We can all say that in high school we imagined where our life would be in ten years. Will you be married to your high school sweet heart? Will you have kids? Will you be a fabulous wedding photographer and run a Totally Rad business? In the Boutwell’s case the answer is yes, yes and yes. After ten-years of marriage, two precious babies and a whole lot of love, we are happy to share with Chenin and Doug Boutwell’s ten year anniversary wedding.

Artistically captured by Hugh Forte Photography and stylishly designed by Amanda, In The Now Weddings and Events. To see more you simply must peruse the entire gallery by clicking here.

From Amanda, In The Now Weddings and Events

I was blown away and totally honored when Chenin approached me about designing her event for her and Doug’s 10 year vow renewal. She told me up front how similar she thought our styles were- and she was right! We both tend to lean towards clean, timeless looks with a little twist of modern, but never losing the romantic vibe that should always mingle at events. We started with a semi-masculine color palette [which is always my fave- and Chenin is the same way] of poppy orange, peach, gray, and natural greens.

We also created a “focal point” from the mantle area, creating a custom cover that hung over the existing stone structure; making the site look just-built for the event [my favorite!!]. Every detail was picked by Chenin and Doug by hand- and I truly could not love more how everything came together! This was a group effort, a labor of love, and one of the funnest events I’ve ever been a part of designing. And on the day of the event- magic was in the air! Truly a beautiful, flawless, tear-filled event!

Since 85% of the guest count [maybe more, even] were in the wedding industry, we kept pushing ourselves to find details that would be enjoyable, gorgeous and fun for this crowd to be a part of! Oversized pillows in gold sequin and colored textures, along with custom monogrammed ones, filled our ceremony area [turned-dance-floor, turned-lounge-area] with color and personality.

A bourbon tasting bar was enjoyed by nearly ALL the male guests at the party, a true Doug touch! We custom printed “thank you” notes from Chenin and Doug onto their cocktail napkins so that each guest would remember how thankful the couple is for them.

Since she isn’t into big, formal, fancy arrangements, we knew that the nature-inspired venue would lend itself well to using greens abundantly in her centerpieces. That’s where Megan from Honey and Poppies came in- her textural genius with foliage is something that I feel has no competition in our area. So, she was an easy match for this event! Chenin knew this party would be an intimate event, so we planned for one long seated dining table with strung patio lights above for ambiance. We finished the neutral textured linen with a flashy gold runner for pop!

Assigning the place settings made the party feel even that much more personal- so we took the opportunity to use vinyl stickers of their names that were adhered right to the guests’ plate rim. A gray paper menu wrapped the plate and sat on top of a warm orange napkin to add just enough color to this muted palette. My favorite part was likely the play on ivory and white- something we don’t see nearly enough of [and I looove it when people combine the two at events!!]. Chenin’s event was also one of the FIRST to use these farm chairs [brand new to Signature Rentals for the 2012 season]; a great hint of rustic without giving off a “tired” vibe.

Photographer: Hugh Forte
Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Caterer: Iva Lee’s
DJ: Peter Papadopolous, Vive Inc.
Dress Designer: BHLDN
Flowers: Honey and Poppies
Lighting: Jim Izzo, Honored Occasions
Shoe Designer: Vivienne Westwood
Graphics and Vinyl Details: Creative Media Print
Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen
Bartending: Sunseri’s
Rentals- Signature Party Rentals
Flatware: Classic Party Rentals
Old Fashioned Photobooth: Photoworks Interactive
Venue: Maison Des Oliviers | Officiant: Chenin’s Uncle

Colleen and Corey knew they wanted a romantic and intimate wedding that also showed their love of Charlotte and their southern background. While keeping true to their vision they also wanted to stay on a budget. They saved money by making almost everything themselves, scouting out pre-owned items, spray painting decor to match with the theme and baking the sweets for the dessert table. With all this do-it-yourself going on the question still remains “How Much Does A DIY Wedding Cost?”.

Lucky for us Colleen goes into a full breakdown on the costs of her diy wedding along with pretty much every detail from start to finish. You can see all the photos from this diy wedding in the full gallery by clicking here. Captured by Abigail Seymour Photography.

