Eclectic & Colorful Southern Wedding

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Mar 10th

by: Lauren

Full of color and a fun, eclectic style, this southern wedding from Jenn Guthrie Photography is absolutely amazing! From the stunning bride Emily and her dapper groom Amos, to handmade signage and eclectic details, this wedding is absolutely full of love, and you can tell it was a great time! Emily is here with us today to share her wedding planning insight:

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

I did most of our wedding planning, along with my family. I had a very specific vision in mind so I knew exactly what I wanted and how to make it happen.

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

When deciding on wedding vendors , the most important aspect for me was to find people I worked well with, of course having great references helped, but it makes your wedding day so much easier when you know you have people who understand you and want you want.

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

Pintrest was the biggest inspiration for designing my wedding. I knew I wanted fun colors and patterns throughout the wedding and reception. It was also important to have that southern flair evident to represent both Amos and I and where we are from.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite part of the wedding was seeing all the details that were completed by different friends and family members as well as the different family heirlooms that were used. It’s the best feeling looking around and seeing the hard work and kindness that was displayed throughout the whole process. The love surrounding both my husband and I was truly evident in every part of the day.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

The best piece of advice I can give is something you hear all the time, but no bride ever listens too. Try not to sweat the details and trust the people you have around you. Otherwise, it robs you of your joy and what the day represents!

Emily offers such wonderful advice! Oh, and can we talk about how fabulous her bridesmaids look in all their different dresses? Love it!

I love how Emily and Amos used signage in their wedding details. Not only do signs convey information to your guests, but they also act as awesome details too!

Are any of you planning on incorporating signage into your wedding? What will you be having signs for… and how are you doing them? Share in the comments- I want to hear! :)

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Jenn Guthrie Photography / Reception Venue: Inn At Still Pond / Cinematography: JKS Film / Bridal Salon: The Bridal Shop at the Avenues

A Blush & Blue Vintage Glam Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 5 Comments

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Mar 7th

by: Sammantha

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I am so excited to share this beautiful Salt Lake City wedding from Michelle Leo Events with you this fabulous Friday! Captured by Chudleigh Photography, the lovely blush and pale blue color palette paired with a vintage glam style has me absolutely swooning at all the beauty! The bride, Gizelle, is here with us to share her planning insight:

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

Our wedding planner, Michelle Cousins of Michelle Leo Events, was the most integral part of our wedding planning process. From the initial vendor selection to the set-up and break down of the wedding venue, she was able to design, create, and implement a beautiful day for us. We were able to enjoy and savor every moment of our wedding weekend without having to worry about last minute details because we knew were in good hands.

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

We wanted to work with a planner who not only had an outstanding reputation in event design and planning, but someone who was down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and collaborative. When I first hired Michelle, I was based in Cambodia for work and my husband was based in Washington, D.C. for law school so we needed to work with someone that we knew we could easily communicate with, was collaborative, and someone whom we could trust. Having a wedding planner who was accessible and responsive by Skype and email was also really important, given our locations and time differences during the wedding planning process. Michelle delivered in every possible way: not only was she efficient and had a great sense of style, she also listened to what we wanted on our wedding day and made sure it happened.

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

Incorporating traditional aspects of our cultural heritage of the Philippines inspired our wedding details. For instance, our wedding favors, fresh water pearl earrings for the ladies and dried mangoes for the gentlemen, were imported from the Philippines. The men’s barongs, an embroidered formal Filipino shirt, hand woven from either cocoon or pineapple silk, inspired the theme of our wedding: traditional, elegant, and romantic. We then chose the color palette of peach, blush, mint, and gold, which was inspired by the venue of our wedding reception, The Grand America Hotel.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

All of our family and friends are spread across the globe and we knew many of our guests would be seeing each other for the first time in years. One of our favorite things about our wedding was that it was a reunion for our families as well as our college and high school friends. Seeing all of them out on the dance floor talking, laughing, and having a great time together, whether it was their fiftieth time together or their first time meeting each other was really memorable. Having every single important person in our lives, in that room, all at the same time, to celebrate us was spectacular.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Drink lots of water and be sure to have snacks handy throughout the day; you will need the energy on one of the most exciting and memorable days of your life!

