Ella and Brian pulled loosely from 70s motifs for their Indianapolis wedding, but mostly focused their planning on atmosphere they wanted to create. “Our biggest goal was to curate a vibe – fun, colourful, laid-back, open-hearted, and full of love”, Ella said. “We wanted our friends to become friends with our other friends they didn’t know yet. We wanted it to feel like a PARTY, not a stuffy event that you HAVE to go to. All the people there were people we WANTED to be there, and we wanted them to want to be there, too!!!”

They leaned fully into the DIY process and built much of it themselves. Candles were wrapped in printed napkins and sealed with Mod Podge. Invitations were hand drawn in the style of a zine or comic book, copied at FedEx, then cut and folded at home. Table numbers were colour copies of Polaroids. Velvet ribbons were woven through IKEA placemats to create centrepieces. Flowers came from Costco and were arranged by hand. The ceremony arch décor was made by them. Ella designed and painted the welcome sign and seating chart.

Even the guest book became an activity. A blank sketchbook sat beside a Polaroid camera, with colourful washi tape for guests to stick their photos in place. Matchbooks were stamped with a doodle of the couple, then initialled and dated in Sharpie as party favours. Their cat’s face appeared on the bar napkins.

They sourced secondhand wherever possible. Facebook Marketplace supplied the arch, battery-operated candles and vases from couples who had already celebrated and were ready to pass things on. It kept costs down and materials in circulation.

Ella walked down the aisle with both of her parents to a lived rendition of Here Comes the Sun. “Our incredibly talented friend Richard played the acoustic guitar for us”, she said. “Our vows were emotional – people laughed and cried! At one point during Brian’s vows, he started crying, and I pulled a handkerchief (beautifully embroidered by bridesmaid Abby) from my cleavage to wipe his tears.” The couple met on Tinder so in her vows Ella included the line, “You know I love to online shop, but my favourite thing I’ve ever found on the internet is you.”

“We are so grateful and lucky to have gotten to experience the day we had”, the bride concluded. “The weather was perfect and so many people we loved were there and it went off without a hitch (that we knew of) and everyone had a great time!!! We felt our wedding was so true to who we are, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Truly the best day ever!”