Joy: Our Wedding – List of Vendors
Written by Sara on May 18, 2011 – 2:31 pm -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces, Wishing Tree & Photo Displays, Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!, Analysis of our iPod Wedding and Our Honeymoon}
I’m finally nearing the end of my wedding recaps, which is fitting, since Jordan and I have been married almost one year already! I can hardly believe that ten months have already passed by; what a blessing it is to have someone by my side each and every day. While our first year of marriage hasn’t been a walk in the park, this year (so far) has been full of blessings.
I wanted to share with you today a list of the vendors that we used throughout planning our wedding, so that any of you local SD brides will have all of these resources in one place! Also, stay tuned for a full list of Etsy vendors that we used – that’s the next post that I’ll write! Also coming up is a final list of the DIY projects that we completed for the wedding, so if you don’t see something listed below (i.e. the boutonnieres or my garters), don’t fret, because it was either purchased from Etsy or DIY!
Materials for Invitations:
Cards & Pockets (ordered online)
Sioux Falls Rubber Stamp, Sioux Falls, SD
Map of Sioux Falls – Wedding Invitations:
Designed by a friend of the bride
Printing:
Brown & Saenger, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Rings:
Sara’s Engagement Ring and Wedding Band: Riddle’s Jewelry, Sioux Falls, SD
Jordan’s Wedding Band: Helzberg Diamonds, Sioux Falls, SD
Photographers:
Creative Kindling, Brandon, SD
Florist:
The Flower Shop, Sioux Falls, SD
Sheet Cakes (Remember, we DIYed the Rice Krispie Cake):
HyVee on Sycamore Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD
Manzanita Branches – Wishing Tree:
Save-on-crafts.com (ordered online)
White Shutters – Photo Display:
Purchased from a seller at Benson’s Flea Market (Sioux Falls, SD)
Fabric – Wedding Napkins:
Hancock Fabrics, Sioux Falls, SD
Classic Car:
Borrowed for the day from a friend of the family
Hair and Nails on the Wedding Day:
Hair: Salon Ne-Zhoni, Sioux Falls, SD
Sara’s Manicure: VIP Nails, Sioux Falls, SD
Sara’s Pedicure: Radiance Day Spa, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Gown:
Purchased from Happily Ever After, Sioux City, IA (gown was by Alfred Angelo, and has since been discontinued)
Veil:
Purchased from French Door Bridal in Sioux Falls, SD (veil was by Signature Bridal)
Tuxedos:
Rented from Evelyn’s Floral and Formalware in Sioux Falls, SD, a business which has since closed its doors (the tuxedo was by Calvin Klein)
Groomsmen/Ushers Gifts:
Flasks – Brown & Saenger, Sioux Falls, SD
Socks – Express (ordered online)
Ceremony Helpers Gifts:
Wine purchased from HyVee Wine & Spirits, Louise Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD
Bridesmaids Dresses:
The Dessy Group, ordered online from www.bridesmaids.com
Ceremony Site:
Augustana College Chapel of Reconciliation, Sioux Falls, SD
Organist:
Kyle Quanbeck, Sioux Falls, SD
Vocalist:
Sister of the Groom
Catering, Reception Site:
Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Weekend Accommodations (Guests):
Holiday Inn City Centre (Downtown), Sioux Falls, SD
Wedding Night Accommodations (Jordan and Sara):
ClubHouse Hotel & Suites, Sioux Falls, SD
I also wanted to make sure that I made a list of places that I shopped for a variety of materials for all kinds of projects:
Hobby Lobby, Sioux Falls, SD
Michaels, Sioux Falls, SD
IKEA, Minneapolis, MN (votive candles)
I think that’s it! In terms of whether or not I would use these same vendors again if I were to do it all over again, the answer is a resounding yes. I was so pleased with all of our vendors, despite some last-minute stress from HyVee regarding our cakes. But, everything couldn’t have been more perfect, and we think back fondly on our wedding day and all of the vendors that made it happen for us. Cards & Pockets is a fabulous online resource for those of you who plan to DIY invitations in the future, and I couldn’t recommend the ladies at Happily Ever After in Sioux City, IA, any higher. The Flower Shop did an extraordinary job realizing my vision for the flowers, and the staff at the Augie Chapel and the Washington Pavilion couldn’t have been more helpful. Brown & Saenger also played a huge role in pulling off our wedding in terms of satisfying all of our printing needs, and our day wouldn’t have been chronicled in such a meaningful way without Creative Kindling. We couldn’t have been more blessed!
