When two creative people fall in love, you know they are going to have an amazing wedding. There are just so many sweet handmade details to fall for in rustic wedding captured by Blueberry Photography. I love the heirloom plant centerpieces! Such a unique idea!
We currently live in Berkeley, and my style has always been eclectic. As an artist and an avid collector of vintage ephemera, I used many objects of my own and borrowed from family and friends. I designed and made almost everything that wasn’t rented with the help of my creative friends, or I made a conscious effort to use recycled elements from our East Bay community reuse centers. My gown was gold, so we concentrated on incorporating that color throughout, and he loved a deep cobalt blue.
My bouquet was wrapped with one of my favorite Vera vintage scarves. I pinned it with two brooches belonging to each of my grandmothers.
I designed all my own stationery. As an illustrator it was very important to have our invitation feel old like one of our favorite children’s books. We printed our announcement on flat balsa wood, and I individually sewed each envelope out of vintage wallpaper and made a flower tie closure to accompany it (as a nod to my past as a bridal hairpin designer… I used to design a line called K.Autumn.) The hairpin I wore was the last hairpin I ever designed.
The rain certainly wasn’t our favorite part of our wedding day! It was truly our family and friends. They were amazing. They pulled us through the rainstorm which devastated us out of nowhere in a California drought year as the ceremony began. Everyone grabbed anything they could and hauled it into the barn… Save the wedding! All because of their efforts, the day was spared despite the soggy mess which remained outside. We lost nearly all the decorations we’d spent months painstakingly making with our friends and family. The entire wedding turned upside down in minutes, but we had to just let it all go and truly be in the moment. It was powerful, and the love that was felt was immense. It really put life into perspective, and we couldn’t have made it through without their love and support.
Growing up in Sonoma County, we always knew we would marry there. It felt right to have the wedding at home, and outdoors. Twin Hill Ranch was a local apple farm in Sebastopol where my husband once picked apples as a boy on a class field trip, and we were charmed by that memory. I had driven by it all my life too. It was a rustic active farm property with a barn, and so naturally it was a raw space to work with. Ironically, we were the last wedding that took place there before the farm sold and it permanently closed.
We’re both creatives, so the most important element that was a constant theme throughout the wedding was to pay tribute to the work and creativity of our grandmothers. Both sides of our family were blessed with amazing craftswomen and both of our grandmothers had crocheted all their lives. We had nearly 100 doilies and crocheted tablecloths, tapestries and heirloom hankies between all of our families. I sewed them into individual garlands and then took some larger pieces and made a giant crochet doily ball for the dance floor out of chicken wire. It was beyond crazy, but I’m so glad I did it. It’s one of the most memorable things I’ve ever designed in my life. My mother-in-law spent months growing heirloom herbs from seed and succulent gardens for our table centerpieces. Those were amazing.
It was most important to us to have a creative wedding. Something different. Being together 18 years, and then deciding to get married — We don’t fit the mold. Our friends and family expected that. Budget was also a large concern. We had a shoestring one so you’re forced to be creative and think outside the box. Luckily I have a wide net of creative friends, so we all put our heads together and just went for it and had fun!
Photography | Blueberry Photography | Venue | Twin Hill Ranch | Planning & Florals | Madeline Trait | Cake | Montclair Baking | Catering | Haute Catering & Nitro BBQ Sonoma County | Rentals | PTE Rentals | Paper Goods | Bon Weekend | Entertainment | Perfect Day Events & Michael Shifano | Dress | Erin Fetherston | Hair & Makeup | Chrysti with Flaunt Makeup Artistry | Hairpiece | Kelly Autumn | Shoes | Kate Spade | Suit | Kenneth Cole | Officiant | Korie Shokmalli
