Following her engagement to Blake Ellsworth, bride-to-be Kailee Garcia dove head first into planning the Layton couple’s country-chic nuptials. She put her natural knack for crafting, her penny-pinching skills, and her penchant for Pinterest to good use. “Blake and I were engaged for almost a year, so I had a lot of time to plan and create everything for our special day,” says Garcia. “I also love to craft, and I was concerned about wedding costs, so what better solution than DIY?”

The duo got hitched on June 1, 2013, at a private barn in Kaysville. On the big day, the barn was decked from beam to floor with the bride’s handiwork, including chalkboard signage and a ceremony backdrop, pennant banners, and heart-shaped “petals” for the flower girl all crafted from vintage book pages.

Garcia and her wedding coordinator and florist, Heather Gerrard, lined the aisle with buckets of budget-friendly baby’s breath and created centerpieces using repurposed wine bottles, burlap and lace runners, and tree slices from a fallen cherry tree found in the mother-of-the-bride’s backyard.

“Managing the projects was challenging,” says Garcia. Her advice? “Stay organized and take it week by week.”

Crafty Ways 

• Ceremony Backdrop: With a large hole-punch tool, Garcia created circles from cardstock and vintage book pages. “I purchased the books from a local thrift store for 50 cents—they were a bargain!” She then sewed the circles together with a needle and thread to form long strips.

• Pennant Banner: Using a cardboard stencil, Garcia cut hundreds of triangles from cardstock and vintage book pages. She hole-punched the two bottom corners of the shapes and wove thin white ribbon through each triangle to connect them all together.

• Centerpieces: Garcia collected dozens of wine bottles during her engagement. She soaked each bottle in hot, soapy water and used Goo Off and a razor to scrape off the labels. She filled the bottles with wildflowers, baby’s breath, and grasses and arranged them among moss, votive candles, and tree slices.

Photographs: Shannon Elizabeth Photography