Santa Barbara Handmade Wedding: Megan + Jason

I love Megan + Jason’s outlook for their wedding day. They did a lot themselves and made decisions based on what they wanted to show or hand-down to their grandkids later on – how sweet is that! Since Jason is a talented designer, they worked on lots of elements together including creating their invitations, programs, menu’s, table + escort cards and original art keepsakes for their guests (which they screen printed and then enlisted the help of their family to frame and twine). They hand a lot of fun working on the projects which added to a big part of their wedding memory. Thanks so much to Tyler Branch Photography  for sharing the beautiful photos and congrats to Megan + Jason!

How sweet is that photo above of the little girl!! You want to make sure you hire a photographer that not only captures the two of you and all your special details, but also those moments that you will treasure looking at.

What song did you walk down the aisle to? We went back and forth on ceremony music a TON. We decided to save the money we would have spent on live musicians and play music from a record player (we love listening to records together at home). I walked down the aisle to Vitamin String Quartet cover of All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar (from the Juno Soundtrack). We left to My Heart Skips A Beat by Buck Owens (1966). We decided on our first dance song the morning before the wedding, which was You are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne (the first concert we went to together at the Hollywood Bowl).

Most memorable moment of your wedding day? Personalizing our ceremony and making it the most important part of the day was a really big deal for us. By the response of our guests, that really showed. Walking down the aisle was more overwhelming (in a good way!) then I’d ever imagined. Turning the corner with my Dad and seeing such a giant swell of love and support from our family and friends literally took my breath away. Everyone just looked so happy for us. The Chapel we got married in was long and narrow so it took me a second to find Jason. He was completely overcome with emotion and I think we both just felt so incredibly blessed. All that said, we also had a pretty epic party and arguably some of the best wedding party toasts of all times!

Any advice for those planning now? As hard as I tried to be a super laid back DIY bride, my slightly OCD nature and desire to make things perfect made me second guess decisions, feel pressure and a bit of stress that it wouldn’t all come together in time to be the memory that what we wanted. This was all so completely unfounded! My advice is to just be aware that by planning a wedding yourself you’re signing up for a challenge. But it’s a challenge well-worth it in the end because it will all be totally yours and you only get to do it once! Be willing to embrace that you’re going to be a bit emotional (for many reasons) thus seek out HELP to keep the fits of Bridezilla/Groomzillo in check! And of course, marry a really awesome, fun, amazing person :)

vendors:

photography: Tyler Branch Photography // wedding dress: Priscilla of Boston // hairpiece: Custom-made by Lucia Jewelry // bride's shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti // bridesmaid dresses: Anthropologie // hair stylist: Chateau Belle Beauty // makeup artist: Chateau Belle Beauty // groom attire: Custom-made by close friend and Heyl & Mill. // ceremony venue: El Presidio Chapel in Santa Barbara, reception venue: El Paseo Restaurant (walking distance) // floral design: Juniper Floral Designs