There is almost no end to the work and creativity Tristan and Colleen put in to their wedding. Best described as a DIY wedding in the country, it was the perfect blend of rustic, simple, handmade, and creative elements. Tristan and Colleen invited their guests to join them in celebrating the day with the backyard party they hosted at the house Tristan grew up in. Simple touches such as letterpressed signs, mason jars, hay bales, small potted herbs as favors, lawn games, a bluegrass band, strawberry shortcake, and of course Colleen’s handmade dress – and Tristan’s handmade vest – came together to pull the whole day together. It was a celebration, and a relaxed one which really made it perfect for kids. Of course there’s nothing like the details that are around when you have a wedding at home, so this post will have lots of inspiration for you. Let’s start with the invitation suite, since we know that it sets the stage for the wedding:
Simple, bright, and unique the invites captured the feel of the wedding day and provided just enough information – I love Plan B. Now the scene when I arrived and everyone was getting ready…
Max had a festive bow on for the wedding day, and did his job cleaning up any scraps that were dropped after dinner – that’s what dogs are for, right? Inside, a cat slept and the shortcake cooled and fresh strawberries dried after washing. Alice, Colleen’s sister, worked on putting together boutineers and corsages, while Colleen’s bouquet below sat waiting for her. Do you love the peonies? I do! Colleen told me they picked them when they were in season (and still tight buds, unbloomed) and kept them in the refrigerator until a few days before the wedding. They opened right up when they needed them too and looked fabulous.
Colleen not only made her dress but the vest Tristan wore -which fit him perfectly! The site for the reception was right next to the house, on the base of what use to be an old barn, but now was a raised platform. Hay bales were covered in quilts for convenient rows for guests to sit in.
After the ceremony I went over to an barn on the family property where there were also some cows nearby.
That dress and vest are looking good! After some pictures we joined the reception and here are some of the details from that below:
All of the kids had fun with the lawn games – even if they were just de-tangling the ladderballs. I should add the kids weren’t the only ones playing games. Washers, ladderball, and Kan Jam were set out for everyone to enjoy – and they did! The fabulous strawberry shortcake made it’s entrance below…
…and was served up for everyone to enjoy. I think they picked all of the berries for this but I could be wrong. A guestbook poster was set out for everyone to sign, and I love the idea of being able to hang it up somewhere and see what people wrote. All in all, it was a wonderful day with so many details and I couldn’t be happier to document it.
To see the full set of images head over to Tristan + Colleen’s gallery, and leave a comment here and help them earn a free enlargement. Enjoy viewing + congrats again to the newlyweds!
by Mary Dougherty
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