So many of us, no matter how old or late in life we marry, many of us dream of the type of wedding that really says who we are and what we are about. Randy, my new husband, told me that whatever type of wedding I wanted was fine with him. I told him that more than anything, I wanted to have FUN, have my dear friends near me, and to LAUGH and actually have a good time.
Too many brides fret way too much on their wedding day and are pulled in so many directions, greeting so many people, and keeping "with the program" that they don't have fun and even worse, they don't really remember their wedding day at all. I am happy to report that my wedding day was not only memorable, but I found myself laughing, hugging, and admiring my handsome husband for the entire event.
Enjoy the photos - and I will be adding more as I get the time so please check back again. Also, I had the honor of having Atia Thurman photograph my wedding day. She and her husband were store customers of mine years ago and I once showed them my apartment above my store. We had such a nice visit and here we are, years later, doing this together. At the time I met her, she had not yet joined her husband, Lance, in his photography business and now she photographing my wedding (beautifully, I must say!). Most photos posted here are hers and some are mine. Stop by and check out her website! Now that is eye candy! I must tell you how she came about photographing my wedding. I talking with a friend of mine on the phone one day about the upcoming wedding and the plans. She asked me about the photography and I told her that we really couldn't afford a professional photographer and how I wish I could take all the photographs! Of course I couldn't do that, but I figured I would get some and I would have friends who would take some, give them to me and I would do "my thing" with them on the computer and all would be well. Right at the moment I hung up the phone an email popped up and the subject line said, "photography for your wedding." I had no idea who it was from and it was from Atia who reintroduced herself and reminded me how we met a few years ago and how she heard we were getting married and if I hadn't selected a photographer yet, how she would love to photograph the wedding - as she figured it would be done very "Elizabeth House Style." Now is that amazing or what? So, please visit her website and pass her name along to anyone who is looking for a fabulous photographer.
To start you off with a little eye-candy, below are some "after" shots of all our hard work is finally put into place. Later down the post, I give tips, give thanks, and show behind the scenes work. Enjoy!
A Carriage House Wedding
The walkway to the carriage house was simply decorated with cheesecloth and urns. My friends, Chris Brenner and Tyler Olsen, are the owners of this beautiful home. Randy and I can't thank them enough for the gift of sharing their home with us. They generously allowed us to drape and hang material wherever the creative mode struck me. They also made all of our guests feel at home and very welcomed. They are true treasures.
Guest were greeted simply with a sign-in table at the walk-way and a peek at what was to come with the giant chandelier hanging in the carriage house further down the pathway.
The guestbook was made and designed by my good friends, Sharon and Anne of Secret Leaves Paperworks. They also designed my invitation which will be shown later. They did this as a gift to us and all I had to do was pick out an old book. I found an antique book titled: "Great Men and Famous Women". How great is that? The cover was chocolate brown, which of course, was perfect for my color scheme. The inside is filled with paper that they hand-cut to fit and of course, I had Sharon be the first to sign it.
I used an antique ironstone platter as my welcome sign and wrote on it with a sharpe pen. The beautiful flower arrangement was made for me by Diane Bentiz, my mother-in-law. I love that I have both the platter and arrangement in my home. I tried to think ahead of the items that were going to be used in the wedding and how they would fit in our home decor.
This beautiful table was borrowed from Gringo Jones, a fabulous store located here in St. Louis. If ever in the area, you must stop by. Leon, the owner, generously let me borrow many items that I will point out in photos as they appear.
I used burlap and beans in this wonderful iron window sconce by Gringo Jones. I love texture and of course, the cost of this was so minimal.
You see the beautiful antique hemp/ticking cloth draped over the table? That piece weighs about 15 lbs and measures 11' x 8' and was made around mid 19th century. My mother-in-law bought that for us and I am going to design it into our bedding set. I will make a very simple bed cover for our feather cover and large headboard pillows with our monogram on them. The fabric is very durable, and yet, feels good to the touch. Plus, I like the idea of being covered by the fabric that was used on our wedding day.
Randy was in charge of all the food - yes really! He did a wonderful job of creating a Tuscan feast of olive oils, assorted cheeses from Spain, France, and Italy. We had butters, breads, olives, grapes, marinated mushrooms, bread sticks, sweets, and tapanades. In the center of the round table I put a bird bath and inside I place an ironstone bowl with cheesecloth that I filled with chunks of fresh farmer's bread and grapes. The birdbath was borrowed from Gringo Jones.
