Valerie and Ryan Jackson held an intimate backyard wedding ceremony with cake cutting and toasts at their residence in Jenks, OK, followed by a photoshoot at a local 15-acre ranch venue down the road from their home, called Coal Creek Farms in May of 2023.
It was a small event with just their pastor, parents and her stepson in attendance. Valerie spent 30 days using her Cricut machine to DIY various items for their wedding ceremony, which took place on their 7 year anniversary of being together.
What inspired you to DIY your wedding?
“The decision to DIY was really made due to the size (we had less than 10 participants total including us) of our ceremony. But also due to the timing. My husband (then fiancé) was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the tongue right after we got engaged. So we basically put the wedding planning on the back burner while he had to undergo treatment. Fast forward a little over 2 years later (a month before our 7 year dating anniversary) and we just decided to stop waiting for the all clear with his health. Settled on tying the knot on our 7yr anniversary and I had exactly 30 days to create as much as I could (DIY for an intimate backyard ceremony) with my machines.”
What sources of inspiration did you use to determine what projects to make?
“The inspiration behind most of my projects came from browsing Etsy; as well as a few sites like Vow’d Weddings (and the Cricut Official group) on Facebook. I found quite a lot of my floral inspiration right from design space. Luckily; I had been bookmarking projects for the wedding for 2 years so it was easy to get started.”
Did any of your projects hold a sentimental meaning to you?
“Our wedding mirrors were especially sentimental for us. My mother in law let me upcycle a family heirloom mirror; and I created a memorial piece with mine for my Mom, who passed in 2016. As a way for her to still be included in our special day with us. I took snippets from handwritten birthday letters from her to me over the years and uploaded to design space. Then pieced together a special message for our wedding day.”
“Another project that was pretty sentimental for me was my wedding shoes. I went to the thrift store and found my wedding shoes by complete luck. There was one pair of barely used gold sparkling heels that was just my size and only $4.99. Perfect for how I wanted to personalize them with my handwriting on the soles. I wrote out a message and uploaded it to design space and then added it to the bottom of them with black glitter iron on vinyl and the easy press mini. It was perfect! They read ‘I’m so blessed to have my true love and best friend” “As we walk this journey, from beginning to end.'”
What was your favorite Cricut project from your wedding?
“My favorite project was probably my bouquet; but it would be a hard choice between that or the 7ft boho floral arch backdrop I made. Either way, my favorite makes for our big day was DIY paper florals and I made a ton!”
What were your favorite moments from your wedding day?
“My favorite moments of the day is a hard question to answer, there were so many. Definitely our champagne toast. It was not only hilarious that I failed to uncork the bottle on my own; but also our first joint effort as a team and married couple. It took both of us to get the bottle open.”
More moments from Valerie and Ryan’s wedding day
Love these projects? Make them in Design Space
Looking for more DIY wedding inspiration?
Looking for more Cricut wedding inspiration? Check out the Cricut for Weddings Page for more project ideas, and join our official Facebook Group: Cricut for your Wedding.
Wedding photography by Amanda Grace Photography