My bouquet was made of blush pink garden roses, snow-white dahlias, and a mixture of wildflowers from a fresh cut flower farm in Asheville, and adorned with an antique broach from my mom. To include part of Corey’s Irish heritage, we decided to incorporate a handfasting ceremony, in which our two mothers bound our hands together using lace from Corey’s mother’s wedding dress.

To fancy up our gorgeous invitations from The Aerialist Press, we punched pretty shapes out of cardstock and tied all the pieces together with bakers twine like a little package. We addressed the envelopes using faux calligraphy, in which we printed the address on the envelope in a scripted font and traced it with a metallic pen.

The Aerialist Press is one of our Hand-Picked vendors, you must visit their page to see more of their divine work by clicking here.

The ceremony programs were designed by an etsy seller, printed on recycled paper, and placed in mail holders filled with baby’s breath. We provided ceremony refreshments in the form of a “strawberry lemonade stand” complete with striped barber straws. Heart shaped lemonade labels were placed on each lemonade container and we created the “Wet your whistle and have a seat” signs by printing them on cardstock and placing them in painted frames that we already owned. The ceremony chairs were lined with baby’s breath and the altar was draped in white sheer fabric and adorned with a halo chandelier I found at Ikea. We painted large white pumpkins and surrounded them with pre-owned sparkle pumpkins to adorn the front steps of the house to be seen as the guests arrived.

The reception took place in a courtyard filled with trees that we strung with bistro lights the day before the wedding. To create the centerpieces, my sister and I spent months gathering lanterns on sale and collecting vintage green glass bottles from flea markets. We crafted the table numbers from wooden numbers and spray paint, and we used silver leaf and spray paint to turn clear glass votives into mercury glass votives. I wanted to be eco-friendly wherever possible, so I used recycled card stock for all paper products, including the guest book love letters that we tied with bakers twine to each napkin place setting.

The dessert table was my favorite part of the wedding décor, because it was both beautiful and delicious. Our mint green almond and spice cake was covered in dahlias and garden roses and topped with miniature versions of Corey, myself, and our cat Picasso purchased from an Etsy vendor. Apple pie has always been my favorite dessert, so my sister and I made apple pie pops the weekend before the wedding. My sister also whipped up some strawberry and cinnamon macarons for the lucky guests (I swear her macarons are the best in town). To satisfy the chocolate lovers, Corey and I picked up chocolate covered oreos and pretzels. Recycled card stock and our trusty paper punches were used to create the dessert table signs, which were held in place by some adorable bubble place card holders from BHLDN. We also crafted the sparkle Colleen and Corey signs hanging in the dessert table gazebo as well as the bride and groom signs on the back of our dinner chairs. To save money on flowers, we placed empty mason jars on the dessert table (as well as other locations around the venue) for the bridesmaids to place their bouquets in after the ceremony.

To save money, we made almost everything ourselves, and used as many pre-owned items as possible for décor, from the mail holders for the programs, to the baskets that held the flip flops and blankets. We also altered items that we owned to fit in with the look of the wedding, using glitter, spray paint, or card stock. Another budget saver was my agreement with the videographer whom I decided to hire in the last month before the wedding. I was very fortunate to be able to afford a fantastic videographer because he agreed to bring the cost down by sending me just the raw footage, which I could then have edited by a video savvy friend.

This should give you a good starting out point on How Much Does A DIY Wedding Cost? This just a little insight into one bride and groom’s overall expenses who saved costs by doing as many projects on their own as they could.

Photographer: Abigail Seymour Photography
Venue: Whitehead Manor
Hair & Makeup: Lindsey Regan Thorne Be Pretty
Cake: Cheesecake Etc.
Caterer: Family Catering Service
Cinematography: Whitney Photo and Video
DJ: Daily Soul Band
Dress Designer: Watters (Style Sonara)
Flowers: Sweet Earth Flower Farm
Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss (purchased at Nordstrom)
Jewelry: BHLDN (Earrings)
Officiant: Rev. Heather Casselberry
Shoe Designer: Butter
Veil or Hair Accessories: Ban.Do (Crystal Swirl Bobbi)
Bridesmaids Dresses: JCrew
Programs: Set Apart Designs

As an art student, Jacky was eager to have a DIY wedding and craft her heart away. She was positive she wanted a homespun wedding with a vintage feel. While doing many of the projects on her own like the super cute boutonnieres for the groomsman, she also got a little help from a friend we like to call Etsy.

