Archive for the ‘DIY Ideas’ Category

The Couple:  Heather Loehr and Kristopher Tomlin 

Wedding Date:  May 30, 2010 

Photography by Jaclyn Photography 

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Kristopher and I had been together for quite sometime and in August of 2009, while vacationing in Kauai with friends, Kristopher decided it was finally time to “pop” the question. 

I immediately said yes, with tears streaming down my face with shear delight and love! We had planned a long engagement and then at the beginning of the year we got a huge surprise that we were expecting, so as Easter approached we made the decision to bump up the wedding. 

We surprised our parents on Easter that we were going to get married in two months and that we were having it at my parent’s home in Gold River. Everyone was so supportive and helped us get the wedding of our dreams. Once the place was selected everything else just fell into place. 

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The fact that we were able to get married amongst our closest family and friends and in my parent’s back yard made the day feel extremely special. We wanted the event to be an intimate wedding with the people who knew us and loved us! It was a spectacular day. 

What else would you like to share about your big day?  I wanted the wedding to have a cocktail party feeling, and we decided not to do the traditional stuff. We opted for a dessert table with fabulous desserts made by my mom and also with the help of a few local bakeries really made the desserts feel special and everyone was able to get a bite of something they loved. My favorite part of the reception was seeing everyone enjoy the Cigar Bar area where we served some fabulous ports and cognac. It was fun to see everyone having such a great time, laughing and enjoying themselves. 

Ceremony Site:  Bride’s parent’s home in Gold River 

Reception Venue:  Bride’s parent’s home in Gold River 

Photographer:  Jaclyn Photography 

Videographer:  Two students from Art Institute of Sacramento, Rachel Behrmann & Brandi Anderson 

Wedding Planner:  Myself. I am hoping to begin an event planning business, so I took on all the details of planning the wedding with a couple great assistants . . . my mom and one of my best friends Marcus Marquez of the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen 

Caterer:  L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen 

Cake:  Babycakes did the cupcakes, Bella Bru did the cheesecake, Strawberries from Shari’s Berries and other goodies provided by my mom, Joyce Loehr 

Flowers:  Blooming Art 

Favors:  Carrie West, who is a good friend of the family, did my wedding favors – fabulous sugar cookies that tied into our wedding invitation. 

Wedding Dress:  I had my dress made and designed by Caren Templet. She was AMAZING and getting me exactly what I had envisioned for my day! 

Bridesmaid Dresses:  We had no bridesmaids and our 13 year old son, Ty, stood up for both of us. 

Hair:  My hair was a combination of both my mother (she is a hair dresser) and myself. 

Makeup: Becky Weisz (she works for Benefit inside the Roseville Galleria) 

Invitations: TJ Strandberg of INK&IRON on Etsy, amazing invites and she pulled it out so quickly for me! 

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Lindsey Cook, she is an amazing up and coming musician who plays acoustic guitar and sings. 

Honeymoon location:  Maui. . . it was perfect! 

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  I want to say thank you to my girlfriend Kerrie Kelly for actually doing the honors of marrying us on our very special day. It was amazing to have someone you know and love marry you. 

First Dance Song:  We didn’t do the traditional first dance, but I did choose to walk down the aisle to Mama’s Song by Carrie Underwood. Sang by Lindsey Cook. 

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?   The best thing for me was only having two months to pull it all together. I recommend doing it this way. It left no room for second guessing yourself and made you go with your gut reaction which is usually always right! My other piece of advice is to always do what YOU want to do and make sure that it is the wedding is about you and your future spouse. It makes it very special and the beginning of a great marriage. 

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?   There is nothing I would change. I got the wedding I never dreamed I wanted and then some…I got to marry my best friend! 

Photos courtesy of Jaclyn Photography 

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The Couple:  Marissa and Matthew Korbel-Bowers

Wedding Date:  August 22, 2009

Photography by Emily Heizer Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Matt and I had been dating and living together for nine years when we got married. When people used to ask us why we weren’t married, we’d shrug and say that we couldn’t imagine it would make much of a difference. We already lived together and were very committed.

In April of 2008, Matt asked me to marry him while we were on a totally luxurious and romantic trip to Calistoga (that he’d planned himself). Obviously, I said yes. And immediately, we agreed that things felt different. We couldn’t put our finger on what, exactly, had changed. But being engaged was wonderful.

