Let me introduce you to our DIY DARLINGS Sarah and Julian.  Remember this emotional image from their glowing testimonial a few days ago?  Well, courtesy of Sarah, we’ve got the whole story behind their darling DIY Connecticut wedding.  For this wedding, Katherine was triple booked as a bridesmaid, bridal make-up artist, and Catholic wedding mass soprano for a friend’s wedding on that weekend, so the lovely Julie Brown stepped in as Doug’s second shooter extraordinaire!  Look out for the explosion of DIY links shooting out cosmic diy ideas like fireworks for you to explore at the end!

Bride & Groom:

Sarah, Freelance Illustrator and Graphic Artist.

Julian, Operations Manager for a private investigation company.

Wedding Date and Location:

Friday, October 10, 2008 at The Riverview in Simsbury, Connecticut, USA.

Photography and Medium:

Doug of Helios Images / Douglas Despres Photography, Digital.

What made your wedding creative:

We tried to make our wedding classy and unique, without letting on how we managed a smaller budget.  Plus, I’m a glutton for punishment and have a hard time walking away from DIY projects.  I designed the invitation suite reflect the earthy sophistication feeling we wanted to convey for our wedding.  I worked with my mother to make my wedding gown, combining two different dress patterns to create a look similar to a $12,000 Oscar de la Renta dress.  I made the bouquets and boutineres months ahead of time with silk flowers from a wholesale flower shop.  The bridesmaids received necklace and earring sets I made to be individual to each girl, made with multicolored freshwater pearls and assorted crystals.  Our cake was made by my caterer cousin using my late grandmother’s wedding cake recipe and cake pans, decorated with leftover silk flowers from the bridesmaids’ bouquets.  The centerpieces were made by my mother and grandmother from vases (bought on sale from a craft store), and mixed branches (from the floral wholesaler).  They were tall enough to visually fill the space of the high-ceiling space, but airy enough to not be obtrusive.  We were so happy with how it all turned out.

Your biggest challenge:

Deciding on things to let go of.  As much as I wanted to make Out of Towner’s gifts and handmade favors, I just couldn’t make it work.  Instead we gave gift bags to the few children that were attending from out of state and made a donation in the honor of our guests to several of our favorite charities.

Your favorite moment:

When our eyes met for the first time.  Watching Julian choke back tears made me lose it myself.  It was amazing to have all the people so important to our lives there, but at that moment it was just the two of us.

Advice to share:

Don’t get tangled up in making the event perfect, or in making everyone happy.  There were a couple times when things couldn’t work out the way I saw it in my mind, but I kept reminding myself that we were really throwing a big party for the people we love.  We wanted everyone to feel appreciated, so keeping that in mind made it easier to let the little things go.

Any favorite vendors / helpful DIY tips?  

We loved our reception location, The Riverview in Simsbury, Connecticut.  The location was easy to get to for our guests, and was within close proximity to nice hotels and activities.  We loved having our ceremony on the covered patio that overlooked the Farmington River.  The food was spectacular and we didn’t ever have to ask for food or drinks.  Of course, we can’t say enough good things about our amazing photographer!

The Gallery!