For Bailey Bruneau-Holdaas and Jordan Holdaas, it's not winter that's the most wonderful time of the year but fall.

The Blaine couple tied the knot Oct. 11, 2012, in a wedding that celebrated all things autumnal and handmade. There were pumpkins grown by Bailey's mom, dahlias from a local farm and fall leaves to set the mood.

"Everything happened very organically," Bailey says. "I picked the date and the theme just went from there."

The couple opted to take matters into their own hands when it came to decorations and food, pulling off a small DIY wedding at the Sandcastle resort, where they both work in Birch Bay.

"One, it saves a lot of money," Bailey says. "Another one, it just kind of felt more intimate doing it that way. You were able to get more involved in it and really appreciate how everything turned out at the end of the day. It was just more personal that way."

The couple made their own burlap table runners and made pumpkins into vases to fill with mums. Bailey even put together a slideshow with photos of the couple while she was getting her hair done the day of the wedding.

"A lot of it was last minute, but it turned out really well," she says. "It's amazing the amount of stuff we were able to pull off and accomplish. There was a lot of nights spent finishing final touches, carving pumpkins."

But the couple wasn't alone in their crafting. Family members on both sides helped with a variety of aspects of the wedding.

Jordan's sister had a cider press, so she made her own apple cider for the reception. Family members helped put together favors of pumpkin bread mix. Both sides of the family helped cook chilis and cornbread for the chili bar the couple created for their reception.

"Everything was very laid back," she says. "We didn't want it to be too formal or stuffy feeling."

Jordan's grandma also made apple pies to go on the dessert bar, alongside ginger snaps, pecan bars and a pumpkin-flavored wedding cake from Pure Bliss Desserts in Bellingham.

"He had his mom helping, his aunt helping, his sisters, his grandma," she says. "We had a lot of help. We couldn't have done it without it."

Reach ZOE FRALEY at zoe.fraley@bellinghamherald.com or call 756-2803. Visit her School Days blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/schools or get updates on Twitter at twitter.com/BhamSchools.