Today's wedding {beautifully photographed by Meghan Christine Photography} is filled with lots of love and so many amazing details - I am actually going to leave the following as the bride, Lindsey, wrote it .

"We wanted the wedding to have a sort of vintage/eclectic feel, but at the same time feel very relaxed and down to earth. Both Mark and I are very outdoorsy and we wanted our wedding to have a relaxed, laid-back summer feel. My mom was a huge help to me, as was my wedding coordinator. I love DIY projects and wanted the day to really reflect us, so I had a blast making a ton of different things! I made the pinwheel favors and ribbon wands after finding a DIY tutorial online. They were time-consuming, but so worth it! I found the inspiration for my brooch bouquet online and collected and assembled the brooches myself and with help from friends and the bouquet included brooches from my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and the mother of the groom. The hankie favors were DIY, cut out of a thrifted sheet and embroidered on my sister’s fancy sewing machine. The boutonnieres were the only DIY project I came up with entirely on my own, without online inspiration or tutorial – I made mini versions of the larger pinwheels and hot-glued them, along with lace, ribbon and twine, to craft pin-backs. The place cards I stamped and embellished myself, and I also printed and assembled the ceremony programs. Most of the reception decorations were either thrifted or borrowed – we only rented a few things like the tablecloths, table runners and chairs."

I LOVE THIS from Lindsey!!!!!! "My wedding dress was my mom’s but since she and my dad got married in the 80s, it needed some significant changes – the giant puffed sleeves were out, for one. My amazing tailor Tricia took the dress and completely made it over – I got my mom’s dress with an updated look."

The pennant banners that decorated the reception area thrifted from bedsheets from goodwill that were cut them into pennant shapes with pinking shears, pinned to twine, then sewn together.

Lindsey and her mom and searched for months through the dishware sections of every goodwill and thriftstore in their area to pick out eclectic and vintage-looking chinaware. After carting home enough dinner plates, salad plates, teacups, and silverware to feed 200 people, her mom ran them all through the dishwasher. Then she paired up dinner and salad plates that looked good together.

As written by the Lindsey . . . "My cousins and I made all the wedding cakes. I chose three flavors – chocolate, white almond and carrot cake – and we baked for two days, under the supervision of my teenaged cousin Leah who wants to go to culinary school and open a bakery someday. I ordered the cake toppers from a shop on etsy. The cakes were one of the best parts of the reception – I have gotten so many compliments on them and lots of people asking for the recipes."

And, this is the sweetest way I've ever been able to end a real wedding post - with these words from the bride . . . "I found most of my DIY projects in various places around the web and relied on advice from my bridesmaids and cousins. This was definitely a family affair! I love having a big extended family, and I treasure all the time I got to spend with my cousins, aunts and friends. Since Mark’s family lives in Pennsylvania, only a few of his close family and friends could make the trip to Indiana, but they were so helpful in setting up and tearing down the ceremony and reception spaces. We had a great time at our wedding – it was wonderful to finally get to enjoy the fruits of so many months of planning and to celebrate our new marriage! If I could go back, there’s nothing I would change."

Vendors:
Photographer: Meghan Christine Photography
Floral Arrangements: by the bride's aunts
Wedding Dress Alternations: Tricia Gastineau of Alamode Kabash Sewing
Reception: Jasper County Fairgrounds
Ceremony: St. Joseph’s College Chapel
Coordinator/Planner: Rachel Hansen