Whimsical Illinois Wedding

Angie and Seth stretched their 10k budget for over 300 guests by making most of it themselves. With photography by Deidre Lynn, being one of their main priority slices (more wedding pie posts soon!) of their budget, we’re always delighted to emphasize it’s money well spent. We’re loving the bridesmaid wearing cardigans in different colors!

From Angie: When we started planning our day, our biggest goal was to create an environment where our guests could relax, eat some yummy sweets, and just enjoy the day. Both of us have a sort of thrown together style, and I really wanted to weave that into our reception. We got engaged at Christmas, and our wedding was in early March, so we didn’t have a whole lot of time for inspiration! Thankfully I’ve been planning my wedding since I was born, so everything came together quickly.

I just found myself picking random fabrics and colors that I liked. As for DIY projects, we worked with friends and family to create a ceiling canopy made from strips of thrifted bedsheets, and then placed pieces of the fabric throughout the hall. I also made our initials out of moss and cardboard, and created an ampersand with vintage fabric. My maid of honor, Amanda, glued laced pieces around mason jars for candles and flowers. My mother in law made cake plates out of vintage platters and candleholders. We borrowed a ton of furniture from my sister and from a local shop called Objects.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? If you are going to DIY, ask people for help! Talk to people about the style you’re going for; you never know who may give you some inspiration or offer a great vendor. Draw on as many resources as you can. For us, Seth’s sister did all the baking, my sister arranged our flowers, and a local seamstress made my dress. Also, be flexible and don’t stress if things don’t go according to plan! The week of the wedding, some of our flowers were ruined during shipment. We just picked out some different flowers from the cooler and they looked amazing.

View all images form this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Vendors (Peoria, IL):

Ceremony and Reception: Peoria Apostolic Christian Church / Wedding Photographer: Deidre Lynn Photography / Wedding Flowers: Bride’s sister, ordered online from Bill Doran / Bride’s shoes and dress: Bride by Deanna / Veil: Twigs and Honey / Groomsmen’s ties: Tux and Tulle / Wedding Cake: Caleri’s Cafe

March 30, 2012

16 comments

Comments (16):

Meg on September 12, 2012

How did you attach the bed sheet strips to the ceiling?
Lindsey on July 12, 2012

Love the wedding....and couldn't believe it was in PEORIA! I'm here currently for work and was wondering if you could tell me where the bridge is located from your first picture?!? I'm obsessed with it! Congrats!! Lindsey
Katie Daisy on May 26, 2012

Hi Angie, Beautiful wedding, but I need to talk with you regarding the stationery that was designed. Please e-mail me asap. Katie Daisy strawberryfieldtrip@gmail.com
cara on April 3, 2012

I pinned all of the things! its a terrific wedding.
Charissa on April 2, 2012

I love the ties, very fun. The brides shoes are to die for also.
Amanda Champness on April 1, 2012

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this wedding!!! SOOOO many pretty details!!! Oh and that stationary is to DIE FOR!!!
Carolyn on March 31, 2012

It was a beautiful wedding to be at as a friend and it is still beautiful to see in pictures! This style is totally them 100%. :)
Angie on March 31, 2012

thanks for all the wonderful comments! @Claire - to make the moss letters, i just printed large letters off of my computer, taped them onto cardboard, and cut them out. then i hot-glued craft moss onto the cardboard cutout. the frame was really a stroke of luck; my maid of honor's parents had plywood frames that were backed with chicken wire, so we just stuck moss into the wire! @andrea - we borrowed the metal holders from Objects, whose link is in the post! @alexandra joy - we were seriously blessed by the venue... there were hooks that were already installed in the ceiling, exactly where we needed them! but as far as how we created it, we just ripped old sheets in different widths, and then sewed two pieces of the same color together to make them longer. we took two long pieces of rope and looped the ends of the sheets onto the rope. so the canopy was in two huge sections. we hung the two sections in sort of a cris cross on the ceiling, and then hung the ends over heavy wire attached to the back wall, and used paper clips to secure the ends. let me know if you have anymore questions! hope that helps! @nora - the vests were from all different places, mostly Express. we got Seth's vest from an Etsy shop called Bright Wall.
Melissa Dunstan Photography on March 31, 2012

Love all of these details, and the ties are delightful! The couple's sweetness just resonates in these photos too; nice work!
Nora on March 31, 2012

Where are the groom and groomsmen's vests from? Those are great!
Alexandra Joy on March 31, 2012

A beauty of a DIY wedding. Great job, Angie! Any further tips on creating the amazing fabric canopy? I'm in the process of creating something similar for a bride and would love to hear more about how you constructed it. It's stunning!
chicago wedding photographer on March 30, 2012

This is such a gorgeous wedding, and we love that it's a local one from Illinois!
Andrea Torres on March 30, 2012

I'm interested in finding out where the silver picture holders are from...the ones that held the small drawings. :)
elizabeth on March 30, 2012

these photos are beautiful. i love flowers and the ties!
Claire on March 30, 2012

Wow I love the bridesmaids in cardigans, and everyone looks gorgeous. I would love to know how to make the moss letters and frame especially, so nice!
molly stillman on March 30, 2012

i am in LOVE with the bright accents of this wedding. SO much fun and so inspiring!

Ruffled