Minnesota DIY Barn Wedding

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend for those of you in the U.S! Mysti and Dietrich’s wedding shot by Brandon Werth Photography is ushering us into another week of gorgeous nuptials, and it couldn’t begin in a better way than with a vintage DIY wedding. The couple handmade most of the details for their wedding, which you can see in full in the gallery.

Rustic/Vintage was our main theme but I also wanted it to be elegant, which mainly happened because of the sheer number of flowers we had! I wanted lots of color, but not so much that it was busy or distracting, so we did a lot of pastel colors, which also fit in with the vintage feel.

[Our wedding was] vintage, country-chic, elegant, rustic, colorful, DIY… Our color scheme was mainly spring colors: greens, yellows, orange, light pink and then a dark dark reddish color for some contrast. Our entire wedding was DIY. A year in advance we went to my husband’s aunt’s house in the woods and found dozens of tree stumps (for our cakes) and “tree cookies” (for our place card holders) and let them dry over the winter. We bought fabric, cut, sewed, and made our tablecloths.

I made about 100 garlands out of paper punches and found old vintage windows that we hung in the barn to display pictures of me and my husband when we were kids and wedding pictures our our ancestors.I bought frames and house numbers and painted and assembled them to make our table numbers. I created our placecards using an online polaroid maker program and each one was a picture of the guest – I then painted frames with lace strips to hold them.

I also took a giant bulletin board and lined it with vintage paper to create a “guest board” where guests could write (on note cards or the typewriter) us a message or answer 1 of 3 questions:
1. What should we name our kids?
2. What should we do for our first anniversary?
3. What is a piece of marriage advice you have?

Brandon Werth Photography is ushering us into another week of gorgeous nuptials, and it couldn’t begin in a better way than with a vintage DIY wedding. The couple handmade most of the details for their wedding, which you can View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now?
Throughout the wedding planning process I was lucky enough to have supportive people that wanted our wedding to truly be an expression of us and our style and creativity and everyone wanted to help make things. I think it can be helpful to be aware of traditions and “rules” about how and when to do certain things, but don’t get hung up on it. There is no ultimate rule or way to do anything. I just tried to shake it up and just do what felt right and appropriate for us, even if it was “outside the box.” Some people might expect certain things, but its ultimately your day and if you make it meaningful and personal and about you two everyone will enjoy it and be impressed.

Also a note about DIY – I am VERY detail oriented and created dozens of little crafts and details and decorations, but the reality of DIY is that at some point you have to let go. There was a point when I had to stop and wasn’t done, but I had to just trust my husband and our families to finish putting together my vision and it was more perfect than I could have imagined.

Wedding Songs:

Processional: “The Lover’s Waltz” – Instrumental

Recessional: “All you Need is Love” – Instrumental

Reception Entrance song: “You are The Best Thing” – Ray LaMontagne

First Dance song: “That’s How Strong my Love is” – Otis Redding

Wedding Vendors and Venue (Red Wing, MN):

Venue: Round Barn Farm / Wedding Photographer: Brandon Werth Photography / Makeup and Hair: Amy Jo beniek / Caterer: Anna Bells Catering / Florist: Acanthus Floral Art / Wedding Dress: Angels Bridal Boutique / Bride’s Shoes: Zappos / Shoe Clips: CholeANDMaddie / Bride’s Earrings: Nesting Pretty / Groom’s Suit: Jos. A. Bank / Wedding Invitations, Programs, and Wine Labels: Kindly Spoken