As I mentioned earlier today, I'm more than a little excited to share this wedding with you…
Janis is the photo blogger behind My Suitcase Heart where she documents life in Canada, her travels and most recently, her beautiful wedding to talented wedding photographer, Michael Thomas. Janis has kindly offered to share their wedding story but before every wedding, there comes a proposal. And theirs was one of the sweetest. (It involved Scrabble!) See their charming proposal film here.
Janis and Mike's wedding was beautifully eclectic, creative and laid back. They bucked tradition and started their day together with an informal family breakfast, followed by a first look under a big, beautiful tree. Their ceremony and reception took place on the second floor of a historic building ~ a blank space which they filled with incredible DIY decor, thrifted furniture and darling details. There were white heart balloons, baby's breath, doilies, film canister favours, old doors, gold animal table markers, a bride with short cropped hair and a 1985 red VW cabriolet. Oh and the photos are by Josh Dookhie.
Is it any wonder I couldn't wait to share this wedding?!
A Unique Way To Spend The Wedding Morning:
The morning of our wedding was a bit different than most. Since I didn't have to get my hair done at a salon (woo pixie cut!) and we didn't have a wedding party, we had some free time in the morning. We decided to spend that extra time with our families.
We all went out to breakfast and then took some casual family photos. Family photos often tend to be a bit rushed in between the ceremony and reception, so we decided to block off some time for them, go to a cool location, and use fun heart shaped balloons. We didn't want to be in our wedding formal wear for the breakfast and family photos, so I hunted high and low for a pretty, white sundress.
The Ceremony:
We hung doily bunting above the aisle and placed mason jars filled with baby’s breath at the end of each row of chairs. We also set up some old white doors from Old House Revival behind us on the stage. We signed the registry on a table that we found at a garage sale for 25 cents. We filled the rest of the stage with old suitcases. Window panes, and flowers. For the processional, we played “Wisconsin Beaches” by Headlights. During the signing of the registry, we played “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee and we walked out to an instrumental of “Animal Arithmetic” by Jonsi.
Janis is such a stunning natural beauty ~ I adore her pixie hairstyle!
I also love the idea of an intimate, informal wedding breakfast with close family before the official ‘wedding breakfast'. Part 2 is coming up tomorrow and I suspect the eclectic, vintage decor and details at their reception will have all you lovely DIY brides grinning from ear to ear!
Want more inspiration?
~ More DIY weddings ~ More vintage weddings ~ Short & Chic hairstyles for brides ~
