From the bride, Rachel: I wanted our wedding to be different from the traditional wedding because traditional just does not represent my husband and me. Both of us are pretty laid back and we wanted a wedding that allowed us to be ourselves and our guests to be themselves. In order to do this, we incorporated many things that would represent who we are. We knew that we wanted our venue to be somewhere that people would feel comfortable, so we chose a barn in which the owner allowed us to decorate and setup how we wanted. One of the other ways we incorporated a laid back feel was in our and our wedding party’s attire. I chose to design my own dress so that it would fit my style better than a dress from a bridal boutique. I’m not a seamstress by any means, so with the help of my wonderful mother, who can sew, we were able to take a plain sweet heart dress, I purchased online, and turn it into a dress that I loved. We altered the dress so that it would be more form fitting and purchased lace to create the look that I wanted.

The most unique part of my dress is that the lace is actually a curtain I purchased from K-Mart! We looked at several fabric stores, but were unable to find the pattern I wanted, so my mom began looking at lace curtains and found the exact pattern that I had in mind for my dress. I knew that I wanted to incorporate something of my grandmother’s, so I used one of her brooches and pinned it to a braided belt. For my shoes, I knew that I wanted something a little vintage-ish, so I had purchased a pair of cream oxford type heels from Modcloth which went perfectly with my dress. We also wanted my husband’s attire to match his personality, so in order to do that we actually just went through his closet and chose pieces that would match with the colors I had chosen for the wedding and to go along with a newly purchased pair of skinny jeans and tie.

As for the wedding party’s attire, I wanted a combination of the style of the wedding and each member’s style. In order to do this, we shopped for outfits that each member would want to wear after the wedding, but were in the color scheme of the wedding. As far as the decor goes, I wanted both a natural and a vintage feel. In order to do this, we interspersed lace and wood decor throughout the ceremony and reception.

For the ceremony, I made the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages from lace, burlap, sticks, and wheat tops. I gathered sticks from my yard, and purchased the other items needed from Joann’s. My inspiration for this was wanting to be original. After looking at a lot of wedding websites, I knew that I wanted to create something that I hadn’t seen before. For the reception, in order to incorporate both the vintage and natural look, I used lace table cloths, a mixture of vintage serving platters along with vintage coffee mugs for our coffee/hot tea/hot chocolate bar and then slabs of wood that my dad cut and made into tiers for the display of the pies and our wedding cake. Our wedding cake was just a small cake since we served pies, cake pops, lemons bars, salted caramel chocolate bars, pumpkin donut holes, fruit, and trail mix to the guests. The cake topper was an estate sale find. My sister baked our cake, but we hadn’t been able to decide on a cake topper until my dad found these two little owls at an estate sale and I knew they had to be on top of our cake to represent my obsession of owl figurines, which just so happens to be a family obsession on both sides.

Other things that we did to create a wedding that represented us was to make portions of the ceremony and reception that portrayed what was important to us,and what we liked. For the ceremony, we knew that we wanted God to be represented in it. He is everything to my husband and I and we wanted to represent that to our guests. In order to do this, we wanted the unity portion of our ceremony to show that He brought us together. At first, we had a hard time deciding how to do this until Alex researched unity ceremonies and found the unity braid. The braid has three strands representing God, Alex, and me. While we braided strips of lace, burlap and yarn we had one of Alex’s favorite worship songs (Divine Romace by Phil Wickham) playing and then once we braided the belt we asked the guests to join us for a moment of worship until the song ended.

For the reception, we had family and friends perform songs for us to dance to. As a surprise to me, Alex, my brother-in-laws and sweet friend surprised me with a performance of “Kiss the Girl” from my favorite Disney movie “The Little Mermaid.” It was the best surprise ever and really made our reception represent us.

Wedding Vendors (Lebanon, TN):

Wedding Venue: Private Residence / Wedding Photographer: Ulmer Studios / Wedding Dress: Made by Bride / Bride’s Shoes: ModCloth / Lace Bouquets and Boutonnieres: made by bride / Wedding Caterer: Kendra Uhl, sister of the bride / Officiant: James Ulmer, father of the bride

Related posts:

1. Tennessee Farm Wedding
2. Homespun Tennessee Wedding
3. Knoxville Tennessee Wedding

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Posted under: DIY Weddings barn, DIY, gray, handmade, lace, Lebanon, rustic weddings, Tennessee, Ulmer Studios

From the bride, Leah: I wanted our wedding to be laid back and fun — a big party — so we chose to do a circus theme. My wedding day was honestly perfect. I just wanted it to be a huge celebration with all our friends and that is exactly what I got. I had so much fun and felt so comfortable and relaxed the entire day. I had so much help from so many people that I never felt stressed out or worried that something would go wrong. I remember when I first saw everything put together… I knew it would look great, but I had no idea how beautiful it would be. It was so incredible driving away that night with my new husband. I can honestly say that was the happiest day of my life!

