diy wedding boutonnieres

It has been forever since I've posted about anything even remotely creative around here and so I've been chomping at the bit to unveil this latest little project... My dear creative, free-spirited friend Amy just married an equally awesome boy named D. She is hands down one of my craftiest friends (oh my, just wait til you see her handmade doily wedding dress!) I was completely honored (and crazy-nervous) when she asked me to make boutonnieres for all of the wedding boys, using things like feathers and non-living notions. The result was a pretty eclectic mix of things that suited her bright, beautiful vintage wedding quite well, if I do say so myself.

feathers: BearyBox
photos: yours truly
based on this great tutorial!

9 yellow balloons

I will never ever get tired of having a bouquet of balloons in photos. They make the whole world a more cheerful place, don't you think? I really love how some of our shots turned out from my cousin Ashley's wedding. I think everyone in our family would agree that Ashley is the jewel of our gene pool. Maybe it's the dimples? She should have been a model. But she still made a pretty drop-dead-gorgeous bride. I'm just lucky to claim her as my cousin. Josh is even luckier to claim her as his wife. They are a really, really cute couple! See more of their photos here.

diy pew decorations: chic and cheap

I whittled last week away making these tissue paper pomanders for my dear friend Gretchen's wedding on Sunday. She'd planned a huge church wedding with the most gorgeous hydrangea bouquets to match elegant blue bridesmaid dresses, but didn't have much wiggle room in her budget for lavish live flower pew decorations. When it comes to weddings, in my opinion, naked pews just won't do. So I came up with these tissue paper pomanders based on this tutorial at Project Wedding.
They are so simple a kindergartner could make them...and so cheap, even the most frugal bride could afford them. The only investment involved is your time...Once I got the hang of it, I was averaging around 1 hour per ball. {I would suggest gathering a few friends to help you make these and you could get them knocked out in the course of an afternoon.}
I was so excited to be able to contribute these and I was so pleased with the results. They were a lovely complement to the hydrangeas and brought a brilliant punch of color to the aisle she walked down.

P.S. The entire time I was folding, fluffing, + stuffing, I could not stop dreaming of being an event planner when I grow up...Maybe someday?

kimberly + ben

Just got home from our road trip to Michigan for my little bro's Labor Day weekend wedding. I must confess that I was a little nervous about the 16 hour drive, with Graham stuck in the car seat...But guess what? He was a rock star--he either slept or played for most of the trip. He exceeded my expectations and we had the best time! Anyway, let's talk wedding. Everything turned out to be absolutely beautiful and we were so happy to be a part of Ben + Kimberly's special day. There's still tons of editing to do, but I just had to share a few pics! I loved Kimberly's idea to get a picture of the ladies from the church's balcony: Hard to see in the picture, but we had the most elegant floor-length plum bridesmaid dresses with a little side ruching and some embroidery and beading on the front. Very form forgiving. This shot of the guys was just supposed to be a light-test, but we loved how it turned out! So relaxed and fun.
Best for last: Ben is a complete motor-head, car geek, engine freak. So his '84 Trans Am getaway mobile was a big highlight of the day. When it was time for us to start pictures right before the wedding I couldn't find him anywhere in the church. I almost began to panic, thinking that he was chickening out and checking out. Case in point, I found the tux-clad groom under the hood of a vehicle surrounded by guys in the parking lot. Nothing like a little pre-nup tune-up. ;)And this, my friends, is the rubber he laid pulling up to the reception venue.

barn wedding

photo: Jeff Loves Jessica

IF: Jeff & I could do it all over again, we would get married in a big old rustic barn, with:

• all our friends and family again
  
• fresh squeezed lemonade
• homemade jam + corn bread
  
• square dancing
• vintage table cloths + doilies everywhere
  
• at least 100 strands of twinkling lights
• definitely the twinkling lights.Instead, I am begging you to plan a barn wedding and invite me. Even better, invite us to photograph your barn wedding!
  
