A Rustic Wedding---the DIY Details

Hey!  Remember me?   Of course, I know that YOU know why I've been absentee for a while, but I'm back!  With lots of news and lots of pictures!    So, I might as well get started with the best part---I got married!   April 13, 2013 at 10:00 in the morning.  Despite some questionable weather earlier in the week, we woke up to perfect weather Saturday morning.  In fact the whole day was perfect!!  Surrounded by our families and our very closest friends, Ron and I got married and we couldn't be happier!!

Of course, there were lots of DIY elements--it just wouldn't have been "ours" if there hadn't been.  The Red River Wildlife Refuge had become a special place to us, as we love walking the trails and picnicking there, so it just seemed like the right spot.  You can't reserve the place, so we knew that we would be taking somewhat of a chance as far as having other visitors wandering through, but, it seemed worth the risk (and it was).

When making plans to have the ceremony there, we decided first of all that the wooden benches they have scattered throughout the grounds would be great for seating.  Knowing that we couldn't drag enough from around the lake for our event, Ron and I decided to make some ourselves to add to the ones that would be readily available.

A good test of your relationship is definitely to embark on a DIY project together.  We quickly learned that we have very different ways of "seeing things"----I am very visual and can picture it all in my head as well as sketch it out while Ron is very analytical.  I draw a picture and set to work, knowing exactly what needs to be done---he measures angles and distances and needs to see the actual product.  Sooo, after I sketched things out and drew a pattern for the angles, we took another trip out to the refuge to measure the angles and be sure things were correct, then set to work.






In the end, we made 9 benches and they turned out great!!!

After the ceremony, we kept a couple benches for ourselves,  and left the rest there for the refuge to use.

Having an amazingly talented graphic designing daughter has certainly come in handy more than once.  This time, I was able to give her some images that Ron and I liked for invitations, along with some personal "tweeks" that we wanted and Jana came up with invitations that were absolutely perfect!  I mounted them on kraft paper cardstock and lined the envelopes with scrapbook paper.


I LOVE the way they turned out---they were just right for the "rustic/vintage" vibe I was going for.


Even Ron got in on helping to put things together, but cutting all the lace for me.

Another "paper design" Jana prepared for me were tiny mint packets---she, Callie and Tyler put them together for us the night before.

As guests arrived at the Refuge, they were greeted with a sign that we made from an old pallet I had laying around.


I also made a garden flag from burlap and trimmed it with a calico binding, using a freezer paper stencil and paint to add a monogram.


For the guest book table, we needed something somewhat portable that could be transported from the ceremony site to the reception site without too much trouble.  I whipped up a burlap table cover and then a small calico "topper" trimmed with lace from the invitations.


Ron drilled a couple of holes in a wood slice to use as the pen holder.  

My good friend, Vickie of Young Blooms, supplied the flowers for the festivities.   I wanted something to serve as a backdrop for the altar area and she came up with the arch you see below.  She used PVC pipe and branches from a shrub in her yard and wove some of the burlap, lace and calico strips into the design.  She assembled it the evening before with Dan steadying the stool that she and Peggy stood on.

It was perfect!


Wonderful friends hosted the reception/brunch that followed the ceremony.  They provided the food--I provided the decorations.  I found inspiration in a few pins on Pinterest and set to work.

I persuaded Ron, Jordan and Kirk to cut up some logs for decorations and I used my brand new wood-burning tool to add some embellishments and we had a cake stand and table decorations.

For the tables, I made burlap and lace runners, cut some circles of various sizes from calico fabrics I had on hand and added a crocheted doily on each table, along with a few glass bottles left from Callie's wedding.   Vickie filled them with flowers and we used small doilies as "coasters".





I also made burlap and lace flatware pockets---I love them!


Our reception site didn't allow us to throw anything such as rice or birdseed, so I looked for other options to celebrate our exit.  When I visited Valine the weekend before the wedding, she helped me combine dowel rods, jingle bells, strips of calico and lace to make the wands that our guests waved as we left the reception.

A
All of these elements helped to personalize our wedding celebration, not to mention how much money it saved.

The Refuge

Sunday was another beautiful day that felt more like Spring than Winter, although I guess this IS the way Winter feels in Shreveport at times.   After church, we changed clothes and took Joy out to the Wildlife Refuge.  It was her first real outing and she was a little skittish at first, preferring to peek out at the ducks from between Ron's legs.

But, once we began walking, she really enjoyed it.

Naturally, there were beautiful birds to be seen.  In fact, there were more cardinals that day than I think I have ever seen in one place.

It's always fun to look for tracks of deer, raccoons and other wildlife, and evidence that a beaver had been nearby.

This is the first time we've run across this sort of "souvenir".  I don't know what small animal met his demise here, but I'm sure it was a human species that left it perched in a tree.

While I took my Nikon, I had forgotten to charge the battery, so I didn't get pictures of the bluebirds that were flitting around, but we were able to get a few "selfies" with our cell phones.

After walking for about 2 miles, we decided to head back and Joy decided that the trip back was best done in someone's arms.

Exploring the Refuge

Wednesday evening, after work, Ron and I decided to check out the Red River Wildlife Refuge we'd recently heard about.  Located just over the Jimmy Davis bridge, I can't believe that I never even knew this place existed.  Of course, until recently, it was just donated land.  But it now boasts a beautiful new visitor's center



and a small lake  that was filled with cypress trees and birds.







We were the only visitors that evening and it was so peaceful and pretty.  The mosquitoes were thick, but so were the dragon flies.









There were even some frogs and turtles.



And as the sun began to set, the trees across the lake began to fill with white egrets.





We sat on the porch in rocking chairs for a while and just watched and then visited with the Center's volunteer, Nancy.  It was really nice and we plan to go back to check out the 7 miles of hiking trails around the lake.



On the way back, we decided to stop back by the movie set to see what was going on.  Filming in that location is now over, so we parked and got out to take a few pictures.





Being up on the decking brought out a security guard, who yelled to me with a laugh---"Keep shooting until I get there"!  He was really nice and explained that we could take as many pictures as possible as long as we didn't step onto the property.



As we turned to go, this beautiful sunset was ablaze in the sky.  So pretty!!