DIY projects included the chandeliers (got them from thrift store and painted them), curtains & bow ties (made by my mom), striped dividers (my dad made them and painted them for me), favors, invitations and table cloths… we spray painted our silhouettes on.

Wedding Vendors (Wilkesboro, NC):

Wedding Venue and Caterer: Wilkes Community College / Wedding Photographer: Alively Photography / Wedding Planner: Heather Bergeron / Wedding Dress: Vintage / Dress Alterations: Young Dress Maker & Alteration / Wedding Shoes: Michael by Michael Kors / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Anthropologie / Wedding Flowers: Sara McMillan, friend of the bride

Related posts:

1. North Carolina Courthouse Wedding
2. North Carolina Farmhouse Wedding
3. Heartfelt North Carolina Wedding

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 11 comments | Posted under: DIY Weddings Alively Photography, black, DIY, handmade, North Carolina, red, Wilkesboro, yellow

From the bride, Kim: The style we envisioned for our wedding was vintage autumn picnic with a touch of boathouse dapper: Autumnal, eclectic, vintage, boating, whimsical, handmade, textured, fabric, florals, rifle paper co.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Contrary to popular opinion, a wedding should be all about the guests! Focus on how you can make the day as special for them as it will be for you. If your friends and family are having a blast, you can be guaranteed that you will be too!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Lover’s Prayer,” Gillian Welch
Recessional: “Love Train,” The O’Jays

Wedding Vendors (Melbourne, Australia):

Wedding Venue: Fairfield Boathouse / Wedding Photographer: Jonathan Ong / Wedding Decor: Bride and friends / Wedding Flowers: Nadia’s Studio Flowers / Wedding Dress: Mariana Hardwick “Carmina” / Wedding Shoes: Rachel Simpson “Carmen” / Hair and Makeup: Y Salon / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Made by bride’s mother / Wedding Music: Baker Boys Band / Wedding Cake: The Workers Food Room / Wedding Invitations: Rifle Paper Co.

Related posts:

1. Whimsical Melbourne Wedding
2. Melbourne Mid-Century Wedding
3. Retro Handmade Melbourne Wedding

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 10 comments | Posted under: Garden Weddings Australia, boathouse, boathouse weddings, DIY, fall weddings, handmade, Jonathan Ong, Melbourne, Rifle Paper Co.

Instructions:
Step 1. Choose a font to use, write out the desired message (or the couple’s names) and print out in a large size font. If you want to place in an 8 x 10 frame, be sure that the letters fill up a good portion of the printed page.

Step 2. Cut out the names with a small pair of scissors, then use tape to tape them down in the desired location on the foam core board.

Step 3. Begin pinning around the outside of the paper words (it’s okay to pin through the tape as needed) until everything is outlined in pins. Don’t forget to pin the inside of the letters as well as the outline. Handy Tip: This is easiest if you work from left to right (or right to left if you are left handed) so you don’t have to worry about knocking out any pins you’ve already placed.

Step 4. Once the words are completely pinned, remove the paper from the inside of the pins as well as any tape. Handy Tip: If the tape is stuck under the pin, a pair of tweezers will easily pull it up without messing up any of the carefully placed pins.

Step 5. Tie a small, loos knot in the first thread color you’d like to begin with, and loop it around the top of a pin. Tighten the knot until it’s firm, and then begin wrapping all of the little pins with the thread to fill in the gaps between the pins. Handy Tips: Always make sure to outline the words along the perimeter as well as criss cross back and forth between the gaps to make the word easy to read. Also, if your thread keeps popping up and won’t stay in place, periodically wrap the thread 360 degrees around the pin you’re working on. This technique keeps the string anchored and secure.

Step 6. When you reach the end of one color (or decide you want to switch to another color), instead of trying to tie another tiny knot, it’s easiest to use a small dot of clear hot glue to affix the end of the string to the pin. Then use the scissors to snip off the excess thread and keep it looking clean. Begin with the next color by creating a loose knot again and tightening it around the pin where you left off with the previous color.

Step 7. Once all of the letters are wrapped, I used a ruler to measure out the width of an 8 x 10 frame and cut the excess foam core with an exact-o knife. Then, simply pop the finished sign into the frame (be sure to remove the glass front first so the pins can stick out), et voila! You have a lovely three dimensional sign for your event.

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1. DIY Chalkboard Sign Ideas
2. New Year’s Eve Party
3. DIY Zip Tie Chandelier

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Posted under: DIY Projects Cinco de Mayo, DIY, graphic design, string, Stylish Soiree

From the bride, Rachel: As Scott is British and I am Australian, our first decision was where to hold the wedding. In the end we decided to hold it in Australia as this is where we are currently living, but thought it was be amazing to have an English garden themed wedding. We had an amazing group of family and friends that came all the way from the UK for the day, so we wanted to make it a day everyone would all enjoy and remember. The Gold Coast Botanic Gardens were exactly what we were looking for. There was a huge fig tree right by the water, and a natural bamboo archway leading down to it. Perfect!