I love hydrangeas and I simply filled the giant chandelier with them and wrapped the chain with (what else?) cheesecloth. This is the chandelier that hung in my store all those years! And yes, that is my dining room table with my linens. I love the fact that when I use my table that I can remember how it was used in our wedding. The wedding cake is on a little iron table that I borrowed from Gringo Jones and those fabulous iron urns in the background came from Gringo Jones as well.
I simply printed on paper a candle belly wrap with our names and date of the event to dress up an inexpensive candle bought at a local hobby store. This candle sits in our living room next to a wedding photo and my bouquet.
Okay, I am very aware that English toffee has nothing to do with a Tuscan feast, but those who know me very well, also know that English toffee is probably my most favorite candy of all time (right up there with Key Lime pie and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups). But I would have to say that English Toffee and I go way back and if I am around it, no one else really has a chance of getting much of it. So, I had to have some at our wedding. And if you happen to have a Trader's Joes near you - they have wonderful English Toffee!!
I designed our wedding cake. It was made by The Cakery here in St. Louis. The ribbon is left over material from my wedding outfit. The platter was covered with old pages from an antique book instead of the usual gold or silver foil. When I asked the cake designer if old paper could be used instead of foil, she looked at me and said, "now that is a new question I haven't heard before..."
Little did she know that I have heard that statement said to me many other times... :-)
The cake was chocolate and vanilla. Randy's grandmother was allergic to chocolate and so I had one layer with only vanilla so she could have a piece of cake. I kept the design very simple, but elegant with our initals "M and W" in a mirror image on top.
This is a lovely gift that I now have hanging in our main hallway of our home that was made and given to us by Debbie Dusenberry of Curious Sofa. As always, she knows how to put the cherry on top of the sundae - and she always knows exactly which flavors to pick. We were very honored with such a personalized gift that we will treasure for years to come.
Since we had several out of town guest that were meeting Randy for the first time or meeting me for the first time, I thought it would be nice for our guests to read little tid-bits of fun information about us that they would eventually learn had they lived closer and had a chance to sit down and get to know each of us over time like our friends did, here locally. I placed little cards in in tongs of silver forks and stuck them in creamers filled with beans throughout the room. This was a quick, but cute way of getting out some "conversation starters" for guests who may not know each other but were standing next to each other at the buffet table.
My mother-in-law had this little wagon that I stuck in the corner and filled with lavender. The only reason I really wanted it in the wedding was for the name, "Oliver." That was my dad's middle name. My father passed away in 1996 and I would have given anything to have him at the wedding to have him meet Randy. I think he and Randy would have been super close and I think dad would have loved the wedding. I liked seeing the wagon there and thinking my dad was present in a way. Dad loved bread, olives and good company.
That beautiful handwriting you see is not mine - my friend Sharon, of Secret Leaves, came to the rescue at the last moment and offered to write out the little cards for me which was so appreciated. And I love using my old ironstone for the wedding. It was casual but durable.
Now that you got a little gander for what the guest were in for upon arrival, I will show a little bit of what was going on while the guest were eating and drinking. Yes, we had the reception prior to the ceremony! The guests arrive and were invited to begin eating and socializing with the groom and his family as I finished getting ready in the house and taking some photos. The groom was then summoned to greet me at the bottom of the steps inside the home for some photos and then we greeted the guests in the carriage house. The party was well underway and we just joined in the fun. It was relaxed, casual and very memorable.
I chose a single hydrangea blossom as my bouquet. This is my favorite flower. That and sunflowers. I actually went down to flower row (a wholesale street here in St. Louis) the day before my wedding and found the perfect blossom. I figured that if they didn't have what I hoping for, I would figure something out. This was the only one they had that day! I wrapped it in cheesecloth, organza ribbon and pinned one of my antique brooches to the stem. Very simple. I believe the entire bouquet costs me about $7.
Here you see my wedding outfit for the first time really. This photo was taken right before I went downstairs. I designed the outfit and my very good friend and seamstress, Maureen Singer (yes, that is her last name, isn't that cool that her last name is "Singer" as in the sewing machine?), sewed it all for me and she also constructed and helped me come up with how it all going to work because you see, the skirt was made out of an old antique table cloth that my mother-in-law had bought for me one day telling me, "Here Elizabeth, I think you might be able to use this at your wedding!" Yes, I can, Diane...and thank you very much. I am sure she had no idea I was going to chop it up and wear it though!