  
  Edit (1/12/12): In the 3 years since I originally posted this, I've had tons of hits and inquiries about awesome barn, farm, or just plain lovely outdoor venues in Minnesota! We have shot weddings at many of them--and dream to visit them all some day. Congrats--I think that the good old Midwest is such a gorgeous, down-to-earth place to plan your wedding!! Here is my list, plus a few shout outs to our friends across the border in Wisconsin.
  
  
• Blue Horse Farm | New Richmond, WI http://www.bluehorseartcamp.com/
  
• Camrose Hill Farm | Stillwater, MN
  
• The Enchanted Barn | Hillsdale, WI
  
• Art's Barn | Bemidji, MN
  
• The Carlos Creek Winery | Alexandria, MN
  
• Juliane James Place | Finlayson, MN
  
• Round Barn Farm Bed & Breakfast & Bread | Red Wing, MN
• Mayowood Stone Barn | Rochester, MN
  
• Red Barn Retreats | Garden City, MN Contact 866.430.1717 or info@redbarnretreats.com
  
• Trendy Acres | Mount Horeb, WI
  
• Windbeam Farm | Hager City WI (right across the border from Red Wing MN! the owner Trudy is wonderful!)
• Woods Chapel | Orono, MN (not actually a barn, but outdoors and gorgeous nevertheless!)
  
  
  

jenny + luke tie the knot

So excited to share just a few of the shots from my sil Jenny's beautiful wedding 2 weeks ago in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Everything was so simple and gorgeous and perfectly their style...Sort of a mod-country. And they had the neatest color scheme: yellow + red!

First of all, I have to say that she and Luke were such good sports about the rain! It was chilly and drizzly pretty much all day, but that didn't stop them from having the happiest day of their lives! We took full advantage of the inclement weather and got some great outdoor shots anyway. Personally, the umbrella pics are my absolute favorite. Very unique and fun!{This is my 2nd favorite!} Luke is so crazy cool for wearing his sneakers with his tux. Kudos on the new, bright white laces.
The reception was held outdoors under a big, bright, white tent. The decorations were absolutely adorable. Dozens of these flower boxes packed with yellow + red zinnias lined the banquet tables. So bright and fun!
I had a blast helping Jenny out with the guest book {above} and programs {below}. For the guest book, we set out summery patterned 3.5x5" papers and asked guests to craft their own personalized notes to Jenny + Luke. We set out pens and colored pencils for them to write and decorate inside, then fold up the note cards and seal them with red & yellow seals, bakers' twine, or skinny red rick rack. Instead of a boring book of names, Jenny + Luke got to take home a big glass jar filled with personalized sentiments decorated in yellow and red. These 2 make the most adorable couple. We are so happy for them and so excited to have Luke in the fam. :) Jeff and I were so glad to contribute a little to help them remember their beautiful celebration of their love for God and for each other.
P.S. A few more photos on Flickr!

something old, something new, something crafty, something blue

Today {8.12} is the perfect day for a little reminiscing, because 3 (count them, three action-packed, wonderful, happy) years ago today, Jeff & I tied the blessed knot. Happy Anniversary, darling husband! God is so good for merging our lives. You are nothing short of perfect for me. I love loving you. And looking back, this is still the happiest day! Oh, to have everyone together again...
I am beefing up this post with a few extra pictures of our day to help celebrate my sweet blogging friend, KT's recent engagement. You see, she is hosting a *something crafty* giveaway before she is given away. She's searching for ideas and inspiration to bring personal, handmade touches to her upcoming wedding and has asked the blog world to chime in with photos and stories from their wedding experiences. So check it out and join the fun!

