Posts Tagged ‘birdcage’

August 7th, 2010
Heidi & Jonnathan
Canby, Oregon
Postlewait’s Country Farm

I have so much to share and no clue where to begin!!!!  First, I will say that our wedding was absolutely incredible!  I think what stood out to us the most was the love we felt from our friends and family.  We were totally blown away by the efforts dear friends and family took to make sure that we had a perfect day.  I will later blog about some particularly special helpers in future posts to come!

We experienced so many different emotions throughout the days leading up to the wedding.  And you won’t believe all the hysterical moments, uh-ohs, oh dears!, and yes – even absolute dreamy perfect moments too. If you recall from previous posts – my main focus for our wedding was for Jonnthan to experience more love and joy than he has ever felt in his life.  I think I succeeded.  And yes…I experienced my dreamy champaign wedding with a lemonade and ice tea budget! Brides! Grooms! YES, I’m telling you having a gorgeous, fun, and memorable wedding is definitely doable under 10K!

I couldn’t stop smiling! All I could think about was “Wow! It’s here! This is happening. Slow it down…slow everything down and take it all in..” I couldn’t wait to see Jonnathan standing at the end of the isle. I wondered if he would love my dress…if he would think I was the most gorgeous bride he had ever seen.  I might add my J.Crew pearls added quite the perfect touch!  And my Mom lent me her pearl stud earrings that matched perfectly!

I made my bridesmaids each Unabashed Bliss fabric hair flowers, which also matched the flower girl baskets.  Staying under budget and wanting to do things a little different.  I had my new Step-Mother-In-Law make these fabulous ivory burlap clutches, which she lined each specially with a different coral/pink fabric print.  I then finished them off with my ivory flowers.  My bridesmaids carried these down the isle instead of bouquets!  I LOVED how it turned out!  For my Mom, we made a special one that matched perfect with her outfit!!! My oldest nephew, who is very dear to my heart carried the ring pillows down the isle – one for the bride and one for the groom.
Jonnathan thought a lot about what he wanted to wear as well as what he wanted for the guys.  After being in many friends’ weddings and having to pay a lot for tux rentals he really wanted the guys to be able to buy affordable suit pieces they could use again in the future.  So, searching high and low we finally found suit separates at K&G.  It worked out perfect!  Jonnathan got the three piece suit and the groomsmen got just the pants. He gave them each suspenders as part of their groomsmen gifts.  I love how it turned out.  We wanted casual, but nice.  I especially love the sleeves rolled back!
I had my sisters’ daughters dress in bright lime green sun dresses that I found on sale at discount Carter’s Stores. Aren’t they adorable!!!  I love how the color pops with the coral pinks and chocolate brown. Each bridesmaid picked her own dress in a shade of coral pink and tall brown boots.  I wanted each girl to be comfortable and love her outfit!  Again, hoping they would find something that they could enjoy after the wedding too!
Jonnathan got some quiet time in the “Hitchin’ Post Saloon” right before the ceremony. I love this photo of him!  I was hidden away in the barn with my Dad.  I might add too that my Mom made my veil!!!!! It was stunning! Long, full and very romantic.

I will share my joy with you that it be multiplied.

I will share your pain, that it be divided.

I will walk by your side as we travel together through life’s changes.

May my heart be your shelter.

And my arms your home.

May you always see the innocence in my eyes.

And the honesty of my heart.

And may we feel this joy forever.

It was important to both Jonnathan and I that we write our own vows. We wanted them to represent our relationship, our love, and us as individuals.  It was beautiful!  My Best Friend’s Dad married us under this gorgeous canopy of Oak Trees.  Jonnathan’s vows were so so special.  I kept the paper he read them off of and want to do something special with it. Do you see my old barn window behind us?!  I love how it turned out.

Being in love with weddings and vintage inspiration I of course had to incorporate the classic Coca Cola bottles with old fashion red striped paper straws!  Could my girls look any more adorable in their dresses and boots!!!!
Jonnathan picked our first song, You Are the Best Thing from Ray Lamontagne.   I felt like it was just the two of us in this big world completely lost in each other.  I love to close my eyes and take myself back to these moments.  I have dreamed about these moments since I was a little girl. I can’t go into what this meant, dancing with my Dad, I’ll start crying  I’ll be posting special on this later.
IT’S IN THE DETAILS!!!! My Mom gave me her Shirley Temple Heidi Doll when I was a young girl along with a copy of the children’s story.  I fell in love with the beloved story and was so proud I shared my name with it.  Thus, I started collecting vintage Heidi books, which led to other favorite stories and classics.  I had the books displayed on our guests tables and greeting table to help give that vintage feel and because it represented my love of literature.  I made signage for our immediate families tables, wanting to make sure they had comfortable seating at the reception.  Another big money saver and delightful to the eye – Milk Glass!!!! I collected over 40 pieces of milk glass from thrift stores and had my Aunt purchase farmers market flowers to fill them! We saved bundles of cash on going with Farmers Market flowers!!!!
Jonnathan found inspiration from Joey Nicole Photography who featured a bride using a memory board and cards that said: Prediction, Wish, and Advice for guests to fill out instead of a guest book. We loved the idea! Using our handmade custom memory board we had up in our office, Jonnathan got to work and used his graphic design skills and created a similar look!  Then after the wedding we laid in bed reading to one another our friends’ and families’ predictions, wishes and advice for us. A lot of fun!!!!  For cards, I found this bird cage at Ross and added moss in the bottom and cute vintage signage. It was important to both Jonnathan and I to honor our grandparents, their impact on our lives and the respect we have for them. So, we framed our grandparent’s wedding photos and displayed them on our greeting table as well. We got our burlap penant from ETSY shop Funky Shique!
My Sister-In-Law, Mom and Oldest Sister took the time to make our favorite desserts for our guests to enjoy!  You would not believe how incredibly delicious it all turned out!!!  I’m thinking a family bakery should be in the works! On food description cards I wrote the Item and under some of them wrote “Groom’s Favorite” or “Bride’s Favorite Summer Salad”.  It personalized why we chose what food to serve, and especially drew attention to our family’s role in our wedding.  Jonnathan’s Mom brought our favorite Cougar Gold Cheese from WSU!

