How do you stretch your wedding budget? This DIY barn bride shows us!

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DIY brides unite to applaud this ever-talented, resourceful & creative Virginia bride! Not only did our bride Kathleen save on her wedding budget doing loads of vintage-inspired rustic DIY projects, but she handcrafted a super intricate stationery suite and filled her wedding with hand calligraphy.

And clearly, Kathleen has some calligraphy chops. We find pretty painted signage throughout the wedding from welcome signs to table numbers, favors to menus. But it’s her stationery that sports the ultimate wow-factor. The gorgeous monochrome invites feature handmade illustrations of their rustic barn venue, gold foil (that she did herself!) and vintage calligraphy styling.

And what does every DIY bride need? A custom made Etsy wedding dress of course! Plus, the countryside barn venue gives of all the whimsical, rustic vibes perfect for a vintage DIY filled wedding. We bow down to you Kathleen!

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Pretty Pink DIY Barn Wedding With Loads Of Calligraphy Ideas | Audrey Rose Photography 18

Photo by Audrey Rose Photography via Bridal Musings

Our Love Story

I’m a hard person to surprise, so I really didn’t think he would catch me off guard – but my friends, family, and Alan definitely went the extra mile to make sure I didn’t see it coming. They practiced the night shoot positioning beforehand and even had a timeline and scripts of what to say to me that day.

My cousin (who does photography on the side) asked if my sister and I wanted to do another photoshoot, but this time at night. When I told Alan about it, he really wanted to join in so we could take couple photos too. My friends joined in last minute. During the shoot, we had fun experimenting with different lighting effects in the dark.

When Alan and I were taking photos, my cousin asked us to do a corny pose with me looking up at the sky (away from Alan) like Superman and Alan in a different pose. She did a few like that because she wanted to get it “perfect”.

During the last shot, they said, “Kathleen, look at Alan!!”. Confused, I turn around and see Alan down on one knee, with a ring in his hands. It was a great idea because every expression got captured on camera.

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Photo by Audrey Rose Photography via Bridal Musings

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Pretty Pink DIY Barn Wedding With Loads Of Calligraphy Ideas | Audrey Rose Photography 21

Photo by Audrey Rose Photography via Bridal Musings

The Stationery & DIY Details

For our wedding, I really wanted a soft, vintage look. I had a mostly neutral color palette with gray, white, some greenery, and touches of blush. I definitely did my share of researching Pinterest boards and wedding Instagrams for inspiration. Like many brides, I had a vision of what I wanted, but I needed to be mindful of our budget.

To save costs, I decided to DIY as much as I could to cut back. Decor was the number one area I could work in advance and save money.

For our invitation suite, I designed, printed, foiled, and cut everything from scratch. I wanted it to have that vintage, calligraphy style and finished each one with melted gold wax seals. The envelope liner is a hand-drawing of our venue, Barn at Edgewood.

Those were my favorite DIY, but there plenty of other ones: the hand-painted signs and mirrors, personalized hangers, centerpiece flower arrangements, pedestal bowls, menus, calligraphy table numbers, ceremony programs, polaroid magnet favors, and more. I couldn’t have done it all without the help of my amazing family and friends.

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“When I found Audrey’s work and went through her photography blog, I knew she would be a great match. Her work is consistently beautiful and had a bright quality. She did such a wonderful job for both our engagement photos and our wedding.”

– Bride Kathleen, on the photography

The Desserts

My husband and I have a big sweet tooth, so I knew I wanted to do something special for dessert. Donuts are my favorite, so what would be better than having a donut truck that serves hot, freshly made donuts? It was a huge hit with our guests!

Advice to Other Couples

I had two wedding planner binders that were gifted to me at the beginning of our engagement. They were nice to look at, but in the end, Google spreadsheets were my best friend when organizing my wedding plan details. It’s way easier to have an online document that’s easily accessible wherever you are.

For buying custom made-to-measurement dresses on Etsy, it can be very hit or miss. I bought my wedding dress on Etsy and I absolutely loved it. I got it for an amazing price and it fit like a glove. Unfortunately, the seller I got it from is no longer on the site.

Since I had such a good experience, I chose a different highly-rated Etsy seller for my bridesmaids. The seller had almost 10,000 reviews so I thought it would be a “safe” choice. Three of my bridesmaids bought from there and all three were poor quality and ill-fitting. Since they’re “custom-made” you can’t return them. For your bridesmaids, I would highly recommend choosing a store or website that offers free returns or free try-on’s.