The See Canyon Fruit Ranch, a 100 year old working apple farm, served as the backdrop for Courtney and Scott’s rustic wedding and inspired their vintage barn style theme.   The couple wanted to focus on the joy of the day, and according to Courtney, what color demonstrates joy better than the color yellow!    Birds were incorporated where they could be and the talents of friends and family were called upon to help lend a personal touch to the day.

The Details

Our personalized bird cake toppers were made by cottonbirddesigns 
The adorable tutu our flower girls wore was made by DearLillie 
Our milk glass vases were from a combination of sellers: violetsandgrace, MyraMelinda, OpenYourWindow and tjvintage
The milk glasses were from barnwhiteco who is no longer an active seller on Etsy.
Our LOVE garland was made by RavensBloom
The paper bird “Reserved” signs and the paper bird napkin rings were made by paperacorn
The calendar ring pillow was made by GiggleRoom
The yellow and grey paper “Reserved” signs on the back of the chairs were made by katherinekiyoko
Our guestbook thumbprint tree was made by bluedetoi

Photography by Lori Carter of  Tribute Photography

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

We did almost everything ourselves which is what made the day so unique to us.  I ordered the flowers from fiftyflowers.com and prepared them two days before.  The night before my cousin, best friend, grandmother, mother, aunt and I made the boutonnieres and bouquets.  The morning of at the venue they created the centerpieces with the bottles I purchased from etsy.  My mother used mason jars from my grandmother to make hanging jars that we put water and flowers into which we hung in the trees above the dance floor.  My mother-in-law created our “photobooth” and our wedding sign made from old fence wood.  We had a gentleman in Oakhurst, California cut 14 tree stumps for us to use as aisle decoration.  We decorated our cake with Billy Button flowers (craspedia)

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

Don’t focus too much on the trends that you’ve always seen, do what represents you.  Be true to yourself and put personal touches where you can but don’t get too obsessed over the details.  It is the marriage that is most important, not the wedding.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

It’s a tie between our cake topper and our thumbprint tree.  Our cake topper was amazing! Angela handmade them with vintage fabrics and even used vintage lace from an old skirt that matched the lace on my dress to make the veil on my bird.  She made sure every detail was perfect for us and they could not have turned out better.  We had people asking about them all day.  Our thumbprint tree was beautiful, our guests had so much fun putting their thumbprints on the branches and signing their name.  We have it hanging in our living room as a reminder of everyone that helped make our day so special.

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

Leaving the wedding feeling a sense of accomplishment and excited to start our new life together. 

Rachel and Nick’s backyard wedding took place at the home of the bride’s parents in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.  Rachel first came across Etsy while she was searching online for a “Puppy Tux” for the couples dog Indie.  According to Rachel, it was love at first “site”!

The Details

Pearl Letter Cake Toppers (R & N) from myfrivolities

Personalized Ivory Wedding Garters with Pink Pearl Flower from makethisdayspecial 

Audrey Hoop earrings in sterling silver with ivory pearls for the Bride and 3 Anna Necklaces for the Bridesmaids from BGBJewelry 

Eco Chameleon Gown in Ivory for the Bride, and 3 knee length dresses in Satin Jersey in Steel for the Bridesmaids from Isadora Clothing 

Gerber Daisy Flower Girl Wands for the Flower Girls from zuzugirl 

Puppy Tux with Tie and Ring Pillow for our Dog Indie (our ring boy) from Pugpossessed 

Vintage Daisies and Pearl Headband for the Bride from BeSomethingNew 

Pink Daisy Smock Dresses for the flower girls from Purple Petal

Photography by Rachel’s father, John Looyestein of  The Perfect Image

What was your theme/colours and what inspired it?

Our colours were grey, white, and pink. Our wedding was a sunset wedding, so we wanted to go with really romantic colours.

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

Don’t take it too seriously! Make the Wedding YOURS. Luckily, people are really starting to think outside of the traditions, and make their weddings unique or special to them. Don’t be afraid to leave parts out or add your own special touches. Its your day, have fun!

