Cristina and Jeff chose the East Grand Rapids Public Library in East Grand Rapids, Michigan as their ceremony site followed by a reception at the “EVE nightclub” at “The BOB”.  130 guests shared their day with them.  Looking for some inspiration, Cristina found herself visiting several websites which all seemed to link to Etsy.  After checking out the site herself and finding so many cool things Cristina was hooked. 

The Details

Bride’s & Bridesmaids Clutch Purses by DavieandChiyo  

Silver and Black table runners by UnivrsalEventLinen 

Garters by the Garter Lady 

Ringbearer Pillow is from the  Elle Bloom Series by 5eizen 

Bride’sPearl Bracelet by FlutterBeads      

Photography by Dan Deward at Studio D2D  

What were your theme/colors and what inspired it?

My husband is a police officer and I work as a police dispatcher.  Originally we wanted to do something with police and blue but when it came to picking out colors we both decided that blue wasn’t our color.  We’re a really modern city couple and we wanted our guests to pick up on that so instead we decided to keep it classy with black and white.  We threw in punches of lime green to make it modern and our venue was at a downtown club with very sleek white furniture, linens and curtains to keep it all in line.  However, we didn’t want to forget about our love for police work so we added little police touches that kept in our theme.  Our wedding programs where in the shape of a badge, the table names where all of government agency acronyms and our seating place chart was a huge pin-board in the shape of a badge with all of our guests’ names.

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

I wanted to do a lot of things myself but found that when it came down to it I just didn’t have the time to do them.  I planned everything out on my own without a wedding planner and I made my own wedding binder with all my inspirations in them so I always had a clear vision as to what I wanted my wedding to look like.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

My favorite Etsy find was for sure the clutches.  They were of such high quality.  They were beautiful and totally customizable which made them that much better!

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

Don’t compromise on what you really want/love. You can have the things that are really important to you, you just have to find a way to do it.  Also, when talking to vendors make sure you really give them a clear vision of what you’re looking for and stick to it.  You are paying them and they are doing something for you so don’t budge unless what you are asking is totally unreasonable.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Honestly, I think the best moment of the day was when we got to our hotel.  We had just had the time of our lives with our friends and family and we were exhausted but knowing what a great day it was and just laying in bed for the first time as a married couple, it was a great feeling.

Today’s couple, Claudia and Chuck chose the San Ramon Golf Club in San Ramon, California for their ceremony and reception site.  Both are golfers and as you’ll see, chose to incorporate golfing into some of their portraits shot by Kelvin of Geoff White Photography.  The two were married in front of 150 guests back in May.

The Details

Pearl Jewelry Set for my flower girl by MaidWithHonor  

Ivory Satin Rose Pearl Flower Girl Baskets by EmiciBridal 

Pearl Necklace & Earrings for my Matron of Honor by plumbcrazy

Satin Rose Ivory Purse by DavieandChiyo

Ivory Pearl necklace with matching cuff bracelet by dmalia 

Ivory Satin Roses with Pearl Centers Clips for my hair by VirginiaGeigerJewels 

Photography by Kelvin from Geoff White Photography 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Our colors were black, ivory, and pink. We were going for classy, simple, and elegant. The ceremony was all ivory and green. The reception was all black and pink. 

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

We did our own favors which were bamboo plants in votive candle holders, candles, programs, place cards with pearls, memory table photos

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

I have two moments. The first was when I was walking down the aisle and seeing Chuck for the first time in 24 hours. He cried when he saw me which was an amazing feeling for both of us.  It was 18 months of anticipation just flowing out of both of us because we were finally here.  The other was when Chuck took me aside after our ceremony, away from everyone, and it was just us for 5 minutes. We took a deep breath and just took it all in. I let him know that he looked handsome and amazing and he let me know how beautiful I was. Everything stood still during those 5 minutes and it was amazing.  

What was your favorite Etsy find?

The jewelry.  It fit perfectly with my gown and was very Audrey Hepburn.

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

Make every detail important. My guests really appreciated that I took care of every detail and gave it a Claudia & Chuck twist. Do your research and make sure you get what you absolutely want.  Don’t get your dress until you are at most a year out.  I got mine over a year before the wedding and wish I had waited so I could take advantage of the latest styles.  My gown ended up working with the theme of my wedding so in the end, it worked out.  Don’t stress.  Eat throughout the day of.  Take it all in.  Besides the venue being the biggest part of your budget, make your photographer second.  We are so happy we went over budget with our photographer and skimped on other things.  It was important and we have the most amazing pictures for our lifetime to share.

