Wedding Blog

I love me some cheesiness, and if my world were perfect, goofiness would have been spread around our property far and wide. I wanted silly signs, funny photos, witty sayings, and lots o’ love songs.

Alas, my DIY skills (and time and dedication, frankly) were lacking, but I did manage to pull together a few really fantastic details at the last minute. Some were literally at the last minute: I stayed up until 1:00 AM the night before we got married doing the things I just. had. to. do.

Y’all know what I’m saying, yes? Sometimes, sleep be damned, a woman’s just gotta follow her inner cheese and DIY some stuff. And if you feel the need, the insane desire to make some stuff that is not strictly required, and you just know that even if nobody else notices, YOU will notice and be just a tiny bit happier, do it. Throw practicality to the wind and make some stuff (but only if you are confident you can do that and still enjoy your wedding day, mkay?).

Behold, a non-DIYers version of DIY:

Little goofy table tents that I loved more than I should have. Loved. Made them at 1:00 AM and smiled every time I saw them (okay, and every time I pointed them out to people, every one of the hundred times I may have done that because I loved them so much). My husband and I both have goofy, cheesy souls.

There were multiple versions, some funnier than others (“C’mon, Baby, light my fire. Seriously. Light the candle, please?”). This was my brilliant solution to the quandary of not knowing how to interrupt dinner or dancing to light candles. Who wants that job? Nobody! And even if we could find someone willing, some people (not naming names but they were all in our wedding party) were having WAY too good a time to stop to light candles. So instead, we deputized our peeps to help us out.

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While we’re on the subject of paper goods, let’s take a moment to remember the crossword puzzles. After debating what to do with them, we solved the problem by completely forgetting about them until after the ceremony (forgetfulness as solution, thankyouverymuch). So we scattered them about between the ceremony and reception and they were well-received.

I, on the other hand, was very confused as to why people kept asking me where my dogs were and what the second one was named. Apparently some people were loath to share their answers because they thought there’d be a prize (hello, you’re here and I’m about to get you drunk, that’s your prize) and I was too caught up in being married to remember the things.

Thank you notes. I haven’t shared these yet because I love them so much, and sometimes when you love something so much, you just want to keep it to yourself for a while. Sort of like earlier today when I had an amazing prime rib and a so-so New York strip sharing space on my plate, and for some reason I felt compelled to eat the strip first. Why? So it’s feelings wouldn’t get hurt? No, because the prime rib was so freaking good I wanted to savor it.

So, here we go: remember Mrs. Gummi Bear, she of the pink salt? Well, in addition to an unmatched attention to detail, the woman can draw.

I was so thrilled!!! Working from our engagement pictures and never having met us, she still managed to capture our essences quite convincingly. {My husband’s reaction to seeing it: “You look hot as a cartoon. I look pretty good, too.” Let’s not tell him I had her pump up his chest just a little, mkay?}

I used the image on our thank you cards…

Me: “Hey, sis, how freaking cool is that???”

My sister: “You’re a dork.”

Me: “I know, isn’t it cool!?!”

I used the image on our reserved seating signs…

Heck, I love the darned thing so much I’m thinking about using it on my new blog’s header. Thanks, Gummi Bear! You rock!!

The Goonies flag flying in front of our house. Does it count as DIY if it’s not really necessary for a wedding? Say yes! My husband loves “The Goonies”. Loves. And I love my husband. So when, one week before our wedding we decided that we needed a flag flying, and my husband made the sad eyes and said, “You know what would make me really happy?” then showed me the flag, what could I do but agree to make it? Granted, not the most intelligent of decisions when I still had a sofa slipcover to finish (yes, the bright yellow one in some of our pictures), but hey, he was happy!

The pole is a length of copper pipe because paying $25 for a cheap piece of plastic just because it was labeled “flagpole” was not acceptable. Nope. Sorry. I made the flag from outdoor Sunbrella fabric. It’s still proudly flying today, almost five months later. And yes, people driving by still slow down to read it.

Signs for the path to our ceremony site. After painting the whole house at least once – including floors in the basement – I am an accomplished painter, thankyouverymuch. My sentimental heart loved that the planks of wood came from an old fence we found on the property. Lest you think I was capable of a consistent color palette, please know that this paint was leftover from painting trim in the bathroom; when my foam brush failed me, I used my finger.

We may or may not have left the signs up (ahem). What? There WAS a wedding here. Maybe it wasn’t today, but it was here, and we were happy, and remembering is good.

And this is still the halfway point!

