Travel Themed Wedding - DIY Details

While my newlywed friend is honeymooning on the beaches of Thailand and Bali, I wanted to share her travel themed wedding with you all. There were too many DIY details for me to keep to myself! {I attended as a guest admiring their details and not as their hired wedding photographer.} Jing and John got married less than a year after they got engaged.

Programs and menus were printed on their own and adorned with the couple's personalized stamp.

The personalized stamp was also used on their save the date, invitation, and other paper goods throughout.

On top of training for her first marathon, the couple had a lot of {hard} work to do and decisions to make to pull together every detail of their “non-hotel” wedding. Even if it meant squeezing in 2 hour runs home from work, Jing was determined to make her wedding vision happen. With the help of event management team Oliveaire, Jing & John selected the former warehouse turned Skyline Loft at the Bridgeport Art Center for the brick walls, lengthy windows, skyline view and urban feel.

Jing doesn’t consider herself a creative/artsy/right-brainer, but from her very pulled together wedding, every guest would disagree. Upon mysteriously entering the freight elevator to go up to the cocktail hour and reception, guests were greeted with the couple’s initials. The DIY twine wrapped letters were actually made by a bridesmaid for another friend’s wedding. Thanks Tina and Jackie!

To go along with the travel theme, Food Evolution Catering personalized a worldly cocktail hour menu complete with margaritas served in mini Patron bottles (Mexico), sangria in mason jars (Spain), sushi (Japan), and more.

Luggage tags debossed with a travel quote on the back doubled as giveaways and place cards. There's that personalized stamp again! In typical {late} Jing fashion, the order was placed less than two weeks before the wedding and she didn't even have to pay rush shipping!

An open suitcase welcomed guests’ cards instead of a standard box.  Postcards collected from their travels (and friends and family) were used in lieu of a traditional guest book. Guests picked a postcard, wrote a message and placed it in the mailbox. 

Hanging tea lights and DIY lace/twine wrapped mason jar candles created a warm atmosphere throughout the loft.

Thanks to Ebay, Jing scored massive amounts of luggage for half the price of vintage stores. Can you see the paper airplanes hanging as a backdrop behind the head table? Over a few weeks/months, Jing’s brother-in-law’s brother folded 400+ airplanes! Thank you, Ray! However, stringing the airplanes on 20-foot strings and transporting them was a whoooooole ‘nother issue. But so worth it!

Adam Havrilla was the {awesome} head designer who came up with the unique centerpiece idea of ivory lilies and gardenias and blush and faint yellow garden roses inside suitcases. To cut costs and avoid purchasing 30 suitcases, other tables were adorned with traditional vases to enhance the pretty, antique, vintage look of the venue.

Bridesmaids painted $1 thrift store frames (what a deal!!) and filled them with maps and numbers cut using a Cricut.

Jing found her Allure Couture dress from Weddings 826. Since the dress was a little to plain for Jing’s liking, it was customized with a sweetheart neckline and flower embellishments. Here's the couple enjoying a song performed by their family.

The DIY details for Jing and John’s travel themed wedding décor was a true family and friends affair. Everyone from bridesmaids, brother in laws, aunts, and sisters chipped in with their time and effort. For more travel themed wedding ideas and resources, check out Jing’s Pinterest boards here.

Vendors:
Venue – Skyline Loft at the Bridgeport Art Center
Caterer - Food Evolution
Florist - Artistic Blooms Chicago
Wedding Planner - Oliveaire
Suitcases & Luggage – ebay
Luggage Tag Place Cards – Motivators
Dress – Allure Couture via Weddings 826

Annnnd with White Castle sliders passed by servers on silver platters, we called it a night!
Good job Jing - you guys pulled it off beautifully!