A Beautiful June Wedding
When my youngest daughter got engaged last spring, she immediately knew she wanted a June wedding. Today I am delighted to share with you some highlights of the beautiful day!
It’s a bit of a long post but there is so much to share! I have included some great DIY ideas that made the wedding day extra special and personal.
Weddings are certainly big business and Pinterest is full of fairytale ideas to make any wedding special, no matter what your budget. Our daughter’s wedding was a balance of indulgence and DIY that made for the most magnificent June wedding.
Wedding Welcome Sign DIY
The welcome sign started as an inexpensive framed art piece purchased at a local Goodwill! It was first used for her wedding shower and then completely repainted again with all new colours for the wedding, courtesy of her talented Aunt Leslie! I added a few fresh flowers to the corner for a pop of colour.
My Favourite Photo
I honestly didn’t take that many photos. Thankfully I was given permission to share some of the candid shots from family and friends (thank you Karen, Leslie, Jordan, Sannia and Gabriella).
But, this one photo I did capture (above) is probably my most favourite of the day. I took right before she was about to walk down the aisle as she was talking to her dad. It just embodied the glow she had the entire day. I have never seen her smile so much!
The Perfect June Wedding Dress
It took Samantha only one visit to a bridal salon to choose her dress. If I recall correctly, it was the third dress she tried on, and she knew it was the one. Perfect for a June wedding with a sweetheart neckline, beaded bodice, narrow straps, and full tulle skirt with a blush hue.
The Wedding Venue
June can be a tricky month when it comes to weather where we live. An indoor reception venue meant the least amount of stress! But, they also wanted the option of an outdoor ceremony.
They found exactly what they were looking for at a local golf club and vineyard. Not only was it the perfect size for their guest list, but the almost 360 degree views through floor to ceiling windows was stunning.
It also has a lovely ceremony space surrounded by lush greens, tall pines, and gardens. (There is a back-up covered ceremony space in case of rain that thankfully we did not have to use!)
I managed to remember to snap a quick photo on Friday when we were there setting up! Guest tables wrapped around both sides of the room, with a central sweetheart table for the bride and groom.
The Wedding Flowers
Next to the venue, flowers can be the biggest expense when it comes to a wedding. Since I thoroughly enjoy dabbling in flower arranging, I offered to do the flowers for them. There were many nights that I would lay awake at night thinking I had bitten off more than I could chew. When I saw my little workroom filled with 14 buckets of flowers I really started to question my sanity!
In the end it all worked out. I managed to create all the flowers she asked for including centrepieces, bouquets, bouts, urns, meadows, and more!
But honestly, the beauty is in the flowers themselves no matter how they are arranged!
Her bridal party wore the prettiest shade of what can only be described as the perfect mix of lavender and pink, that would go with pretty much any flowers.
And when it came to flowers, Samantha wanted “all the colours”. Early June is such a great season for fresh flowers. We are lucky to live in an area where local flower farms are plentiful. Peonies were just coming into bloom, as well as allium, and Geum “Mai Tai”, and local ranunculus. I also used local stock flower in the prettiest peach, Bell’s of Ireland, white garden roses, lavender roses, pink and white lisianthus, and purple Larkspur.
The Outdoor Ceremony
No photos were allowed during the ceremony (other than by the official photographer of course), but I did manage to snap a few shots while I was setting up the arbour.
She had these cute tags printed for the reserved seating, and they were hung on the white chairs.
As mentioned, the arbour was decorated at the top and down one side. Two meadow arrangements (not pictured) beside the first two rows of seating were also repurposed to be used inside.
Large urn arrangements (pictured above) were set atop the wine barrels that flanked the first part of the aisle.
Her beloved golden’s were also a part of the ceremony! They were adorable in their custom tuxedo bandana’s, and they enjoyed visiting with the guests as they made their way down. A big thank-you to Jordan who not only jumped in when the original dog handler totally let us down (story for another day!) and also took this photo of the handsome boys!
Cocktail Hour
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to get any photos at the cocktail hour as I was just in the moment enjoying visiting with the guests.
Since the weather was warm and sunny, cocktail hour was held on the patio adjacent to the reception hall. There was plenty of seating with umbrellas for shade. It overlooks the 18th green with a lovely water feature and fountain.
They had tabletop Jenga games as well as corn hole games set up for guests to play while they were off having photos done. Delicious hors d’oeuvres were passed by wait staff and cocktails were available at the bar. There were vegan and gluten free options available for all the guests.
A DIY Seating Chart
After Cocktail hour, it was time to find your seat inside.
Since the wedding was held at a golf club, and the groom and my husband are both avid golfers, Samantha asked her dad if he could recreate a similar golf themed seating chart as she saw on Pinterest.
How could he say no to his little girl?!! We could find no real plans online, so he just set about getting it done the best way he thought it would be stable and still look good.
Samantha used her Cricut to do the lettering. They ordered custom printed golf balls and stuck them to the tees with glue dots. She also used her Cricut to put each guests name on a the ribbon to tie around the tee. That girl has way more patience (or maybe determination) than I do. It could not have been easy to weed out all the letters!