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

We really wanted our wedding to be intimate and personal, we wanted our day to be OURS. From everything to our clothing, to the cupcake stand, to our puppy “ring boy”, to the candy buffet – our day was full of FUN! Luckily our family and friends are so talented, so our entire wedding was creative and personal. Rachel’s mom did all the gorgeous decorating, made the cupcake stand, perfected the garden. Rachel’s father did the photography, built a dance floor, and set up the speakers outside. A neighbour made the cupcakes, a family friend performed the ceremony, while another family friend did the bar-tending, and Rachel and Nick picked all the music themselves for the entire evening. The stuff that we couldn’t do, we found on Etsy, everything is unique and one-of-a-kind!

What was your favorite Etsy find?

It’s so hard to choose! I loved my headband, and the puppy tux was a big hit, but if I had to choose JUST one, I would choose the dresses. I knew I wanted an Eco-friendly dress, and when I came across the wrap dresses at Isadora Clothing, I knew it was exactly what I wanted. The dresses were SO much fun! My dress was full length in ivory, and the bridesmaids got to choose their own colour, and all wanted the knee-length dress in Steel. We all wore our dresses different ways, and even switched it up throughout the evening. We all loved our dresses. They were comfy, versatile, very danceable, and we can wear them again!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

The entire day was amazing, so it is really hard to pick one moment. Our weather was perfect, hot and sunny with blue skies! Our families met for the first time, and everyone got along great. We had our pictures done at the local carousel, which we rented for an hour. We had 2 ring-boys, 3 flower-girls, and a puppy in our wedding party! And our only request for the evening was that everyone had a good time drinking and DANCING! At the end of the night, when we lay in bed, in each other arms, we both agreed on how blessed we are. We had a night surrounded by family and friends, full of laughter, dancing, and love. We both have wonderfully supportive and loving families, and those two families were together for the first time to celebrate our love.

Allison and Rahsaan’s vintage tropical wedding  took place on September 4th in downtown Minneapolis, MN.  The couple infused their wedding with their love of  music and  shared their special day with 160 guests.  

The Details

Custom cake toppers by samyii 

Guest book alternative cards by Eden Creative Studio    

Guest book box and sign   by Cut the C ake Designs  

Brides flower hair pin by LilaJo   

Veil by Tessaa Kim   

Customized Ring Tray by palomasnest    

Brides Necklace and gifts for the bridemaids by bestnamenecklace    

Brides wedding ring, gold plated Rockwell by the beside (Shop no longer active) 

Photography by Kristi Link Fernholz

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?   

The theme was vintage tropical based around music.  My husband and I are really into music, we attend dozens of concerts each year, and then we are definitely more into vintage looks and I love the tropics so wanted to throw in huge flowers and such.  Kind of an old world Havana theme.  Colors were Yellow, gold, and magenta.  My favorite color is yellow because it is so happy and bright, and I love gold and then I threw in the magenta to add a burst of color. I thought it tied in well with the vintage and tropical theme.  We had cabanas, a vintage juke box, a 12 piece band, so many flowers and the wedding party was transported on a trolley. 

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

We hired the best wedding planners  (Mi Mi design ) who took my ideas and created crazy things.  Almost everything was tied back to music, so the save the dates were postcards made from actual album covers, the table numbers were actual 45’s (records), the invites looked like small album covers, and everything pulled out from the side like vinyl would do.  

What is the most memorable moment of your day?   

The ceremony.  I thought I would be crying and super emotional, but the pastor was so genuine and funny, and said really lovely things about us (based off pre-marital counseling sessions), and standing across from such a lovely steady man, made the moment the most memorable.  And also the after party we threw at First Avenue nightclub, we were able to book the 7^th Street entry for just our wedding guests and brought in our friends to DJ so the night ended with reggae and hip hop music at our favorite concert venue! 

What was your favorite Etsy find?   

Our custom cake toppers.   

