Project Wedding Blog

Today, a little handmade prettiness from the heartland.

Josh and Heather married in Oakland, Iowa this past October.  It’s not often that we feature weddings from Iowa… Not for any reason of course, we just don’t hear much from the Iowan folks… so it’s such a treat to have come across this gem of a wedding, photographed by our friends Jonny and Michelle of Paper Antler.

The bride is an artist and she created nearly all of the cute little details and things shown below!  She-so kindly- sent over all of her DIY instructions too, so that you can see how she pieced everything together!

DIY Whimsical Signs
Supplies: Old wood (both flat & in stick form), paint, wood glue.
Paint a white background almost to edges on flat wood. When dry, add letters (J + H) or words
(Wedding with an arrow or Just Married or Mr. & Mrs.) using a bright color (I used teal). Glue stick to
sign with wood glue and allow it to dry. Dig hole and secure in ground or nail signs to trees.

DIY Invitations
Supplies: Card stock, bird punch, edge punch, silver thread, computer, RSVP template, glue stick.
Print invitation information on card stock for RSVP cards and wedding invites. Punch edges to give them a classy, professional look (I used Martha Steward brand for edges and the birds). Punch out 2 birds on
invites. Wrap thread around top of invites. Add a fun scrapbook paper under the bird cutout using a glue stick. I made postal stamps using my artwork (bird-themed) at Zazzle.com- easy and affordable.

DIY Happy Tears Table
Supplies: Old table, old picture frame, paper, hankies, sweet little bin, spray paint.
Find an old table, sand it down and spray paint it a color you like (I used robin’s egg blue). Make a sign
that says, “Happy Tears, Please Take One” and frame it. Arranged old and new hankies in a bin you
enjoy and place on table for guests to use during the ceremony.

DIY Treats Table
Supplies: Old-fashioned or favorite candies and treats, vintage bowls, decorative take-away bags, cloth.
Collect candy and treats (I made white/dark chocolate covered apples) and arrange them neatly in vintage, decorative dishes. Cover table with a vibrant cloth. Have guests take away candy using fun bags. If you
desire, make a fun sign to hang above table (mine said, ‘sweets’  and I used leftover paper and glue).

How lucky we are to get a peek into this DIY maven’s planning process.. Thanks, Heather!

All the best to You and Josh!

Photographs by Paper Antler Photography

Ceremony & Reception Site: Big Grove Country Inn

Paper Goods & Décor by the bride- Heather McDonald- of Wildflowers & Grace

See her etsy shop too!

From the Bride: Riding home on the airplane from San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was elated after accepting Josh’s sweet proposal to me in a garita at Castillo de San Cristóbal, a fortress built by the Spanish in 1783. We opened up my journal that I take everywhere and penned our autumn, vintage-themed wedding, “Elegantly Antique.”

We excitedly planned October 8th, 2011 and hoped this wedding would be enchanting- boy was it ever! We wanted to showcase who we are as people while making everyone who would attend feel relaxed and at home.  Joshua is a brilliant writer and I am an artist who finds creating to be my therapy, so much so that I am studying to be an art therapist; we had ideas aplenty. We put our love-struck minds together and let our creative energies flow in hopes of making the vision of our dream wedding a reality. We scoured many antique shops in Wisconsin, where I am from and in Nebraska, where Josh is from, collecting trinkets and unique finds until we ran out of space to store them. I was busy designing wedding invitations, wedding programs and much of the décor that would grace the wedding site.

We stumbled upon an adorably perfect, four acre, rustic Iowan wedding site which included a Bed and Breakfast, a 100 year old chapel, a one-room school, a quaint reception hall, horseshoes and a merry-go-round, and an outdoor patio with a fire pit and scenic cornfields as far as these excited eyes could see.

Being a lover of nature, I found myself drawn to white birch trees, whimsical birds and various shades of goldenrod and aqua. I envisioned a palate of these colors on my bridesmaids and groomsmen as they stood in the charming country chapel.

