As if Part 1 of this wedding weren't enough - the thought and creativity that went into Melissa and Jesse's DIY details blew me away. I don't know about you but I'd love to go to a camping wedding with a jam session around a firepit all night long!
More from the bride, Melissa:
Another important aspect of our whole wedding experience was flow. We wanted to keep things moving at a nice pace and let our guests enjoy themselves. We offered beverages upon arrival, and after our ceremony, we set out self served appetizers. It was really important to us to have appetizers going while we took the photos since we both agreed getting too hungry at a wedding is a mood killer.
YUM - rosemary vodka lemonade
I thought a really cute aspect of their wedding was the whole port-a-potty set up. I know that sounds funny but look how they dressed up this otherwise undesirable area.
I put an old dresser by the port a potties and set up lovely little primp station. I loved the mirror nailed on the tree and handmade chalkboards to mark "His" and "Hers" for the bathrooms.
We did all the flowers ourselves. We wanted the flowers to look wild picked, so there was no rhyme or reason on how we put the arrangements together. For flower vases, we collected large blue mason jars and different size medicine bottles. Jesse was in charge of flower design and arrangements. He had help from our family and friends and they made up all the arrangements for the tables and for around the property. Jesse made my bridal bouquet which was really special for me. Dahlias are my favorite, so these were the main flower of the wedding. We used them for the bridal bouquets and the main centerpieces on the tables. I had mine shipped from Portland to Montana! I originally had Dahlias from a grower in Montana, but 10 days before the wedding he called to tell me he did not have any flowers for me!! Swan Island Dahlias saved the day and had them shipped to me the Thursday before the wedding.
Jesse and I picked out 5 different mismatched cotton fabrics that went with our color scheme (blues, yellow, and browns) at the local fabric store for our napkins. Jesse's mom and her sewing group tackled the sewing of all the napkins for us. We bought Chocolate Brown Burlap and cut to full length of tables for the runners.
One of our biggest budget splurges was on the food. I am a vegetarian and gluten free and Jesse's favorite food is pork. I knew we needed to create a menu to suite both our taste as well as satisfy our guests. We looked for a caterer who had a sustainable business in sourcing local and organic foods whenever possible. We found this with Tim from The Cuisine Machine. He created a perfect menu for us; slow roasted pork, sweet potato lasagna (gluten free), fresh salads, and such. YUM! I had so many guests tell me how amazing the food was.
For dessert, we had homemade pies from Lula's Cafe in Whitefish. They even made me a few gluten free pies! Our homemade pie table was an old door, some old wood saw horses, and a pretty lace table cloth. This was thrown together the day of the wedding!
My favorite herbalist from the Flathead Valley, Teddy Rice, made wonderful 1/2 bars of soap for us as favors for our guests. My mom and I wrapped the soaps with leftover burlap scraps (from our table runners) and finished them off with custom labels I designed. We displayed them in old wood crates and cigar boxes on the gift table.
I rented PA system with ipod plug in for the rest of the party. For the cocktail and dinner hours I made ipod mixes which played off the PA. I made each mix long enough in case time ran over. It worked out perfectly. For gettin' down on the dance floor, my good friend Jeff brought his turn tables and spun a few songs and we would switch back to ipod dance mix I also made. Jesse, his father, and his buddy Shasta built us a custom dance floor tucked in the trees. I wanted the dance floor under the stars surrounded by the forest. That I got!
My favorite moment of the whole day was the late night gathering around the fire pit. Jesse's dad built this amazing fire pit with log benches and seats nestled in the forrest. We have a lot of musician friends, so guitars and harmonicas were brought out for some late night flow around the camp fire. It was awesome!
This is my favorite picture from their day - natural, loving fun!
Thank you Melissa for letting me feature your amazing wedding - Keith and I and several other DIY brides can relate to the hard work you, Jesse and your friends and family put into your day and we appreciate you sharing it with all of us!
