Think Pink for Spring
Jenni and David’s Wedding
A blushing bride in a blush pink wedding dress.
Happy Friday! I hope you all have a fabulous three day weekend—I will be busy remodeling our new home.
To start the weekend off on the right foot I wanted to share this travel themed wedding that has a lot of personal details! Jennifer and John were definitely DIY masters—there wedding was overflowing with homemade decor! Here is what Jennifer said about day:After several years of airplanes and adventures in our long distance relationship (we had 3,000 miles of continent between us), our wedding was designed as a nod to our cross cultural relationship (John is a first generation Canadian, his family immigrated from Holland, I am an American, we met in Uganda) and a celebration of our motto that life is a journey — marriage simply begins a new chapter of that journey.
I never really considered my budget to be small — in fact, I was honored to have almost $7000 to use, but with almost half of that devoted to the photographer, all my dream decorations, food, and festivities had to come out of an even smaller budget. Occasionally I felt the pinch, but I’m thrilled with what I was able to do for less than average.
We designed our wedding around the inspiration found in a 1970s National Geographic: full of adventures, experiences, and muted colors. I threaded that theme throughout the day by letting our guests (who flew in from literally all over the world: British Columbia, Holland, Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, Arkansas) experience a horse drawn carriage ride to the ceremony site, creating the adventure of a woodland wedding ceremony (complete with spiders and squirrels!), all while filling the day with pops of happiness yellow.
I chose to use maps everywhere to enjoy not only the many miles we’d traveled full of adventures as a long distance, multi-cultural couple, but also to symbolize the continued journey as we continue our life together (we started the journey with a honeymoon roadtrip across the country — 3200 miles in twelve days). I collected globes from friends and family, I used mod podge and vintage maps to create our cake topper monogram, I cut photos out of National Geographics to create the bunting streamers. I painted vases yellow and filled them with pinwheels made of maps. I scoured thrift shops and collected 50 picture frames, repainted them yellow, and lined the pathway with these symbols of adventures-yet-to-be-had, photos-to-be-taken. I collected vintage suitcases and filled them with part of my collection of National Geographics.
One of John’s uncles handed us ice cream (homemade & delicious!) as we were finishing family photos; we slipped a few feet away from the crowds and sat down on the front step of the cabin we’d converted into a reception hall. Sitting there with our ice cream, we watched my cousins play lawn games, we heard the ice cream machine clunking through its routine, we saw family becoming friends and friends mingling with family. The nieces were playing with flowers and pinwheels, the littlest cousins were weaving through the party on bicycles, and everyone was reveling in the day. So many smiles. That is the perfect moment.
Advice for other brides: Dr. Seuss said it well: “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” To other brides wanting to create a unique, memorable wedding day, I say: DO IT. You have a vision unlike anyone else, so follow it! In my case, the very people who couldn’t fully grasp my vision of a middle-of-the-woods-with-burlap-roses wedding (and questioned my decisions along the way) are the same people who had loads of fun at our wedding and raved about it for months afterwards.
Dress: Hong Phu in Ho Chih Minh City, Vietnam // Cake: The Bread Basket, Floyd, VA // Photography: Red, White, and Green // Hair: Sheri Killion of Floyd, VA // Venue: Mountain View Bible Camp in Dugspur, VA
What caught my attention most with this wedding was the fun ceremony backdrop. I think it was super creative of Brittany and Chris to spell out their “I do’s” with letters!
I love the s’more on a stick idea—-what a yummy dessert!
I love cake as much as the next sweet-lovin’ person out there. I also love breakfast foods (well the carb-laden breakfast foods that is). So when those two things are combined sparks fly! They are budget friendly, gorgeous, DIY-friendly, and delicious…what more could you ask for?
I like the powdered donuts with the red heart best—what’s your favorite?
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10
Aubrey Joy Photography never disappoints–she has captured yet another fabulous wedding that I am head over heels for! When I laid eyes on James and Christina’s music themed invitations (all of which were designed by the groom) I was in awe. The detail that they put into their special day is over the top! Christina had this to say about her wedding: We were inspired by the things we love: music, fun and friends. We wanted an outdoor all night dance party and that’s exactly what we got! James really got into the DIY aspects of the wedding and as a more “big picture” bride, his help with the details was invaluable.
Our favorite moment of the night was the raging dance party that broke out the instant we were done with our mother/son and father/daughter dances. All of our family and friends were so happy to be there with us and having such a good time that it made the night a blast and absolutely perfect.
The menus were screen printed on wood rounds by James (the groom).
Cfhristina’s family brought typical Ecuadorian sweets in for the desert station.
There are so many ways I could describe 31 Bits—amazing, fabulous, beautiful–but I think I will go with crazy-gorgeous! I am seriously in love with my necklace and bracelet from them. They have so many pieces that would be perfect for bridesmaid gifts, bridal jewelry, or just your every day life.
What makes 31 Bits even more spectacular is that they are made by women in Uganda–so you not only get a beautiful piece of jewelry, but you are also helping women in Africa make a living for themselves.
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