From the hand-embroidered felt wedding bouquets to the coordinating lemon yellow and gray suspenders, Jackie spent quite a bit of time on Etsy and whole heartedly recommends it. You can see more homespun yellow wedding ideas in the full gallery captured by White Rabbit Studios.

One of our main wedding tips is to make your groom comfortable, and let him choose to show if his personal style too. That’s exactly what Mike did. he went with a gray suit and a Yellow and Gray Retro Dot Bow Tie, finishing off the look with a pair of yellow converse. Keeping consistent with the color scheme, but adding a little personal flavor to the look.

From Jacky:
As an art student I always knew I wanted a DIY wedding. With the new trend with mason jars, I was excited to create my own centerpieces with river rocks and artificial flowers! I wanted my theme to be pretty, but very close to home with a vintage homemade feel about it. Making the boutonnieres out of felt was probably my favorite! And the guys loved that they could keep them. And it was so surprisingly easy to make. I also enjoyed making my own Shutterfly guest book. It made the idea so much more personal being able to include my own pictures and text. I immediately fell in Love with the yellow and gray color scheme!

When things are hard, Mike always tells me that I’m his sunshine when skies are gray. :) Thus the appearance of yellow emerging from the gray – and black here and there for a more intense contrast. I followed Wedding Chick’s Pinterest and although we were working in a tight budget, I found ways around my favorite ideas to make them affordable to me. So I purchased a lot of my accessories from stores at Etsy.com. If I had more money or time, these things would have been handmade by me as well, but I’m so happy with the vendors I bought from that I whole heartily suggest everyone else to shop with them too! Everything from my jewelry, Mike’s bow-tie & suspenders, to my guest book tree poster! It all made my wedding more personal and I loved it. White Rabbit Studios’ photography only further enhanced the atmosphere. It was everything I wanted. Through their camera lenses, I feel like things became more magical. I felt like I was living in a dream that day.

Venue: Annabella at Cedar Glenn
DJ: Kandy at Your Perfect Party
Flowers: DaisyBrains
Shoe Designer: TOMS
Etsy Artists: felt bouquets | Wedding Tree Guest Book | Personalized Wedding Hanger | Bridal Necklace | Yellow and Gray Retro Dot Bow Tie | Yellow and Grey Suspenders | Old, New, Borrowed, Blue Wedding Garter | White Flower Headband with Feathers and Rhinestones | 12 Mini Pinwheels

Here at The Wedding Chicks, we love a Salt Lake City wedding. The light is gorgeous, the scenery is breathtaking and it is all around magical place to get married. Trever and Meg had their wedding ceremony at a Mormon Temple followed by a backyard wedding at The Garden Place. Complete with a S’more bar and Dessert table, made possible by family and friends. All beautifully captured by Utah’s Green Apple Photography. To see more of this Salt Lake City backyard wedding visit the full gallery here.

Another fun wedding fact is that Meg’s dress is that she is wearing her grandmother’s dress, made over. The silk layer was from her grandmother’s original wedding dress.

Photographer: Green Apple Photography
Venue: The Garden Place
Cake: Alison Armstrong
Caterer: Le Croissant
Cinematography: Fielding Films
Flowers: Julie Prince
Stationery: Alison Armstrong
Music: Jeff Proctor
Candy Table and Table Decor: Julie Prince
Groom’s Suit: Mr. Mac
Bride’s Shoes: Seychelles, Nordstroms
Lighting: Moonlight Utah
Grandmother’s, remade by, Cheryl Macarthur
Additional Decor: Family and Friends | Jewerly: Pearls borrowed from mother and grandmother | Veil: Made by Cheryl MacArthur (the same person who redid her dress)
Rings: They had custom ones made later, but the bride’s was borrowed from her mom and Trevor’s is a $5 grocery store find.

Jake and Kim met at a New Years Eve party at a mutual friend’s house on the last day of 2006. It was love at first sight and they danced the night away to “Sexy Back” (which was played at their wedding!). Who doesn’t love a little Justin Timberlake at their wedding?

It started out as a long distance relationship and three years later they married at the World Trade Center Seattle, a modern location with a vintage feel. See more of this vintage wedding in The city  captured by Jagger Photography  by clicking here.

