Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Original post by maple_tea

Oct 04, 2005 03:15 PM

OK, finally got some pics up! There are a bunch of proofs on page 2, but I'll leave up the link to the sneak peek our photographer (Angelica Glass) made for us while we were waiting...This is it.

So…hi! I don’t post very often because we went with a nontraditional venue and did a lot of things ourselves, so I didn’t have much useful info to add to the threads about catering halls, florists, etc. But I often found other brides' reviews helpful for vendor advice (and love looking at all the beautiful photos) so I thought I’d post ours. Maybe some of the do-it-yourself info will be useful to other couples who are thinking of going that route, and I highly recommend most of the vendors we did use.

Invitations: DIY (paper ordered from paper-source.com)
I designed my invitations in Photoshop and printed them at home using paper from Paper-Source.com, who get an A for gorgeous paper kits at excellent prices—I made 100 invitations, including response cards and envelopes, for a grand total of $174.80. We used the Kinwashi Sheer Booklet Kit, a little booklet with a sheer handmade-paper overlay, tied with a twig at the top. People loved them (even DH’s poker buddies noticed and complimented them). As with pretty much every other DIY project we did, it took extra time and effort, but was not especially difficult (just time-consuming) and we finished with something unique and special to us.

Tips if you decide to do something like this: They don’t come in an assembled booklet—you need to print and cut each layer separately, and assemble them. It’s a little tricky to get them perfect but the paper kit comes with excellent directions. We used one of those sliding paper cutters rather than the ones with the arm that goes up and down, which helped a lot.

Venue: Smithtown Historical Society, A (smithtownhistorical.org)

We wanted something a little out of the ordinary so we decided to hold both our ceremony and reception at the Smithtown Historical Society. The ceremony was in a field on their 20-acre property and the reception was in their historic restored barn, the Frank Brush Barn.

Having the wedding here required a lot of work, but was worth it to us because we got exactly what we wanted, and had fun making all the decorations, etc.

Tips if you decide to do something like this: They do not provide catering or rentals, so you have to get these separately. We had to clean the barn ourselves before and after the wedding, make a lot of phone calls in the year before the wedding to get info and confirm details, and the Historical Society did not always get back to us right away (which is understandable, considering weddings are not exactly their main business). FM me if you want more details on what this entailed. But the atmosphere at the wedding made it all worth it, and many people commented on the beauty of the space.

My mom and I made all the decorations, and she, DH and the bridal party set them up the morning of the wedding.

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:16 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:21 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:26 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:28 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

teany Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:29 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Posted by maple_tea

thanks especially kimbermiller, itslaurie, and teany! I know you guys are going the indie/DIY route too...we should keep in touch!

Most definitely!

I love the rest of those photos! Everything looks so magical. I love how the colors come out in Angelica's pictures.

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:33 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

This first one is my brother and his girlfriend--I LOVE this shot... The next one is me dancing with my little sister...

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:38 AM

Re: Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

nicothy Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:53 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

congrats great REVIEW..... LOVE THE PIC'S

itslaurie. Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:58 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

now I am getting all girly and about my wedding.

these photos are so fab. You must be so entirely thrilled! There aren't good enough adjectives for these pics.

those whoopee cushions came out so great. I love the idea and the stamp is perfect!

The last photo of the two of you, with the dip and the veil - I love it. love it, love it. I love it.

Ok, I have to look at them again...

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 11:05 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Thanks! itslaurie, you're so great to say that! BTW, when I picked up the proofs last night Angelica mentioned you and said you were really nice...she's looking forward to your wedding...

kimbermiller Posted: Oct 06, 2005 11:18 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!

Kyle and I have to give Angelica a call! She is soooo fabulous! Well, I think she had easy subject matter of course! The wedding was beautiful!

frosty Posted: Oct 06, 2005 11:26 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Again, what a lovely wedding. You look so happy -- the pictures really captured the beauty and emotion of your day.

Congrats!

maple_tea Posted: Oct 06, 2005 11:43 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Thanks frosty! I am looking forward to seeing your photos and what you did with your wedding too!

CJStein Posted: Oct 06, 2005 10:21 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

You're wedding should seriously be featured in Martha! What a different, perfect venue! So different from anything I've seen. I love the pics. You were a beautiful bride. Congrats on your gorgeous day and your marriage!

JanuaryBride06 Posted: Oct 06, 2005 11:00 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Posted by CJStein

You're wedding should seriously be featured in Martha! What a different, perfect venue! So different from anything I've seen.

I second that.

The pictures are amazing. Congratulations.

KerriSteve Posted: Oct 08, 2005 03:12 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Wow... Everything looks beautiful! congrats!

sarahbelle Posted: Oct 08, 2005 07:37 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Your pictures are beautiful! You both look so happy - Congratulations!

gNi1125 Posted: Oct 08, 2005 09:05 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

The magic of your day is so evident in your pictures. Absolutely gorgeous!! All your hard work definitely paid off. Congrats!!

littlelostbride Posted: Oct 09, 2005 11:16 AM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Loved seeing your wedding and pics! You have great ideas! Everything looked beautiful! I love your wedding A LOT!! I'm thinking of doing something small and more like ourselves. Hope it comes out nice like yours!

wintergirl06 Posted: Oct 09, 2005 10:34 PM

Re: Now w/proofs on page 2~ Our DIY wedding! Smithtown Historical Society, Sept. 10

Thank you for your review on Kate (the minister from the UU Fellowship). My mom, sister, and I know her well, and we're really looking forward to having her preside over our ceremony.

Congratulations!!!!!