Rather than blab on and on about this wedding, I want to just dive right in. But I did want to quickly mention that one…it’s indoors (finally) and two…it’s modern and DIY. And really freaking gorgeous. Oh and the bride has been sweet enough to share all of the behind the scenes details so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. This is a really good one.
Luis and I had a singular focus on making our wedding modern, fun, and festive. We didn’t want just a wedding like everyone else’s, we wanted a party that happened to include a celebration of our marriage. As a graphic designer – and coming from a family of graphic designers and artists – there is no way I would ever turn over creative reins to anyone! Between me, my mother, and my sister in law, we designed everything to be beautiful and cohesive, pulling our illustration theme and color scheme throughout all aspects of the wedding.
The color scheme we selected was apple green, dove grey, black, and white – colors which played nicely off the illustration, the polished concrete floors in our industrial venue, and a bright springtime color that warms my heart whenever I see it. Once I had settled on apple green, we knew that apples would play a major part in all of our decor choices. Indeed, there was an enormous vase of apples on the escort table at the entry, and apples adorned all of the tables – a cheap and beautiful decorative choice.
My mom and I decided to save money and keep our creative control by doing all of the flowers ourselves as well. We ordered dozens and dozens of assorted white flowers from an internet supplier, as well as green hypericum berries and Bells of Ireland. We used the berries along with white ranunculus to make the boutonnieres, and the Bells of Ireland made gorgeous and dramatic bridesmaids’ bouquets. My bridal bouquet was entirely comprised of white freesia, and I left the bouquet untied until just before the ceremony so that me and my bridesmaids could complete the ribbon wrapping and tying together as a group effort. Finally, each table received a modern, asymmetrical arrangement in a rectangular glass vase anchored with dark grey river rocks. The overall effect was modern, clean, and beautiful without being overly feminine.
As you’ll see from the photos, the Foundry is a tall space. In order to warm up the space without spending a lot of money or making it lose its industrial character, we relied on candles – some 400 of them! We also wanted a dramatic centerpiece for the room that would frame the “altar” space where the actual ceremony would take place. My mom undertook what I refer to as the great manzanita project, creating gorgeous 8.5 foot tall pieces entirely out of silk flowers and non-perishables. She and my dad assembled everything themselves. They built the “stumps” and covered them with moss. They placed the trees within using cement and sandbags to anchor them. They lovingly glued individual blossoms and leaves to the branches. And they strung tiny white blossoms onto fishing line for the draped effect you’ll see in the photos. They were gorgeous and really helped frame and fill the massive Foundry space.
Music is a tremendous part of our lives. It was incredibly fun for us to put together our entire wedding mix, which was run off of my laptop in the corner. That’s right – no DJ! We got compliments from all of our friends and family on the thoughtfulness of our choices, and how “us” the entire mood of the evening seemed. Luis walked in to the opening strains of “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica. Luis’ sister sang “I’ll Cover You” from the musical RENT during our ceremony. Our reception started to Ozzy shrieking “All aboard” in his song, “Crazy Train.” During dinner, we played Bauhaus and Joy Division.
My gown was designed by Demetrios with a few modifications added by my mother and me. The dress features a tiered ruffle section down the left side – we augmented each tier with added layers of birdcage netting and white feathers. In the end, the dress looked really beautiful but didn’t bust our modest budget.
Vendors: Venue, The Foundry, Long Island City / Catering by Real Food Catering / Photography by Kate & Georgina / Videography by Love In Progress / Cake by City Sweets / Gown by Demetrios / Veil by Artikal Millinery / Hair by Stacy Pitt, Styles on B / Officiant Pastor April, Church of Ancient Ways
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i love that dress and all your embellishments! which demetrios gown is it?
gorgeous wedding!
This is really stunning! The color palette is very clean and crisp, and I love that!
I love your Louboutin shoes, too. ;)
so cute!!! love it all :)
I love the flowers and I would love to find out the site you used. I also would like to do my own flowers but don't know where to start in finding a good, reliable flower site. Any suggestions?
