fbpx

The Makerista

I'm Gwen, a modern traditionalist who isn't afraid of color. Kansas City.

A Pre-Pinterest Wedding: The Unconventionally Classic Affair

Phew, what a week it’s been!  September is a month of celebrating for us, filled with many birthdays and anniversaries.  My son’s birthday, my birthday, and our anniversary are all within 6 days of each other.  Today is Micah and my 5th anniversary.  It is true what they say: it has gone so fast, yet it feels like we’ve been married forever.  I am very blessed to have Micah in my life as a partner, spouse, father of our children, and friend.  He is one of the few people who can get me to relax, bring me back to reality, and he isn’t phased or frightened by my crazy.  🙂

5 years ago I got wedding inspriation by picking up several magazines, spending way too much time on marthastewartweddings.com, and visiting shows like Bridal Spectacular.  I’ve thought about what it would be like to plan a wedding with Pinterest at hand, and I certainly have mixed feelings about it.  The chance to have so many ideas and resources at your fingertips would be wonderful, but there is something beautiful about an event forming organically too.

Many of the ideas I had for our wedding were just a thought that popped into my head…the color scheme from a favorite dress of mine, the paper flowers after seeing a paper flower in a store, mixing the bridesmaids’ dresses and colors because I myself never loved the idea of looking just like someone else.  We had gold straws because I really liked to drink out of them, not because it seemed like that was what everyone else was doing.  I didn’t have the pressure of putting together something “Pinterest-worthy,” and I also didn’t have to deal with everyone and their uncle saying “Oh I love this, did you see it on Pinterest?!?”
Micah and I were married and celebrated at The Loose Mansion in Kansas City on a beautiful Friday evening.  

My mom and I spent HOURS making paper flowers for the event: about 500 I believe, in all different shapes and sizes.  It was painstakingly fun, and I have really fond memories of the time we spent doing it.

I wanted a really small veil, a hint of a veil, but nothing I had to fuss with.  It’s amazing how much things with “wedding” in their description can cost, and most of the headpieces I found that I liked were in the hundreds of dollars.  I ended up buying an old pillbox hat at a thrift store and ripping the french netting off of it.  My hairdresser helped me pin the netting into place.

Along with the paper flowers, my dad cut some plywood into squares and my mom and I covered them with batting and fabric.  For very little money, this helped ground the centerpieces and give them a bigger presence.  

I tried to go really classic with my overall look in the hopes that 30 years from now I won’t laugh at the way I looked on my wedding day.  To jazz up our flower girl, Kennedy’s, store-bought white dress my grandma made an over-skirt of gold with a red sash. 

Micah’s Aunt Lesa made the adorable ring box.  

The ceremony was intimate, with about 30 family members, but the reception was a bigger affair with around 250.  It’s been my experience that most people don’t care to see you get married, they just want to see what everyone is wearing and have a piece of wedding cake. 🙂  We had an hour in between the ceremony and the cocktail hour, and it was really nice to get a chance to relax with family and very close friends before things got crazy.

Having our wedding at the mansion was like having a party in someone’s home.  I loved how crowded and full of energy certain areas felt, yet you could sneak away to more quiet spaces if you needed to.  I think people lingered longer because of this and even with our DJ spinning on the top level, my older relatives could comfortably socialize in different rooms of the home.

One of the biggest and my favorite investments was our DJ, Mike Scott.  Getting a club DJ took the reception to another level.  No cheesy talking, no time in between songs for people to scamper off the dance floor – Mike was incredible and memorable.   

Happy Anniversary, Micah!  I look forward to celebrating many more with you!

I was honored to be featured on Love on Sunday today!  You can check out some info on our second hand dining table here.  If you’re visiting from Amy’s blog, welcome!  Thank you for stopping by and feel free to check out my home here.  

Photography by Myndi Pressly + Ashley Farley


Keep on reading...
BULLET POINTS XIII
Making it Work: Updating Thrifted Art
Our Colorful Tree + The Start of a New Project

Comments

  4. Amy D says

    Gwen, Happy Anniversary!

    You are such a gorgeous bride. And your wedding looks spectacular, I love the venue and the personal touches, especially those paper flowers! This is perfect inspiration for me since I JUST picked my reception venue last night 🙂

    Thanks so much for taking part in my thrifted thursday today. Loving your dining set 🙂

    Amy ~ LoveOnSunday

    • themakerista@gmail.com says

      Oh, thanks Amy! I look forward to seeing details from your wedding, I'm sure it will be just lovely! And congrats on picking the venue! That's a big step!

      Thank you so much for featuring me on your blog yesterday! I really appreciate it!

  7. Raphaela Bazalgette says

    Im so happy to finally see your wedding pics! When I was planning my wedding this summer, I actually raided your FB profile for ideas 🙂 Ah, and your wedding was beyond gorgeous,, and the HAIR! Just fabulous. I totally hear you about the Pinterest planning thing. It put me in a tail spin with ideas which was a blessing and a curse. I ended up making all of my own decorations much like yourself! Paper flowers, pinwheels, and coffee-filter puff balls everywhere! It was only a 3 month engagement so I had to put the pedal to the metal! My husband (fiancee at the time) thought I was nuts but I'll never forget the times he would look at me fondly, in the midst of my craft induced disaster area which was once a living room, and tell me how happy he was. DIY was initially intended for money-saving but I had no idea how many unforgettable memories would develop in the making.

    • themakerista@gmail.com says

      Thanks awesome, lady! Yes, you didn't have much time, but I think that can be best. You don't have time to stew over decisions or add unnecessary things. That's a sweet moment with you and your husband…sounds like you're a good match. 🙂 I totally agree, DIYing is totally worth it! Thanks for reading and sharing!

  9. Diana @ frontyardfoodie says

    I am in LOVE with the Loose Mansion! Good memories attending weddings there, dancing, socializing and crying (happy tears of course).

    Happy Anniversary, September is definitely an amazing month to celebrate.

  11. Rachel Blanchard says

    What a beautiful wedding! What's funny is that when I got engaged, I stopped looking at Pinterest for wedding "inspiration." I definitely didn't want people walking in and immediately thinking everything was from Pinterest. It was so nice considering everyone else's weddings look the same 😉 It can also be insanely overwhelming if you're actually planning a wedding instead of just browsing for fun!

  12. Jesse @ Scout & Nimble says

    Congratulations and happy anniversary! Your wedding day photos look straight out of a magazine…you both look gorgeous! Your make-up and those red lips…ah-mazing. Loved all the personal touches, too…I couldn't agree with you more about Pinterest. I totally have a love hate relationship with that guy…so much pressure now with parties and events 😉

  13. Autumn Beach says

    Wow! Everything was just beautiful…including YOU. Gorgeous! LOVE your dress and your VEIL and the gold straws. Yep, pretty much everything. Definitely Pin-worthy in a pre-Pin era. Thanks so much for sharing and happy anniversary!