This charming North Carolina wedding from Lime Green Photography is just bursting with whimsy and delight. Shades of blush, taupe and cream (with hints of gold, of course!) are seen everywhere- from amazing florals to watercolor escort cards- and the color palette and joy-filled images just make my heart sing! The lovely bride, Michelle, is here to share her planning insight with us:

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

I (the bride) was incredibly lucky to have a then fiancé who was totally game to get as involved as he could with the wedding.  He was right there with me sanding down corn hole boards, hunting for pieces at thrift stores, water coloring all our place cards, and all the while never complained about the all the DIY that I had forced into our wedding.

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

Every vendor had a different criteria — the caterer had to accommodate our Southern menu, the band had to sound good live, lighting had to have experience with the space so that they knew how exactly to light the space, etc.  I relied heavily on review websites because our event space was basically a blank slate for which I had to hire 8+ vendors for .  I probably spent the most amount of time researching photographers because I wanted photos that I could hang on my wall that were more on the “artsy” side and that didn’t necessarily scream wedding.  It was difficult to find that, but I was so lucky to stumble across lime green photography who produced photos exactly the way I wanted.

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

Ryan and I are not from NC, and are temporarily there for grad school.  Because of that, 90% of our guests were coming in from out of town. We really wanted to give folks a taste of the South and tried to incorporate pieces of Durham wherever we could — fried chicken, grits, n’ pimento cheese, cakes and pies from a local bakery, live blue grass music, and beer from NC breweries.  We also wanted to include our culture, so we added Korean details including the mother’s ceremony dresses, traditional rice cakes for appetizers, cocktails made from soju, and programs with Korean words.

As far as the feel and design goes, Ryan and I are SUPER laid back and wanted to shy away from the ballroom type of wedding.  Those weddings are of course beautiful, but it just didn’t fit our personalities and so we honestly used “what’s the opposite of a hotel wedding” as a template.  We decided on an outdoor space with market lights, chose foods and drinks that were more homey, and let our bridal party wear whatever they wanted within the color scheme. 

I did do a ridiculous amount of DIY, but that was only possible because the most talented designer I know also happens to be my sister and maid of honor.  I didn’t have a particular motif, but did try to stick to the taupe/blush/cream with hints of gold color scheme.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding? 

Looking out at our reception and laughing about how many iced Starbucks coffee drinks we forced down to collect enough bottles to adorn all the tables.  I kid.  I think my favorite thing about the wedding was the process and being reminded of how blessed we are to have such supportive and loving family and friends.  As silly as it sounds, all the details told this story.  Something as simple as my centerpiece reminded me that my husband forced 3 Starbucks down a day to get the bottle I wanted, that my sister drove to Home Depot at 10 pm to get gold spray paint to paint it, and that my bridesmaids spent all Saturday afternoon assembling the flowers.  

What is your best piece of advice for other brides? 

There will be cake.  And you will get married.  At the end of the day, that’s what’s truly important so don’t let the details bog you down and have fun!

Wonderful advice, Michelle! One particular detail that I loved about this wedding was their use of pie. The groom proposed with pie, the art of baking a pie was included in their save-the-date video (made by Michelle’s sister), and they served pie in lieu of cake. So, so fun!

Do you have a fun or surprising element you’re planning to include in your big day? I’d love to hear!

Happy Planning!
Carlee

Vendors who made it all happen…