We have so many pretty little things in our blogger bag of tricks to share with you today so grab a big cup of coffee and get revved up for hours upon hours of mini-features. You know the drill. We share little nibbles of an assortment of gorgeous weddings and you can click on the galleries of the ones you are dying over to see the whole shebang. We la la love these days. One of our favorite guest bloggers, Emilia of Sweet Emilia Jane is going to get things started. Enjoy!
I have been admiring the work of He and She Photography for quite some time now so I’m ecstatic to share this super-DIY, sweet as can be, San Diego wedding with you all today. The bride, Kaitlin, designed and created the bulk of the fun and creative details. Some of the best parts of the day – the burrito bar, sunglasses for the guests during the sunny ceremony, and, my personal favorite, margaritas in mason jars. Mmmm! Make sure to check out the gallery to get your creative, DIY juices flowing! xoxo, Sweet Emilia Jane
More sweet-as-pie goodies in the full gallery!
From the creative bride, Kaitlin -
“Anthony and I met at a dive bar in Venice Beach on Valentine’s day! No, I am not kidding, yes people do actually get married that meet at bars and yes, you can meet your future husband on Valentine’s day…at a bar! Needless to say, Anthony and I are a very down to earth, no fuss about us couple. We are both creative, fun loving, positive people and wanted that to be the main focus throughout all the planning.
Throughout all the planning I tried to stick with what I coined a Hippie-Chic theme. Raw materials with shabby chic details! The color palette came after I found the lacey, chiffon, blush beauties that are the bridesmaids dresses at Zara. I decided to focus on making a big impact with little details. I will suggest to any budget conscious bride to really think about what guests will remember most and what is most important to you. My solution was to get creative with personal touches that might make a big impression on the guests. During this trial and error process, I actually opened a store on Etsy to sell things I made that I was not going to use. It was such a fun way to talk with other brides about what amazing things they were doing!
Near the entrance to the wedding we had a sign I made that read “protect yourself from being blinded by our love” and had fun sunglasses out for guests to take (we only did about 50 pairs for 120 guests, half were bought at the 99 Cent Store and half online). Instead of place cards we found memorable pictures of all the guests and family members, hung them on some twine and put their table number on the back of the picture. It sounds like a lot of work but it really was not, a lot of the photos were used for an entire family and I waited for online promotions and got them printed them for free! We decided on Mexican food/ burrito bar buffet so I also made burlap banners for the Salsa Bar we had during cocktail hour and the Mexican Dessert bar we had after dinner, and the regular bars (they read “Salud” and Ole”) they were so easy to make and really dressed up the area! Menu cards are also a very inexpensive way to add a little flair! We did Margaritas in mason jars and I made little tags that read “Made with love margaritas” on one side and “Shake, Drink, Refill, Repeat” on the other. Needless to say, I decided to take the DIY term to a whole new level! I made all the menu cards, table numbers, programs (good ole’ publisher brochure fold!), burlap banners, picture place cards, burlap runners (stitch witchery is officially my BFF!), chalkboard signs, ALL the flowers, buffet labelers, and margarita mason jars.
With all the help of our family and friends, the day ended up being exactly what we had hoped for: meaningful and fun!”

Photographer: He and She Photography / Flowers: Bride DIY / Event Design: Bride DIY / Hair: Melissa Felix from The Doves Studio / Makeup: Ashley Cordova / Dress: Maggie Sottero / Bridesmaids Dresses: Zara / Groomsmen Suits: H&M / Flowergirl Dresses: Crewcuts / Day of Coordination: Stefanie Muse of Inspired Events / DJ: Becks Entertainment/ Catering: Peartrees Catering / Burlap Banners, Chalkboard Signs, Table Numbers, Bridal Hanger: Knick Nack Paddywack / Officiant: Karrie Roy / Ceremony Music: Jojo Alves / Venue: Leo Carrillo Ranch
What a beautiful wedding. Love her dress, and the sign, Protect yourself from being blinded by our love", so cute!
Gorgeous! I'm so impressed by all the DIY touches. Great job on the flowers! They definitely don't look DIY. I would love to know where you purchased your flowers (if you got them from an online wholesaler) and also where you got all your cute little chalkboards.
Fantastico venue! I love the rustic barn and pops of cactus. Cute and witty signs.
So adorable and very personal! What is the etsy store?
Holy cow this is so adorable and gorgeous! Flowers and venue are WOW. Love the idea of the pictures of the guests instead of place cards - so much fun and so adorable!
I was able to attend this wedding...and it was incredibly beautiful and sweet. Kaitlin did such an amazing job on all the details!! xo
Such beautiful DIY items. I LOVE the fireplace!
very nice wedding! love all the DIY touches!
Really beautiful with cute touches.
Does anybody know the name of the dress? I love it! Had a quick look on Maggie Sottero website but couldnt see it....
It's called Reese by Maggie Sottero! It is so gorgeous!
Kaitlin, your day was so beautiful! I am planning my own wedding right now, so of course I stalk this website and was so excited to see your wedding featured! You looked gorgeous and I love all the little details...miss you and hope you are basking in newlywed bliss with the hubby ;) ITB!!
wow! that dress is amazing on her! if I only had a body like that, hehe. beautiful!
wow, i'm so impressed! DIY details rock, can't believe how many you were able to pull off! love it!
Thanks everyone for the sweet comments! Yes the name of the dress is Reese! I got the majority of the flowers from Fiftyflowers.com and then the peach stock from a florist in Carlsbad that was able to order a large quantity. The Etsy store is Knick Nack Paddywack and I am still in the process of updating it with all the things I made for my wedding! Here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/knicknackpaddywack
I also made the chalkboard signs and will have that up on my etsy store shortly or feel free to message me through etsy!
My sister tried on the same dress a couple months ago (it was my favorite but she didn't get it). Really cute wedding and really original ideas!
Congratulations!! Beck's Entertainment is happy and honored to have provided the music for your special day. Thank you for letting us be a part of the "love".
Sincerely,
Jerry Beck
whats the name of the venue?
The venue is the Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad, CA. Here is the link:
http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/parksandrec/parks-facilities/parks/Pages/leo-carrillo-ranch-main.aspx