Gorgeous right?!

What are you most excited for on your wedding day?

Have a great weekend!
Cheers!
Samm

Vendors who made it all happen…

Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Michelle Leo Events / Flowers & Decor: Mayflowers Event Floral / Photographer: Chudleigh Photography / Rentals: Diamond Rental / Cake Baker: Cupcakes by Cake-a-Licious / Invitations & Stationery: Polka Dots and Daisies / Hairstylist: Kristen Packard Hair and Makeup / Ceremony Venue: Cathedral of the Madeleine / Bridesmaid Dresses: Lily and Iris / Ceremony Wedding Gown: Jasmine Collection / Reception Wedding Gown: Casablanca Bridal / Vintage Car Rental: Something Vintage Something Blue

Costa Rica Citrus Inspired Wedding

Category: 3 Comments

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Mar 6th

by: Lauren

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The uplifting shades of yellow, coral, and green in today’s citrus inspired wedding are sure to brighten your day! Photographed by A Brit & A Blonde and planned by Tropical Occasions, Grace and Joe’s Costa Rica destination wedding captures their fun, bright personalities and eclectic sense of style in the most perfect and stunning way. Grace and Joe are here with us today to share insight into the planning process of their beautiful wedding:

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

Our wedding planner extraordinaire/event ninja/personal weather guru, Karen Ogden (at Tropical Occasions), was a huge help by making our big day easy. She handled the minute-by-minute tasks, which allowed us to really soak in the many moments. Karen was great because she was local, truly knew the area, and was able to pull a fab team (e.g. – Chef Stephane, bartenders, etc.) together!

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

We were looking for someone (or a team) who could visualize and interpret our wedding vision that we were piecing together. In addition, we needed someone who could genuinely listen to our suggestions and make attempts to incorporate the creative recommendations all the while being mindful of our budget (hint hint, we got just that in working with Karen and Aimee from Tropical Occasions!).

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

Our style is eclectic yet minimal, so that played into all aspects of our wedding- from our invitations to our table settings. Our French Bulldog, Hamlin aka “Hammy” (on Instagram, @Hamlin_The_Frenchie), was also a source of influence in the wedding details. We included him in various design elements since he couldn’t be there with us on our big day. Lastly, the tropical beauty of Manuel Antonio and the Pacific Ocean were two huge draws for us, especially when considering a destination wedding.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Grace: The weather cooperating with us on our big day and seeing all of our beloved family and friends who joined us in beautiful Costa Rica!
Joe: Being able to spend an entire week with my love, Grace, & celebrating our wedding in a tropical paradise.

What is your best piece of advice for other couples?

Grace: Be honest about what’s important to you for your wedding AND despite what some say, compromising can be your friend. On the actual wedding day, remember to breathe and to take many steps back to enjoy and soak it all in!
Joe: One reason why a destination wedding worked for us is that we were able to rent a 10-bedroom villa for a week. It was great because most of our guests stayed in one location. In addition, the villa came with a chef who cooked two meals a day and we had daily maid service. We also had our wedding reception on the villa’s sun deck overlooking the rain forest and the Pacific ocean. It really made our wedding week special, intimate and fun!

Oh wow their insight and advice is so perfect! I love the intimacy of destination weddings like this one. Being surrounded by your closest family and friends and making memories you will remember forever is so very special.

Grace and Joe enlisted the help of a local wedding planner to make sure their destination wedding went off without a hitch. Are any of you having a destination wedding? If so, where are you getting married? Will you be hiring a wedding planner?

