From the bride, Kendra:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

When I first thought about planning, I didn’t know where to start.  I found that talking to a couple of my friends and colleagues who recently got married helped to point me in the right direction.  The venue we used, Wiens Family Cellars, was an ‘inclusive’ venue which meant that all food, tables & chairs, linens, and a ton of decor came with the site fee.  Additionally, they assign an event coordinator to work with you and make sure that all of your preferences for the day are taken care of.  For the day-of preparations, I was very careful to box up any decorations/favors that we were bringing with sketches or instructions on how and where to set-up. This allowed the venue staff to go ahead and get things set-up while we were getting ready.  I also provided a sketch/layout to the florist to show where I wanted to see certain pieces of our decor or extra shepard hooks & lanterns and things.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

Communication and collaboration. I travel a lot for my job and needed vendors who were effective and responsive with email, so I made sure that method of communication would work.  Then it was just about finding people who we felt understood our needs and ideas for the atmosphere we wanted to create.  We were very open to hearing ideas from vendors that went along with our vision for our wedding.  I felt we had a great collaboration of ideas with all of my vendors. And because of this, I was able to really let go of things toward the last couple of weeks and especially on the day of the wedding because I trusted that they knew what we wanted and liked.  

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

I didn’t have a “dream wedding” so when we started planning I really hit Pinterest and loads of wedding blogs.  I just started to see what pieces I really identified with and what I could see working for Sean and I.  Both Sean and I are very laid back and we knew we wanted something more casual than formal, but still traditional.  

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

This is so tough because I really love the way our wedding came together.  I think my favorite thing about our wedding overall is the atmosphere we created for our friends and family, which was very warm and casual and comfortable.  Having said that, looking at our pictures my favorite part is definitely the flowers!  I LOVE the way the flowers came together and I remember not wanting to put my bouquet down ever.  They are so bright and cheerful, but still very classy.  And my veil, I also really love my veil which I found by chance at a shop near my office that I popped into during my lunch break!   :)

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Have fun and personalize.  The pieces of our wedding that keep getting brought up again are those that were really personal reflections of Sean and I, those are the things that make a wedding your own.  And one practical tip that a friend gave me was to provide the photographer with a list of ‘must take’ photos and Jenn was great about reminding us to get together with certain groups that were on our list.  Time goes really fast and you’re pulled in many directions throughout the night, so to have her keep track was great and I’m very grateful each time I look back at our photos.

Oh I just LOVE everything about this wedding! From the unique bridesmaid dresses and the pennant flag ceremony programs, to the fun color palette and guest “balloons”! And even better- Kendra’s advice about personalizing elements of your wedding!

So friends, tell me- what kind of details are you planning to have at your wedding that will reflect you and your fiance?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Isn’t it all so amazing? What a memorable bridal shower for the bride and her friends!

Have any of you attended a particularly amazing bridal shower with a theme? Or would you want a theme for your own bridal shower?

Vendors who made it all happen…

From the bride…

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

The most helpful resources I used were Pinterest and Etsy. Both provided a lot of inspiration as well as helpful people who could make my requests a reality ( Etsy vendors are very helpful and took individual requests very well). Also, our wedding coordinator who worked for our venue was vital in making sure our vision came to life. She took the time to adopt our theme and run with it creating her own Pinterest page for us and giving us some neat ideas that she was able to provide through the venue itself.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

Recommendations, recommendations, recommendations. I went with people who had a flawless reputation and who were well and highly recommended by other brides that I knew. I had a few key people in mind for who I wanted to work with and I took the time to meet with them to see who best fit what we were looking to achieve. 

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

Our inspiration stemmed from my husband’s service in the navy. We decided on a nautical theme after we had chosen to have our engagement photos on a retired navy destroyer. Our details came from some of his suggestions as well as some typical nautical aspects such as anchors and signal flags. We tried to keep the nautical theme throughout while also keeping those details classic and timeless, and not too cliche or overwhelming. 

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

 My favorite thing about my wedding was of course becoming married to the man of my dreams!!! But I also loved being able to have all of the most important people in our lives in one room. It really is remarkable to be able to have so many people gather to celebrate your love and be so genuinely happy for you!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

One of the best things we did was splurge on our photography. Knowing we had such amazing photographs stemming from our day put us at ease, and knowing that it was going to be documented the way we wanted was very reassuring. Also, and I know this is very cliche,but take time to just look around the day of your wedding. It can get extremely overwhelming and it’s easy to get lost in the day, but take time to soak it all in and just have fun! 