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

Hire good wedding planners that fit your personal style.   They will create a super special and unique affair that suits you as a couple, and take away all of the planning and day-of stress.  Also, pick the things you aren’t willing to budge on and then let some other things go (let mother of the bride, groom pick some things).  

Rachel and Dion had an amazing destination wedding in Las Vegas, Nevada back in March.  25 of their closest friends and family turned out for the Ohio couples big day.  The wedding ceremony was held at The Chapel at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and the reception was held at Maggiano’s Little Italy in the Fashion Show Mall, just down the Vegas strip from Mandalay Bay.  Rachel first came across Etsy while searching for Christmas gifts.  She’s been hooked ever since.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for some fabulous shots of Rachel’s “Trash the dress” photoshoot taken a week after the wedding.

The Details

Invitations, table numbers, and wedding photo frame by onereverie. 

Bride’s wedding jewelry by Sahara Amaya.

Personalized hanger by Lila Frances. 

Bouquet by Croska. 

Favor Tag by Fubabee. 

Escort cards by RepChi.  

Cake Topper by Dandelionland.   

Poographer byTodd Wilson of Bently & Wilson.   

Trash the Dress Photo Shoot  by Jennifer Mott. 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

We didn’t have a theme for our wedding–Vegas is enough of a theme on it’s own without going out of our way! But, our color scheme was an espresso brown, and a fern green color–and, to be honest, was only decided upon when we found our amazing invitations on Etsy. My dress was a coffee colored silk, so, we knew not much would “go” with it, but we found the perfect invitations, and subsequently the perfect color scheme almost by accident!

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

We tried our best to make our wedding as “us” as possible, which was hard because, at the time, we lived in Ohio–getting things to Vegas for the wedding would be difficult. So, it was the little things that we did in an attempt to tie it all together–and, surprisingly enough, Etsy helped make that possible. We were able to, through multiple vendors, stick with the same color scheme, and make it all look cohesive, despite being thousands of miles from home. We DIY’ed our favors (mini glass jars of personalized M&M’s and chocolate covered espresso beans, with labels from Etsy), and I dyed my crinoline blue (as my something blue) for under my dress

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

For me, the most memorable part of our wedding day was the few hours my husband and I spent taking pictures alone prior to our ceremony. We had a “first look,” followed by two and a half hours of picture taking at various locations throughout Mandalay Bay. It was an amazing feeling to spend time with my husband alone prior to the big moment; it was extremely calming, and not to mention fun! We definitely felt like celebrities walking around a hugely populated casino in our wedding attire!

What was your favorite Etsy find?

It’s definitely a toss up between my bouquet, the personalized hanger, cake toppers, and invitation print that now serves as our guest book, if only because we have constant reminders of them placed throughout our home! 

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

The best advice I have is two-fold:

1.) No one cares about your wedding as much as you do. It’s sad, at the time, but it’s true. For as excited and involved as I was–well, no one else matched my level. It was disappointing at the time, but looking back now, it makes sense. It was our wedding, so it was obvious that it would be more important to us that others. 

2.) insofar as no one else will care about your wedding as much as you do, no one will notice when things don’t go as planned–so, don’t stress the small things. Weddings are like life, they aren’t perfect, and things will undoubtedly go wrong, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter, and isn’t worth fretting over on the day of the wedding. If, at the end of the day, you’re married to the one you love, then the wedding was a success!

 Trash the Dress Photo Shoot

More from the bride on her Etsy purchases:

Our invitations, table numbers, and wedding photo frame all came from the amazing onereverie.  They were fantastic to work with, and incredibly helpful when we continued to go back with more ideas for additional needs. We started with just with invitations, then returned back to the store months later for the table numbers, and again for a print that resembled our invitations to use as a photo mat to sign for our guest book, and they were amazing every single time! 

My wedding jewelry was from Sahara Amaya. I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful jewelry. Although I didn’t end up wearing every piece, I can’t say enough about this shop. I had trouble with the back of my earring staying on, and she was quick to send me back ups–talk about professionalism! 

