elizabeth

What can we say about this beautiful wedding that you are about to see? Filled with love. A beautiful and beaming bride. A happy and handsome groom. Filled with tons of little details. SUCH a beautiful setting. Happiness just shines through these gorgeous photos and we couldn’t be happier to show you all the beauty that is Elizabeth and Trevor’s wedding. Sigh, this is what weddings are all about – making it your own, enjoying every moment, and love, love, love! Elizabeth was the sweetest bride and we remember her very first visit to TWD when she was so surprised to find her dress! Her mother and sisters were so sweet, and tears were shed by all once Elizabeth donned her beautiful dress. The experience was made even sweeter when the headpiece worn by her grandmother was hand-delivered to the shop by her Dad in that very same appointment – it was a perfect match for Elizabeth and really complimented the dress she fell in love with. Ok, I am sure we could continue our swooning and adoration of Elizabeth and this gorgeous wedding, but why don’t we just let you see how beautiful it was for yourself. As such, let’s commence this month’s Bride of the Month! Oh, and we must give credit to the fabulous gal who captured these photos – Kristeen Marie Photography.

{Meet Elizabeth.}

Let’s start at the very beginning, how did you meet your husband?

Trevor and I were camp counselors at the same camp (Showchoir Camps of America in Tiffin, Ohio). He was late to our first counselor meeting and I was totally judging him for it, but he sat down right next to me and explained that he was late because he had flown in from Israel that same day, so I cut him some slack. He also impressed me with his bowling skills (he can do this backward-through-the-legs thing and get a strike!) and by the end of the week we were head-over-heels in love and decided to make a long distance relationship work. He lived in Tecumseh and I lived near Indianapolis, but we moved to Brighton after we got engaged.

{Such a sweet moment. We are already teary-eyed and it’s the first photo…}

{Could they be more in love?!}

Alright, the big question we ask everyone… how did you know your “white dress” was the one?

I thought I knew exactly what I wanted in a wedding dress. I wanted tea length, lace, an interesting back, and God forbid there should be any “bling-bling” anywhere on it. When I came in to TWD (the first time I had ever looked for dresses) those are the things I tried on and they were all lovely , beautiful and flattering, but none of them felt like “the dress”. Then I tried one on that I was positive was it. I had pinned it on Pinterest and it had pockets, it wasn’t tea length, it didn’t have an interesting back and it was poufier than I thought I wanted, but I loved it in pictures. It was a bit over budget, but my mom told me to go ahead and try it on anyway and that she would find something to hate about it. Needless to say, we didn’t hate anything about it, but as I walked back into the dressing room to put the dress into the “maybe” pile, the last thing my mom said to me was “is it heavy?” I then realized that I could not wear such a heavy dress outdoors in the middle of July.

The next dress I tried on was my “white dress”. I knew it from the second I stepped in and pulled it up and I hadn’t even looked in the mirror yet. It was light and airy and I could envision it blowing in the wind. We zipped it up and I was crying before I stepped out of the dressing room.

The final “AH-HA” moment was my headpiece. Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted to wear my grandmother’s headpiece on my wedding day, but it wasn’t preserved and it had gone from a white to a yellowy color. I knew if I was going to wear it, I would have to choose the dress around it and, of course, we forgot the headpiece before we left my apartment. Thankfully, Super Dad saved the day and brought it to the shop. I tried it on while still in my “white dress”, said the words “I look like a fairy princess”, and I was sold! It was nothing like I had imagined, but was everything I had wanted.

{Elizabeth’s “white dress”.}

{The bling-bling that Elizabeth thought she didn’t want! A beautiful detail that ended being perfect for her.}

{Pretty wedding shoes. And…comfortable!}

{Elizabeth helps her flower girl into her floral crown.}

{So, so adorable! We need more tissue…}

{A special heart sewn on by Elizabeth’s TWD tailor in honor of Dad.}

{Getting wedding day ready as mom and sis watch.}

{Getting in the dress!}

{The beautiful heirloom headpiece – her Grandmother wore this on her wedding day too!}

{The finishing touches.}

{A special moment between Dad and daughther.}

{Three generations wearing their symbol of love.}

{The lovely bridal party.}

Did you do any DIY projects for your wedding? If so, what was your favorite?

I did a TON of DIY for the wedding. A fair amount of it my husband and I did completely by ourselves, but we did enlist some help for the bigger projects and it turned out to be a great decision. Our stamp was on everything, from the hand painted wood pallet signs and the vintage book centerpieces to creating the book filled, tree branch ceremony arch. However, my absolute favorite project, which makes me sound like an old lady… My grandmother (who’s headpiece I wore) and my great-grandmother, both of whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting, could crochet. Coincidentally, I had taken up the hobby several years ago before I knew this information. For awhile I stuck to blankets, scarves and headbands, but after I had discovered a ton of table runners and doilies that were hand crocheted by my great-grandmother, I decided to take it upon myself to crochet a doily for every single table at the reception. It was a gigantic project, and I was working on them up until a week before the wedding, but it was such a labor of love. They were absolutely beautiful (people didn’t believe that I had actually made them by hand!) and making them helped me feel connected to a side of my family I never really got to know. Now I have a huge set of doilies that I can attach together to make a bed spread for our bed (or wrap a newborn in… eventually 😉 ).

{Elizabeth and Trevor “saved seats” for those that couldn’t be with them physically, symbolizing that they were with them in spirit.}

{A unique idea for the ring bear “pillow”.}

{Three of our DIY loves all together – lace, burlap, mason jars. Adorable!}

{Honoring loved ones.}

{Beautiful little details near the buffet table.}

{The groom’s boutonniere.}

{A beautiful table setting.}

{The engagement ring and wedding bands.}

{That gorgeous bouquet!!}

{Love when the boys show a little special flair!}

{Kissing the bride! Also be sure to check out the gorgeous book arbor created by the bride and groom!}

{More kisses.}

{Making it legal!}

{Beautiful bride and groom.}

So what was your favorite part of wedding planning?

