Would you knit your own wedding dress?? Even the craftiest among us dare not take on the daunting task, but today’s bride couldn’t wait to get started on her knit design! And that’s not all —Laura’s DIY talents were on full display for all the guests to enjoy at her and Corey’s Los Angeles wedding. With details of their love story sprinkled throughout, the day was a true reflection of the two creatives. But they didn’t do it all on their own: Laura + Corey hired Jenn Laskey at RedLight Special Events to design and plan the day, a move that Laura notes as their most crucial in terms of creating ease amongst (potential) chaos!
Here’s what Laura told us about her hands-on approach: I’m an avid knitter, so the minute I said, “Yes,” I started planning my hand-knit wedding dress. 104,094 stitches later, I walked down the aisle at my dream DIY wedding. From the fold-out invitations to the giant-knit backdrop, to the custom infographic programs, and down to every little detail, the wedding was handmade with love. Surrounded by amazing street art, succulents and other local plants, and 115 of our favorite people, Corey and I truly made our wedding an artistic expression of our love for one another.
Photographed by The Campbells, the day was a fun + colorful celebration of love in LA!
The super-fun invitation and wedding program were designed by the bride and printed by Nonstop Printing.
Going Steady Studios built beautiful bouquets reminiscent of Los Angeles local plants + blooms!
The guys lookin’ suave in front of LA street art—how great are these for photo backdrops?!
Can you even believe that Laura knit her dress?? So much detail and thought into this design…we’re totally impressed!!
The couple created photo cutouts of their cats, Molly and Magnus, for people to use in the photo booth.
This chunky knit backdrop is so cool!
Still not over her dress…SO cute.
Processional: First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes
Recessional: Wake Up by Arcade Fire
First Dance: Coming Home by Leon Bridges
During our ceremony, Corey and I decided to have a segment we called our "promises" to each other. I blatantly stole this idea from our friends' wedding, but they were gracious enough to share the idea with me. The premise was that Corey and I would separately write out 15 things we would promise to each other, but keep them a secret until the ceremony. Our officiant took each one and put them on index cards, and arranged them so they would be funny and surprising when we alternated reading them out loud to each other.
It ended up being absolutely hilarious and a total reflection of our personalities. One example was:
LAURA: "I promise to begrudgingly accept traditional gender roles, especially when it comes to taking out the trash or killing spiders."
COREY: "I promise to kill all the spiders."
So many people commented on how much they loved the promises!
There were a lot of small details sprinkled throughout our wedding that referenced the pair’s love story. Instead of table numbers, they named each table after neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
The ceremony + reception were held near the couple’s apartment at The Holding Company, which they outfitted with furniture from Archive Rentals.
Love!
Not feeling a guest book? We LOVE this idea:
Instead of a traditional guest book, we invited our guests to write “letters to our future selves.” We put out blank notecards and the envelopes labeled with future events—anniversaries, moving to a new house, first baby, our next Radiohead concert, etc. Our guests wrote notes in the envelopes and sealed them, and now we get excited any time a new event is coming up so we can open the letters and see what people wrote. We’ll have envelopes to open all the way up until our 25th wedding anniversary in the year 2041, and it’s been an amazing way to remind us of the best day of our lives.
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Delegate duties and pay for professionals to lighten your load. It might look like I DIY-ed everything, but I was happy to pay for professional help for most parts of the wedding. I'm a professional knitwear designer, and my day job is web development and design, so it was natural for me to knit my dress, make a few crafty details for the reception, and design my paper goods. If you're crafting because you love it and know you're the best person for the job, that's fine. But too much DIY can add completely unnecessary stress and ruin what should be a fun, meaningful day for you.
Specifically: hire a wedding planner and coordinator. This should be the top line item on your budget as far as I'm concerned. Hiring Jenn Laskey was the best money we spent, hands down. She helped us throughout the whole process, saved us countless hours and money by securing good deals. And on the day of the wedding, she was able to handle any issues that arose (like our ceremony chairs not arriving, for instance) and provide a much-needed buffer from stress.
My bottom line is this: do whatever you can to reduce stress and just have fun. Everyone says this but it bears repeating: the day will fly by in a flash, and it will be over before you know it. Try and savor the whole process and enjoy yourself!
Such a fun day, wrapped up with this sweet creation The Sugar Studio! Congrats to L+C from all of us at GWS :)
photography: The Campbells // venue name: The Holding Company, Los Angeles, California, USA // event design: RedLight with Jenn Laskey // planning: RedLight with Jenn Laskey // florals: Going Steady Studios // wedding dress: custom made by the bride // bridesmaid dresses: Bridesmaids all picked out their own black dresses // hair stylist: Jenny Wonser // makeup artist: Evelyn Sanabria // groom attire: Tuxedo and Knit Tie from Hugo Boss // videography: The "I Do" Wedding Photography // paper goods: Designed by the bride, printed by Nonstop Printing // catering: Taste of Pace // cake: The Sugar Studio // desserts: The Sugar Studio // furniture rentals: Archive Rentals // music: DJ JR for Dash Entertainment // officiant: Stephen C. James (close friend) // photo booth: Triumph Photobooth // vintage arcade game rental : Vintage Arcade Superstore
It is always exciting to hear that another crafter has succeeded in creating a “never-to-be-duplicated” custom wedding! I crocheted my red wedding dress as well. Congratulations on your beautiful creation & the lovely dress!
Can’t believe she knit her own dress! So beautiful!
How talented is she, wow!
Beautiful !
Love the rustic feel of this wedding
Good use of graffiti nice with the eyes in the background