Cake stands. Let’s not get me started on the how unwilling I was to pay a hundred dollars for two cake stands to hold ten buck cakes. I had a better idea: eleven dollars scored me three big plates, one vase and two dessert glasses from the thrift store. A little bit of super glue (from the dollar store) and the sweet helpfulness of a step mom later, and we had cake stands.

Flowers! Again, I can’t take credit for these, but my SIL created fantabulous bouquets from flowers I bought at the fresh market and grocery store (and, um, some additional stuff I may or may not have taken from our neighbors’ temporarily vacant house but theywouldhaveletmeifIhadaskedISWEAR – let’s just call these sentimental additions).

See?

Beautiful! What kind of a lucky girl was I to score peonies at a (let’s be honest here) grocery store on the week of our wedding? Really lucky. I LOVED them. My grandmother’s cross wrapped around the stem, together with my mama’s necklace and my other grandmother’s earrings, gave me faith and strength and the feeling of being very literally with the women from whom I come.

As for my sister (the remaining female member of my clan) she kept me laughing. For heaven’s sake, I have no idea what was so funny, but it was really funny.

This is my sister-in-law slash flower creator:

I love her (and not just because she’s fantastic with flowers). See?

Mmmm. Happy flowers.

Oh, yea, my mom beautified the flower girl’s basket with some stuff I had and a fifty cent basket from the thrift store because I flat out refused to pay fifty bucks for a freaking basket just because it was labeled “flower girl basket” (are you sensing a trend here?).  Our flower girl was thrilled, and that’s what matters.

And since we’re talking about my mama, let’s not forget that she made me seven (SEVEN!) beauteous shrugs to choose from (seven!). Here are two:

Yea, I make stupid faces when faced with a camera. And apparently I lack the self-preservation necessary to keep me from posting these on the internet.

Also, she made me this happy little beauty of a clutch from the same silk as the first shrug and it held my lip gloss and Blackberry quite well (what else do you need when you have a MOH who takes care of your every need, caters to your every whim, refills your empty glass?).

Yea, that’s my veil. Someone was evidently very intent on making sure that some unknown thing about my veil was clear. Lovely how quickly you forget the details, huh?

My mama also made this ring posy. I mean, really, who says it has to be a pillow? What if your ring bearer isn’t a cute little boy, but rather a really gorgeous almost teenaged niece who needs to be free to hug and primp and do little girl things? Then you call your mama, rant share your thoughts, and a few days later she mails you this little bit of happiness. The rings tied onto silk strings and my husband and I just held our palms open to catch them when it was time.

Those are her gorgeous hands, not mine. Nope, mine were (as they are today) nail bitten and not at all elegant or bridal, but I am irrationally tied to the ability to chew on my nails when grace eludes me. And hey, a girl’s gotta keep it real.

The music. All you need is a wonderful little brother with a bad*ss Mac and a willingness to buy a bunch of cheesy songs. Oh, and the sound system your bachelor (not anymore!) husband paid way too much for because apparently blowing out your ears with the awesomeness of action films in surround sound is totally worth it. Note: we used a laptop rather than an iPod for the sake of robustness and continuity. Plus, I hear he was able to download songs on the fly via my wireless internet.

Wow, there was more DIY than I thought! Hang tight, we’re almost there.

And please let’s not overlook the fact that having a backyard wedding at home is, in and of itself, DIYing. My husband laid a ton of gravel, we painted almost every wall, renovated the bathroom, landscaped landscaped landscaped… and every bit was worth it.

My dogs chase each other in the same clearing where we pledged our futures to one another. Someday our children will join us.

And every time I want to remember how joy feels, every time I want to remember the love of my people waiting for me, every time I need to remember that I made the choice, the happy and joyful choice, to be with this man, I stand here in this spot, look to the heavens, and say a prayer.

And that, folks, is why I think DIY matters. You may not make your own invitations or write your own ceremony, but find something you’ll love, something you’ll remember, something that will make you feel good both while you create it and forever in your memories, and do that. It will be worth it.

All photography by Angela Herzog of Angela Herzog Photography (www.angelaherzogphotography.com) unless otherwise noted. Asterisks (*) indicate that post-processing was done by me, and thus, should not be held against her. See this post for more details.

Late to the party? See previous recaps here:

Part I: And It Begins
Part II: My People, Part I
Part III: It’s Time
Part IV: Our Ceremony
Part V: My People, Part II
Part VI: Celebrate Good Times, COME ON ALREADY!
Part VII: Yummy Yummy For My Tummy
Part VIII: And We Danced