One of my favorite purchases was a personalized hanger from Lila Frances.  I knew in advance that my wedding dress would be too heavy to hang on the hanger (to be fair, my dress was gigantic!), but I still managed to find a way to get it into some pictures. And now, it’s proudly on display with my amazing bouquet. 

Speaking of my amazing bouquet, it was purchased through Croska.  I knew I wanted something unique when it came to a bouquet, but, in Vegas–unique would have cost a small fortune. When I realized I could have something unique that would last forever, I was sold on this bouquet. I was fairly late in the game in order this (and two smaller versions for our sisters who were our attendants), Croska did everything in her power to make sure they arrived before we left for Vegas. Now, if only I could stop my cat from attacking the feathers on the bouquet…. 

The tags for our favors came from Fubabee.  This purchase was one of the easiest ones we made!! There was no thought involved; the tags we went with matched our color scheme perfectly! 

For our escort cards, we decided to spice them up a bit with personalized buttons from RepChi.  These buttons were such a hit, and I still hang on to my “Team Bride” button!

Our “cake” topper came from Dandelionland.  We knew we wouldn’t be having a traditional wedding cake because we had such a small guest list, so we went with mini-cupcakes for our guests, and two regular-sized cupcakes for us and our mini-look alike toppers. They not only turned out great, but now serve as cute decorations!

Today’s wedding had a “Dude of Honour”, a “Groomsgirl” and the bride and groom reading their vows off  from their Iphones.  With fun elements like that you know that Thanisha and Ian’s wedding was going to be a blast.  200 guests shared their fun filled day at the  Holland Ranch, San Luis Obispo in California.  Bride Thanisha first learned of Etsy from her Bridesmaid who was raving about what she called a “ridiculously awesome crafty site”.

The Details

Giant initial letters and the table numbers by thebackporchshoppe
Custom stickers for the “Thank-you” goodie bags by MAUpromos
Boy and girl robot wedding toppers for the dessert bar by Littlebrownbyrd
Vintage typewriter we used in lieu of a guestbook. Guest could either type us a message or write us a postcard by amyquerin
Fabric squares for reception tables by fabriccloset, fabricpalooza, mimis, fernridgefabrics
Sign to direct guests by TheWoodenOwl

Photography by Jen Rodriguez Photography 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Our wedding to convey a romantic but rustic chic feel. In San Luis Obispo, there are a plethora of gorgeous locations and we had a lot of out of town guests coming to the wedding so we wanted to showcase how beautiful it is where we live. From the color palette of soft peaches and corals of the bridesmaids dresses to the khaki color of the groomsmen (and groomsgirl). My bouquet and all the flowers were local and what was in season. We had a lot of wildflowers and herbs infused throughout the wedding.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Ohhh I can pinpoint just one so here I go:
1. Having my brother walk me down the isle while the theme song from Amelie was playing
2. Seeing my soon to be husband at the end of the isle waiting for me
3. Reading our vows off our Iphone
4. Calling him my husband for the first time

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

It was important to me to have unique elements in our wedding that our guests would not see at other weddings.  It started out with our invitations. I wanted our guests to get the invitation and say “wow that’s going to be a fun wedding” My bridesmaid Pam (who is a goddess and will be opening up a shop on Etsy in winter) made the invitations and programs. I love flowers and the floral look so my mother in law made different floral fabric squares for every single table. Instead of having my brother on the grooms side I had him on my side as my “Dude of Honor”. My husbands sister was a groomsgirl. My husband is gluten intolerant so we had a completely gluten free dessert bar. My mom even made her famous peanut butter cookies (gluten free of course).

What was your favorite Etsy find?

The Robot Wedding toppers that matched my tattoo. My husband loved this so much when I showed him.

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

Remember it is about two people in love. Make your wedding personal and something that really reflects both of your personalities. Your guests will enjoy it more if your try to keep it about you two and not a cookie cutter style wedding.