What’s modern, yet vintage, with a touch of whimsy? Today’s amazing handmade wedding from Jerry Yoon Photographers! This couple is so creative and really created an event that was completely their style. Can you believe the bride made her own veil and caplet? Or even those amazing necklaces for her bridesmaids? Then there are all the modern geometric details that are too awesome. So in love with everything about this fab wedding!
Van and I didn’t realize it initially when we got together, but we both came from very DIY-oriented families. This became especially apparent as we started planning the wedding. Anything we could do ourselves, we tried to do ourselves. And for areas we weren’t well versed in, our family and friends contributed their talents. So the DIY aspect just came naturally. As for the look of the wedding, we wanted something that juxtaposed our interest in history and antiques with our modern, progressive point of view. We tried to find a balance between those two potentially opposing ideas while also expressing the creative personalities that define us both. Van is a mechanic and likes constructing custom pieces for our home when the mood strikes him. Together we tried to create an atmosphere that felt modern but that gave a nod to where we came from without being overly “retro.” We also tried to incorporate the city of San Jose as part of our inspiration. We referenced vintage San Jose on most of the table numbers as a shout-out to our city.
As for the dress, I had originally been eyeing wedding dresses constructed with illusion necklines. But when I found the Nicole Miller dress, it seemed the perfect shape, so I decided to create an “illusion” capelet out of tulle and some beaded lace applique pieces I purchased online. After a few attempts, I made a matching veil out of tulle and secured it with a vintage hair clip. I also constructed a unique necklace for each bridesmaid using old pieces of jewelry, beads, tulle, and applique. Finding the right shoes were a challenge for a long time, but I eventually decided on some simple nude pumps for the ceremony and the United Nudes for the reception. I loved that they were different from what most would consider a wedding shoe, and visually they mirrored the facet shape we had been using elsewhere in the invite, decor, and favors.
What amazed me about this wedding was the support and contribution of our friends and family, right up through the day of the wedding. We held several get-togethers for wedding projects where even people we never considered to be “crafty” got in on the action. My mother, who is actually very crafty, lives out of state but managed to make all of our gold table mats from afar. She also came to town extra early to help with countless other projects. Van’s mother did an incredible job with all the flower arrangements, bouquets, and boutonnieres in the days leading up to the wedding. We hired an amazing day-of coordinator (I can’t recommend that to people enough!) which allowed even our day-of helpers to relax and enjoy themselves. Friends filled the roles of Officiant and MC. My sister/maid of honor played the violin with a cello accompaniment (also a friend) as I walked down the aisle. And one of our groomsmen made a pre-mixed set of our favorite songs that played during cocktail hour. It really was astonishing to experience that amount of personalization thanks to those we are so lucky to know.
In the early stages of planning, I scoured wedding blogs to find out what the trends were and used Pinterest a lot to collect things I liked. I loved looking at Anthropologie store windows because of their complex and dramatic effects. Over time, I began to see patterns in what I was collecting and the look started to take shape. At that point I tried to use what I had collected as inspiration but made an effort not to copy anything directly; everything needed to make sense for us. In general I really love to browse thrift and antique store shelves for treasures and things that can be used in unexpected ways, so a lot of what we created came from doing just that. Van was also instrumental in developing the idea for a sign-in table. I wanted something that would encourage guests to explore their creative side. After wracking my brain for weeks, Van suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere suggested the quilt idea, so we ran with it.
The big hit of the night was the photo backdrop wall. I had seen similar walls on wedding blogs and loved the idea of having cut-outs so guests could pose behind as well as in front. Luckily our venue had tall door openings because that thing was big. We even had to rent a moving truck to transport it! But it was well worth it to see our guests getting creative taking photos with it, and it was also a chance to showcase some beautiful photos of our grandparents.
Photography | Jerry Yoon Photographers | Venue | Seven Trees Community Center in San Jose | Coordination | Weddings by My-Dung | Florist | Anh Tuyet Vu | Cake | Dick’s Bakery | Gown | Nicole Miller | Shoes | United Nude | Bridesmaid Dresses | David’s Bridal | Makeup | Jenny Nguyen | Hair | Tallie Choudhry | DJ | Keith Baclig
