Peach, gold, roses, pom poms, glitter, baby's breath, Geronimo balloons, Pinterest, Etsy, Instagram…
These are a few of my favourite things.
And all of them are incorporated into Katie and James' creative and modern vintage wedding.
Katie's wedding dress drapes like a dream and has a floral, asymmetric strap that takes it from wow to WOW. Her bridesmaids wore various neutral and champagne shades, while James donned a sharp suit, check tie and what look like stripy socks (way to mix those prints!).
You know I love to start the week with a beautiful bang and it doesn't get much more beautiful than a handcrafted, Etsy wedding and Claire Eliza‘s natural, tender photography.
Happy, happy Monday!
A Neutral Colour Palette and Vintage Milk Glass
Our colors were pale pink, peach, white, cream, light brown and gold. Katie has a love for all things vintage and knew that she wanted to incorporate vintage milk glass pieces into the wedding.
For nearly a year, she and her mom went from thrift store to garage sale to estate sale to find milk glass. The milk glass looked absolutely gorgeous with hydrangeas, rose, and baby’s breath arrangements as the centerpieces on the burlap table runners.
The Flowers
Peach roses, pale pink hydrangeas, and baby’s breath. We also incorporated succulents into the wedding by using them as our wedding favors.
DIY Balloons
As an avid blog-reader and Pinterester, Katie collected ideas from all over the internet. She loved the look of the balloons from Geronimo (http://geronimoballoons.com/home/) but couldn’t afford to spend upwards of $150 on a balloon. So she took matters into her own hands, ordering 3 ft round balloons from Amazon and attaching gold streamers to get a similar look for less.*
The Ceremony
Katie’s uncle played Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” on piano as the wedding party walked down the aisle. When it was her turn to walk, he played an original piece that her aunt wrote for them. It was so special to walk down the aisle, surrounded by all of my loved ones, to a special song. The ceremony was performed by Katie’s childhood pastor, Mark Edwards. Mark perfectly tied in his role as a children’s pastor to the ceremony by using quotes from children about “love”. James, Katie and all of their guests laughed and cried along to this sweet ceremony.
After being announced husband and wife, James and Katie walked back down the aisle to “When You Wish Upon A Star” from the Disney movie Pinocchio. Very fitting, considering they went to Disney World for their honeymoon!
Decor and Details
With a busy schedule and little time to craft, Katie bought most of her favorite decorations off of Etsy. The beautiful tassle garland was Katie’s favorite Etsy find. It added the perfect pop of color to the white walls. The garland was from Everly Lane. Another favorite item was the glittery gold “Cheers” sign on the bar, bought from Tanie over at Unicorn Parade. The succulent favors were bought from Irwin Family Farm and the tags were from Smilingtag.
Katie’s mom, Barb Viola, was the mastermind behind most of the decorations. With her crafty nature and an eye for design, she made Katie’s vision into a reality. She hand sewed all of the burlap table runners, made the “Mr” and “Mrs” signs for the back of the bride and grooms chairs, arranged most of the flower centerpieces, thought of all of the ideas for the aisle and ceremony stage, and decorated the guestbook and gift tables. She truly was amazing!
The Refreshments
The food was mouth-wateringly good. Feed Co. Catering served up an all vegetarian Italian meal for the guests. From baked ziti to white beans and kale to eggplant parmesan, we are still craving the food!
We decided to have a dessert bar instead of a traditional wedding cake. Desserts were all made by Laura’s Gourmet Bakery. The cake for the cake cutting was made by the couple's friend, Samantha Delgato and was decorated with sugar flowers from Signe Sugar.
The Wedding Music
Processional: “Katie’s Song” arranged by Cheryl Waitkevich (written by Katie’s aunt Cheryl Waitkevich and performed by her husband, Robert Jorgensen)
Recessional: “When You Wish Upon a Star” from the Disney movie “Pinnochio”
First Dance: “Sea of Love” by Cat Power
Disposable Cameras
We wanted to see the wedding from our guests’ perspectives so why we bought 12 disposable cameras. Our guests had a blast taking silly pictures of each other and of us! We had a good laugh after developing them. We also invested in a Fuji Instax Mini camera. Katie’s aunt, Cheryl, took photos of all of the guests for the guestbook. Next to their photo, they wrote sweet little messages.
Photography
One of the most important elements of planning the wedding to us was the photography. It was also important that we feel comfortable with our photographer. Claire Eliza was the obvious choice. Claire and Katie grew up in the same community and have been acquaintances for years. After we got engaged, Claire was the first name that popped into our heads. Although Claire is located on the East Coast now, she was more than happy to fly out to the West Coast to photograph our wedding. We were thoroughly impressed with her ability to interact with our guests and take beautiful pictures!
Favorite moment
The dancing! Our guests had a blast dancing to all of the fabulous music the couples friends-gone-DJ’s picked out. But one of the very best moments was definitely when Katie’s dad and God father danced to “Gangnam Style”. On a more serious note, the toasts given by the bride and grooms fathers, the best man, maid of honor and Katie’s best friend were the sweetest!
Advice for other couples planning their weddings
Be flexible and patient (and if you’re not, prepare to learn how to be!) You may have everything planned exactly the way you want it, but there are always complications around the corner. You will survive and everything will be beautiful. Believe me; none of your guests will notice if one of your paper pom-poms is out of place or if your decorations aren’t as perfect as the ones you tried to recreate from Pinterest. Your wedding day will go by SO quickly. Try to soak up the moment or else it will all just seem like one big blur.
Thanks so much to Katie and James for sharing their wedding with us and to Claire Eliza for these gorgeous photos.
Their wedding just goes to show that by purchasing decor and details from independent artists on Etsy, you can create a hand crafted, DIY feel to your day even if you don't have the time to do lots of DIY projects yourself!
*Here are some fab tutorials on how to create your own DIY Geronimo balloons and Tassel Garlands (and where to buy them).
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