Wow...very elegant imagery and wedding. Beautiful work!
Those trees that her parents made are awesome!
oh yes - more details on that lovely dress!! gorgeous!
Where did those gorgeous shoes come from? I'm looking for something just like that!
Love it! How did you make/where did you get those yellow cutouts that lay under your centerpieces? I have been looking for something like this...
Christine, those are Christian Louboutin shoes and the style is Rosazissimo. I have done my own searching for them and they are very hard to find. I envy this bride for having hunted them down, and in that perfect shade to match her wedding!
I think this wedding is stunning. What's really strange and amazing is that I am a graphic designer myself and I am 5 months away from my wedding and here is a list of things that I was getting:
black bridesmaids dresses
Green flowers for them
green shoes for myself
apples for the reception
my dress is very similar to yours
my rings looks like yours
I wonder if it has to do with graphic design :) Beautiful wedding and everything looks very well thought out. Congrats!!
So happy to see a modern wedding for a change!! :)
I am trying to find an online vendor for flowers. I would love to know who you used - I don't even know where to begin!
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the compliments - we had such a blast planning the wedding.
Nichole and Michelle, the gown is Demetrios GR133 and I purchased it from Macy's Bridal Salon. Be warned, though, most places stock the gown in this really bright pink/coral color, and that's how you'll most often see it advertised. It also comes in white and ivory, but you'll probably have to use your imagination when you try it on!
Christina, I got really lucky and found the shoes on eBay! Keep searching - you'll find them, or maybe something even better. I actually had a different pair of Louboutins in mind when I first started planning, but once I found these everything just clicked.
she, the cutouts under the centerpieces are 12" x 12" scrapbooking paper made by KI Memories. If you live in New York, you can get it at Paper Presentation. Otherwise, my mom said she saw the same paper at Michael's. It comes in lots of different colors.
Meg, I got my flowers from 2G Roses (www.freshroses.com). Arlene was very helpful! They were delivered on time and in perfect condition. We had them arrive two days before the wedding, and we had to have our own buckets on hand to keep them hydrated. Mom and I did the bouquets and boutonnieres the night before the wedding, and all of the centerpieces on site on the morning of the wedding. For the green flowers, we ordered Bells of Ireland and Hypericum Berries. For white, we did Delphium, Freesia, Ranunculus, Snapdragons, Stock, and Sweetpeas. Of these, the sweetpeas were by far the most delicate - all of the others were pretty robust and stood up just fine.
Meghan, thanks for the compliment about the trees! We ordered our manzanita branches from www.bloomsandbranches.com.
Also love the modern wedding! It's much more my style, and a welcomed change from the rustic outdoorsy-ness that's been on SMP recently. More, more!
Hi Liz! What a gorgeous, love-filled wedding! Loved every detail, but most of all I am LOVING the entwined bird cake topper...it's so Brancusi-esque! I wasn't even going to have a wedding cake, but this just might turn me onto it. Where ever did you manage to that gorgeous sculpture?! My wedding theme is "lovebird" so this would be perfect. Thanks in advance!
Beautifully styled:) I love the embellishments on the dress....a little creativity goes a long way...love it!
I do in 100 Days, thanks so much for your nice comments. You would never believe it, but that lovebird cake topper is dirt cheap and I got it from Amazon.com! Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Weddingstar-Contemporary-Love-Birds-Topper/dp/B001BCFRL8 . The birds also look really nice in our living room - a perfect reminder of the wedding without too much froofiness.
If you haven't picked your favors yet, we also went with the bird theme and chose chrome lovebird bottle stoppers: http://www.myweddingfavors.com/lovebirds-bottle-stopper.html . Of course, my mom and I put a silver backing paper inside, replaced the bows on top of the packaging, and put coordinated labels on the front to tie in with the rest of the wedding . . . but maybe that level of control freak insanity doesn't flow in your veins. Regardless, the stoppers are really cute!
I die for the bridesmaid bouquets.
