Maura & Houston were married in front of 120 guests and held their classic, vintage wedding reception at The Rookery Building in the loop in Chicago.  Maura had always loved the 20s era and the building where the reception took place was full of history.  It was the first and only reception hall the couple looked at and they immediately knew the vintage vibe that their wedding would take on.  Their colors were eggplant and dove grey.  The Rookery is filled with gold trim so they knew they couldn’t fight that.  All the colors gave the event a very regal feel without being stuffy.

The Details

 Bridal Gown Hanger by lilafrances

nicolesuder – frames for the table names

 Brides Hair Piece by LoBoheme

 Veil by veiledbeauty

Photography by Ozzie Ramsay

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

I have always had a slight obsession with stationary, so I worked very closely with a designer to produce a one of a kind invite, programs, table numbers, and menu cards.  While I have a creative brain, my hands always don’t follow so with the help of Tara from Cracked Designs I was able to make my thoughts come to life.  We use a lot of paisley which blended with the gold leaves of the rookery and matched the groom’s tie. 

I used a mailbox made by BedOfRosesBoutique similar to the one in the movie UP as a place to “mail us” our guest book prompts.  This movie has a lot of sentimental feeling for my groom and I.  I even own a limited edition sketch from the artist of the movie that my husband gave me as a birthday present last year!

I had Slk39 use ivory card stock to print prompts on individual cards such as “Love is” or “Best Marriage Advice.”

I had lilafrances make me a hanger that said “me and you” to hang my dress on for THE dress shot.  My husband and I say this to each other so that we know when times get tough that at the end of the day we have each other.

My dad, husband, and I worked together to build a escort card rack so that I could avoid all the traditional options. 

My wedding band has diamonds in it from my mother’s original engagement ring.  My parents did not have a lot of money when they got married and my father has since upgraded my mother’s ring as the years went by.  They recently celebrated 34 years of marriage so this is without a doubt a good luck charm for my new husband and I.  

I had french memory boards made up to display our childhood pictures to show where we came from to get to where we were today.  These were a huge hit as we chose pictures that really demonstrated how much our families love us and cared for us over the years.  My husband and I also don’t agree on many sports so it was fun to see the rivalries begin as small children.  

I had my initials sewn into the inside of my dress in blue thread as my something blue.  They were my “old” initials as that was officially the last day I would have them

I also had vintage picture frames painted in my wedding colors made to display my table names.  This fit very well with the etchings of the building itself and the romantic candlelight we all ate by.

We had old wedding photographs on the cake tables of our grandparents, great grandparents and of course our parents

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Try not to fret about the small things.  I spent so many hours worrying about colors matching or the flowers not being perfect.  When that day came, everything matching and all the flowers were beautiful.  Sometimes you need to leave things to the professionals, after all that’s why they are in business.  Also, make a very detailed day of schedule.  The hours I spent on that paid off beautifully especially since I was the wedding coordinator as well as the bride :)

What was your favorite Etsy find?

Oh, there were so many!! My veill, I think, takes the cake.  It was such a beautiful shop and at like 1/18th of the price the veil I tried on at my bridal salon, yet about 1000% more beautiful.  Kathy was fantastic to work with and made me feel very comfortable with buying my veil online. I remember when I got it, my husband wasn’t home, so I pranced around in it for about an hour.  All of the vendors I used that I listed above, however, I would HIGHLY recommend.  They all kept me very up to date on my purchases and everything came out exactly how I wanted.  Even when I was putting together my frames I realized a couple of them broke and Nicole sent me 3 more basically overnight so I could have the perfect day.  That is customer service to the max.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

When my husband lifted my veil and kissed me as we became husband and wife.  My eyes are even tearing up now as we speak.  The moment in time is perfect and what that whole day was about. 

