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.

Amanda and Mark got married last August at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa in front of a 500,000 gallon fish tank!  They, along with their 60 guests had the entire Aquarium to themselves.  And as Amanda put it…it was awesome!

The Details

Monogram by jennjohnstondesigns   

Cootie Catchers by katskrafts

Personalised handkerchiefs by linenwhites

Seashell bouquet & brides hair piece by romanticflowers

Table Numbers by GEDesigns

Personalized table runner by exclusiveelements

Sign by EverlastingMoment

Guest Book by cutthecakedesigns

Photography by Logan Mallon of Just Say Cheese Photography 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

Pool Blues Ivory & Silver. The colors were inspired by the venue. We wanted a beautiful under the sea look. And the silver was for the color of the fish scales and reflection of the moon on the water.

What was your favorite Etsy find? My bouquet.

It was so original and exactly what I wanted since I am not a flower kinda girl!

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

I did a lot of things myself. I loved my silver boxes with our favorite candies inside. Wrapped with a blue ribbon and a white starfish glued on top! Everyone loved them! And my centerpieces I did myself. I took tall cylinders and put seashells on the bottom and a party light inside. Then took a single white orchid and put inside. It was perfect for the tables since everyone could see each other and fit in with our underwater theme. Plus we were in front of a HUGE fish tank. So it worked! For invitations we had messages in bottles. They were soo cute! They had sand in the bottom and little shells and our invitation rolled up. And then a seashell box it was in. It really helped set the tone of our wedding.

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

Relax. Take your time. And do a lot yourself.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Before our daughter walked down the aisle as our flower girl, we had penguins walk down the aisle! And the sparkler send off was a lot of fun too!

Maggie and Derek got married last June at Drees Pavilion in Covington, Kentucky.  165 guests joined them for their fun modern wedding.

The Details

Veil by romancingtheveil
Brides shoes clips and Hair Flower by  bellafiore2009
Garter by hellodesigncrew
Table Runners Cake Table, Head Table and Gifting Table- floratouch 

Photography by Amanda Egan Photography

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it? 

My theme was modern-fun. I wanted classic shapes with clean lines with some bling! My colors were Pink and Silver with pops of Black 

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

Well from Esty itself- I got my veil, my shoes clips, flower for my hair, my grater and 3 pink table runners for my cake table, head table and gifting table.  Personal touches – I had pictures of family members that had passed with their pictures and a memorial candle to remember them. I also had pictures of both of our parents on their wedding day with pictures of us from our engagement session. I had an engravable picture frame that all of our guest could sign.  I also go small pink crystals in all sizes that looked like diamonds on every table to give it some sparkle.   I also made drink cozies for each of our guests as their gift. 

What was your favorite Etsy find? 

I mean I like them all and they all mean different things to me but I loved my shoe clips and flower!!! Everyone loved it- it was nothing like anyone had ever seen! 

What is the most memorable moment of your day? 

I can’t pick just one! From me putting on my dress to seeing Derek for the first time to walking down the aisle… they all were so memorable.  However walking into my reception and seeing all my hard work put all together was pretty cool! I mean I did it and it looks amazing!!!  

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

Best advice… if you are a control freak like I am… do it all yourself and make sure you have a smartphone so you can get emails any hour of the day!  Also send out the same timeline to all your vendors so everyone has the same time line.  Bottom line… make sure to laugh, have fun and know that you are planning the best and most fastest day of your life and make sure you have great people around you! 

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).  

According to Bride Julieann, today’s wedding cost less than $10,000.  She and Anthony were married last March at the Ole Hanson Beach Clubhouse in San Clemente, California.  135 guests shared their day.  More from Julieann on her day:  I found etsy while searching for handmade goods.  Our wedding was a budget wedding- Under $10,000 and with that this was the first wedding Jonathan (photographer) had ever done.  We are happy with the way the photos came out and most importantly have the best memories of that day!   

The Details

Bridal Feather Headband by TheHeadbandShoppe 

Purple peony headband and hair clips by pinkpeppermintdesign 

White bloom sash by LittleWhiteDresser 

Photography by Jonathan Takahashi & Eva Lewington 

What was your theme/colors and what inspired it?

We had a black, white, and purple wedding with splashes of green.  We wanted it to be modern in colors, but still fun and eclectic.

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

Because this wedding was very budget, we handmade all of the paper decorations.  From the paper flower garlands to the hanging poms, every piece had a special touch and I had a blast creating them with my best friends.

What was your favorite Etsy find?

Definitely the peony hairband and pins.  They were such great accessories to the bridesmaid dresses and it united the look because all of my bridesmaids had different black dresses on.

What is the most memorable moment of your day?

Saying “I Do!”

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

When your friends offer help, take it!!