If my happy place were a shoe (and not gonna lie, sometimes it is) then these shoes would surely be it. And so too would the fabulous emerald beauties that the lovely bride is sporting on her earlobes. But that’s not what this post is about. Instead we are focusing on the gorgeous wedding that this adorable couple (who happened to be dressed ever so chic) held on a shoestring budget while still managing to have a knock-it out of the park affair. And if you want to see the FULL day from pretty green shoe to pretty green park, then head over to the gallery that is stuffed with pretty green images from Levi Matthew Photography. Pretty and Green. You get the picture, right?
{click here for all the details and more!}
When Michael proposed in December, it wasn’t a complete surprise, as we had picked out the antique diamond engagement ring together a few weeks earlier. As soon as we were engaged and trying to decide when to get married, we knew we wanted a short engagement, so we settled on April and got busy! Michael wanted to be involved and he had to be, as we only had 3 months to plan. We both knew we didn’t have a huge budget, so we decided to do a lot of things ourselves, or with help from our friends and family. Also, I really wanted our wedding to be personal and meaningful, with small, simple touches that really reflected us as a couple. We were also able to save a lot of money by comparing what was best to rent vs. buy. Turns out we were able to save a lot of money by buying large flour sacks, then cutting them down into quarters and hemming the sides. Michael and I both became expert napkin hemmers over the course of those three months, sewing over 140 napkins!
We didn’t really have a “theme” persay, just an overall scheme of white with some neutral tones and a pop of green. The green really was only my shoes and earrings, but since we got married outside, there really was a ton of natural greenery around anyway. My dress was bought off the rack from a local boutique, and was the first dress I tried on and a perfect fit. It was really meant to be! My veil was handmade by Emily Rohm on Etsy, and my shoes were Moschino Cheap and Chic (found on ebay. Score!). I absolutely adored my dress and didn’t want to take it off! My bridesmaids chose various dresses (many were from J Crew) in shades of gray to wear with black accessories and lockets with their initials that I ordered on etsy as a gift to each of them. The flowers we also did ourselves with the exception of my bouquet which was made by a lovely woman named Linda at Country Essences. We also bought a lot of additional flowers from her to DIY the rest of the flower arrangements we needed. I made all the boutenieres, without really knowing what I was doing, and had family and friends help to make the bridesmaids bouquets and centerpieces. As soon as I was engaged, my family and I started saving jars of any shape and kind for the centerpieces. I wanted the flowers to look like they were thrown out onto the table, like at an outdoor dinner party in France. We used burlap as the table cloths, with a lace runner in the center, and flameless candles in jars as well (we had a TON of jars!). The flower wreath we used during the ceremony was put together by Michael at the last minute with about 150 carnations. I thought it turned out beautifully. Michael’s family and friends were very gracious to volunteer to make all the food and appetizers for the wedding, which really helped us out! We were able to afford an awesome photographer and go on an amazing honeymoon.
The night before our wedding it was pouring rain, and we had only planned on having the dancing and cake inside, not the ceremony or dinner. Needless to say, I was a bit panicked! Luckily, the next morning dawned and it was sunny although a bit cold (last minute tights for the bridesmaids, ended up looking great!). Everything went by in a surreal dream. I was so excited, happy and full of love and had such a blast! Like brides always say, you really do need to focus on enjoying the moment, because it truly does go by in a flash. Planning the wedding in such a short time period was perfect for us, as we had to make decisions and run with it. Our wedding was everything we ever wanted, and it turned out perfectly. Michael and I felt so loved, and we were so excited to start our new lives together surrounded by our friends and family.
Photographer: Levi Matthew / Flowers: DIY, Brides bouquet by Country Essences / Venue: Highlands Park, Ben Lomond, CA / Invitations: Paper Source / Shoes: Moschino Cheap and Chic via Ebay / Dress: Pronovias
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Love the green in the earrings and shoes! So stunning
Wow, these two sure lucked out with some beautiful, sunshiney weather! I'm totally digging the bridesmaid's tights...so chic, so mod. Love that!
The bride's veil is stunning!
Beautiful, beautiful dress!! What is the style name?
That's amazing that she got this all together in three months! I'm so inspired by this. I'm planning now and thought of a year of planning sometimes feels so overwhelming. Beautiful wedding!
I love that veil! I wish I could see a better picture of the antique ring though!
Congratulations, Sarah,so great to see that your wedding made it onto this blog! You looked gorgeous!
Beautiful pictures! Thank you for mentioning my Etsy shop! Mantilla Veils available at Rohm,etsy.com
Beautiful wedding! Could I ask where you got the flower sacks for the table cloths? AND the napkins? What size and type of table did you use?
Thank you for all the lovely comments (this was my wedding)! I loved (and actually still do) looking at all the weddings on SMP, so what a treat it is to be featured on it!
Sarah - we ordered burlap fabric (sooo many yards!) and lace from: http://www.onlinefabricstore.net ,
and the flour sacks from: http://www.thetoweldepot.com
We used 6 ft. tables, and just placed them together in long rows to make a dinner party effect and cut the burlap as we went. It turned out really well!
Julie Ann: Sorry not to be of more help, i don't know what the dress style number or name is, but I do know it was from Pronovias 2009 collection.
Right on, Levi! Beautiful work!
That is my favorite veil style. Gorgeous!
Sooo beautiful! Wonderful shots. Levi Matthew is the bomb.
A great way to save money without sacrificing wow factor and style is to choose a gemstone engagement ring. Gone are the days of the tiny solitairs, these days brides want celebrity sized engagement rings and they can have them simply by adding a rich and vibrant gemstone in the center and complimenting it with loads of accent diamonds for a fraction of the cost of a tiny diamond solitaire! Your love isn't cookie cutter and niether should your ring be. For gorgeous, elegant gemstones check out Carats & Colors http://caratsandcolors.com " rel="nofollow">gemstone engagement rings
It's amazing how the approach to planning a wedding has changed, drastically! kudos to the decorator/planner on this wedding and the photographer too! Yes, budget can be beautiful and unique. Love the subtle colors. Very good sense of textures and colors displayed here. The couple look so radiant and sexy! Bridesmaid all look sexy too. Well planned and coordinated by all involved! Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!
Love the earings! where did she find them?
How is this a Los Angeles wedding? The site was located in Nor Cal.