Today’s real wedding features the second of Natasha and Mark’s two wedding ceremonies.  The first was a civil ceremony that took place in May and the second was a much larger ceremony and reception that took place in August at The Country Club in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada.  Natasha first came across Etsy while browsing the wedding website Wedding by Color in search of a photographer.  She found her photographer and so much more!

The Details

Treble clef table name holders by AllegroArt

Thank you for being my bridesmaid cards and Sixpence for the Brides shoe by MonAmourBoutique

Photography by Kristie Macor and Brenden Woods of  Tied Photography 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Started as ivory, purple and silver but ended up more like a peacock palette, with pinks, purples and blues. I was fine with that in the end, it turned out really pretty!  What inspired the original palette was that my favourite colour is purple and I knew I wanted to wear off-white. What inspired the quasi-peacock palette is that it is impossible to find 5 bridesmaid outfits the same colour – so we went with the flow and it came out beautifully!

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

We initially exchanged Happiness and Energy bracelets at our civil ceremony and not rings (bought from Etsy). We used these to symbolize that we started as friends (we were actually friends for 10 years before we first dated) and would always be friends.  We later used wedding bands in August. We also fused our cultures into the day – Jamaica, Indian, Sri Lankan, we had Jamaican food and music, Indian attire and some music and a special ceremony and then Sri Lankan spice boxes as favours. Also we named our tables after songs and ordered great treble clef table name holders from Etsy seller Allegro Art to house them!  We also did a sand ceremony, but instead of just uniting the two of us, we asked our moms to join us and we united our families as well. Family means everything to us.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Seeing my husband as I walked down the aisle. Nothing else mattered. Not the weather, not the details, just the man of my dreams waiting for me, with a happy smile on his face. So amazing.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

I loved the bridesmaid cards, the Sixpence and the treble clef holders. They were all such beautiful touches.

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

Relax and enjoy the process. Try to express yourself through your wedding but don’t lose the meaning of the wedding in all of the details. And a day-of-coordinator and good photographer are must haves!

Today’s wedding took place last May at the Darwin Botanic Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.  Bride Desiree first learned of Etsy through the wedding forum Australian Wedding Central.

The Details

Customised toasting flutes from Magic Brushes Workshop 
Silk flowers for bridal bouquet, bridesmaids’ corsages and buttonholes from Southern Girl Weddings 
Brides gold earrings from LuluSplendor  
Program fans from Impression Invitations  
Table number holders from The Funky Shack  
Shoe clips from Twisted Crystals  
Bindi from Miischelle 

Photography by Christopher Knight from Digifilm

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Our wedding theme was Fusion (Indian + Western) to incorporate both mine and Matt’s cultures (I’m Singaporean Indian and he’s Australian).  The colors were red, white and light gold, inspired by my Indian background.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

It’s a tie between the silk flowers and the shoe clips! The seller for the silk flowers was just amazing. She was very patient and customized it to suit my wedding entirely. The shoe clips are my favorite as well because I can re-use them whenever I want

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Walking down the aisle and seeing my husband’s beaming smile.

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

- Table numbers – I created our table numbers using photos of our 3 pets and the word ‘love’ in different languages.
- Handmade individual guest cards that were completed and compiled in a DIY guestbook.

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

Compromise!

Bride Amanda first learned of Etsy through the blogging website for brides called Wedding by Color. “One bride in particular had ordered a personalized hanger from Etsy that had her soon to be married name on it” explained Amanda. ”It was beautiful and I HAD to have one!”  She and Bryan were married in July at The Pickering Barn in Issaquah, WA in front of 150 guests.

