the "catering" and reception...

...this is EVERYONE who came to our wedding...dogs and all...what a great group...

As you might have gathered, we didn't hire anything to be done at our wedding...just short of a nurse at my work to be our photographer... Rob Hart. So about 99% DIY?! This included the "catering"...this was graciously done by our dads. Our dads were responsible for BBQing... this is something you would normally find them both doing at any other family function...so why not a wedding?! Well...probably because its a HUGE task, especially with a less than adequate grill as it turned out. But it looked like they had a blast, drinking their beers and socializing with the other males who gathered at the grill.

...my dad in the background man-ing the ribs, matt's dad man-ing the salmon...

...you can see how the men just started to gravitate towards this pile of coals...

We had salmon, ribs, and portobella burgers. With some random sides of... local french fries, potato salad, regular feta/cranberry/candied walnut salad. It was super tasty food...everyone was content I believe. My parents brought up many cases of two-buck-chuck from Trader Joes (our most favorite store) in California, we had white wine sangria, and widmer hef on tap. It was great to be able to do the rehearsal dinner the night before for the same number of people because it helped us to prepare for serving 75 people...how much food to have, alcohol... because the night before the margs ran out extremely fast. So we made lots of sangria for the wedding!

...my mom enjoying the sangria...

...my brother giving a high-five to his daughter...what a sweet moment I missed that day, but thankfully for pictures I get to enjoy it forever now...

...ahhh glorious two-buck-chuck, which we are still finishing off to this day...

...jessica looking as stunning as ever carrying a case of happiness...

...the most photogenic girl of the night, my niece haley, also my sweet flower girl...

...some of our friends playing bocce ball among other games...

It was a buffet style for the food... then people found any old seat at the tables. I didn't really want to do assigned seating that way friends and family could mingle as they wish...plus nothing was really hard-fast and formal at the wedding.

...fun string lights?! I think so...

...us laughing and crying over the very touching toasts...

...matt and i thanking all of our loved ones for their incredible support and making our dream wedding come true...

The string lighting my dad executed with lots of smart thinking bodies...figured out how to make my whimsical lighting come to life....and boy did they!! That happened the day before so the rehearsal/welcome dinner could have lighting as well. And then they extra lights were strung up by Matt's aunt Patty and cousin Lori...and I didn't even know how beautiful they were until I saw pictures afterwards... just breathtaking. So all of that lighting was a beautiful amount of light for eating and the toasts from Kelsey, my sister, and Ryan and Dylan- Matt's best friends...then we thanked everyone for the amazing amount of help and love and support they all gave us. The toasts were awesome...tear jerkers for sure. The main theme between all of them, which was funny, was that no one thought we'd make it...until they saw us together and happy...and now they know we will be happy and more than content forever. [side note: Matt and I met in Colorado...3 months later moved states together to Oregon where we knew no one, moved in together, merged dogs and all... and now 2.5 years later we are married...living in Idaho and havent had a bad day yet, we just knew the day we met this was it, we were utterly happy]

...my girlfriends trying to coordinate logistics: how to bring 200 cupcakes outside without a tray in sight...

...huridly trying to light candles, it was much darker and later than we had expected...

...our little 8" cake with the bird toppers, and bunches of cupcakes with toothpicks adorning little amy butler fabric ties...

...matt and i cutting the awkward little cake and laughing...

After dinner and the toasts we had cutting of the cake. This was something that I thought was silly. Why would we cut a cake in front of 75 people just starring at us? We specifically made an 8" cake alongside our cupcakes to cut...but not eat. We didnt have plates or forks to eat the cake... we had cupcakes afterall! So I protested...but people like to see newly weds cut the cake... so that we did. I was also worried that Matt would shove it in my face and I would get grumpy. He must have sensed that...because he didn't do it....we cut it, and gave each other a bite...it was fine. Something I wish I stood my ground on a little stronger on however....would have been a little more genuinely us. I had an issue with some wedding traditions...the "should-dos" of weddings...but I will get into that on a later post.

