Handmade Woodsy Wedding

With just three months to plan their wedding, Elijah and Alison pulled together an army of friends and family to pull together a totally handmade soiree at the bride’s family vacation home in the California mountains. They even turned the house’s garage into a stunning dining room, topped off with one of the most gorgeous collections of colorful vintage glass I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t it look so cozy? Be sure to check out their day-after session in the gallery! Captured by We Heart Photography.

From the bride, Alison: I had three things in mind when planning our wedding: simple, custom, and DIY. We evaluated almost every aspect of a traditional wedding, and then did something else. We decided we would be married in my childhood vacation spot, Shaver Lake, California. The ceremony took place at the Shaver Lake Chapel and the reception at my parents’ cabin. This move set the tone for a cozy and super homey evening.

Somewhere along the line of planning, the colors became less and less important which gave us a lot of freedom in decision making. My mom made all of our napkins for the evening, using only yards of fabric and scissors. We had sweet sayings placed throughout the house. These large cardboard letters were painted and decorated by my mom.

We had a fantastic team of family and friends who kept their eye out for vintage finds such as beautiful antique furniture and old bottles. One of the few details I had planned ahead was the use of eclectic bottles and jars for flowers. They looked so beautiful at the front of the chapel on an old distressed green chest.

I am a cake baker and I wanted to design something outside of the norm, since I work with cakes so much. So several of our family members helped us achieve this by baking a special cake of their own, it was so special while offering quests alot of variety.

A Vibrant Destination Wedding on Kona Beach in Blue & Gold

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? If you are blessed to have great people in your life who are willing to help, use their creative talents (whatever they may be) and make your wedding day less stressful while giving them the opportunity to be a part of it.

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Wedding Vendors (Shaver Lake, CA):

Wedding Ceremony Location: Shaver Lake Chapel / Wedding Reception Location: Bride’s parent’ vacation home / Wedding planner: Travis Butler of Travisti Designs & Co. and Michelle Maxwell of IvyCrest Designs / Florist: Ivy Crest Designs / Wedding Photographer: We Heart Photography / Wedding Dress: altered from Davids Bridal model (no longer available) / Wedding Veil: DIY / Bridesmaid Dresses: Anthropologie / Caterer: Love & Garlic / Wedding Cakes: Compilation baked by family and friends / Wedding invitations: Ello There