Becky & Melanie's DIY Arlington VA Wedding

Photos from the weddings I’ve worked on this year are slowly coming in and I’m so excited to share them with you!

First up are Becky and Mel, two fabulous ladies who are not only total sweethearts, but DIY goddesses. Seriously. I’ve never met a craftier bunch (as you’ll see from the photos, below). These wonderful women contacted me in January wondering if it was possible to plan a wedding in 4 months, and a DIY one at that. As you know, there aren’t many rules in my planning book, so I of course said that anything was possible.

Becky and Mel got married and had their post-ceremony reception at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA. All you thrifty brides and grooms out there should know that St. George's has a meeting hall that they rent out even to those not performing their ceremony in their church. It’s a great deal and a great space as long as you’re willing to give it a little TLC (which Becky and Mel were - with a little help from yours truly).

The wedding day was captured beautifully by Crystal at Lily B Photography (And did I mention this was the first wedding she’s ever done? She was a friend of the brides and a member of the church and while a super-talented photographer had not yet done a wedding. I thought she did an amazing job).

First of all, you have to love Becky and Mel because they had fabulous green shoes. That just needs to be mentioned straight away.

They got dressed (with a minor wardrobe malfunction which I was able to remedy) and then headed off to pre-ceremony portraits.

Followed by the ceremony in St. George’s beautiful sanctuary

Earlier in the day, and during the ceremony, I, along with some hired servers and awesome friends of the brides, were putting the reception together. This was a big job. Becky and Mel were the ultimate DIYers in that not only did they do all their own decor (down to the most amazing details), they self-catered their brunch reception as well.

There was a bloody mary bar. A waffle bar. A candy bar.

 

Basically - a ton of great food, awesome details, and a big ton o’ fun.

And did I mention the photobooth?

There was a photobooth

 

There was also Becky’s father who talked me into the photobooth with him

 

All in all, a really wonderful start to my wedding season, and a great day! And the best part about DIYing your wedding? You get to keep all the leftover booze.

Becky and Melanie's vendor team:

Venue: St. George's Episcopal Church
Photographer: Crystal Hardin, Lily B Photography
Photo booth: SillyShotz
Rentals: DC Rentals
Event Coordinator: Katie Wannen, The Plannery