If you have any questions, please let me know!
[Photo by Creative Kindling]
Tags: Alfred Angelo, Augustana College, Benson's Flea Market, Brown & Saenger, Cards & Pockets, Chapel of Reconciliation, ClubHouse Hotel & Suites, Creative Kindling, Evelyn's Floral and Formalware, Express, French Door Bridal, Hancock Fabrics, Happily Ever After, Helzberg Diamonds, Hobby Lobby, Holiday Inn City Centre, HyVee, IA, IKEA, Michaels, Radiance Day Spa, Riddle's Jewelry, Salon Ne-Zhoni, Save-on-crafts.com, SD, Signature Bridal, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls Rubber Stamp, The Dessy Group, The Flower Shop, VIP Nails, Washington Pavilion
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Cakes & Cuisine, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Fashion, Flowers, Honeymoon, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap | 1 Comment »
Featured on GLAMOUR MAGAZINE’S website!
Written by Sara on January 21, 2011 – 10:46 am -
AAH! I’m like, totally dying. My lovely wedding hairstyle was featured on Glamour Magazine‘s website!
Click here for the goods. I’m still pinching myself, y’all.
Until later…
[Photo by Creative Kindling, of course!]
Tags: Creative Kindling, Glamour Magazine
Posted in Beauty & Polish, Fashion, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Weddings | 4 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Photos From Our DIY Photobooth!
Written by Sara on January 7, 2011 – 9:40 am -
{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car, Reception Table Centerpieces and Wishing Tree & Photo Displays}
I was totally bitten by the photobooth bug early on in my efforts to make our wedding enjoyable and fun for us and for our larger community that supports us day in and day out. My father-in-law helped me to build our photobooth from plywood, wallpaper, crown molding and a picture frame; I love the way it turned out!
Here’s how it worked: we set up the photobooth after the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, at the same time that we were decorating the reception space. My father-in-law made the photobooth collapsable by sawing the plywood in half hot-dog style and attaching hinges, so that the photobooth was easy to transport. We set up a digital camera on a tripod in front of the photobooth, so when our wedding guests utilized the photobooth, they also brought up another friend to take the photos for them. We also provided props for our guests:
Here are a few shots from our photobooth from our photographers, Creative Kindling:
Up next: Our reception food + our wedding cakes!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our talented photographers]
Tags: Creative Kindling, DIY Photobooth
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | Comments Off
Joy: Our Wedding – Wishing Tree & Photo Displays
Written by Sara on December 30, 2010 – 8:11 pm -
Hello readers! After taking a break for the holidays, I’m back with more recap posts! Click here to get caught up on our wedding recaps:
{Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots, The Getaway Car and Reception Table Centerpieces}
Today I’d love to showcase two personalized touches that made our wedding reception feel more “us” – our Wishing Tree display and our photo features!
Wishing Trees are certainly making their way around the blogosphere, but I knew that the majority of our guests had probably never encountered one before at a wedding reception. It’s really, really important to remember when planning your own wedding that the majority of your guests don’t spend time stalking the most popular wedding blogs, so it’s perfectly fine to utilize the trends that resonate with you, regardless of how popular or played out the trend seems!
While in retrospect, I wish I would have had my Dad or our friend Chuck (who both took turns at acting as MC for the evening) announce that the Wishing Tree was available and where it was located (on the way into the reception space), we did have quite a few wedding guests make their wishes for us.
Here’s a look at our adorable Wishing Tree, which my bridesmaids and I put together utilizing manzanita branches from here, a flower pot purchased locally and some moss. We also utilized a wooden crate box purchased locally to hold our slips of paper tied with twine for the guests to hang their wishes:
We also included a variety of photo displays of both our engagement pictures (flanking the bar) and some pictures of us as children and us while dating. These photo displays were a lot of fun (and super easy!) to put together, especially since we already gave our parents framed engagement pictures for Christmas the previous year!