The Details

Brides Vintage Inspired Pearl Earrings by JaniceMarie

Set of 2 personalized hankies – ccbgknikolich

Zebra print satin garter set with pink bows – lolainlace

Fuchsia and Black lace Sixpence by MonAmourBoutique

The Original Silver Lingerie/Wedding Dress Hanger – lilafrances

Photography by Tasha Owen

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Black, White, Fuchsia, and splashes of zebra print – it sounded crazy when my husband pitched the idea to me, but it turned out beautiful! When we decided we’d like to have cupcakes instead of a traditional cake, my husband turned to Google images for inspiration. He found a display of zebra print cupcakes and thus the idea was sparked in his brain, we must have zebra print incorporated in our wedding!

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

Our DIY projects included our programs, center pieces, save the dates, and invitations. Our personal aspect included bathroom baskets for the guests, my something blue was the words “I DO” under my shoes, and four open chairs with white roses on them in the front row on the grooms side. This was to honor Bryan ’s grandparents and aunt that have all passed, it was beautiful.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

I have to say the most memorable moment of the day was walking down the aisle. I was arm in arm with my mom, with my step and biological fathers walking behind us. As soon as we had passed under the arbor but step father said, “Look at everything and how beautiful it is Amanda, everyone is here and all of this is for you two.” Well then I just lost it – the tears were definitely flowing.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

My favorite Etsy find was the personalized hankies, what a great idea! I’m including a picture of the finished product, it brought both my mom and my new mom to tears.

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

My best advice would be to ask for help, make sure you EAT at your reception, and take a minute after the ceremony for just the two of you. I felt that by asking for help I would be a burden to my friends and family, however, all they wanted to do was help take the load off my shoulders and I wish that I would have accepted that from the beginning! I regret that I didn’t eat our delicious food, I hear that it was really good though J And some of my favorite pictures of us happened when we took those few minutes after the ceremony and receiving line – finally husband and wife.

Laura and Sushant were married early last month in Colorado at the Denver Botanical Gardens.   Laura was introduced to Etsy 2 years ago when a good friend suggested she sell paintings on the site. More from Laura, “I didn’t think much about Etsy until 6-7 months prior to the wedding as I was looking for accessories and wedding ideas, etc.  Since then, I’ve been hooked!”

The Details

34 Pairs of Earrings as Favors for Female Guests by jewelryroute
Brides Necklace by jurgitahandmade
Brides Earrings by olgabest28
Bridal Sandals Customized with Blue and Purple Sequins by 4mythreemonkeys 
Flower Girl Pillow by Lace006

Photography by Chris Schnieder Wedding Photography, Jason Hayes of Hayes Photography & Lola Mansurov of Mansurovs Photography

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

I wasn’t sure where to begin with colors but I knew I wanted a classic look. After seeing the reception venue set up, I really feel in love with the gold shimmery sash that was tied around each individual seat. I just went ahead and stuck with that color. Eventually it evolved to: ivory, champagne, shimmery gold and opal. I love the color purple and struggled with ideas on how to incorporate it into the wedding so I ended up picking purple flowers and adding it to my sister’s bouquet.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

It’s hard to say because I still love every single purchase!! I received so many compliments on everything I wore that I really can’t say which was my favorite.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Saying our vows to each other and never taking our eyes off one another

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

My husband created our save the date postcards! I wrote all the escort cards by hand and even included a love quote on the back of the card for an extra personal touch. We printed our ceremony cards and included a small envelope with tissue inside towards the bottom. Instead of numbering our tables, we came up with 8 special cities and from there, printed pictures of us in that city and wrote a brief explanation of why that city is special on gold stock paper. We then put it into a pearl picture frame. I printed our menu cards for guests, created all pre-wedding cocktail invite cards by hand, put together gift bags complete with a personalized welcome booklet for guests staying in the hotel. And, last but not least, I personalized our wedding album by gluing envelopes to the pages and had people write out well wishes to place inside the envelope. My mom and mother-in-law made our gift card box from a shoebox and wrapped gold fabric around with opal ribbon – it turned out beautifully.

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

It’s your wedding. Do what YOU want. We were given that advice and failed to listen to it. Our wedding turned our beautifully and guests from out of town were able to celebrate with us but definitely do what you want to do.