A Homemade Wedding Homestead-Style: All The Little Details

Yes, I'm finally getting back to the wedding posts. I was hoping to finish before our anniversary, but Hawaii commandeered my brain in the weeks before (and after) the trip.

Also, the yard project will soon be hitting stands, as the pictures have finally been processed and uploaded.

You all still with me?? Anyone black out for a minute there??

Goodness knows I almost did when I typed those words.

~~~

Now, onto the good stuff!

When planning weddings, brides/planners seem to OBSESS over the details. Details are a double-edged sword (in my opinion). They can make or break the event, but they can also make or break the bride/planner. Like every other aspect of our wedding, there were some details that were very important to me and others I couldn't have cared less about.

I'll start with the flowers. A family friend designed/arranged all the flower pieces for me. She did a flippin AMAZING job. The flowers came out EXACTLY like I wanted them to, but hadn't been able to clearly articulate. I had a very specific vision for the flowers; I wanted a very particular feel. However, I didn't care at all what actual flowers were used. Here's what she came up with:

My bouquet, which you've all seen before.


Maid of Honor's bouquet, same as mine only smaller, also tied with raffia.


Cowboy H's bout, with a bit of raffia to tie in with my bouquet.


Reception table centerpieces, again raffia.


This metal "basket" already hung on this gate at the reception location. The gate marks the way to the barn. My florists filled it with this killer arrangement.


This old butter churn was found in my mother's kitchen; we didn't know exactly what we were going to do with it, but knew it needed to be part of an arrangement!
Photo by my cousin, Joelle.

I was very fortunate that my venue came with tons of cool details that completely added to the feel of our wedding. Here are a few of them:

Wagon wheel chandeliers.


An old door turned into a mirror hanging behind the bar displaying our names on playing cards.


Non-alchoholic drinks in glass servers stationed on an old dresser with white string lights hanging behind.


A handmade sign nailed to a piece of old farm equipment pointing the way.

There were also a few other details that I had my mind set on.

The baby photo boards:

Photo by my friend, Katie.

The handmade (by me!) signs:

My beloved Menu board (also made by me). This is going in our backyard once we get our BBQ pit made.

Photo by my friend, Lauren.

My "Mr & Mrs" chair signs:

And last but not least, my FAVORITE detail of all:

Our horseshoe wedding favors. Did you read the tag? Yes, they all really were from Smoke Tree Stables, and yes, they all really were used. We had to hammer the nails out of and straighten every single one.

So worth it. People loved them. I loved them. Cowboy H loved them… because they were free!

Up Next: One last photo shoot! (The end is finally here!)

If you missed anything, catch up here.

Unless otherwise noted, all photography credit goes to the always rockin' Applemoon Photography!

A Homemade Wedding Homestead-Style: Dance! Dance! Dance!

There were three (or four) very important factors to Cowboy H and I in regards to our wedding. One was that the food be amazing. Check. Another was that everything have meaning to us, i.e. not doing something just because its "tradition". Check. Third, we really wanted that down-home, casual, relaxed, spontaneous atmosphere. Check.

And, lastly, we wanted a rockin' dance party!

Our swing dance pretty much set the tone, and pretty soon the dance floor was hopping.

Cowboy H and I danced and danced. I actually was able to two-step around the entire dance floor without screwing up. It was amazing. The two-step is not my strong suit.

Pretty soon my dad sidled up to me and stated, "Everyone says we need to dance together."

So, you're all thinking, Wha?! No father-daughter dance?! Well, I actually had a song all picked out, and I asked my dad, "Do you want to do a father-daughter dance?" And he replied, "No, I don't think we need to. I mean, you're already married, its not like this is the real thing." So, father-daughter dance was scratched. Or so we thought.

I don't even remember what song the band played, but I know it was a good one. For your information, I had picked out "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland since Wizard of Oz is my dad's favorite movie.

No matter, I'm really glad we danced together after all, even if my dad is a horrible dancer.

Photo by my Nina

It was a pretty sweet moment. And pretty soon a bunch of sets of 'father-daughers' joined us. I loved it.

At some point, Cowboy H was caught dancing with his mom, even though we didn't do an "official" mother-son dance.

Photo by my Nina

Even though they weren't planned, I'm glad we got all these special moments captured.

Because, pretty soon, we were back to tearing up the dance floor.

Up Next: All The Details

(I swear, I'm almost done, but if you missed anything, check it all out here.)

All images by Applemoon Photography unless otherwise noted!

A Homemade Wedding Homestead-Style: Face-Stuffing and Rug-Cutting

Now, at most normal weddings, right after the guests have been served and given a chance to eat a bit, a slew of toasts and speeches ensues. Cowboy H and I really wanted no part of this. Actually, we avoided most all wedding formalities and time-lines like the plague. However, we did want to thank a whole bunch of people, so I composed a sort-of speech in my head and dragged Cowboy H to mic with me. (This was after spending about 10 minutes trying to locate him, whereas he was found hiding at the Desert Rose's table wedged over in the corner. Of course.)

Notice Cowboy H has changed into tennis shoes!
Photo by my cousin, Joelle

