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Blue Ombre DIY Country Wedding

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Colleen + Eric | October 18, 2014

We just can't get enough of Colleen and Eric's blue ombre Country DIY wedding! This bride will definitely inspire you with her fantastic planning and DIY wedding decorations. Colleen also nailed the mismatch bridesmaid trends with her ombre blue bridesmaid dresses! Get your “Pin It” button ready!

Describe your wedding style/theme:
I’d say our wedding theme was country by default. It was held on a private ranch and we used mason jars for the centerpieces. We used pinwheels that actually spun to line the aisle and paper pinwheels for the centerpieces.

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Did you hire a wedding planner? If so, tell us about your experience:
I did not hire a wedding planner – I was paying for everything myself and did not get any financial help from my dad until about two days before the wedding. It would have been really nice to have a day of coordinator to help transitions be a little smoother and to help slow things down to enjoy them more, but our wedding was perfect none the less.

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What were the top three priorities for you in planning your wedding?
Pictures were our number one priority, everything else was important, but we wanted pictures that we were going to love for the next 50+ years. Staying close to a budget and everything being cohesive were the other top priorities.

Throughout your wedding planning did you have a moment where you were a Bummed Bride?
There were more times than I would like to admit that I felt I was a Bummed Bride. The groom’s family pitched a fit over the guest list about 5 months after we were engaged and about a month before we were to be married, they kicked my now-hubby out because he defended me and our wedding.

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What did not go according to plan on your wedding day and how did you handle it?
Considering all the drama that was involved in the planning process, the wedding day went off rather well, with hardly any hiccups. There was one instance where a groomsman took a Snapchat picture of him and his girlfriend (who wasn’t exactly invited to the wedding) and tagged us on Facebook when they were on their way to our apartment to get ready before hand. We had asked everyone in the bridal party to come to our apartment to get ready and for getting ready pictures. It was a one bedroom one bath place – it’s not the biggest.

We had about 15 people hanging out at our place including the photographer trying to get pictures. No “plus ones” were to be a part of such a special moment before our wedding. My girls and I flipped when we saw that he was bringing her to the apartment without even asking the groom or me. Thankfully, one of the groomsmen that had showed up early called him up and told him that wasn’t cool and that she couldn’t come. I hugged him and thanked him for looking like the bad guy and for not making me look like a bridezilla.

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Did you do a first look? Would you recommend it to future brides?
We did not do a first look and there’s a part of me that regrets it. There was only enough money in the budget for one photographer and she wasn’t able to get his reaction when he saw me for the first time. I guess he blinked right as she snapped the picture. I wish I had that shot, but she captured so many other pictures that it doesn’t make that much of a difference.

What was your favorite part about wedding planning?
I loved coming up with the color scheme and all the décor ideas. We had gone through so many color palettes over the course of our two-year engagement that when I finally fell in love with a blue ombre palette, I ran with it. It turned out so much better than I ever thought it would. I also loved doing all the DIY projects I did. Making over a hundred ribbon wands, wrapping over twenty mason jars with twine, creating the girl’s bouquets, as well as mine.

Another fun thing was dealing with the Etsy shop owner who made all the pinwheels for me. She was so much fun to work with and so easy to deal with. She took every little thing into consideration to make sure I got the product I wanted.

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What was your least favorite part about wedding planning?
The worst part of the planning process was all the unwarranted advice and ideas and being the “nice” bride. I tend to over think things and put too much weight into everyone’s thoughts and opinions. Once I finally found my voice and found my vision for the wedding, it became easier to tell people to shove it… But in a very nice way, of course.

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What is your best advice to future brides?

Plan a wedding/party that embodies you and your future husband. Don’t plan a wedding for your parents or his parents. They don’t have to live with the pictures and the memories from the day of for the rest of their lives. My biggest regret is early on, letting people try to trample my vision with their vision of OUR day.

I honestly don’t believe that because someone is willing to help pay for your day, that they should get all the rights to how it should be planned. If they offer their money, it’s a gift. Not a buy in for rights to the planning process. Also, do not be bullied into anything you don’t like just because it’ll make someone else happy. If it doesn’t make you happy, why bother?


Photographer: Heather Smith Photography // Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Little Ranch // Catering: Pizza Hut // Florist: Dollar Tree + Michaels (All fake flowers were used) // Cake: Costco // Wedding Dress: David's Bridal // Bridesmaid's Dresses + Accessories: David's Bridal + Forever 21 // Groomsmen Apparel: Sears // DJ: Tablet // Favors: Ribbon Wands (DIY) // Rentals” Julie's Rentals of Grand Terrace, CA // Pinwheels + Centerpieces: Halo's Heaven (Etsy Shop)