This Maximalist Technicolor Wedding Did Bold + Bright on a Budget

Jen + Andrew’s overall inspirations for their Marin County, CA wedding day were fun and color. We are totally dazzled by their vibrant and largely DIY celebration, and we can’t wait to give you a peek!

“For J+A, we began with a color palette and a love of disco balls,” planner and event designer Willa of Willa Via Wedding Co. remembers. “Bright oranges, hot pinks, and metallic teal were at the center.” 

For Jen + Andrew, venue choice was about more than just their stunning forest ceremony spot or their reception space’s laid back warehouse vibe. “By hosting our day at The Junction,” Jen + Andrew say, “we were able to go wild with our color palette and decor AND eat and drink well.” In fact, this wedding is an excellent example of wedding budgeting and DIY projects at their best, so stay tuned along the way cause this one’s packed with budgeting tips and tricks from this crafty bride + groom!

Photographer Honey Stills was on hand on Jen + Andrew’s big day snapping stunning photos and perfectly capturing the fun-loving spirit at the heart of this maximalist celebration. “It really did feel like our favorite way to spend a Friday night,” Jen + Andrew say, “just with 100 of our closest friends and family.”

Loving these colorful retro font invites and their disco ball details!! Still searching for the perfect invite suite for your vibe? Find your dream wedding invites based on your zodiac sign!

Jen says that finding her sparkly stunner of a plunge neckline sequin wedding gown at Anthropologie Weddings was “pure luck.” After the first gown she bought online didn’t check all the boxes, Jen was thrilled when this one arrived and fit like a glove!

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding
Bride: So many! Right before the ceremony Andrew and I sat on the library patio outside the venue and shared some quiet and calm time together. It was a great reminder of what the day was about- marrying your best friend. And then of course when our first dance song transitioned from an acoustic version of "First Date" into the original by Blink-182 and all our friends and family joined in on the dance floor. They were huge fans, to say the least.

Groom: Easy. Seeing Jen in her dress. During planning you start to focus a lot on the details and it can become hard to picture it really happening until it does. Seeing her and seeing that joy was a moment I’ll never forget.

Jen’s fab fuchsia wedding shoes were a custom creation by Volver Workshop!

The Ceremony

Can you believe the festive DIY tinsel ceremony backdrop that bride Jen created herself?! Dig into our list of epic DIY wedding backdrops and ideas if you’re feeling ambitious + inspired!

Jen was head over heels for their florist: “ Empress Floral Co.’s arrangements at our ceremony plus my bouquet and Andrew’s pocket boutonnière were everything I could’ve dreamed and more. While we did DIY bud vases for the reception, I would always always recommend you bring on a professional for some of the more prominent/photographed pieces. They are worth their weight in gold.“

Elbow grease, creativity, and helpful friends and fam made Jen + Andrew wedding budget wizards. “Overall, Jen + Andrew were AOK finding unique alternatives to some of the wedding expenses that usually come with the heftier price tag,” remembers planner + event designer Willa. “By going all in on DIY decor, foregoing a formal plated meal for a local taco catering service, and even getting hair and makeup done by Jen’s sister-in-law whose college gig was working at MAC, they saved TONS.”

Do you (and your bank account) like the idea of following Jen + Andrew’s lead? Check out our guide to the do’s and don’t’s of wedding budgeting for some help crunching those big wedding cost numbers!

If you’re digging the idea of making some sparkle a part of your wedding day color palette, take a look through our favorite sequin bridesmaid dresses!

Our Musical Choices
			
Processional: "When I'm Sixty-Four" by Go Fret
			
			
Recessional: "One and Only" by Oliver Tree
			
			
First Dance: "First Date" by Taylor Alcorn which transitioned into "First Date" by Blink 182
			
		

The Reception

One of the smartest budget moves Jen + Andrew made? After sinking some serious hours into the day’s tinsel details and these AMAZING giant letters, they decided to resell them! Passing these colorful touches along to another couple helped balance out the cost of supplies and bring the overall price tag of the day down.

Also, the couple kept decor prices low by utilizing the venue’s furniture rather than renting!

Opting for fun + casual catering from Vatos Tacos instead of a more formal plated meal meant a way lower overhead cost per guest! And these delicious elote cups! 😋

SO into the DIY disco vibes of this bright orange acrylic seating chart! Jen + Andrew used their Cricut to create all of the day’s groovy signage themselves.

Another clever budgeting move? Jen + Andrew purchased the napkins, plates, and flatware for their reception at a super low cost rather than dealing with the often expensive process of renting those tabletop items.

Bride Jen spent twelve whole months creating the colorful tinsel that lined the ceiling by hand. “It was months of purchasing tablecloth, cutting tablecloth into strips and tying each piece to white safety fencing which we then zip tied to the rafters the day before the event,” says planner + event designer Willa.

We love how much fun + festive sparkle some mini disco balls added to Jen + Andrew’s colorful floral centerpieces!

So fun when wedding guest style matches the vibe of the day!! Loving this metallic blue pleated high neck halter maxi dress! Shop this similar look from Lulus and explore our fave blue bridesmaid dresses for more in wedding looks in this color world.

Andrew cut out these giant letters with a laser cutter, and Jen covered them with color!! If you’re not as crafty as this DIY super-couple, you can recreate the look with letter piñatas!

If all these crafty ideas have you itching to start your own planning process, check out our complete step-by-step wedding planning checklist.

Our Advice To Those Planning Now
Make sure to prioritize what you and your partner want for the day.  There are so many people and articles out there telling you what you "should" do, but it's your day - make it exactly how you two want it. For example, we’re not big cake people so instead, we had tons of It's-Its out for everyone to grab as they wanted and our guests ended up going wild for them. We tried to keep in mind that in today's day and age, people go to a lot of weddings. Why not show them something they've never seen before? Oh and hire a wedding planner. The amount of things Willa thought of and did on the wedding day was nothing short of astounding. You won’t regret it.

If you love this wedding’s colorful disco vibe, you might want to check out this disco dinner party wedding, this disco rock n roll wedding in New Orleans, and this colorful 70’s inspired wedding as well.

Tunes from All Ears DJ got Jen + Andrew’s party started!

How fab are Jen’s bright multicolor wedding nails?! PERFECT for the day!

If you guessed that creative genius Jen also made this shimmery metallic fringe jacket herself, you would be correct. The fact that she’d crafted this killer look for a music festival was what gave her the confidence to DIY the wedding’s decor: “I knew if I could make a tinsel jacket, I could definitely make a tinsel ceiling.”

Congratulations, Jen + Andrew! Your maximalist technicolor wedding was a DIY dream come true!! GWS wishes you both all the best!