I found these two adorable white shutters at our local flea market in Sioux Falls; I just love them, and I want to try and find a way to incorporate them into our decor in our home!
Here’s a few pictures:
Up next: shots from our homemade photobooth!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our awesome photographers]
Tags: Creative Kindling, Creative Photo Displays for Weddings, DIY wishing tree, Wedding Photo Displays
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 4 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Reception Table Centerpieces!
Written by Sara on December 8, 2010 – 10:46 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots and The Getaway Car}
Here’s a look at the centerpieces that we utilized at our wedding! We used the following items for each table, as well as the cost per item:
- 1-2 birdhouses (depending on size) from my mother’s collection. We did purchase a few birdcages (my Mom mostly has birdhouses, and I love cages!), so I would say that we spent $50 max on 2-3 birdcages.
- A picture of our relatives on their wedding day. While we borrowed many, many picture frames from family members, we needed to purchase a few frames; I would estimate that we spent no more than $25 total.
- Mason jar, tied with ribbon, with a candle inside. We brought these from the ceremony site to the reception site (yay for reuse!), but we needed to purchase one set of jars (my mother had the others!), candles and the ribbon. I would estimate about $25 for this project; we purchased a ton of candles from IKEA for super cheap!
- Letter ‘G’ to represent our last name, Gillis. I purchased these at Hobby Lobby, painted them ivory and distressed them with sandpaper. Total cost for this project: about $15.
- Square of burlap, which acted as an anchor of sorts for the centerpiece. I know that we purchased a large bolt of burlap from Joann’s Fabric for 50% off one day…I’m sure it didn’t cost more than $20.
Here are a few more pictures, including our cootie catcher favors, a note for our wedding guests, our DIY fabric napkins, and our DIY photobooth tickets!
Up next: More reception decor – the wishing tree and our photo displays!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our lovely photographers]
Tags: birdcages, birdhouses, burlap, candles, cootie catcher favors, Creative Kindling, DIY fabric napkins, DIY photobooth tickets, mason jars, reception centerpieces, Wedding Recap
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – The Getaway Car
Written by Sara on December 4, 2010 – 9:31 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle and More Ceremony Shots}
For our getaway car, I really wanted to rent or borrow an old classic car to ride away in. Luckily, one of my father’s coworkers restores cars, and he allowed us to borrow his classic Chevrolet free of charge (actually, all he requested as payment was a photo of us with the car, looking overjoyed – how sweet is that!). It was so much fun to ride away in it. My lovely father drove us from the ceremony to the reception; here are a few pictures!
The only downside to the car was that being a classic car, it lacked air conditioning. Since we were married on literally the hottest day of the year, it was quite miserable inside the confines of that car. However, our emotions were running at an all-time high, so we were too overjoyed with the variety of people honking at us in celebration to care much about the heat!
For those of you that are curious, our “Just Married” sign came from Etsy seller Earmark – it was whimsical and perfect!
Up next: the centerpieces at our wedding reception!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, who we couldn't recommend higher!]
Tags: classic car, classic Chevrolet, Creative Kindling, Earmark, Etsy, vintage car, wedding getaway car
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Beauty & Polish, Budget Weddings, Decor, Fashion, Flowers, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 2 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Ceremony Decor!
Written by Sara on October 30, 2010 – 7:00 pm -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, and Jitters and Communion}
Before we get into the actual wedding ceremony, I thought it would be fun to show you how we decorated the chapel space! Because the chapel at Augustana is already so, so beautiful, we wanted to keep the decor simple. So, we lined the center aisle with candles in mason jars tied with ribbon…
And after a failed attempt at creating these tissue paper pom-poms to hang on each pew, I purchased these rustic-looking burlap bows from Etsy! I purchased these from a seller who had used them for her own wedding; how fun! I added some grey and yellow ribbon to these, and I also adorned each bow with a brooch that I purchased at an antique store in Lincoln, Nebraska, before Jordan and I were even engaged!
