Women’s Club of Evanston Wedding by Soda Fountain Photography

This wedding has put a big, fat smile on my face and I’m pretty sure that it’s sticking around for the day, heck, maybe even the week. It’s happy, whimsical, and colorful, and I’m totally head over heels in love with it. This artistic bride did a little (or a lot) of everything from the save the dates to the place cards to the napkins that were dyed and screen printed and doubled as favors for the guests. My favorites have got to be the cute little monster that “eats cards” and the drawing of the bride and groom’s cat that adorned each and every table. Lucky for us, Soda Fountain Photography was there to capture all the DIY details and as always, there’s so much more in the gallery.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…I wanted our wedding to be whimsically elegant and fun for us and everyone involved. As an artist, it was important for me to bring my style and vision into the event as much as possible. I started with a drawing I did of some stylized flowers and fun insects. The flowers were loosely based on Gerbera Daisies, which are my favorite. I included insects like ladybugs, long-legged spiders and a cute creation of my own called a “bunny bee.” This visual theme was used throughout our wedding, from the invitations to the décor.  The color scheme was based off of Gerbera reds, oranges, and pinks, with light blue as an accent.

It was also important for us to keep costs down whenever possible. If there was something that I could do myself, I did it. I designed the Save The Date cards, the invites and the programs using my flower and insect illustrations. They were bright, colorful and hopefully a little funny too. I dyed napkins using the pale blue accent color, and then I screen-printed the flower and insect theme on them with white ink. The napkins also served as our gift to the guests.  I found it easy to use this theme for accessories too.  Using the same shade of blue, I dyed silk ties for the groom and groomsmen that matched the blouses of the bridesmaids. I also made a series of silk hankies with a screen-printed flower pattern for the bridesmaids and a special one for my groom to wear. Our place cards included a variety of insect illustrations with speech bubbles that listed the names of our guests and their designated table numbers.  We wanted our cat Steinway to be a part of our big day, so each table included a drawing of him with a corresponding table number. My aunt is a retired florist, and her expertise was very valuable. We were able to buy our flowers wholesale.  A  few of my family members then helped to wire and place the daisies in vases that I had spray-painted white.

I was so sure that I wanted a wiggle-style dress that I never tried on any traditional wedding gowns. My mother offered me her wedding gown to use. Dame Couture worked with me to take my mother’s wedding dress and rework it into exactly what I wanted.  It ended up being really beautiful, and I couldn’t have planned it better if I had picked out the fabric myself. Dame worked with me so much to make it fit perfectly, and they were nothing but fun and supportive to be around.

The best part of our wedding was seeing our friends and family come together and make our big day so special. Our best friend served as our officiant, and her husband made sure that everything stayed on track.

Wedding Photography: Soda Fountain Photography / Ceremony + Reception Location: Women’s Club of Evanston / Wedding Dress: Dame Couture