Rustic Handmade California Wedding

Happy Wednesday everyone! I don’t know about you, but I most definitely cannot WAIT for it be Fall! (Not that we actually have Fall here in Florida, but I consider anytime you can walk outside without breaking a sweat as good weather.) Well, it may still be summer weather in some places, but I have a little hint of Fall for you with today’s wedding from Jennifer Eileen Photography! With a gorgeous rustic style and some amazing handmade DIY details, this wedding was beautiful, intimate, and is sure to be full of some great ideas for your own weddings! The bride Heather is here sharing some of her wedding insight with us today- take it away Heather!

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

My sister and I did a lot of research online as it was a destination wedding, and focused on the venue and where our friends and families would stay first, that helped us narrow down our search.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

This will sound dumb but the moment I talked to the venue owners (3 Oaks Vineyard), I knew we were in good hands- they were wonderful. The venue was love at first site. It is hidden away and you would never know something so quaint was there. I felt the same with talking to Jennifer Eileen on the phone. It seemed as though we had known each for years- we just GOT each other. So I guess you could say we were looking for people that were very easy to deal with and willing to make our perfect wedding come true.

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

Casual, homemade, burlap. Not sure how to describe it really, but my family saved every glass food jar for months so that we could use 270 jars of all shapes and sizes on the tables filled with with flowers. We made the napkin rings, and every decoration and detail. I looked online to get ideas and see what kinds of things people were doing for their weddings, and then we just made our own.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing about our wedding was… well there was a lot really, but i think one of my favorites was that it was an outdoor venue. With no chance of moving everything indoors (as there was no place for that many people on location), at the last minute we had to rent a tent and it was breaking my heart to have to do it because I had always wanted to have my reception under the stars. But I have to say in the long run, the tent ended up being better than I thought. We hung chandelers from the top and it made our 115 person wedding seem like a quaint little gathering. I worried myself sick over that stupid tent ruining my plans and all it did was enhance the evening.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

I know everyone says it goes fast, but I have to say it again… It flies by and you have to just enjoy yourself and not worry. No one knows what is or isn’t supposed to happen, and for the most part no one even knows when something goes wrong…. just enjoy yourself. I lucked out in having a huge and very helpful family and could not have done it without them. Rain on the day before the wedding and having to wait for the last-minute tent put us WAY behind, but my big family showed up Saturday morning in full-force to make our dream wedding come true.

My last piece of advice is to get a wedding video. I was not wanting on, and my husband was, but I’m so so happy we had my uncle do one. There is so much stuff that you miss being the bride and groom- it’s awesome to go back and look at that day and see everything that happened.

Such wonderful handmade details, don’t you think? Like Heather said though, she had lots of help from her big family- and that’s what it takes to have a DIY wedding! Thank you for sharing your wedding insight with us Heather, and thank you to  Jennifer Eileen Photography for capturing all of the beautiful details!

What do you think of all of the rustic, handmade goodness in this wedding? Are any of you planning on creating handmade details for your own wedding? If so, what are you going to be making?

Vendors who made it all happen…

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Lauren

Founder & Editor at Every Last Detail

Lauren Grove is the editor and owner of Every Last Detail. A clueless bride-turned-wedding planner, Lauren uses her experiences and knowledge to educate and inspire brides all over the world.

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