The beautiful necklace is custom made (there is a photo later) by my friend, Gretchen Spalt. She makes jewelry as a hobby and she asked if she could make my wedding necklace and earrings. I gave her the jewel and she did the rest. I just love it and wear it all the time with just about everything. It is a deep purple/brownish color. The jacket is made out of moleskin fabric - the reverse side. I am actually wearing the fabric wrong-side-out! I just couldn't find the exact color I wanted until I saw the backside of this fabric. Moleskin, for those fabric-challenged readers, is very soft and sort of like suede. So, actually, the soft, suede part is touching my skin on the inside, which is really nice. I wanted just a touch of sheen and I wanted some stretch as well and moleskin does the trick. My total fabric costs (not including the table cloth since it was a gift) was about $55. Maureen sewed it all as a gift for me.
Here is my Groom and Mother-in-law to be waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. I designed Randy's outfit as well and we had a taylor custom make it. His fabric is a very, very fine courdoroy pants and waistcoat with a muslin shirt fabric. His cravat is made from the same fabric as my jacket. Now his cost of having his outfit custom made is about the same as most wedding dresses - so in a way, he was the bride! ;-) But, I have to tell you, when he went for his second fitting (I wasn't there...I wasn't allowed to see his fittings or his outfit, even though I designed it ) he called me on the phone all excited about how it was looking. I never heard him so excited about an outfit before. He isn't really a "clothes" guy. So to hear him so excited on the phone made my heart sing. He decided (not me) that I wasn't allowed to see him or his outfit until the wedding day when I walked down the stairs. So, he didn't see mine until that moment either. He may fish, bar-b-que and have a brown belt in karate, but he still has his "girlie" side - which I love.
Diane is seeing that my skirt looks familiar. She knew the table cloth wasn't going on the table, but didn't have the full picture until now. I am admiring Randy (and seeing my own design come to life for the first time).
Family photo of Jim, Diane (Randy's parents) and my brother Bill and sister, Louisa.
We haven't seen each other for 24 hours (gasp!) and the photographer can't get us to shut-up and face the camera long enough to snap a decent photo. The guest are waiting in the carriage house behind us and we are ready to greet them.
Atia took this photo and it is one of my favorites of Randy and I. Finally, a moment where we are quiet. This is one of the best photos I think because we are so happy, our guests are laughing and eating in the background and in just an hour our two, we are going to be husband and wife.
Exchanging vows. Ron Tabor, Randy's neighbor performed the ceremony.
We wrote our own vows and many have no idea how romantic and articulate Randy can be with his words on paper... tears started to flow when he read his vows to me. I even had a few friends tease me that they wondered if I had written his vows for him! And no, I did not...I heard them the first time the moment the guests did. I think his words are so lovely, people had such a hard time thinking that such loving words could flow from the Randy they know (funny, goofy, and silly). But when you love someone deeply, words from the heart can flow quite easily. Here are our vows:
Randy to Elizabeth:
My Dearest Elizabeth,
Today you are my wife and I am a very proud man.
From the moment when our arms brushed against each other in the dark theater until the final laugh of the evening you were on my mind.
From the moment of the torrential downpour with water dripping of your beautiful eyelashes
until the final laugh of the evening you were in my heart.
It's so hard for me to put into words the feelings or what it's like to be a part of you.
But I am so happy to be walking this path and adventure with you and God.
Elizabeth, my pretty, I promise to always be here.
To lead us together in our walk with God through Jesus Christ no matter how hard the road may be for us
I will always love you with all my heart.
From Elizabeth to Randy:
Randy, after knowing you only two weeks I knew I loved you.
By the third week I knew I loved you with all my heart.
By the fourth week, I knew I wanted to love you the rest of my life.
While I know there is no such thing as a perfect person, I know you are perfect for me.
I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you.
I promise to always love you, care for you, and support you in all that you do.
Right after we got engaged, you once told me, "I prayed a long time for you."
I hope you always feel like you got what you prayed for.
I know my prayers are being answered today.
I love you with all my heart and soul.
The story of "That Damn Sink"
After cutting the wedding cake, I made the announcement that Randy would be turning 40 the following week while we were on our honeymoon and I asked the guests to wish him a happy birthday. I said I would like to have a special 40th birthday cake in celebration for him. At that moment my friends Rod and Bob brought in an old French Sink with a large cupcake and candle on it. Keep reading below to hear the story.....
Randy had just said, "I hate that sink!" The guests laughed, but didn't know why, so I proceed to explain the story...
