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Story by
SarahSays,
Vanessa
Published on August 20, 2009 in Spotlight |
Photo by |
Etsy's very own lawyer, SarahSays, is the biggest anti-bride I've ever met. She resisted getting swept up in the whole wedding hullabulloo. Arjay, her husband, took over most of the planning, while Sarah calmly shrugged and told us she just wasn't that into it. On the other hand, I know she loves Etsy, so I was very intrigued to see how handmade and custom items fit into her unplanned wedding planning.
I was never the girl with the vision of her wedding, so when we got engaged, I was overwhelmed and had no idea where to start. So many choices! Thank goodness for Etsy. Etsy makes it easy for even a clueless bride to find unique handmade touches that reflect the couple. In the end, everything came together and our Rochester, New York wedding was fantastic.
Our ceremony was held in a planetarium followed by cocktail hour in the Science Center’s dinosaur exhibit and then the reception took place in a beautiful event room.
We set the scene early: this was not going to be a cookie cutter wedding.
Our poster invitations (which arrived in tubes!) were custom made by unlesssomeonelikeyou. invitedink makes these beautiful letterpress invitations that we also had our eye on.
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Wedding Invitation/Reception Poster By unlesssomeonelikeyou, $75. |
Wedding Invitations Scroll of Love - 100 sets By invitedink, $695. |
We all know a bride needs a dress. The lovely Yvonne of Kimera Design in Brooklyn made me a gorgeous raw silk gown customized with pockets. Yes, pockets!
I also love this one by lizarietz and this one by CustomBridal.
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By lizarietz, $315. |
By CustomBridal, $1800. |
My striking veil is from veiledbeauty. I love the vintage feel. I also adore YJdesign’s wedding fascinators, like this one.
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By veiledbeauty, $85. |
CUSTOM - Fascinating LYNNA VERA By YJdesign, $67.50. |
Patrick Irla’s hydrangea designs caught my eye, and I asked him to make me beautiful earrings for our wedding as well as earrings for my mother and my mother-in-law.
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By PatrickIrlaJewelry, $215. |
Hydrangea Blossom Cluster Earrings By PatrickIrlaJewelry, $145. |
As you may recall from this video, Al from beyondtherockz reset my diamond into an elegant engagement ring, which was inspired by Al’s “Cherish” ring. My simple white gold wedding band was also made by beyondtherockz. However, those in attendance never got to see the ring, as at the ceremony my new husband placed a cherry ring-pop on my finger. [Editor's note: Sarah is obsessed with candy.]
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By beyondtherockz, $1495. |
By elishacopeland, $8.50. |
My handsome husband Arjay also wore handmade at our wedding. His toybreaker tie was quite a hit. We are also drawn to the damask print tie by RokGear.
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Wind Turbine, windmill screenprinted necktie By toybreaker, $40. |
groomsmen necktie set damask print By RokGear, $115. |
The talent on Etsy is so inspiring. After watching sunnyrising’s Handmade Portrait video, which features Allison Settinger’s art and music, I purchased her CD Hold Steady. Our first dance was to “Love of Your Life.”
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By sunnyrising, $15. |
I love the Jewish tradition of breaking a glass at the end of a wedding ceremony. I’m always a proponent for equality and so I wanted us both to do the stomping. I convoed infiniteglassworks about my vision and she made us two breakable glasses. However, her art was too beautiful to destroy, so we broke some old burned out light bulbs instead. Although we didn’t have a wedding cake, we placed our bunnywithatoolbelt cake toppers on some apple pie.
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By infiniteglassworks, $75. |
Penguin Bride and Groom Wedding Cake Toppers By bunnywithatoolbelt, $50. |
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Even some guests joined in on the Etsy wedding fun. For example, Our guest book by UberArt is now filled to the brim with memories. |
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By ouma, $168. |
By UberArt, $25. |
You may be wondering, “Sarah, was there anything you insisted upon having at your wedding?” As a matter of fact, I insisted on cotton candy.
Looking for more wedding ideas? Try these links:
Curated Wedding Guides | Handmade Weddings Series | Weddings Category
120 comments Login to add your own!
ErinHaldrup
Beautiful beautiful photos!!! Looks like a really fun and stylish wedding. Congrats!
MagnetGames
"cocktail hour in the Science Center’s dinosaur exhibit"
coolest idea evar.
