Saturday, September 10, 2011

My DIY Wedding

Hey everyone!
I figured my first real post should aim to establish some kind of credibility in the craft world. I apologize in advance if it voids my credibility in the real world.

My (amazing) husband and I got married on July 29, 2011.
(SN: You should read the greatest proposal story ever here!)
I lost my job in February so I've been living off my income tax refund and retirement fund. That kind of budget definitely does not allow for much in regards to the insane markup of anything wedding-related.
So, we got together with our wonderful families and I took a step out of my retail mind to get back to my childhood rooted in craft projects. Because of their love and support, plus a little ingenuity, we were able to turn what could have been a difficult situation into a truly magical and personal day.
Here's how:
I made the invitations myself and printed them on card stock. They were simple. They were perfect. We didn't even bother with RSVP's.


We used my Aunt's church reception hall for both the ceremony and the reception. We warned everyone in advance on our website to get comfortable and be sure to sit with someone they like and proceeded to set everything up banquet style.
The venue was a huge hit with everyone because of the pink stained glass windows. The pictures wound up having a really cool pink hue, too! Who needs to spray tan?

We had a cake, cupcake, and ice cream reception. We eliminated lots of casual attendees by not feeding people. (lol) I wanted to do a candy buffet but when I priced it, it was over $300 before the jars and scoops. That's more than I paid for my dress... my WEDDING dress. Nope!


Instead of bouquets, we used pinwheels. The bridesmaids each carried one down the aisle and they were used in pots filled with birdseed (that would later be pelted at us with fury) for decoration. I got them all at Hobby Lobby on clearance for less than $3 each. I was super proud of the cost cut and I've never been a floral person anyway so it was ideal! The groomsmen also had paper pinwheel hats, but that wasn't my doing. One of the groomsmen came up with the idea at the rehearsal dinner and made it happen by the next day.


We also had all kinds of other elements that were unique to us...

I had a short dress.

We both wore Converse because Rodney is a genius and I couldn't find blue heels I liked. It set the tone completely... and was surprisingly controversial among the more traditional guests. Ah, well.

I made our aisle runner myself. We got 25 yards of muslin on sale from Jo-Ann Fabric then I got some blue house paint from an old project, took it in the backyard and splatter-painted it. Don't worry, I added a pretty monogram to class it up.

Our flower girl carried feathers instead of petals and our ring bearer had Ring Pops on his pillow.

My bouquet was made of paper flowers made from the sheet music to Marry Me by Train, blue paint, and peacock feathers. I ordered the bouquet and matching hair clip from Danamazing then added the turquoise feathers on a whim but fell in love and made it permanent.

The backdrop for the ceremony was already up except the swirlies. All they required was card stock and scissors. I turned them into a paper flower bouquet for keepsake purposes and it now sits in our bedroom as a centerpiece for the room. I'll try to add pictures in a later post.


We went to the craft stores and looked at the guest books but couldn't find anything we liked that we were willing to pay $30 or more for so we made our own pages. I'm super glad because we got some real funny gems. Everyone wished a honeymoon baby on us, though. (Jerks!) I just wish I could re-purpose the leftover pages.
~~I'll add pictures later.~~
We didn't do a sand or candle ceremony. Rodney and I are both accident prone so we were hesitant to incorporate sand or fire.  We did a group blessing instead to include our loved ones and a glass jar for people to write messages for us to read on our first anniversary. I won't say whether or not we peaked. (And by "we" I mean "me")

I discovered the Photobooth idea the week of the wedding and rushed to bring it to life but it fell through last minute. I'm glad I made the mustaches and chalkboards and they got used beforehand though!



Add an electric guitar wedding march and deco beads and that's my recipe for an amazing day. Just be sure to hire a wonderful photographer to capture it all!

I have to beg and plead anyone considering using birdseed as a send-off NOT to do it. I know it's  inexpensive and easy but it's SO PAINFUL! People take out all their aggression on you through tiny little pellets, especially if they're 8 years old and mischievous.


For real though, thanks to everyone for your help, ideas, input, work, and most of all, love.
I promise I'll get to those thank-you notes before our 1st Anniversary... Hopefully.




Oh, and I'm in desperate need of a use for 200 Sparklers that were bought for the wedding but went unused because of the No Burn order we had going on at the time. Ideas, please!