As a native Ohioan, I’m always excited to see a little bit of home. This Ohio barn wedding gave me the home fix I needed to get me through until my next in-person visit. This couple kept costs way down by basically DIY’ing everything! The bride grew the sunflowers in her parents’ backyard. The groom baked and decorated the cake, which is super impressive to me since my husband can’t boil pasta. I love how personal everything is!
Here are some details from the bride:
Todd and I are both students, so we knew that a DIY wedding was going to help our budget. But it also made our day much more special, because we were a part of every detail.
We made almost everything with the help of our loving families, from the invitations to the reception food. Todd even baked and decorated our cake. I spent hours devouring wedding blogs and had tons of inspiration. A few of my favorite details included the sunflowers I grew at my parents’ home, our program fans that included our love story on the back, a directions sign that pointed the way to our honeymoon cities and both of the cities we grew up in, seating chart and drink stirrer escort cards, tons of mason jars collected from my parents’ basement. Our families were incredible! After the rehearsal dinner, they laid out every table, arranged every individual centerpiece, and helped complete our perfect day.
We decided to do a first look before the wedding ceremony. I remember walking up to Todd and telling him to turn around. It was so amazing to be able to see him for the first time that day without all of the pressure of our guests watching. It was just the two of us, and we were able to share a few special minutes before everything got started.
Todd and I danced to “Let’s Make It Last” by Brandon Heath. Todd played the song for me when we were dating, and we knew that we would dance to it someday.
Todd proposed with a box of origami hearts with Bible verses written on them. To incorporate this, each table was a different Bible verse that Todd had written when he proposed. Our venue also had a fire pit, so we were able to have one of my favorite desserts: smores!
How did you make your wedding YOU?
Growing up in the country, a barn reception was absolutely perfect! The venue was beautiful on its own, but adding our own personal touches made it that much more special. Picking our ceremony flowers the morning of the wedding was such a relaxing way to start the day and helped calm my jitters. Incorporating small details helped tell our love story, and we have received endless compliments from our guests.
So, how impressed are you that the groom made that cake!? I think he deserves some congrats 🙂
{Vendors} Photographer: Harvest of Memories / Caterer: Servatii Pastry Shop and Deli / Bridal Dress: David’s Bridal / Suits: JoS A Bank / Venue: Everal Barn and Homestead
Charleston is one of those magical places that everyone should visit, and once you have, you want to live there. I know that if not for the humidity I would move there in a heartbeat! So when I get wedding submissions from places I love like this one, I live in them for a little while. And I want to live in this wedding!
From the bride, Megan:
What made you pick Charleston?
Owen went to college at The Citadel, and had always wanted to get married at the chapel on campus. Both the campus and the chapel held a lot of memories for him. We also loved the fact that we could have this very formal military wedding but could also find a reception site that was relaxed. Plus, what’s better than a Southern wedding?
Favorite moment of the day?
There were so many favorite moments of the day! Sentimentally I have two moments that stick out in my head: one was seeing him at the end of the aisle right when the chapel doors opened (I’d been waiting all day for that!). The other was when my father gave a welcome speech to the reception; my father rarely, if ever, cries, but he by the end of the welcome he had tears coming down (and so did I). But there were a lot of other moments or just points during the day when I had to pinch myself. For example, all of my bridesmaids and I got ready in the hours before the ceremony. They all had arrived in Charleston at different times so just having those few hours to get our hair done, and sit around and drink champagne and talk, was something that will stick with me.
Did you do any DIY or incorporate personal details into your wedding?
Ha! I think our unofficial theme of this wedding was “personal elements” or “DIY”. Our reception was an old house west of downtown Charleston, and we really wanted people to think that when they came into the house, they were coming into our house. So both families brought with them a lot of framed photos from their own homes – of their own weddings, of our grandparents, of Owen and I at various stages of our lives and our relationship, etc. Our wedding planner then staged the photos throughout the house so you felt like you were actually in our home. I also wanted to make sure both my grandmother’s were represented at the wedding; so, around my bouquet, I wrapped a handkerchief from my maternal great-grandmother and then tucked in my paternal grandmother’s rosary in the stems. We also handmade our favors; there is a winery close to where we lived, and so we went several months before the wedding and made two large batches of wine, then went back in the days leading up to bottle the wine, make the labels, cork them, etc. My mom handmade the table runners for our reception tables (buying the fabric, sewing them together, etc.) I also made our save the dates – we did them in the shape of a luggage tag, printed the save the date message on one side and put a photo of us on the other. We had several chalkboards of various sizes throughout the wedding; they were table signs and parking directions and just overall decorations. My mom actually made all of them; she went out and bought wood and chalkboard paint and painted the wood. Then, she found some old vintage frames and painted them white, then put them all together. On the morning of the wedding a friend of ours, who is a graphic artist, hand wrote on all the chalkboards, making some amazing designs and decorations. And
Owen and I are big cookie lovers, much more than cake. So we had cake available as dessert, but we also had a cookie bar set up a few hours into the reception. The cookie bar had two flavors from the baker that we loved (double chocolate and Snickerdoodle), but they also had chocolate chip (my favorite growing up). The best part, though, was that when Owen was deployed my family would mail him these special cookies that have been in our family as long as I can remember. He loved them, and they were family tradition, so our baker said if we gave her the recipe she would make them for us and have them available. And she did! So we had this cookie bar with little glasses of milk that people could snack on throughout the night.