TheCottageCheese
What a lovely and unique wedding. I do believe those are the cutest wedding invitations I've ever seen!
solidio
fantastic. I'm also buying etsy for my wedding in October. the only problem is there is so much to choose from! so far my dress, matron's dress, card supplies for handmade invite, ties, shoes and hair accessories are all from etsy vendors! I LOVE IT!
aBreathofFrenchair
mermaidclaire
This looks amazing!! Congrats again!!! (I hope there was a lot of cheese in addition to all that candy...)
marin
i ♥love♥ this article!! Even a "clueless" bride can have a simply gorgeous wedding!
bobnstitch
SeaFindDesigns
beachhouseblues
Love those earrings!!
Print of flowers make great weddings gifts!!!
On sale now all flower and shell prints 20% off the marked price.
Mix and match!!
sandali
AWESOME article ~~ so much fun filled photo's -- it tells the story on its own !! Happy Days ;)
tortillagirl
What a gorgeous and sweet wedding. I think it's fantastic that you got so many things from Etsy. Thanks so much for sharing photos from your important day. Best wishes to you both!
blythehopesvintage
hooray for rochester! Love the science center :) Your wedding looked like great fun, and I hope you enjoyed it!
shopgoldmine
such an unconventional wedding! love it!!
and the ring pop?! amazing!!
very bold, very cool couple!
ConservationClothing
Bride & groom look great and the wedding looks like it was lots of fun.
Morado
This is adorable!! such a fun wedding :o)
http://twitter.com/MoradoShop
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Morado/...
myzoetrope
So fun! I love the planetarium in Rochester! The poster is such a great idea too.
sewlola
Congratulations newlyweds! With all these pretty pictures, you made me want to eat candy.
anda
itsastitch
What an adorable wedding - I love the poster invites! And the setting in a museum is totally rad - I never thought of that.
And ouma is WONDERFUL, I have her hearted for when I need a wedding dress :)
evihan
squidnose
1AEON
BijouxAriaJewelry
4TheSparrowsNest
What a fun and unique wedding! And I have loved patrick irla's designs for a while! ♥ ♥
jewelrybyjackie
It is all just lovely! And I am in Rochester, NY myself ~ such great ideas!!
beautifulbridget
OhFaro
juliebcreative
I grew up in that planetarium in rochester!!!! awesome!!!
stamp
Beautiful. I *LOVE* Kimera Design. They make all my "special occasion" dresses.
blueberryshoes
StudioCherie
What a great article. You wedding was chock full of handmade goodness. So uniquely personal.
mykonos
SimpleJoysPaperie
dogties
adam
You look fabulous, LawyerFace! And yes, you should stick with the pink cotton candy from now on. ;D
baconsquarefarm
Wow~ what an incredible wedding you must have had, outside the box and so unique~ Thanks for sharing snipits from your day, great finds as well on Etsy.
ModFarmgirl
Congratulations Sarah! You and Arjay are too cute!! Love your wedding pics and ideas, so unique!!!
danielabesso
riorita
These photos could tempt me to get married over again..
I love the Hydrangea Dange earrings!(you don't have to get married to wear them!)
FrillyButts
What a beautiful wedding! I love that you had it in the planetarium and the dinosaur exhibit!
BlackStar
What a wonderful wedding! Here's to many happy years together. :)
twolefthands
I love the cotton candy! Beautiful couple and wedding, congratulations!
kathryncole
sherrytruitt
Earmark
lovelygifts
GreenTease
Great idea! Love the museum idea! And the groomsmen neckties are to die for.
breadandroses2
Congratulations! Love the 'bunnywithatoolbelt' cake topper on apple pie in lieu of wedding cake! Create your own traditions.
RockPaperSilver
Love the Ring Pop! Something that will never be forgotten:)
beyondtherockz
Such a beautiful example of a wedding resonating with the personal style of the bride and groom. 'Love it!
Sarah, it's an honor you chose us for your rings - - thank you very much!
Warmest congratulations to you and Arjay!
~Al and Caroline
MeghanT
Great story! I cheered for you when you said you got your wedding dress made with pockets. You're probably the only bride I have heard of who has done this. Any why not?! It's a fabulous idea!
Nice to see all these wonderful etsy items incorporated into your big day (even your guests wore some etsy stuff)! Very cool. ;)
Congratulations - it turned out beautiful.
BGBJewelry
Wow, it's gorgeous, I love all the details and the poster idea. I think that would be a great invite to any party but it went so well with your location.
Thank you for sharing!
girltuesdayjewelry
Reading about your wedding was positively captivating! Such great ideas! I might have to get married again--keep the husband, redo the wedding!