First, we thanked our guests for coming to our sort-of wedding. We had guests come from New Mexico, Oregon, Missouri and even Washington D.C. just for us. We were floored. We also had to thank the Pit Crew who volunteered their entire day to cook the most perfect meat ever. (I mean, standing around a BBQ pit, drinking beer was extremely difficult for them.) We also had to thank the band, who again volunteered their killer talent, time and awesomeness for us. Lastly, we had to thank my parents. My dad funded the bar and also purchased the meat for us. And then my mom. I don't know what more to say about her except that she got a standing ovation and a bunch of hoots and hollers when I mentioned her, and the fact that she cooked/made all the food and baked the strawberry cupcakes.

Then.

Then, I was about to announce to everyone that the cupcakes were there to be eaten and everyone could help themselves once they were done with their dinner. Part of the reason I chose cupcakes is I wanted to avoid the whole cake-cutting ordeal. You can't really cut cupcakes, right? Wrong.

Cowboy H grabed my arm and sharply whispered, "The Desert Rose will kill us if we don't eat a cupcake" or something along those lines.

I groaned, rolled my eyes and said, "OK, fine." So, we shared a cupcake.

Photo by my cousin, Sarah


Photo by Sarah

While all of this business was happening up here, down under there was a whole other party happening.

Photo by Joelle


Photo by Joelle


Photo by my Nina

We had no idea until after the fact, but my cousin's baby was hiding out under the cupcake table! Apparently he stole the show from us!

Immediately after the cupcake chow-down, we were prompted into a first dance. Now, the first dance was something that I wanted to be special, and Cowboy H picked Garth Brook's song "Cowboys and Angels" for our dance. The song was perfect, except it had a slow beat, which meant a waltz was in order. Cowboy H worked very hard at choreographing a dance and we tried really hard to practice. But, I suck at dancing. Literally, before dinner was served I dragged Cowboy H away so we could practice, cause I was so nervous about it. The problem, for me, was that it was so slow. At the last minute, I chickened out and the band played some slow song that I don't even remember and we jr high danced to it.

Before long, everyone else joined us on the dance floor.

However, immediately after that slow song, the band broke into a song that you could swing too. And let me tell you, Cowboy H and I can swing. This actually became our true first dance, because once we got going, everyone cleared the dance floor and let us cut it up.

At some point my bandanna came undone and my hair clip went flying, but we kept on dancing.

And then, we were done.

If you missed anything, all wedding posts can be found here.

Up Next: The Party Rocks On!

Give praise to Applemoon Photography for all photographs unless other wise noted!

A Homemade Wedding Homestead-Style: Grub

Photo by Lauren

Despite all the fun, games and dancing going on, the people had to be fed. Well, I had to be fed! I hadn't eaten hardly anything all day, and not because I was nervous or worried about fitting in my dress, I was saving myself for all the GOOD food I knew was coming!

All the food you are about to see was picked specifically by me or Cowboy H and made in my mother's kitchen. Ok, except for the beans, which have their own funny story and the salsa, and oh yeah, the meat. Everything else (potato salad, macaroni salad, rice pilaf, you name it) was made by my mom, pictured here with her apron, which stayed on the rest of the night. I thought it was really cute.

Photo by Sarah

What you can't see is her tennis shoes. Also, notice her poor bout is hanging upside down. I love you, Mom.

Anyways, back to the food. I don't think I've ever eaten such good wedding food.

Photo by Sarah

Down on the far end of the buffet table, the ribeye hot off the pit was being sliced to order.

After piling our plates high, Cowboy H and I took our seats and were treated to a little champagne from The Desert Rose. Not sure why I'm making this face here, but notice that I made sure to wear my bib. I'm kinda a mess. (That's my bouquet stuck in a giant mason jar serving as our centerpiece.)

And everyone else feasted happily too.

Now. About the beans.

Photo by Sarah

See these guys here? They are two of my backpacking buddies. They live down in the San Diego area, but have friends that go to school and live in San Luis Obispo. Somehow, these two finagled a ride to the ceremony out of one of their friends. However, they had no ride to the reception and were just gonna walk. Well, my dad saw them and said "Hey, ride with me, I need someone to hold the beans anyways".

So, they got out of walking, but in exchange had to work. The beans (and salsa) were being picked up at Jocko's, which is my hometown's local steak house. (Best ever steak if you want my unbiased opinion.) My dad provided the kitchen with a pot and they proceeded to fill that pot so full the lid wouldn't fit on it. So, the two guys pictured above were sitting in the back seat of my dad's car, overflowing pot of beans at their feet, attempting to keep the lid on the beans, and the beans off them. Apparently, the car ended up with beans all over it, so I can't exactly say they did a stellar job. But, most of the beans made it.

And that is the story of the beans.

The end.

But not the end of the wedding!

To catch up on ALL of the wedding posts, from the very beginning until now, please go to this page, where I have compiled links to every wedding-related post. You're welcome.

Up Next: All that traditional wedding stuff like cake cutting and first dances. Yuck!

All photography unless otherwise mentioned credited to Applemoon Photography!