Owen LOVES classic Mustangs – he owned one for a while and they are his favorite car. So, as a surprise, I asked our wedding planner to see if she could find a classic Mustang that we could use as our getaway car. To this day I don’t know how she did it, but she magically found a 1967 classic Mustang convertible. We kept it as a secret and didn’t tell Owen how we were leaving the reception, so the first time he saw it was as he was approaching it. We really did want as many personal details in our wedding that we could fit in (even our wedding colors were somewhat intentional – blue, green and white. Owen’s college colors are blue and white, while mine are green and white).
How’s that for DIY and personal details!? Such a charming Southern wedding isn’t it? And sooo pretty too. I love that shot of Megan’s veil blowing – I have one of me that looks almost exactly like it from my wedding. Congrats Megan & Owen on a lovely wedding and on your marriage!
Do you love Southern weddings, or Charleston, as much as me? What is your favorite detail from this one? On a totally different note – did you see the Hunger Games this weekend (I did!)? What did you think?
{Vendors} Photography: Richard Ellis Photography / Planner: Sara Hosch, Southern Protocol / Ceremony Venue: Summerall Chapel, The Citadel / Reception Venue: Legare Waring House / Florist: Branch Design Studio / Caterer: Gourmet Bay / Cake: WildFlour Pastry / Band: The Swingin Richards / Gown: Ulla Maijia
Happy Friday my internet buddies (though some of you are non-internet buddies too!) Every week I keep feeling like the wedding submissions and inspiration gets better and better, and then the next week I feel the same way! Is it just me? But before the weekly wrap up, I have this super creative and fun DIY stop motion save-the-date for you!
I received this save-the-date submission from a groom-to-be reader (totally love that BT-dubs!) who said “we are craft lovers and believe in everything DIY. We filmed the save-the-date ourselves at home in Fullerton, CA and our friend Priscilla of Green Pea Design edited it for us.”
And now for your weekly wrap-up!
{monday} this vintage owl-themed DIY wedding was one of my favorites EVER
{tuesday} inspired by tangerine tango (and lots of color!)
{wednesday} a rustic ranch wedding with coffee bean favors and mason jar invites
{thursday} engagement in hollywood with a cake smash finale
{and over on One Wed} tips for dreaming up unique bouts for your groom & spring centerpieces!
Plus I’m guest posting over at Weddingbee today! Come see my favorite bridal trend for spring!
When I was planning our wedding, I spent a lot of time (in the beginning) concerned that I wanted it to reflect “me” and be a unique event. What I realized by the time I walked down the aisle that every wedding is, by nature, unique, as it is the final combination of many months of personal decisions. And, like a snowflake, all weddings are made up of the same components, yet no two can be exactly the same!
What personal elements or DIY did you include in your wedding?
Our wedding was very personal and a group effort. My dearest friend, Michael, became a (albeit online) minister to marry us. My brother and his wife (they were married only a few months before) read the first reading. My brother in law and his wife (they were married a few months before that) read the second reading. I really felt that it was important that our brothers were reading passages on love while the objects of their love stood beside them. We had three sets of vows: ours, our new family (my husband, me, and his two children), and all the guests. My mother made all of the centerpieces for the tables, the setting tags and the linens. And, to boot, she made the “bride and groom” seatback covers
My good friend, Madison, DJ’d the entire wedding: she worked for weeks before the wedding to create a separate play list for every phase of the wedding. It was perfect.
Tell me about your invitations.
Our invitations had a hand drawing of Perfect Mason jars labeled with the words changed slightly to read “Perfect Pair”. Weeks before the wedding, we found two original blue-glass “Perfect” mason jars at an antique shop in Cashmere, just like in our invitations. They sat on the bride and groom’s table.
What was your bridal style?
