Nadia and David were married in September at Meadowood Centre in Bellville, OH. The 1820’s barn sits on top of a hill in a woods and was the perfect place for their casual nuptials.
“By the time we were married, it had been 10 years since our first date”, Nadia explained. “This wedding was a long time coming, so we didn’t want to just pay to have everything thrown together without thought. It was important to us to make it really special, not only for each other, but for everyone who’s loved and supported us through the years. Everything had sentimental value. Whether your guests are aware of the stories behind every detail is insignificant; the important thing is that you remember your day as being hugely personal by every stretch of the imagination. It might take more effort, but if you give yourself enough time, it’s more fun than it is work. We spent time making sure every aspect of the day came from the heart, and doing anything from the heart is unique and inspiring.”
Nadia wore a BHLDN dress with jewellery from Etsy and a flower crown made from real blooms. Her bridesmaids all wore cream or white and she let them choose their own dresses. “We just wanted everything to feel natural and for our guests to have a good time”, she continued. “I think when you avoid colour schemes and trendy themes, your wedding will be timeless.”
“One of my favourite details was the rocking chairs. We wanted a way to honour David’s grandfather and uncle (father and son) whom have both passed away. His grandparents would sit on their front porch at any hour of the day or night in these beautiful, white rocking chairs. We took his grandfather’s cowboy hat and his uncle’s cowboy hat, hung one on each chair, and displayed them side by side. If we stripped everything else away and only had those two chairs and those two cowboy hats as wedding décor, it still would have been perfect. This was really special to us.”
The couple didn’t have a huge budget, they spent around $10,000. They were able to keep it below this by doing plenty of things themselves. “I ordered my bouquet from a local dahlia garden and the bridesmaid bouquets and all other flowers were ordered wholesale. I highly recommend ordering your flowers wholesale! They arrive promptly and you save so much money. Also, opening boxes of hundreds of roses is the prettiest thing ever. We used mason jars that we found in David’s grandmother’s basement as vases.”
“The stationery was also designed by me. I wasn’t angling to do that from the beginning; I was just in the right place at the right time when the light bulb lit. I was looking through a box of old linen postcards at a flea market and found one of a friend’s hometown. I was suddenly inspired to start hunting for postcards of places that hold significance to our guests to send with their invitations. Many of them were written on, stamped, and postmarked (one dated back to 1917). I had all the information printed on cardstock, used my sister’s cricket machine to cut those out into the shape of shipping tags, punched a hole in each postcard, and used some string to attach everything. This was the biggest DIY project of the wedding, and also the most fun. Sending them out felt like sending little treasures.”
“Other DIY projects included the chalkboard for the wedding program which was made from al old, ugly painting that we bought from Goodwill for $6! We also collected pinecones and spray painted them gold. We found an old wooden palette to use as one big food menu near the dinner buffet and the altar was constructed by David from an old wooden palette and wooden logs. DIY isn’t necessarily always cost effective, but we were very resourceful and thrifty, so in our case, it was. We asked our guests to RSVP online. We also had no florist, no planner, no band or professional DJ. A friend married us, friends and family made dessert… Just by being mindful of what we spent and borrowing things where we could kept us within in budget.”