A meadow arrangement adds a pop of colour, as well helps to camouflage the “feet”!
June Wedding Tablescape
The venue included all linen rentals, as well as gold charger plates. We opted to rent gold flatware in instead of the regular silver flatware included with the venue.
If you have been around while, you know I love a good DIY tablescape! The tablescapes were very much a DIY element of the wedding! A large centrepiece in a gold compote bowl sits in the centre. I was careful to design low enough to allow guests to talk across the table. Three simple tea light candle holders (purchased at the dollar store), and of course the table number, completed the table decor.
Samantha purchased inexpensive templates for all the stationary including the menu cards, name cards, table numbers, and other signage. It was all printed at a local Staples store. She picked up ribbon to match the girls dresses and tied the name cards to the menu for each place setting.
4 Course June Wedding Dinner Menu
I wished I had taken photos of the food, but alas, I did not. However, the meal began with a fresh garden salad, followed by the most delicious Penne Rosé for the pasta course.
Each guest could choose strip loin steak, chicken supreme or the vegan option, sweet potato & chickpea curry, as their main. The portions were large, and arrived at the table piping hot.
Dessert course was cheesecake with blueberries and strawberries, both regular and vegan/gluten free options were available.
We received many compliments on how delicious the food was, as well as the serving size! The venue even provided take-out containers for those who asked!
A DIY Wedding Cake
Their wedding cake was a labour of love that was created by 3 people! First, her lovey mother-in-law created a three tier “dummy cake” by covering styrofoam layers with, I believe, either drywall compound or Bondo for cars. I was amazed how it turned out!
It was then passed onto her one of her very talented bridesmaids who baked a real cake for the top layer. She then frosted the entire cake and decorated it with two golden retriever’s that appear to have been “nibbling” the cake! So cute!
Finally, I had the easy job! Just added a pink peony from my garden to the top. A few snips of greens were added here and there. The peony is non-toxic and grown without any pesticides. I gave it and the greens a good wash and dry before wrapping the stems and placing it on the cake.
Speeches and Dancing
Samantha’s uncle Sean was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. In his quest to find some “dirt” on Matt from his family that he could share in his speech, he came up empty. Apparently he was the “perfect” child! So, he presented Matt with a light up halo which was greeted with much laughter amongst the guests!
My husband had been rehearsing his speech for days and couldn’t get through it without tears, however he did manage to hold it together, but I barely did.
A wonderful speech from the brother of the groom had us all tearing up a bit . A heartfelt speech from one of Samantha’s bridesmaids (a friend since kindergarten) were also shared.
The bride and groom closed out the speeches to thank the guests, and everyone that made their day extra-special!
Their first dance was so special, and the dance lessons they had taken really showed!
Samantha and her dad also took some lessons and they danced to “This Dance” which brought many tears! Thank you Leslie for capturing this moment!
After all the formality was done, it was time to kick back and enjoy, and enjoy I did! I have never danced so much in all my life! The dance lessons we took also paid off! We certainly still have a lot to learn and plan to continue with our lessons as they are such fun! If you’re local to Niagara, Social Ease Dance Studio is amazing!
Personal Touches that Make A Wedding Special
One for the Dogs
As mentioned above, Samantha’s dogs are a big part of their lives and part of their big day! They set up a Doggy Biscuit Bar for guests to take treats home to their own dogs! How cute is this!
She designed custom stickers and had them printed at Staples.
Memory Table
A lovely memory table was set with photos in gold frames to honour loved ones who are no longer with us, but forever hold a place in their hearts.
Edible Wedding Favours
Another fun DIY element they included as their “wedding favours” was a sweets bar. Complete with cellophane bags and custom stickers for guests to fill with an array of homemade sweet treats including Oreo balls, fudge, lemon cookies, mini pecan butter tarts, macarons and more!
How beautiful are these custom monogrammed sugar cookies also made by the brides childhood friend (and bridesmaid) Sannia! The flowers match those on her wedding invitations.
DIY Guest Book
Instead of the run-of-the-mill guest book, they opted for something they could display on their wall instead of tuck away never to be looked at again!
A black and white printable map of Cape Breton Island was purchased from Etsy. They had it printed poster size, and placed it in a frame (with the glass removed). A red heart was added to mark the spot where Matt popped the question. There was ample white space around the map for guests to sign! The glass will be placed over top and the map hung on the wall of their family room.
Golden Hour
The bride and groom slipped away with the photographer to take golden hour photos and a guest snapped this shot through the window, and gave me permission to share! I can’t wait to see the shot the photographer got!
And that, my friends is a magical end to a very magical day!
Wow what a personal and beautiful event. So many great details but the cake with the dogs was priceless. It was so fun to see. Thank you!
Such a beautiful wedding. Samantha was stunning ! Matt so handsome. The weather was awesome. Everything was perfect. So lucky to be involved in the day xx
Oh SO beautiful Maureen! How proud you must have been!! Your flower arrangements are gorgeous – you do a fabulous job! And you’re right – she looks so happy the whole day. How wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing with us!