LittleStudioJewels
How fabulous! I love the ring pop idea, how fresh and unique to you!
I love the dress by Ouma, it is just fantastic :)
MetroGypsy
sean11
paramountvintage
cottonbirddesigns
bunnywithatoolbelt
I was grooving along with this sweet story when I unexpectedly discovered my bride and groom penguins were part of it! I'm honored to be part of what looks like a cool, original wedding ceremony. Congratulations!
Tumus
That looks like WAY too much fun ^_^ I'm all anti-wedding planning too but I've had to grin and bear it! Only 1 month a few weeks to go WOOOOOOO! Congrats ^_^
odiliafu
nanna
Geez, six years ago this Sunday was my wedding day. I recall, I too was an anti-planner. These photos and the lovely touches take me back though. Nice and inspirational.
ritabop
I love the windmill ties!
I got married four months ago and had a decidedly "etsy" wedding. Stephanie Madesh made my dress and she is amazing.
I got this in white:)
maram
What a great story! I was lucky enough to live in Rochester for a year - such a wonderful town. Best wishes to you both!
voleurdebijoux
klacustomcreations
EyePopArt
dancerstar12
manikgrl
PipocaHandmade
Fantastic story and selections! For an "anti-bride" [quote], this sounds like a most magical and memorable event! Thank you for sharing!
mireillemanuel
AMIdesigns
such a gorgeous photo album! and the handmade pieces were stunning
FlanneryCrane
lunaticart
What an original wedding!!! Excellent article, so much fun to read, to look at! congratulations and be happy forever!
nanouke
allthosethrees
Bunnys
steinschmuckdesign
bridalcouture
linkeldesigns
such a unique wedding! great to see all those handmade touches!
recycledwares
how precious and so cute, candy ring, cotton candy and all.
VixVintage
MinceCo
SilverSunshine
bethanylorelle
elishacopeland
what a cool looking wedding, cotton candy and ring pop woo! great article so sweet :D
LaLah
visionquest
i would have killed for a wedding dress with pockets..
brilliant!
... and beautiful :o)
SnoozinSusan
I was a "clueless bride" last year...I wish I had logged onto Etsy for ideas! Great photos - your wedding looked like lots of fun! Best wishes!
autumntakesme
LuminousDreamDesigns
slumptown
What a great article and amazing wedding. There are so many awesome wedding ideas/products here. Thanks for sharing and best wishes.
theweddingcontessa
Glad it went so well for you! Lots of talented designers on etsy!!!!!
ReLit
this wedding looks so perfect!! i love the location, and the candy ring~ yum!
EJPcreations
What a beautiful fun wedding!!! I love the venue you choose!
rachellucie
congratulations to you both! looks like you had the day you wanted, and you found some fantastic items to help you along!
AbstractOctopus
CopperLeafStudios
ValerieTyler
Definitely congratulations! I love that your wedding was at a planetarium. What a fabulous setting! (Of course no surprise I would be into planetariums, thanks so much for including my necklace in the related items)
Stunning gown as well.
zebracakes
MyMoms
claudiagriffiths
What a great wedding and fantastic ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Iammie
zJayne
SoStinkingSweet
Awww, you don't look clueless to me at all! Your wedding looks and sounded wonderful! Congratulations to you both and many many years of happiness and health!
somsstudiosupplies
jurgitahandmade
LittleWhiteDresser
JoJosgems
Looked wonderful and great fun. When my daughter recently got married we made all the invitations, and she made all the jewelry. We also had my long veil altered to go with her dress. Home made works!
Weddingflowers
katyandsuzys714
I love this wedding....having it at a Planetarium was a wonderful idea. And they had such "cutesy" stuff (love the giant ring). Her dress was gorgeous.....simple but elegant....i love that style. And the cotton candy...it was a real joyous event...which is what wedding should be!!! I say "Kudos" to this couple. They did it the "right" way!
ExQuisiteInVitation
emilybidwell
Yay Sarah and Arjay! Wonderful handmade wedding article. Thanks for sharing it. xxx
thecluelesscrafter
Wow, everything looks so high end, absolutely finished. I love those earrings, too. The talent here is impressive. Beautiful wedding.
brianslittlegirl
very cool! And the price on that dress is AWESOME. :) Tucking away for whenever/if ever I'm looking...
buttonandboo
I love the idea of pockets in wedding gowns. I've made a few wedding gowns that included pockets. who doesn't need a place to keep their lipgloss and a hanky!
meiresthaidesign
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