I never cease to be amazed by the creativity of DIY brides, and Rosemary is certainly no exception! She and Cesar married on October 10 at Land’s End in Sayville, New York (captured by Photography by Verdi).
Their beautiful wedding has a ton of amazing handmade touches and cultural elements, and I’m so inspired by the fact that the couple handled so many of the details themselves!
Rosemary and Cesar met when she was a legal secretary, taking classes to work in digital filmmaking and he was an IT tech, taking classes in computer engineering. They started dating 5-1/2 years ago and since then have had the unwavering love and support of both of their families.
Rosemary and Cesar planned the wedding themselves, with the help of a day-of coordinator, as well as designed the save-the-dates and invitations. They also designed the programs, table names and numbers, and the A to Z on 10.10.10 cards, as well as made the bride’s personalized hangers!
Rosemary says, We made these A to Z on 10.10.10 cards by attaching to each letter of the alphabet a little tidbit of information about us individually (Cesar doesn’t have a middle name; neither does Rosemary), as a couple (“The Longest Yard” is the first movie we saw together), our families and wedding planning details.
The A to Z cards also included the key to our 10.10.10 wedding:
• B: Barbara & Jeffrey McGunnigle (Rosemary’s parents) were married August 10, 1974.
• D: Delia Conway & William McGunnigle (Rosemary’s great grandparents) were married April 10, 1902.
• M: Marion & George Bopp (Rosemary’s grandparents) were married June 10, 1944.
Other table names included Cesar’s dad’s hometown, Arhuayaco; Riverhead, a favorite vacation spot; Greenbelt Lane, where Rosemary grew up, etc.
I don’t know how many brides can say their rings were made by their uncle-in-law, father-in-law and cousin-in-law… Victor, Erasmo and Alfredo Gonzales were the dream team that custom made the engagement and wedding rings that we chose from a photograph in a catalog. Victor is 72 years old and Erasmo is 70 years old, and they both learned jewelry making in Peru.
We wanted something two tone. Cesar’s dad Erasmo made the base in yellow gold. Cesar’s Uncle Victor (Free World Jewelry, New York, NY) made the leaf design in white gold, and Erasmo assembled the ring. The diamonds are from Cesar’s cousin Alfredo (Gems & Gold Unlimited). These rings are works of art, more beautiful that we ever could’ve imagined… and I’ll always remember the visits to Cesar’s cousin’s booth and his uncle’s workshop… especially the last one before our wedding. They put so much love and care and soul into the handcrafting of these rings.
We really wanted to have favors that represented Peru, Cesar’s country of birth. Alberto Aparicio Canchari made these arcilla favors – hanging angel “cholito” musicians – by hand in Peru. We bought them from CIAP, an organization dedicated to fair trade of Peruvian handicrafts. There were six distinct models with different colors and different instruments, and we still can’t stop admiring them.
Our favor tag features a quote by William Shakespeare: “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On.” We made the favor tags in a Word template for labels, printed them out onto dandelion yellow cardstock from paperandmore.com and Cesar punched the 1/8″ holes and tied the ribbons. Rosemary got to watch the impressive formation of an army of angels as it grew.
I’ll be back with more wonderful handmade details from Rosemary and Cesar’s wedding tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Vendors ~
Venue: Land’s End ~ Sayville, NY
Florist: Lovin’ Oven Floral Designs ~ Sayville, NY
Day-of Coordinator: Francesca Leonardini of Dazzling Affairs ~ Mineola, NY
Dress: Maggie Sottero
Engagement Ring, Wedding Rings and Bride’s Earrings: Gems & Gold Unlimited and Free World Jewelry ~ New York, NY
Cake: Audrey’s Fine Baked Goods ~ Sayville, NY
Favors: Alberto Aparicio Canchari of CIAP Peru
Photography: Photography by Verdi
