My handmade wedding

 

It took him 4,5 years to pop the question. It took us 6,5 months to make it happen!

This is the story of my wedding…

It was the sunny morning of New Years Eve 2016, that he decided to be the day. We woke up, ate breakfast and curled on the couch to enjoy a nice lazy morning. At some point, I noticed a weird-looking ornament on the Christmas tree. I got up and went to have a closer look. My suspicions grew as I was staring at that purple, crochet, cocoon-like shape. He finally got up and said, “Open it!”.

After that, things are kind of a blur, in my memory. I think he said “Will you marry me?”, but I was already crying, so forgive me if I don’t remember the details… He could have said nothing at all and I would still be crying!

He actually made me a purple crochet cocoon, to hide our wedding rings inside. With his beginner crochet skills and the little time he had when I was at work. What if it was meant to be a ball and I would have to frog it (!), to get to the rings? It was purple -my favorite color- and crochet, made by him! I would have loved it anyway!

The rings were wooden, handcrafted by a local artisan. Gold is definitely not my thing!

Around mid-February, we decided we wanted the ceremony would take place in the summer of the same year, preferably around July. We didn’t know exactly what we wanted, but we knew the things we didn’t want, and that made it a lot easier.

I am not the kind of person that planned her wedding from when I was a little girl. Exactly the opposite I would say… I have never thought what my wedding dress would look like, where the ceremony would take place, what song we would dance, or anything like that.

But I already knew all the things I didn’t want. I didn’t want a big fancy wedding, in a big church, with lots of guests. I hated glitter and all shiny things, on a dress or anywhere else. Not a fan of tight schedules or should do’s, either.

On the same path

I am lucky that we both wanted the same things and planned the wedding together, as something that would work for us and not by-the-book. We decided to get married in a church, in a village nearby and have the wedding reception in the most beautiful fish-village, in a tavern, on the sand, by the sea.

That worked great for us -especially me- for a number of reasons. Besides the obvious (fantastic view, open space, no shoes) it was space limited -just enough space for close friends and family- and it didn’t have a dance floor! If you knew me, even a bit, you know that I hate closed, crowded spaces, full of smoke, being the center of attention and dancing when I don’t feel like it. So, yeah for me! Plus, we love that place! This is the place that we had our first getaway together and we return every summer after that.

All the pretty things

As a maker now, I love all things handmade. I made a lot of things for our wedding, from flowers for the wedding favors to our wedding crowns and the case to store them afterward. Anything that I could make with my hands, I did. I didn’t make my wedding dress but I loved the one I wore and wouldn’t change that!

Well, first of all, my husband made the cutest invitation (he is a graphic designer) and I made 400 little flowers, in two different colors, and glued them on the little paper pursues that we had as our wedding favors.

Next, we made our wedding crowns, with some wire and lace.  Loved the romantic outcome.

One of my favorite things was the crown case. I saw it on a friend’s wedding and just have to have it!

I made one using embroidery hoops, lace, and burlap. Then, just added a little clasp to close properly, and there is my little box!

The next thing I had fun designing was my heart ring pillow. I know that are many patterns out there for hearts, but none of them were what I had in mind. First I found the cotton yarn I wanted to work with and then, after a few trial and error, there it was! My perfect heart! Just big enough to fit in my palms. I added some burlap and cotton lace, to make it even prettier and a little tie for the rings.

The tradition says that when the couple gets out of the church, people throw rice at them, in order to “develop roots and stay together”. So I needed two nice rustic baskets for rice. I crocheted those with jute and lined them with cotton fabric.  Added at the end the cotton lace ribbon that went in just about anything in my wedding decoration.

As I said, the wedding party took place on the beach, so… barefoot sandals it is! My inspiration for those was a pic I found online and could not find a pattern, so I wrote one!

I also made a few jars with cotton lace ribbon and burlap and some paper pom poms, to decorate my parent’s house, where close friends and family would gather to accompany me to the wedding.

I also made 2 dreamcatchers with embroidery hoops and cotton lace again, which now hang in our bedroom and add a nice romantic touch.

 

And look at these tiny hearts on sticks! Aren’t they just lovely?  I made them using one of my one patterns again and cotton yarn in the colors of our wedding.

And for last, I couldn’t help but add my wedding bouquet, made by @comme_ca_by_ioulietta, which I absolutely adored!

And… this is us!

All of my wedding photos are by @k_art_photographer,  www.konstantinosart.gr.

And that was the story of my wedding and all the things I made by hand for the occasion. Hope you had fun reading it!