Ok, seriously? This is a DIY party right here. And we’re all invited to drool over it. I’m not exactly sure what I love most about this Santa Barbara wedding? There’s a lot to love! I guess if I have to choose it has to be the little tree accents here and there (I am a lover of all things forest+weddings). And um, hello – they have TREES on their TIES! Like…what?! So cool.
There’s just something completely charming about all the DIY elements of this wedding. I think that’s why some of us really love DIY weddings, isn’t it? We’re addicted to the personalized touches and creativity. It reads through as endearing, quaint and familiar. Which in this case, is brought to life by the magnificent camera stylings of Mary Jane Photography. These pictures are like my mom’s apple pie – warm and inviting (and you can ask her, I just can’t stop eating the stuff).
Sylvia gives us the 411 on her day:
Throughout the planning process, Dave and I felt it was very important that all elements of our wedding really reflect us as a couple. We wanted a beautiful setting, a weekend where everyone could spend some real time together, moving music, delicious food, and lots of dancing. We were keen on doing as much DIY as we could. Not only to save money, but because we enjoy being hands-on. We sought out vendors that really clicked with us and our philosophy and were blessed to find people like Mary Jane, Joy Proctor, Sidney at SBBBQ, and, Christina and Michael Larner. They were all instrumental to the success of our day and were a pleasure to work with. We also wanted our wedding to be about community, so we involved friends and family with the planning as much as possible. We had two crafting parties at our house in the weeks leading up to the wedding, where we had a team of friends help us construct the wooden directional signs, the chalkboards, the framed seating chart, the bags of lavender, and much more. My mom made the runners for the tables with fabric I found in downtown LA and Michigan. She and my dad made the gooseberry and blueberry jam favors as well and drove them in from Michigan. Dave’s mom was in charge of the bar and bought all of the liquor, in addition to throwing us an amazing fiesta rehearsal dinner.
The day before the wedding we had an army of people to help set up the barn at Larner Vineyard for the wedding and reception. In just a few hours, the place was transformed. As I looked around, watching all these people we love, from so many parts of our lives, working together to do something beautiful for us, I was overcome with joy.
More to come from this amazing DIY wedding!
xoxo Chantale from the oh-so-cute wedding blog La Belle Bride