From the very beginning we decided that we would have a DIY wedding. We had a small budget, but also wanted it to be personalised and reflect us a couple. We wanted each of the bridal party to have quirky accessories that suited them. I chose different earrings and brooches for the girls that suited them, and Scott picked watches and socks for the boys.

We collected jam jars for months for decor and for drinks at the ceremony! DIY elements included our invites, decorations, bouquets, guestbook, and sashes for the bridesmaid dresses. Making our invites was super fun! We love photos, so created a photographic invite, with pics of ourselves. We then had the formal invite details on the back, and stitched both sides together, and tied each invite with twine and a postage tag with the guests name hand written.

For the ceremony we collected the decorations all throughout our engagement. Lanterns, vintage lace from my grandma’s glory box, bunting. We had our English guests bring fondant fancies & party rings, and we made jugs of pims and lemonade, and iced apple & cinnamon tea for refreshments afterwards.

Our main advice for other couples would be to do as much as you can by yourselves, it makes it personal and from the heart. Look for non bridal suppliers to save where you can. Wedding dress, bridal party outfits, flowers from wholesalers – you can find amazing things when you think outside the box!

Wedding Vendors (Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia):

Ceremony Location: Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens / Reception Location: The Garlic Clove / Wedding Photographer: Trigger Happy Images / Ceremony Decor: Original Occasions / Wedding Flowers: Bride and bridesmaids / Wedding Dress: Sue Wong / Wedding Shoes: Wittner / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS / Hair: Candy Hairdressing / Makeup: Lea Beauty / Groom’s Shirt: ASOS / Groom’s Trousers and Bow Tie: Roger David / Wedding Cake: My Little Cupcake Empire / String Trio: Tonic / Stationery: Bride and Groom / Celebrant: Clarah Luxford / Transportation: Byron Bay Retro Cars

Related posts:

1. Spring in Bloom Brooklyn Wedding
2. Outdoors Wedding in Lilyvale, Australia
3. Aqua and Gold Easter Inspiration

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Posted under: DIY Weddings Australia, baby's breath, bouquets, DIY, Gold Coast, handmade, outdoor ceremonies, Queensland, rustic weddings, Trigger Happy Images

DIY no sew table runner:

Step 1: Measure the width of your stitch witchery (about 1/2″ — you can find stitch witchery here). This will be your “seam” allowance.
Step 2: Iron the edge to mark where the stitch witchery will go. This gives a straighter edge. Then iron on the stitch witchery.
Step 3: Repeat the same on the other sides. Stitch Witchery is also washable, so you can use them again at home!

We created a mini round up with some of our fabrics that would make great runners. Better yet, they are mostly under $12/yard! Since most fabrics are about 54″ wide, you can make 2-3 runners.

1. black and white stripes, 2. Dwell Studio 3. Giraffe print 4. Chipper Ikat dots

1. Aqua square pattern, 2. Chipper Pink (as seen on this wedding we featured), 3. Robert Allen Yellow and Gray “Modernista” Fabric , 4. Amy Butler Love Sandalwood

1. Kimono Snorkel, 2. Navy polka dots, 3. Greek Key pattern, 4. Dwell Studio Bella Porte

Last, but not least… Burlap. It’s the darling of textiles in weddings, and we love the idea of stenciling the ends of a table runner like we’ve seen in our past real weddings:

Image above on the left from this Illinois wedding shot by Jennica Jo; right photo from this rustic wedding shot by Vitalic Photo

Image above from this wedding we featured shot by Our Labor of Love

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1. DIY Photo Table Runner
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3. Streamers, 3 Different Ways II

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Posted under: DIY Projects blue, DIY, nautical, pink, table runner

You will need:

• chicken wire
• 1×2 wood strips (at home improvement stores such as Home Depot, they can cut to desired size for you)
• chain
• small nails
• 4 small hooks (to attach the chain onto each end of the wooden frame)
• lamp kits
• L brackets
• liquid nails (or other wood glue for the frame)

Mount wood frame to desired size and secure the inner joints with L brackets. Stain or paint your frame if you’d like. Layer chicken wire over the top of your frame, and secure it with nails. This will help you divvy up the space between each lightbulb. Drill a hole on each end of the frame to attach the hooks, where the chain will mounted. From the bottom of your frame, thread your lamp kits through the wire mesh.

Be sure to check out the Film and Lace shoot captured bby Krista Mason in full right here!