Josh’s sister was busy making yellow antique rosettes for my maids’ hair and one for me made out of a blue antique flower pin and fabric from Josh’s grandmother’s wedding dress. We gathered old-fashioned candy for our loved ones to nibble on and mason jars to make hanging lanterns out of. The summer flew by as we made paper and pom-pom garland. I printed beautiful framed 4”x6” prints of my artwork to hang from twine with clothespins that would be parting gifts for our guests- to take a small piece of us with them when they went.

The wedding plans started to come together and finally the day arrived. Everything was lovely and even the weather decided to cooperate. My favorite part of the day was the beauty of love bringing all this together, that and, after the ceremony, a vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky over the Iowa corn and we ran out in the misting rain to capture shots of the glorious moment.

Tags: autumn, country, DIY, fall, gold, Iowa, teal, vintage.

Thinking of a destination wedding?  You have to check out Ria and John’s destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta.  This lovely couple wed at Las Caletas, on a stretch of secluded beaches only accessible by boat!  We’re so please to feature the utterly gorgeous photographs by Jillian Mitchell as our Real Wedding of the Week!  Get ready to fall in love with the coral, vermillion, lime green, and teal color palette, the rustic beach reception, and the romance of Mexico!

Photographs by Jillian Mitchell

Ceremony & Reception at Las Caletas

Event Design by Las Caletas Adventure Weddings

Bridesmaid Dresses by twobirds

Bridal Gown by Lea-Ann Belter Bridal

See More…

Tags: beach, coral, Jillian Mitchell, Las Caletas, lime green, puerto vallarta, rustic, teal, vermillion.

Lovebird themed weddings have been super popular this year; we’re particularly smitten with how Diana and Michael incorporated this sweet motif into their lively winter wedding at the Calamigos Equestrian. Below, we’ve chosen some of our favorite feathered details of the day, but you can catch the full story {here}.

Photos by Blaine Photography

See More…

Tags: lovebird theme, teal, white, winter.

Michelle and JP headed to warm weather, white sand beaches and tons of sunshine to say “I do.”  Before the actual wedding, they posed for some last minute e-pics with diana m. lott.  The colorful bunting is too cute, perfect against the backdrop of a vibrant island!  And polaroids?  Yes please.  It reminds me that I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one of those Fujifilm Instax cameras.

The beach ceremony was simple and scenic.  Teal accents were incorporated into the creative paper goods and fresh reception décor.  It was a day of beach wedded bliss!

Photos by diana m. lott

Coordination by Tropical Destination Management

Catering by Kissing Fish Catering

Tags: Destination Real Wedding, Diana M. Lott, teal, Turks & Caicos.

We’ve got some new goods in the Invite and Favor shops this week and of course we’re celebrating with some great deals!  I’m totally digging the juxtaposition of old-fashioned flourishes and contemporary design in these picks:

Vintage Birdcage Kensington Travel Tumbler

Pocket Invitations

Personalized Apron and Oven Mit Set - fun for bridesmaid gifts!

Every day this week, take 10% off all invites using the code PWM0111B from 11am til 11pm!  Use the code 5206FIVE for 5% off anything in the favor shop.  All discounts end February 12th.  See all the new favors and invitations in the shops by clicking the links!

Tags: bridesmaid gifts, teal, vintage birdcage wedding invitations.

And here is Megan and Tom’s super-DIY reception!  They used a vintage dresser for a candy buffet, twigs and lanterns for romantic reception ambiance, and lots of other creative items for added decor and fun. A super thanks to the bride, Megan, for sharing the photos, details and vendor information (below). See Part One, if you haven’t already!

