This gorgeous and love-filled wedding just FEELS so warm and cozy. With square-dancing, wish-trees, and an obvious love of all things fun, Jessica and Jeff ‘s wedding at the Wyman Center in Eureka, Missouri had us at “homemade pie.” Captured by the amazing Oldani Photography, this wedding is quickly becoming one of our favorites. Read more about the real wedding and their amazing DIY crafts, below. (P.S. I love a bride that shares all of her craft sources with us!!)
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More from Bride Jessica…
[Groom Jeff and I] have been friends for a long time, since about 1997 or so. We lost touch for a number of years and then unexpectedly ran into each other at a bar. We hadn’t seen each other for a good 8 or 9 years probably, and there was an instant attraction. We rekindled our friendship and it slowly turned romantic…We went to the Missouri Botanical Garden on our first date, and continue to visit frequently. We have ‘our bench’ there where we sat together on our first date and Jeff asked permission to put his arm around me, and so began our courtship. The day we got engaged was a random Sunday and Jeff asked if I wanted to go to the Garden. Once we got there, it started raining really hard – I guess it foiled his plan a little. So we took shelter in one of the indoor buildings and we could see ‘our bench’ out a window. I wasn’t really expecting anything and then all of a sudden he pulls out a ring. It was great! Jeff has a very kind and gentle spirit about him. He is a really sweet and sensitive guy with a huge heart. And he makes me laugh! We have so much fun together, all the time. He just makes life fun.
[Before the wedding ceremony], Jeff and I did a “first look” which was great, because we were able to relax together and calm our nerves.
I wanted to have the ceremony and reception all in one place for the sake of simplicity, and we wanted a venue with a relaxed and kind of old time, rustic feel.
On the DIY Projects:
I had a lot of fun gettin’ crafty! I have always loathed the traditional guest book and knew I wanted something more interesting. I saw a ‘wish tree’ on Pinterest and decided I could make one. I bought an old watering can at a flea market for about $20 and used branches from a Birch tree in our back yard. I stamped the wish cards with our initials and tied the hanger ribbons in our colors, then made a chalkboard sign so guests knew what to do with the cards. I think I made 5 or 6 small chalkboard signs, one for the wish tree, one for the bar, one as a ‘thank you’, one with the dinner menu, and one for the favors. I found unfinished chalkboards at JoAnn’s and used wood stain on the pine frames, and a chalk pen to write out the messages. That took about an afternoon to complete and cost around $30.
For my ‘something blue,’ I had my mom sew a heart-shaped piece of my deceased father’s old blue sweatshirt into the bodice of my dress. That idea was 100% Pinterest, and it was nice to have something of my dad’s with me, yet it was private at the same time since most of the guests didn’t know it was there. It was a special way to connect with my dad on that day.
I didn’t want to spend a lot on table decorations, I knew I wanted candles all around and flowers of some sort. I had family save all their glass jars of different sizes, plus I had quite a few old mason jars already. I did buy about 20 more mason jars on Craigslist for $20. I fell in love with the look of Babies Breath for flowers and it’s super affordable. I ordered it in bulk from Sam’s Club for about $100 and had more than enough. We just made simple bouquets in the jars and put candles in some of the other jars. I had tied jute bows around all the jars ahead of time. It was probably about $160 for all the table decorations.
[My mom] also made our heart shaped ring bearer pillow out of burlap and embroidered “Reed” and our wedding date onto it. It now sits in one of our living room chairs. I made some burlap and doily bunting/banners for the pie table, they only took a few hours to make. I ordered the doilies on Amazon as I couldn’t find vintage ones for an affordable price, they were around $25.
On those pies:
Pie is big in my family and several of us love to bake them. My original plan was to bake all the pies myself, but as the day approached I quickly realized there was no way I was going to be able to pull that off! My cousin, an uncle, an aunt, and a dear friend each made 2-3 pies to contribute and we ordered a few from our favorite pie shop in town. Having all the homemade pies was really special and helped make the day feel more relaxed. Everyone that made a pie said they thought it was really fun to contribute to our day, and it added to that old time feeling we were going for. For the pie table, I bought several glass cake stands (some new, some vintage) for around $100 total and borrowed a couple as well. I was also able to reuse some decorations my girlfriends had made for my shower – some tulle bunting which we hung around the fireplace, as well as a burlap “Let them Eat Pie” sign they had made for the shower.
On the wedding theme:
We’ve been square dancing for a few years and really enjoy it. When we were trying to come up with ideas for the day, I started asking our friends (most of whom don’t square dance) if they would be willing to participate in square dancing at the reception. A lot of people have an icky association of square dancing from middle school gym class, but everyone seemed intrigued by the idea. So, we went with it.
It was such a fun day and I loved so many moments. If I really had to choose a favorite though, I would say it was having our two friends, John and Rob, play and sing “Pecan Pie” by Wilco as we sliced into our pie and fed each other bites. It was a really sweet moment.
I really wanted was a group photo of us with all 61 of our guests. We did a serious one and a silly one, and our photographers did a fantastic job of making that happen.
[My advice to other brides is] to keep things simple. You can have an amazing day without spending a ton of money. Relax and have fun!
Bride and Groom Jessica and Jeff
Photos By Oldani Photography
Invitation Designer Neilly Design
Floral Designer True Lei Floral Design
Handmade Goods Peony Papeterie
Wedding Venue Wyman Center
Musicians Dugout Canoe and Downstream Duo
Veil and Headpieces Ruche
Baked Goods Pie Oh My
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