We knew we wanted a weekend-style wedding where all our friends and family could show up and relax. We were so excited when my parents (who live in Mount Shasta) called to tell us about McCloud. It has the perfect, small-town atmosphere, and the location is so breathtakingly beautiful, we knew our wedding guests would enjoy spending a weekend there. And they did.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  For me, it was probably standing under the chuppah, surrounded by all our friends and family and exchanging the vows we wrote for each other. Hearing Matt tell me all the things he loved about me made me laugh out loud at times (like when he said he loved my sense on humor and my “cognitive abilities”), and made me cry, too.

Matt’s favorite part was stomping on the glass at the end of the ceremony. He said it was amazing to hear all our friends and family shout our “L’Chaim” and clap and cheer for us. It really marked the end of our ceremony, and the beginning of the party. And we really had quite a party.

What else would you like to share about your big day?   We are really happy that we decided to create a weekend of events instead of focusing all of our time and attention on one evening. It set a very relaxed and happy tone for the whole wedding, since we weren’t running around trying to spend time with 100 people at our reception. We got to talk to nearly every guest at some point over the weekend, and spend quality time catching up with family and friends who traveled far distances to be there with us.

One of the most creative things we did was organize a wedding recessional parade, complete with musical instruments and an accordion. After the ceremony, Matt and I led our family and friends down the main street of town. We laughed and talked and it felt great to be walking with everyone over to the party.

Ceremony Site:  McCloud Guesthouse

Reception Venue:  McCloud Mercantile

Photographer:  Emily Heizer Photography

Wedding Planner:  The Bride and Groom

Caterer:  Helena Darling Catering

Cake:  Dane and Johnnie Nichols Custom Wedding Cakes

Flowers:  Barclay Botanical

Wedding Dress:  Amy Kuschel Bride

Bridesmaid Dresses:  I asked my bridesmaids to choose any dress in navy blue jersey that they liked and would wear again. Two of them bought theirs at American Apparel, one of them bought hers at J. Crew, and two of them bought theirs at Butter by Nadia.

Hair:  DYI

Makeup: One of my bridesmaids, Alysha Umphress

Invitations:  Designed and printed by Matthew Korbel-Bowers (the groom). Assembled and mailed by Marissa (the bride)

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Matt and I made two playlists, and basically hit “play” on my laptop twice: once after the toasts, and once after the cake. It was awesome! I was a little nervous about not having a DJ, but everybody danced and had a great time.

Honeymoon location:  We still haven’t taken our honeymoon, but our plan is to go to Paris.

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?   Not really “vendors,” but I took major inspiration and solace from the fine ladies on indiebride and offbeatbride’s message boards. Everything from ceremony readings that were totally appropriate for a couple that had been together for a long time, to non-matching bridesmaids’ photos, to photographers (that’s how we found Emily).

First Dance Song:  Into the Mystic by Van Morrison

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  We approached our wedding with a lot of DIY spirit. We made everything from the invitations to the reception play list to the place cards. We bought our own alcohol (vodka, whisky and gin), mixers and wine, and hired bartenders to serve it. We decorated the tables and designed the reception layout.

On the other hand, we tried not to micro-manage, and instead let people run with what they cared about. For example, my mom wanted to make place cards for the front row seating of the ceremony. My instinct was that it was unnecessary, but I didn’t worry about it, and there’s a whole bunch of pictures of our family members wearing their ceremony place cards and smiling.

Our close friends helped us set up the reception hall, and we let them decorate the tables with the supplies we bought. We took music requests on our wed-site. We basically tried to listen to the people in our lives that have gotten us this far. And things worked out even better than we planned because we were able to get out of the way and let the cool, spontaneous, creative stuff happen.

We took all our pictures before the ceremony, and I would totally recommend doing that to anyone willing to refrain the tradition of first seeing each other at the ceremony. Matt and I planned a sweet little “first look” in our suite. When I was all dressed, my bridesmaids went and got him. We got to enjoy seeing how awesome each other looked in a setting that was a little more intimate. Plus, we didn’t have to miss any of our reception to pose for photos!

Speaking of the reception, one of the best things we did was skip the passed hors d’oeuvres. Instead, our caterer created a snacking plate of cheese spreads, hummus and roasted olives with sliced breads. The bar was open, and the snacks were on the tables when everyone arrived.

We did this because we’d experienced the low-blood-sugar-crazed waiter ambushing, and quick intoxication that passed hors d’oeuvres style created at other weddings. So many of our friends thanked us (we still hear compliments on that a year later). Everyone said it was really relaxing to come in and be able to eat a little something right away.

