Last year I took a road trip with my buddy Nikki to the Wedding Day Hooray, an indie wedding marketplace and all around good time in Atlanta, Georgia.  She was pimping her wares and I was hunting for wedding ideas.  It was there that I first spotted the brooch bouquet. A brooch whaaa? A brooch bouquet. A nifty, crafty wedding bouquet made entirely of brooches.  I had never seen anything like but it struck me as such a meaningful way to add a personal touch to my wedding and include my loved ones in the process. 

I decided then and there, a good 16 months in advance, that I would have a brooch bouquet.  I began amassing my collection, picking up pieces at flea markets and antique mills, whenever something caught my eye. I dedicated a special drawer in my office and slowly began filling it. Family and friends have also added to the pile and continue to bring pieces to me. With any luck, I will be carrying lots of love down the aisle. 

Here's a look at my collection thus far....

I've seen brooch bouquets tailored  for each wedding, some unified specifically for color and style. My goal is to have an eclectic piece. Although I've been collecting brooches with flowers and leaves, I ultimately want the bouquet to tell its own story based on my collecting adventures and the family and friends who brought me pieces. I want the bouquet to be  organically constructed rather than a calculated object. This also appears to be the strategy for my entire wedding. 

The cat pin (above right) was my stepmother's who passed just last December. She was a cat lover (as am I) and was so excited for our wedding. When I spoke to her over Thanksgiving she had already booked a room.  I found this pin in her jewelry box and knew I wanted to take it home to honor her memory. 

Below is my favorite pin, the airplane. My father gave it to my mother years ago and she recently brought it to me for the bouquet.  He passed twelve years ago. My two big brothers will be walking me down the aisle and my father will be there in spirit and tucked sweetly into my bouquet. The books and lace in the photo below have all been collected since last January, small bits and pieces that will be spread throughout my wedding decor. All of it carefully curated and selected for a DIY wedding made with nothing but love. 

I'll be posting more photos of the DIY process as we get closer to the date. In fact, a friend recently asked me for a countdown. My wedding is, as of today, 165 days away. Time flies.