Posted byWe couldn't stop ourselves from doing another theme week once we saw a pattern of era-inspired weddings. This time? The 1920s!
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The offbeat bride: Shannon, Website Admin and Perpetual Student
Her offbeat partner: Fran, Tile Guy
Date and location of wedding: Pebble Hill Interfaith Church, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, United States — October 1, 2011
Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We chose to hold the ceremony at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church due to the vibe of the location, the price, and because it represents our spiritual views. We have families and friends with very mixed backgrounds and we felt the interfaith nature of Pebble Hill would honor all of them. We also wanted to have a 1920s theme, not with a Gatsby feel but rather what our grandmothers may have done: a backyard '20s wedding.
We crafted the centerpieces ourselves with dried lavender and wheat. We collected and borrowed tons of hurricane lamps to also add to the centerpieces. The headpieces were made from craft items and appliques we ordered online. A team of potluckers made some of our food, and we supplemented with trays of sandwiches from the local grocery store. Much of the food was vegan to accommodate my vegan friends.
We created a penny candy bar that guests could snack on, or take home as favors. There were all kinds of classic candies like Mary Janes, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Mint Juleps. We served sun tea and had a self-serve bar of wines, beers, and wine coolers.
Tell us about the ceremony: I liked our vows, but I also loved the parts our officiants, Doug and Kristina, read before our vows. Here is an excerpt from the ceremony:
Love is a quality of spirit and an attitude of the emotions, but marriage is a life's work — an art form. Today, Shannon and Francis are making a commitment to continue their life's journey together, and we are here to witness this sacred event. Therefore, this is an occasion of both profound joy and great responsibility, and we who partake in it bind ourselves as witnesses to the uniting of the life and love that Shannon and Francis are undertaking today.Some say that the perfect relationship is one in which each partner brings strength to the other's weaknesses. Where a balance, that would be unobtainable alone, is found. Shannon and Francis have found such a balance. Today they would like to publicly dedicate themselves to a lifetime of deepening their love and commitment, and to balancing and supporting each-other.
Our biggest challenge: The biggest challenge of my wedding were the naysayers of my vision. A few of my more traditional family members had a hard time accepting that there was no DJ or dances, and that ceremony and the reception were in the same room. There was a lot of concern that things were “obviously” going to be a disaster, but thankfully the fears were unfounded.
What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding? To stay true to yourself and not be afraid to follow your gut. We wanted it to be pretty and simple, and we wanted everyone to have fun. We got exactly what we wanted.
Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?
- Bride's dress: Etsy seller Whiteromance
- Photography: B.side Photography
- Bridesmaids: Nataya. You cannot go wrong with any of her dresses.
Enough talk — show me the wedding inspo!
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Those bridesmaids dresses are amazing!!!!!!!!!!! What a beautiful wedding and congrats!
The dresses are amazing! I’m lucky Shan picked a dress we can wear again (and not be embarrassed!).
Thanks so much!!!!!!
Thank you so much!
I *adore* those bridesmaids dresses. I was trying to find them on the Nataya website, but no luck. Any chance you could post a link?
I also love your bouquet! I’m thinking of doing one with rosemary and lavender and other herbs.
Rosemary and lavender sound amazing – one really awesome thing about using dried materials is we made them WEEKS before the wedding!
Unfortunately, I think they may not be available anymore:( but this a good link for her other dresses: http://www.vintagestyleclothing.com/index.html
Lovely! I’m glad you were able to show the naysayers that things turned out beautifully. Many of the things you did are the same things my pessimists are doubting as well: no DJ, no dancing, potluck, location…
I have to admit, it was kind of fun to prove them wrong:) just stick to your guns and it will be great!
i LOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEthis one, the bride is BEAUTIFUL i love her hair and headpiece so much!