We also placed seven beeswax candles on the altar to honor our grandparents who have passed away. We used yellow mulberries (from my mother’s collection!) to adorn the silver charger plate.
Also, now would probably be a great time to show you our guestbook, which we placed just outside the sanctuary in an entryway. From Etsy seller Lovliday, we had our guests stamp their thumbprints on this canvas and sign their name nearby. How fun!
Next up: A glimpse into the readings, music and prayers that we used in our ceremony!
[All photos by the outstanding Creative Kindling]
Tags: burlap pew bows, Creative Kindling, Etsy, guestbook, Lovliday, mason jars, simple ceremony decor
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 2 Comments »
Showcase Wednesday: Our (Finished) Save the Dates!
Written by Sara on February 24, 2010 – 9:00 am -
Happy Wednesday, readers! I always love it when the middle of the week arrives … it means we’re all closer to the weekend, which means that I’m closer to seeing Jordan! We’re living and working in separate cities right now, so I’m always grateful whenever Jordan comes home on the weekend.
Today I am pleased to bring you the fruits of our labor – our DIY bingo-inspired Save the Date cards!
Aren’t they cute!?
Jordan and I worked closely together on these cards, which proved to be a valuable lesson in Marriage 101: Patience is an absolutely necessary part of taking on any project, from DIY stationery to life itself.
As you may recall from this post, crafting the bingo card design came easily. It was the steps thereafter that proved to be more of a challenge.
First was the question of how to design the wrap-around vellum band. Jordan and I began concepting an asymmetrical design, but we quickly decided that we wanted to mirror the symmetry of the bingo card design on the vellum band. So, after a few long hours full of meticulous edits, we finally came to a consensus – we loved the design featuring our engagement pictures, courtesy of Creative Kindling!
After finalizing the design, I set out to find yellow vellum paper. Well, yellow vellum paper wasn’t in my future, I soon found out, which actually ended up for the better; my resourceful mother took a yellow crayon and colored on top of the clear vellum paper we found, and when she placed the vellum over the bingo card, it looked HIDEOUS! I feel very fortunate that I didn’t waste any money on yellow vellum paper.
Once the bingo cards and the vellum wraps were printed and trimmed, I spent one evening seated at my kitchen table with my Mom and two of my best gal pals (my maid of honor Kristen and my bridesmaid Serena), and we folded and glued, folded and glued. Kristen, whose super-fun handwriting is making its debut on the envelopes holding these Save the Date lovelies, spent a good portion of the evening addressing envelopes for us.
Here’s a glimpse of the front of the card:
There were two final parts to the design, the first of which is one of my favorites. The vellum paper wrapped around the back of the bingo card design, and where the two edges of the vellum paper met, my bridesmaid and gluer-extraordinaire Serena attached a button.
One note about the buttons, however: I didn’t know this prior to crafting our Save the Date cards, but the buttons cost us an extra $0.20 cents each in postage, since they needed to be hand-stamped instead of running through a postage machine. I’m sure glad that none of our other stationery projects will utilize buttons, but at the same time, I love this feature on our Save the Date cards.
The second (and final) design element involved stamping a circle shape around the “July 17″ square on the front of the bingo card. While this should have been one of the easiest parts of the entire process, the company from which we ordered the stamp happened to be experiencing a high order volume, which therefore delayed the order significantly. However, all was well in the end, as the stamp arrived just in the knick of time!
Overall, I’m more than satisfied with our Save the Date cards. I would like to make one recommendation for you readers: when Jordan and I were stuffing and sealing the envelopes that I had lined with decorative paper, we had trouble securing a proper seal, due to the fact that the decorative paper had covered up the waxy seal (the part of an envelope that you lick to seal it shut). So, we stuck a piece of double-stick tape to secure the envelope shut, and added a sticker seal on top of that. In the future, I will try to be more creative when lining envelopes, so that I don’t cover up the waxy seal.
I estimate the total cost of this project, including postage, to be right around $60.00. Most of the cost stems from purchasing the vellum paper.
What do you think of our Save the Date cards?
