DIY Wedding: Bonnie + Alex at the Carousel

Let your heart throb for this DIY wedding! This DIY wedding is the creation of two artists, Bonnie and Alex. Bonnie the bride and Alex the groom went all out collaborating, crafting, and creating perfect handmade elements that detailed their DIY wedding. This beautiful bride and dashing groom not only designed a most splendid handmade wedding but chose the quintessential wedding photography team Michelle and Thomas from Michelle Gardella Photography to photograph it. With the ceremony overlooking New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound, Bonnie and Alex shared their vows on the sandy beach at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, CT. Housed inside the reception area were delectable hors d’oeuvres adorning burlap table cloths, mason jar centerpieces, and a personalized Alex + Bonnie cake topper in front of the park’s famous Carousel. Ready and willing to answer your wedding questions and provide detail into her DIY wedding is Bonnie! Find out what she has to say after the jump…

Bonnie tells us, “Alex and I are both artists. Coming from a DIY family- planning a wedding was going to be the ultimate DIY project of my life- and I couldn’t have been more excited (besides the prospect of marrying my best friend and the love of my life). Being together for 8 years now, Alex knows how obsessed I am with DIY projects. Why spend money on something when you can just make it yourself? That has always been my motto. True, it usually takes twice as long than expected to make it- but sometimes that’s how long it takes to put all the love into it. There is no greater satisfaction than knowing you made something yourself.

Our Handmade ventures started off with our Save the Dates and Invitations. With the help of my ridiculously fabulous and uber talented sister in law, Olga Levitsky (a fellow illustrator) they were a true labor of love. Olga also sculpted our cake topper with sculpey clay to match our characters she illustrated. After impatiently waiting for it to dry… I sat down and painted it in one day. This was one of my favorite projects. Seeing it on top of my mom’s delicious homemade chocolate cake was priceless. She also made the beautiful cards sign we had hanging over our basket for cards.

To thank our wedding party, I made all the girls jewelry to wear and Alex bought the boys cufflinks from different artists on Etsy. The day before the wedding, my bridesmaids and I picked some wildflowers in the back yard and raided the farmers market for the rest of what we needed. We stayed up late making our own bouquets and boutonnieres for the boys.

We were so fortunate to be able to have the talented Michelle and Thomas Gardella and their third shooter for the day Megan Labarbera (who snapped a lot of these details!) all capture such a special time in our lives. Michelle and Thomas are two of the most amazing, beautiful fellow artists that share our love of everything DIY. When you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and you have a celebration to share that love with your friends and family, you really want Michelle and Thomas there. When a visual image causes another sense within you to engage- it is truly remarkable. Looking back at the photos, I can smell the ocean, feel the sand on my toes and the butterflies in my stomach start right back up again. I am so lucky to have met such astonishing talent and beauty- and we are forever thankful.”

Location: Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven, CT
Date: 9/2/11

Some handmade elements:

– Cake handmade by bride’s mom
– Handmade flower girl dresses
– Handmade bridal clutch
– Mad lib cards in lieu of guest book
– Burlap tablecloths
– Handmade place cards
– Even right down to the sangria, her grandmother’s recipe

If you’re looking for more breathtaking photos and someone to photograph your DIY wedding, than checkout the highly talented photography team of Michelle and Thomas, from Michelle Gardella Photography. You can also view Michelle’s preferred photographer listing in The Bridal Book at Emmaline Bride.

All images copyright Michelle Gardella Photography. All Rights Reserved.