I met Randy only a few weeks before I closed my store. The poor guy got stuck moving a lot of inventory here and there and everywhere several times over the next year or so. He was very gracious about it and never really questioned any of my "strange" old stuff. But one day, after moving my stuff yet again to new storage unit, he was carrying this French sink and he said, "this isn't coming to our house is it?" He had a look of grave concern on his face. I laughed and said assured him it was a sink and it was inventory and if he didn't like it that was okay. He then said, "That's a sink? I hate that damn sink!" I found it so funny because not once has he ever expressed any opinion one way or another about any of my inventory. Well one day, many months later, a dealer bought some inventory, including my French sink. I knew I would miss it because it was a great display piece I had for years in the store, but oh well, that's business. I later told Randy that the sink was sold and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. He assured me that he didn't really think it was all that bad (yeah right).
Then many more months later, I was Diane's house (Randy's mother) and we went down to her basement where she keeps all sorts of goodies and as I went down the stairs I stopped short and gasped. My sink was at the bottom of the steps! She had just bought it at an antique store! And she bought it for me! It was like it was possessed and it came back to haunt me. I laughed and told her how much Randy hated it and of all the things for her to buy she brought back "the demon" sink. So, I knew right then and there that I HAD to use it some way in the wedding. No one (including Diane) had any idea how I was going to use it. I had it hidden out back by the carriage house and when the guest began to sing happy birthday, Rod and Bob carried it in and you should have seen Randy's face and those few friends and Diane who already knew the story of the "damn sink" just couldn't stop laughing. I then let the other guests in on the inside joke and you should have heard the carriage house just roar. So the next few photos are pictures of me and Randy just laughing and laughing over it - the photographer got me every time with my mouth wide open - oh well... :-0
Poor guy is just realizing what he signed up for...
I like this photo of us (especially in sepia) because our smiles and our eyes for each other go straight to our hearts and it is my prayer that he always smiles and looks at me like that as the years go by....that would be the greatest blessing of all.
Ron Tabor, our next door neighbor and friend is doing us the honor of performing the ceremony.
Friends, Family, and Fun Photos...
Randy and his mother, Diane
New Family!
Beautiful Gretchan! She is the one who designed and made my necklace and earrings!
Debbie of Curious Sofa - need I say more?? Okay, I will. Does she have the eyes or what??
Sharon and husband, Michael. Sharon contributed A LOT to the wedding as you will find out later. She also did my make-up. And if you remember, she is the one who made the fabulous guest book earlier in this post and the invitations - see how she and Anne made them later in the post!
Very fashionable Karen and Wendy who helped with last minute set-up!
Diane and her best friend Sally
My older sis, Louisa (yes, I had to put that in) and younger brother, Bill :-)
My best friend that I love with all my heart, Bob, AKA, Bob From New York. We did theater together and have too many stories and too much dirt on each other...
I just love these two photos of me and my brother. Atia just happen to capture a wonderful moment with my brother hugging me and wishing me well and making me laugh.
The ever-beautiful Ara who is always ready for any event, any time.
My pal and upholster-king, Fernando and I in deep conversation about we are going to conquer the world with our sofas and chairs :-). This photo shows how the wonderful Maureen sewed the back of my dress just right and made the fabric flow just the right amount.
The talented woman in purple is the Maureen Singer who no one better not steal from me - she sewed my outfit and she is the one who sews all the beautiful bedding and drapes you see on other parts of my blog!
My sis, Louisa (aka Tweezer) and brother, Bill
Karen and Richard - no gathering is complete without them...
Jim (new father-in-law!) and Dapper Don
Helena - French born - so her attendance is a must ;-)
What are they putting in grandma's cup?
Fernando and Ruth - Can't steal him either!
Beautiful and generous Chris and Tyler - the home owners talking with Ara
My new family!! Dave, Bill and John - Handsome too!
Long-time client who has turned into life-long friend - can't get better than that, can you? Bet and her daughter, Paige. They add some class to this shindig, don't they? And by the way, you won't meet nice women than these two.
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE PHOTOS
Okay, for you behind the scenes folks, below are photos of really happens to make all the "pretty photos" so pretty. And it ain't pretty. But it is pretty funny. Okay, enough with the "pretty" and on with the ugly.... :-)
(photos aren't in perfect order - I am getting tired and blogger isn't working right...)
Set up day one with Randy and Rod and lots and lots of STUFF
Bob and Rod helping putting things out.
Okay, it is about midnight, and I couldn't find the darn tape measure and I was exhausted. So, yes, I am using a broom to measure out the burlap. Rod, who is on the ladder, and took this photo, looked down and said, "what are you doing down there?" I was busy just measuring and cutting not thinking anything about it at all. He said, "Okay, we have to get a photo of this so others will know just how you really work, Miss-I-do-everything-so-wonderful-for-magazines..." I laughed so hard- you have to imagine him saying it in a very funny and snooty voice.
