New England DIY Wedding by Amanda Perkins
I am completely convinced after viewing this wedding that there is a new species of Bride out there. One that is so very talented and filled to the brim with crafty goodness and super cute ideas, it’s sort of mind-blowing. Every inch of this New England DIY wedding is fabulous and it was all put together, one pretty piece at a time by the Bride and captured beautifully by Amanda Perkins Photography. You can see the rest of the super-crafy skills and fun-filled images in the gallery.
From the beginning, Dave and I knew our big day had to represent the couple we’ve become over the last eight years spent together. We also knew it all had to take place on my family’s farm in Plainfield, New Hampshire. Dave and I hold this place very near to our hearts so it was only natural to invite everyone up to Riverview Farm for the wedding festivities. During the fall, the farm is open for pick-your-own apples and features a corn maze designed by a local artist, Gary Hamel. This year we were honored to have the story of the maze inspired by our wedding. As a surprise during the rehearsal dinner night, we revealed to our bridal party that they were each a scarecrow featured in the maze. It was so much fun walking through the corn and watching as each member discovered their own scarecrow. It was the perfect kick off to a truly memorable weekend and was a nice way of letting our friends and family know how much they mean to us.
I wanted the overall feel of the wedding to be sweet, simple, and infused with fun details. I spent the engagement months (ok, really I started before he even popped the question) pouring over countless wedding blogs for inspiration. I collected pictures, harassed Etsy designers, organized excel charts, and created countless DIY projects. Together with my family, we were able to pull off a budget friendly wedding by making a lot of the details ourselves and using local vendors and resources. We made the table numbers, napkin rings, favors, boutonnieres, mason jars, lanterns, chalkboards, signs, lemonade stand, photobooth, and even the dance floor! My mother and I spent months collecting bud vases and doilies for the centerpieces and my sister spent hours ironing the bar towels we bought to use as napkins. My father, Dave and I planted the rows of flowers for the ceremony aisle and my sister and father created all the planters throughout the reception area. The day before the wedding we went to a local Dahlia garden and picked all the flowers for the wedding. I had so much help from my ladies with arranging the flowers and creating the most beautiful bridal bouquet, complete with a locket from my Grammie and a broach from my Gramma. It was such a group effort to transform my crazy ideas into a reality and to see it all come together that weekend was a dream come true. SMP helped out too – I entered into tons of giveaways and won two big prizes: A car banner by A Bride’s Ride and clutches for the bridesmaids by BeeGee Bags! Keep up the great work, lovlies! (I even had a guest come up to me and tell me the wedding reminded her of Style Me Pretty. I could have died right there on the spot.)
We made sure that everyone who took part in the wedding were people we loved and considered family – from our officiant, Linda, my mother’s friend and college roommate, to one of my oldest friends, Kehvon, who read “Corelli’s Mandolin” during the ceremony, everyone made the day so special and so unique to Dave and me. We were also incredibly honored to have our favorite NYC piano player, Bugsy Moran, play parts of our wedding. He learned our first dance song for us, “Happy Song” by Otis Redding, which turned out to be one of our favorite moments from the night. My brother also surprised everyone by performing a little skit/piece on the piano, which left everyone cracking up and made for some priceless pictures. We ended the night with everyone up on the barn deck, surrounded by candlelight, singing along to Bugsy on the piano. Pure bliss, if you ask me. So what do I love most about our wedding? So many things. I love that in some of our more formal pictures you can tell Dave and I are on the verge of cracking each other up. I love that people who have never been to my farm are now planning their next visit. I love that no matter where I looked, everyone was enjoying themselves in the backyard where I spent my childhood. But most of all, I love how friends and family came together, kicked off their shoes, and danced in the grass to some good ‘ol soul. The whole day was us, only a smidge better.
Photography: Amanda Perkins Photography / Flowers: By Design Dahlias / Event Design: Bride / Ceremony and Reception Location: Riverview Farm / Dress: Pronovias (Design is “Gaula” – Bride made some design alterations to it) / Bridal Salon: Madeline’s Daughter / Hair Comb: Lo Boheme / Flowers on Bride’s gown and Maid of Honor’s dress: Untamed Petals / Boutonnieres: Bride / Tent: Sperry VT / Hair: Vivo Salon and Day Spa / Makeup: BG Makeovers / Caterers: Maple Street Catering / Rentals: Bloods Seafood and Catering / Cake: Bakers Studio / Band: Big City Wedding Band, Bugsy Moran
27 Comments about “New England DIY Wedding by Amanda Perkins”
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How cute! Also makes me crave sweets. Great post!
Beautiful wedding! I'm a Madeleine's Daughter bride too- love them! I was wondering where the bridesmaid shoes are from- so cute! Thanks!
