REAL WEDDINGS | Dawna & Jarred
How did you two meet? Jarred and I first met in the fourth grade when I moved to Vermont. We lived in a small town and were always close friends –we even “dated” for about a week in the sixth grade, but I don’t think we did much more than hold hands! After high school Jarred started working in Massachusetts and I went to college in Maine. We stayed in touch, and after I graduated we found ourselves living near each other and spending all of our free time together. By the time we became boyfriend and girlfriend, we had known each other for fourteen years.
How long was your engagement? We got engaged in February 2011, and were married in June 2012.
What inspired your wedding theme? I grew up on a farm in Vermont, which is what attracted me to a “rustic” theme. That, combined with the very natural setting, set the stage for some organic and homemade touches I tried to incorporate. After picking a secluded state park for the venue, the next big choice we made was for the food. We had a mobile pizza oven, which served up delicious organic pizzas as our dinner. We saved a few pennies and kept it casual by skipping cake and instead asking some family members to bring their favorite pie with them.
What inspired your wedding color palette? A simple, casual feel was what I was going for with the colors. I never picked out official colors to use, but just had images of a warm summer day in mind when picking things out. The flower girls had bright yellow dresses that they chose. My maids wore oatmeal colored dresses, and Jarred’s guys kept it simple with khakis, white shirts, and then different colored ties which we picked out for them. Jarred went with a dark blue tie, which looked nice in contrast to all of the other light colors.
What was special about where you got married? Selecting the venue was the first choice we made, and also what took the most time. We visited a lot of different barns, restaurants and resorts in our hunt for something that felt right, for the right price. As soon as we drove down the 3 mile dirt road out to the Seyon Ranch at Noyes Pond, we knew that it was the perfect location for us.
What do-it-yourself projects did you do? Adding a personal touch to all of the details was important to me, so a lot of things were crafted by hand – either by me, or by a family member.
Boutonnieres: I found a blog giving step-by-step instructions for making a rustic looking boutonniere with some burlap, buttons, feathers, and ribbon. I used the instructions and my own materials to make the boutonnieres for all of the guys. At Jarred’s suggestion, I added a small button to each that matched the color of their ties. Jarred’s also had a tiny decorative key, and I attached the matching locket to my bouquet – I told him he had the key to my heart.
Favors: We offered two varieties for favors, so people could pick which they wanted. Half of the jars were apple butter, which I made from apples that Jarred and I picked locally. The other half were Jarred’s grandmother’s sweet pickles, which were made from cucumbers grown in her own garden. We printed labels for the top and tied a small raffia bow on each jar.
Centerpieces: At the center of each table was a slice of a tree, which Jarred’s dad cut and stained. We had a rubber stamp with our initials, in the same design as the etching of the stained glass window. The rubber stamp was one of the most versatile decorating tools –we used it to stamp the centerpieces, the wooden coasters, and the goodie bags I made to keep our younger guests entertained. The centerpieces also had a metal sap bucket, which I decorated with ribbons and lace around the top. The buckets all had ice and the champagne ready to go for the toasts. The cowbells that were on each table were borrowed from a family friend, and they served two purposes. They were hanging along the aisle, and there was a note on the program so that people knew to ring them as we walked back up the aisle. At the reception, they were used in lieu of clinking glasses with silverware when guests wanted us to share a kiss. Each table also had a glass bottle with flowers. The flowers were in old milk bottles from my mom’s collection, each one from a different New England dairy farm.
Seating chart: I wrote out the seating chart on a big chalkboard that we made with plywood and chalkboard paint. It was displayed leaning against an old wooden door, which I literally found on the side of the road. We put rows of pictures above it, from baby pictures up through engagement photos. I clipped them on a string with miniature sized clothespins, and they turned out to be a great conversation starter.
What advice do you have for other brides? My advice would be to pick one or two things that you definitely want to do yourself, and then ask friends or family members to help out with everything else. I found that not only were people more than willing to lend a hand, they all enjoyed contributing to our big day.
100 DIY WEDDINGS |
diyweddingsmag.com
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