On Their First Look:
While I love farm/outdoor weddings, we always knew we would get married in the city – this was another way that we incorporated “modern” into the wedding. My husband and I picked out a parking garage downtown that we would do our first look at – we wanted to be right in the middle of the city. We love the contrast in the photos we took in the parking garage as it’s an edgy, gritty environment while we are in our finest garb. I have always loved standing out and doing things a little different, which is why I painted my nails greige and altered my dress to be more “me”. It came with a large bow which I replaced with a soft, wispy flower. It turned out perfect!

On The Details And the Cute Wedding Date Patch:
I have always had a special place in my heart for vintage even though I consider myself a modern woman. I would see modern weddings on blogs with details I loved and vintage weddings with the coolest elements too – I thought, why can’t I do both? I decided our wedding theme would be vintage/modern so I could incorporate both worlds – I could use an old vintage typewriter as a guestbook and train case to hold cards, and I could also have a modern dress made out of organza with pockets! I scoured etsy to find the perfect jewelry. I found earrings and a bracelet that both matched my vintage theme. I also found an adorable patch with a heart around my wedding day that I had sewn into my dress. For my something old (and borrowed), I wore my best friend and maid of honor’s ring that has been passed down for several generations. My something blue was a bobbypin hidden in my hair from my bridesmaids. My something new was my dress itself. As far as colors go, I have always loved neutrals with a pop of color – I selected yellow and gray as our colors after spending hours and hours perusing wedding blogs. I love how yellow pops against the grey bridesmaid dresses and suits.

How lovely are the wedding invites from one of our Hand Picked wedding vendors  The Aerialist Press ? You can visit their Hand Picked page by clicking here.

The Ceremony:
Our ceremony and reception were both held at the World Trade Center Seattle on the downtown Seattle waterfront. It was supposed to be in the high 70s (which I was kind of dreading that it would be too hot) but ended up to be in the mid 60’s and a little overcast which was perfect for outdoor pictures! The actual wedding day was truly the best day of my life. I simply cannot explain what it’s like to have all your friends and family gathered together for you in the same place, all in the name of love. It was so magical. As cliché as it sounds, everything really does come together and on the day of the wedding some of my vendors remarked that I was the calmest bride they have ever seen! The actual ceremony was my favorite part. I loved walking down the aisle and meeting my fiancé at the end. We recently watched our homemade video of the ceremony and it brought me to tears. I love that we will be able to show that to our children someday.

Their Budget:
The most important thing to us was photography so we were willing to invest more on that then say, flowers or decor. We found husband and wife team Jagger Photography and they were a perfect match for us! We loved working with them and had an awesome time taking pictures on our wedding day. They were able to keep us on track schedule wise but also capture spontaneous and real pictures. Love that!

Photographer: Jagger Photography
Venue: World Trade Center Seattle
Makeup: Ryann Brady
Hair: Angalina Sandoval
Cake: Trophy Cupcakes
Caterer: World Trade Center Seattle
Coordinator: Mary Ellen Jilek
DJ: Otto Olson
Dress Designer: David’s Bridal
Flowers: Metropolitan Market West Seattle
Groom’s Attire: Macy’s
Officiant: Reverand Ray Van Winkle
Prop or Furniture Rentals: Vintage Ambiance
Etsy Wedding Vendors
Programs: sarahrusin | Date patch: hakrapennywhistle  | Jewelry jurgitahandmade &  luxedeluxe | Bridesmaid dresses: MoniRose Love sign: WilliamDohman

Mostly everything you see at this wedding was designed by the bride and groom with a little help from family and friends. Anna and Paul envisioned a unique, relaxed, “rustic romantic” day that incorporated some of their favorites: an outdoor ceremony, a barn, comfort food, sweet treats, live music, vintage finds, natural elements, and closest family & friends. It looks like they got exactly what they wanted and then some. This Rustic Wisconsin Wedding was photographed by The McCartneys Photography. To see more visit the full wedding gallery.

