Handmade and Heartfelt

August 13, 2012 in
Real Weddings
Etsy.com handmade and vintage goods

Lauren Cooke
lfair

When she's not DIYing, Lauren enjoys dancing, making silly noises, and cuddling up to a movie with her husband Sam.

Sam proposed on our one-year anniversary – April Fool’s Day – so when we posted it on Facebook, our friends thought we might be playing a prank. One of them quipped, “If this is a joke, this is the best thing ever; and if it is real, it is the best thing ever.”

We wanted it to be fun, a bit silly, and filled with our favorite people and things. The planning really started when we decided to have the wedding in Austin, Texas. I looked to my brilliant sister-in-law – who was also my maid of honor, co-photographer, graphic designer and DIY partner – for help with the planning. She introduced me to some great wedding blogs like Green Wedding Shoes and 100 Layer Cake. Pinterest was also super helpful to begin gathering photos for inspiration.

“Our only goal was to express who we are and why we love each other.”

When it all began, I really didn’t have a clear view in my head of what the wedding would look like except for one ever-important detail: my shoes. I did know that I wanted to make as many things as I possibly could, in order to keep it intimate and special.

I used remnants of my mother’s veil for my headpiece, and fell in love with felt when I was crafting my bouquet. Soon after, our felt flags came to life; they remain one of my favorite crafts from the wedding! With help from Sam and my girlfriends, I came up with silly positive messages and inside jokes to add to each of the colorful flags. It was simply magical to see our loved ones wave them as we walked down the aisle as husband and wife.

After constructing the flags, the design of our wedding began to transform. We started adding special touches everywhere to make things more personal. For example, my mother-in-law had one simple (and completely valid) request for our wedding: no Star Wars-theme. The Empire Strikes Back is one our favorite movies, so we made the “I love you” and “I know” flags as a sneaky way to reference it.

One of my favorite memories actually began during a late-night craft session with my bridesmaids. We were trying to think of a way to take photos before the ceremony, while still keeping me hidden from Sam. Katie came up with the idea of a huge sign that said “nothing to see here,” and all of us loved the concept.

In our humble opinion, chicken and waffles is quite possibly the most delicious meal in the world. We were thrilled to find a caterer who was up for the job of realizing our dream: an elegant, casual breakfast for dinner.

We topped our simple and lovely cake with the cake topper from my grandmother’s wedding. I was most looking forward to the homemade pies from my mom and aunts – I even made little pie toppers to show off the flavors of each pie.

Going into our wedding, we knew that our only goal was to express who we are and why we love each other. Whether it meant adhering to tradition in some areas or throwing it out the window in others, we never wavered on that commitment. I’m extraordinarily proud of the wedding we created.

By making it an outward expression of our hearts and minds, we ensured that, instead of worrying about money, scheduling, and formality, the celebration was entirely focused on the joy and love that we wanted to share with our friends and family. It was our day.

All photographs by Ely Fair Photography.

Etsy.com handmade and vintage goods
Etsy.com handmade and vintage goods

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