Today I have a treat to share with you: an inspiring wedding done on a budget with so many amazing, memorable details. Even if you're not planning a wedding, I think their idea of creating a candy store of sweets would be so fun for any party (wait until you see!). The super cute couple you see above: meet Jessica and Matt. Jessica's sister, Liz, is one of my favorite people in the world. And so over time, I've gotten to know Jessica from family hikes through Big Sur, Liz's wedding, and visits to Seattle, the lovely laid-back city where Liz and Jessica both live. Jess and Matt got married in Seattle, too. From the typewriter guest book to the 100-year-old doors turned into a chuppah, I think this wedding is so one-of-a-kind cool. Here's Jessica on how they pulled together their big day (along with a few notes from me):
table numbers: For our tables numbers (see above), we came up with a timeline of our relationship, and chose one word to represent each event (meet, date, kiss, etc). Then we picked a simple image to represent each one. Our friend's friends are amazing artists and run a rad event planning company called the Adventure School. They're just getting started in weddings, so they were super reasonable. We gave them our concept, and they developed the decorations. The table number boxes above the table are basically made using the cheapest plywood you can buy that's cut and nailed into boxes. They painted the wood with house paint and then put the number on one side, the word on another, and the image on the third, and hung the table number boxes from the rafters over each table. Our space had really tall ceilings, so the table number decorations helped fill up the vertical space, and they looked super cool. And we printed the timeline in our program with a little explanation for each word. It was neat because family members and parents' friends who didn't know us very well got to see a condensed version of our love story.
candy store table for favors + seating cards: We made lollipops using a Martha Stewart recipe. Basically you just need a candy thermometer, and it is otherwise pretty simple and easy. A few tips: It's best to make the lollipops in batches the size of the Martha recipe, because otherwise the candy gets hard before you can pour it all out into lollies. And it takes longer than her recipe says it does for the candy to get all the way up to "hard crack" temperature — probably closer to 15-20 minutes. You have to wait for the candy to reach that temperature, otherwise they get all gooey.
We had so much fun making them together. We just went to the candy store and chose all sorts of stuff to stick in them — jelly beans, sprinkles, ju-jus, good n' plenties, whatever. People loved them, they did double-duty as favors and seating cards, and it cost almost nothing to make (just sugar, corn syrup, and candy.) And they looked really pretty. We ordered the cellophane wrappers online at one of the bazillion places that sell candy supplies. I bought all the jars and dishes at Goodwill for super cheap.
(And check out how the lollipops are propped up in scraps of wood from the table number boxes — looks fantastic and totally ties together the look!)
Another view of the amazing table numbers — I think this concept works so perfectly in the loft space that Jessica and Matt chose for their wedding.
Look at that cake!!! The fresh flowers are gorgeous and it just looks delicious. Wow.
Jess said their cake was made by Monkey Tree Bakery on Vashon Island: "They are so off the grid they don't even have a website. Best. Cake. Ever."
guest book: We borrowed a friend's old typewriter, made a roll of paper, and asked our guests to type on it for our guest book. Everybody thought it was super neat, and we got some really funny and memorable messages. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a roll of paper that is 8.5 inches wide. Other than fax paper (which doesn't work for typing) and rolls of dot matrix printer paper (which has those perforated tabs down the sides), it doesn't exist at your usual office or art supply store. So we made our own roll of paper by buying a roll of white butcher paper and using a power saw to cut it to size! (This was our event planner's idea.) We put out family wedding photos on the same table to dress it up.
Who knew it's so hard to find a roll of paper! Thanks for the tip, Jessica, as I want to steal this idea for a party at our apartment.
Jessica also shared that they had a camera hooked up to a projector at their wedding, and people passed the camera around and took photos, which were then projected onto the screen in real time. Jess and Matt got a disk of the photos at the end, which must be an incredible memento. A big thank you to Jessica and Matt for sharing their photos, ideas, and tips learned from their wedding!! I think they really thought outside of the box with their decorations (no pun intended!). Jessica and Matt, I wish you guys so much love and happiness — it's clear you two put your heart into your wedding. I am blown away by all the sweet details.
Details on the vendors they used in Seattle:
+ All of the fantastic photography is by Starr Samuelson.
+ Event planners: the Adventure School.
+ Caterer: Raving Radish (Jess said they were amazing, too.)
+ Flowers by Floressence.
+ Cake by Monkey Tree Bakery on Vashon Island.
Congratulations Jessica + Matt!
xo Jen
