rustic wedding

09/17

emily + randy

We love pretty weddings. And, we really love pretty weddings with a DIY touch. Emily and Randy’s wedding had it all – a pretty bride and handsome groom, a lovely setting, creative DIY’s, a yummy dessert table, a gorgeous ceremony backdrop and an amazing photographer to capture it all, Connie Dai Photography.

Today, Emily, the bride {and now happy newlywed} shares her tips for how she added personal DIY touches to her wedding day, and why you should try it too.

In Emily’s words…I definitely recommend DIYing as much as you can. It adds such a personal touch to your big day, and including those items as decorations in your home after the wedding are awesome reminders of the day. Honestly, putting on some tunes and creating beautiful things is great therapy during an often stressful time!

After you read about the easy DIY’s, please visit Connie Dai Photography to see more gorgeous photos for this beautiful couple’s special day. You won’t regret it – they are stunning. And it’s not just us that thinks so – Style Me Pretty thought so too.

DESSERT TABLE
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Glass Cake Stands
Find glass plates and glass candlesticks from a dollar store and E-6000 glue from a craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels.
Glue a candlestick to the center of the bottom of a plate.
Let dry.
Leave as a single plate for small cakes, or add a couple of layers for a unique cupcake stand.

The other cake table pieces, the green box chalkboard and the compartment stand, were both from World Market.

ESCORT CARD FRAME

Find an empty frame (Hobby Lobby had a perfect wooden frame to go well with our details)
Buy chicken wire at a home-improvement store {hopefully your handy husband has a staple gun. If not, buy one or thumb tacks or something similar should work}!
Stretch chicken wire over the back of the frame and staple periodically around the frame.
Trim excess chicken-wire with wire cutters and bend any sharp edges.

WOODEN RING BOX
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Check the wooden crafts aisle at Hobby Lobby or Michaels for inspiration for easy decoration projects.
Find a small box to hold rings.
Stain the pre-made wooden crafts. I bought one brown stain and one grey stain. For some projects I used only one color, and for others, I mixed the two colors together for variety and a nice rustic color.
Paint on your new initial by hand or with a stencil in a contrasting color of paint.
Voilà! Cheap, simple, and fun wedding projects!

Thanks Emily and Randy. And, thank you Connie Dai Photography.

{images via Connie Dai Photography}

11/15

Country Wedding with Sunflowers, part 2

Rustic. Yellow. Elegance. Barn. Romance. These words describe the inspiration for our dream wedding reception.

We took one look at Crooked Willow Farms and knew that it was made for our reception. The big, red barn is tucked in the midst of mountains, farmland and a white, picket fence – a perfect setting for our Colorado wedding celebration.

I have always dreamed of a vibrant yellow wedding with sunflowers. Ever since Drew and I were surrounded by the sunflower fields of Tuscany, Italy, I knew we wanted to be surrounded by the same sunshine and happiness on our wedding day.

We had a lot of country touches at our reception. Guests were greeted with horses and a hayride. Wine barrels served as cocktail tables. Horse shoes were the good luck charms for our guests that hung on a rustic, wood door on display for escort cards. And, our entire wedding party changed into cowboy boots for the reception.

I’m all about details. So, we made sure the DIY projects throughout the wedding reception were one-of-a-kind.

Custom cut and hand painted antique wood signage (made in our garage), were scattered throughout the reception area, pointing guests to reception, cocktails and restrooms, but also reminding them to “dance” and “eat, drink & be married”.

Our table numbers were made with burlap fabric, wood numbers and rustic photo frames.

We created custom sunflower seed packets for place cards. Women received sunflower seeds to ‘plant, love, grow’ in the garden, and men received edible sunflower seeds to ‘crack, chew, enjoy’. They went perfectly with our sunflower theme and gave guests a sweet reminder of our wedding day.

Kids received sunflower chocolate suckers for their sweet place card.