Vendors who made it all happen…

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

Maybe this is surprising,  but our DJ was one of the most helpful overall! We had secured him first thing and had a total of five long meetings with him. We bounced ideas off each other, and he had so much advice and guidance to offer. He also was the one who started our timeline for us; from the moment I start getting ready to the towncar arrival. He really helped lay the initial groundwork, acting immediately as almost a coordinator for us, and also a great mediator when the groom and I argued about song choices! He became one of my main confidantes throughout the whole process.

Also, when it was crunch time, my mom really came to my rescue with helping with all the décor and collateral for the wedding. We were up until 1am for few nights the week of the wedding working in my parents garage, unwrapping pillar candles, staging and photographing the cocktail, gift, and placecard tables, putting together toiletry baskets for the restrooms, and getting all photographs, programs, menus and all other items packed, labeled, and ready to go.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

I wanted vendors that really understood what I wanted, even if it was a bit off the wall or non-traditional. Although much of my wedding was pretty traditional, there were elements and surprises I knew were a bit different but I stuck to my guns, and my vendors were not only on board with it, but supported and enhanced all my ideas, and helped made my vision come to fruition.

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

I started thinking just generally Vintage Glam. But then I started pulling ideas from everywhere. From Steampunk and Western for the cigar bar, old tyme carnival games and decor for cocktail hour, a candy shoppe/cowboy saloon feel for the sweets room, gothic cathedrals inspiring me to dim the lights and use a lot of candles, to a very regal “Presential”  vibe given our venue. I wanted lots of gold and deep rich colors without at all having strict “wedding colors” and I wanted it to be very romantic with an overall warm, classic and very throwback feel without having it strictly one theme. I wanted it to always be us and have personal quirky elements throughout: I love pigs, so our card box was a big wire pig form complete with a springy tail, and Branden loves the Beatles and Teddy Roosevelt, so I walked down the aisle to “Black Bird” and there were a few Teddy elements shown in the cigar bar and sweets room. We had fun with it and didn’t mind that it all didn’t “match” perfectly.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

It was really important to me for each guest to enjoy themselves and feel special, and know how important it was to us to have them there. So we had fun surprises in store.

I obtained photos of each guest (and there were 220 guests!!!) and printed, cut them out and placed them inside vintage lockets I collected from thrift stores and online, and displayed all these lockets out at the placecard table. I think seeing the guests be so surprised and have fun looking for “their” locket was probably one of my favorite things of the wedding.

Also, I got to surprise Branden and the groomsmen with an outdoor cigar bar dedicated to them and they loved it, and the big sweets room full of candy and homemade sweets for the guests to load up on and take home was a great fun surprise.

I wanted the guests to walk away from our wedding knowing they were really thought of and appreciated, and to be glad they came.

Besides the above, my two personal favorite parts of the wedding were the private vows Branden and I shared during the ceremony and the surprise act of “Shotgun Blues”, a Blues Brothers cover band, complete with the handcuffs, sunglasses, and harmonica, during dancing. In was in those times I really let go and took in the great moments for myself and didn’t worry about anything else.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

To suck it up and accept help! I felt bad asking for help, and I know I had a LOT of detailed ideas, not to mention many things were a surprise, so I really wanted to do the bulk of it on my own, but realizing that your loved ones want to help and be a part of the process was a notion I came to a little late in the process. So I wish I had taken up the offers of help much earlier.

Also, to let go that day and really enjoy yourself. It’s hard to get over the nerves and anxiety, but the moments will fly by, so take it all in and breathe.

Jennifer’s advice is great- just suck it up and accept help! It’s funny, but so helpful too!

Aren’t all of these details amazing? I don’t think I can pick a single detail that is my favorite- can you? I love the idea of creating a “sweets room” though- that must have been SO fun for the guests!

So tell me- would you consider doing a “sweets room” or other fun area at your wedding?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Why do you see yourself as being Modern, Vintage, Classic, or Eclectic?

While I definitely have my own personal style, I keep it out of the equation when it comes to working with clients! It’s your style that matters here. At Dogwood Blossom Stationery, we collaborate with you to bring your vision to life. Our design process is one-on-one – whether in person, over the phone, or by email. We create custom samples specifically for you based on our conversation, and then tweak them into one perfect invitation with your input.

