Do you love these doors? You’re not alone. A few months ago we ran this gorgeous real spring wedding sent to us by Karen Feder Photography in Minnesota. Since then, the image of these doors has taken off on Pinterest, becoming one of our most popular pins. We decided to follow up with the bride, Lindsay, and get the story behind this unusual wedding decoration.
What was the theme or idea behind your wedding décor?
I wanted to have an outdoor, antique-vintagy wedding.
How did you get the idea for the doors?
We were married in a “meadow” on my in-law’s property. It was basically a big field surrounded by trees. I wanted a way to separate the ceremony area from the reception site as well as create an illusion of some sort of entry way. I saw a picture in a bridal magazine of a girl who got married outside and her brothers and dad had built a wall with a door frame in it in a field. Her doors actually opened, and I would have LOVED it if my doors could have opened so I could have made an entrance through a doorway, but our families are not that crafty, so we settled for stationary doors.
How did you get the doors to stand in the field?
We screwed two T posts (I think that’s what they’re called) to the back of each door. The posts are usually used for fences, but they’re usually green and come in all different sizes. After they were attached to the doors, we painted them and stuck them in the ground.
Where did the doors come from?
After I had the idea of the doors in my head, I was on the lookout for doors anywhere I could find them. One night, I was on my way home from my fiance’s house and it was dark out. I drove by a house about 5 blocks from mine, and thought I saw some doors on the curb. I circled around the block and realized that they were in fact, doors! The houses in the neighborhood were built in the 50s and these were original. I pulled the car over, flipped the seats down in my car and put them in with a little struggle. They were incredibly heavy and awkward. The owners of the house stepped outside and actually thanked ME for taking their doors! I drove the few blocks home with them sticking out the back of my Crossover.
How much did the idea cost?
My doors were free! (aside from a few eyerolls from my fiance and one little $3 can of paint) I lightly sanded some of the peeling paint off of them and painted them with an antique white paint from a hardware store. Oh, and I guess the T-posts were probably about $5 each, so all in all, the idea cost about $23.
Where are the doors now?
We sold most of our “props” to our florist who also does decorating and wedding planning. The doors are available for rent out of Red Wing, MN from Something Blue Design.
Did you do the styling yourself? If so, how long did it take?
I did do the styling myself, but was only able to pull everything off with the help of my fiance, family, and my bridesmaids. Our wedding was on a Saturday, and we started setting up on Thursday, but did most of the work on Friday. I started designing the wedding as soon as our eight month engagement started (ok, maybe it was a month or two before we were actually engaged
Are you happy with the results?
I loved the results and could not have been, or be, happier with the way our wedding looked and turned out. We’ve had many people tell us that our wedding was one of the most creative and beautiful weddings they have been to, which I am incredibly honored by. We had a beautiful day and all the planning and hard work that went into it was well worth it! I was thankful to have found the doors to help make a vision become reality.
Thanks to Lindsay for sharing her story!
Photo Credit: Karen Feder
