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I am interrupting my final wedding recap to talk about an issue that is really crucial when it comes to weddings: DOCs (day-of-coordinators). I, like many brides, thought I could go without. But as the weeks neared our wedding date and I started to visualize a timeline for the few days before the wedding, I couldn’t figure out when I would have time to set up all of the our DIY projects in our reception barn pre-wedding.
I had two trains of thought: 1) a stressed out bride, racing the clock, delegating projects, and ultimately, barely taking a breath before walking down the aisle, or 2) going hiking with friends, enjoying our rehearsal dinner, waking up rested the morning of the wedding, and possibly having a chance to go for a run or do yoga in the hours leading up to the ceremony.
Needless to say, option 2 seemed much more appealing. Our wedding salesperson at Devil’s Thumb Ranch had two recommendations for day-of-coordinators and one, she said, was fairly new to the business. Her name was Danielle Odil of Something Classic Events. We talked a few times for a few months before the wedding and, eventually, I caved. But not without combing through her set package and customizing it to my needs (including slicing the price tag to my budget). To see what I did to her package, head here.
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After being asked to design a wedding inspiration board based around a Christmas ornament, I immediately turned to Anthropologie. They have an eclectic assortment of ornaments (that I constantly covet) and I knew I’d be inspired. I sorted through the various deer, owls, mushrooms, and stars and settled on a carnival ornament that reminds me of all things Moroccan, gypsy, hippie, and whimsical: The One-of-a-Kind Carnival Bird.
I liked the idea of a wedding decorated in saturated jewel-toned colors, which this ornament makes me think of (even though it’s grey). So, I went to Polyvore and tried my best.
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In an effort to drag our wedding out by (at least) one. more. post. I thought I’d show you some of the amazing portraits our photographer, Tec, captured throughout the day. There weren’t many of them, but the ones that were sprinkled in with our wedding pictures were strong and beautiful. They make me want to print them out for our guests and give them as gifts.
For a different kind of portrait, press “play” below. One of our friends joined the band on-a-whim and played a harmonica solo. We had no idea he even played harmonica, but he rocked it. This is the perfect way to portray him. (Sorry the visual is no good.)
Soon after the first dance and father-daughter dance ended, everyone was on the dance floor. One of our friends is a square-dance “caller”, meaning he calls the next move at square dance events, so thanks to him, everyone was having a blast dosey-doe-ing.
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After toasts and feeding each other cherry pie, after everyone had exhausted the photo booth and enjoyed some ribs and cornbread, it was time for the first dance. Our band, Elephant Revival, took the stage (they’d learned Neil Young’s Harvest Moon for us). If you remember, our wedding coincidentally fell on the night of the Harvest Moon which we didn’t figure out until after we’d picked our song.
A while back, I asked all of you for help with our reception signs. You offered up your best rhymes but nothing clicked until I got home and looked at my stamp collection. I’d bought an adorable stamp from Hobby Lobby with the word “Love” on it, which I used on our out-of-town bags. I decided I’d make the signs cohesive by incorporating the stamp into each sign somehow.
I sent the stamped stationery off to Pretty Pen Jen in Texas and here’s what I got back. I used samples of Crane’s Lettra letterpress paper for this signage. Yay for free paper!
Photo by Amanda Wilson
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Cake did not make an appearance at our wedding. Instead, we served up a pie bar (by Denver’s Teacup Bakery) for our guests to enjoy. All eight pies were natural and organic. We had the venue cut the pies into 12 slices, instead of 8, so people could enjoy multiple flavors. You’d want to too, given these flavors: blueberry peach, cherry, apple, pumpkin, caramel apple, chocolate cream, lemon meringue, and banana cream.
Paula from Teacup was so cute when I went in for a tasting. She told me how she goes down to the farmer’s market and buys the fruit at its peak (which was way before October). She froze it when it was at its best so our fruit pies would still taste seasonal.
After dinner (which was a scrumptious barbecue feast), the toasts began. We hadn’t made a timeline for all of this, but our day-of-coordinator was on top of her game and made sure things flowed smoothly. Everyone faced the front as my dad took the microphone.
I was really nervous for my dad because he has faced serious shyness his entire life, but he did beautifully.
I’ve been soooo excited to write this post! Our photo booth was a complete experiment and I was thrilled when I looked through the pictures afterwards to find complete success. Because our cocktail hour ended up inside of our reception barn, the photo booth was really popular as an activity during that time. A line even formed a few times throughout the hour. Plus, there was a lot of light coming in through the windows before dinner, so the pictures were well-lit.
“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy!”
I broke down the pricing on our bouquets and boutonnieres for you, so I wanted to finish our floral budget breakdown with our centerpieces. And, since I just showed you the details of our reception, I thought fleshing out our flowers would be the most organic next step on this recap train.
Our cocktail hour, after our ceremony, was supposed to be outside on the reception barn’s beautiful deck. It was even dotted with heaters should it be cold. But there was nothing out there to protect from the howling winds and driving rain that started immediately after we said, “I do.” Instead, all of our guests made their way into our reception barn, margarita in-hand. Here are the details they saw.
Our centerpieces:
Each table had three jars of different heights with flowers in them. They also had three more jars with candles in them, plus one ceramic candle holder. I collected the jars and candle holders from garage sales in the year before our wedding.
Once we made it into the reception barn after our ceremony, our bridal party and parents followed close behind. There was nothing to do but hug each and every one of them.
We had considered the untraditional tradition I wrote about previously, with bottles of wine, love letters, and a box we would nail shut, but decided we’d rather do that privately than at the wedding. Instead, we decided to do a secular handfasting which I thought was a beautiful representation of the lifelong commitment we were making that day. Mrs. Cherry Pie’s version of this tradition was so tear-jerking, we decided to use it as a guide for ours.
We took each other’s palms, one at a time. Our officiant said a few words about our hands and how they would be the same hands that would be there for the years to come.
Inspired by Mrs. Cherry Pie, we also penned our own ceremony. We used a similar structure to hers, but infused our own words and added a couple of songs from our family members. Overall, the whole ceremony (songs and all) took about 30 minutes, which was perfect—just long enough to feel the transformation, harvest a few tears from our guests’ eyes, and not feel like the center of attention for too long.
Our officiant, my uncle Howard, started with words of welcome to our guests.
Our flower girl, Alma, was the band’s cue. When they saw that little mop of red curls coming down the aisle in her pink cowboy boots, they knew it was time to switch songs. The song I chose to walk down the aisle to actually comes from a surf film called Shelter. No, it doesn’t resemble the Beach Boys, nor is it rhythmic strumming like Jack Johnson (although, he was the cinematographer for the film). It’s an instrumental piece by a musician and surfer named Jon Swift. Our band, Elephant Revival, learned the small tune for me and played it perfectly. Or at least, I think they played it perfectly. To be honest, it was hard to focus on anything as I came into that light-filled room filled with so many loved faces.
P.S. I followed your advice, hive, and took the J.Crew belt off for the ceremony. But can you spot the cap sleeve that came with my dress (hint: my bouquet)?
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Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa Fe Age and Occupation: 25, Magazine Editor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting Guide Engagement Date: April 28th, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2009 Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, Colorado About Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
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