Calling all DIYers and aspiring DIYers: This wedding will knock your socks off! Homemade bouquets, antique furnitures and fixtures sourced from thrift stores and signage made by the bride. Impressive, beautiful, and breathtaking — That’s what we’re thinking about this wedding at Highland Springs Resort, and we can’t take our eyes off of the beautiful DIY creations and the happy couple in the full gallery of images, courtesy of Bre Thurston Photography.
From the Bride… From the time we got engaged, I knew I wanted our wedding to be unique to us, and when we first visited Highland Springs Resort I knew it was perfect. I wanted the rustic outdoors to be intertwined with vintage blush and lace, and I wanted to do it all myself. For months leading up to the wedding, our dining room was covered in burlap and lace. I made everything I could — our flower girl basket, all the signs, menu board and table settings. I found inspiration through wedding blogs and Pinterest. Our table centerpieces were wine bottles I started collecting and various bottles I found at the goodwill. I also found the train case I used for our card box at Goodwill, and found both larger frames I used for the menu board and seating chart at a flea market. I even wanted to tackle all our flower arrangements and bouquets. The day before the wedding I went to the flower district with one of my bridesmaids and my sister-in-law, and we filled up the back of our cars with flowers. That night after our rehearsal dinner, with the help of my bridesmaids and mother-in-law, the living room of our bridal was covered with peonies, dahlias, and all the pink and white wildflowers we had picked out that morning. We spent a good few hour arranging all our vases and crates for our tables, stuffing drawers with flowers, and we even made all of our bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres and my bouquet. It was such a fun experience to share with my girls, and it made it even better when we got to see everything set up the next day with our work. We even did the flowers for our cake.
Joshua and I have know each other for over 10 years now. We come from the same small town and went to the same high school. Our parents live only a couple miles from each other, which makes holidays awesome for us, and we have the same group of friends throughout the years. We wanted our wedding to be intimate with our family and close friends, and we wanted everyone to know how important they were to us in our lives by being there. The day of the wedding couldn’t have gone any better. It was such a relaxed day with everything I had already prepared and ready to go and with all the help I had to set it up. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was awesome to see all my ideas over the months to finally come together.
I’ve seen brides and grooms do a first look, and although I wanted to stay traditional and see Joshua for the first time as I walked up the aisle, I thought the idea of the first look would be perfect for my dad and I. I have always been daddy’s little girl and I wanted to share that special moment with him just by ourselves. I knew it would be emotional, but I didn’t think it would be as hard as it was — it actually took me two times to finally walk up to him. The first time I turned back around and had to compose myself. But I am so happy we choose to do this — the pictures of this with him I cherish forever. I also had a locket with my grandpa’s picture in it — he passed away this year and I showed it to my dad for the first time then.
I couldn’t be more grateful for the amazing day that we had. The venue was gorgeous, the food was amazing, and everyone keeps telling us how blessed they felt to be there and how much fun they had. I still feel like I’m on a high from that day, and I know we will continue to feel that way with the amazing pictures that Bre captured. She really shows the love we all shared that day, and for that I am so grateful.
Photography: Bre Thurston Photography / Venue: Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley, California / Flowers: DIY by the Bride, Groom’s Mother + Bridal Party / Wedding Invitations: Minted / Flower Basket, Signs + Table Settings: DIY / Honey Favors: eBee + Decorated by the Bride / Wedding Dress: Tara Keely / Bride’s Shoes + Earrings: Nordstrom / Bride’s Reception Necklace: Ruche / Hair + Makeup: Kacee Geoffroy / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS / Flower Girl’s Shoes: TOMS / Groom’s Suit: Kenneth Cole