Steve's Wedding Venue
Sawyer Showcase:
'I Do' – Want to Build the Perfect Venue for my Son’s Wedding Using my HM126
Steve shares how he made some of the key features for the most important day in his son’s life
On the day of Steve’s son’s wedding, the bride and groom stood in front of an impressive wooden arch and their guests sat on benches to the backdrop of an old-time country village.
And everything on Zeke and Elyse's special day was built by Steve after being milled on his HM126 Portable Sawmill.
“I'm just a big kid,” says Steve, who shares how he’s made a treehouse, giant waterslide, zipline tower and other exciting creations using his sawmill and wood harvested from his property.
“I don't have a woodworking background, but have never been afraid to fail, so I'll try anything,” says the sawyer who shared the fruits of his labour in the Woodland Mills Product Owners and Community Facebook Group. “Jack of all trades, master of none”
"It got out of hand... as things tend to do.”
Steven’s property is 40 acres of forested land in Oregan, though disease has affected the tree population.
“We have a bit of blight running through the Fir trees. Rather than simply burning all the wood, I started milling with an Alaskan-style chainsaw mill.”
After finding the Alaskan method “too labor intensive,” that’s when Steve bought his HM126 and began using it to repurpose the dying trees.
“Since I have so much 'free' lumber, I build whatever comes to my mind.”
That includes the façade to his workshop, built to look like an old western village including the town saloon, hotel, sheriff’s office and the sliding door’s resembling a blacksmith’s shop. That project took three years to complete, accomplished over weekends and after work, and would eventually create the scenic backdrop for his son’s wedding.
“No idea where the idea came from. Just seemed like a good idea at the time. I actually needed to put a new roof on the old building and decided to dress things up while there. It got out of hand... as things tend to do.”
Meanwhile for the wedding, Steve made benches to seat 200 people. Each bench is 10’ long and converts into a picnic table.
“I was low on material so the backs that become table tops are made from 1x12” material.”
Since Steve says he doesn’t generally need seating for 200 available, he’s modifying the benches, cutting them down to 5’ and then selling them.
It’s been a lot of work, but the sawyer-turned-wedding designer says it was all done with the help of his HM126.
“The milling is the quickest part. Fetching the logs from the property and then figuring out how best to use them is where the time goes.”