This Couple Personalized Their Colorful Fall Wedding with Tons of DIY Details

By Nicole Harris
Belathée Photography

The bride and groom celebrated their union in Massachusetts with a barn venue, hand-crafted decorations, and a cozy dinner party vibe.

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Belathée Photography

Tory Williams, who was working as a freelance photographer, and Jonathan Cedar first crossed paths when she shot a wedding that he was attending. "I was trying to be professional, so I gave him my business card," says Tory. "A few months later, we had our first date." Four years, Jonathan (the CEO/founder of BioLite) took Tory cross-country skiing in snowy New Hampshire. When they stopped for lunch deep in the woods, Jonathan proposed with a 3D-printed resin ring that he had made as a prototype. They later recruited a jeweler to make a "fancier" model of his initial design.

Nine months after their engagement, the Brooklyn-based pair ventured to New England once more. This time to New Marlboro, Massachusetts, to tie the knot at Gedney Farm on November 4, 2017. About 236 guests attended the casual celebration, which had plenty of DIY touches—including hand-dyed dinner napkins, hand-embossed logos on each invitation, and customized mugs to take home as wedding favors. Pops of vibrant colors and an inherently rustic aesthetic also came into play for the late fall wedding. "The wedding was just a cozy dinner party, and we wanted everyone to feel like they were part of it," summarizes the bride.

Watch Tory and Jonathan's wedding video by Marie Marry Me.

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The Stationery Suite

Belathée Photography

Amy Fuller of Flint Inc. designed the paper goods, including a simple invitation with black and red text. Tory addressed all of the envelopes by hand.

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Paper Details

Belathée Photography
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Some elements of the suite had pops of color and a custom logo "We love a branding project, so we put the custom logo on everything," adds Tory. "Jonathan's last name is Cedar so the mark has a cedar cone." The text was digitally- and screen-printed while the logo was hand embossed. The wave pattern was inspired by the Berkshire mountains that roll across the horizon.

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Order of Events

Belathée Photography

The weekend started with a rehearsal dinner on Friday night, which was complete with field games and mini rocket launches. "Our rehearsal dinner theme was 'Canadian Tuxedo talent show taco party,'" says the bride. "Everyone wore full denim and sang songs all night. It was the best way to break the ice and turn all the guests into quick friends."

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The Venue

Belathée Photography

Tory and Jonathan got married at Gedney Farm in New Marlboro, Massachusetts. "Jonathan grew up going to the Berkshires with his family, and it became a special place for us to get away from the city," says Tory. "I really love the countryside and farm-to-table life up there. Gedney was comfortable for our guests, but not too fancy for our casual taste." The couple also enjoyed the lack of cell service at the farm, because guests were "super present" the whole weekend.

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Their Autumnal Attire

Belathée Photography
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"My friend Brita says I'm boldly underdressed for every event," says Tory. "I tried hard not to be underdressed for the wedding, but I only gave myself 30 minutes to get ready!" Tory wore a cozy wool number by Katie Ermilio.

Jonathan sported a gray wool suit from J.Crew, which he paired with a pink-and-blue plaid shirt. "He was wearing that shirt the day we tried the suits on, and he got attached to the look!" explains Tory. The groom also wore a navy woven tie and clip from J.Crew, as well as Kenneth Cole shoes.

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A Pop of Color

Belathée Photography

A colorful striped Garza Marfa scarf added vibrant color to Tory's outfit, and it kept her warm.

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Flowers in Her Hair

Belathée Photography
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The bride's mom made the veil with fabric from Mood, and Rumphius Flowers made the comb. Tory completed her look with a Catbird necklace and family earrings from the 1920s.

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The Shoes

Belathée Photography

Tory wore blue pumps from Hudson London; her Canadian mom put a ten pence on the bottom for good luck.

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The Bouquet

Belathée Photography
52 Gorgeous Fall Wedding Bouquets

Katie Henry of Rumphius Flowers arranged the bouquet with dahlias, roses, carnations, chocolate cosmos, and fall foliage. "We gave her zero direction and she did an exceptional job," says Tory.

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The Rings

Belathée Photography

A product designer by trade, Jonathan 3D-printed a resin engagement ring at a lab in Chinatown. "He made one in every size, just to make sure," says Tory, adding that Gillian Conroy made her final engagement ring with a lab diamond from Diamond Foundry. "The band is simple and the slight bend makes it easy to wear all the time," she says. Jonathan wore his grandfather's ring for the big day, since he had a marriage the groom admired.

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The Ceremony Site

Belathée Photography

The ceremony took place in the barn. The couple made the chuppah together using rope, and friends foraged in the nearby woods for adornments.