PS-How fabulous are these citrus inspired colors?!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: A Brit & A Blonde / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Tropical Occasions / Reception Venue: Casa de Las Brisas / Ceremony Venue: Hotel Karahe / Flowers & Decor: Stylos y Flores / Rentals: Eventos Boadicea / Rentals: Costa Mesa / Cake Baker: Mariposa Bakery / Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang for David's Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Ann Taylor / Hairstylist: Costa Rica Hair by Monica / Groom’s Attire: Tangled Tie Bow Ties

Working With Your Wedding Vendors

Category: WEDDING PLANNING 14 Comments

Mar 6th

by: Lauren

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A big part of my objective with ELD is to educate brides throughout the wedding planning process. I myself had no clue about anything when I was planning my wedding. Working in weddings after my wedding opened my eyes to lots of things- many of which would have resulted in a *much* better wedding, if only I had known. And it’s for this reason that I share the information I do- so you can learn from my mistakes and have a better wedding than I did!

Since many of you are in the midst of planning your weddings, I thought that some tips about working with your wedding vendors would be helpful to know…

Go to your meetings prepared.

Bring photos, swatches, contracts- whatever you desire really. Have a couple of questions. If you don’t have any clue about what to expect for the meeting, it doesn’t hurt to ask beforehand. If you’re going to an initial consultation, have an idea in your head of what you want your wedding to be like. If you’re at a complete loss, try the {ELD} Style Dictionary for some help. If that’s the case, tell the vendor outright that you haven’t decided on what kind of wedding you want.

READ: Questions Are A Good Thing

TALK to your vendors.

As much as wedding vendors wish they could, they unfortunately can’t read your mind and know what you want. If you don’t have anything specific that you want, tell them so they can give you ideas and suggestions. And if you do have something in particular in mind, by all means, please share!

READ: Things To Keep In Mind When Communicating With Vendors

Don’t be afraid to ask your vendors for other referrals.

If you’re in search of more vendors, ask the ones you’ve already hired for recommendations. Chances are good that they’ll be able to recommend awesome vendors that they like working with. Good vendors working with each other results in a good experience for ALL!

READ: Finding Your Wedding Vendors

Have patience.

Your wedding vendors work weekends, of course, as most weddings are on weekends. However, just because they are “working” does not mean that they are sitting at their desks all weekend. They’re out, on location, at weddings, working. Please don’t be worried or mad if an email you send on the weekend or at the end of the week isn’t returned immediately. I know they’re all super awesome at returning emails during the week, but come Thursday or Friday, things can turn into a madhouse preparing for weddings. Please have patience with your vendors if you send emails during “peak days”, and give them time to get back to the office and respond. [PS: I was totally a bride who didn’t understand this concept. I literally would refresh my email every 10 minutes waiting for a response. What can I say? I was excited! ;)]

READ: 5 Things To Know About Wedding Vendors

Running late for a meeting or did life just get in the way?

Call the vendor and let them know! Wedding vendors don’t have the most normal schedules, and although most of the time they’re very accommodating, more times than not they also have lots of other things on their plate.

READ: Vendor Meetings

Your wedding vendors’ respective profession is their career and job.

Chances are good that they don’t do it “on the side” or as a “hobby”. Meaning that what they do is their livelihood and how they put food in their family’s mouth, just like your job. Yes, they love what they do and it’s a fun, rewarding job, but they also have to make money. Their prices are what they are because it’s what they live off of.

READ: 3 Things Vendors Don’t Tell You

Inform your vendors!

Some vendors you have that may be working with family members on the day of your wedding (coordinator, planner, photographer, videographer, DJ) won’t know what their names are unless you specifically tell them. Give them specific names for your bridal party and any key family members involved. For photos, have a family member act as the “round up person” to get needed family members efficiently, as they will know what Uncle Joe looks like, and the photographer won’t!

READ: 10 Things You Need To Know Before Your Wedding Day!

And of course everything is better and easier when you have a wedding planner/coordinator. It’s pretty much unanimously agreed upon by all wedding vendors. :)

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These tidbits will be helpful to know when working with your wedding vendors. Hopefully it will help you all have great experiences with your vendors! And any vendors or brides, feel free to share your tips in the comments as well!