The AMBIANCE - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

Our intimate outdoor wedding turned indoors was magical with special touches from some of our favorite Etsy Handmade Vendors!

Perhaps the most photographed was a beautiful personalized luminary that glowed throughout the evening along our "alter" from Jessica Wolf of Etsy's paperacorn.etsy.com.

Jess was so accommodating and friendly throughout the process and we were thrilled with the packaging and speedy shipping! For the perfect glowing personalized token at any special occasion paperacorn.etsy.com is it!



Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WELCOME - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

The plan was a small outside intimate wedding with 25 of our closest friends and family, celebrated in our new historic town and home.

(sigh)

Alas, Mother Nature had other things in mind; torrential rainfall! It poured from before sunrise into the following day!

As I walked out of the salon with my hair in cascading waves, the howling wind turned my umbrella inside out while the rain crashed down sideways! I struggled with the umbrella trying to protect my hair as I slid on the pavement losing my flip flops (yes, flip flops - note to future brides: don't get manicure and pedicures done the day of your wedding!).

I remember shuffling through growing puddles of water and thinking to myself, "I can't believe this! This is our WEDDING DAY!"

All morning long I had been convincing myself that the rain was GOOD LUCK!

I had read that rain on your wedding day represented fertility and stability and income and guaranteed a long happy marriage!

But as I drove home realizing that we wouldn't be able to take pictures in our new town and have the service in our beautiful side yard, I was so disappointed!


I made the turn into our driveway and was greeted by our beautiful custom made Wedding Sign created by Jennifer of Etsy's Funki Folk Art.etsy.com that my future husband had attached to our mailbox!


All of the disappointment over the weather and anxiety immediately melted away! It wasn't quite what I had always imagined... it was better!

Jennifer's beautiful welcoming signs set the perfect stage for our living room wedding!

I had been exchanging emails with Jennifer for over a year and we were so thrilled to finally be able to take advantage of her unique personalized signs!

We also ordered a "RECEPTION" sign that Todd stole and positioned over our new Wet Bar in the kitchen!

We can't wait to order my little sisters' signs to welcome her guests to her June Wedding! Thank you Jennifer!


Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The Treats - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

There are no processed foods, candies, potato chips, no junk food of any kind in our house... really! In fact, one of the greatest joys of going to my best friend's house is poking through the magical cabinet in her kitchen that transports me to another time with Pop Tarts, Doritos, an endless tub of Halloween candy, chocolates - lots of chocolates and my all time favorite: Marshmallows! And not just any marshmallows, but the big fluffy marshmallows - not the teeny tiny ones that we do keep around for the rare occasions we make hot chocolate.

Okay, perhaps there is the occasional tub of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, warm chocolate chip cookies and CHOCOLATE. Not just any chocolate though - NIKI'S CHOCOLATE!

There is something about those little white boxes with the freshest, most decadent little bits of sweet heaven! Our favorite: ROCKY ROAD - just something about those fresh soft marshmallows!

We couldn't imagine celebrating our wedding without Nicole Varrenti's of Etsy's nikid.etsy.com's incredible treats!

With whimsical Caramel Apple Pops and Chocolate Covered Coffee Spoons, they were just the special sweet touch of our Handmade Etsy Wedding!