A DIY Wedding at Crystal Falls: Dano & Holly

September 24, 2012

Throwing out as many wedding traditions as they could, Dano & Holly planned their wedding with one golden rule – to have nothing cookie cutter. “I have strong aversions to anything cookie cutter, so we threw out a lot of wedding traditions,” the bride began. “We wanted our wedding to be a party that we would never forget. Our theme was something along the lines of ‘vintage, woodsy & DIY’. I wore green. We cut the pie (no cake) with a machete. Our friends built the biggest bonfire that any of us had ever seen and we danced in the rain under the stars.”

“We got engaged about a week after I was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. I knew that Dano had the ring, but he was dragging his feet because he was nervous about asking my dad. I finally put my foot down. I was recovering from the surgery to remove the tumor, and I told him that I wanted the ring on my finger before my staples came out!! Needless to say, we were officially engaged a few days later. Having a wedding to plan and dream about made chemotherapy a little bit more tolerable!”

“My favourite part of our wedding was the ceremony”, she continued. “We took a lot of wording from the handfasting ceremony, and I was a blubbering mess through most of it. Dano’s brother Jeffrey (the officiant) was probably more nervous than either of us. At the very end, Jeffrey closed his book (which was actually a dictionary that we picked up at a thrift store the day before!) and he said, ‘I now introduce to you… MRS. and MRS. Nylund!’ We were all in stitches…and we’ll never forget that moment!”

The couple loved their wedding but in retrospect they wish they’d started planning earlier. “I would have started planning and DIY-ing earlier! But I’m a procrastinator by nature, so if I could do it all over again I’m sure I’d still wait until the last minute! Our photographer, Amber of Live It Out Photo, was the first thing we chose when we got engaged. As a photographer myself, finding the right one was so important. Not only did I fall in love with Amber’s artistic style, but also her sweet and quirky personality. After emailing back and forth for a year, I felt like I had known Amber forever. When we met the day before my wedding, we were instant friends. You’ll want to be surrounded by love on your wedding day, so don’t underestimate the importance of personality when choosing your vendors!”

Holly wore a BHLDN wedding gown with vintage and thrifted jewellery. The bridesmaids were asked to pick any dress they liked and most of the wedding was pulled together with help from their friends & family.

“We couldn’t have done it without our family and friends!” Holly concluded. “Dano’s brother Jeffrey got ordained through the Church of Dudeism so that he could perform our ceremony, and my grandma read a very special prayer that she wrote for us. My Uncle Bob took the wedding party on a boat ride after the ceremony. Dano’s friend Josh hooked us up with a beautiful wooden dance floor. Our family and friends helped us collect beautiful antique plates to use for dinner. My maid of honor, Jill, kept me on track with weekly planning and craft dates. Our parents put the whole party together for us – from preparing the food and decorations to setting up and cleaning up – we owe them big time! I couldn’t possibly list all the ways that everyone pulled together to make the day so awesome!”

Oh I just love this. It’s the simple pleasures in life that make the world go round – like family, friends and having a good time. Dano & Holly’s wedding is testament to this so huge love and thanks to you both, and wedding photographer Amber of  Live It Out Photo, for sharing with us today. You can also check out their wedding video here.

Supporting Cast:

Photography Credit: Live It Out Photo
Video Credit: Geoffrey Kartes Films
Venue: Way Dam Resort in Crystal Falls, MI
Bride’s Dress: BHLDN
Bride’s Shoes: Born
Groom’s Outfit: Tommy Hilfiger & Banana Republic
Pies: DIY
Flowers: DIY
Hair: Ashley Gardner
DJ: DJ Seismic of Marquette, MI
Stationery: Cadence Paige on Etsy
Caterers: DIY
Day of Coordinator: Vanessa Holmes