I still can't breathe. Thank you to all the lovely ladies at SMP for this feature! I've been a Style Me Pretty bride at heart for years and now I can say I'm one officially! Thanks for your sweet words, Erin!
Michelle - thank you! The shoes are from Sears and were super budget friendly. Here's the link (They are not available right now but I bet they restock them - they were a popular shoe this year!)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_05436497000P?vName=Shoes&psid=SHOPZILLA01&sName=View+All&cName=Womens&i_cntr=1289423308486&sid=IDx20070921x00003c
Awesome, I was wanting to know the info on the bridesmaid shoes also and now I don't even have to ask :)
Simple & sweet . . . that is the mantra for our wedding too! This wedding did simple & sweet perfectly.
What a sweet, lovely wedding! I am so in love with all of the details! :-)
Really lovely. Go NH!
Really well done, that looks a pretty and stylish wedding. A clever shot of the bridesmaid shoes.
I live nearby Plainfield. LOVE LOVE LOVE and would GREATLY appreciate it if you're willing to SELL SELL SELL. I'm interested in the chalkboards, mason jar candles and the glass drink dispensers. I'm having a wedding in Canaan next summer with the mason jar them! Thanks!
Kim - we're neighbors!!! (I actually live in NJ but grew up in the Upper Valley!). I'd love to help you out:) I'm going home in a couple weeks and will take inventory on everything we used. I'm hoping to keep some things but I'll see what I have and see what i can sell ya! Email me at laura.franklin@gmail.com and we'll be in touch!
Great! I send you a message!
Wow! Beautiful wedding, love the colors! Where did you get those napkins with the aqua detail, looks great with the mason jars! I am doing a similar theme for my wedding and you've inspired me :)
I am so proud of Laura and Dave and am blessed to have been part of the wedding party. It was so simple and elegant at the same time. Growing up as Laura's best friend at the farm it was great to see her so happy and comfortable on her big day.. It was definately a wedding for the record books.. All the great do it yourself projects made the wedding even more perfect...
bridesmaid
Sarah
Dana - thanks so much! The napkins are actually bar towels and were one of my favorite finds! So much cheaper than renting linen napkins and a fun detail (plus you can use them as rags afterwards!) Here's the link:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/15-x-26-herringbone-dish-cloth-12-pack/16722611.html
Happy wedding planning!
A truly stunning DIY wedding! We are getting married at a similar type venue and I have to know how you pulled off a DIY dance floor! If you could spare any details on this endeavor we would be greatly appreciative. Dance floors these days are prohibitively expensive to rent!
Thanks!
Thanks so much, Natalie! You're right - dance floors are a budget buster so if you have some handy people in your life, go for it! Here's how my father and fiance (now husband!!!) tackled it:
-8 standard size pieces of 3/4" thick plywood (we had 140 guests so we figured this would be a good size)
- frame each piece underneath with 2x4s (laid flat) and offset on each side. Put in two cross braces for support on each piece
- Tricky part: You need to plan out the placement of each piece of plywood and offset the 2x4s accordingly so the plywood fits together like a puzzle when all the plywood pieces are together. When put together, make sure everything is flush.
- We then drew a checkerboard pattern and painted the squares a cream and coffee color.
I'd be happy to send some pictures and if you have any more questions (since I'm horrible at explaining big projects like this) just email me:) I can have my dad write out a better tutorial for ya - it's worth the effort though and saves some big $$$!
laura.franklin@gmail.com
Happy planning!!! Congrats!
I am thinking of doing a photo booth too! please email pictures if you have them to kat.andrews85@gmail.com. also, please let me know how it was facilitated...ie: did you have someone manning the booth manually taking pics? I know there are professional type booths you can rent, but i would rather a diy budget friendly fun alternative. thanks!
Ah! This is beautiful and inspirational! And thank you so much for not letting me think I'm the only one that scores wedding blogs and saves ideas before my boyfriend even proposes! ;)
Love the website and ideas. We are trying to pull off a similar wedding this coming June. We have most of the details together, but I wanted to have a DIY photobooth, but don't have a good image in my head on how to pull it off well - if you could send pics/ideas I would really appreciate it!!
Thanks!
chcobb@gmail.com
Great shot of the bridesmaids flowers!
Beautiful wedding! I especially loved the flowers. I am getting married on the Seacoast of NH in July and was interested in the Dahlia garden you mentioned. Would you mind sharing the name of the garden?
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks so much! We used By Design Dahlias (http://www.bydesigndahlias.com/ ) and the owner, Emily, could not have been sweeter. A NH seacoast wedding in July is going to be so gorgeous - let me know if you need any more help! Happy planning!
wait - how have i not commented on this yet?? laura is one of my favorite bloggers (youstirme.com) and she is just a sweetheart! to see her wedding up here is just amazing, and i love seeing a fellow new englander being showcased!! gorgeous wedding, i love every single detail!
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