Arbor Day

Early on in the planning process, I assigned Daddy Goodlaff the task of building us an arbor/archway to stand under during the marriage ceremony, because no one in my family can escape the crafting project assignments! So, even though Arbor Day is officially a week away, the Goodlaffs celebrated a bit early by visiting Daddy Goodlaff to see the magnificence of the arbor he built for our wedding ceremony.
The inspiration for our arbor?

Source

Gilmore Girls, anyone?

I loved the ever-so-slight curve at the top, and the openness of the design, and based all future searches off this small arch idea. I drew inspiration photos (badly--I'm no artist), handed them over to Daddy Goodlaff with the ever important dimensions, and left him to it. Check out all his hard work:

From raw wood....

A little off the top...

Sanding it down...

Add some stain...

And done!

Mr. Goodlaff, demonstrating the height of the archway (he's 6'2").

Isn't it amazing? The arbor is 7' tall to the base of the arch, 5' tall, and 3' deep--it's huge! The wood is Douglas Fir and is coated with an oak stain. We were incredibly lucky that Dave at California Hardwood Producers gave Daddy Goodlaff the wood, free of charge, so the cost ended up being the hours and hours of labor that Daddy Goodlaff and friends put in to making the most perfect archway ever.

Mr. Goodlaff and I love how it came out, and can't think of anything more perfect than exchanging our vows under the archway that Daddy Goodlaff built for us! Two Thumbs up!

Are you (or did you) having any handcrafted elements at your wedding?