Good morning,
I hope you enjoyed a super fun weekend ~ for those of you in the US, Happy 4th of July!
As always, I like to kick the week off with a stunning wedding…and Alison and Ryan's wedding is truly Stunning, with a capital S. Other S words associated with this gorgeous wedding are Sarah and Seven {I can't enough of bride's in Sarah Seven wedding dresses!}
Alison describes their wedding as ‘personal, DIY and memorable' and let me tell you, this couple are the chicest geeks you'll ever see. They read their vows off an iPad and had a Star Trek inspired ‘Live Long and Prosper' banner!
Alison also explained that ‘the whole wedding was a kind of DIY festival!' Which means lots of gorgeous details for us to swoon over, my favourites being the bright and beautiful hydrandea bouquets, the feather boutonnieres, the rustic invitations and the homemade cake {Alison's gran's recipe ~ made by her mum} with a vintage tea cup full of flowers as a cake topper!
The Bridal Party's Style:
We wanted our wedding party to look as though they all showed up to our wedding wearing their favourite dresses/suits and just happened to look coordinated and fantastic! I wanted my bridesmaids to be wearing different colours and different styles, but to still wear elements that would make everything cohesive.
The hairpieces were custom pieces by Myra Callan of Twigs & Honey that contained a common thread of elements such as pheasant feathers, guinea feathers pearls and a bit of colour.
We chose suits of different pattern, texture and slightly different colours for the groom and groomsmen. We wanted the plaid pattern to be incorporated in to each look, but not exactly in the same way. The ties were the product of many hours of scouring the internet for the right colour of plaids! The boutonnieres were made by me and I tried to use pheasant feathers, guinea feathers and flowers to coordinate, but not match their respective partner that they would be walking down the aisle!
Wedding flowers and boutonnieres: My wedding bouquet was picked from a neighbour’s hydrangea bush and the white hydrangea bouquets for my bridesmaids were bought from Petals Flower Farm in Gibsons, BC.
The groom and groomsmen’s boutonnieres were made by me, with pheasant and guinea feathers purchased from Michael’s craft store and with flowers dried by my mother, all tied together with natural twine from the hardware store.
How fun are those last shots with the colourful vintage umbrellas?!
The thing I love most about this wedding is how it was such a team effort: Alison, Ryan and their family and friends chipped in to make it such an incredible ‘DIY festival' of a wedding! Also, the iPad…awesome touch.
Come back tomorrow for the couple shots and reception captured in all their glory by the super talented Jamie Delaine. Check out Jamie's website and blog to see more of her fantastic photography. {Her ‘about' video is the cutest!}
For those of you who'd like to know how it was all put together, here are the DIY details for the ceremony…there are a LOT:
♥ A good number of the flowers and all of the potted plants that we used to decorate the ceremony site were grown by our mothers in their gardens, and others were generously given to us by friends and neighbours! The flowers for the reception were purchased at Dahlias Galore, in Sechelt BC and Petals Flower Farm in Gibsons, BC. All the flowers were arranged by my bridesmaids and best friends in plant pots and vases collected by our families from personal collections and thrift and vintage shops. The mother of the bride made flower wreathes to decorate the family property.
♥ I made the fabric garlands at the top of the hill from scrap pieces of fabric from my mom’s sewing projects and bolt ends from fabric stores in and around Vancouver and Victoria. We made the paper banners (“Alison & Ryan”, and “Live Long and Prosper”) and the paper pompoms were made by me and my mother. We printed photos that I took and pinned up building design sketches that Ryan drew for his school assignments at Dalhousie University.
♥ My bridesmaid Pam Mah made the tissue paper seed bombs from beach pea and nasturtium seeds that our family had collected from the beachfront boulevard in front of the cabin. These seeds were thrown at us as we walked back down the aisle as a married couple (the nasturtium seeds were rather painful!).
♥ Ryan and I designed and made the paper programs for the ceremony, my mother sewed the canvas pockets, and my bridesmaid Pam tied them all together with twine and feathers and dried flowers.
♥ My mom (mother of the bride) made the purple and linen chair backs and we tied mason jars with hydrangeas to the fence posts.
♥ My dad (father of the bride) made a wood and fabric shelter for the luncheon table. The sweet and savory snacks and the homemade
♥ Watermelon Mint juice and Vanilla iced tea were made by the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride. The altar was made from boat ladders and wooden flower boxes made by the father of the bride. The father of the groom set up the speakers and microphones for the music and wedding ceremony.
Amazing huh?! What are your favourite details?
Reception venue: Bonniebrook Lodge / Florist: flowers purchased at Petals Flower Farm, Dahlias Galore / Photographer: Jamie Delaine / Wedding dress: Sarah Seven / Veil and hairpiece: Twigs & Honey / Wedding Shoes:Christian Louboutin / Jewelry: Violette Veldor Boutique, Alexis Bittar / Hair: The Rainbow Room / Makeup artist: Pam Mah / Bridesmaid Dresses: Sarah Seven, BCBG / Bridesmaid Fascinators: Twigs & Honey / Groom’s suit: Hugo Boss / Tie: Paul Stuart / Groomsmen’s suits: Coppley, Club Monaco /Caterer: Bonniebrook Lodge / Dessert: Bonniebrook Lodge / Wedding invitations: Blackstone Press / Umbrellas: Bella Umbrella / Chair Rental: Gibson’s Party Rentals
