We just celebrated our anniversary and I thought it would be the best time to share what I created for our wedding. At the time, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself but there were a couple things I really wanted to create! 

My grandma gave me her wedding dress years ago. It was a light blue brocade dress from the 1950s and she looked beautiful on her wedding day! When she gave it to me I thought it would be special to wear but unfortunately it was stained from hanging next to her heavily sequined band dress from high school. I knew I wanted to do two things with her dress one day – incorporate it in my wedding and make a christening gown. 

The first thing I made were these drawstring jewelry pouches for my sisters and mom. I wanted them each to have a piece of Grandmas dress. I embroidered their initials and used the pouches to gift a matching garnet charm a couple days before the wedding. I also made a slightly bigger version as a little party pouch for my two eldest nieces and gifted it to them on my wedding day. I used an easy tutorial and just went for it! The initials are all done in stem stitch – my favorite stitch for letters. 

I also knew I wanted to make a bouquet ribbon (my something blue) out of her dress…it was perfect! I secured it around my flowers with a family heirloom brooch my grandma gave me on my eighteenth birthday. 

The ring pillow wasn’t part of my original plan (honestly, as I was making it I wondered if I had bit off too much – we got married in under two months from our engagement). It might be my favorite piece though! I embroidered our monogram and a folky style bird design in a soft white and gold thread (just simple DMC stranded cotton). I just love it! My sweet nephew and godson held onto it during the ceremony and veeeery carefully walked to the front when we were ready to exchange our rings. Again, I just looked up ring pillows on Pinterest for inspiration. It’s a pretty simple sew. I used chain stitch, stem stitch, stain stitch, and French knots for the embroidery. 

I have to share what my sister created. I asked her to take over the decorations so I could check out and focus on finding a dress and the bigger details (I’m so grateful she said yes!!). My in laws brought tons of flowers from their farm the day before and Evelyn created all the table arrangements and my bouquet. 

Evelyn also baked a gorgeous chintzy carrot cake and a traditional English fruit cake decorated with whole sugared fruit. The desert table was her big centerpiece and she ordered some beautiful soft coral linen from Merchant and Mills for the tablecloth (which I’m still deciding what to turn into…a quilt back, curtains?). She thrifted candlesticks, hand dipped tapered beeswax candles (who does that?), and tied soft green silk ribbons around them. I’m still in love with the whole vibe. She’s amazing. 

Because I loved it, I have to mention my dress! I didn’t buy an actual wedding dress. Wedding dresses are gorgeous and sometimes I get a little wistful looking back…but it wasn’t for me. I’ve always worried I’d feel like I was playing dress up on my wedding day. I also didn’t want to most beautiful dress I’d ever own to be worn just once. I found a gorgeous wool lacy sweater dress by Ulla Johnson. Our wedding was outside during autumn and the weather can be unpredictable so it had to be beautiful and warm. It’s SO soft, felt stunning, and when I showed it off, everyone said it was “completely me.” I paired it with Fairfax and Favor riding boots and a veil during the ceremony to make it feel bridal while walking down the aisle. 

I’ve worn it all (except the veil) multiple times already. 

I love looking back at these photos. It can be so tempting to go overboard with a wedding. I’m the kind of girl that used to go crazy at holidays, making ALL the Christmas cookies, crafts, and everything “just perfect.” Not for my wedding though! I did just enough to have very special memories and a few heirlooms to pass down to our kids…

Now I just have to make that christening gown before our little one arrives. We’ll see if I get to it!

Xo Abby

Professional photos by Dan Stewart Photography