Today’s Real Wedding features a true collaboration between a bride and her groom. Kelsie and Andrew knew they wanted a wedding that truly reflected who they are, so they opted to take on several DIY projects together. They shopped around for objects they loved, spent hours painting signs and found ways to add several personal touches to their day. They even hosted their reception in the very spot where Andrew proposed – her parents’ backyard! We love the laid back feel of this event and we especially love the nod to all the people and the places that are important to them. Photographers Jeremy & Kristin were on-hand to perfectly capture the couple’s story and highlight everything that made this wedding so personal and oh-so-fun!
Who, What, Where ~ Ceremony: Mabery Gelvin Botanical Gardens. Reception: Bride’s parents’ backyard. Dress: Adore bridal. Photographer: Jeremy & Kristin. Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Ruche. Flower Girls’ Dresses: Cassie’s Closet. Catering: Bandana’s. Flowers: Fleur.
From the bride, Kelsie…
Andrew and I attended Millikin University as music majors together, and it wasn’t until the end of our Junior year that we took notice of each other and began talking. Throughout our relationship Andrew would show up at my door with sunflowers often (because he knew it was my favorite flower), and we would trot off together having the best of times biking on trails, walking around nearby parks and cities, or just laying on the beach by the local lake. Needless to say much of our time falling in love was spent in the beautiful outdoors together and it was perfect! It came as no surprise to me that he choose to propose to me on the hammock in my parents backyard after a walk in their beautiful downtown historic neighborhood. He wrote me the most beautiful acrostic poem that spelled my name, and after reading it asked me to marry him.
When we started planning our wedding we tried to made sure all along that it would be fun and comfortable for all of our guests. We didn’t want to have a stuffy banquet hall, we wanted to have fresh air and a laid back atmosphere. We choose to have our wedding ceremony at the Mabery Gelvin Botanical Gardens in Mahomet Illinois, and it only seemed fitting to have our reception in my parents huge beautiful backyard. Although I don’t think our wedding had much of a theme, we seemed to stick mostly to the DIY vintage style for most of it. My original plan was to wear my grandmother’s handmade wedding dress from the 1930′s, but I could not stand the thought of cutting and altering it in order to make it fit properly. I also decided to have different styles and colors for the bridesmaids and our lovely flower girls.
Andrew and I wanted to make sure that people could see “Us” in all of our wedding day, so we decided to put a lot of DIY touches and projects into our day. We spent countless hours together painting signs for our reception, going to all the local thrift stores, and antique stores buying all the hankies, doilies, and various sizes of flower vases we could find.
Our flowers were arranged by Fleur in Bloomington Illinois. They were amazing and were JUST what I imagined for my wedding day. Since Andrew and I have such a history and love of sunflowers, it seemed fitting that they were the main flower of our day.
Special moments of my day were having my grandmother there to present me with her beautiful white gold and tanzanite necklace. It was such a special moment to share with her, and I will never forget it. I also had the privilege of honoring my grandfather who had passed away the week before our wedding. I had a charm placed on my bouquet with his picture on it, and I also presented an orange lilly (his favorite flower) to my mother who placed it on the chair he would have been sitting in. Having our wedding party place hands on us for the closing prayer at our ceremony was definitely a powerful and touching moment from our day.
My favorite moment of the day was walking out and seeing my Andrew waiting for me on the other side of the bridge. I knew that once I was holding his hands I would be his forever, and THAT was the best feeling a girl could ever have.