I always thought Japanese weddings where the bride leaves and then comes back in a different, colorful dress for the reception was awesome. So, I toned it down a bit and bought a colorful sash and different-colored fascinator for the reception.
Have you ever seen a better end-of-the-night photo than that? I mean, there is an actual shooting star! And those invitations…*swooning* And coffee bean favors in mason jars is only like the perfect favor for a Washington State wedding. What was your favorite element?
{Vendors} Photographer: SaskiaM Photography / Venue: Pine River Ranch, Lake Wenatchee, WA / Cake: Bea at Busy Bea’s Cakes / Event Coordinators: The Bride and her Mom / Invitations: Ann at event123 on Etsy / Caterer: Val and Dave at Ravenous Catering / Wedding Favors: Laurie at Diva Espresso / Flowers: Joni at Safeway in Leavenworth / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse suit & Macy’s tie / Bridal Gown: Benita of Benita’s Bridal / Jewelry: Necklace and earrings were the pearls my host parents in Japan gave me when I graduated high school. My bracelet belonged to my late grandmother and it was my “something old” / Hair fascinators: Meg at ChapelBelle
Your monday morning wake-up call is here, in the form of adorable owls and this sweet wedding! Vintage-inspired, DIY details, cute and quirky owls, and lots of personal meaning make this wedding one of my favorites. And they had a pie bar and a biscuit bar. A BISCUIT BAR!
Katie and Jerry were married at Winfrey Point overlooking White Rock Lake. After the outdoor ceremony, where everyone sat on vintage quilts, they moved inside for a fried chicken dinner complete with a biscuit bar with a variety of honey and jam. They used owls throughout the reception space which was their high school mascot, where the couple originally met years ago. Rather than having one large cake, they opted for a smaller cake and an assortment of fruit and cream pies. Jars of honey were handed out to guests as favors and the couple left to a showering of lavender rice…and an actual rain shower. They were able to plan this entire wedding for $15,000! Just goes to show you that you can have a fantastic, personal, gorgeous wedding and not spend your life savings.
What an adorable ring pillow! And that bouquet…I DIE.
Bridesmaids in wellies? I die again!
The couple not only married each other, but joined their families and used a sand ceremony to symbolize this, giving all 3 children different types of sand, ground shells, and rock to show their individual spirits.
“thanks for bee’in with us” – such an adorable sign idea for honey favors!
I seriously want to be friends with any couple who has a biscuit bar at their wedding.
A little bit from the bride:
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
I worked with my wedding planner (Wendy from Birds of a Feather Events) to come up with a budget and then worked even harder to stick to the bottom line. Working with a budget helped me to prioritize the items that were most important.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Delegate and ask for help! Planning a wedding is stressful enough. Having good support from family and my bridal party was key for me, in particular in asking people to help in the area of his or her strengths.
What was your biggest splurge?
For me it was the flowers. They were so beautiful but also expensive for something that only lasts one day. It felt good to know they were being donated after the wedding so as to not be quite as much of a splurge.
What was your favorite detail?
Very tough to answer this one because I loved every aspect of the wedding. The personal touches of style/personality made our wedding truly unique, and so I’d say that was my favorite. Some of those were the little white owls everywhere (my husband and I went to high school together and our mascot was the owls) and even the biscuit bar at the reception (I love bread more than cake!).
What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Walking down the aisle at our outdoor ceremony and seeing how beautiful everything turned out — the scene (seriously amazing job, Wendy!!), the weather, my (handsome) husband, and my friends and family all there to enjoy it. It was a moment of pure joy I will never forget.
How much more do you love those owls now that you know it was the couple’s high school mascot, where they met years before!? Such a sweet idea 🙂 There is so much to love and be inspired by from this wedding. What is your favorite detail? Can you believe this wedding cost $15,000?
{Vendors} Planning, design, and decor: Birds of a Feather Events / Photography: Nine Photography /
Venue: Winfrey Point / Catering: Babe’s Chicken / Flowers: Bows and Arrows / Invitations: Southern Fried Paper / Cake and pies: Cakes By Brian / Linens by Laura Rizvi / Rentals: Big D Party Rentals / DJ: Ray’s DJ Service / Honey: Todd Youngblood / Bartender: Tiffany Pusateri
You know that super sweet handmade wedding I featured earlier this week? (if you missed it, go check it out first, then come back here. I’m serious, go!) Well the bride, Angela is sharing the DIY for her awesome personalized aisle runner today. She is the first official Oh Lovely Day reader DIY submission to be featured, and I hope there are many more to come! (hint hint, wink wink) So, welcome Angela! (more…)
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