Tags: Creative Kindling, DIY bingo-inspired Save the Date, DIY Save the Date, paper-lined envelopes, vellum paper
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Stationery | 7 Comments »
Showcase Wednesday: Our Love Shoot, Part II!
Written by Sara on January 13, 2010 – 9:00 am -Happy Wednesday, all! Let’s get right to the photos, copyright Creative Kindling! [See Part I of our love shoot here!]
After we left the really cool (and HUGE!) green door, we went to the Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Sioux Falls, where we kissed and danced!
After a little more wandering around inside the museum, we found an exhibit of an old-fashioned diner! We also got some great shots here:
We left the Old Courthouse Museum after that and drove a little further downtown to Falls Park, where the name “Sioux Falls” comes from. We had some fun on bridges here, too – and we took a break in the middle of the road!
Our last stop was Rotary Park in eastern Sioux Falls, where we walked the railroad tracks and had some fun with props:
We also took some BEAUTIFUL shots on a bridge, and giggled on the swing set:
Again, HUGE thanks to Kara and Aaron of Creative Kindling, who have been wonderful to work with thus far. We feel so lucky to have them!
[All photos copyright Creative Kindling; please do not use these photos without express written consent.]
Tags: Creative Kindling, engagement photos, Falls Park, mustaches on sticks, Old Courthouse Museum, Rotary Park, Sioux Falls, vintage engagement photos
Posted in Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Photography | 1 Comment »
Showcase Wednesday: Our Love Shoot, Part I!
Written by Sara on January 6, 2010 – 9:00 am -Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Today is a big day for Eco-Vintage Weddings, and for J and I – we’re finally ready to reveal our engagement pictures to you all, courtesy of Creative Kindling!
Jordan and I had a wonderful time at our engagement shoot, despite the absolutely freezing weather! Kara and Aaron, who own Creative Kindling, have been an absolute joy to work with – we feel so fortunate that they understand our vision for our wedding! I went to high school with both Kara and Aaron, and I can say that these two have always been geniunely thoughtful people. I can’t recommend them higher!
For our engagement shoot, I made an inspiration board to give our photographers an idea of what we were looking for. We couldn’t be more pleased with how the photos turned out! All photos appearing in this post were taken by Creative Kindling; please do not use these photos without express written consent.
Our fashion: I wore a pink dress that I purchased last summer from ModCloth, a pink headband from Claire’s Jewelry, black tights from Target and black pumps with a rounded toe from Shoe Carnival. I purchased my blue coat from Target a few seasons ago, and the scarf and gloves are from New York & Company. Jordan wore a wool grey Kangol hat, a white dress shirt from Express, a pink striped tie and navy suspenders from JcPenney (the tie was on clearance for $4.99!), navy flat front Dockers from Younkers, and a pair of brown shoes from his closet. He’s had his dark wool coat forever…I couldn’t tell you where he got it.
Our photo shoot began at the Phillips Avenue Diner in downtown Sioux Falls, where we shared a milkshake (and giggles!):
Our photographers then lead us to a building further down Phillips Avenue; by far, these are my favorite pictures of the day:
We also had some fun with a chalkboard:
One thing that I knew that I wanted to do at our engagement shoot was for our photographers to shoot us walking around the downtown Sioux Falls area. I am SO excited with how these photos turned out; how neat would these photos look showcased in frames as a series!
Part II of our engagement session will be featured next Wednesday, but to finish up today’s post, here’s a couple photos of Jordan and I in front of a really cool green door. These pictures are all about the love!
Look for photos next week of Jordan and I at a historic museum downtown, in a old-time diner booth, dancing cheek to cheek and having fun on bridges, railroad tracks and swings!
[All photos taken by Creative Kindling; please do not use these photos without express written consent.]
Tags: Claire's Jewelry, Creative Kindling, Eco-Vintage Weddings, Express, JcPenney, Kangol, ModCloth, New York & Company, Phillips Avenue Diner, photos with chalkboard, Shoe Carnival, Sioux Falls, Target, vintage engagement session, Younkers
Posted in Fashion, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Photography | 2 Comments »