Planning our wedding was one of the most joyful experiences of my entire life. That year we were engaged, I felt so passionate about making our day a memorable, beautiful reflection of our love for each other, and more importantly, God's love for us. I wanted our event to be very elegant and classic--a pink + green sorta French country marries English garden theme emerged. The summer of 2006, I spent every spare moment cutting paper, hot glue gunning, and tying ribbons. Looking back, I am so grateful for the extra time and love I could pour into our day. To me, it was a simple dream wedding and there are few things I'd change if I could do it all over again.
It has always bothered me that we do not have the original photo jpegs from our photographer. He was a bit old school and we could only order physical prints. So forgive me...All of these pics are just snapshots from our family and friends! We decorated the church pews with 100-something paper cones tied with ribbon and filled with fresh flowers from my grandma's garden. I loved seeing them as I walked down the aisle.
Since our ceremony and reception were a long distance apart, we wanted to serve quick refreshments in between. We held our receiving line in the backyard of the church and set up an icecream social: a pretty table with raspberry lemonade, lime & raspberry sherbet. {Wishing I had more pictures!}Our favors: pretty green pears tied with the phrase "The Perfect Pair : Jeff + Jessica"To dress up the banquet tables, my mom and I made these runners out of pink toille.The cake, glorious cake! White cake with raspberry filling and buttercream and piled with roses to be exact...It was a work of art and made by my friend/bridesmaid Becca in her mom's kitchen just days before our wedding.And ah yes, the cupcake tree. We opted to serve cupcakes in lieu of traditional cake slices. I was a bit disappointed with how the bakery decorated them (gotta love your options in small town Minnesota!), but I think the display turned out lovely, just the same. I can't tell you how much time, doiley pieces, and hot glue my friend Sarah and I invested in that giant piece of cardboard!Our friends+family sent us off through a row of sparklers! {This picture is embarrassing for two reasons: 1. It is smoky and blurry and normally I don't post such horrible pictures. And 2. I am bending over b/c my shoe fell off in front of everyone. Thankfully, Cinderella's story helped me save face. But it was such a great memory, I had to share it anyway!}

jenny + luke wedding inspiration

Jeff's little sister, Jenny is getting married in August! She and her cute bf, Luke, just got engaged a few weeks ago and they're now on the wedding planning fast track! Of course, we are thrilled for them and I am extra excited about all of her gorgeous ideas for the big day...They're planning sweet+simple yellow wedding in rural Wisconsin, packed with thoughtful DIY details and country charm. I've been bookmarking a few pieces of inspiration for her:
I love the simplicity of these invites. The bright yellow envelopes and pretty patterned liners give them just enough punch, but would be fairly simple to design and construct yourself.
A pretty letterpress graphic like this could be imitated with the right rubber stamps and inks.
Talk about ambitious, Jenny and her future mom-in-law are planning to grow most of the flowers themselves this summer! This palette is completely inspiring me. I'm imagining huge+bright blooms of zinnias, dahlias, garden roses, and maybe even a few sunflowers.
Swooning over these yellow centerpieces via Style Me PrettyAnother great idea for a shoestring budget: Use favors as centerpieces. {via Martha}
So what if daffodils aren't in season in August? This DIY daffodil centerpiece via {frolic!} offers a clever tutorial.
Imagining how beautiful their reception will be...Outdoors, in a bright white tent. No lemony yellow summer wedding would be complete without a lemonade bar.
Luminaries would add the perfect touch of romance at dusk: these are simply made from paper bags, one inside another, with ribbons. Via Oh Happy Day

alisha + jason

We had an awesome excuse to head home to the Midwest to visit friends + fam this weekend...My cousin Alisha got married to her sweet guy, Jason. We're so happy for them and their new life together! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. The flowers, stunning. The cinnamon colors, fabulous. The bride, radiant. The reception, delicious, beautiful, and super fun! Jeff actually took their official wedding pictures and I am so giddy about sharing them all...but I promised him I'd post only one until after his photoshop labors have come to an end. Congrats Alisha + Jason!

steph + dale

Jeff and his buddy Eric had the privilege of shooting the photos at our mutual friends' wedding in June. I've been itching, well, more like dying, to share some of my favorite pics since then--but it's only fair that the bride gets to see them first. ;) They got married in Nebraska on a perfect summer day. So simple and beautiful. And I am forever in love with the vibrant grassy field where we shot these photos:
Congrats and God Bless, Steph + Dale. We are so happy for you!