One of the first things Arja + Gijs decided on was that their ceremony had to take place where they both grew up, in the countryside of The Netherlands. They found a vineyard perfectly suited for the relaxed Burgundian outdoor and vintage breezy look they were aiming for then sprinkled creative handmade details throughout. Arja and her mother in law may have also cleaned out an entire shop of their peonies too, but we’d do the same thing too if we were told it’d be impossible to find them!
Gijs and I are musicians and also run a music blog, so we wanted the invitation to be very musical as well. Gijs bought a hundred love songs on 7” 45rpm records, and I designed a package which included the record, the wedding invitation with our love story on it, a hand drawn route to the locations and of course the album cover for the record. We printed, folded, sewed and wrapped the invitations ourselves. We even drove cross-country to deliver the packages (we live in a small country).
My wedding dress was made by my mother, Slavica. She is a painter but she also studied fashion at the art academy when she was my age. I picked out the lace and made the design then she amazed everybody by making the most beautiful dress I could imagine.
The most beautiful bouquet I could imagine, and the one that struck me the most while looking for inspiration, was a bouquet filled with luscious peonies. Nearly everybody had told us it would be impossible to find peony’s in the Netherlands at the end of June, but somehow we got lucky. When my mother in law and I found a place packed with peonies (the day before the wedding, eeks!), we bought the whole stock! Such a relief.
Dying over those flower pom arches!
A friend of Arja’s gave her the best tip:
Everybody has their own mental picture of a perfect wedding. It is always good to stay open to fresh imput, but when people, with all the goodness of their heart, share advice you are not at all stoked about, just say: “Thank you, we’ll think about it.” Don’t waste time arguing about the smallest details and save your energy for all the fun stuff!
Photography: 2Rings (Esther de Boer and Marco Reeuwijk) / Ceremony location: Vineyard ’t Oerlegoed in Gendringen / Reception: Farmhouse De Bongerd in Gaanderen / Bride’s dress: Made by mother of bride, Shoes: Patricia Pepe / Groom’s suit: Suitsupply, Shoes: Bitter, Tie: Zara / Catering and sweet table: Tim Sprangers and Mikko Kuiper / Cake: Sweet Appetite (Marieke de Korte) / Bouquet and boutonnieres: Ad ten Have
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Netherlands countryside wedding: Arja + Gijs: One of the first things Arja + Gijs decided on was that their cere… http://t.co/cC3DF5bL
Netherlands countryside wedding: Arja + Gijs http://t.co/GqpNQgMi
What a beautiful, sweet wedding! The bride and groom look so happy and relaxed, and her peony bouquet is perfect!
How sweet is this lace dress the mother of the bride made for her daughter? http://t.co/I4LeOdlu
Love all the details! RT @100layercake: How sweet is this lace dress the mother of the bride made for her daughter? http://t.co/N1sUz8T1
Her dress is TO DIE FOR and I love the peonies.
-Lindsey
Hahaha! Onze bruiloft, die van @gijswilbrink et moi, staat op een superpopulair Amerikaans trouwblog
http://t.co/CBXY8N2Q
Such fans of this bouquet made entirely of pink peonies: http://t.co/I4LeOdlu
Love! Netherlands countryside wedding. Rustic, romantic and original. http://t.co/jQWgOEQm via @100LayerCake
I fell like pinning everything! Very pretty <3
beautiful wedding
WOW… love rustic weddings and this has some really nice DIY touches.
oxox
Awesome wedding photography and perfect couple in gorgeous wedding dresses.
Love this countryside Netherlands wedding via @100LayerCake How cute are those record sleeves! http://t.co/MDaiUf91
You used some of my favorite elements..peony bouquets and succulent boutonnieres! Also, loving the choice of perfume! One of my favs! Beautiful wedding!
Wow! What great details. And bravo to mom for designing that dress!! I really love the wonderful photography at this wedding, especially the bridal party shots.
Netherlands countryside wedding: Arja + Gijs | Real Weddings | 100 Layer Cake http://t.co/Ta1ddMQ7 via @100layercake
Just gorgeous! And how talented is the mother of the bride?!
Can anyone tell me who did their gorgeous invitations?! I love them and there are no credits at the bottom of the post
Boohooo
They are so gorgeous!
A event to be cherished for ever. Highlighted be the wedding dress made from Mom
to her daughter, can’t get anymore special than that. The photographs were great
and of course, ready to be made into a painting. Great Job
Beautiful wedding. Amazing pictures. Love the details! Very cool!