Monday, October 7, 2013

DIY Bridesmaid Shirts

These were easy and fun to make and my bridesmaids loved them! The girls wore their shirts while we all got ready for the wedding together, which made for fun photos. I bought white, cotton, v-neck t-shirts at Old Navy and found all the below shown supplies at a craft store. 

1.) Wash and dry the t-shirts before sewing to ensure the fabric won't pull weird around the stitching later on. 
2.) Cut a piece of jersey knit fabric and place behind the area you're going to stitch. Place the knitting circle over the area, ensuring the fabric is taunt. 
3.) Use a pencil to lightly stencil on the letter or design you want to stitch on to the shirt.
4.) Thread needle, tie a knot at the end of the thread.
5.) Start stitching from the inside of the shirt. Keep even stitch lengths. I recommend using a stitch that loops back on the inside of the shirt instead of just going in and out. This gives more support to the fabric and prevents any weird pulling on the fabric. If that doesn't make sense think about it like this - You know you're doing it right when you can see the full letter from the inside of the fabric just like on the front. 
6.) Tie off the end of the thread on the inside of the shirt and remove the hoop. 


DIY Wedding Decor

DIY weddings require a lot of work, both in planning out and creating so many decor elements, and executing the day of, but it's so worth every glue gun burn! I loved being able to hand craft every detail of our big day to ensure it embodied who we are as individuals and as a couple. Here's a sampling! 

I had several really beautiful paper banners made by one of my bridesmaids!
This one, featuring our wedding date, hung on the front of our entry table.
Menu painted on vintage framed window. Table assignments clipped to a large bird cage themed wall hang.
Center pieces: wood slice, white wine bottle sans label, hand made chalkboard and twine necker. Wedding arrow painted on vintage framed window. Autographed wood slice instead of traditional guest book. Sweetheart table decorated with bird cages, an "I Do, Me Too" paper banner, and our initials. 
Tables decorated with burlap runners. Mason jar glasses with paper straws.
DIY burlap pillows with "Mr" and "Mrs" painted in white.
These were placed on a Victorian couch in the cigar and port lounge. 
Vintage wooden frame turned into a wine cork board with burlap and lace runner and flower.
Handmade ring pillow for bride's ring. 
Wood box painted white with silk flower attached to the top for groom's ring. 
Wine charm favors doubling as place markers at table settings
Hand painted wooden cake toppers
Beanbag toss hand made by my dad for the lawn games featured at our cocktail hour.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Wedding Vendors

Wedding planning is hard; harder than you think it's going to be; harder than it sounds when people tell you about it. Even with an extreme level of organization, it's simply not possible to get through the entire process without any frustrations or unexpected setbacks. My best piece of advice is to find vendors who you connect with, who you're comfortable with, and who are easy to communicate with. Let your vendors know up front what level of interaction you need from them so the expectations are set right from the beginning. 

I absolutely have to brag on our wedding vendors because each and every one of them completely blew me away with their quality of work and day-of execution.

VENUE
Young's Vineyard
   - When we were shopping around Shenandoah Valley for a winery venue, Young's Vineyard became our clear choice from the moment we set foot on the property. The vineyard owner, Annette, is friendly and easy to work with and can almost always be found in the tasting room alongside her employees. We highly recommend their port, zinfandel and chardonnay! 

CATERING & RENTALS
Clark's Corner Ione
   - Clark's Corner's event coordinator, Jessica, is the most personable and enthusiastic caterer I've ever worked with. Jessica was open to developing a menu that met our taste and style rather than pushing us into any already developed packages. The entire staff seemed genuinely excited to be a part of our wedding and never gave off an "I'm just here to work" vibe. Jessica also orchestrated all of our table, chair, place setting, and linen rentals through Party Smart. Clark's Corner wasn't just a vendor, they were a part of our wedding!

