Colorful Bohemian DIY Wedding: Rebecca + John

Colorful DIY Wedding

Today’s stunner of a wedding – filled with so many gorgeous and impressive DIYs by the bride! – is sure to leave you feeling inspired. Rebecca + John met in Washington state just months before she found out she’d be moving back to California for grad school. What could have been a relationship-ender for many couples who had just started dating turned into a romantic + exciting journey for these two. John packed up + moved to California to be with Rebecca, and they were engaged + planning their wedding at Slate Barn and Gardens in Vista, California six months later!

Rebecca shares, During our 11 months of wedding planning, I was in grad school full time, working a full time job (usually over 40 hours a week), all while planning our wedding by myself without a coordinator! I ended up graduating with straight A’s, doing outstanding at my job, and planned a beautiful wedding that I believe to be unique and one of a kind. We went into the planning process with a very low budget initially, since it was just me, my mom, and John paying for the wedding. We saved for months with hopes to produce a beautiful, one of a kind DIY colorful bohemian wedding – and we totally made it happen!! 

A labor of love that definitely paid off! Let’s see more in the beautiful photos below by Victoria Carlson

floral flats

One of our most fave details of R + J’s wedding has to be her stunning floral-print Ivanka Trump flats! So, so cute. Below, shop a few more floral flats that we’re currently coveting that could work great for your big day!

yellow halo ring

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

first look

The sweetest first look!

Colorful DIY Wedding

flower crown bride

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

Rebecca carried a vibrant bouquet by Urban Garden Floral, who also crafted her lush floral crown! Such a perfect complement to her elegant Waters Too ‘Agatha’ wedding dress.

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

bowtie

Colorful DIY Wedding

pink tie

red bridesmaids

Bridesmaids in berry + red…too good! Click here, here and here for some similar finds!

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

ceremony program

aisle decor

Colorful DIY Wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

Both of our favorite memories are when I walked down the aisle to John and our eyes were locked the entire time...we were smiling so much! And the other favorite part was reading our vows...we wrote our own vows, which all of my married friends told me was super brave and none of them wanted to do their own for fear of bawling while reading them. I did cry while reading mine to John, but it was so beautiful to hear each others heart pour out under the arch, promising our lives to each other. We ended our vows with the same line too, just to make it more heartfelt :)

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

Colorful DIY Wedding

Rebecca + John exited their ceremony to Edward Sharpe’s Home.

boho sweetheart table

mr and mrs sign

seating chart

vw bus

floral hoops

Our colors were burnt orange, fuchsia, light pink, and mustard yellow – these colors were reflected in our mismatched wedding party attire of ombre bridesmaid dresses, and mismatched eclectic bow ties for the groomsmen. I chose them based off my favorite color combinations, and the fact that we were having a colorful wedding – I wanted our colors to stand out in a tasteful and fun manner. Our DIY projects included ribbons for the aisle chairs, along with handmade flower petal cones with a message to guests about when to toss petals that I designed in Photoshop, Programs and menus, I also styled our dessert table’s decor, signage, desserts, and designed the cakes as well! Hanging above the dessert table were these lovely embroidery hoops with faux flowers that I was inspired to make off Pinterest.

colorful cake

naked cake

Colorful DIY Wedding

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

DON'T be afraid of DIY! I DIY'd 90% of our wedding, and though it took a lot of time commitment and hours of gluing cutting pasting and crafting, it was so worth it in the end because our wedding looked like US. Also it's so important to take a pre marital class together-- John and I took an 8 course one through our church, and we LOVED it. We gained so much insight to understanding each other on a much deeper level than we had during our relationship, and it discussed so many things that causes marriages to eventually fail if you DON'T discuss these things prior: finances, understanding your family of origin to analyze why you act/think the way you do, how to argue, how to deepen your relationship with each other through God, etc. It was such a good tool for us to apply to our marriage – take care of your relationship before you get married so that you can succeed in marriage and make it last.

photography: Victoria Carlson // venue name: The Slate Barn and Gardens, Vista, California // florals: Urban Garden Floral // wedding dress: Waters Too - 'Agatha' Dress // bride's shoes: Ivanka Trump "Trika" flat in yellow // hair stylist: Kat Black Hair // makeup artist: Kat Black Hair // groom attire: ASOS // videography: Aaron Zeisemer // paper goods: Jolly Edition Stationary - Garden Party Suite // catering: Urban Chow // cake: VG Donuts // furniture rentals: Witty Rentals // bridesmaid dresses: Nordstrom, J.Crew, Bloomingdales // photo booth: SD Photo Bus

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