country wedding

Real Wedding
Country Backyard Wedding – Bride’s favorite moment
- October 9, 2015
- by Allison
A few more glimpses of this fun country backyard wedding including a photo of the joyful wedding party (there I am, third from the left). The girls all wore tan cowboy boots…including the bride, which fit right in with the country theme. The bouquets were lush with a lot of greenery for texture. And we were all given Budweiser beers to drink right after the ceremony – so American!

My favorite question to ask brides after the wedding is “what is their favorite moment from their wedding”. The reason is because I think it gives the bride a second to reflect and see what moment is still lingering with the emotion of the day. It is really powerful. I have also found that it is usually a moment that is unexpected, and has an emotional impact. Laura’s favorite moment is incredibly touching and I feel blessed to share it with you below:

Allison: Favorite moment at your wedding?

Laura: “Obviously the vows and the first dance were top of the list, but for me one of the most special, and unexpected, moments of the day was shared with my dad. My dad and I haven’t spent much of our adult life together and in the time we’ve spent apart he had become a little unfamiliar to me. And here was this man, a little strange to me now, holding his arm in mine as I was waiting to come out the door and turn to the aisle. His hand was held proudly to his chest, a hand that I know every freckle on, and he turned to me and said, “Walk slow baby, this is your moment.”

It hit me in the chest, I felt so overwhelmed with love and with pride. Pride for the woman that I had become, the family that I made, the man that was waiting for me at the end of the aisle and love for the man that was giving me away.”

Congratulations to the beautiful couple, who I’m so blessed to call family!

Photos by Neal Palumbo at Studio 11 West.
Hand-Painted Guest book, Hand-Painted Invitations, Hand-Painted Reception, Real Wedding
Country Backyard wedding – DIY and personal touches
- October 8, 2015
- by Allison
As I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog post, the bride in this Country backyard wedding did a lot of DIY touches. She spent a long time designing and “crafting” for her wedding. I was lucky enough to work with her on some of the hand-painted touches such as the music themed wedding invitations, thank you cards at each person’s place setting, escort cards which were strung on an antique windowpane, and Country Cobblestone thumbprint guestbook.

The couple both shares a love for music so they included that love visually in their wedding invitation design with the music notes graphic. Laura is a wonderful singer, who wrote and recorded their first dance song at their wedding. This song literally gives me chills…it is so amazing! Craig plays the guitar, so they had a white guitar at their wedding for guests to sign with a gold metallic Sharpie marker.

Impressed by the amount of DIY touches, the bride created for her wedding, I asked her a couple of questions about her tips for other DIY brides out there, as well as how paper products are incorporated into a DIY wedding.

Allison: How did your wedding paper tie into the look of your wedding?

Laura: The Hand-Painted Wedding touches captured the the rustic elegance I was going for. Purples and greens were bled together in a simple, understated elegance as the backdrop for my wedding invitations, escort cards and personalized thank-you cards at each place setting. I chose the Country Cobblestone thumbprint guest book which was perfect because it looked just like the dirt road behind the alter at our backyard country wedding. I hand made almost every decoration in the wedding and so I really appreciated the originality and the beauty of the Hand Painted wedding paper. Allison Krosnick is so talented and I feel so lucky to call her my sister.

Allison: What tips do you have for other DIY backyard wedding brides?

Laura: “Be easy on yourself! Seriously, if you are anything like I was, you are putting way more pressure on yourself than other people are. After a year of planning and crafting, a million pins on pinterest, and a few dozen spreadsheets, the wedding finally came. It was clear about two hours into hair and makeup that things weren’t going to go as planned. Tents were flying upside down, I was a full table short of place settings, and half the lights on my DIY backdrop made with organza and Christmas lights wouldn’t stay lit! The groomsmen forgot their boutonniere and my aisle runner was blowing in the wind as I stood at the alter!

And it was STILL one of the most amazing nights of my life. I stressed out trying to make everything perfect and then nothing went to plan and I realized it didn’t matter anyway, and no one cared. So please brides, be nice to yourself, you are only one woman.”

Come back tomorrow to learn the bride’s favorite moment.
Photos by Neal Palumbo at Studio 11 West.
Real Wedding
Country Backyard Wedding Inspiration – Part 1
- October 6, 2015
- by Allison
My beautiful sister in-law, Laura, got married to the love of her life, Craig, this past September in a Country Backyard setting in rural Pennsylvania. Their wedding was one of the most personal weddings I’ve attended, with numerous DIY touches sprinkled throughout the ceremony and reception. This wedding was designed by the bride with so much love that it became an event that literally exuded that love, with the couple telling me afterwards that many guests were professing their love for one another at their wedding (after a few cocktails of course).

One of the special parts of this wedding that the couple celebrated was the blended family that was coming together. This was captured with a sand ceremony with the couple, the groom’s two kids, and the bride and groom’s 2 year old literally blending the sand into this wonderful artistic expression. Also, one of the most touching parts of their ceremony was when the bride knelt down and said her custom vows and promises to the the groom’s children.

I will be sharing aspects of Laura and Craig’s DIY backyard wedding throughout the week, but firstly, I want to share with you what Laura’s favorite physical detail of her wedding was.

Allison: “What was your favorite detail at your wedding?”

Laura: “My favorite detail was MY DRESS! I knew exactly what I wanted before I started shopping for dresses and it may sound a little old fashioned but I wanted an A-line silhouette with a lace covering up to the top of my neck, with lace cap sleeves and an open lace back. I know, sounds like a lot of lace, but it was so beautiful. It was important to me to feel like I projected an image of sweetness to really capture the feeling of a sweet, pure love that I have for my now hubby. Eeek- hubby- love being able to say that!”

Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this lovely real wedding.
Photos by Neal Palumbo at Studio 11 West.