One couple's DIY approach to, and advice for, wedding planning

October 10, 2009 :: Immaculate Conception RCC, Alliston; Hockley Valley Resort & Spa, Orangeville

Photography by Taylor Jackson Photography and Christine Reid Photography
Story by Carla @ The Ring

Whether it was fate or just sweet, romantic luck, Alicja and Ryan Kennedy ran into each other in Dominican Republic, even though they lived only five minutes apart in their home town. That meeting changed their lives forever. Four years later, on Christmas Even in 2007, Ryan proposed to Alicja and she said yes.

To choose their wedding date, they used a number of factors. They are both lovers of the outdoors (they spend a lot of time hiking in Waterloo together with their dogs) so the pair thought the colours of Fall would make for fantastic photos and a magical mood. "From the beginning of the planning process we wanted our wedding to be a venue for us to reflect our unique style and personality” explained Alicja. They also wanted to be able to give back to all of the friends and family who have made them the people they are today. "We wouldn’t be the couple we are without their support." So, they decided on Thanksgiving weekend in 2009.

The couple infused their style, personality and relationship throughout their wedding in a number of ways by following a contemporary style, adding a personal touch to all aspects of the wedding, focusing the budget on what mattered most to them (photography, food, venue and DJ), using a monogram to pull together their theme, adding unique elements, and most of all – making sure it was fun for everyone. "From the planning to the wedding and everything in between… We wanted to have fun throughout the planning process and wanted our guests to leave our wedding feeling like it was truly reflective of our personalities, and having had the time of their lives."

A venue that incorporated Alicja and Ryan's love for nature and contemporary style seemed to fall right into their hands. With periwinkle blue and brown as their colours, they hosted the reception at Hockley Valley Resort & Spa. The resort is set in the Hills of Headwaters and surrounded by gorgeous hills, trails and the nature that Alicja and Ryan know and love. The Aida Ballroom reflected a contemporary style that they were looking for with lower ceilings and chandeliers, a hallway that the couple used as a jazz lounge, and a patio that allowed guests to enjoy the gorgeous Fall colours. But, the best part about this venue was that it was painted periwinkle blue and had brown décor elements. "We think it was fate – could it have been more perfect?" says Alicja.

By giving themselves plenty of extra time to plan (twenty months) the big day, Alicja and Ryan were able to budget better and spread out the planning between work and teacher's college so it wasn't life-consuming. "We wanted to make sure we had time to focus on fostering our relationship and maintaining our bond while planning our wedding," Alicja says. "We wanted to remember our wedding planning process as a fun time that we both enjoyed."

As a big part of making that process fun, Alicja and Ryan both dove into a ton of the details, got creative, and took on some impressive and stylish Do-it-yourself (DIY) projects.

DIY invitations & stationery

Alicja and Ryan bought a brown pocket envelope kit from their nearest national craft store. They did the text formatting, layout and wording themselves and then sent the invites off to a Guelph printer that printed them with raised ink. "We felt that this made it look much more professional and appear more costly even though it wasn’t," says Alicja. They added an extra card with a map and directions and had guests RSVP on their wedding website (www.mywedding.com), saving money and trees. To make the invites look more romantic, but still contemporary, the couple added small stick-on pearls and brown ribbon, assembled them (with mom’s help), and finished them off with a wax “K” (for Kennedy) to seal the envelope.

Alicja and Ryan also designed the layout and text style for stationery that was used in their candy station table, bathroom basket poems, wishing tree poem, menu and events of the evening tent cards, and place cards. All were personalized further with the monogram that the Guelph printer's graphic designer created, and finished off with the stick-on pearls to tie in the invitation theme.

Instead of table numbers, Alicja and Ryan displayed pictures and stories of places they’ve traveled to around the world on all fourteen tables.

Wishing tree

Rather than having a traditional guest book, Alicja and Ryan decided to use something unique that reflected their love for nature and served as an element of décor – a wishing tree. So, they picked up a branch during one of their regular hikes and painted it white with a bit of sparkle. Then they filled a brown container from a home décor store with cement, fastened the branch inside and covered it with blue moss. Periwinkle blue coloured paper was cut and tied with twine to the tree for guests to write their wishes upon.