Drew and I danced to our high school song, ‘Making Memories of Us’ by Keith Urban. I remember listening to that song at only 16 years old and imagining our first dance together on our wedding day, dancing to that song. It was an emotional moment for me – I couldn’t believe my dream of marrying Drew was finally a reality.

From my emotional walk down the aisle with my dad toward man of my dreams, to our first kiss as a married couple, to my gorgeous, handmade bouquet to match my dress, to an unforgettable wedding party entrance, to emotional and hilarious speeches, to amazing sunflower balls and arrangements, to dancing under a beautifully draped tent and rustic chandelier, to a sparkler send-off… our wedding day was everything that I had dreamed of and more – a day that I will never forget.

VENDOR LOVE

Dress: Amsale Bijou from Felice Bridal Salon

Shoes: Jimmy Choo ‘Isabel’, Nordstrom

Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo from Bella Bridesmaid

Groom/Groomsmen Attire Rental: Al’s Formalwear

Planner: Jessica, Tre Sorelle, trejsorelle@gmail.com

Paper Products {Invites/Programs/Menus/Escort Cards/Sunflower Seed Packets}: Fleur de Lis, a paperie

Ceremony: Holy Ghost Catholic Church

Reception: Crooked Willow Farms

Bridal and Bridesmaids Jewelry: Kathryn Giarratano Jewelry

Photographer: Jenna Walker Photography

Guest Book & Escort Door photos: Cori Cook Floral Design

Videographer: Creative Mountain Images {CMI} videography

Caterer: Epicurean Catering

Cake: Intricate Icings Cake Design

Tent: Event Rents

Linens: Kimi Hansen, Après Party and Tent Rental

Floral: Cori Cook Floral Design

Décor/ Lighting: Rodd Metcalf, LMD Productions

MakeUp: Aldo Celeste, Flirt Salon

Hair: Kristina Porreco, 303.313.9791, A New Image Salon

DJ: Jeff ‘Maestro’ Hughes {violinist} and DJ Q

Cocktails Entertainment: Derek Evilsizor

Transportation: Fox Limo

Horse hayride for guests and wedding party: Gary, Kodiak Ranch

posted by jodi 8 Comments
Filed Under: diy, rustic, wedding Tagged: barn wedding, colorado wedding, cowboy boots, crooked willow farms, diy, rosette, rustic wedding, sunflower, wood signs, yellow wedding

11/14

Country Wedding with Sunflowers, part 1

After a little over a year, I am so excited to finally post my own wedding on Tutto Bella! I hope you enjoy 🙂

I met the man of my dreams when I was only 15. Exactly six years after he asked me to be his girlfriend, he asked me to be his wife.

We tied the knot on September 3, 2011 in front of 220 of our closest friends and family at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in downtown Denver.

Lanterns lined the aisle in one of Denver’s most beautiful and oldest churches.

I was so in love with our programs. Stephanie from HuberArt on Etsy sketched the church where we were getting married, and Tutto Bella’s own, Jenna, owner of Fleur de Lis, a paperie, created this one-of-a-kind program. It was perfectly classic and timeless.

For my ‘something blue’, my mom had a rosary custom made in sapphire, my birthstone. It was so beautiful, and I loved how Cori attached it to my bouquet.

My nephew, Jameson, pulled my niece, Gabriella, down the aisle in a rustic wood wagon with a sign on the back saying, “here comes the bride”. They captured everyone’s attention with their sweet and innocent smiles before my dad and I walked down.

DIY burlap bags were handed out to each guest after leaving the church. Inside each bag contained “The Perfect Mix” of butterscotch trail mix (our favorite!), “Happy Trails” direction cards to the reception venue and custom photo water bottle labels.

I was at a total loss for words when I saw my bouquet for the first time. It was exactly how I envisioned it and more. The intricate detail that Cori put into creating it for me was absolutely amazing! Thank you, Cori, for making the bouquet of my dreams!