I’ve been waiting to share tattooed bride Madeline and husband Jacob’s wedding for a few weeks now – I just love the colours and peaceful feel I get from captures of their day from Homespun Creative. They had their wedding in their parents’ back garden in Long Beach and used seasonal flowers from the garden.
Jacob and I met when I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th. We got to know each other throughout high school, mostly in jazz band. He played trumpet and I played piano and the way the piano was faced during practice, I was constantly seeing him messing around in the back row making inappropriate jokes with his trumpet. We both went our separate ways after high school, he to University of Washington and I to the University of Oregon. One summer we both happened to be single and I asked him to teach me to surf. It turned in a short summer fling, we went our separate ways again but from then on whenever we were both home from school we’d get together and go out on dates. There was also one summer I spent a lot of time “surfing” with Jacob while in another relationship but it all worked out in the end! Jacob would never commit to a relationship until he went with me and two other friends on a trip to Vegas for my 21st birthday. After way too many cocktails I broke down into tears in front of Caesar’s Palace and told him I was in love with him and had been for years and he told me he was too and we’ve been together ever since, five years, after about 3 years of flings.
We got married at my parent’s house which is a short walk to the beach. Before our ceremony we walked down with our wedding party and had a champagne toast, and I frolicked around in the ocean in my wedding dress. The beach has always been an important place for Jacob and me and it meant so much to have all of our closest friends down there just messing around. The love was thick.
The entire wedding was really about us and what we have done together and accomplished over our relationship. It was also a show of our amazingly talented friends and family who gave their skills and time. My mom made my wedding dress from fabric we bought together on a trip to NY. The slip was filled with family heirlooms: my grandmother’s veil, my great grandparent’s farmhouse curtains, my mother-in-law’s gauntlet. My parent’s garden was a special place because Jacob and I started a small farm together their about three years ago so it was incredibly meaningful to have our loved ones there. We live in a small, tight community and while they say it takes a village to raise a child, in this case it also took a village to get those kids hitched.
All of the flowers were cut from our garden and from friend’s and were arranged by friends. We painted old jars for vases. My dad built us a dance floor and bistro tables throughout the yard made with trunks from trees he cleared out from parts of the yard. My mom made my dress and all of our groomsmen’s vests out of tweed from a trip to Ireland we took together. We dyed old bed sheets and ripped them into napkins and stamped them with our initials. We had many craft parties leading up to the day and that was a huge help.
I knew that I wanted my mixer tattoo, of my 1962 Hobart Helga, to be displayed proudly on my wedding day. I own a bakery and I got Helga to memorialize that important step and moment in my life. So, sleeves were never an option.
Our tips for planning your wedding: Have fun with the process! Be flexible. Know your must-haves and the feel you want to accomplish but let everything else happen organically. Don’t be afraid to ask friends for help and utilize their skills.
How gorgeous does Madeline and Jacob look? I do love Madeline’s tattoo! Thank you to them both and to Homespun Creative for sharing their wedding with Marry Me Ink today.