Vendors:

Ceremony and Reception Location: Camrose Hill Farm, Photographer: Cat Norman, Table Centerpieces: bride (locally-sourced apples in mason jars), Florist: Camrose Hill Flowers, Wedding Dress, Bridesmaid Dresses and Boleros (made in Prague): Eva Brzáková, Bride’s Shoes: TOMS and Poetic License, Bridal Party Shoes: TOMS, Cake Toppers: FancieFanniesBridal on etsy, (recycled) Vintage Superhero Comic Book Table Markers: WhatsEatingYin on etsy, Joanna Stewart Bride’s Jewelry: pearl bracelet olgabest28 on etsy, “Cards” Banner on gift table: tutucrafts on etsy, Bride and Groom Postcard Signs: thebackporchshoppe on etsy, Paper Lanterns Luna Bazaar

Tags: mod, red, superhero wedding, teal, vintage.

I’ll bet you never heard of a super-hero themed wedding!  I hadn’t either until sweet Megan, the bride, sent over her and Tom’s ‘Vintage Superhero- Mid Century Mod- Eco Friendly’ Real Wedding.   They really did a great job showcasing their fun-loving style and they definitely had one of the most unique weddings I’ve seen to date.  Not into superheros? It’s ok… they did tons of cool DIYs that you might like.. Read on for more details from the bride and stay tuned for photos from the reception!  Photos by Cat Norman.

From the bride: My husband and I have had a bit of an unconventional path…we briefly had a chance meeting through a mutual friend at a birthday gathering that spiraled into a two week email affair sharing our dreams, passions and favourite colours. Less than one year later, I moved to Prague to pursue my dream in living and working overseas, which found Tom and I 4,000 miles apart, continuing to write love letters from afar. Tom came over two months later and, well, the story continued! I returned to the States in June of this year and while transitioning, job-searching, apartment-hunting, working remotely (as a marketing strategist for the hostels back in Prague), I was planning a very personal, DIY, vintage wedding.

What a crazy/beautiful whirlwind the last few months have been…it has included a 4,000 mile move, life adjustments galore, 160-page research proposal (Tom is an MD/PhD student) and oral exam (two weeks before the wedding), marriage, job-search and -accepting, apartment-search and move, mini honeymoon, business travel back to Prague (by myself) and more. Phew. Something only superheroes could handle, right?!

These are pictures from our vintage superhero/mid-century mod wedding. ‘Why superheroes?’ you may ask? Allow me to divulge. We were sitting in one of our fav. hangouts on a sunny summer afternoon (The Bad Waitress, Minneapolis), trying to determine our wedding theme. We both have very strong personalities, love to travel, Tom’s family is Polish, we are indeed eclectic, and passionate…and we wanted to find a theme that would appropriately embody these characteristics. We looked around us for inspiration. And we found it. You see, The Bad Waitress is a retro-diner-style cafe/restaurant adorned with a vintage superhero theme…they mark your tables (we were sitting at the ‘Incredible Hulk’ table that day), and are located on every piece of collateral they have. We’ve always said we wanted to conquer the world together…we love kitschy diner food (and food in general)…we love superheroes and we love the combo of old and new. There you have it, it was a match made in heaven (or, The Bad Waitress, I guess), and our vintage superhero/mid-century mod theme emerged.

Tags: DIY, Eco-Friendly, mod, red, Superhero real wedding, teal.

Today’s real wedding is a romantic yet contemporary affair that took place in September in Santa Monica, CA.

These beautiful photographs were sent to me by the artistic Kristi Klemens of KLK Photography, who was there to capture the events of the day.  The contemporary color scheme of white, teal, and brown was inspired by Hanna’s experience as an interior designer .  The white walls, brown lighting fixtures, and teal floral carpet, along with the beautiful natural backdrop of the teal colored Pacific Ocean at The Sheraton Delfina turned this vision into a reality.    Congratulations to Hanna and Seung!  Below are just a sample of the gorgeous images that Kristi was able to capture on that beautiful September day.

Check out the full editorial on Hanna and Seung’s wedding in our Real Weddings Gallery.

Tags: brown, contemporary, teal, white.