When it came time in the wedding planning process to order my invitation suite, I was immediately drawn to the calligraphy handwritten addressing on beautiful shiny gold envelopes. I was also immediately discouraged when I saw the price of these beautiful envelopes.
Of course I was determined to figure out a way to have this type of envelope as part of my invitation suite.
For this project I went to my local Goodwill and purchased the cheapest frame in the size and color that went with my wedding theme.
I then used my Silhouette Cameo 3 to create and cut out the design using gold Cricut vinyl. Measured the width of the glass frame to determine how large to cut out the design. Choose your favorite font and design, cut, weed, and place the design on your frame.
My father build a redwood stand to hold the frame and I had the florist add a nice floral wreath to add the finishing touches.
The one thing I absolutely loved is that it definitely set the tone for guests arriving to the wedding ceremony.
The downfall is that the glass made the wording a little challenging to see at a distance. Looking back, I wish I had either used a different color vinyl so it would’ve been easier to see at a distance or placed a plain paper in the frame so it wasn’t clear. But regardless I still love the welcome sign!
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
We hired Kawaii Foto to add a bit of fun to our wedding day!
They were super friendly and professional. They do all the set up (and they were so quick about it that I didn’t even realize it was actually all set up), and I love that before your event (during the planning phase) they work with you to personalize the booth to your needs. I highly recommend their services if you’re looking for a photo booth for your next event.
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
I cannot take credit for making this redwood podium BUT I can say that my awesome father made it!
I asked my father to make a simple podium for our officiant and readers to be able to stand at if they wish and he sure delivered.
We had an ample supply of redwood so this podium is 100% free and added quite a dramatic difference to our ceremony site.
If you know of a handy man/woman that can build then a podium would be an easy and inexpensive way to add character to your wedding.
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
I’ve always thought that wedding favors were a nice touch to a wedding but also thought they were also a waste of money and time. Instead of giving a physical item to our guests we went with a sweet treat.
“Love is Sweet. Enjoy this Treat.”
The cookie itself is a sugar cookie in the shape of a heart with a delicious frosting with our wedding date. They’re made by husbands aunt and they are seriously the most delicious cookies I’ve ever tasted!
I purchased these transparent cookie bags from Amazon to place each cookie in. I love the frosted dots to give it a little something extra! These were approximately $11 for 100ct.
I also purchased these Avery labels from Amazon as well and followed the directions to print the design from Avery.com/print. These were the Avery 2.5″ round labels in kraft brown. These were $7.
All in all it was a relatively inexpensive wedding favor that our guests loved to munch on!
Super simple and inexpensive wedding favors, especially if you make the cookies yourself. Just pick your design, print, and stick to your bags.
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
My husband and I met at UC Berkeley where our colors were navy gold. It was only fitting that we did a navy gold theme but with a little twist of blush.
Our table linens were navy and our napkin linens were dusty rose. They were a little more on the pink side than I originally wanted but these were the linens available through the venue and I didn’t want to add an additional cost by renting something less pink so dusty rose we went with!
I spray painted terra cotta pots with gold spray paint which is way cheaper than buying official vases.
A family friend did our floral arrangements (aren’t they gorgeous?!). Flowers were purchased at the San Francisco Flower Mart.
The table provided enough contrast to have a moody setting without taking away the soft romantic vibe.
Venue: Chaminade Resort and Spa
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
The wedding menu I created completely on my own! I searched Pinterest for free downloads but just couldn’t mind anything I truly liked. This was a combination of ideas which turned into my own creation. And if I may toot my own horn, but I think they turned out pretty decent.
Our venue was Chaminade Resort and Spa in Santa Cruz, California. I absolutely loved the venue the second I saw it and knew this was where I wanted to get married. Unfortunately the catering cost per person was way over my budget. Luckily, the wedding planner worked with my now husband and I to create a delicious meal while also staying within our budget.
Venue: Chaminade Resort and Spa
Photography: Danyelle Dee Photography
I found this awesome free printable for our wedding programs via Pinterest. I loved how when it downloads it’s a Microsoft program so you can completely personalize the programs to your liking. The only things I changed was the wording and the font style. Other than that the design worked great with our wedding style!
Items purchased:
– Heavyweight card stock. Choose a weight that you’re comfortable with. Remember the thicker the paper the harder to get a crisp fold. I used a boning tool to help create a more defined crease. My cardstock is the color ivory and purchased at Staples.
– Print/photocopy the programs. I printed one copy at home and had Staples make copies.
I combined the programs with a wand to wave instead of throwing birdseed. Unfortunately no one used the wands once we were announced Mr. and Mrs. but it was a fun piece for children to play with while formal pictures were being taken.
– Dowels: choose a width that suits your preference. I purchased mine at Walmart.
– Ribbon: I chose two different ribbons to incorporate my wedding colors.
– Bells: the bells are to help make a cute ringing noise while they’re being waved.
– Spray paint: I spray painted the dowels gold to help tie in my color scheme.
Hot glue all the items together and you have a super cute wand!
Overall thoughts
Since I had a decent size wedding (approximately 140 guests) these programs were kind of a pain to make only because I had to produce a large quantity. I would definitely recommend either a girls night with wine and create an assembly line to help get these finished in a timely manner or for a smaller sized wedding. That being said I absolutely loved my programs and if I had to do it all over again I would probably deal with the carpal tunnel and make 140 all over again!
Thanks to our amazing photographer, Danyelle Dee Photography for capturing the most beautiful photos of our big day.
I wanted to share just a few detail photo shots that I thought were great for every bride to have taken to remember the little moments.
Like most brides I completely fell in love with my wedding gown the second I put it on. It really was one of those moments where I just knew this was the one. But probably unlike most brides the day of my wedding I couldn’t wait to take my gown off after 5 minutes of it being on!
On the Tuesday before my Friday wedding I went to pick up my wedding dress from the seamstress. It fit perfectly. After a few adjustments I took my dress home so excited to actually wear it in just a few days later. When the moment finally came to put it on there was an immediate sense of something wrong.
I’m not sure what the seamstress did in the hour between trying it on and taking it home that Tuesday before but it somehow became tighter around the hips and the clasp in the back was put on backwards!
It took my entire bride tribe approximately 15 minutes to clasp my dress!
With the clasp being backwards that meant it was also tighter around the chest so I couldn’t sit upright. I always had to lean backwards or just stand throughout the night. It was also so right around the hips that I couldn’t use the restroom! My sweet cousin offered to hold a cup down there but even a cup couldn’t make it past my knees. Can you imagine not using the bathroom?! And I wasn’t about to take the dress completely off because it took 15 minutes to clasp it the first time.
So as much as I love my dress and love this picture, it’s funny that at this exact moment I was actually stressed and irritated that my seamstress messed up so badly!
Mariesah 
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