Finally, I would encourage every couple to look at your various religious and cultural traditions for ideas, but not be afraid to alter them to fit you as a couple, or toss them out altogether. We did a lot of “our” version of traditional Jewish wedding things, but our ceremony was performed by a Unitarian universalist minister, and had no Hebrew at all.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  I would have printed directions to every wedding event and had them available at all the hotels where our guests stayed. Cell phone reception was a little spotty in the mountains, and it was stressful to be fielding calls from lost folk at the beginning of some of the other weekend events. Luckily, the wedding itself was right in the center of town, so nobody was lost.

Photos courtesy of Emily Heizer Photography

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The Couple:  Christina and Curt Padilla

Wedding Date:  July 11, 2010

Photography by Capture Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Curt and I met 5 years ago while working for the same company in Granite Bay. He worked in a different division of the company than I did, but one day I was assigned to do a prospecting project for him – I would go to his office and let him know the weekly progress. I got to know him better through our meetings at work, and one of the things that I picked up on was I knew he loved golfing and was very athletic. I ended up asking him out on a golfing date. He said yes, and we dated for four years.

Curt proposed to me on New Year’s Eve 2009. We originally were going to have an October 2010 wedding, but we found out in April that we were going to have a baby! I had already purchased my wedding dress and wanted to still fit in it, so we decided to move up the wedding to July 2010 (as long as our vendors could change the dates which they were able to). I ended up being able to have bouquets of peonies (my favorite flower) because they are readily available in July, and I would not have been able to have them in October! That was an added bonus!

What was the most amazing part of your day?  The whole day was amazing! From watching the vendors transform the country club as the day went on; to getting ready with all my bridesmaids, my mom, and grandma; to having dear friends help us with our hair and makeup. From walking down the aisle with my dad who tried to calm me as I was crying; to standing hand in hand looking deep into the eyes of my future husband and having the most intimate experience that words can not describe during the ceremony. And finally, from sharing our love and union with all our family and friends; to the toasts that were given at the reception by our family and friends.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We had lit a candle to remember Curt’s mother Carol who had passed away a few years ago and for my brother Jaeson who had also passed away when I was about 6 years old. It was a very special moment for Curt and I along with our families. We kept the candle burning throughout the whole ceremony and reception.

Ceremony Site:  Sierra View Country Club

Reception Venue:  Sierra View Country Club 

Photographer:  Capture Photography 

Caterer:  Sierra View Country Club

Cake:  Dora Briscoe-Smith who is a neighbor of ours who bakes on the side to being a full-time mom of three!

Flowers:  Fleurs Du Jour  

Favors:  This was a DIY job. I had a candy station that had various sized vases filled with Jelly Bellys in shades of of our wedding colors (pinks and creams) and sheer organza bags in our other wedding color (silver) to put the Jelly Bellys in.

Wedding Dress:  Alfred Angelo

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Alfred Angelo

Hair: My friend Amy Dupont who is the owner of Deja Du Salon in Rosevilledid my hair and my Maid of Honor’s hair. Stacey Field of Deja Du Salon did hair for some of the bridesmaids.

Makeup:  Taryn Passifione who is friend of the mine and professional makeup artist.

Invitations:  The Wedding Channel 

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  J.R. and his wife Teresa Lopez

Honeymoon location:  Bainbridge Island, WA

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  Our jeweler, Eli, of Diamond Heights in San Francisco who did the brides engagement and wedding band and the grooms wedding band. Also, Tuxedo Den for the Groom’s and Groomsmen tuxes.

First Dance Song: ”Feels Like Home” by Chantal Kreviazuk

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Have fun planning your wedding!! It will be amazing no matter what because everybody is there to celebrate you and your future spouse making a public profession of your love and union to each other! Try not to stress, especially over the small details! Soak up the day, every detail of it! I was told by one of my bridesmaids ahead of time that there will be things on the wedding day that do not go as planned and that nobody will know except for me! I took that to heart because there were things definitely things that did not go as planned but I did not stress about it because she was right…nobody else noticed except for me!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  Nothing too major. We had way to much candy so I wouldn’t have ordered as much (but better to have too much than too little)!

My cathedral veil got tangled up in the arch from the wind blowing it! It ended up being a very funny moment during the ceremony. My friend Amy, who did my hair, ran up from the audience to untangle me from the arch and take off my veil which got many giggles and laughs. It was memorable, but looking back I would have POSSIBLY done without the veil. However that is not my final answer because I did love my veil – it had so much character and it did create its own memory in our wedding!