MUSIC
DJ Maestro
   - Abel had a website where our guests could request reception songs ahead of time. There were no hidden fees for sound equipment, as his base package includes his table, two speaker stands and a lapel mic for the officiant. Abel was good about sticking to our day-of timeline and was flexible when necessary. Abel has seamless transitions, good volume control and uses the clean edits of songs.

POPCORN STATION AT COCKTAIL HOUR
   - Popcorn Wagon has a wide selection of drool-worthy flavors! The website has a guide that helps customers determine the appropriate volume to order. It was easy to schedule our delivery. The popcorn arrived on time and tasted fresh. Their prices are extremely reasonable for the quality of product!

OFFICIANT
Galen Dalrymple
   - Galen has known me since I was five years old, and he and his wife have remained some of my parents' dearest friends all my life. It was important to Scott and I that we have someone officiate our wedding who was and would continue to be invested in our lives and marriage. Galen provided pre-marital counseling during our engagement but was never intrusive. He was open to conducting the ceremony in a way that Scott and I were comfortable with. I couldn't have been more pleased! 

PAPER SIGNS AND BANNERS
My incredibly talented bridesmaid Erin Yamashita-Urevig (soon to be on Etsy!)
   - Erin isn't available to you just yet, but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as she is! Erin's creativity and quality of work never ceases to amaze me! Her banners were the perfect finishing touch on our decor, and tied our theme together in such a Pinterest-worthy way!


Wedding Music

I can hardly believe our wedding was already four days ago! We had an amazing time celebrating with our family and friends, and were so pleased with how all of our hard work, planning and crafting came together. I'll post more details and photos over the next week. 

I'm already getting lots of questions about our music so I wanted to get that up for you guys first!

Ceremony:

WEDDING PARTY PROCESSIONAL - Ben Harper "Forever"
BRIDAL PROCESSIONAL - Ben Harper "I Shall Not Walk Alone"
RECESSIONAL - Bruno Mars "Marry You"

Reception:

FIRST DANCE - Ed Sheeran "Kiss Me"
CAKE CUTTING - Michael Kiwanuka "I'm Getting Ready"
BOUQUET & GARTER TOSS - Kelly Clarkson "Tie It Up"
LAST SONG OF THE NIGHT - The Mowglis "San Francisco"

A sampling of music played at our cocktail hour:

Adele "Love Song"
Alexi Murdoch "Love You More"
Amos Lee "Shout Out Loud"
Beirut "Nantes"
Ben Howard "Only Love"
Brett Dennen "Make You Crazy"
Bruno Mars "Just The Way You Are"
Chairlift "Bruises"
Dierks Bentley "Come A Little Closer"
Don Henley "For My Wedding"
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Heroes "Home"
Edwin McCain "I'll Be"
Faith Hill "Give In To Me"
Frank Ocean "Thinkin Bout You"
George Harrison "What Is Life"
Hunter Hayes "Wanted"
Ingrid Michaelson "Can't Help Falling In Love With You"
Ingrid Michaelson "You and I"
Jimi Hendrix "May This Be Love"
John Legend "Stay With You"
Keith Urban "Only You Can Love Me This Way"
Keith Urban "Your Everything"
Kenny Chesney "You Save Me"
Led Zeppelin "Going to California"
Lee Fields "You're The Kind of Girl"
Lynden DAvid Hall "All You Need Is Love"
Matchbox 20 "Overjoyed"
Matt Kearney "City of Black & White"
Mat Wertz "I Will Not Take My Love Away"
Mindy Gledhill "I Do Adore"
Mumford and Sons "I Will Wait"
Musiq Soulchild "Don't Change"
Passenger "I See Love"
Phillip Phillips "Gone, Gone, Gone"
Phillip Phillips "Home"
Ray LaMontagne "You Are The Best Thing"
Royal Wood "I'm So Glad"
Ryan Adams "Desire"
The Black Keys "Dearest"
The Honey Trees "To Be With You"
The Lumineers "Ho Hey"
The Lumineers "Stubborn Love"
The National "Don't Swallow the cap"
The Neighborhood "Sweater Weather"
Train "Marry Me"