DIY Wedding Diary

Wedding / February 06, 2019

  • The Venue

We originally planned to have the wedding in Northern California. However, most of the venues that we liked were completely booked. My next option was to research venues where we currently live, which is Chicago.

Fortunately, I found a venue called The Wandering Tree Estate, which is a private garden. I fell in love with the intimacy of this enclosed location, and the price was great!

  • The Media Crew

I researched and found the Windy City Production on social media. Their profile wasn’t quite the style I was going for, but they’re a young couple who were willing to meet my requirements in the footage I needed.

Plus, I had planned to edit if necessary and the price for their packages were fair. I used Google Doc to share my ideas for the color scheme, angles, theme and style of the wedding. I appreciated the quality of their work so I was able to use sections of the raw footage to re-edit the video.

  • The Planning Process

I am fascinated with nature. So, once I found my venue, I knew my colors would simply be green and white. I chose brown, gold and blush for my décor. Since the theme was nature, earth tone colors would be a perfect match. I designed and created my wedding invitations. The wedding cake was store bought; it was the least thing to stress about in this process.

Our wedding party participated with the set up and decorations. I was grateful that they had a acute attention to detail which helped bring my dream wedding to life. I understand as a new bride, it can be a lot of responsibility, but I was determined. What helped keep me on track was Google Calendar. I used this to schedule all fittings and events until the day of the wedding.

  • Our Gowns

At first, I did plan to purchase a wedding gown. I tried about 50+ dresses in store and could not find the perfect one for me. I had an idea to design my own wedding gown, but I had no experience in sewing. I located a fabric store near where I live and registered for their sewing class. It took eight months of dedication to learn sewing techniques, cutting, and the different type of patterns. I explained to my teacher the importance of knowing how to sew. She agreed to help guide me through the process of designing my wedding dress. It was not easy, but I never thought about giving up.

My husband suggested that I prepare to have a backup plan in purchasing another dress just in case I was unsuccessful. I refused that suggestion and continued to challenge myself in executing my gown. I designed not only my wedding gown, but my mother’s gown and bridesmaids’ gowns as well.

  • Flowers

The bouquets were made with peonies. September is normally not the season for peony bouquets. A close friend actually recommended I research flower shops in Alaska that are associated with peonies. After taking my friends advice, I had a list of peony growers to choose from. The season for peony flowers in Alaska is from July to August. There was one (flower shop), that was able to ship the flowers from Alaska to Chicago three days prior to the wedding day. They also gave me instructions on how to store the flowers properly in the right temperature. My friends paid for the flowers as a wedding gift.

I purchased flowers from Costco for the centerpieces. From my research, Costco has the most affordable prices for their selection of flowers. I used hydrangeas, roses, lilies, chrysanthemum, baby’s breath and greenery. I also used gardenias to create a floral aroma from their smell. They were shipped from San Francisco, CA, another gift from a friend. I used some artificial flowers to decorate the tent and trees surrounding the ceremony. The artificial flowers were easy to maintain, so I added them two days ahead.

“A wedding is just a ceremony, and it doesn’t mean it predicts the way you live your life with your partner. I plan to have future ceremonies as a gift to another year in marriage. Each ceremony would be a celebration for our anniversary and reoccurring beginnings. I shared my story hoping to inspire other soon-to-be brides to want to plan their own DIY wedding.

Conclusion

It took me about eight months to plan and execute my wedding on a budget. Everything came out just how I expected, from the stressor of the dresses, down to my friend’s strong participation in the wedding. I not only enjoyed the happiness and pride I felt when the big day came, but also the process of planning.