Wedding Wednesday #3 - Semi-homemade

It's Wednesday again, wow did this week ever fly by again.  I really wasn't prepared for my weekly wedding post.... but here goes.

Semi-homemade?  Sounds a bit like a cooking show huh?  Well what I'm talking about is DIY vs hiring a professional.  Some of the choices have been pretty easy and practical decisions.  Others not so much.  One of the most obvious items to leave up to the professionals is the cake, or in this case, the cupcakes.  Now I can make a mean cupcake for a party or a snack...

But certainly not 300 mini cupcakes for a wedding!  Fortunately the happy couple found a fabulous bakery very close to the groom's parents, where you may remember the wedding will be.  Sweet Life Cakery in Kingston, WA has some fabulous looking baked goods and I'm told they taste FABULOUS!  This bakery also has a take on the "ding dong" but the bride has nixed that idea....

via Sweet Life Cakery

Another item that can be taken on in a DIY fashion is the invitations.  Something that is seen in bridal magazines and blogs are the invitations that are complete "suites"... sometimes even in little folders with all kinds of items included!  I can't even imagine what the cost is let alone the postage to mail them!  After much searching it was decided to go with a DIY insert for the couples wedding website which has additional information... ok, I'll admit it... we actually didn't think about ordering these and I was the lucky person that hand wrote 125 of these little guys on my lunch hour.  We used the same paper as the invites so hopefully no one will notice our little faux pas and just think we wanted to add a personal touch!

And the actual invite and rsvp's?  Well they were ordered from Paper Source and look just like this... except for the names... and place... and date... well you get the idea!  You aren't sensing a "chalk board theme" at all are you?

Source: paper-source.com via Red on Pinterest

And my personal choice for the one and only item that should always be left up to a professional?  The photography.  Really when the wedding is all done you really just have a few things left... the photos, the memories and the dress... well you have the dress if you don't put it in a cardboard box, with colored tissue, on the floor in a space with a leaky water heater... enough said about my dress... most people have the dress too!

The soon to be married couple used a photo taken by the groom's father for their save the date postcards... a wonderful photo of them at the site of the wedding, but the actual wedding will be photographed by a photographer from our area.

A couple of weeks ago she and her assistant (aka husband) came over to Red Gate Farm and did tons of engagement photos... an opportunity to work with the soon to be bride and groom in advance of the wedding.  This photo is one of my favorites taken in front of our huge, old walnut tree.

via Melisa Draper Photography

I can't wait to see all the fabulous wedding photos that will be taken.  I really like the whimsical photos that so many bride and groom's choose these days.  Not just the stuffy, lined up posing, but cute ideas to show their personalities.

Of course, you have all heard (and heard, and heard, and heard) about our plans for flowers.  Milk glass vases...

With lots of fun flowers in purple and green on the tables...

Some large potted hydrangea bushes for the alter...

White shrub roses in another key spot of the ceremony...

Source: google.com via Red on Pinterest

But we did get smart about the bridal party flowers... we really want something pretty and I don't want to be trying to recreate this a day or two before the wedding!

Source: gardenpartydecor.blogspot.com via Red on Pinterest

Or looking for just the right flowers and knowing how to use them in a bouquet.  The florist we are using is also from "our area" and does gorgeous work!  We're looking for something similar to this for the bride... but with deep purple calla lilies...

Source: images.google.com via Red on Pinterest

And another last minute, no way I'm doing it myself, item?  The catering... We will be providing all of the beverage ourselves.... lemonade, ice tea, beer, wine...the usual.

Source: blog.weddzilla.com via Red on Pinterest

And I will of course need to add my own extra special touch... I plan to make fun little shaped sugars for the ice tea and coffee... I suppose I should start trying this out now, huh?

Source: niftythriftythings.com via Red on Pinterest

And the food?  Well it will be a barbecue dinner catered by a place that is local to the groom's parents home.  The bride and groom to be assure me it is fantastic... but no ribs for the wedding... I can't imagine why not!

via Mikes Four Star BBQ

So I think this wedding will be a perfect blending of DIY and the pros... a little of us and a little of them, a perfect semi-homemade union,