Last week, as I was thinking about this week’s Wedding Wednesday, I just drew a blank.  I felt so un-creative! As I was complaining about my inability to decide on a fun post, my dear friend Jessie Smith suggested that I interview a past bride! Brilliant!  So I interviewed Lauryn! Lauryn and Jared were married June 5th, 2009 in Ashland, VA. I know some of you absolutely ADORED this wedding and you would love it even more if you knew Jared and Lauryn! They are such an amazing couple and there wedding was such a turning point for me and my business!

Lauryn’s attention to detail and her ability to work with a small budget just amazed  me! I could go on and on about the details but I will let you hear from her! Ps. Lauryn has just recently launched her own photography business so check out her blog!

Meet Lauryn!

1. Did you have a theme for your wedding? How did you decide on your theme?

Every time I thought of a theme, the word that came to me was: homemade.  I wanted everything to feel very hand crafted and home made.  I wanted the feel of the wedding to be family oriented.  I dont know if that counts as a theme, but that was what I kept in mind every time I made a decision.

2. How did you decide on your colors?

Going into wedding planning, I didn’t have two or three colors picked out.  I was just looking for spring-y colors.  Once I had picked out a dress and fabric, I picked the color I like best which was a bright cheery green.  The navy I chose because I wanted something that the boys could easily coordinate with.  So once the dresses were picked out, I got ribbon, table cloths, twine, lots of random pretty vases and jars, and some moraccan lanterns and pieced it all together.  I didnt want anything to be very matchy matchy.

3. What was your biggest money saver?

Im not sure what the biggest money saver was.  We did EVERYTHING to keep the cost super low.  The most expensive part was my dress.  I think having a band that was a friend of the family play for free was a huge saving.  Also we decided to just have some fruit, vegetable, and cheese plates and pie.  We had the ceremony start at 7 so people would know to eat before hand.  That saved us alot.  And our venue! If it hadnt been pouring down rain the day of the wedding and the day before-it would have been so so gorgeous.  Ashland Berry Farm charges $2.00 per person.  We had about 80 people total, so we paid $160.00 for the ceremony and reception spaces.  The farm has a landscaping business, so they have gardens and trees and all kinds of pretty things all over for client meetings.  My matron of honor, a bridesmaid and I did all the flowers and bouts.  We got them all wholesale from two local vendors, Ukrops and Vogue.

4. Where did you get your inspiration for all of your DIY details??

My inspiration came from tons of hours spent online and my inspiration binder that was bursting full of images.  I knew I wanted a mixture of things that went well together and looked homemade.  Nothing fancy or matching.  We used big mason jars, thrift store finds, vases we already had, jugs, and some lanterns I got online.  We used twine to keep things natural and raw, and blue and green ribbon tied around the mason jars to bring in the colors from the girls dresses.  It was too windy and wet to light all the tea lights, but it would have looked very romantic.  I also went with cheaper flowers in colors that I liked.  White daisy’s, white hydrangea, and some special flowers for me.  I had pink peonies.  I love white!!  Oh! and the bouts were made from rosemary.  I saw that on some wedding blog and went with it.  The boys smelled great.

5. What would you tell a bride that is afraid to think “outside of the box”?

I would say to someone who is afraid to think out of the box for WHATEVER reason-family, money, not doing it right, etc…that if you just try, you will appreciate it so much later.  No one else will have a wedding like yours. And it will feel so much more special to you because you took the time to think about what you really wanted.  Instead of choosing traditional flowers for this, traditional centerpieces for that, the standard processional-why not pick your favorite flower?  Who cares if its the yellow blooms of mustard plant? I promise it will make it way more meaningful to you.

6. Advice! Any advice you would have for new brides!?

My biggest advice:  Do what YOU want.  Seriously, if you don’t, you will regret it later.  Want to wear a short dress and hot pink shoes? Please do that! Your photographer will love you.  Don’t want dancing?  Have a lovely sit down dinner instead.  Don’t want to invite everyone under the sun?  Invite those who mean the most to you.  No matter what anyone is saying.  I know you have to allow some room for those contributing financially and your parents who have waited your whole life for this, but if you’re happy-they will be too.  I know everyone says this, but its your day.  You and your fiance.  Take the time to really put yourselves into it, and you will never have to say, “Oh I wish we had just done this instead.”

7. What do you LOVE most about being a wife!?

I love taking care of Jared.  I love to make him dinner, grab him a blanket, bring him something to drink, or hold his hand when he is tired.  It makes my heart swell so much when I get to do something for him.  He is incredibly patient with me and so much fun-I am so happy that I can do something for him too.  He takes care of me in so many ways.  He does the laundry ladies! And the dishes.  Its great to have the balance that we do.

Take a look at the details from their big day!

Lauryn and Jared also opted for a “First Look”! This was a HUGE time saver and almost ALL of my favorite portraits of the two of them were shot during this time before the ceremony! I would recommend it to ANYONE and I know Lauryn would too!

Thank you Lauryn!  I love you to death! xoxo