Real Weddings: Courtney Jones and Matt LaFever

For the bride, creating her wedding from vintage bits and bobbles was a labor of love.

A random message to a cute guy on MySpace landed Courtney Jones more than just the new friend she was hoping for. Yes, it does happen. Two people can meet on the Internet and fall in love.

Five years after that fateful cyber-introduction, Courtney was engaged to marry Matt LaFever. The couple wed June 5, 2011, at the historic Fort Worth YWCA. Though Matt’s proposal was a surprise—he dropped to one knee while the two were on an ice skating date at Stonebriar Centre—the wedding was a carefully constructed DIY affair that conveyed the bride’s very specific vision.

For Courtney, the location was key, and her search was arduous. “I went to probably 30 venues but didn’t feel a connection with any of them,” she says. “And then I walked into the Y and was like, ‘Holy cow. This is it.’ ” She chose the ’20s-era landmark building on the edge of Fort Worth’s downtown for its vintage feel. It was the perfect backdrop for her vintage-modern theme.

In college, Courtney was the girl whom all the others in her sorority enlisted to make cute things for their big and little sisters. She was an art major who ended up with a degree in finance, so though the 25-year-old brunette doesn’t work professionally in the field, she is every ounce the artist—and her talent sparkled at her wedding.

For about a year Courtney collected knickknacks for table centerpieces. “First, I looked through my grandmother’s house and raided it for anything that I thought would fit my vision,” she says. Then she spent weekends at thrift stores like Junkadoodle, antiques stores, and at trade days in Canton and McKinney. She collected old hardback books, milk glass and mercury glass vases, silver candlesticks, figurines, postcards, doilies, globes, and one very special blue duck. She also collected brooches for her bouquet.

After gathering hundreds of small items, she and her mother arranged tables, rearranged tables, took photos, and labeled each piece just so. “That’s how we figured out how everything would flow,” Courtney says. And that’s how they made every one of the 18 tables a unique and charming display.

In addition, the bar was draped with a burlap banner the bride made herself. She also crafted each of the seven boutonnieres from bits of vintage games. She wrapped printed programs by hand and made cupcake toppers from paper and glitter.

“The decor was me in a nutshell,” Courtney says. She could probably make a killing on Etsy.




RESOURCES

Ceremony Site: Fort Worth YWCA
Photographer/Studio: SixFourteen Photography
Bridal Gown Designer: UNK
Bridal Gown Retailer: Classy Concepts (Mansfield)
Hair & Makeup: Susan Reyes
Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse
Flowers: Growing Ideas (Midlothian)
Reception Site: Fort Worth YWCA
Cake: The Flour Shop (Highland Village)
Caterer: Allie’s Catering
Band and/or DJ: Jabel Productions (Mansfield)
Lighting: Jabel Productions (Mansfield)
Day-of Coordinator: The Creative Touch, Events by Lauren