This weekend I was really happy to be part of the Wed By Hand
Wedding Show. When Krista Lieben from the Craft Co-op
put out a call for volunteers, I couldn't refuse. I'd seen how well
the Craftalicious show was organized, so I knew
this one would be great too.
I got married 10 years ago, and got sucked into going
to a flashy wedding show or two back then. You know the kind
of shows I mean - where the big balding men in plaid blazers try to
get you to rent a limo for 24 when you only have 4 people in your
wedding party, where the lady in the low-cut shiny dress with the
really big ...hair... tries to sell you a honeymoon on some unknown
island, and where the DJ with the gold tooth swears he'll be able
to give you that classicly romantic feel you want for
your reception.
Wed By Hand was not your regular wedding show.
It was advertised as Ottawa's alternative wedding show, and that it
definitely was. All the vendors either brought their handmade,
eco-friendly, or fair trade goods; or, they sold their
services as funky photographers and whimsical wedding planners.
Gluten-free vegan cupcakes? Check. Affordable retro
dresses? Check. Videographer
duo that took down the names of interested parties on
their vintage typewriter? Check! All this in the beautiful Glebe
Community Centre? Yup.
Not only did I meet a ton of great new people involved in the
show, I also got to reconnect with a old friend - Christine
from urbanfete. She and her business partner Kevin
have just moved to a great new office in the Glebe, and I'm so
happy to see them doing so well in their custom invitation work.
Christine has always had a ton of style, and she puts every ounze
of it into her beautiful designs.
To be honest, I was jealous of all the awesome indie brides that
were there with their grooms and mothers and friends. They have so
many great choices now! It made me want to get married all over
again. Being a diy kinda girl myself, I did a lot of crafty stuff
for my own wedding way back in the day:
- flower arrangements - I was part of the Ottawa
Horticultural Society at the time, and I picked my flowers
fresh out of several member's beautiful gardens, and in return
I made them each a handmade pumpkin or apple pie later in the
fall.
- flower garlands and wreaths for the arbour - I bought the
greenery at a florist, and a friend worked her magic with wire and
florist's tape
- the arbour - welded out of copper by my handy husband. I
think it was just an excuse to buy a blow torch....
- the invitations and programs - designed and printed by the two
of us, using lovely textured cream paper from Kate's
Paperie in NYC, then wrapped in handmade paper - the
invitations were actually the start of my hobby-into-business
life!
- the cake - my wonderful friend Karla made my cake, surrounding
it in beautiful white chocolate and blueberries. Warning!
Always have extra cake on hand to serve in case you
accidentally drop one whole layer of the cake :)
- the dress - oh god. the dress. the one thing I would change if
I did it all over again. I wanted to be edgy and not have a
traditional dress. I wanted to be independent and not have a
meringue dress. I really should have just bought the
beautifully simple white dress with the silver metallic
threads running through it that I saw in Toronto, instead of
fretting and stressing and freaking out and then finally
making something (anything!) to wear at the last minute. I
swear I was still embroidering french knots on the top of
the veil about four and a half minutes before we walked
down the aisle.
Even though I'm not the one getting married this year, I am so
happy for new brides that hip and crafty businesses, owned by
awesome entrepreneurs, are now available to them. Stay tuned in the
next couple of weeks for a more in-depth interview with crafty
Krista - not only the organizer of Wed By Hand and other shows, but
also the creative force behind urbanite
jewelry.
PS! Updated to add a link to these AMAZING photos of the event by AMBphoto