Whimsical Llama Wedding with lots of DIY

It’s 2018, and we’re all about the llama drama. So are Marisa + Sam it would seem! Their vibrant DIY wedding was chock full of fun boho details that tied together Jewish wedding traditions in a way that’s pure magic. Purveyors of fine puns ourselves, we’re fur real obsessed with the way they incorporated llamas in their day. So if anyone deserves to get married on a llama farm, it’s these two! You’re not gonna want to miss a second of their fun party vibes captured by Redfield Photo below.

From the bride, Marisa: We both love to throw parties so we felt that our wedding should be our most creative and fun party yet. For our venue, we wanted something rustic, summery and unique where we could create an ambiance that was a reflection of our personalities and our story. A well-fated Internet search led us to WoodsEdge Farm, a llama farm with a spacious, modern barn at the center of the property. We instantly fell in love with the farm, the animals and owners Amy & Brent. Once we had the location, all the details naturally fell into place: white lacy elements contrasting bright pink and orange florals; global touches that riffed off the llamas’ South American origin and Marisa’s love of all things Latin American; and cheeky nods to the llamas themselves such as “llamakes” and a neon sign spelling “llove.” For food, we riffed on classic BBQ faire with an assortment of summery salads, pulled brisket sliders, grilled sausages and chicken, and veggie kabobs–all served family style–with fruit crumble for dessert. For music, we went with a rock’n’roll vibe, hiring our favorite NYC band, Missals, to play a mix of covers and originals, and surprised our guests with a performance by Marisa’s father’s rock back, with Marisa as lead vocalist. We also wanted to incorporate all the traditional elements of a Jewish wedding including a groom’s tisch, bedeken, chuppah and horah.

Being that I’m a DIY blogger and crafter (theneonteaparty.com!), it was important to us that we incorporated DIY projects into our wedding. Almost every element of the wedding was DIYed to some degree, whether it was designing floral arrangements to be executed by a family friend, wrapping our customized invitations in white paper doilies tied up with string, ordering one-of-a-kind “llamakes,” or hand lettering chalkboard signs.

We did not particularly care to have a special cake for our wedding. We had initially planned to have a family member bake a small two-tiered cake simply for us to cut and not to serve, as we’ve found at many of our friends’ wedding that many people don’t eat the cake anyway. Since our wedding decor was shaping up to incorporate some Mexican elements, such as the papel picado, it struck us that hitting a piñata might be more fun than slicing a cake. After searching the internet for the perfect option and not finding very much, we set out to DIY our own wedding cake piñata. We filled it with candy, glow sticks, sunglasses, mustaches and confetti poppers and provided paper lunch bags for our guests to fill up and take home. See the full DIY here!

Before a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom must publicly veil the bride himself to make sure she’s the right woman — a tradition that is based on the biblical story of Jacob accidentally marrying Leah rather than his bride-to-be Rachel. It is customary for the bride to sit on a beautiful chair surrounded by her closest female relatives and bridesmaids. Guests can greet the bride and give her blessings as she awaits her groom’s arrival. While it’s common for the area surrounding the bride to be filled with fresh flowers and other bridal decor, Marisa wanted to incorporate a more bohemian look and opted instead for handmade lace dreamcatchers made by her bridal shower guests. The dream catchers were attached to the throne-like chair and the cushion was covered with a Moroccan wedding blanket.

As a gift to my bridesmaids, I created tassel earrings for each of them in their favorite colors using beautiful silk tassels from global crafting supplier Woman Shops World.

I worked closely with designer Megan Moe of Moe Paper Co. to customize a hand-painted floral graphic to resemble the wedding flowers. We and our family then gathered together to encase each invitation set with a white paper doily tied up with white baker’s string — a nod to my all lace dress and the white papel picado we planned to hang in the barn.

We were fortunate to work with a close family friend to create all the flower arrangements and bouquets for the wedding. Marisa hand-selected all the flowers from a wholesaler and mocked up the table arrangements, opting for a mix of pink and orange roses, ranunculus and wildflowers placed in small mismatching glass vases running down the center of each long table.

Some of our favorite wedding moments:
1. A Jewish wedding begins with the bride and groom in separate rooms. The groom sits at a table with his male family and friends, singing and cheering and getting pumped up for the big event while the bride sits on a beautiful chair surrounded by her closest female relatives and bridesmaids and is greeted and blessed by guests. Eventually, the groom and his posse parade their way to the bride where the groom makes sure he has the right girl before covering her face with a veil. There is so much build up and excitement in this moment, called the bedeken, and ours was no exception. Seeing Sam, arm-in-arm with our fathers and grandfathers who led him to me, our faces bursting with smiles and laughter, all our guests singing and clapping. It was a moment of pure joy and celebration.

2. Following the horah, my childhood friends (two of whom are Indian) surprised guests with an Indian dance–a traditional element of Indian weddings. The girls started off dancing to a popular Bollywood song before the Spice Girls blasted through the speakers for a nostalgic grand finale. Sam, Marisa and guests jumped up to join them on the dance floor as we kept the Indian dancing going for one more song.

3. Llama photoshoot! Following our horah and first round of dancing, we paused for a brief sunset photo session in the field behind the barn. After a round of etherial couples shots, we turned our heads, jaws dropped, to see Amy, one of the farm owners, escorting towards us one of their beautiful llamas adorned in a rainbow of tassels. The entire party (including the nearby llamas!) turned to watch as we frolicked with Magic and hammed it up for our photographers.

4. My dad has been performing in a rock band for nearly 20 years, so we always knew they’d have to play a couple songs at our wedding. Marisa, who loves to sing, snuck to New Jersey for rehearsals and surprised Sam and guests with their renditions of “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin and “Oh Darling!” by the Beatles. Everyone was in total shock and I think it’s safe to say that Sam’s heart melted in that moment.

5. Instead of cutting a cake, we decided to hit a piñata filled with candy and fun party favors. We did this towards the end of the night when the energy was high and everyone was on the dance floor. It was such a happy and silly moment as we spun around in our wedding outfits while our friends and family cheered us on. It was for sure one of the most memorable moments of the whole wedding.

Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Redfield Photo
Videography: Kiss The Bride Films
Day-of Coordination: Urvashi Mishra at Electric Karma
Decor and Floral Design: The Neon Tea Party
Venue: WoodsEge Farm
Wedding Dress: The Alexis Dress by Shareen Bridal
Hair and Makeup Artist: Eva Moshouris for Damali Bridal
Rings and Jewelry: Fabrikant
Flower Crowns: Crowns by Christy
Groom’s Attire: Suit Supply
Neon “Llove” Sign: Bright Lite Tribe
Llama Tassels: BoBo Global
Band: Missals
Catering: Pomp Caterers (kosher)
Invitations: Moe Paper Co.
Alpaca Place Cards: JonNi Paper Goods