Introducing Guerrilla Weddings: How To Make an Aisle Anywhere!

Last week, we concluded our first ever How-To crafts extravaganza. You know, stuff you can do to make your wedding pretty that’s easy, cheap, and includes lots of fun with friends. This week we’re launching our new How-To craft series, a project I’ve been wanting to do for years and years: Guerilla Weddings. AKA, pick a public spot, roll up with your people, and get married. Slightly illegal? Perhaps (check your local rules). Awesome? Definitely. Really, we’re hoping this series will inspire you to think way outside the (expensive) box on wedding planning, plus give you super easy, but also really stunning wedding crafts that you can use at any wedding. We’re also calling this series “APW Goes To Brooklyn” (Meg’s other home).

It’s all shot in my very favorite place, with girl time by Michelle Edgemont, low-key wedding stylist who did the crafting and graphic design, crafting assistance and hanging out by photographer and awesome lady Amber Marlow, and photos by Monica of Hart & Sol East. Also, I’m slightly bitter that I wasn’t there to hang out (next time). Let’s do it!


Guerilla Weddings: Awesome If Slightly Illegal!

Welcome to Part One of Guerilla Wedding Decorations, aka Get Married Anywhere And Make It Look Cool, aka Crafts With Friends. Some of you would prefer to skip the whole traditional wedding ceremony space, which we think is awesome. Possible super cheap option: grab your friends and family, meet in a public space, get married. Done and done. But, this doesn’t mean your ceremony has to be without fun, colorful, easy decorations. It’s a little crazy and might be slightly illegal in some public spaces (check the rules!). Also, you know how the wedding industry keeps yelling at you that your wedding has to be memorable and you should spend a ton of money. This is MEMORABLE (and also basically free). Ha!

Find A Location

The first of our super easy decorations takes basic solid paper and turns it into a sweet way to line your makeshift aisle. The first step is finding a good location. Things that make for good locations: lack of people, dramatic architecture, a flat surface, some shade, and enough room for all your guests to stand around you. Scope out your neighborhood on same the day of the week and the time you want to get married. See what kinds of people are hanging around. Do they look cool? Do they look crazy? Does the local preschool have gym time right then on your favorite patch of grass? We chose Grand Army Plaza, near the fountain, in Brooklyn. We had the arch as a nice background and this part of Prospect Park doesn’t get a lot of people.

The Craft: Make An Aisle Anywhere

You’re going to need at least ten pieces of large, heavier weight paper. Grab a variety of colors, plus throw in a few metallics for added jazz. (Obviously everyone loves added jazz!) Casually cut the paper in approximately 2” wide strips. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect, we are going for laid-back and awesome here. Pack them up to bring to your wedding site, which you’ve already scoped out.

Lay out the strips, on top of each other, creating the borders for your aisle. This is so super easy. Also, actually, you should really have a friend do this for you. (Important note: If it’s windy that day, bring tape to secure the back of the strips to the ground.) Create as long/short, wide/thin an aisle as you prefer.

That’s it! Now, get married and have a friend clean up the strips. Definitely. You are not cleaning up the strips.

Photos by Monica of Hart & Sol East, Crafting and Graphic Design by Michelle Edgemont, with Crafting Assistance by Amber Marlow 

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