Vegas Wedding Quilt + Vegas Wedding Story

New year, new pattern! I am so excited to start 2018 with the release of my Vegas Wedding quilt pattern! This quilt has a lot of meaning to me - the most of any quilt I've designed actually!

The idea for Vegas Wedding was born out of my desire to make a Double Wedding Ring quilt and also my complete and total aversion to wanting to sew a bunch of curves (Funny coming from someone with a handful of Drunkard's Path patterns, right? 😂)

I do plan to eventually make a Double Wedding Ring quilt, but in the meantime, I'm putting my own curve-free spin on it. The name was chosen not only because this is an easier version of the Double Wedding Ring Quilt, but also because my own wedding took place in Vegas over 17 years ago. (A brief story and photos about it are at the bottom of this post!)

Check out all of that amazing quilty texture courtesy of Jess from Threaded Quilting! 😍

The Vegas Wedding quilt measures 62" square, is 100% conventionally pieced and, based on the fact I'm currently working on my third one, is so fun to make too!

And while it is easier to make than the traditional version, I'm still categorizing it as an intermediate pattern. You will definitely want some experience with quilt making and sewing with bias edges before attempting this quilt.

For any AZ locals who are interested in getting further instruction for this quilt, I am teaching a class at Bolts N' More on Saturday, January 20th from 10am - 4pm! You can sign up for the class HERE (Class isn't listed quite yet, but I will update this link as soon as I can!). And for those who can't make it to the class, I'll be sharing a lot of tips & tricks for making the Vegas Wedding quilt on my blog over the few weeks too! Stay tuned!

Okay, now that the boring part is out of the way 😉, it's time for the "Eloping in Vegas at Ripe Old Age of 18" part of this blog post...

Yes, that's right, I eloped in Vegas when I was 18. Did I mention I was also three months pregnant at the time? Or that only a handful of people knew about it? It was truly a "run off to Vegas and elope" situation.

A super condensed version of the story is my husband and I, who was technically my fiancé at the time, (Yes, I was engaged at some point BEFORE I found out I was with child. My poor parents, right? 🙈) found out we were pregnant during my senior year of high school. A family member on my husband's side was adamant that we marry in a chapel in front of family and friends asap. We really wanted to go the private ceremony route at the Justice of the Peace, but they firmly believed getting married in a chapel was in our best interest. Since it's very difficult to feel like you have any control over a situation like that when you're a teenager, we decided last minute to run off to Vegas instead.

We eloped at the Little White Wedding Chapel (definitely NOT the chapel my in-law had envisioned 😂) and because we didn't pick the wedding package that also included a photographer, all I have is this grainy surveillance image to show for it. (Fun fact - At the Little White Wedding Chapel circa 2000, if you couldn't make it to the wedding, you were still able to watch your family or friends get married online via a grainy black & white surveillance camera. Thankful that my parents thought to take a photo of it all those years ago!)

Two of my uncles, who lived in Vegas at the time, was a huge support and help to us that day 💗 

My husband and I at the reception my parents very graciously hosted after we eloped.

The good news is, despite all odds, we are STILL married! haha And that little baby I was pregnant with is now adult-size and nearly the same age I was when this all happened. Something that is so extremely hard to believe...

And about seven years ago, with family and friends present, we renewed our vows and had the wedding we wanted all those years ago - minus the teenage pregnancy and whatnot 😉 So yeah, it all worked out and while I would never recommend going the route that we did, I also wouldn't change it for the world.

The End 💗

I hope you all enjoy making this quilt as much as I have! The first Vegas Wedding Quilt Tips & Tricks post will go on Monday, January 8th! Get ready! 💃

💗 Lindsey