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Hindsight Advice from Vintage Eco-Chic Bride Amanda

Amanda + Tim
July 19, 2012
Twenty Mile House, Cromberg, CA

Remember last week’s amazing Vintage Eco-Chic wedding at Twenty Mile House? You know, the one with all of the DIY details that was so good I had to publish it in two parts here and here? Well, I have a wonderful treat for you. Amanda is on the blog today to share her real hindsight advice. I’ve added some never seen before photos to jog your memory. Scroll all the way down for Amanda’s advice.

    

Why a Mountain Wedding?

My husband grew up in a small mountain town and I grew up in the city. As I came into my early 20s I fell in love with the mountains. We met in the mountains at a folk music festival and it’s something that we had in common right away. We have reverence for the natural world, and so a mountain wedding was the only possibility for us. Also, the venue was along the railroad tracks and my husband loves trains.

Where did you find your inspiration?

  • Local. Conscious. Family. Classic. Simple.
  • I am a 1st grade Waldorf teacher, and therefore an artist. I wanted color, color, and more color! I’m also someone that appreciates the beauty of simplicity. I love the beauty and practicality of vintage charm, so we had old vases and colored glass jars. “Love Birds” was our theme and I couldn’t find enough birds, so we had a family member make them. We have many creative people in my family, and almost everything that wasn’t bought at a thrift store was handmade.

Any thing you wish you had done?

  • Wear comfortable shoes! That’s the only thing I wish I had done. I lasted about an hour in my shoes and then they were off! I had no back up, so I was barefoot for most of the evening. Barefoot bride?–Not so classy.

Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?

  • Everything! I worried about it all–every single detail! My MOH told me, “None of it will matter on the day of, you’ll see.” I didn’t listen, and she was right. I stressed out about so many things, and then when it came time to have the actual day, not a single bit of it mattered. Everyone that we love was there, and that is the greatest gift.

What is your very best hindsight advice?

  • Enjoy every single second of the day. It goes by even faster than you think it will. I heard all the warnings, but I could not have imagined that it would go by so quickly.
  • Pick the things that are most important to you and your husband-to-be. For us it was, Family, Music, Venue, Photographer and our attire. This is where our money went. We picked a venue that was beautiful, everyone could stay on the grounds, there was no curfew, and we had the freedom to really do whatever we wanted. We had three types of music: 2 piece string band for the ceremony, Thomas and Plecker for the cocktail hour/dinner/first dance, DJ for the dancing. Our Photographer was AMAZING! He is an artist, not just a point and shoot portrait guy. He really captured the day and all it’s love and beauty. My dress is from BHLDN and I loved it the moment I tried it on. It’s classic and simple, just like me. We focused on the things we wanted most and then the rest was just simple and inexpensive. Everyone helped out and all decor and food was DIY–even the cake and cake-topper. Family was #1 for us! We had almost 20 children at the wedding, and it was perfect.
  • Trust your loved ones to execute your vision!

Team Wedding

Team DIY:

  • Food and Cake–Including topper and cake stands. The topper were two felted birds made by one of the bridesmaids
  • Birds and Birdhouses made by my Aunt
  • Tree platters–From a tree that fell in our yard the winter before
  • Table Numbers and Assignments–made by the bride
  • Officiant: Our dear friend Chris Becker