Every wedding taking place today will someday be your progeny's — your dresses become their heirlooms and your photos become their family history (that's right, I'm engaged for three months and I'm already talking about progeny).  So the Handmade Wedding Series will be highlighting some  wonderful blasts from the past — starting here with confections' family. And with the average Etsian's love for vintage and retro-inspired looks, we hope you readers will offer up some links to your handmade weddings of yesteryear. We want to post our faves here on the Storque, so comment below!

When my youngest sister got married in May of 1987, the whole event was a handmade family affair from start to finish. And it was bi-coastal as well. My sister, who was working and living in Maryland, was getting married in Pennsylvania in the small town where my parents lived; my other sister and I, who had a dressmaking business at the time, were living in California. Somehow, we pulled it all off.

My Mom and Dad did the lion’s share of coordinating the festivities: they gathered grapevine in the local woods and made bowers with garlands from their garden to decorate the reception hall; my Dad wove a huge basket to hold fruit for the dessert table. He crafted a circular canopy that was draped with tulle and blooms and hung over the table holding the wedding cake (beautifully handmade by the wife of one of my brothers, who had specialized in making wedding cakes with her mother and sister when she had lived in Florida).

My mother catered the entire wedding reception menu. From appetizers to main entrees to desserts, her favorite recipes were laid before the guests and relished by them: ham, home-made baked beans (from scratch!), her legendary potato salad, eggplant parmesan, pasta salad, manicotti (made the old-fashioned way starting with crepes), Swedish meatballs, shrimp, crab, kielbasa, pigs-in-the-blanket (stuffed cabbage) with sauerkraut — we had it all in abundance.

The dessert table featured her mouth-watering coffee cake and an array of cookies including Swedish heirloom, thumbprint, pecan tassies, iced pineapple cookies, traditional sliced nut rolls, and horns (apricot and walnut). She had started baking and freezing these delicacies a few months before the big occasion.

My dressmaking sister and I had the far-flung bridesmaids send us measurements and we fashioned their Thai silk gowns, the flower girl’s dress and the ring-bearer’s outfit, our Mother’s dress, and of course, our sister’s bridal gown, jacket, train, and slip.

I beaded the bodice of her gown for many weeks before the Big Day.

We found a local calligrapher in California to hand-letter the invitation and had them engraved. They were enclosed in a Green Tiger Press card, which featured a hand-tipped image from Walter Crane that reflected her color theme of pink and gold.

My eldest brother took the formal photographs, but everyone who had a camera took candid shots, all very much treasured to this day.

There was live music (a big band), lots of dancing and merry-making, and libations flowed. We made memories of a lifetime.

Nearly twenty-one years later, my sister and brother-in-law are still happily married and have been blessed with three boys and three girls, magical nieces and nephews all!

[this photo of thenewlyweds and flower girl is by confections' brother Gary]

These photos and more can be found on confections' flickr set.

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We want to see your family and friends' weddings from times past.  Let us know in the comments below if you have photos from a  "period wedding." 60s or 70s, anyone? The Storque wants to show these off in all their handmade and vintage glory!