Colorful, handmade, and meaningful, today’s DIY wedding captured by Smile Peace Love Creative is the perfect inspiration if you’ve been dreaming of a fun casual wedding! How cute are all the handmade mismatched printed napkins? They add so much fun and color to the reception!
We wanted to get married in our home town and wanted to keep it personal. We asked a friend if we could get married at their home because it is one of the most beautiful grounds you could ask for in the perfect location. We also wanted to keep everything local and small town. Anything that we did not do on our own we used local services for and are so glad we did. I wanted an eclectic mix of patterns and textures as well as natural and personal feel for our day. We used a mix of blues and greens with white. There was a vintage vibe that went perfect with the Victorian home that we spend the morning getting ready in and the intimate smaller crowd.
My dress was the only dress I tried on. I had gone to pick up a bridesmaid dress and it was hanging on its own next to the desk. I called my mom over , who was looking at all of the other wedding dresses, to look at how amazing it was. We were both just in aw of the fact that everything I wanted in a dress was right there in front of me, which I never thought I would find EVERYTHING in one dress. It was my size and once I tried it there was no doubt it was meant to be. My earrings were custom made over 25 years ago for my Nana. She had worn them for my aunt and uncles wedding and they were perfection with my dress. I also wore one of her pearl and silver bracelets. I was also blessed to be able to wear my late aunts engagement ring for the day as well.
We married ourselves with a self uniting service. We wrote our own vows and the entire ceremony. We also set our chairs in a circle so we could be surrounded by our loved ones. During the ceremony we had our rings passed around the circle so everyone could say a silent blessing on them for our marriage and relationship.
We just wanted our wedding to be US. Our wedding was about the love that Albert and I share for one another and that’s what we wanted our guests to feel and experience. We paid for everything so I had planned a budget and priced things out for an allowance for each area. We stuck to our budget and did not have to give anything up. The one thing we did skip was a minister. We applied for a specific wedding license and married ourselves, which was just another part of staying true to ourselves. Standing with him in the center of a circle of loved ones and becoming husband and wife under our own power was a beautiful thing.
Our whole wedding was pretty much DIY. Our centerpieces included glass bottles that we dug up from Albert’s grandmothers land (in those days they had bottle pits!) We washed and scrubbed them and they gave the space so much charm and individuality. Our seating chart was a dresser with shots of tequila with a flag with guests names on them and table name flying out of the lime wedge. Our hand made sign said “take a shot and take your seat”. Our tables did not have numbers, but instead names of places we had traveled to together . There was a book standing up on the table with the pace written on it and a photo of us at that place affixed to the book cover. We also had old books throughout the space and venue. We enjoy reading and think that books are a great way to travel as well.
Our guest “book” was actually an old globe on a tall stand. We wanted to have something we could display in our home and not just put away after the wedding and with the thought of travel what could be more appropriate than a globe. The best part was hearing from everyone after the wedding saying that they had never been to a wedding like ours and how much they enjoyed the feel and experience.
One of our favorite moments of the whole process was the next day after cleaning and having rentals picked up Albert and I took one more trip to the venue to make sure everything was done. We stood in our empty tent in the dark looking around remembering the day before and how sad in a sense that it was over. Albert asked for one last dance at our wedding. Alone in the dark, Albert turned his phone on and we slow danced, just us in the moment crying and laughing about how wonderful it all was.
Photography | Smile Peace Love Creative | Rentals | Chippy White Table and J&J Tent Rentals | Cupcakes | Love at First Bite Cup | Catering | Leave it to Donna | DJ | Sounds by Shane | Dress | The Dress Lounge | Hair & Makeup | Alex Gleco Hair
Submitted through Matchology
