All the weddings we feature on SMP are special. Sometimes we aren’t able to put our fingers on precisely why a party stands out at us, but with weddings like this one captured by Cliff Brunk it’s the feel. When opening up a gallery of images is like opening the best of presents. A gift. Which is exactly how we felt when we first opened this whimsical woodland wedding. And when you do start to see what’s inside – DIYs that couldn’t be more darling, a Bride that is beyond talented in her wedding planning ways, and a fabulously tight knit family (just to name a few) – you can’t believe how lucky you are to get to devour such a fête, but you are sure glad that you get to. See it all right here.
From the Bride… As someone who plans events in my work life, I had never actually given too much thought to my own big day. But as soon as Will proposed, the planner part of me and the giddy, head-over-heels excited in love girl in me honed in on a vision for our day that would be truly us! The most important thing to us was to have handcrafted, personal details that were reflective of our (often quirky) personalities, but that would stand the test of time and still feel classic when we looked back on the pictures 50 years later. We first fell in love with our venue, Nestldown, through Style Me Pretty, and when we laid eyes on those beautiful woods and grounds in person, we knew it was the perfect place for our rustic, vintage-inspired celebration.
Every detail of our wedding was handmade by us or a loved one. After the wedding, so many people commented that our wedding was “so us” and that made us feel incredibly special. I think the biggest reason is that our celebration was like an extension of the home we’ve shared for years: full of vintage keepsakes handed down from loved ones, and DIY projects that aren’t perfect by any stretch, but that fit us. My obliging dad even moved two antique desks from our home to serve as our cake and escort card tables! Going the DIY route wasn’t always less costly and certainly wasn’t easier, but we wouldn’t trade any of the memories or sense of accomplishment for the world.
My mom and I had a great time exploring the Alameda Flea Market for fun finds like old medicine bottles and vintage cigar boxes, and had epic sewing days during which she sewed all three of the 40-foot burlaps runners edged with lace for our reception tables. In addition to those and runners for every other table, she sewed lace-edged coverlets for our cocktail tables, beautiful Liberty of London petal satchels (most of the 120 she sewed were different from one another), and the darling tutus for our little flowers girls.
In short, she was our sewing angel! Will’s mom made the wonderful bow ties in different Liberty of London fabrics to tie in with the petal bags. For my part, I dusted off the untouched sewing machine I had bought a year before, and tackled sewing up the CD cases for favors (that Will cut out from paper bags), navy burlap favor bags, and the 120 monogrammed cocktail napkins that were handed out with the first round of cocktails. Those napkins were my Everest! There were a few occasions when I wondered why in the world I chose to do that, but I was tickled pink when I saw a lot of the boys using them as pocket squares that day. Suffice to say, sewing became an underlying theme of the day, and even made its way onto our cakes that were adorned with decorated “stitching.” When I spotted a beautiful antique Coats & Clark thread display case, I knew it had to hold our escort cards – it was one of my favorite details.
My dear grandmother passed away many years ago, but through all the sewing, my mom and I felt like she was a part of everything, as she was a seamstress extraordinaire and taught us everything she knew. My bouquet was tied with an antique scalloped lace I found in her ribbon box that I’ve held onto for years.
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Photography: Cliff Brunk | Wedding Venue: Nestldown in Silicon Valley, California | Event Planning + Floral Design: The Bride | Wedding Coordinator: Brooke Beyer | Floral Bouquets + Chair Swags: Messina Rippey (messina77@gmail.com) | Catering: Teri Menchini from La Bocca Fina | Wedding Cakes: Cake Coquette | Burlap Decor: Mother of the Bride | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals + La Tavola | DJ: Paul from Elite Entertainment | Calligraphy: Whoa Nellie Press | Wedding Dress: Marisa “737” via Bridal Galleria | Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Nordstrom | Flower Girls’ Tutus: Mother of the Bride | Groom’s Attire: Zegna | Groomsmen Attire: JoS.A.Bank | Hair + Makeup: Shawn Calvin Beauty Co.