Mrs. Strawberry, Seattle
Age and Occupation: 25, Radio DJ, Advertising Sales, Day of Wedding Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Engineer
Engagement Date: 07/04/2006
Wedding Date: September 1, 2007
Venue: Lake Union Cafe, Seattle
About Me: I'm a Navy brat that has lived all over the world. I love reality shows that are in poor taste, going to new restaurants, and trying to be crafty. Emphasis on trying!
Vintage Charm On a Budget
June 21st, 2007 @ 6:22 pm by Mrs. Strawberry
It is very easy to get wrapped up in all the hoopla that surrounds weddings. You begin to believe that you NEED a custom aisle runner, elaborate centerpieces, and letterpressed wedding programs. In truth, you don’t. You know you don’t. You really can have a wonderful ceremony and a fun reception without breaking the bank. I recently coordinated a wedding that proved just that. Meet Christina and Michael.
The ceremony was held in a church in Everett. Martha’s paper pomanders acted as pew decorations.
The groom and his men wore kilts to honor their heritage. Black converse sneakers were also a fun touch.
The bride and her maids all stepped back in time in their vintage dresses. The bride found her steal of a dress on eBay!
The flowers were bright and vibrant–oozing with vintage charm.
The reception was held at a tavern in Ballard, a funky little neighborhood in Seattle. Garden lights were strung from the rafters, with chinese lanterns adorned in lime green, hot pink and bright orange. The crowd was kept entertained all night by the bride’s father’s band.
Tea lights, bought in bulk, were placed in every nook and cranny to truly add a sense of warmth and romance to the evening.
The delicious buttercream cake was topped with a vintage bride and groom. Guests were very taken with this small detail.
The bride and groom’s getaway wheels were those of a bike! His and her bikes were decorated with Just Married signs and pink and orange ribbon.
The night was by far, one of the most original and fun weddings I’ve ever had the privilege of coordinating. The photographer, Laurence Kim, definitely captured the fun and romance of the evening. All in all, a success!
31 Responses to “Vintage Charm On a Budget”
Wow, this wedding looks great. Good job!
I think I might have to steal that tissue paper flower pew decorations idea. Thanks 
Such a beautiful wedding in every way!
Where did she get her headband/flower-thing? I love it!!
i plan on doing the same pomanders for our ceremony to save money on flowers. =)
i love that last picture of the couple. it’s so adorable.
So when do we find out how to hire YOU for our (potential, one day, if it ever happens, etc) wedding? 
I love that you showcased this wedding here. It looks like they had a really good time. I love the bike riding too, very cool.
Couple looks like a perfect match!
what kind of flowers are those? I LOVE THEM!
great post. Yay for going against the grain!
What an adorable wedding! They look like they had a great time, and most importantly, so much in love. And it’s very true–you don’t need all that stuff. Yes, it’s nice to have, but if you don’t want to spend the money, time or effort, it’s OK. A wedding should be about the love between the couple, and between them and their family and friends. Not about who had the most expensive centerpieces or did the most DIY.
hey, doesn’t the bride look like toni collett? I love the vintage touches!
This is great!!! I looks like they truely enjoyed their day.
I love the paper pomanders too! Do you have a link as to the how-to?
omg, i love that bike pic. they had so many personal touches - I love it!
I’m with Jen in that the paper pomander idea for the pews is amazing and I would love to see a link for DYI, etc.
My current plan is to buy 18 silk hydrangeas to decorate our six aislebras, so I’m thinking if we did this instead it would save quite a bit of money!
the directions are from martha stewart’s web site and michael’s craft store carries a ready made kit to make them from but only in a few colors.
gorgeous wedding. congrats to the couple and great job miss strawberry!
Wow, what a beautiful wedding. However I’m not sure how “budget” it was - the photographer alone costs from $2800 according to the website! I would really love to see some truly budget weddings on weddingbee, to prove that weddings don’t have to cost the earth.
What kind of flowers are those? They are great!
What an awesome wedding. It looks so much fun. I love love the bike pics!
those are matsumoto asters. very economical flowers!
I am in love with the bride’s headpiece! I must know where she got it!
Chrissie/Ali: I think she got the headpiece on ebay too. Not sure.
Becky: I would love to help you with your wedding…whenever that may be!! pink.pineapple.events@gmail.com
Kitty-the photographer is where they put the more emphasis of their budget. They had a lot of things done for them by friends and was still very much a budget friendly wedding.
Kitty–part of being a budget bride is knowing what is important to you and concentrating your money in those areas, while cutting back on things that aren’t such a big deal to you. That couple obviously wanted good photography. Some brides really want a designer gown, or amazing food, or a special location. Being a budget bride means choosing a budget and sticking to it, it doesn’t necessarily mean “cheap.”
Um, sorry to be dense, but are these pomanders the “Paper Flower Bouquet” on marthastewart.com? I went to the website, and the only things I can find are the above and “Crafted Paper Bouquet,” which is not the same, albeit quite beautiful. I’m only asking bc the “Paper Flower Bouquet” has no picture…
Beautiful! I love weddings that really bring in the couples’ personalities…
Do you have any idea where that cake topper is from? We’re looking desperately to find something vintagey - my fiance would LOVE to be Frank Sinatra reincarnate, so anything with a top hat would be lovely! Most of the vintage stuff that we’ve found looks really run down…anyone have any suggestions?
Soo cute! I think the money budgeted towards the photographer was well-spent! The pictures are awesome and their wedding looked so fun!
Christina actually told me that they got the photographer for FREE, thanks to him wanting to build up his portfolio. Wow.
Wow!
Thanks everyone for the lovely comments,
And Thanks again Miss Strawberry, looking back on everything I don’t know if I would have had the same great memories of my wedding without all of her help that day. She was truely a life saver!!!
It is true, I found Laurence Kim on Craigslist (for free)a good year before the wedding, when he was trying to build his portfolio. Craigslist is the best!!
this is the link to the Martha Pom Poms:
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=efb9608f8532f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=also_try
I found my wedding cake topper on Ebay, and the headpiece from a online vintage store.
Those are Matsumoto asters, My first choice was dahlias, or zinnias, but they weren’t in season, it was an excellent alternative. My florist was so cool and affordable her name is Adele Barilleaux, she totally got my vision.
christina, how did you attach the pompoms to the aisles? thanks!