One tradition I loved was our first dance as a married couple. Our song from month-one was "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan. This song was one that Matt played in his big man-ly truck, with his 2 big burly dogs, driving through the wild backroads of colorado...when it played... I just looked at him and thought he was the man I was hoping to find...a strong, caring, funny guy who I was crazy about and who wanted to be with me. Just awesome. So, when we thought of a first dance song, there was no question in our minds... but would our parents feel wierd with a lady laying on a brass bed? Turns out no. We approached both sets of parents... and come to find out the song is from their generation and have some really fond memories of the first time they heard it. Our first dance was wonderful. It just sealed the night perfectly. We just had the wedding of our dreams, and now we get to be husband and wife forever.

the tables...

...the tables all set to go...

I literally had dreams (multiple dreams) about how our wedding tables would look...I really wanted to convey a peaceful, whimsical, simple feeling to our outdoor-idaho-homemade-rustic-wedding. We rented 8' long banquet tables...and put them side to side to make five 16' long tables for our 75 guests. Then we rented the cheapest chairs possible... white plastic. We love wood, glass, ceramic, cotton, shells... all pure, natural elements...so I have a thing with plastic... not a big fan of it. It goes back to my montessori teaching days. But alas, wood chairs were outrageously priced! So it was not perfect, but it was just ok. You may have read about my table cloth situation from earlier... but it turned out just great- very outdoorsy. Natural colored canvas table cloth/painting drop cloths, that hit the ground and then some. Then I cut 24' long white muslin table runners, and ironed them. I wanted to hem them... but it just took too long, and it was too overwhelming so late in the game. And this was one of those details where you know you will be the one to notice the small details (it turned out to be valid also). We had all of the antique clear mason jars with flowers, little mason jars for water, and wine bottles we had collected and removed all the stickers on to put drinking water with sliced lemons in it for our guests to help themselves to.

...my friends Stephanie and Bryna doing an awesome job setting up the tables...

...me trying to describe "the look" I wanted...

...everyone, minus Colby the big yellow guy, working so hard to fold napkins with the silverware...

...drinking jars, with the wine bottles...

We had cute napkins and our off-white plates, and little antique aluminum jello molds for the tea light candles to sit in. I loved the "idea" of having the tea lights in the jello molds to cast light on the table in little cute scallops and ridges.... yeah. That didn't work out. All of our table mock-ups and trials... we forgot about the possibility for wind. Even most of the mason jars hanging with wire from the log fence wouldn't hold a flame to the wind. It was sad. We also made adorable wood floating candles for the pond... not so. It wasn't so incredibly windy that things were blowing over, but the candles were still affected. So my wonderful friends knew how much whimsical lighting meant to me and literally ran around trying to re-light candles and improvise with taller mason jars... they were awesome. I didn't even have to ask for their help.

...alternating amy butler pattern napkins on the plates...

So the napkins... this is one thing I really loved and it brought in my amy butler prints that I love in life and the inspiration throughout the wedding. As you may know from other posts we had an amy butler print fabric on the invite...so I did the same thing for the napkins. I just cut them though with pinking sheers-olfa cutter. 12"x12" zig zag cut fabric. I chose about 9 fabrics that I loved that were turquoise and greens- some amy butler fun ones...but that gets pricey, so then I bought some coordinating light greens and teal ones that were our colors. Then cut them, starched and pressed them...then rolled them up with twine and our rental silverware. I wanted to hem them at first...but gosh...I sew and I HATE hemming. Plus with all the wedding projects-that just got moved down on the list. Also my mother-in-law who sewed my dress, who is a quilter, offered to take all of the napkins and make a quilt for us- the double ring design. It will be a fantastic way to remember our wedding day...and really the exciting year leading up to it.

...me, admiring the finished product with so many smiling loved ones around me...

...dinner time...
[all photos from rob hart, kenny anderson, and kevin apparetti]

the cotton wedding dress...and first look...

...me feeling incredibly comfy in my dress, while others play ladder ball in the background...

