This right here is the definition of a handmade wedding! Almost every single detail of this vintage glam wedding was handmade by the bride with love. It is a huge commitment, but a serious payoff for someone wanting a one of a kind wedding! The bride even loved creating all her details so much, she opened up an Etsy shop making fab wedding details for others. I am in LOVE with the bouquets!
The gorgeous bride Vanessa shares:
We chose our venue, the Palm Harbor White Chapel & Harbor Hall as it was full of charm and character. The reception space was literally a blank slate that we could decorate to represent us as a couple. The 1920’s chapel had original oak flooring and pretty stained glass windows. During the planning, we tended to look at everything through a photographer’s lens when making decisions about things: placement of the cake, color of the uplighting, etc.
We also made the decision at one point that there would not be a single flower in our wedding. We didn’t quite have room for flowers in our budget. So I came up with my own designs for my bouquet using fabric flowers, feathers, and brooches. The bridesmaids bouquets I made of yarn and paper flowers, while the boutonnieres and corsages were also made of paper flowers and other embellishments.
All of the decor, bouquets, paper items, and even the design of the cake was created by me. I love to be creative, so I enjoyed it! It took ten months of planning, but Chris and I knew all along that we wanted our wedding to be unique. We both love the color blue, so there were many elements in our wedding that reflected that. I love all things that are vintage and shabby chic, yet elegant. Many of the centerpieces on the guest tables were a collection of repurposed thrift store finds. Since Chris is a photographer and I am both an academic librarian and part-time photographer, we used both vintage books and a couple of vintage cameras in our decor to balance out all of the sparkly, more elegant items. I also used the titles of some of my favorite classic romances (e.g. Pride and Prejudice) when I created the small frames to use in lieu of traditional table numbers. I also decoupaged a large letter ‘G’ using old book pages to have guests sign instead of using a guest book. We now have it sitting in our living room as a reminder of those who shared our special day with us.
Aside from first seeing my groom when I began to walk down the aisle while hearing our violinist and cellist playing in the background, one of my favorite moments of the day was walking into our reception and seeing how all of the months of planning and creating had come together. The room was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the music set the tone for a fun evening! It was so great to spend time with family and friends from around the country (and world!) we don’t normally get to see. The sparkler send-off at the end of the night was the perfect way to begin our honeymoon.
Photography | Kismis Ink Photography | Venue | Palm Harbor White Chapel & Harbor Hall | Cake | Edible Art by ‘E’ | Catering | Delectables Fine Catering | DJ & Uplighting | Nature Coast Entertainment Services | Bouquets, Paper Goods, and Decor | Pretty and Sparkly Things | Gown | Maggie Sotterro | Bridesmaid Dresses | Alfred Angelo | Tuxes | Jos A Bank