Roxanne & Fritz were married in a lovely outdoor ceremony that took place at The Old Mill in Rose Valley, Philadelphia.  As both Roxanne & Fritz are writers a book-themed wedding was perfect for them.  Fritz proposed in a library, with the ring hidden in the back of a hollowed-out book of romantic poetry.  To read more about how they met and how their love blossomed check out this story about them that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Details

Bride’s jewelry, veil, and fascinator by Tinfoil Tiara Handcrafts

Bride’s bouquet and groom’s boutonniere by Anne Musing Designs  

Bridesmaid bouquets, groomsmen and dad boutonnieres by LLillard Designs 

Customized cake topper by Mud Cards (Keren Mudahi)  

Customized fingerprint tree for the guest book by lovliday   

Colorful flags by ArttoGo

Photography by Jenn Link Photography

What was your favorite Etsy find? 

I absolutely adored my custom-made jewelry and fascinator—it was perfect and beautiful!  My bouquet was also amazing and gorgeous.  The bridesmaid bouquets were terrific too, and I was so glad that I spent a little extra on our adorable cake topper.

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

Our wedding was on a really hot day, but near the end of the ceremony, right before the kiss, a breeze kicked up.  The birds were singing, leaves were falling from the bamboo, and you could hear the sound of the creek.  It just felt like this is really the way it’s supposed to be, and nature and the world are agreeing.  It was a perfect moment.

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side? 

Don’t get caught up in all the things you’re “supposed” to have or to do.  We made so many things ourselves, and found really unique and beautiful things on Etsy for a fraction of the price we would have had to pay from a more traditional outlet.  We did a lot of work, but everyone said our wedding was the most beautiful and unique they’d ever been to!

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding? 

We made the save-the-dates and invitations ourselves.  For the invitations, we used personalized stamps from Etsy to create library-themed invitations, complete with a due date card in a pocket!  All the bouquets were paper: the bridesmaids had origami bouquets, and my bouquet was paper roses made from the pages of the proposal book.  The centerpieces were all books, and for the seating cards, guests had to look themselves up in a card catalogue!  We also set up a DIY-photo booth that the guests loved—we got some great shots!  Finally, my veil and jewelry were all customized: we used some old ivory pieces that belonged to my grandmother, updated and given some sparkle.  Using my grandma’s jewelry was very meaningful to me, and it turned out beautifully! 

The inspiration for Lauren and Francis’ Plum wedding came from their bridesmaid’s dresses.  Lauren fell for the rich, warm color and decided to build the theme for their wedding around it.  The couple were married at the Capricornian Restaurant Garden in Emerald QLD Australia.  Lauren first heard about Etsy through word of mouth.  “I found Etsy incredibly useful when planning our wedding” she explained.  “I would just like to be able to help out my fellow brides in some way (by providing these recommendations), and show my support for the thousands of small businesses currently operating on Etsy.  Everyone loved our wedding purchases so much that I have now got my family & friends addicted to Etsy too!”

The Details

Bouquets by April Hiler Designs

Bride’s Jewellery by CraftBoxArt

Bridesmaid’s jewellery by plumbcrazy 

Hair flower for reception by ryeleighrose

Pom poms by orangekisses

Tags for Wishing Tree & Stickers for noodle boxes by MAUpromos

Cake topper by HILDOOM

Photography by Adam & Fiona from Deep Grey

What was your favorite Etsy find?

Our bouquets – I loved them so much, and having artificial flowers took some of the stress out of the wedding day. April did a fantastic job and I now have my bouquet sitting in a vase on my bedside table so I can see it every day!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Walking down the aisle to stand with my husband-to-be, and being surrounded by our family and friends. Such a beautiful (and overwhelming) moment!

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?

Don’t stress about the little details – no one is going to care whether you have chair covers and matching sashes. Enjoy yourself and try to delegate as much as possible – easier said than done for a perfectionist like me!

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?

We had homemade lamingtons for our wedding cake, personalised cake topper, DIY wishing tree, seating chart & (pom pom) ceremony decorations.

