This sweet wedding from Regina Rached Photography has vintage details, a subtle aviary theme and s’mores galore! With the whole wedding designed around the adorable lace bridesmaid dresses, the purple and green color palette lends a beautifully organic feel that is carried throughout the vintage, rustic elements of the wedding. And luck for us, the stunning bride, Rachel, is here to share her planning insight:

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

I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and Etsy, looking for items that I could make cheaper than buying. Sometimes it worked (I made all my little birds for the tables for way cheaper than the $60 pairs I saw on Etsy), and sometimes it ended up more expensive (like making all my own napkins). My mom lives out of state (I’m in Florida, she’s in South Carolina) so she wasn’t available to help me with every little thing, but she took care of a few tasks (like embroidering all our handkerchief favors). I also texted her pictures of pretty much every item I made to get her feedback. When I made our cake topper (a pair of birds), I sent a photo to her. She responded, “You should make a pair for every table!” I thought it was easy enough, so I did. 

The great thing was, I picked a vendor who would do all the decorating if I needed them to. So while I tackled a lot of tasks, I knew that if I didn’t complete them, I had back up help. This kept  my crafting fun, and less like a chore. At some point I got tired of making stuff, so I stopped. Cross Creek filled in the gaps. 

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

I wanted to go with a venue that did it all. My husband and I are both lawyers, so spare time is a hot commodity. I find crafting/tinkering with things to be a lot of fun, but I didn’t want to be obligated to finish every little thing myself. Couple that with living in a new city, far from my closest friends and family, I just needed to have someone there to make sure it all got done. Cross Creek has the style I wanted (country/vintage) and a huge support staff. They limit some of your selections (like where you get your cake, or your DJ) but for me, that was great. It was one last decision I had to make, and the vendors they had lined up were quality.

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

I based pretty much everything around my bridesmaid’s dresses. I love Shabby Apple, and when I saw the purple lace dress I knew they would be wearing it. Since it’s off the rack, there weren’t multiple color options, so it was pretty much, “I guess one of my colors is purple.” My strategy was pretty much “organized chaos.” I didn’t want things to be matchy matchy, so I chose lots of shades of purple and green. It made my decorating much easier, as well. Finding perfectly matching items is really, really difficult. 

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Probably the bonfire and s’mores. Everyone seemed to have a really good time at the bonfire.  My mother in law purchased some fancy flavored marshmallows that people just loved! They were also really sticky, so a lot of people ended up with it all over themselves. In talking with people later, they seemed to think the mess was part of the fun; they just felt like kids again and it allowed them to let loose a little.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Go with a venue that has a wedding coordinator built in and has a decorating budget. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Trust the experts. And don’t try to make it perfect! It’ll be the happiest day of your life, whether or not the flowers match the bridemaid’s dresses perfectly.

How fun are those photobooth pictures? The answer is: so fun! I love that a lot of photographers will add that service in with their coverage or you can hire a totally different company to handle the whole shebang.

How about you? Are you planning a photobooth? If so, are you adding in props or other fun items (confetti, perhaps)? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Happy planning!
Carlee

Vendors who made it all happen…