Handmade Weddings: In Fine Feather

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elsiecake

Story by elsiecake

Published on Mar 10, 2012 in Read

Designer Elsie Larson is the blogger behind A Beautiful Mess.  She spends her days writing fun DIY articles and keeping up with her shop, Red Velvet. Elsie’s favorite part of planning her May 2011 wedding was working with the theme “Birds Of A Feather Flock Together.”

When Jeremy and I envisioned our wedding day, we wanted it to be really personal. I’m a designer and he’s a songwriter, so we spent a lot of time and energy on pretty visuals and our music selection.

I own a boutique and we chose to host our ceremony on the third floor of our building, above my shop. The space is open with huge windows and peeling wallpaper. The ceilings are partially exposed. It’s a really amazing old space.

We loved the idea of holding our ceremony here because we knew we’d be the first couple ever to get married in that spot! Our aisle was covered in white feathers and the flower girls threw colored feathers as they walked down the aisle.

My sister walked down the aisle with her puppy. That was our “something borrowed” from a friend’s wedding last year. Our family has a love for pugs (we have three), so I’m happy that one of them got to walk down the aisle!

For the dresses I chose vintage-inspired dresses with bright jewel toned tights. The girls had amazing beehives that looked as though they came straight out of a ’50s movie! My dress was by Orla Kiely. She’s my all-time favorite designer, so it only seemed right.

After our rehearsal dinner, we had a bouquet making party. All of the girls made their own bouquet. I loved how each one was different. We made velvet flowers and mixed them with roses, daisies and feathers. I made all the boutonnieres with pretty feathers I found on Etsy. They were really fun to make and even cuter than flowers, I thought. I made my grandmothers’ corsages with feathers and vintage brooches and our mothers’ bouquets with feather birds.

Our reception was styled with vintage lamps, lace and jewel tones. My favorite details were the raspberry cupcakes and the hand-painted Holga cameras on the tables. We chose signature cocktails and my favorite was the raspberry mojito. For dinner, we chose heart-shaped pancakes.

My favorite memory from the reception was when we were dancing. I told Jeremy that I was so happy and he said, “I’m sad it’s almost over.” I thought that was cute. Always a good thing to hear from your husband after so many long months of wedding planning!

In our memories, the day has a warm glow about it. We loved every moment!

All photos by Sarah Rhodes of Arrow and Apple, reception design by Sharon Taylor.

Thanks to Elsie for sharing her special day! Do you have a handmade wedding to share? Submit your photos to our Flickr group.

Handmade Weddings | Weddings Category

Designer Elsie Larson is the blogger behind A Beautiful Mess. She spends her days writing fun DIY articles and keeping up with her shop, Red Velvet.

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