Vows by Design
In these modern times of Pinterest and D.I.Y. weddings, the bar for the big day has been set pretty high. Every bride-to-be seems to have a “Dream Wedding” Pinterest board filled with everything from gorgeous gowns to ideas for party favors. Besides the obvious bonus of saving wheelbarrows of cash, the decision to have a D.I.Y. wedding let us get our family and friends involved in a big way. As a designer, I couldn’t have been more excited to start choosing swatches, typefaces and paper stock. Katie is an amazing cross-stitcher and has a preternatural gift for crafts. Our parents even got involved, working in their passions—be it ceramics, carpentry or culinary. It was a family affair.
Our first project, the Save the Date, established the aesthetic for the rest of the deliverables. The theme, “rustic chic”, was classic and elegant with some distressed texture, which lent a vintage look to everything. The invitations, reply postcards and map followed suit, picking up key artwork throughout.
My soon-to-be Father-in-Law really made our ideas come to life. He found and fell beautiful birches to construct our wedding arch, he built a 4-tiered cake stand (and the table it stood on), he hand-carved bear and moose figurines for the tables, the list goes on. My Mother-in-Law made ceramic vases by hand for centerpieces and bridesmaid gifts. Our mothers chose a favorite family recipe to make as party favors (I got to design the custom labels for the jam and mustard jars). Getting everyone involved on such a personal project was like getting to art direct my family (I was tough, but fair).
As our anxieties and nerves began to dissipate, we grew more excited for the wedding (and the party, of course!). We chose the Copperfield Inn, in North Creek, NY as our venue (Trampoline actually created a brand for the hotel some years ago). The quaint Inn fit our “rustic chic” theme perfectly. It wouldn’t have been a party without the Trampoline crew. The whole gang turned up and quickly found the dance floor. There may have even been a dance battle or two, but those photos are being saved for future blackmail purposes.