I picked out some fabric that matched our colors and helped with that vintage farm feel and had my Mom make these adorable fabric flags that we draped in front of the beverage bar, buffet and dessert bar.  Big money saver hint – we used white sheets from WalMart for the white draping! Inspired from Stephanie from You Paid More Than Me! Remember my post about her awesome backyard party decor!? View here.

The Hitching Post Saloon was fully equipped for Beer Kegs and Wine.  One of my Mom’s Best Friends offered to get his serving license so he could bartend for us.  He did an awesome job!  What’s hilarious is that people thought because of all the attention to detail that I had him dress like a cowboy.  Silly!  He is an actual cowboy in the first place and did a fabulous job! Thanks Brian!!!! I made moss monograms to decorate the windows.  Cute! Visit my ETSY shop for more details!

We lucked out on weather!  It was raining in WA, but warm and overcast in Oregon.  As I was walking down the isle it started to sprinkle very very light.  I told myself to go with it and enjoy the moment.  It held off and I later found out a little rain on your wedding day is good luck! Afterwards as we were dancing and mingling these huge storm clouds and warm wind swept through making me a bit nervous.  Then the sun crept through the clouds creating a gorgeous warm glow around us, especially as it illuminated the cut wheat field.  Ryan and Joelle, our photographers, ran over and asked if it was okay to snap some pics. Of course! How could we pass this moment by?!  The best part! TWO RAINBOWS formed in the sky above us.  It was stunning.

“It comes from several cultures mainly from the Hindu with the idea that a wet knot is harder to untie. Since marriage is often referred to as tying the knot. Rain was also a symbol of fertility to agricultural societies, since rain restored and maintained the wellness of crops. Crops were peoples main source of stability and income so it was thought to guarantee a long happy marriage!”

I can’t wait to share the many stories of our wedding with you!  You will soon hear about the special role my Maid of Honor had, the role of siblings, parents, family and dear friends.  Thank you for following me on my blissful adventure! I hope you stay tuned for much more of all things weddings!  I have some fabulous Fall and Winter Wedding Inspiration, DIY projects, budget savers and more!

Blissfully Yours~

Heidi

Hands down this has to be one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen!

There is something in the way Brandon Kidd photographed this day that perfectly caught the love and adoration this couple has for one another.  You get an entire feel for the mood of the event, leaving you wishing you had been a bird perched above the celebration able to catch all the joy, laughter and love surrounding this beautiful couple!

Brian and Stephanie had their wedding at The Villa, built in 1920, in San Juan Capistrano.  Isn’t it gorgeous!? So serene, romantic and perfect for a vintage garden inspired wedding.

Photography: Brandon Kidd Photography
Venue: The Villa – San Juan Capistrano
Florist: Floral Occasions
Wedding Cake: Urth Caffe; Cake: Sweet & Saucy Shop
Caterer: The Ramos House
Bride’s Dress: Lazaro from Mon Amie Bridal in Costa Mesa
Stationary: Joycee Designs
DJ and Lighting: Jeff Holmes – Moondance
Photobooth: Renowned Events
Make up Artist: Taryn VanDon; Hair by Selleca Wong

These are some of the fun craft projects I’ve been working on.  I’ve loved seeing the details from other weddings where brides took the time to make matching signage.

We purchased our wedding stationary from the Paper Zone here in Tacoma.  It was really affordable and I loved the texture.  The brown had a wood grain texture, which I loved especially since we’re getting married under Oak trees.  We designed out invites to be right about the size of a postcard, which allowed us to get by with only one packet of paper of each color.  Talk about savings!!!  You can see our invite details from a previous post (here).

I designed the signage and invites all in Adobe InDesign.  I’m pretty proud of myself for figuring the basics out of the program, of course with Jonnathan’s helpful tutorials.  I wanted a real vintage feel blended with french country to match all our other decor.  I’m really pleased with how it turned out! We’re not doing table assignments, since we’re going for real laid back, however it is important that we have reserved tables for immediate family and the wedding party.  No one wants their parents or grandparents stuck without a seat…

Now, I will say Moss is pretty, BUT it’s messy!  It gets everywhere when working with it, so be ready to clean up a mess. You’ll need a hot glue gun (a must have for many craft/home projects, as well as a staple gun – not that you need staples for this craft).  It takes a lot of time and patience to form the sheet of moss around your letters especially.  The frame took quite some time also, but the birdcage was nice and quick.  I found hot glue was the easiest and best. Spray glue……that was horrible!  My fingers stuck to the moss and it was not pretty… I suggest while doing these projects have a glass of wine at the same time

What I love most about what you see is how affordable all this was!  The frames all came from TJ Maxx under $10 each.  The birds came from Pier 1 Imports and a local boutique called the Apple Crate. The birdcage is from Ross and was only $8!!! And the old barn window is one of the windows we found on Craigslist for an awesome deal!