friend and maid of honor, Eunice, worked with me to construct the invite and all the tissue paper pom-poms that were hung over the reception area. We kept all the pom-poms flat so that they’ll be easy to ship, and once we got to our hotel in Vegas, we had a fluff up pom-pom party with all the girls.

Our favor is a laser-cut “Double Happiness” box, a traditional Chinese wedding symbol that’s also represented as our cake topper. I filled the box with some of our favorite Chinese candies, and I made my own place cards and attached each on top of the box. The cake topper was originally a metal silver color, so Jei-Wei left about an inch and a half on the bottom untouched and spray-painted the rest with the traditional red wedding color.

For all of our signs, we found a free floral design that we liked online, and Jei-Wei used his photoshop skills to make matching signs for our menus and instructions for the wishing tree and sparklers exit. I decorated our “bride” and “groom” signs with small accents that you can buy from art stores. We used the wishing tree tags as our “guest book” and asked people to write their well wishes and hang them up. I made those tags with kraft cardstocks and used my Cricut machine to cut out the tags. I then decorated one side with stamps using our wedding date and distressed the edges to make them look rustic.

My scrapbook making skills kicked into high gears for my photo garland and sweets table decoration. Since I have two things to keep in mind: cost and ease of shipping; I had to make sure that whatever I made could be easily packed and transported in our luggage. I used lots of coordinating cardstock, accents, and photographs for both projects, and to save cost, Gina was able to provide a bunch of sign holders to hold my scrapbook photo art.

I also made the tags for the bubble send-off after our ceremony. I found some wide washi tape and address labels small enough to fit on the tape to make the tag and attached it onto the bubbles using ribbons and gold tape I also used on our invites.

I wanted to have a pretty cake stand for my small wedding cake. My florist Catherine is a super amazing woman and found one for me a couple of weeks before the wedding. She spray-painted it to pink and added jewels garland all around to glam it up

Since our furry baby, Machi, was going to be our ring bearer (he wore a chinese red pouch attached to his custom-made bow-tie collar), we had to make sure that our venue would accommodate him. Even though having an outdoor ceremony wasn’t on the top of our list, Gina made having Machi there possible for the entire wedding, and all 3 of us love her and the Red Rock Country Club more for it!

I’m pretty proud to say our guests truly had a blast at our wedding. We turned it into a long weekend extravaganza where most of our guests flew in a couple of days before our Friday affair. We were all able to enjoy and spend time together as a group and party before AND after the wedding. We were worried that because we had such a small party that no one would dance, but hello! parents. Yes, my brother and my parents kicked off the dance party with Gangnam Style and Bee Gees. And the dance party continued on during the after party on the party bus we rented.

In the end, I received everything I asked for and more- amazing food (yes, and even today, I still get raves from guests who came to the wedding) and music (Gangnam Style was hot then and DJ Patrick got everyone dancing… my brother and I even shared a brief special stage together!), beautiful pink and romantic flower and decor, and a gorgeous venue and an equally amazing catering manager/coordinator who saved me a ton of headaches. Planning a destination wedding was hard, but when you hire the right people for you, everything will just naturally fall into place.

I want to give a big shout out to my photographer, Ron Miller, and my videography team, Jimi + Sandi of Something New Films, for staying an extra hour or two after the wedding to fulfill our vision of having a Vegas experience by shooting all over the Strip that night. That was one of our favorite highlights of the wedding, and they were just totally awesome! I also want to give another shout out to Gina and her staff at Red Rock Country Club for being complete angels and taking the task of decorating all of our DIY projects off of our hands.

I hope all you lovely fellow DIY brides/grooms were able to find some sort of inspiration from my wedding. I loved sharing it with you and feel free to ask me for more details!

XOXO,
Jennie

See our awesome Highlight Film from the talented Jimi + Sandi of Something New Films: HERE

 

Photographer: Ron Miller Photography//Wedding Date:09.28.2012//Reception Venue: Red Rock Country Club//Videography: Something New Films//Florist: Catherine of Layers of Lovely//Cake: Las Vegas Custom Cakes//DJ: DJ Patrick of Music Solutions//Hair+Makeup: Your Beauty Call//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Kyle + Nick’s Sweet Pink Country Chic Wedding

This sweet, romantic, and country chic wedding featuring Kyle + Nick is a must see today. With beautiful photography by BrittRene Photo, this gorgeous wedding has lots of amazing DIYs, which took Kyle over a year and half to put together! But it was the community of family and friends who came to help Kyle + Nick with setting all the details together to pull off the wedding of their dreams.