Okay, you know when you are so tired you start getting slap happy? Well, that is what Rod and I are doing here. As we are hanging up burlap, Rod says very professionally,
"You know, burlap is today's tulle." And now you know the source for the title of this posting!
And I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Then, before I know it, he is dressing me up in it and I am dressing him up in it and we are playing and just making a mess and laughing way too much and working way too less..
Okay, this is funny - see the above photo? You can see a guy blowing leaves? Chris and Tyler were so kind to hire a guy on our wedding day to blow leaves off the yard for us....and then Rod has his friend stop by with beautiful leaves that they picked up at the local park and spread them around for "more colorful leaves" than the dull ones in the yard!
Gretchan (above) and Evelyn (below) are helping with last minute set up. Gretchan put ALL the food on the platter and put out ALL the cheese, breads and olives and so on. She worked from 9AM until noon doing all that for me. She did a very beautiful job, didn't she?
Pre-production Photos:
Maureen is busy cutting, sewing and making my dress with every little detail she can put together for me. She spent hours and hours on this outfit to get it just right for me. Oh and by the way, it was her gift to me - I can't thank her enough - she said "it was a labor of love!" I did feel loved while wearing it.
Okay, what you see here is about it. I do sew, but VERY little. I was trying to help Maureen, but I think I just got in her way and slowed her down. I was there for a fitting and was trying to help with adjustments - she was too polite to tell me to just leave her alone! :-)
This is Sharon putting on my make-up for me on my wedding day. She told me not to publish photos of her since she isn't all made up s0 I put this photo in the back of the blog - but I wanted everyone to know that my "beauty" was created by Sharon who spent a lot of time (a lot) on me! Is she a miracle worker, or what? And who says that her talent lies only with paper? And by the way - Randy cut and colored my hair. I bet there aren't very many grooms who do the bride's hair, now is there?
Secret Leaves created and produced my invitations. They are all hand-made and Sharon and Anne made each one with love and hard work. You can see the process below.
Sharon is bent over, determined to get every single staple just perfect (which she does). And Anne (not shown) gets all the folding, just perfect. They both spent a lot of time picking colors, paper, and putting all together beautifully!
Anne - is she sassy or what?
I was doodling one day and wanted a logo of some kind. With my last name being Maxson and Randy's being Walker, I thought how cool it would be to have a mirror image of our first letters of our last name. Secret Leaves came up with the rest of the design when I told them about the idea and I love how clean and sweet it is at the same time. Very classic.
I also like this design because when you study it, it represents what Randy and I are to each other: we have each other's "back." I like that our first letter of our last names are a mirror image of each other - the design looks like they support each other and are equal, but at the same time, the little squiggle between the two helps give them their individuality and personality. I might be reading too much into a simple little design. But I'd like to think that its by design that we ever met each other in the first place. And that amazes me.
Well, I guess it wouldn't be an "Elizabeth" wedding without it being published somewhere :-). The wedding has a little 2-page spread in the St. Louis Bride magazine Fall/Winter 2009 issue, out on the stands. We feel very honored to have been selected for its feature called, "Real Moments."
One Last Thought...
Randy and I are very blessed and grateful for our friends, family and to have found each other that one sunny day in Forest Park at the bench where it all began. Below is the bench where we met and this photo was taken the day after our wedding. When I first saw the photo it occurred to me that we have never been at our bench in "real clothes" but always in our running clothes. The first time we ever met, we were in running clothes - just like all the other people in the park.
And that is the secret to our found love: We saw only each other and nothing else.
So many times, we meet people at "certain parties," or at a "certain restaurant" what they are driving certain cars, or wearing certain clothes, or driving in certain parts of town, or talking to certain types of people...you know what I am talking about. We unknowingly evaluate each other's value based on meaningless substances.
We all do it, and most of the time, we are not even aware of it. But the day I met Randy, I had no idea what kind of car he drove, where he lived, who he knew, what he did, or even what kind of "real clothes" he wore. He was just a runner....he was just... well...Randy....a runner. He was just like all the other runners in the park. And that made him special because I had a blank slate.
I just had Randy, his smile, and a bald head to get to know on our short jog. :-)
And he just had me, my smile, and my crazy blond hair to get to know as well.
We fell in love with each other's hearts.
And we trusted our hearts.
Just a thought.
Love,
Elizabeth
