Project Wedding: The Ceremony

Everything worked out PERFECTLY! While I was able to locate a charming place to call home for the week we were in France through the Internet, finding the lavender field where we would exchange our vows was less easy to locate online. Soo… I took a risk by waiting until the day we arrived in Provence (which was also the day before we planned the ceremony to be) to physically search for the perfect location. Fate was on our side as we found it at the first stop. It was everything we needed it to be: purple lavenders in full bloom and an intimate location without any tourists or passing gawkers.

Here’s a photo of the evening dinner after the ceremony and the photo shoot. Big, HUGE, GINORMOUS thanks to our wedding party for pulling off such a beautiful dinner and table setting. You guys are the best!

The DIY projects that we schlepped from Canada to France in one big suitcase - (so worth it!):

1. Tissue pom-poms

2. Candle holders

3. “Just Married” bunting

4. Paper fans

5. Framed Chalkboard prop

This is the beautiful house our entire wedding party of seven (including me and Mr. M) stayed for a full week in Provence. Can you believe a house like this exists?

Here’s the delicious dinner that our wedding party created - all prepped and cooked by guys! Who says men can’t cook or decorate? My man of honor did the entire table setting. Everything was so perfect; I can still smell the fresh tomatoes and taste the soft, chewy baguettes.

Loved the bouquet I put together from the lavender field. It was about 270 stems held together by a rubber band, then covered with a scrap of burlap and wrapped with several layers of twine. The blue flower in the center is a bobby pin that an old friend of mine gave me for a birthday gift many, many moons ago. We’ve lost touch over the years, but once upon a time, I wanted him to be my man of honor, so this was my tribute to his absence. It was also my “something blue.”

I added other little touches all around the house for ease of communication and to keep everything (and everyone) running smoothly. There were door numbers hung on the outside of each bedroom door, as well as a bedroom chart so everyone knew where they were sleeping each night (e.g. the groom didn’t sleep in the bridal suite on the night before the ceremony).

As I’ve heard that brides can get really stressed out planning her own wedding, I put together personal schedules for the day-of for each member of the wedding party. This was such an invaluable organization tool as everyone knew what to do at what time and I could just fret about my own to-do list without answering a million of the same questions.

I seriously hired the best photographer in the world! We communicated in detail about what I expected to see of the photos well before the ceremony and I loved her editing style. She suggested we bring props, which would add so much personality to the photos. And she was very right, don’t you think?

 

If you missed any part of the Project Wedding series, you can view them here:

How It All Began
The Ceremony
Pom Poms and Fans
Tin Punched Candle Holders
No Sew “Just Married” Bunting
The Dress
DIY Hair Fascinator
The Reception
Creating The Invitations
DIY Ticket Booth
Passport Guest Book
Stenciled Burlap Table Runners
Our Wedding Cake Alternative
Traveling Trunk Prop
DIY Photo Booth Props
Out of Town Gift Boxes
Organize Your Wedding Mementos
Tips For Planning Your Engagement Photo Shoots