Vintage Bookworm Wedding: DIY Mountain Charm
Kandis and Dan's unique love story called for a wedding day meant to inviting their guests to jump straight into its pages as they embarked on a new chapter of their lives. From vintage books instead of bridesmaid bouquets, to a hardback themed wedding cake and decor, these two crafty bookworms created quite a page turner of a wedding that will leave you wanting more.
Nestled in the California mountains, Secluded Garden Estate provided a perfectly enchanting setting for Dan and Kandis to say 'I do.' If you can't get enough of this vintage bookworm wedding captured by Jenna Petersen, be sure to soak up all the fabulous details in the full gallery here.
From Jenna Petersen:Kandis's one-of-a-kind wedding gown was handmade by a close friend, Jennifer Sitchler, with Eden Couture Bridal. The special and sweet part was that Jennifer embroidered two patches on the inside of the dress to remember the day. She also handmade the veil and garter with the left over trim from the dress and one special piece of lace from Kandis's moms old wedding dress.
From the Bride:All ten bridesmaids received a vintage version of their favorite classic book that I hunted down within our engagement period, from Jayne Eyre to Huckleberry Finn, the books were just too cool! Inside them were personalized letters for each girl that they got to read when the day was over as a thank-you to them.
The groomsmen each received their very own, hand chosen, unique pocket watch to wear the day of. One of our groomsmen who was a younger gentlemen even got his mini pocket watch. With all of the pocket watches different it was a personal touch to the groomsmen from their close friend, the groom.
As excessive book lovers, vintage enthusiasts and huge fans of DIY, to stay on budget of course, we got to work right away on our vision for our wedding within our five month engagement. With many, many details in mind our venue Secluded Garden Estate made it easy to see our vision played out at this rustic little venue on a privately owned property that was very romantic and dreamy.
How adorable is this burlap banner that says Time To Tie The Knot? Such a fun and memorable keepsake piece as well.
In efforts to create something unique, and use our resources to up-cycle, it excited my mother beyond belief to begin crafting and coming up with ideas that you would not see elsewhere. For the wedding decorations, from the ceremony sight to the guest table, gift table, cove, and reception area almost everything you get a peek at was handmade.
My advice to future brides, you will have to come across things you will have to be flexible on. For me I just saw it as an opportunity to fall in love with new ideas to execute and then you wont have to wish you would have done anything different. Our wedding was more perfect for us then we could have ever imagined.
You simply must watch the entire video from Logan Guthrie. A breathtaking and memorable wedding film that we could watch over and over.
http://vimeo.com/loganguthrie/marinowedding
Read on to see how much this vintage bookworm wedding cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
Our Budget was $12,000 and we hit it right on the dot! The majority of our budget went to the vendors.
Vendors (not including the dress): $9,000
Supplies for decor/accessories/outfits/shoes/dress etc... : $3,000
So really we saved a lot of money by having a DIY up-cycled wedding, it was time consuming, especially in a 5 month engagement period but it was VERY worth it.
- Bridal Bouquet and Groom's Boutonniere: Curious Crafts
- Cinematography: Logan Guthrie
- Hair: Acappella
- Makeup: Raeleen Babbel
- Officiant: Antioch
- Photographer: Jenna Petersen
- Shoe Designer: Justin Boots
- Venue: Secluded Garden Estate