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1. DIY Hanging Paint Chips Tutorial
2. DIY Birch Bark Lamps
3. DIY Film Roll Place Cards

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Posted under: DIY Projects chandeliers, Chic Celebrations, DIY, Krista Mason, lightbulbs

This can be done with old and new film canisters. If you like the vintage look, check out a local flea market. They are full of great finds and I spot these all the time! You can also buy reloadable blank film roll shells here for 89 cents each. On a strip of paper (not too thick, as it needs to have some flex to it), write out the table number and guest names. Measure your paper strips so they are not quite as wide as the film that was in the canister, ours was 1 1/4”. We chose black since it mimicked the film, but used white for the place cards.

Gently push the paper into the canisters slit, where the film would usually be coming out of. Use the corner of your paper to start off and then straighten out. You will feel the paper bend around the spool on the inside.

Roll the paper until the table number is completely inside, but the guests name is still out. How fun for guests to be surprised at their table assignment. This idea can be taken so far too – invitations, menus, even a little thank you note.

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1. Lace and Film Wedding Ideas
2. Lace and Film Love Shoot
3. DIY Sunprint Place Cards

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Posted under: DIY Projects Chic Celebrations, DIY, film, inspiration, Krista Mason

From Gianna: This is such a fun way to display photos at a wedding or event, and also a fabulous conversation starter. You’ll need a strip of fabric (muslin can be bought at craft stores like Michaels), cut the length you would like your runner to be, but the width of it should be a little thinner than you want (we did ours floor length to add drama to the table) and copies of the photos you’d like to use. Old family wedding photos, engagement photos and childhood photos are perfect for this (if you don’t want to use original photos, you can print copies for a few cents each at cost effective photo printing places like Costco – or simply print them with your printer using photo paper). Our runner was about 9’ long and took about 160 photos (we used 60 photos and duplicated them).

Starting at one end, use a hot glue gun to secure the pictures to the fabric. One small dot goes a long way. Overlap pictures and let them hang off the edges, don’t be afraid of covering up parts of the photos since you can put one of its duplicates elsewhere on the runner.

When you are about halfway through, go to the other end and start over. This way you meet nicely in the middle. And when you’re all done, wouldn’t they make a cool wall hanging in your home?

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1. Lace and Film Wedding Ideas
2. Lace and Film Love Shoot
3. DIY Ruffled Wreath

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Posted under: DIY Projects DIY, film, Krista Mason Photography

From the bride, Kirsten: We wanted an intimate wedding with a vintage family feast feel. We opted for a very rustic venue and incorporated various vintage elements into the decor.

I love vintage things, mixing and matching and anything with a pretty pattern, hence the bunting and my vintage-inspired wedding dress. Gérhardt has a passion for flying, so we decided to make our own paper jet confetti to incorporate that into our day. He also really loves Africa & I got him Lady Peculiar cufflinks in the shape of Africa with a heart on the southern tip. With regards to DIY projects – I designed the stationery, made the favours, folded paper jets for confetti with the boys, made our seating chart, crafted my own veil, did my own make-up, made fabric hearts, boutonnieres, photobooth props and the list goes on…

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? I have a couple of pointers to share out of my experience:

-Don’t leave anything until the last minute
-Some things won’t go according to plan – BIG DEAL!
-Start planning well in advance, this well help you save on costs and be more organized
-Just relax!
-Don’t be afraid to delegate. I’m one of those people who wanted to do everything myself, but I had to learn to trust other people
-Remember that it’s your wedding and incorporate elements that are special to you as a couple
-Stick to your guns even if nobody understands your ideas
-Have loads of fun and savour every moment of your planning experience
-Make family members like your mother & mother-in-law part of the planning experience even if you don’t share the same ideas
-Invest in a professional photographer

From the photographer, Catherine: Early morning misty bridal portraits, 100 meters of pink and white bunting, a lake-side ceremony in a boat house, a long-sleeved lace gown, a couple so sweet they smelled like toffee apples! I loved it all from start to finish and it was an absolute TREAT to be there to document Kirsten and Gerhardt’s special day! Between you and me, Elgin is one of my favourite places to photograph weddings! There is something quite magical about it. Simple. Rockhaven was the perfect place for Kirsten and Gerhardt’s fun daytime wedding and I almost died of excitement when I realized the ceremony was taking place in a boat house that completely opens up onto the lake.

Wedding Vendors (Cape Town, South Africa):

Wedding Venue and Caterer: Rockhaven Farm (Elgin) / Wedding Photographer: Catherine Mac / Wedding Flowers: Oak Valley Flower Farm / Wedding Dress: Made by bride’s grandmother / Wedding Invitations: Made by bride

Related posts:

1. Handmade French Countryside Wedding
2. South African Beach Wedding
3. Handmade Mountain Wedding

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 10 comments | Posted under: DIY Weddings Cape Town, Catherine Mac, DIY, farm, handmade, pink, red, South Africa, white