Green Wedding Shoes Wedding Blog | Wedding Trends for Stylish + Creative Brides

Sarah + Brian shared their wedding day theme with me which was “Ozark mountain romance” – love that! They wanted their wedding to be casual, rustic, a little southern, and peppered with vintage and handmade details. By pulling from their respective roots (Arkansas + Missouri), they picked elements they thought represented their relaxed southern attitudes. They had a bluegrass band, drinks before the ceremony, vintage textiles, DIY elements made from vintage postcards + embroidery, a southern breakfast-for-dinner with biscuits + gravy and smothered fried potatoes and a donut bar for dessert! Thanks so much to Alex Creswell for the photos and congrats to Sarah + Brian!

Most memorable moment of your wedding day?

Brian: My favorite memory is the realization that I had while rushing around making last minute preparations that this whole wedding thing was going to happen and it was going to be awesome.

Sarah: I think I’ll never forget the moment right before walking down the isle. I was so nervous and excited! I was drinking a beer to try to calm down a little… I was pretty close to walking down the isle with it!

Music:
Processional: My Wealth Comes to Me by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore played by Truman’s Ridge
Recessional: Rolling in my Sweet Baby’s Arms played by Truman’s Ridge
First Dance: Sam Cooke’s Cupid

Love their wedding logo embroidered into the vintage postcard! You might remember we shared a bunch of their similar embroidered save the dates last year. :) Their favorite DIY projects for their wedding were: their vintage postcard “guestbook”, drink tags stamped with their custom logo, the DIY bar, Sarah’s handmade crown + veil, and their embroidered “altar” banner, table numbers, and programs.

Any advice for those planning now?

Brian: We tried to include as many personal touches as possible so that our wedding would be memorable (for us and all of our friends and family), and we had a lot of fun coming up with different ideas together.

Sarah: It’s hard to give advice to people you don’t know. Everyone is different, with individual preferences and needs. But one piece of advice I think will work for everyone is to be thoughtful. Be purposeful in your decisions. Don’t just do something because it’s tradition or because someone says you oughta. Think about it and carefully decide what is right for you, your relationship, and your guests. But don’t be stubborn. Though it is YOUR special day, its also a very important day for your parents and other loved ones. Know that you may need to make sacrifices to accommodate others. You may need to compromise with each other. If you make your wedding decisions guided by your love for each other and consideration for your friends and family, EVERYONE will have a wonderful time.

Also, DIY or die! Ok, you won’t actually die if you don’t include DIY projects In your wedding, but you won’t regret it if you do. People love the personalized details, and crafting TOGETHER makes it that much more meaningful.

You can read more details on their projects on their blog also. Congrats to Sarah + Brian!

vendors: 
photographer: Alex Creswell // florist: Kar-Fre Flowers // rings: Marina Lampropoulou // wedding cake donuts: Elleson’s Bakery // wedding dress: Watters //bridal crown+ veil: handmade by bride // groom’s suit: Thick As Thieves in Los Angeles // groom’s bow tie: General Knot Company // band: Truman’s Ridge

Soon after Matthew proposed, Polly started looking online at wedding blogs (including GWS!) for wedding ideas. She was instantly inspired by so many of the couple’s we’ve shared here on GWS: both their creativity and amazing DIY projects. She soon realized that even with a limited budget, her keenness for craftiness, help from others and a year to plan, that DIY was the way to go for them so they could have a wedding that was totally them.

Polly + Matthew are pretty laid back, so they wanted their wedding environment and celebration style to give their family + friends the feeling that they were invited over to their home for a party. They quickly fell in love with their venue (Cedar Bend Events outside Austin, Texas) because it had the backyard feel they wanted and could easily be customized into the vintage fun ambiance they were going for. Thanks so much to Paige Newton Photography for the photos and big congrats to Polly + Matthew for crafting up the perfect day for the two of them!

Favorite memory from your wedding?
Of course I have so many memories from our wedding that I will forever hold near + dear to my heart. My favorite moment is when my father and I came around the corner to walk down the aisle. I felt so safe in his arms, I saw all of our favorite people looking at us, and I knew I was seconds away from marrying the man of my dreams. I remember thinking “ WOW!… everyone is really here, they travelled to celebrate with us, this is all REALLY happening!!” It was awesome, that moment that some girls (myself included) dream about. It felt surreal and magical, and I’ll never forget it.