Heidi and Tim’s Orange and Aqua Blue wedding took place last June at The Heirloom Inn in Ione, California.  When trying to decide on a theme/color for her wedding Heidi knew that she wanted Orange since it was her favorite color but wasn’t sure what color to pair with it.  Pink was out since another friend had used Pink & Orange in her wedding a few months earlier.  Then one day she reached into her purse to grab a lip gloss out of the organizer/clutch she carries and BINGO there it was.  She’d ordered the organizer/clutch from thelaughinghouse Etsy shop a couple of years earlier; it’s a beautiful orange & aqua floral print pattern.  Everyone she told her colors to thought she was crazy but once they saw it together at the wedding they loved it.

The Details

Wedding Announcement by LoveInLetters 

Bridemaids Orange Crush Silk Hydrdangea Hair Pins with Swarovski Crystal Centers by pinkpeppermintdesign 

Garter by sugarplumgarters 

Brides Ivory Flower Hair Pin by VirginiaGeiger Jewels

Photography by Danielle Allgaier at Remember When Photography

What was your favorite Etsy find?   

My favorite Etsy find had to be the wedding announcement poster we got from LoveInLetters.  We didn’t want a traditional guest book and wanted something a little more unique than the typical photo of the bride & groom inside a matte that you sign.  I found the LoveInLetters shop and new it was exactly what we wanted.  They were really great to work with! 

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?   

My mom made all of our bouquets and boutonnieres and a good friend of ours customized some wood and orange paper fans with our names & the date for our favors.  Those fans really came in handy, it was so hot that day and by the time our ceremony started half of the chairs were in the sun.  It was really neat looking down from the room I was getting ready in and seeing a sea of orange fans just fanning like crazy! 

What is the most memorable moment of your day?   

The most memorable moment of my day was the actual wedding ceremony when we exchanged vows.  I remember those moments clearly even though the rest of the day is a complet blur.  My dad says that he’s never seen such a huge grin on my face.  It really was the happiest day of my life. 

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?  

Go with what you love, trust your instincts even if someone else thinks your ideas are crazy and have fun! 

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.  I’m kicking off the new year with Amy & Chris’ barouqe damask themed wedding.  The main color was Sage green which was inspired by the lining of the bride’s wedding dress.  And where did she find her dress I hear you ask?  Well Etsy of course!  Amy found it at on her very first visit to the site after being told about it by a friend who was planning her own wedding at the time.   The couple were married in front of 140 guests in Mount Vernon, Virginia.  

The Details

Brides OOAK Halter Style Gown by HippieBride 

Brides OOAK Headpiece by HippieBride

 Brides OOAK Veil by HippieBride 

Satin Ring Bearer Pillow by Mandaleighf 

Favour Cootie Catcher by DarlingGirlPaper 

Photography by Jeff Clinedinst

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding? 

We ended up making all of our Save the Dates, Place Cards, Table Numbers and Invitations.  I’m very into scrapbooking and card making and knew I wanted to play a part in this aspect.  We are wine lovers so we saved all of the corks from bottles we enjoyed during our engagement and used them to prop up the place cards.  We made gift bags for all the kids attending the ceremony.  I was looking for an alternative to throwing a bouquet so I made a gift card pillow which I threw instead.  We also assembled “Cootie Catchers” as our favor with questions about ourselves inside.  Digitally designed by DarlingGirlPaper 

What was your favorite Etsy find? 

My dress, of course! 

What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side? 

I felt guilty sometimes about how nice, helpful and wonderful everyone was being to us.  I know that sounds silly now but I really did – until a friend reminded me that people want to share in the joy of your wedding day.  Now, I understand more because when my friends are getting married now, I do just want to shower them with the joy I’m feeling for them. 

And, get a calligraphy stamp with your address and such on it!  Made invitations, Save the Dates and thank yous so much easier! 

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

It is difficult for me to pick one moment.  I suppose I would have to say the first dance with Chris as my husband, surrounded by our loving families and friends.  Also, it rained on our way from the ceremony to the reception, but it left behind a beautiful rainbow!