What is your favorite wedding detail you’ve ever seen or created?

Color, embellishment, dimension. It’s our tagline, and my favorite wedding details contain those elements. I’m at my best when I’m challenged with something new. My favorite example of this is the first time a bride asked me to incorporate fabric as a major part of her invitation. The result was amazing, she was thrilled, and I couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to use my new skill. We use fabric so often now that it seems weird that it wasn’t part of our repertoire before – even my business cards use fabric now. Dogwood Blossom Stationery takes things to a totally different level by stepping out of the realm of paper alone, and by incorporating dimensional elements that really make things pop.

What is your favorite store or brand?

Maybe it’s a strange response, but Martha Stewart is my favorite “brand.” Over so, so many years, she has created a trend that is allowing us now to think outside the box regarding events, entertaining, and style. She has shown us again and again that you can take literally any object or theme and – with some creativity and ingenuity – find a way to make it intriguing, interesting, and beautiful.

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

In addition to being one of the biggest milestones of your life, your wedding might just be the biggest social event you’ll ever host. This day offers you the chance to express who you are, in this moment, in a big and fairly public way. It is a celebration of you, of your love, of all the prospects and possibilities your future together holds. These are the reasons why weddings are so magical, so captivating, so obsess-worthy. These are the reasons why I feel so honored to be even a tiny part of your big day.

What qualities do you possess that enable you to work well with brides and grooms?

Our stellar communication and listening skills allow us to hear your vision and ask clarifying questions – ensuring we’ll create the invitation and paper goods you’re envisioning. Our strong emphasis on service, responsiveness, and thoroughness ensures your needs are fully met and prevents you from having any stress or added effort. And taking pride in our work guarantees that on every item, every piece, for every service, we are doing our absolute best work for you.

What steps do you take to ensure that your clients will have amazing wedding days when working with you?

We’ve got your back, to put it simply. Personal service is a major part of “who” Dogwood Blossom Stationery is. Our one-one-one custom design process is only the beginning of our relationship. We ask you lots of questions and set up a timeline to ensure your paper needs are fully met and your planning progresses as smoothly as possible. We think ahead about how each of your paper goods interacts with your guests, your event flow, and your event décor. We offer full-service on every order, meaning we’ll do absolutely everything on your behalf, including hand-canceling and mailing your invitations, if that is what you’d prefer. And this is our full-time gig, so we can always be reached when you need us, and the work we do for you takes priority.

Dogwood Blossom Stationery & Invitation Studio

email: Denise@DogwoodBlossomStationery.com | phone: 321.639.2552

</a

How sweet! I absolutely love the wine and letters in a box tradition for the ceremony! How fun must it be to open the box down the road and remember such a special time! What are you doing to make your ceremony your own? Any traditions or extra elements?
Can’t wait to hear!

Cheers,
Samm

Vendors who made it all happen…

From the bride, Danielle:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

My fiance and now husband was my biggest supporter and the most amazing help in the entire planning process. From cutting the burlap table runners, to helping me drink and soak wine bottles to remove the labels, he played such an important role throughout in the entire process.  It was very important to me that he was involved. It wasn’t my day it was our day. He constantly reminded me everyday not to stress and have fun.  

My father was the best go to person throughout the wedding process. If I ever came to a problem with a vendor returning my calls, emails ect. or feeling a bit like a bridezilla he found a way to help with every situation. He truly was the best support system Ryan and I could of asked for. 

Our wedding day was executed perfectly. Kimberly Roberts (LVL events) was our Day of Wedding Coordinator. She was professional and we put our trust in her hands. After the wedding, I had numerous complements on the activities and how smoothly there were transitioned. Big thank you to her for keeping everything on schedule and ensuring all the people were where they needed to be.  

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

Picking out vendors and hiring them was so much fun! It was such a relief and exciting to scratch each vendor off the list during the planning process. It made the big day feel that much closer. We decided to ask our family and friends for recommendations. After we established a list of recommendations for each vendor, we then met up with them. We called them and even had a few skype conversations. We also read tons of yelp reviews on past weddings our vendors were involved in to make sure we were picking the absolute best person or group. It was important to us to like the person and get excited about their services.  We made a list of questions for each vendor prior to meeting them. This helped us to remember to ask important questions …and we realized that even the smallest questions or detail was important.  