My favorite part of wedding planning was definitely the DIY stuff. I loved being able to put my “stamp” on every piece of the wedding. People said I was crazy for doing so much of it myself, but in the end it was beautiful. Nearly every guest commented about one of the many tiny details I had worked on, and that was really meaningful. I loved having the ability to tie together all of the things Trevor and I love. At a close second was our wedding hashtag (silly, I know)- #PikesOnBikes. Trevor proposed on a bike ride on Mackinac and we thought it was perfect! We started using it at the beginning of the planning process and our family and friends really got into it (Seriously! Search it on Instagram! It was a blast!). It helped keep the excitement going and was a huge part of our wedding day theme!

{Love the sentiment of the bike played out on their wedding stationary!}

{The program.}

{The bike was a symbol of love for Elizabeth and Trevor. And we love that there was a real, live bike at the wedding!}

{Love the use of a hashtag. Love this hashtag.}

{Another bike peeks through here!}

What was the most difficult part of wedding planning?

The guest list! It was so hard to narrow down who we wanted and could afford to have at the wedding. It was a perfect storm of all of the other things that people tend to fight about at weddings- the budget, how many people from each side, who gets along (and who doesn’t)… and I felt like we kept having to make exceptions right up until the wedding day itself. I don’t think I stressed out about anything other than the guest list during the whole process. I just kept reminding myself that, no matter who was on the guest list, we would still be surrounded by people who love us, and that is all that mattered.

{The key to their seat.}

{The gorgeous barn reception.}

{The bridal party has some fun!}

{Bride and flower girl bonding.}

{The bridesmaids in blush.}

{The boys in bowties.}

{The weather was perfect!}

We know it is so hard to nail down, but…. what was your most memorable moment?

Oh gosh, there are so many! The first look was incredible. I have a great mental picture of the moment my dad placed my hand into Trevor’s before we said our vows, and the first kiss as husband and wife was, of course, all I have ever dreamed it would be! But I think one of the best moments for me was taking a moment by myself as the sun was setting to stand in silence and take in the whole day. It’s easy to get caught up in the schedule, the dancing, the adrenaline, and the craziness. The day goes by so fast, so I took a moment without anyone to just look around and truly feel everything. The love was overwhelming, both the love that I was feeling and the love I could feel surrounding us. It was incredible!

{Beautiful decor.}

{Strawberry shortcake, which fit the couple better than a traditional wedding cake. Yummy!}

{Introducing the new Mr. and Mrs.}

{Cheers all around.}

{First dance.}

{A lovely view from above.}

{We adore a good dip!}

{Dancing with Dad.}

{Group hug!}

{Parental love!}

What advice do you have for future brides?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Throughout the whole planning process family and friends were constantly offering their help, but I knew I had everything under control. But I did cash in on all of their offers on the day of the wedding. We only had a small amount of time to get set up and I knew I couldn’t help since I would be getting ready and taking pictures. There were so many small details that I had put so much effort into (I hand crocheted the doilies that sat on every table and cut out all of the confetti myself, for goodness sake!) and I had such high expectations for everything. We had so many people show up to help set up before the actual event that it was completely done by the time I got there! I was so nervous to ask people to help on the big day, but everyone was so thrilled to be involved! It was really wonderful!

Also, go on a Pinterest fast. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been planning your wedding on Pinterest for years! Probably well before you had a ring on your finger and possibly even before you met your future husband. So odds are, you have some sort of idea of what you want your wedding day to be like. My advice, find your key photos for inspiration, print them out, then avoid Pinterest unless absolutely necessary! Comparison is the thief of joy and it is silly to compare your wedding to thousands of others. (Especially since over half of those weddings are styled shoots and not even real weddings.) I gave up Pinterest about a month into wedding planning, even going so far as to delete the app off of my phone and it was the best thing I could have done. I was able to totally focus on what my husband and I wanted for our day and I think it made me even more creative because I wasn’t trying to be like anyone else!

TWD Side Note: SUCH great advice, Elizabeth! We couldn’t agree more that having Pinterest is great for initial inspiration, but it can also be a huge stressor for brides. At the very least, stop comparing and just follow your heart!

{A game during the “lawn game hour”.}

{More bike love…and bride and groom love!}

{Love.}

Is there anything you would have done differently?

You know, everyone says something that is totally beyond your control will go wrong on your wedding day and that you can’t plan ahead for it. Well, that’s entirely true, so the one I would do is to go back and fix the one thing that did go wrong for me… as soon as I stepped outside, my dress became a bug magnet! I’m not sure how it happened, but bugs… big flies, little flies, ants, mosquitos, crickets (you get the idea), decided to make their homes underneath every layer of my dress. I think I could have dealt with smelling like bug spray all day if it meant that I didn’t have to keep shaking and lint rolling bugs out of my dress. I guess crickets are supposed to be good luck, but I still didn’t want them in my dress. On the bright side, at least it makes for a funny story!

{The bride and groom get some alone time together.}

{Sisters!}

{Simply ah-dorable!}

We are so happy to have you as one of our BOTM girls! So do tell, why did you want to be Bride of the Month?

I had an absolutely amazing experience at TWD and I can’t stop telling people about it! I also like to think I did a pretty good job of planning a DIY wedding and I hope that my experience can help some future brides! I love reliving our special day, and this gives me another excuse to log all of the memories!