Photos courtesy of Capture Photography 

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The Couple:  Erin Autry and Matt Montgomery

Wedding Date:  June 6, 2009

Photography by Emily Heizer Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We met online in San Diego, after years of Internet dating (and hundreds of Internet dates) between the two of us.

During our courtship, Matt reluctantly taught me to become a weekend runner with him, and surprised me by proposing in the middle of a run on Saturday morning in Balboa Park. We still stop and kiss at the proposal spot every weekend.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  We felt that the exchange of our vows was a very private moment for the two of us. My dream was for us to walk out into the orchard and just get married. The day before the wedding, amidst the madness of setting up, we walked out, looked around and decided on a spot. It was such an intimate ceremony! Our ceremony included only immediate family and our maid of honor and best woman. My favorite part was that our families started humming here comes the bride as I hopped out of the golf cart with my dad.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  We tried to keep the reception casual, as we wanted to make sure people had fun celebrating our big day without a lot of fuss. We weren’t sure if the weather would be too hot, so we made sure to put on the wedding details insert in the invitation that shorts were definitely okay, and that women were encouraged to wear flats or wedges.

Dinner was served family style, beer and wine were both self serve, and we had a lounge area for people to relax during the dancing. We didn’t have wedding “colors” or specific flowers – I just ordered a bunch of flowers online and picked up some extras the morning of the wedding at the local farmers market. My sister-in-law graciously prepped the flowers and arranged them beautifully in old mason jars found around the ranch. It was also amazing to be able to show our friends and Matt’s family where I grew up (my mother’s parents have lived in Winters for the past 100 years).

Ceremony Site:  Private Family Orchard in Winters, CA

Reception Venue:  Private Family Barn in Winters, CA

Photographer:  Emily Heizer Photography

 Caterer:  Buckhorn Catering

Cake:  Buckhorn Catering

Flowers:  California Organic Flowers and Davis Farmers Market for centerpiece flowers (purchased the morning of the wedding), Dixon Florist for the ceremony arch.

Favors:  Fresh Fruit (doubling as the centerpieces) from Double R Orchards in Winters, with hand stamped paper bags by the bride and groom.

Wedding Dress:  Isis Bridal Boutique in San Diego

Bridesmaid Dresses:  No bridesmaids, one maid of honor (Calypso dress) and one best woman (White House Black Market off white suit)

Hair:  Denise Ealy, Tops Salon in San Diego

Makeup:  Anais Foley Kennedy

Invitations:  Lulu Paper

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  Big Fun DJ

Honeymoon location:  Tokyo and Kyoto (pre-wedding), Big Sur (post-wedding)

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  Zephyr Tents did the lighting, farm tables, and tents; Classic Party Rentals did linens and lounge furniture (Sacramento location); Royal Restrooms provided the bathrooms that everyone still talks about; the Hallmark Inn in Davis was very gracious in distributing our out-of-town bags to our guests.

First Dance Song:  “Try Me” by James Brown

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  The best advice I received was to stop and take a minute to just sit there and watch the wedding happen. Also many of the great personal details that made our event unique (walnut and twine place cards, cool signs, fruit centerpieces) would not have happened without lots of help from family and friends – so make sure and ask them!

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  I was stressed the morning of the wedding. Looking back, I wish I had hired a day-of coordinator to run the last minute set-up items. We also didn’t hire the bus for long enough to take the out of town guests back to the hotel, so the dancing got cut a little short.

Photos courtesy of Emily Heizer Photography

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The Couple: Brijette and Micah Bergman

Wedding Date:  June 26, 2010

Photography by Jaclyn Photography

Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  Never did I expect to find my perfect partner before I turned 16. Micah and I were introduced in high school, where his black, square-framed glasses were instantly attracted to my mess of red hair. My boisterous and persistent personality drew Micah out of his shy, GQMagazine-looking shell and into a relationship that made us the best version of ourselves. Micah is charming, loyal, objective and compassionate –everything I never knew I wanted.

After four years of silly fun and a few petty routs, we decided to divide and conquer. I was a junior at the University of California at Santa Barbara pursuing an English degree, and after a disheartening experience in San Luis Obispo, Micah decided to move back to the Sierra. Although we still loved each other, we could no longer ignore the growing that we needed to do as individuals.

After graduating, I moved back home and in with my parents…not ideal after living independently for four years. Micah was my sanctuary. He wanted to know the person I had grown into and be involved in my newly forming life. There’s nothing sexier than a man who participates. This time, we had a foundation – instead of teenage hormones – to build a relationship on. We knew that this time it was forever love.