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The Chuppah

Belathée Photography
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The bride's friend—Emily Katz of Modern Macramé—supplied blue and white rope for the chuppah.

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The Ceremony

Belathée Photography

After her five sisters entered the ceremony, Tory's parents walked her down the aisle while friends played "Big Country" by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Jonathan's brother and Tory's childhood friend officiated the ceremony. "We had lots of Jewish traditions mixed in with our own words, as well as readings and blessings from friends and family," says Tory. "We also created seven pillars of our relationship and asked people to write something about each one, we heard them for the first time at the wedding." The pillars were family, adventure, curiosity, creativity, fairness, community, and play. About 15 people spoke during the ceremony, and the couple also included some Buddhist traditions. "It felt like our whole community married us and filled the room with love," says the bride.

The groom agrees about the power of the ceremony saying, "It was my favorite part. I thought I was going to be very self-conscious standing up there in front of over 200 people, but instead it felt like just the two of us." 

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Little Violinists

Belathée Photography

Tory's nephews played "Boil 'em Cabbage Down" on violins.

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Cocktail Hour

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After the ceremony, guests attended cocktail hour downstairs where they listened to the The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn. The couple put a bunch of silly photos of themselves on the cocktail napkins. Seasonal passed appetizers and an open bar kicked off the celebration.

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The Portraits

Belathée Photography
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Belathée Photography photographed the couple around the venue and the surrounding seasonal landscape.

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The Escort Cards

Belathée Photography

To make the escort cards, Jonathan laser cut and spray painted hexagonal wood tiles. "He loved the craft projects involved in the wedding," says Tory. "He spent two days at the laser lab cutting the name cards."

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The Reception

Belathée Photography

The reception took place in the same room as the ceremony. Gedney Farm's white shiplap walls and exposed wood created a rustic aesthetic, while bistro lights overhead added magical ambience. A rectangular table served as the head table, but most guests sat at round tables. "We like a lot of color, so we encouraged our florist to go nuts with color," says the bride. "The theme was casual Berkshire weekend, and the venue really set the stage for that."

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DIY Elements

Belathée Photography
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According to Tory, "The reception was very us. We DIY-ed like crazy. For example, I hand-dyed 300 indigo napkins and made candles for all the tables." She added that friends also contributed a long list of crafts and fun—like a pal drawing cartoons of the wedding live and other buddies playing in the band.

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The Mugs

Belathée Photography

Jonathan imported enamel mugs as wedding favors. He had the invitation wrapped around them and their custom logo printed on the bottom in red.

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The Menu

Belathée Photography

The bride's friend, Doris Fullgrabe, calligraphed the menus, which were printed on watercolor paper. Gedney Farm catered the meal: a first course of butternut bisque; an entree choice of maple soy cod, pan-seared chicken, or an Indian thali platter; and a dessert of maple cookies.

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Field Notes

Belathée Photography

On the tables, the couple placed wood-covered field notebooks for guests to write messages and draw pictures. People sketched the evening (Tory's favorite was a play-by-play of what one table was up to during the reception) and wrote the couple letters and poems.

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Polaroid Pictures

Belathée Photography
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At the wedding, kids ran around with the Polaroid cameras, snapping photographs of the big day. They clipped photos to the chuppah that was hung up after the wedding.

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The Buttons

Belathée Photography

The couple put stickers and buttons with their signature sunset pattern out during the rehearsal dinner. Some of them were worn again at the wedding.

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The Band

Belathée Photography

The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn played at the reception. "I had worked with them before, taking pictures for their site and shooting the bass player's wedding. I was thrilled they were available," says Tory.

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The First Dance

Belathée Photography

The newlyweds danced to "Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes" by Taj Mahal. The band also played the hora. For easier dancing, Tory changed into a Rachel Comey dress during the reception. "It was super fun, since the sequins were gold one way and white the other way. The kids loved it," says Tory.

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Sources

Belathée Photography

Photography, Belathée Photography

Location and catering, Gedney Farm

Flowers, Rumphius Flowers

Videography, Marie Marry Me

Stationery, Flint Inc.

Calligraphy, Doris Fullgrabe

Music, The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn

Bride's gown, Katie Ermilio; Rachel Comey (reception)

Bride's accessories, Catbird (necklace); Gillian Conroy (engagement ring) Garza Marfa (scarf); Hudson London (shoes)

Groom's suit and tie, J.Crew

Groom's shoes, Kenneth Cole

Lighting, Gillooly & Co. Design

Transportation, Dufour Tours

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