Clare, the bride and voice behind the blog Bells and Bouquets, sent over these charming shots of her wedding that took place in April.   She and new husband Anthony were married in Texas in front of 110 family and friends.  Head over to Clare’s blog for more on the inspiration behind her wedding details and tons of DIY projects.

The Details 

Custom letterpress invitations from Studio SloMo 

Custom bridal clutch from Emma Gordon London 

Custom turtles cake topper from Qtiff 

Swarovski pearl hair pins from Northwest Bridal 

Photography by Doug Carter 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?
Our colors were dark purple and pale blue, which was a total surprise to me!  When we got engaged, I bought a ton of wedding magazines to get ideas.  As I flipped through them, I tore out whatever I liked.  A pattern emerged from the pages I pulled out: purples and blues.

What creative (DIY) or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
Genealogy is a hobby of mine, so I wanted to incorporate our family histories into the wedding.  I spent months researching Anthony’s family and gathering old family photos. We displayed our family trees at the reception, plus a board showing our combined family tree that our relatives marked with their thumbprint at the rehearsal dinner.

We also wanted to incorporate my mother’s gardening into the wedding.  Her backyard flower beds are amazing!  We found a florist who was willing to incorporate what my mom grew into the flower arrangements.  A few days before the wedding, we cut huge buckets of greenery, and the florist used them for the bouquets and centerpieces.  It was special to have something homegrown alongside such beautiful flowers.

A trip to the paint section at Home Depot helped me find a color palette that I fell in love with, complete with fun paint color names like “Deep Amethyst” and “Blue Cloud”.  I gave the free paint chip cards for my wedding colors to all my vendors.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?
For the toasts at the reception, we had a few people lined up to do speeches and then we opened it up for anyone to get the microphone.  Anthony and I were pretty nervous about the “open mic” part.  We thought we would hear crickets since no one would want to get up and talk. 

Boy, were we wrong!  People lined up for the microphone to tell some funny story about us (the words “beer goggles” came up!), to share some tidbit about why they thought we are meant to be together, or just to say how happy they are for us.  The love we felt coming from all our family and friends was truly overwhelming.

What was your favorite Etsy find?
Our cake topper was absolutely amazing! We’re reptile lovers, and Anthony came up with the idea of two turtles in love topping our wedding cake.  All of the turtle cake toppers I found online were really ugly; they looked like real turtles had climbed onto your cake! After some more searching, I found a custom cake topper that Tiffani had done with two lizards kissing.  I messaged her immediately, and she came up with our adorable turtles.  They were a big hit at the wedding.  The cake topper really let our personality as a couple shine!

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

Shop online!  I got amazing deals by buying in bulk online.  I was able to stretch my budget farther by buying things I needed a LOT of (ribbon, paper, favor boxes, etc) from sites that sell at wholesale prices like PaperMart.com and JKMRibbon.com.  Make sure to build in time for shipping; I ended paying for express shipping because I didn’t order early enough.

Thanks for sharing Clare!

These clutches by ANGEE W. seem to be the accessory of choice for a few of the brides featured here on Real Etsy Weddings so I thought I’d give you an up close and personal look at these stunning creations.  According to Angee and Vincci, the mother-daughter duo behind ANGEE W., each piece is either inspired by a mood, an idea, or a special occasion.

I have a lovely turquoise and brown beach wedding to share with you today.  This Houston, Texas couple decided on a beach front wedding at the Grand Plaza Resort, St. Pete Beach, Florida.  Married in front of 65 guests,  Melissa describes her most memorable moment of the day as walking out to the beach ceremony site while patrons of the hotel watched and clapped and whistled!

The Details

Wedding headband – DesignsByElle 

Clutch purse – angeew 

Bridal bouquet pin – AristoCrafty

Flower girl baskets – Spoccdesign 

 Chair Sashes – floratouch

 Photography – Jeff Mason contracted out  by Studio Blue Photography 

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

 My mom made our invitations, she made our welcome bag tags with our custom stamp, I made our programs and things to do flyer for welcome bags

How fabulous  is that Clutch?  It’s just one of Melissa’s Etsy finds and just happens to be her favorite!

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

Don’t take everything so seriously.  No one notices all the details that you are worrying about.  Make sure you enjoy YOUR day…it goes by so fast.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations Melissa!