This is so gorgeous. It's nice to see a wedding that wasn't held in a barn. This is exactly what I'm aiming for; white flowers, LBD for the bridesmaids. I was thinking silver instead of grey and I haven't picked a green yet. I no longer think I have the patience for DIY flowers, but I'll probably forward this information to the florists I've been talking to.
This is my favorite wedding ever on SMP.
Liz, you didn't mention the first dance! This whole wedding was truly amazing & SO beautiful.
can anyone tell me where the young girls dress is from the black one with tulle showing from teh bottom? thanks!
The Foundry is an amazing location!!
Ashley, my niece's dress is by Zum Zum, and I know she bought it at a department store in Los Angeles, though I'm not sure which one. You can typically find their designs in the Juniors/prom section.
woww. the color combination of apple green & white was too chic! loved the whole DIY creativity. it definitely shone through the pictures. many congrats! =)
I absolutely love the color combination. The contrasting hues of black and white plus the apple green color softly accents the whole wedding. Love the tiny details, beginning with the chic black flower girls dress, down to the brides' green, stylish and elegant wedding shoes!!!
WOW. I am blown away at how many DIY elements are tucked into this event, because it looks so completely polished & full of style. Love the way a glow was created in such a modern space with hundreds of candles...It's amazing what a little romantic lighting can do!
From one graphic designer to another, Liz, your finished "project" was absolutely spectacular. As was the attention to detail and the way you kept it not too "wedding-y". Bravo!
First of all - love the color scheme; so clean and chic.
and second, I'm totally going to be the dork right now...but I'm dying to know where you got the candles from? I've been trolling sites, but nothing I find is ever quite right. And, um, if you still have all 400 laying around somewhere & are interested in getting rid of them - I'm in NYC and could easily relieve them from you! :) Just send me a note at kerriwaggoner@gmail.com
NYCDawg, unfortunately I only have about 10 candles left. All of the others completely burned out during the wedding, as they are for 8-10 hours of use. I ordered from cudge.net, which is a really great service. If you're here in NYC, they will let you pick up (during certain hours only) to avoid shipping charges. Their warehouse is on 23rd Street, so it's pretty convenient. Also, the boxes are *heavy* and they won't lend you a dolly - you have to get all of the boxes down the elevator, out to the street, and into a taxi on your own. I brought my mother to help me and afterward we both needed a nap! But you sure can't beat the price!
Thank you so much Liz!!! You are awesome. That's it, I just ordered my own lovebird caketopper, so I guess that means we'll have a cake! :) I'll definitely look into those favors as well. Thank you again.
Liz,
I just wanted to thank you for posting the link to Cudge.net! I've been scouring the internet for a convenient and cheap way to buy candles and candle holders in bulk- and those are the best prices I've seen far!
Thanks again, and I really enjoyed looking through the photos of your lovely wedding. Very creative!
This is great and the first time I heard about DIY wedding. It looks really fun to do. Simple yet elegant and I can still feel the solemness of the wedding. I love the cake too! Definitely one of the best wedding I've read today. Thanks for sharing! :)
Congratulations!
Your wedding is absolutely stunning!
I am newly engaged, but have already found and fallen in love with a loft space for our venue, and would also like to do DIY details... I have a (silly, logistical) question: How did the execution of your details go on the day of your wedding? Did you enlist family members / friends to set everything up? Did you hire a coordinator?
Thanks! :)
Hi Danielle,
Thanks so much for your nice comments! Logistics were very complicated and there's no way I could have done it without the help of friends and family, especially my mother. My advice is to make a very detailed spreadsheet of everything that needs to happen and when, even down to things like lighting candles, starting music, etc. Then make sure that at least one trusted person is assigned to each task, and talk to the person in advance about what their assignment is.
We did hire a coordinator, but only for two purposes: to run the music from my laptop during the ceremony according to the cues we had set up in the spreadsheet, and to hand out the envelopes with cash tips at the end of the night (I didn't want to be responsible for any money, and I didn't feel comfortable asking my mom or a friend to take that on either). She wound up being a tremendous help in other areas as well, so I would recommend that course of action if you can afford the additional expense.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to help!