As soon as I got engaged I started looking at wedding dresses....my first stop of course was David's Bridal for my budget friendly wedding. Well, I HATED the process. The dresses looked awful on me...and very few actually come long enough for my height (I'm 5'11)...so I would have to struggle with that if I actually liked one. Next I went to a bridal gown boutique, the price tags were ridiculous and I just couldn't picture myself eating ribs and playing croquet in these huge dresses. So I wasn't sure what to do next. I just really wanted to wear a long cotton white dress. I had endless searches for cotton dresses, and found nothing feasible.

During this process I had been delegating out tasks of the wedding to my family members who wanted to help. My mom- the flowers, Matt- the music, dads- BBQ-ing.... then I asked Matt's mom if she would like to help me make the wedding cupcakes.... she said no way, that sounds awful... I'd rather make your wedding dress. WHAT?! Seriously. She offered to make my wedding dress? The cake was a challenge but sewing a huge white dress was do-able?! I was elated. **side note... Matt's mom is a phenomenal quilter with impeccable attention to details, she is a perfectionist with sewing...so I knew her wedding dress creation would be perfect**

...how adorable are those little flowers on the dress?! Great choice, Janice...

It was funny that when I would tell people about my wedding dress that my mother-in-law would be sewing, they'd always cringe...."ooo...are you sure you're going to like it? What if you don't? Do you have a back-up? Aren't you nervous?" And surprisingly I wasn't, I felt more at ease knowing I'd be wearing a comfy dress and that I'd look like myself in then trying to fool all of my friends and family that I was someone else. Janice even gave me multiple opportunities to chuck the dress and buy a new one if I wasn't happy...that she promised her feelings wouldn't be hurt. Ridiculous. I couldn't even express how special I felt that she would put so much time into my wedding dress... it was soo touching.

...janice spending hours on the dress altering and hemming...

...dress alteration with the boots...

So she offered to take me to a fabric store, to choose the pattern, and choose the fabric of my dreams. I had dreamed up swiss-dot fabric to add a little bit of texture to the dress but then enough layers for me to be comfortable wearing white on a sunny day. I also wanted something simple. Janice, Matt's mom, made a mock-up dress in yellow... its adorable. Then from there we made a few tweaks...and voila. I had asked for a fabric flower out of swiss-dot for my messy side ponytail (which obviously I changed my mind on) but she then made a few extra fabric flowers and pinned them to my dress just to add some girly-ness... absolutely perfect!! As soon as I put it on I felt like those brides in movies where they put on the dress thats "the one" and they just know.... this was the one. I loved wearing my cotton hand-made dress. Totally DIY... as it turned out and I felt soo beautiful. I felt like me on my wedding day.

Janice came up from Colorado to do a dress fitting, a month before the wedding but I really didn't want Matt to see the final wedding dress until the day of the wedding. It was a silly little thing, but I really wanted him to be amazed on the day of the wedding... that gosh, this is really happening...and even with all of our prepping we still couldn't picture how great that day would be. So, we managed to pull it off... Matt hadn't seen the dress or the pictures circulating to my family and friends...and about 30 minutes before the wedding ceremony Matt and I had our "first look." That moment was great. It was right above the ceremony as guests were going to sit at the hay bales... our dogs had joined us by chance on the bridge. It was a nice little time for us to connect with each other before Matt went down to the corral. We centered ourselves. Just to stop and try to take it all in. This was really happening... how sensational.

...you'll notice the bruise on my elbow... yeah, rafting the day before the wedding...that'll do it apparently...

...me fixing matt's shirt, 3/4 sleeves is a tricky one for guys...

[pictures by rob hart]

the flowers...

...my beautiful mom working so hard and quickly to finish the bouquets...

...huge table full of buckets of flowers...

My mom was in charge of creating wonderful green and white bouquets for us girls to hold and for the mason jars on the tables. I found a local florist who would order flowers in bulk..as long as we told them how many stems we wanted and of which flower. Not only did we have to come up with the design from scratch but we also had to estimate how many stems we would need. This was a little daunting for me... but my whole life I had grown up with my mom cutting and arranging beautiful bouquets from our backyard so I knew just the person to ask for this project...my mom. She was able to take my inspirational flower pictures and make some phenomenal bouquets.

