ReadyMade: Instructions for everyday life

Welcome to the second installment of Wedding Wednesdays. On the first and third Wednesday of each month, we will share a lovely handmade wedding with you. Check out our first installment here from a couple in St. Paul. If you know of a wedding that we simply need to feature, please email us!

All photos from Jessica Ewald and Lindsay Trapnell.

Julie and Jason Cusack of Omaha had been together for almost six years when he proposed in February. In only eight months, the couple brainstormed, planned and put together a handmade wedding that everyone agreed was uniquely them.

Julie says of the process: “We just really understand each others’ tastes and what we like. Owning a home together really helped because the ceremony already felt like ‘us.’ I am glad that Jason made our backyard setup on his own and didn’t run the details by me. It made walking down the aisle that much more special.  It literally took my breath away—I felt like he made everything just for me.”

The couple’s three-year-old French bulldog, Arthur, even dressed up for the occasion. Julie’s mom, Judy, made a tux and a top hat for the little guy, but he ended up ditching the hat in minutes and the rest of the formal wear during the ceremony. Judy found the pattern (Simplicity 2519) at JoAnn Fabric and used knit material so the outfit would stretch a bit. She made the bow tie out of 2-inch brown ribbon.

Here’s what Jason had to say about making the backdrop and platform for the ceremony:

“It was a pretty simple build, really. Two full sheets (4′x8′) of 3/4″ plywood were raised up on 2×4’s for an 8′x8′ platform. Three frames of various sizes were made of 2×4s, then had fabric (“Gunvor” from IKEA) stretched and staple-gunned to the backs. Those were placed on the platforms at various depths, and then even MORE frames made of 1×2’s were added where they fit/looked best. A few quick supports were added here and there to make sure it would stay up if it got windy. All the pieces were finished a few days before the wedding, but it wasn’t all put together until just hours before the ceremony. I was just going for a simple sort of Mondrian/De Stijl look with it, trying to get as much impact as possible out of simple shapes. All in all, it cost around $200 for the lumber, and $5.99/yard, with about 10 yards of fabric.”

Julie’s hairpiece is actually a fresh green orchid that her florist, Sheri from Garden Flowers in the Old Market in Omaha, chose after Julie described what she wanted. Julie says:

“I kept looking out the window so I could sneak peeks of our guests as they arrived. All of our guests stayed at a hotel right by the reception and decided to take the complimentary hotel shuttle to my house. It was pretty amazing to see my favorite people in the world file out of a bus for our big day. Our neighbors have to think we are the weirdest people ever.”

About 50 people attended the couple’s intimate backyard ceremony. They rented the chairs from United Rent-All and strung paper lanterns from the Paper Lantern Store on 1/8-inch airline cable. They were only about $50.

The bridesmaids are Becky Shattuck, Julie’s sister; Erin Cusack, her sister-in-law; Kim Roberts, her maid of honor and best friend; Cassie Kramer, her good friend. Julie says:

“I hate shiny bridesmaid dresses more than anything, and it was really important to me that my bridesmaids stood out and felt pretty. I picked these dresses from Anthropologie because they were interesting, but still classic. I knew the girls would wear their dresses again because I asked them to be a part of the decision. These girls are amazing, by the way. Kim and Erin actually made my cupcakes with me the week of my wedding. Cassie helped get our house ready for the big day, and Becky drove from Colorado when she was about to burst (my sister is eight months pregnant, so she had to find something from Target the week of).”

“Wedding dress shopping was pretty funny—it was the only part of this process that was stressful because I had a bad experience that made me feel like there wasn’t a dress out there for me. I initially went to a couture bridal shop in Des Moines, but they totally didn’t understand me. I said I was looking for a short dress and they started having me try on belted, sparkly mini-dresses. My sister-in-law Erin saved the day; she always finds the best things through blogs. She sent me a link to my dress and I ordered it right then. It’s a BCBG Max Azaria dress from Nordstrom and was just under $400. It’s not a wedding dress, but I made it one!”

Groomsmen Chris Kramer, Andy Cusack, Daniel Lehmann, and Matt Meyer sported a mixture of 60’s vintage suits and purchases from H&M. Julie says:

“Jason was playing dead because all the boys aren’t in suits very often and he thought it would be funny. Our groomsmen did everything from help Jason move tables the day of to help clean our house. I love these guys!”

Julie’s cousin Tina Wildhagen officiated the ceremony. Julie says:

“She is one of our favorite people in the world. She was ordained online for $7, but she paid extra to get a certificate. Fun fact: she has her doctorate (she is a professor at Smith), but on our marriage license, she wrote her title as Reverend. Our ceremony was very short, which is what we wanted. There were so many little mishaps, but they were some of my favorite parts of the day. First, Arthur got naked in the yard, we had a ring incident (we lost Jason’s ring, so I had to give him a novelty bottle-opener ring), and I couldn’t stop laughing.”

“The reception was at The Slowdown. It is a lounge/music venue in the new Saddle Creek Records complex in North Downtown Omaha—Jason plays shows there, and we go there a lot for their weekly Pub Quiz. The manager, Val Nelson, and the other trivia MC, Rob Walters, actually held a mini pub quiz at our reception. It was so much fun—it was one of my favorite parts of the night.”

The couple describe their reception venue, where over 120 guests helped them celebrate:

“It was really easy to pick out our decorations. We knew we wanted a lot of orange and white and just went from there. Jason loves soda more than anything, so I wanted to do something special for him. I custom ordered bottles of orange cream and strawberry lime soda from Jones Soda. Our guests seemed to really like the pictures of us, and I wanted to give something that people would really enjoy. Our great friends Hollie, Micah, and my cousins spent the afternoon setting everything up. I couldn’t believe all the special touches they added. Val was great, too—she made a spiked cider for our event and served them to our guests in martini glasses with apple wedges. Kim, my best friend, took photos of Jason and I and made up fake facts to go with each one. I think one of them said that Jason proposed to me in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Mask. Our guests loved it.”

And did we mention that Jason is in a band? Julie explains:

Jason is in a band called Talking Mountain, and they have a huge visual element to their shows. They are on Slumber Party Records (a division of Saddle Creek Records), and have a new 12″ vinyl LP coming out in early 2010. He makes all of the backdrops, costumes, t-shirts, and even made a foot-activated lighting system by himself. They bought a van for $200, Jason has done all the repair work it needed, and they’ve put over 15,000 miles on it. That guy can do anything! During the day, he works as a Display Artist for Urban Outfitters, so he builds displays all day then comes home and keeps building things. We will randomly have 8-foot tall cutouts of cartoon bones in our living room or have a sewing machine out on our dining room table. He keeps things interesting, for sure!

And Julie sums up exactly what makes handmade weddings so wonderful:

“I think that the people in our lives expect us to do our own thing to begin with, so that helped a lot. I feel like everyone felt very included and very much a special part of our day—they each had a role, and we didn’t bring in outside people to do things that people who were a part of our lives could do better. For example, my cousins Jason and Patrick (who I grew up with) announced us as we walked in instead of a DJ. Now, I will always have a memory of them doing that for us. I love our family and friends; our parents and our bridal party are so good to us. I really don’t know how we got so lucky! They were happy to help with all of the details and there’s no way things would have come together without them. Our wedding had grilled cheese, a dog ring bearer, cupcakes, and a pub quiz, and it all made perfect sense to everyone who was there.”

A huge thank you to Julie and Jason for sharing your amazing wedding and to Jessica Ewald and Lindsay Trapnell for capturing the genuinely beautiful day!