THE WEDDING

So, I realize that it's been a while since I updated this.  There has been this thing going on...we like to call it "THE WEDDING".  It took up a good amount of my time the last ten months. Actually, all of my time and all of my brain cells.  I really like details.  And now that it's over, I can look back and say it was the. BEST. DAY. EVER.  The countless hours that I schemed and crafted were absolutely worth it because I put my heart and soul into our wedding.  A few people thought throughout the process that my mom and I were crazy (ahem dadjosh) but we would reply, "Can't you see all the love???" You may not have noticed the napkins, but my mom did.  She picked them out and it was a big deal.   I can admit now that there were moments of sheer panic and fear.  What if it rains?  Barn or field?  Why doesn't anyone rsvp right?  Where is my fiance and why does he work all the time? 

But the day of our wedding was absolutely blessed, and perfect, and beautiful.  We picked a mid-September wedding date and it ended up being the longest heat wave of the summer - it doesn't get much better than that. And the day was so much more special to me because of everything that I put into it.  It truly reflected who we were and what we wanted it to say about us. 

For anyone who wants to go through this crazy experience at some point in the future, here are my tips:

1. Elope.  Just kidding!  We heard that one a few times.  Be realistic about your expectations.  If you decide to get married at a non-traditional venue (i.e. someone's yard)  and do most things yourself, it is going to be a lot of work!  If you choose a traditional venue and hire people to do things for you, you'll be a lot less stressed...but it might not feel as personal to you as it could have. 
2. Have a vision.  It's great if you have a big picture idea of how you want your wedding day to feel from the very beginning.  We focused right away on making our wedding, fun, relaxed, and personal, and that helped us make a lot of major decisions.  I made a powerpoint where I collected ideas and photos that appealed to me and used that for inspiration. 
3. Be organized.  I used a giant binder and added tabs for each aspect of the wedding.  (I know.)  This was a really great way to keep invitation samples, vendor information, and everything else in one place.  I was really amazing at keeping this updated at the beginning, but slacked off a lot when I got busy.  By the end I had huge piles of wedding papers and had to dig through everything to find what I needed.  It would have been a lot easier if I would have avoided this!  I also made a spreadsheet for my guestlist where I kept track of addresses, when the invitation/save the date was sent, when they rsvped and the number attending.  If you use Excel you can keep a running total going without doing the math, which is amazing.  I made a column where I predicted how many people from each party I expected to attend, and would update my prediction as people rsvped.  This turned out to be really helpful because lots of people will forget to rsvp. 
4. Keep it in perspective.  I was stressed and overwhelmed the night before my wedding, but somehow I woke up in the morning completely calm and relaxed.  You can put everything that you have into planning all the details of your wedding day, but at some point you have to let it  go. I was determined to focus on enjoying the day - which was beautiful.  And while it was pretty close to perfect...my dress was gorgeous and also a fly trap.  I had to pull bugs out of the layers of tulle during pictures - unexpected. I could have freaked out because I hate bugs, but now it's just a funny memory.  It's a good idea to appoint someone to handle all of the logistics for you on the wedding day.   We did that and introduced them at the rehearsal, so everyone knew who to go to with their questions and I avoided having to deal with mini-wedding crises.  
5. Focus on each other.  Our pastor asked us to write letters to each other to exchange on our wedding day.  He read them during our ceremony and it turned out to be one of the most special moments of the day.  Even if your pastor doesn't make you do this, you'll be really glad if you do!  We are going to keep this tradition going and write letters to each other for every anniversary.  We also managed to take a walk together right before our ceremony which helped to calm my extreme nerves, and we decided to do a "sweetheart table" for our reception rather than the usual head table.  This was perfect for us because our wedding party was able to sit with their families and Josh and I were able to have time together.  I highly recommend this if you are okay with being non-traditional.  

My mom and I could probably be wedding planners after all this, but NEVER AGAIN!  That being said, I absolutely loved my wedding and it was more perfect for us than I could have possibly imagined! 

 Picking these dahlias from the dahlia farm the day before my wedding was one of my favorite parts of setting up.

We bought this box at an antique store, painted it yellow and distressed it.  I made the banner out of card stock and added the vintage tablecloth - another antique store find.

 I collected old family wedding photos and hung them on the trees around the reception area.  We found the pictures frames at thrift stores, painted them white and distressed them.

 My mom and I hand-painted all the wood signs that we used. 

My mom made this banner out of stiff white fabric and edged it with  gray card stock. 

We made these poms out of tissue paper, wire and styrofoam...they were a HUGE project. Worth it?  I'm not sure, but they were cute.  They also started falling apart the day before the wedding. 

 We lined the front of the barn with benches and threw quilts over them that we either borrowed or purchased from antique stores and thrift shops.  My grandma sewed the gray and yellow pillows.

My mom and I made this sign out of burlap that we hung over an existing structure.

We used dahlias, vintage bottles, and fruit crates to decorate the entry.

 We used our engagement photos to create our guest book and I made the sign by spraying an old mirror with chalkboard paint.  The quill on our guest book table was used in Josh's grandparent's wedding. 

 My maid of honor and I made this arrangement using flowers out of my mom's garden and large vintage milk jugs. 

 I painted this sign using an old cabinet door, which was already white. 

 We decorated our cocktail hour with a photo clothesline of Josh and I.  A few pictures may have blown away before the cocktail hour earlier in the day though...

My mom and I painted these signs and my dad and brother put it together for us.  The chair was a thrift store find and the flower basket was planted by us earlier in the summer. 

 We used clusters of vintage bottles for our reception and gathered flowers from family and friends. 

 I made the bride and groom signs hanging from the back of our chairs  using picture frames and ribbon. 

 I made the banner for our "sweetheart table" out of stiff fabric painted with chalkboard paint.

My grandpa made wire hangers for mason jars which we attached to tree trucks around the reception area.  This genius idea came from my friend Lea a few days before the wedding. 

Our plan was to make s'mores at this fire; however, we were so busy dancing that we forgot all about this.  Jumbo marshmallows anyone?

We hung old pop bottles with fishing line from the upper beam of our food tent. 

Our bar was made out of a huge crate that we salvaged from a wood pile near my parent's house.  My dad and brother nailed tin to its front and used old pallet boards to make the top. 

We lit candles in mason jars hanging with fishing line from a wooden beam above our bar.

Our vendors:  Venue - private residence; Bride's dress and veil - Alicia's Bridal; Bridesmaid dresses - American Eagle; Jewelry - JCrew; Tuxes - The Formal House; Flowers - Alice Joy Weddings and Events; Photography - Stefan Elmer; Sound/DJ - Kaiser Audio; Catering - Candi Laird; Cake - Meachelle DeVries; Ceremony music - friends of the bride