 

The DIY details from Kyle:

“All the projects were DIY. And it most defiantly took a year and a half to get all those projects done. The long planning, execution and frustration of it all, paid off in the end. From the flowers which were beautifully arranged by a very talented family friend, to the desserts which were lovingly made by several women in the family. Every detail meant something and had a personal touch. Our planner Monica Currier, and her awesome assistant Chaili Trentham, knocked it out of the park. Our friends worked tirelessly to place candles in the creek bed, put up lanterns, and lovingly help make our dream day a reality. The thing that blew us away the most was the community of people that came to help. We would not have had this perfect, I mean really perfect, day without our friends and family. That is why our wedding meant so much, it was hand-made with love.”
Strung lights with paper lanterns all across the outdoor reception area really romanticize the wedding. The bridal party looked incredibly gorgeous, and the pale pink bridesmaid dresses also worked really well with the overall romantic look of the wedding. My favorite part of the wedding, which added a whimsical and offbeat side to the ceremony is that their “flower girl/boy/man” is one of their friends. According to the bride, Kyle + Nick were introduced by their friend Landon. They had promised him that if they ever get married, he will be their “flower man”. And boy did he rock it!

Congratulations to Kyle + Nick for throwing such an awesome DIY wedding, and much thanks to BrittRene Photo for sharing it with us!

 

Photographer: BrittRene Photo//Wedding Date:06.22.2013//Event Venue: Hidden Oaks//DJ:higher level sound//Bridesmaid Dresses: Modcloth//Caterer:my urban eats//Dress Designer:Private Label by G//Makeup: Joelle Seaton//Florist: Miss Patti Bergeron//Desserts: (cupcakes) Malia Rusniaczek , (macaroons) Matt Krause , (cookies) Roselyn Estep, (cookies) Karla DallaTorre, (biscotti’s) Toni Hartman//Hair: Kaity Morrissey//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Britney + Brian’s Vintage Mechanic Wedding

I can’t even begin to describe just how much I’m in love with our gorgeous couple, Britney + Brian, today. I’ve been going nuts over their photos by Allie Lindsey Photography all morning, and I’m so excited to share them with you now! Britney + Brian are such a beautiful couple- they’re so in love with each other that it shows on every photograph of them on their wedding day… photogenic couple plus the talent behind Allie Lindsey Photography equals stunning photos.

Britney + Brian chose “vintage mechanic” as their theme to represent their style. Since Brian is a mechanic, Britney really utilized the materials from his shop to DIY their wedding. I’m incredibly impressed with Britney, as this wedding is so beautifully decorated and thought out!

Did I mention how in love I am with this couple? Let me say it again! I super adore their First Look and their portraits. So much love and so much gorgeousness! I totally love how Britney really fuze her sense of style with Brian’s mechanic background to make this wedding truly theirs and totally unique. I’m also super impressed with the engraved tags as place cards- what a cool idea to double as a favor as well!

Much congratulations to our beautiful couple Britney + Brian, and much much thanks to Allie Lindsey Photography for bringing us this breathtaking wedding!

 

Photographer: Allie Lindsey Photography//Wedding Date: 10.13.2013//Cake Designer: Amazing Cakes//Floral Designer:Avante Gardens Florist //Caterer: big b’s bbq//Reception Venue: Fullerton Arboretum//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Russa + Andy’s Pink and Red Vineyard Wedding

Our featured wedding for the day comes to us from a gorgeous Californian vineyard. Russa + Andy got married on a beautiful day in late October, and the celebration was sentimental and full of lots of fun and love. Captured by Cherie Mariko Photography, this wedding is not short of gorgeous details. They incorporated lots of small personal and meaningful details to make this wedding theirs. Their color palette of soft pink and vibrant reds really spoke romance, and I love how Russa coordinated both colors into her bridal party attire.

