Wedding DIY

Smart Girls DIY has moved to SmartGirlsDIY.com and this post can now be found here

My husband and I met in college and knew each other for 10 years before we started dating one June.  I was living alone in my first house and I think he was wowed by my mad DIY skills.  I purchased from the original owner, a widow, who lived there for 50 some odd years.  I wish I had more pictures because it was U-G-L-Y.  Anyway, we got married 4 months later in October in the presence of 200+ of our closest friends and family.  I planned the whole thing, decorated the ceremony and reception locations, made my own bouquets... you get the point.

This is where we had the ceremony, in a boardwalk pavilion in Ocean Grove, NJ.  The inside of the pavilion has since been renovated, but at the time it was really ragged, so I begged by brother to touch of some of the paint inside, especially the front of the stage, a few days before the wedding.

Here's hubby, waiting to get the ceremony started.  He doesn't look scared, does he?  The table on the left had coloring books and crayons for kids, but the fan favorite was definitely the hot apple cider.  Remember it was October, the ceremony was at 10:30am, on the boardwalk, and inside the pavilion was shaded, so it was a bit chilly.  I rented two of those industrial coffee urns, bought tons of apple cider, and had my mom heat it up for me the morning of the wedding.  She wheeled the urns over in a wagon.  Where's the photographer when you need her????  Oh and I suckered in a good friend of mine to hang all the decorations across the ceiling beams the morning of the wedding. 

These are some of the decorations I made.  The wedding signs were all over town directing people to the pavilion.  The twine hearts hung from orange raffia at the end of each pew, with different shells and stuff on each one.  It's a crappy picture, but I made the rustic cross, because the minister {who is my uncle} insisted we have one, out of two branches and orange raffia. 

My bridesmaids and I made the bouquets the morning of the ceremony.   I ordered the flowers from 1-800-FLOWERS and they arrived the day before the wedding.  I can't believe how much some people spend on flowers for their weddings!!  We did potted mums at the reception and our guests just took them home.  Yup, there's me getting my hair done {by a friend, not a professional, and she did a fantastic job!} while I wrap my bouquet.  There's me again sitting on the floor in my robe finishing up the job.  But they turned out really well, right?

The reception was at the Oak Tree Lodge, which now has a wedding package, but didn't when we got married.  I spent ALL day the day before the wedding decorating with help from my awesome friends!  Here are some of the decorations.  The runners are simple strips I cut from burlap that bought at Joann Fabric. The pots got covered in burlap and tied with jute.

 

I definitely didn't make the cake!  Just decorated the table and made the letters, which now hang in my living room.  {Even though I kept my maiden name, my husband and I both have the same initials}

Not DIY, but definitely FUN... we had a clown, a reggae band, and a Bride vs. Groom softball game.  Of course Team Bride kicked butt.  I ordered T-shirts for the two teams... I had the red/pink team, hubby's team wore brown.  I was too cheap to get anything printed on the shirts and who the heck would want a T-shirt with my wedding info on it anyway???? 

 

Do you like the jacket?  I got cold so I borrowed it from one of my guests.  Thanks Wendy!  I never planned to wear my gown the whole day, but I guess you only wear it once.  But sheesh, why didn't anyone tell me to lose the veil??!!



For a guest book, I made a Snapfish photo book using pictures of my husband and myself from the time we were babies, through college, and beyond.  There were pages for guest to sign too.  Our college friends got the biggest kick out of it!



  Hay now!

Um... I just realized I didn't put a picture of the happy couple.  Had I shelled out the loot for a J. Lo type wedding planner, I wouldn't have to look at this picture with hubby's corsage all crooked.  And my hooched up veil!!  Oh well!  I guess if I ever take the time to learn Photoshop I could fix that.  One of these days!

Thanks for visiting!
        Smart Girl