Thanks So Much! That was very sweet of you to say!:)
I am so glad to see this wedding featured here! Shannon had such a great vision for her wedding and it was an absolute treat to see it come together. She has definitely become a role model for me as I plan my own wedding. Bravo Shannon and Fran! 😉
We couldn’t have done it without yo, Emily!! Thank you for EVERYTHING! I can’t wait to help make you and AJ’s day just as special!
This is the first OBB wedding where I know the location! Congrats, everything is gorgeous! 🙂
Thanks!!!!!!
Personally, Frannon’s wedding was by far one of the most truest reflections a bride and groom could have planned for themselves… I am happy that everything worked out as well as it did – you did an amazing job & I’m glad OBB recognized that!
Xo! Cin
You were the maid of honor so you had to say that;) I am glad you liked our wedding and we areso glad you were a part of if!!
I love those bridesmaids dresses! I seriously want one for myself. So beautiful.
Also, me and my boy were discussing having the ceremony and dancing in the same place and got similar criticism that it just wouldn’t work. Got any tips on how to make the site change smoothly?
It just WILL work!:) Dancing doesn’t happen right after the ceremony, so you have that in your favor. Just keep an idea of how you want everything to flow. You could have a little committee that is in charge of moving stuff out of the way to make a dance area, it would only take a few minutes and you will be astonished at how many people want to help at the wedding! Just let them! We hired two women that I used to cater with to be the staff and put out the food and cleanup and such and they had PLENTY of help. At the end of the wedding people through out trash and stacked chairs and loaded cars and did all sorts of stuff without even being asked! If you keep everything laid back and free flowing every thing will fall right into place. I think it is when people over plan and over schedule that things go awry. And remember little hitches are only a big deal if you make them a big deal. They are going to happen so just roll with it. For instance, right when we were ready to start the ceremony,my matron of honor’s husband, who was acting as our sound guy, decided to go change his pants as he wasn’t aware that it was time to start. So things got delayed for a few minutes but all was well in the end. Another little hitch when I got to the front of the church and stepped up onto the platform, I stepped on my dress and as I went up it went down!!! I completely exposed my undergarments to our officiants! (they were two of my very good friends so that wasn’t a huge deal) fortunately because of the sweater I was wearing hid alot of what was going on and no one noticed. I was able to wiggle back into my dress with out any more problems and after the ceremony we secured it a little better. Both of these occurrences COULD have been a big deal but we didn’t let them and everyone had a great time. I guess my point is to go with the flow and it will all work out!:)
Best. bridesmaid. dresses. ever.
I have to agree:) Thanks so much!!
Shannon, you were glowing! Congrats from one Bucks County bride to another. I must know where you got your headband because I want one of my own. 🙂
Thanks!!!! I ordered an applique from here http://www.sequinappliques.com/ and sewed it to ribbon. It was REALLY easy and REALLY inexpensive!
This made me smile: “A few of my more traditional family members had a hard time accepting that there was no DJ or dances, and that ceremony and the reception were in the same room. There was a lot of concern that things were “obviously” going to be a disaster” D.J.’s and the like are a part of recent wedding tradition and had no place (or existence) in the weddings of yesteryear! If there was music, it was provided by family members who played instruments. (Like the wedding in the opening scenes of “Fried Green Tomatoes”) Shannon and Francis, thank you for staying true to vintage “tradition.” I love potlucks, family oriented backyard celebrations.
I’m so in love with the bridesmaids’ dresses & the groomsmens’ pocket watches! Just beautiful!
Just beautiful.
I loved her black shoes!!!! Where did you get them??
I not actually sure where the shows came from – borrowed from a friend of a friend:(
It was a beautiful wedding, so you two… I love how the pictures came out too!
I NEED those bridesmaids dresses for my wedding in October – they are so lovely and perfect. I’ve been looking for MONTHS and haven’t found aaaanything. Would your maids be willing to sell theirs?!
I dont think so but check out http://nataya.com/index2.php or http://www.vintagestyleclothing.com/ The designer is Nataya and all of the dresses are beautiful!