The other moment topping the list was the ceremony itself. Matthew and I were married by my brother- in-law, we wrote our own vows and had seven guests individually stand to read a blessing – in which all of the guests said a response in unison. We wanted it be personal, a real reflection of us; our past, our future, our promises, and our love…and it was truly, just that. Hearing the words from (an emotional) Matthew, our family, & friends made me feel so loved, content and blessed.

My parents were married in 1969 and my mom had a gorgeous hand-sewn lace train on her dress.  She had given me the lace years ago – to someday use for my wedding. I kept part of the lace as it was on her dress and used the other piece to make my garter and flower in my hair (worn during the reception). I also used the lace to wrap my bridal bouquet and my sister’s Matron of Honor bouquet. I added her lace to my veil, to the ring bearer’s pillow and to the flower girl’s headband (also handmade).  These DIY projects were my favorites, as I loved incorporating something from the past, and from someone so special to me.

Any advice for those planning right now?

This is going to sound obvious, but have fun!! Planning a wedding can be extremely enjoyable! Keep in mind there aren’t any rules. Your big day is about you, a reflection of the two of you, your relationships, your personalities, and your style. Get creative (there is inspiration everywhere!) and listen to your hearts. If possible, I recommend utilizing the talent of your family + friends. My girlfriends and mom would come over on the weekends for a fun and crafty afternoon. They would help me work on the ‘project of the week’ and at the same time, we had a chance to catch up and enjoy each other’s company.

We also asked my brother-in-law to marry us, making the ceremony that much more intimate. He volunteered to brew beer for the reception, which was a huge hit. Matthew had a friend offer to make cupcakes; they were delicious and gone within minutes! Your big day will inevitably fly by quickly, all of your planning and passion poured into these moments…soak them in and relish them.

Also, remember why you’re there in the first place…this is about you and your love! Listen to the promises you make to each other in front of all of your favorite people, spend time together, hold hands, steal kisses and have fun!!  As obvious as that all might sound, something could (and probably will go wrong). Try not to worry about it, don’t get caught up in it, as you’re probably the only one that will notice.  This is one of the best days of your life; enjoy it!!

vendors:
photographer: Paige Newton Photography // venue: Cedar Bend Events // catering + cake: Bittersweet Catering // dj: Byrne Rock // dress: Justin Alexander

Melissa + Torrey crafted such a beautiful + unique wedding for themselves. I love how it’s a mix of a gorgeous rustic setting with lots of colorful details + amazingly creative paper elements. Wait until you see all the beautiful DIY details Melissa incorporated! :) Since Melissa knew she wanted to create lots of DIY projects for her day they knew they would need a venue that was light on restrictions on things they could do in terms of decorating (Tip: some venues have lots of restrictions, so make sure to ask what those are before you sign the agreement). When they found the stunning Condors Nest Ranch and heard they were light on the restrictions, they knew it was a perfect fit. Big thanks to the lovely Annie McElwain for all the photos.

From Melissa, I love ribbons! I think they make any present more festive and pretty, so I had to use lots and lots of ribbons in decorating as well. We hung multi-colored ribbons all along the entrance trellis and decorated the two manzanita trees with ribbons and crystals, which stood on either side of our Wedding Arch. I also made a ribbon wall as the backdrop of our candy bar. 

I visited tons of Anthropologie stores to pull inspiration from (I am in love with their window displays + decor!), and also broke out my giant wedding binder, which had been growing for years of clippings and magazine pages of everything from flowers to candy bar decor. I wanted my ideas to be original so I tried as much as possible to make the decor original and unlike anything else people have seen.

I started cutting out petal shapes in different colors and sizes for our Paper Flower Wedding Arch and Floating Flowers for the pool. With the scraps from those larger flowers I was able to cut out smaller flower shapes for the Floating Flower Wall. For the Rolled Paper Art Backdrop, I incorporated every color so that it would be the main focus and draw in everyone’s attention. For this reason we chose to make it the backdrop of the head table.

What an amazing idea for a backdrop! Love all the colors + textures.

And their lovely wedding film by Cloudless Productions!

So many beautiful + super rad creative details! Congrats to Melissa + Torrey!

vendors:
photography: Annie McElwain Photography // venue: Condors Nest Ranch // coordinator: Lisa Doherty // wedding dress: Vera Wang // shoes: Bagley Mishka // hair: Tony Park with Lydia City Hair // makeup: Mai Lee // bridesmaids dresses: Monica Christina // flowers: Mille Fiori Floral // videographer: Cloudless Productions // catering: Canyon Ranch Catering