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My Name is Christine, and I’m obsessed with Details.

The reception is by far the biggest component of most weddings as there are so many details that go into setting one apart from the next. And we could make no exception for ours. DIY was the name of the game for us, because well, I love detail! And because of the wedding blog world, I had a never-ending, sometimes extremely overwhelming source for inspiration and ideas. And I loved that this community could inspire such wonderful elements for my wedding. From the lace votives, to a “sweet love” candy bar to a wedding tree, these little details were what made our wedding so special.

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Our candy bar was a combination of our favorite candies. And we displayed everything in a variety of glass penny jars, trifle bowls, and jugs some of which I found online through a restaurant supply company. I was a little skeptical at how much candy we had bought, but it was a huge hit! You never really realize how much grown-ups love their candy until you put a huge FREE spread in front of them!

candy-bar

Our wedding tree was actually an idea I just stole from someone much more clever than I am (from Paul & Cassie’s wedding shot by Jonas Peterson) so I’m not taking the credit for the idea. But I think people should use it, because our family and friends loved it and we love having it hanging up instead of a guest book we would never look through. A couple of ink pads, a few pens, and don’t forget the moist wipes and you have yourself some guest participation!

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And to another wedding trend, the photo wall. I think we can credit event planner Sasha Souza for the idea, well at least she was the first one I saw who created it! And shortly thereafter, these great alternatives to photo booths started popping up everywhere. So this was definitely a DIY project but one I had to hand off to my parents, since it would be rather difficult to craft a 7-foot wall in our fourth floor NYC apartment! It’s also a great way to display all of your old family photos from some of their weddings.

girl-photo-wall

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And of course, a cupcake tree. We made this 5 foot tall masterpiece ourselves as well which housed the most delicious cupcakes — orange chocolate chip, cherry vanilla, and chocolate peanut butter cup. YUM!

cupcake-tree

There were plenty more DIY projects I didn’t share — the calligraphed fan programs, lace wrapped votives (pretty self explanatory!) hand-made napkins (don’t DIY napkins if you have more than 100 guests!) and on! But if I could offer some DIY advice, prioritize. Which project is most important and which won’t make you bat a lash if it doesn’t make the final cut. As the wedding loomed only weeks out, I wanted to do more and more. But I had to realize that there needs to be a cut-off point where you say, enough is enough!

* all images by Aaron Ingrao, edited by me