In January 2009 we purchased a home in Sacramento, which is where the next stage of our life began. On a blue hand-me-down couch, Micah asked me to be his wife, to which I replied, “Seriously?” (I’ve never been good with surprises.) I quickly recovered and excitedly accepted. The proposal was spontaneous, and real, and us.

Our love has never been a Disney-sponsored fairytale. And, we like it that way. Love is not rainbows, butterfly and singing birds – it requires compromise, effort, and honesty. We plan to spend the rest of our days sharing, giggling and working on the best marriage we can build.

What was the most amazing part of your day?  First joining hands after my father walked me down the aisle. Filled with nervous laughter, I whispered that I loved him and replied, “I’m so sweaty.” It was perfectly hilarious. When we made it up to the altar, we knelt down as one. We both couldn’t believe the day was actually here, and for a moment it wasn’t about the flowers, or the guests, or the reception; it was about us.

What else would you like to share about your big day?  Less is more. Designing and creating many of the elements in our wedding gave us more time to spend with our families. We didn’t need to divide time between a coordinator, planner or florist and the ones we love. Participating in the creation of our special day, made our family and friends feel more involved. They have always supported our love and it was special to include them in the ceremony that officiates it. We couldn’t have done it without them.

Ceremony Site:  St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Lake Tahoe

Reception Venue:  Lake Tahoe Paradise Park

Photographer:  Jaclyn Photography

Jaclyn and her assistant/husband Allistar were so fun and easy to work with. They exceeded all of our expectations and were very flexible with our indecisiveness. We wanted our memories to be casual yet elegant with no stiff “traditional” poses. Jaclyn was able to corral our large family and capture some of our most intimate – and cherished – moments. The photos, as you can see, are spectacular. I would highly recommend Jaclyn Photography.

Caterer:  Lake Tahoe Catering Company

Cake:  Sweet Cakes by Rebecca.  Highly recommended! Instead of eating a stale piece of year-old wedding cake, Sweet Cakes will make you a small cake to eat on your one-year anniversary, a bonus definitely worth celebrating.

Flowers:  Lodi Flower Farm. We bought flowers at the Farmers Market and assembled the bouquets ourselves. It was a bit stressful when my bridal bouquet was found frozen in the fridge the morning of the wedding, but well worth the effort.

Favors:  Ourselves. My mothers and I made over 200 “B” shaped sugar cookies from a family recipe. It was a challenge to stop eating the “defective” cookies — they were just so delicious!

Wedding Dress:  This is where the indecisiveness crept in. I had originally purchased a dress that I thought I loved. It fit well enough and cost very little. I thought I was fine with that, until I visited the House of Fashion on J Street. While casually perusing the racks, intending to look for bridesmaid dresses, I found the most beautiful Saint Patrick dress. Covered in lace with scalloped edges, the dress made me swoon. It perfectly fit the image I had of everything my wedding dress should be. After briefly dwelling on the impracticality of purchasing another dress, I gave in. Never have I felt more spectacular than I did in that dress.

Sometimes, I put it on just to wash the dishes. It would be a crime to let such a beautiful thing sit in a closet.

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Issac Mizrahi from Target. A simple, strapless plum dress that fell just above the knee. My bridesmaids were relieved and appreciative to only pay $20 for a dress instead of $200. And despite the cliche, they really could wear it again!

Invitations:  Brides Magazine DIY invitations

DJ/Entertainment/Band:  DJ William Walker

Honeymoon location:  Oahu, Hawaii

Any other of your wedding vendor(s) you’d like to call out?  We were big DIYers. All of our suppliers were great.

First Dance Song:  That’s All by Michael Buble. We must have sifted through thirty of our favorites before deciding on a first dance song. When we started practicing dancing, we fell into such as easy rhythm with this song. It was the natural choice. Instead of casting out the others, we used them in other parts of our ceremony and reception.

Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Consciously remind yourself to slow down. The whole process, including the wedding, goes by so quickly. Cherish the moments as they come.

And don’t feel guilty for getting nervous. For many, this is the first forever decision. It’s not that you’re unconfident about the person you’ve chosen, a marriage is simply that important. Take a deep breath and savor the confidence you’ve placed in this relationship.

Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  I forgot Micah’s ring :( I felt horribly about it, but we ended up using his dad’s which was very special. It was a chance for Micah and his dad to bond… and cry. It meant a lot to both of them.

Photos courtesy of Jaclyn Photography.

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