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. 

I simply adore these Tutu designs by BellaBeanCouture.  Are they not the cutest flower girl dresses you’ve ever seen?  The tutu’s and dresses can be customised to match your colors and can be made longer or shorter for an additional fee.  They are available in sizes that fit infants to 6 year olds and have coordinating headbands and fascinator hats that are sold separately.

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.

Today’s lovely wedding was sent in by bride Sando.  She and new husband Kevin were surrounded by 150 friends and family when they married on May 15th in Wilmington, North Carolina.   Sando was introduced to Etsy when a high school friend opened a shop called ApplesModernArt.  “She would post her beautiful creations on Facebook” explained Sando. “ From there I was introduced to the amazing world of Etsy and I was instantly hooked!”

The Details

Brides Anna Double Ivory Hair Flowers  by PrimandPosies
Custom Calendar Ring Pillow by GiggleRoom
Bridesmaids Infinity Friendship Rings by seababejewelry
Ivory Garters by GartersByKristi
Wedding Program Fan by PEAKaBooDesign
Large Wedding Tree with ink pads by lovliday
Flower Girl Basket by luly612
Flower Girl Headband by ApplesModernArt
Brides Pearl and Swavarski Crystal Bracelet by CrystalMBoutique
Custom Mailbox Decal by empressivedesigns
Cupcake Tower by thecupcaketower
Butterfly Table Numbers by TimelessPaper

Photography by Rick Ricozzi

 What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

 
Our colors for our wedding were ivory and black with splashes of hydrangea green and blue. I guess what inspired these colors was just the timelessness and elegance that ivory and black have when paired together. Our venue was gorgeous by itself, so I knew I did not want to take away from its character.

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

 
We wanted our wedding to be simple, elegant, and oodles of fun! So I think going with those attributes, we wanted to add personal touches that were unique and true to our personal style but staying within tradition. My mom and I joked many times while planning our wedding how our wedding was “traditionally untraditional.” We wanted all the aspects of a traditional, simple wedding but with our own twist and personalized details added! We are both teachers so I think our attention to details rained supreme when it came to adding those touches. There’s just something so special about having handmade things that is so personal and feels so carefully crafted. One of my favorite personal aspects that we added to our day was our Wedding Tree. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family, that we really wanted to some way to constantly be reminded of those influential people who make our lives so special. I love the idea of a guest book, but didn’t like the idea of closing that book and not seeing those names anymore once the day was done. So lucky for us I stumbled upon the Wedding Tree idea and of course found exactly what I was looking for on Etsy! Now our Wedding Tree hangs proudly on our wall in our dining room!

What was your favorite Etsy find?

 
All of them! Some of my favorites included: the calendar ring pillow, the infinity rings for my bridesmaids, the programs, the personalized handkerchiefs we got for our parents, and the headband we got for our flower girl.

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

 
Shop Etsy! Etsy really made planning our wedding so easy and so much fun! We live in MD and got married in NC, so being able to sit on our couch and browse gorgeous, custom items for our wedding was wonderful!

And most importantly seriously relax and have fun with all of it! I had such a blast planning our wedding that I think the best advice I could give to anyone is to enjoy each moment of the planning process, and remember that no detail is too little! If it matters to you, it’s important!

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

 
There were so many memorable moments of our day; it’s hard to choose just one! But I guess if I had to choose I would say when Kevin and I snuck away from the reception for a bit and we walked down to the water and everything just sunk in. We were walking up and down the boardwalk looking out over the Cape Fear River at sunset. There was a cool breeze blowing off the water and I remember Kevin turning to me and saying “Hello Wife.” And I remember just the most amazing feeling of happiness wash over me. It’s an amazing feeling when everything that means the most to you all comes together harmoniously. For us it was the simple things, great food, gorgeous day, amazing friends, loving family and the feeling that this was just the beginning.

Shalon and Chris were married in front of 150 people on April 24th in Jackson, Mississippi .  This is one of those wonderful weddings where no matter the circumstances (including power outages, threats of rain and near by tornadoes), the couple was just happy to be getting married to the person of their dreams. 

The Details

Crystal Sash by LittleWhiteDresser  

Flower Girl Basket & Ring Bearer Pillow by RomancingJuliet 

Veil by veiledbeauty  

Bridal Gown Hanger by NutfieldWeaver

Photography by Erin Fults

What was your favorite Etsy find? 

The crystal sash complimented my wedding gown very well and elevated the dress to a new level. It is definitely the best Etsy purchase I have ever made. 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it? 

Purple, Black and White.    Purple is my favorite color; it is very majestic and royal. I just love the darker, richer hues of purple. Black and white are beautiful, classic colors that complement anything.   I got most of my weddings ideas from an amazing website: www.weddingbycolor.com, affectionately known as WBC.  WBC is a network of the most creative and helpful brides who share their wedding ideas, DIY projects, and money saving tips with each other.  It was also a great support system for me during the wedding planning process.  I took a little inspiration from other brides and was able to create my own dream wedding. 

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

My hair was done, my makeup completed, and I was headed to the chapel to get dressed.  All of a sudden, I received a phone call from my photographer and she told me that the power was out in the chapel! There was a 60% chance of rain that day, and a tornado was brewing nearby.  Fortunately, the rain subsided before the ceremony, the power was restored, and the sunshine came out just in time for pictures.  The most memorable part was that I did not stress.  I was marrying the man of my dreams, and it was all that mattered. 

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

I am not very crafty; so, I semi-DIY certain aspects of the wedding.  I designed and printed my invitations and programs using stationary from the BRIDES Magazine wedding collection.  I also assembled my own wedding favors featuring local Mississippi treats such as bourbon praline pecans and sweet heat snack mix. 

My grandmother was very near and dear to my heart.  She passed away in 2006. So, to have her close to me on my special day, I carried her picture in a beautiful locket attached to my bouquet. 

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

Relax! Budgets are always an issue, but you can truly have everything your heart desires at your wedding.  Be realistic and willing to make small sacrifices here and there.  You may have to do things in smaller quantities or embark on a DIY journey.  Get creative and enlist the help of family and friends to make your dreams come true.