Laura & Adam: DIY Wedding

My beautiful sister (Laura) and her boyfriend of 4-years (Adam) 

tied the knot on July 28th, 2012.

They are such an AMAZING couple... who LOVE TO LAUGH.

He performs in comedy shows in Chicago, and she's a high school English teacher.

To see how much in LOVE they are... I encourage you to watch their

"Engagement Video" - which was shot at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

When planning the wedding... they both knew they wanted to get married OUTSIDE.

Standing Bear Lake in Omaha, NE was the chosen setting for the vows. 

Their color palette for the wedding was:

gray, mint, coral and blush.

From there, my sister decided to do ALL the planning with the help of 

one VERY determined, hardworking, creative person...

our dad!

He loves woodworking, and took on the challenge of making everything for the ceremony!

He used old fence posts, to make these amazing signs... which were staked outside

Standing Bear Lake, to let guests know WHERE TO GO!

He also designed and created the altar for the outdoor ceremony.

(Yup - he made the ENTIRE THING!)

It turned out perfect.

(It's painted a light, blush color.)

Aside from the altar, he also made FLOWER BOXES for the ceremony and reception.

All of these boxes are made from old fence posts.

But, if you think THAT is cool... 

... check this out!

My dad also GREW allllll the flowers to go inside the boxes!

They are beautiful wildflowers from his garden.

(Very cost efficient on my sister's part!)

The day before the wedding, we had a "flower assembly party" in my parents' basement.

Once the flower boxes were done, we put them in the fridge overnight.

They turned out great for the reception!

Along with the flowers...

We also made the "programs" for the wedding ceremony.

My sister simply used coral-colored paper, tied a burlap ribbon around them, 

and secured everything in place with a beautiful piece of card stock that bared the letter "C."

(Adam's last name is CLAUS.)

*Not pronounced like "Santa Clause."

My sister also found coral-colored curtains at Goodwill...

sewed ribbons to the top, and secured photos on the ribbons.

We hung the curtains inside shadow boxes at the reception site.

For the cards...

My sister found this old suitcase!

Simple and cute.

Since my sister is a teacher, she thought it was fitting

to give her guests a "Lesson Plan."

This was placed at the reception site.

(Which was A View West in Omaha.)

Laura & Adam's favorite quote comes from Dr. Seuss.

They found this GIANT, old frame at Goodwill.

We then painted a piece of cardboard "mint green"... and painted the words on!

This was placed next to a tree at the ceremony site.

Laura also found these giant, cardboard letters at Mangelsens in Omaha.

She wrapped colorful yarn around them...

and my dad secured them on top of pieces of plywood.

(Which were painted the same color as the altar.)

We placed the letters at the ceremony site... to greet guests!

Speaking of the guests...

they were given QUITE THE TREAT at their hotel!

Adam's brother-in-law (Mike) brewed special "Adam" and "Laura" beers for everyone!

But, instead of drinking the beers SEPARATELY...

you were asked to pour them together.

Because, after all - Adam and Laura are SO MUCH better when they're together :)

The beer is just ONE example of how creative ADAM's family was too!

They blew up this GIANT cardboard cut-out of Adam and Laura...

which was placed at the rehearsal dinner at Upstream Brewing Company in West Omaha.

The tables were all decorated so cute...

... complete with Ball jars filled with candy!

(Laura is OBSESSED with candy.)

Adam's sister (Emily)... was in charge of finding someone to make the ring bearer's outfits!

Meet Aiden and Charlie.

(Aren't they the cutest things EVER?!)

They LOVE super-heroes... so my sister wanted them to wear capes!

One says... "HERE COMES THE"

The other says... "BRIDE"

Emily found a family friend to make the capes... and the awesome bow-ties!

The boys did SUCH a great job walking down the aisle.

(They had been practicing for weeks!)

The bridesmaids loved it!

But, nothing compared to watching Laura and Adam read their vows to each other.

They wrote the vows... themselves.

(Tissues, please!)

And, when it came to the rings...

Adam found a really, really cool one for himself.

It's made out of wood!

"You may kiss the bride!"

After the ceremony...

it was time to DANCE!

Laura insisted, that she wanted a VIDEO playing during the Father/Daughter dance.

It featured pictures of her... growing up.

The same for the Mother/Son dance.

Then, it was time for EVERYONE to dance!

Since there were a LOT of kids at the reception, Laura and Adam decided

to get a pinata for them to break open!

But, they also got a pinata for the "single" adults too!

Inside was the garter and "toss bouquet."

The kids wanted everything in that one too :)

Since my sister loves candy, she had a "candy bar" for the guests to gorge on!

The cake was adorable... and DELICIOUS!

Made by Bliss Bakery in Omaha.

(Seriously... if you're getting married... I highly, highly recommend hiring them!)

All the decorations were put in place by Fluff Your Stuff in Omaha.

They were able to do WONDERS with just THREE hours!

Wonderful, wonderful ladies!

BUT...

The biggest hit of the night...

had to be the PHOTO BOOTH!

Cheese!

Instead of a "Guest Book"...

Laura and Adam had each guest take a photo,

and write "well wishes" next to it.

In the end, everyone had a wonderful time.

Laura and Adam made everything SO EASY for the entire wedding party.

They let the groomsmen pick whatever color of gray suit they wanted.

(Yes, Adam had a girl in his wedding party - so Jess got to pick a gray dress!)

The bridesmaids were allowed to pick ANY dress they wanted...

just as long as it was coral, mint or blush.

The bouquets blended EVERYTHING together!

They were gorgeous.

Made by Mulhall's in Omaha.

Don't we look good?

Can't wait to get the professional photos back!

They were taken by Bellus Photography in Omaha.

In the meantime... Adam's AWESOME sister (Shelley) - took all these!

My sister's veil also had significance.

It was first worn by our mother (on her wedding day)... back in 1982.

The veil was Laura's "something old" and "something borrowed" for the wedding day.

But, the one moment... I will never forget from that day...

was watching my dad fix Laura's train... 

... and walk her down the aisle.

He put so much love and hard work into raising her. 

The same amount of love and hard work...

 into making sure her wedding day 

was perfect.

Lots of love.