Category: DIY Wedding Blog

I’ve been a big fan of Steep Street for quite some time now, so I’m absolutely thrilled about featuring Hannah and Alex’s wedding today on Once Wed. Kelty, the ridiculous talent behind Steep Street, was kind enough to send over a ton of gorgeous images for the feature as well as a few details behind their day…

Hannah and Alex have known each other since childhood and lived in the same neighborhood, swam in the same pool and went to the same elementary school! They were married beneath the very oak tree they played under as children. The wedding was a casual an wonderful experience… both of them stood inside hoola hoops under the tree as a dear friend read them their self-written vows inside the cover of a favorite Doctor Seuss book. The reception was totally casual and hilarious… everyone loved the pinatas and small details, as well as the HUGE candy table spread (most of which they brought back from a summer trip to Spain), multi-flavored cupcakes and a cake made by Alex’s mom with Hannah and Alex figurines on top.  Each table was littered with multi-colored dahlias, vintage tin toys, and childrens games.

As a wedding favor, they recorded three of their favorite song covers (doing all the cheesy instrumentals and vocals themselves!) and burned cds for the guests, using my 8 different designs as simple slip covers for the music. They’re so awesome! We entitled the cds “Faux Real”, to give a sense of their playfulness in general, a hint what the wedding would be like, and a way to describe the art pieces that they’re living in together…. as other-worldly as their own lives!

To see the rest of this amazing wedding, check out the fabulous Steep Street blog later today. Kelty has the full post coming up plus all their album covers which are ridiculous gorgeous!

P.S. – We’re doing a soft launch of our vendor guide on Monday…finally. We’ve got some great vendors already on board with many more on the way. Have a great weekend!!

I am so excited to introduce another one of our wonderful sponsors this morning on Once Wed, Alix Klingenberg. I’ve always thought Alix does such a lovely job of capturing couples and details in the moment. Almost as if you don’t even know she is there which to me is exactly what you want when looking for a photographer…

Even though Alix is based in Chicago, she travels frequently for weddings all over and also offers a winter wedding discount of %10 off between Nov. and March. To see more of her beautiful images, check out her website and blog.

When I stumbled upon Victoria and Fritz’s wedding through Fances May, I was instantly smitten with the entire celebration. Not only is this the first camping wedding we’ve ever featured on Once Wed, but you can tell looking through all their photographs just how personal and fun their entire wedding was. Instead of hiring one specific photographer for the event, they asked photographer friends and family to document with film, digital, holga, and polaroids. I love the idea of asking friends and family to lend a hand, and think if a traditional photographer isn’t in your budget going this route is a great alternative.

Fritz and Victoria were married this summer at the Groom’s childhood home in Forks, WA. They had a vintage camping wedding. Most of the wedding was DIY. Fritz is a graphic designer in Portland, OR and Victoria owns Frank James Clothing and is the editor of Scene PDX. For more information please refer to their website @ www.frickyforever.com or check out their wedding flickr.

To see individual photographer credits, check out Fritz and Victoria’s flickr.

We’ve never featured a camping wedding before on Once Wed. Stay tuned for more loveliness tomorrow…

Katrine and Peter’s lovely wedding was supposed to go live yesterday, but apparently I still don’t know how to work my post timer. Here goes take two….

Peter and I got married on August 8th, 2009 at the West Kortright Centre in East Meredith, NY.  We met at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY just a couple miles from where we tied the knot.  We were best friends for most of college and by my senior year (his junior year) we started dating.  I left after graduation to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.  By the time I got to Vermont (about 500 miles) I was missing my sweetheart so bad that I decided to get off the trail for a little visit.  The first night of my visit we played hide and seek in the pitch black, and I fell into a hole in the ground spraining my ankle.  An accident indeed, but one that had good consequences…the rest of the summer was spent working on the Pond House, a straw-bale house (his senior thesis) in East Meredith, just minutes from where we were married 5 years later. The style of the wedding shadowed our personal styles.  Laid back casual with a touch of vintage chic.

Wedding Dress – I bought the base of my dress from JCrew and then handed it off to my friend Jessamee Sanders to embellish.  We met in her studio (barn) to discuss ideas and I knew right away that she was going to do such a wonderful job~we share a very similar aesthetic.  She used vintage silk and lace from slips to embellish the dress, layering the pieces in tiers to create the train.   Living several hours/states apart (she lives in East Meredith, NY we live in Scarborough, ME) she would send me photographs of ideas, and then I would respond to what I liked/or disliked. When I finally saw the dress in person it was more beautiful then I could ever imagine.

Bridesmaid Dresses – J. Crew

Necklaces-I made necklaces for the bridesmaids from vintage fabric and chains that were given to my mother from her aunt many years ago.  The colors and textures of the necklaces were very similar to my dress.

Grooms suit – J. Crew

Flowers – from our friend Liz Searles garden.  She arranged poppy pods, ferns, wild flowers and purple globes.

Caterer- Jonah Shaw, owner of the Quarter Moon Café

Venue-The West Kortright Centre, located in East Meredith, NY is right down the dirt road from where Peter and one of his groomsmen, Gerrit built a straw-bale house.

Music – Our friend Andris Balins was the DJ. After playing some tunes of our iPods he spun records and kept the party dancing late night.  Friends Eric Coen and Mike Clark played some of our favorite Rolling Stones songs, it was really magical.

Paper Installation – My mom and I made white paper leaves that we hung from the inside of the tent around the chandeliers.  We also hung some between two trees to create a backdrop for friends to take photographs in front of.  We set up a little wagon filled with vintage costume supplies and treasures to use as props.

Photography – The best photographer in the world!!! My friend Jim McGinley. He did such an incredible job and was running around the whole time with a huge smile on his face.

Thank you again, Katrine, for sending in your beautiful wedding. We wish you two lots of love and happiness!