I want to highlight the DIY project that Russa’s uncle did for her wedding. He built all of the wooden boxes that they used as the base for the floral center pieces. What was so special about these boxes is that these are the same 100-year old barn wood that Russa’s parents used to originally build their first home! I love how these wooden boxes fit in harmoniously with the rest of the decor, and definitely with the setting.
Russa + Andy’s wedding has so much swoon-worthy moments, and I honestly think it’s because of all the sweet details (I really love that Russa had henna drawn on her hand as a nod to Andy’s Indian background!). It also helps that they have a gorgeous place and a super-talented photographer (Cherie Mariko Photography) that knows all the right moments to capture (one of my favorites is the one of Andy twirling Russa during their First Look). Although I kept ooh-ing and aah-ing all over their photos, what really got to me the most is seeing Russa’s gold locket that she carried on her bouquet. In the locket are two photos of her late father, one of which was one of her and her dad when she was little. She attached it to her bouquet because she wanted to make sure that her father got to walk her down the aisle. I’m not ashamed to admit it, it got me a little teary-eyed to see it and to know about it!

Congratulations to Russa + Andy!!!

 

Photographer: Cherie Mariko Photography//Wedding Date: 10.26.2013//Dress Designer: Bridal Galleria//Dress Designer: Monique Lhuillier//Caterer: Beth Sogaard Catering//Floral Designer:Blossoms by Lisa//Event Planner: So Eventful//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Dawn + Dan’s Sweet Summer Wedding in Virginia

Today’s wedding is a sweet mix of traditional, rustic, and romance. Lauryn of Lauryn Galloway Photography did a wonderful job capturing all the small sweet and darling moments throughout Dawn + Dan’s summer Southern wedding in Virginia. Using a romantic palette of dark grey, yellow, and fuchsia pink, their family and friends all pitched in their time and talent to decorate their day.

My top favorite details of the day: Tissue pom-poms and paper lanterns stranded with lights and hung all over the reception area; Rustic details on the ceremonial mantle that acted as the backdrop. Every single little detail, like the fuchsia rosettes adorned on the “love always” wedding banner, tied all colors together and just added that little something extra and different.
Thank you so much to Lauryn Galloway Photography and Dawn + Dan for sharing such a lovely wedding with us. It is a perfect combination of traditional, rustic, and modern at the same time!

Congratulations Dawn + Dan!!!
Photographer: Lauryn Galloway Photography//Wedding Date: 08.24.2013//Venue: Cloverdale Barn//Caterer: Shaffer’s Catering//Floral Designer: Bluebells//Doughnuts: Marker Miller Orchards//Music: The DJ Connection//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Sara + Nick’s Intimate Soiree at Lord Jeffery Inn

We’re kicking off the first wedding of the month by featuring a super intimate soiree at the Lord Jeffery Inn, starring Sara + Nick. Michelle of Michelle Girard Photography did an incredible job of encapsulating all the charming and romantic details. With palette of orange and pink, Sara filled the space with lots of warm colors and candles.

The Inn’s library was the perfect setting for Sara + Nick’s intimate ceremony. The fire in the fireplace and the candles filled the room and created a warm and inviting environment. Sara also continue the theme by having candles and lights all over the reception, making it super romantic. Though she had a few mini DIY touches to complete her wedding, my favorite DIY element were the center pieces that Sara created for the tables (Is she a pro?!)
How cute was the First Look? I think it’s a superb idea (and great photo opportunity!) to include family/wedding party. I totally love that for Sara + Nick, their wedding party had a “sneak peek” for one of the big moments of the day. And the look on Nick’s face when he saw Sara? SWOON. Just exactly what every woman dreams of when the love of her life looks at her. Major bonus points there, Nick!

Sara + Nick did not need to DIY every aspect of their wedding to make it romantic, warm, and literally, filled with lots of love. And did I mention I *heart* their wedding cake & the “we do” cake topper and the map of hearts “guest book”? Congratulations to you both!!!

 

Photographer: Michelle Girard Photography//Wedding Date: 09.01.2013//DJ:And The Beat Goes On//Floral Designer: Forget me not Florist//Bakery: Greggory’s Pastry Shop//Tuxedo and Mens Attire:Joseph A. Banks//Reception Venue: Lord Jeffery Inn//Hair Stylist: Salon Herdis //Dress Store: The Bridal Barn & Tux Shoppe//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

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