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?   

We wanted to bring a bit of vintage country into our big day. Together our favorite color is green. So we absolutely knew Green was going to be our color. We decided on a sea foam green dresses for the Bridesmaids…they looked amazing! Going with the theme the groomsmen and ushers wore grey suites. And they couldn’t of looked anymore handsome.  We along with family and close friends started to collect wine bottles. They were the main focus on our tables and really tied the vintage theme together. My florist Bella Hicks (Twig and Petals) did such an amazing job putting my vision of flowers to reality with the wine bottles.

Together we hunted garage sales, antique shops and our families homes for perfect vintage pieces to complete our vision. We collected old doors, windows, shutters … and dressed up the ceremony and reception with burlap, candles and little odds and end antiques. 

What is your best piece(s) of advice for other brides?

Come to terms that something may happen in your wedding…that may not go as planned. Let it go and Roll with it. and Most importantly….HAVE FUN ..you’re planning your wedding day!

Oh yes, I say that all the time- not everything goes as planned! It’s so important to remember!

I love how Danielle and her family collected wine bottles for her centerpieces! Are any of you doing something like that?

Vendors who made it all happen…

First, let’s start with my definition of wedding details. Wedding details are anything and everything about a wedding that provide some kind of *look* to a wedding. This “look” could also be seen as a general style or theme. The amazing thing about wedding details is that a lot of them are things that are common to a wedding- centerpieces, bouquets, table numbers, etc. But then there are details that sometimes get overlooked, like menus or escort cards. And then there are details that aren’t *necessary*, but are just plain fun! (These types of details can be perfect to help further infuse yourselves and/or your theme into your wedding! This is one of the big reasons why I love details so much- because they can really help to define *your* wedding.) There are lots of options for wedding details, and just about every wedding has them!

Being that I was going through my own mental checklists for my shoots today, I went ahead and scoured my brain for every possible wedding detail that you could have, and created a checklist for you all! Below is a little preview of the full list- click on the preview to download the full checklist! Everything on the list isn’t *required*- as I said, it’s every possible wedding detail. Use this checklist to make sure that you have your wedding details covered- and who knows, maybe it will give you some new ideas too!

Brides, what kind of details do you already have? Did the checklist help you remember any other details?

———————————————–

Want to read more about wedding details? Click here to see more posts about details! 

“Hire a planner! No seriously, if your budget can afford it, at least talk to a planner to get started. If you can, hire someone to just help the day of or someone to be there for you every step of the way. You have never planned a wedding before, so why not have a professional by your side to be sure you are making the best decisions? And when the wedding day comes and you do not have to be in charge of anything except for having fun, you will really be able to relax and enjoy your day.”

- Jamie of Cape Cod Celebrations

Cape Cod Celebrations

email: capecodcelebrations@yahoo.com | phone: 508.737.6645

website: http://www.capecodcelebrations.com

twitter: Follow @WeddingsCapeCod | facebook: “Like” Cape Cod Celebrations!

From the bride Amanda:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

Jaclyn Fraser, owner of At Last Wedding + Event Design, was the biggest asset in the world while planning our wedding. She has so much knowledge of the industry and is so generous with helping in any way she can. She truly made our wedding a success. 

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

Experience was important to us but we were also looking for a certain style, especially when it comes to our photographer and videographer. We really wanted a soft, vintage feel in our pictures and video. 

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

I love all things vintage and I had a blast finding antique details to use at our wedding. I just love the look of burlap, mason jars, bow ties and vintage furniture- I can’t get enough of it!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing about our wedding is that my dad married us. It’s always been a dream of mine to have my dad be the one officiating the ceremony and it meant a lot to me to have him do it. 

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Enjoy every second of your wedding day because its going to fly by and be over before you know. Appreciate having all your friends and family together at one time :)

And now you MUST watch this amazing film by Imprint Cinema…

The Wedding of Amanda and Corey by Imprint Cinema from Imprint Cinema on Vimeo.

Everything about this wedding is so gorgeous, don’t you think? The draping in the tent, the lace, the burlap- so very beautiful!

I’d love to hear from y’all- are any of you planning a vintage style wedding too? What color palette are you planning on using?

Vendors who made it all happen…