From Anna:

With a limited budget in our pocket, we prioritized pieces that were most important to us and trusted that our creative DIY touches would make up for the rest! Paul’s artistic & graphic skills soared in making all the paper goods. (He used the perfect font and made sure we consistently used it throughout. Even on his hand painted signs!) And my eye for detail and Martha-Stewart-love brought about many DIY projects that I truly enjoyed completing! Cost-friendly materials were found at rummages, Etsy, and local craft stores. (One of my favorites was the chandelier that sparkled above our heads during the ceremony. A simple $3 Goodwill find redone to shine!)
All of the natural and vintage elements that we incorporated in our day wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our family. Paul’s uncle and my brother and nephew were eager to stomp through the woods, gathering fallen branches and trees for our table décor. Paul’s aunt harvested her very own wheat for the ceremony décor! We scattered borrowed vintage crates, boxes, tables, mason jars and bottles throughout. And a friend’s Dad delivered a truckload of ferns to help soften and green-up the rustic venue. (SO grateful for our helpers!)

Photographer: The McCartneys Photography

Venue: The Family Farm Event Loft, Grafton, WI
Cake: Cupcakes & Pies: Better Sweet Bakery of Plymouth
Caterer: Three Guys & A Grill
DJ: Band – Jim & Mike Acoustic from Element 13, Milwaukee
Dress Designer: Blue by Enzoani from Kay’s Bridal Shop
Flowers: Marius Bell Floral & Events
Groom’s Attire: Calvin Klein from Macy’s, tie from The Dessy Group
Jewelry: J. Albrecht Designs, Boulder CO
Stationery: Invitations/Paper Goods: Designed By Bride & Groom
Veil or Hair Accessories: The Bridal Event of Appleton, WI
Photo Booth: Finishing Touch Photo Booth
Candy Sweets: Candy from Sam’s Club, Striped paper bags from In the Clear
Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Sung from Elegant Occasions
Bride’s Sequin Bolero: Anthropologie
Makeup: Looks Unlimited Salon
Hair: LA Salon & Spargo Salon & Spa, Pewaukee, WI

Love Bird Style sent over this super cute DIY Kentucky Shaker Wedding with some lovely handmade details. Basically everything from the programs to the hankies – all the way down to the pies – all diy projects.  Read on to hear more from the bride and enjoy these super cute photos take by Love is a big deal. By the way, how cute are the first look photos below…pretty darn cute. See more lovely photos in the full wedding gallery.

From Morgan, the bride:
The wedding programs were made by hand by my matron-of-honor.  They matched the airplanes that we tossed at the end of the ceremony, during our procession.  We wanted to incorporate Andrew’s career without overdoing the “pilot” theme.  After we picked the style of plane we wanted to create, it only took a few days of folding and gluing to have them complete!

Of course the biggest task was cutting all the fabric for the streamers.  I was lucky enough to find most of the fabric in clearance bins at local fabric shops.  I turned my parents dinning room into the fabric room.  The great thing about making the streamers was that they didn’t have to be perfect.  We didn’t worry about fraying edges since that just added to the homespun aesthetic. My goal was to create something one-of-a-kind and custom to our special day. The picture frames were spray painted and hung with airplane garland around the pie table. All the signs were handmade.  We also made the striped napkins out of fabric. 

Location: Shaker Tavern Bed and Breakfast
Photographer: Love is A Big Deal  
Design Services: Lovebird Style
Florist: Artisan Flowers
Videographer: West KY Video
Dress: Fraise by Pronovias
Groomsmen Ties: Kouture Crochet via etsy.com
Invitations: Blue Envelope via etsy.com
Flower Girl Dresses: Sparrow Hills on Etsy.com
Catering: Sister To Sister Catering and Split Tree BBQ
Lighting and Dj: One Shot Entertainment
Band: Roundabouts from Louisville, KY
Soloist: Shera Summerford
Hair and Make-up: Salon Panache and Spa
Wedding Coordinator: Jackie Riley

The boys played a Beatles tune as the couple had their recessional, hence all the musical instruments. The bride gave the groom that sweet vintage banjo as a gift. Loving the Jr. Bridesmaid’s white dresses and white Tomss way cute. See more of this Sodo Park Weddding from Sergio Mottola by clicking here.

Photographer: Sergio Mottola
Venue: Sodo Park
Caterer: Herban Feast
Coordinator: Solomon Events
DJ: Austin Beaver
Flowers: Kevin Bradford