Once Upon a Time: Our Library Wedding

Once upon a time…. I got married in the library!

In honor of our five year anniversary this week, I thought I would share some details of our storybook wedding.

When my fiance and I began wedding planning we only knew that we wanted a small wedding that was unique to us. As we began brainstorming locations, someone (okay, I’ll take credit) threw out the idea of exchanging vows in the library.  It was a perfect match for us! Since I had previously worked at the public library in our town, and it had been recently built, we were signing the contract within a few weeks! We were engaged longer than we dated (not by much: 8 months engaged, 6.5 months dating), so I had plenty of time to plan the details for our book themed nuptials.

The first detail I checked off the list was flowers.  I knew I wanted paper flowers and commissioned a fabulous artisan from Etsy, Manda Girl Designs, to design my bouquet, bouquets for my two bridesmaids, boutineers for the men, and a hair clip for me as well.

Our invitations were miniature books, complete with an excerpt from a 15th century book, an appendix and “due date” RSVP cards; designed by LetterBox Ink.

For WEEKS we punched paper hearts out of cardstock and old book pages to line the aisle and also to be used as confetti for the reception tables.

Heart garland hung across the aisle until it was time to be used for the bridal party. We upcycled old book pages and colorful scrapbook paper.

Our reception was held at the library as well in an art gallery space that the library has in its lower level. The centerpieces included books that were passed down from my grandmother.

Speaking of my grandmother, she read a picture book during our ceremony, A Lovely Love Story. (We came close to sharing a passage from The Velveteen Rabbit, but Monkton’s tale won out.)

Our cake was a stack of books: Great Expectations; Oh, The Places You’ll Go; and Captivating.

Our favors were books, of course. A 500-page quotation book called The Eternal Vision with quotes from the Bible, the classics, and historical and political writings. 

We attached “thank you” library cards to our favors, which make great bookmarks, too (pictured below, left). Our guest “book” consisted of library cards for guests to sign their names to along with a short message (pictured below, right).

We had so much fun in the children’s department shooting these before the ceremony.

And we lived happily ever after…. We’ve added a few more chapters and new characters have been introduced. It’s been a sweet, action packed tale!