Category: DIY Wedding Blog

I wanted to end the day with a huge thank you to Kelly for sharing her gorgeous wedding today on Once Wed. Guest blogging takes a lot of time and energy out of most people’s already limited free time, so I really appreciate Kelly taking the time to put everything together for us(including her lovely tutorial and detail shots). Not only is Kelly an amazing designer, but she also creates the most adorable children clothes and sells them in her etsy shop. To see more of her sweet designs, click here.

Oh, and here is a list of Kelly’s vendors…

Venue:  Blue Dress Barn, http://www.bluedressbarn.com
Caterer:  Country Kitchen Catering, www.ckcatering.biz
Cakes:  Elliott’s Cakes, www.elliottscakes.com
Photographers:  Benjamin Dell, www.benjamindell.com
               Shay Spaniola, www.shayspaniola.com
Florist:  A Stem Above, www.astemabove.com
Dress:  See details above.
Groom:  Jos. A Bank
Groomsman:  Jos. A Bank
Bridesmaids: Bill Levkoff

**I completely forgot to mention that Kelly’s beautiful wedding is featured in the current issue of Martha Stewart’s Magazine. She offers some great tips on finding a photographer for your wedding in her editorial. This new issue has some great DIY wedding projects too**

With a tight budget and an eye for design, I created these unique
centerpieces for my October 2007 barn wedding. There just happened to
be a fallen tree in my parents backyard, so my Dad cut it up and saved
it for the big day. I picked up all of the other items online or at
local craft stores and with a little help from family & friends one
afternoon, we created 28 one of a kind centerpieces. The wedding was an
evening of rustic elegance – a look that you can create for your own
wedding with just a few inexpensive items.

What you will need:

· slice of wood ( 11″ diam x 2.5″ h)
· glass cylinder vases ( 11″h, 9″h, 6″h x 3.5″ diam) you can find these at
Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michael’s Crafts, and Hobby Lobby
· pillar candles ( 3 varying heights to fit in each vase)
· ribbon & yarn
· fabric, wood, or dried flowers
· double sided tape
· scissors

Instructions:

1. Cut 3 pieces of ribbon/yarn (one arms length per piece). Wrap each vase with ribbon/yarn. Attach ends of ribbon/yarn with double sided tape to surface of vase. I chose to wrap with a knobby yarn, satin ribbon, and grosgrain ribbon to create a variety of textures. I also wrapped the ribbon/yarn at different heights on each vase to create more interest.

2. Attach fabric/wood/dried flower to a piece of ribbon and tie around tallest vase.

3. Insert pillar candles into vases. arrange cluster of vases on wood slice, keeping the sides with the tape facing the center.

4. Arrange fabric/wood/dried flowers on wood slice around the vase cluster. Light the candles and enjoy your rustically elegant centerpiece!

FYI: The wooden flowers shown are no longer available for purchase. I would suggest creating fabric flowers or heading to a local craft store and picking up some dried botanicals. If you are interested in creating these centerpieces in large numbers, I would suggest ordering the vases in bulk. Feel free to contact me for resource info.

This project was inspired my something I had seen in Martha Stewart Weddings a while ago.  Each boutonniere was a mix of textural fabrics; corduroy, suiting, and felt.  I layered the fabrics, stitched them together at one end, and tucked in a spray of berries and greens. Pssst……..the greenery and china berries are fake!

Jeremy and I were excited to create something different for our centerpieces.  We wanted something rustic, textural, and warm to place on each table. My Dad cut up a fallen tree in my parents’ backyard for the centerpiece base. Glass hurricanes with ivory pillar candles, wooden flowers, ribbons and yarn sat on top of an oak slice in the center of each table.  It was the most stunning sight to walk into the dimly lit barn and see the warm glow on each table!

I purchased a label-less gown at a local boutique In Chicago. I custom detailed the gown myself. Taking pieces of organza, I created a ruffle trim along the bust line. With careful attention, I added an elegant button closure on the back of the gown. The same details were used to construct my veil. The silk shrug was made by Jenny Yoo.

Kelly put together a wonderful DIY tutorial for her centerpieces coming up next…

[Images c/o Benjamin Dell and Shay Spaniola]

I poured many hours into this project and it was well worth it!  Hand-torn taffeta backed each piece of the main invitation, which were then wrapped with thread and adorned with iridescent shell buttons.  The invitations were sent out in long rectangular  chocolate envelopes with coordinating custom stamps.

My sisters and friends are scattered across the country, so instead of making a phone call to ask each of them to stand up in the
wedding, I decided to send them each a small note.  I wrote a little message to each of the girls’ and printed it out on silk, which I then stitched to a grey note card.  I placed a delicate leaf on each card and wrapped the grouping in chocolate thread.  I received excited responses the following week from each of them!

The idea for the place cards sprouted from the realization that I over-bought certain materials for the invitations.  I created a
document in Adobe Illustrator with each guests name and their table number. I printed this out on a sheet of cotton twill (yes, fabric sheets that you can run through your home printer!) and then tore the fabric to create frayed edges on each place card.  And for the finishing touch, an iridescent button was attached to each fabric card.  After all of this, I still had extra buttons, which I decided to scatter on the place card table.

More lovely details coming up…

The inspiration for our wedding came from a number of places;  fall season, champagne color of my ring stone, charm of the barn, love of fabric, texture, and creating things. An evening of rustic elegance was the mood we decided to create for our day. The Blue Dress Barn was the perfect start in creating this mood; exposed beams, vintage chandeliers, the charm of an old barn in the woods. Texture,color, and vintage finds were a few of the things that we wanted to incorporate into the day.

Champagne, ivory, warm grey, and touches of deep chocolate created the lovely palette of warm neutrals.  Tissue taffeta, silk dupioni, and organza were just a few of the different fabrics used in various projects.  Thread, knobby yarn, and satin ribbon also had a strong presence in the full scape of the day.

There are so many more amazing details coming up next…

[Images c/o Benjamin Dell and Shay Spaniola]