ONE DAY : Dave and Amy

Today’s ONE DAY feature is all about Dave (34) and Amy (29). They got married June 17th, 2011 at North Bank Park in Columbus, Ohio. Amy describes their wedding palette as “Natural meets Industrial: Green Apple, Lemon Yellow, Burlap Brown + Muted Gray and Black Steel.” Learn more about their wedding day below:

1. What do you remember most about your wedding day? I think the most memorable moment was the “send off.” Our friends lined up on either side of us with sparklers to send us off. We ran through the tunnel of sparklers to a pedicab that took us to the renaissance hotel. It was just such a beautiful sight. Followed by a relaxing & quiet ride with my husband up the city streets at night with champagne in hand. A friend of ours created a short video that captured the moment perfectly.

2. What was your vision for your wedding before you actually started planning? We wanted it to be intimate, happy, bright, modern, and warm. We wanted to show off the city we love to all of our friends and family and that guided a lot of our decisions. For example, we chose North Bank Park for the wedding day location because it has one of the best views in Columbus and we chose Via Vecchia, a local winery located close to our home in German Village, for the rehearsal dinner.

How did that vision change by the time you were finished? I like to think we kept it warm, modern, and intimate. In fact, I created a mood board when I was coming up with inspiration for the wedding and any time I went to meet with vendors, purchase supplies, or check out a location I brought the mood board. It may be a little nerdy but the wedding process can get out of control quickly – having that kept me focused on what we really wanted versus what our vendors wanted.

3. What was your favorite and least favorite part of wedding planning? I will say planning a wedding was not a lot of fun for me. I was surprised by how stressful it can be. That said, I did like working with my designer friend on the invitations, menu, and signage. I liked seeing my vision become reality every time I got a pdf in an email from her or opened a box from the printer. Most of all, seeing all the pieces and parts come together was my favorite part of the “planning” process. My least favorite part was having excruciatingly detailed conversations about things I consider unimportant. For example, I remember having a last minute email exchange with my caterer about napkins — specifically, the fold of the napkin. I am happy to never have a conversation about ways to fold a napkin again.

4. How did you go about finding your wedding photographer and videographer? I looked on The Knot for recommendations by other brides. That’s how I found our videographer who is actually a student just beginning his business. We also ended up having a friend give us a gift of captured shots from the wedding so we luckily received two videos that captured the day. We LOVED our photographers, A New Day Photography. I actually found them on a wedding blog called Once Wed and am so glad I did. They moved back to Ohio from Atlanta, Georgia and were trying to build their business in Ohio. In choosing a photographer, it was really important that we like them as people. You will be spending most of your wedding day with them, after all. Not only were they INCREDIBLY talented, they were very professional, responsive every time I sent an email, very organized, and so sweet. During our wedding day they were a joy to be around even while standing in a hail storm to get the perfect shot.

5. Did you have any favorite DIY wedding projects? 

• My Dad surprised me by building the arch for the ceremony.
• Since Dave and I share a love of music and music festivals, we created cds and made the cd cases as our friend’s escort cards and gifts.
• My friend, Stephanie, made 200 cupcakes from scratch that received rave reviews.
• We created the programs. My friend Jamie designed them. My family from Brazil brought ribbon bracelets from Brazil called fita’s that we used to tie the program pages together. Fita’s are to be tied around the wrist with three knots and the wearer is supposed to make 3 wishes. When the bracelet breaks naturally, it is said that the wishes are granted.
• My friend Jamie also designed the invitations, save the dates, menus, and signage.
• I created the centerpieces using pieces of wood from my family’s farm, moss, glass vases, green apples, and wooden numbers spray painted dark brown.
• I also created a scrap book as a guest book with a page devoted to each of our guests and space for them to leave us a message.

6. What advice do you have for newly engaged couples that are starting to plan?

• To everyone: Start with a budget and try your best to stick to it. Also, you can’t do it all. As the date approaches you will realize you can’t do everything, make a list of what you have left to do and mark which things are necessary and which would be nice to have. Then, forget the nice to haves and move on. Most of all do not stress – you will enjoy the day even without those chair covers.
• To the procrastinators: Yes, the planning starts this early ;)
• To the bridezilla: Make sure he can “own” certain aspects of the wedding. This is his day too. Dave’s thing was music. We made the decision to cut back in some areas to make sure we had a good live band.
• To the budget conscious: (1) Get a great photographer. Those pictures out last everything. After going through this I now agree with those who said “Spend money on a good photographer.” That was the best decision we made. (2) Get some stuff on video. Through a videographer or friend’s iphone – You will watch it, get a little teary, and be glad you have the memories. (3) Hire a Day of Coordinator. I worked with Lourdes Barroso De Padilla from A Time to Toast  and it was another one of the best decisions we made. She made the day go on seamlessly, kept the vendors on track, set up, decorated and cleaned up after the wedding, and even brought the left over cupcakes to the after party! (4) Go with your gut. When everyone is telling you to spend the money on something but it doesn’t feel right – listen. For me it was makeup. Everyone told me to get my makeup professionally done “for the pictures.” I had two test sessions and I looked drastically made up– not horrible, but definitely not myself. I waited until the last minute to cancel thinking I had to have ALL of this make up on my face even if I felt unnatural (and was crazy expensive). I decided to do my makeup myself. I saved over $100 and felt more beautiful than I ever felt in a test makeup session. And, I look just fine in pictures. I look like myself!