...my mom making my special bouquet to hold the day of the wedding...

...the tables with wine bottles full of water and lemon slices...

I wanted simple bouquets with only white flowers and all different types of greenery. Throughout the whole wedding I only had shades of green and turquoises...then the natural browns and whites.  Matt and I had collected jars throughout the year for the tables.  My mom chose: white peonies, white snap dragons ( which actually weren't fully opened...so they looked like adorable little green buds), cut leafy green stems from the yard.  She had ordered sugar snap peas also, but they died...so the florist substituted them with more peonies. My mom recruited help to make the bouquets the morning before the wedding...anyone who happened to be walking through the living room put together at least one arrangement. She also made boutonnieres for the boys....but we forgot to put them on and ultimately it felt more like us-a little less formal-not to wear them...so that was perfect. All together the flowers ended up costing $600.00. We were able to pick them up from the florist's refrigerator the morning of the wedding, which eliminated the stress of all of the flowers wilting before the big day. It was incredibly convenient...and budget friendly for us to do our own flowers...plus in the end I had beautiful bouquets that were exactly what I had dreamed of.

What did we do with all of these awesomely beautiful bouquets after the wedding? We gave about 8 of them to the cute little coffee shop in town that let our guests borrade their little shop using their internet throughout the week and the rest went to the hospital that I work at to any patients the volunteers felt like needed them most. It was a great way for more people to enjoy the creations... I imagine it put a smile on their faces...perhaps not as big as mine though.

...my lovely sister holding my bouquet and her own during the ceremony...

[all photos from Kevin Apparetti, Matt's talented uncle and professional photographer]

8 more days...

8 more days until I have a husband!...simply unbelievable. Time flies. Matt and I still have a ton of projects that have been on our to-do list for nearly a year. We have finally found time today to sit down and start to think about our non-traditional vows....its a little overwhelming trying to think of saying something incredibly sweet and personal...but wondering how are we ever going to hold back the tears?! Matt's uncle will be marrying us, and he wrote a phenomenal wedding ceremony just perfect for us that we have been lucky enough to get a sneak peek of. Hard to not choke up even reading it in this coffee shop. Then we think about the 75 friends and family members who are all traveling from far distances to see us get married?!... just wonderful, we can't wait. Now... we just need it to stop raining. seriously. 3 weeks of almost solid rainy weather for Boise in May/June...unheard of.

Today's plan... write vows, paint wooden wedding signs, sew table runners, cut napkins, cut matt's hair. 

....my inspiration for mismatched amy butler napkins... but my version will be placed on our off-white ikea plates on the tables, with the silverware wrapped up inside, tied with twine and little white ribbon....

craft night in boise...

...craft night at our house getting ready for the wedding... matt transplanting the succulents and cacti into terra cotta pots for the summer fiesta and I am cutting circles for this adorable garland...in front of the bachelorette and a glass of wine.

...and the dogs doing their dog thing...

...this is the garland I am making. It will be amy butler turquoise/green fabric puff flowers, turquoise puffs, white puffs, and green puffs all strung on a thread.Maybe this will be hanging on the banister in the lodge... or maybe behind us at the ceremony? maybe even over the porch overhang outside next to the food buffet tables? yet to be determined... but puffs are made.

 ...these dried curly willow branches and dried flowers/wheat will be used in a wreath- bough above our heads in the corral for our ceremony. we got these at michaels...great selection of dried real flowers, instead of going the fake route or worrying about wilting flowers...

...and these ugly black buckets will be spray painted white tomorrow by me for our haybale laden aisle for the ceremony. We will be purchasing some nice green shrubbery from home depot a few days before the wedding...(ahh!!! thats next week!!!) to plant in the buckets. But these were cheap, $2.99 each at Hobby Lobby... we were quite pleased, and saved a bunch of money compared to the galvanized buckets I really wanted that were $8 each... and who would really notice? Probably just me. But I will let you know afterwards what little details I wish I could do over, and which were just perfect and unique...and simple...