Modern Eclectic Pink and Aqua Florida Wedding

Mar 22nd

by: Sammantha

Happy Friday everyone! I am absolutely loving this Santa Rosa Beach wedding from Dede Edwards Photography today! The gorgeous colors of pink and aqua, paired with a modern style and some eclectic elements make for an absolutely amazing look! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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

My florist, Sally, at Florals by the Sea was a huge help during the planning process. Since we had a destination wedding, I needed to be organized & be able to trust someone with all the details.

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

Laura, at Bentley’s on the Bay, was also a huge help. She made sure my wedding day was perfect!!!

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

My location played a big part in inspiration…. We wanted to keep things simple, but elegant. It didn’t require much to make it beautiful.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

The entire wedding day was wonderful! I loved walking into Bentley’s & seeing the transformation. I loved seeing my family & friends with my husband’s family & friends come together from all over the world.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Relax & enjoy every second!! The little details won’t matter later & it’s YOUR day!!

I love Ashley’s advice to other brides! At the end of the day, you are going to be married to your true love- so relax and enjoy your big day!

My favorite detail of this wedding has to be that cake- I very well may be a little obsessed! Your cake can be such a fun and fabulous way to incorporate a style, personality, or fun quirk about the two of you. So tell me- is (or was) there something a little extra special about your own wedding cake?! I want to hear all about it!

Cheers Darlings!
Samm

Vendors who made it all happen…

Makeup Artist: Dede Edwards Photography / Flowers & Decor: Florals By The Sea / Reception Venue: Bentley's on the Bay

Elegant Purple & Gray California Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 1 Comments

Mar 22nd

by: Carlee

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This wedding from Focus Photography pairs elegant venue choices with eclectic details (mini mason jar cocktails!); the perfect combination of swanky and sweet for this couple who decided to wed in beautiful Beverly Hills. I love their color palette of soft grays with pops of purple and who can resist striped straws and a mini dessert table? Hint: not this girl! The bride, Caroline, is here to share her planning insight:

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

I have to say that the person who helped me the most throughout the entire wedding planning process was my sweet husband. He was the perfect partner – seeing and understanding my vision, giving me thoughtful input, while still allowing me to make most of the major decisions so that I could have my “dream” wedding. He went with me to almost all of our vendor meetings and helped create so many of our DIY items – customize bottle labels, our dessert and guest place cards, our table #’s, etc. Most importantly, throughout the entire process, he was patient and kind and was (almost) always willing to listen to me ask him another wedding question. My MOH had also just gotten married a year prior, so she shared loads of helpful info and was a great sounding board. On the actual wedding day, my day-of wedding coordinator took care of everything so that I could enjoy the day and not worry about all the details and logistics.

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

For our wedding, the most important things to us were 1) the photographs and 2) making sure our guests had a good time and were well taken care of. We spent a good amount of our budget in these areas and saved in others. We selected vendors based on their quality and style. It was also really important for us to choose vendors that we naturally “clicked” with and genuinely liked as people.

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

Our venues, Greystone Mansion and Il Cielo, really set the overall tones for our wedding. We wanted our wedding to be modern and elegant, but still soft and romantic with a vintage feel. Our wedding colors and style were inspired by our invitations which consisted of purple and soft grays, whimsical, elegant type and twine.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

Oh, so many things! Our first look, hearing each other’s personal vows was really touching, watching our same day edit at the end of the night was so sweet and special, being able to see how proud our parents were was incredible, all the heartfelt speeches and toasts – and just being surrounded with so much love and happiness by the people that mean the most to us in the world!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

While you are planning your wedding, everything is going to seem important. However, try not to sweat the little things and focus on the things that really matter. Most of your guests will not remember all the little details that you spent hours perfecting. Enjoy your day, have fun and don’t lose sight of the true meaning of marriage. Get a day-of wedding coordinator, I can’t stress that enough. The value and service they provide you will far outweigh their cost. Lastly, do everything you can to hire a videographer. The video is as important as your photographs and will capture memories that will last a lifetime.

I love that this sweet couple offered their guests “welcome drinks” at their outdoor ceremony. So refreshing and a nice gesture to guests who may be sitting in the heat this Spring or Summer. As simple as lemonade or as intricate as a signature cocktail, welcome drinks are a fun way to emphasize the look and feel of your wedding day. How about you? Are y’all planning a fun drink or cocktail for your big day? I’d love to hear your ideas!

XOXO,
Carlee

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Focus Photography, Inc. / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Grand Engagements / Floral Designer: Honey & Poppies / Reception Venue: Greystone Mansion & Park / Cinema & Video: The Cana Family / Bridal Salon: La Soie Bridal / Cake Designer: Sweet & Saucy / DJ: Crash Entertainment / Linens & Coverings: Fusion Linens / Makeup Artist: Kelly Zhang Makeup & Hair Studio / Photo Booth Equipment: The Foto Box

Lessons Learned: Hire A Wedding Planner!

Category: 2 Comments

Mar 21st

by: Lauren

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[Editor’s Note: Hi friends! One of the things that I wish I had when I was planning my wedding was advice from friends about what lessons they learned while planning their weddings. Well, while I’m away in Italy, I’ve asked a few of my friends to share their wedding planning experiences with you all- more specifically, the lessons that they learned and things they would have done differently, so you all can learn from them too! The lovely Britt Croft Photography is starting our series off- and appropriately so, since she just recently got married this past Fall!]

Image by Katelyn James Photography

There are many things I wish I would have done differently for my wedding, and if it helps other brides even just a little, then it’s definitely worth sharing. Of course I look back on our wedding day with amazing memories, but it just went by too fast, and there were things I really wish I’d considered more beforehand. These are just little things I would have changed to make planning/the day of the wedding a little bit easier, but honestly the most important thing was marrying my husband and celebrating with friends and family- and both of those were huge successes!

Lesson Learned…

I should have listened to everyone (and even my own) advice and hired a planner. I was afraid of being pressured into things I didn’t want and going over my budget for something I felt I could do myself, but really, the right planner for me would have helped me make the most of my budget. It also would have been a huge help to have help coordinating vendors, setting up and breaking down the day of, running the ceremony, running the rehearsal, etc. When it comes down to it, you don’t think about things like running the rehearsal and having someone there to tell everyone when to walk down the aisle…but that is huge. Fortunately a family member stepped up to help with the ceremony, but I ran the rehearsal and that’s kind of silly and something I don’t feel the bride should have to do. If I could go back and change ONE thing, it would be this, because a planner alone would have made my next two lessons learned non-existent.

Lesson Learned…

I should have carved out more time for just the two of us. Everyone says your wedding day goes by really fast. True story, it does. Although we did a first look which is one of the BEST decisions we made and gave us a little time for just the two of us, I really wish we’d had some time during cocktail hour to just get away from everyone (even our photographers, they could shoot from a distance ;) ), and soak in our new marriage. During the reception we were so busy trying to see friends and family we rarely get to see that we hardly spent any time together. Seems kind of backwards, huh?

Lesson Learned…

That if I’d had a planner and been smarter with my budget I could have something I really wish I had now…a wedding video. I knew this was something that I wanted but by the time we chose our major vendors, there just wasn’t room for another major expense. I really regret this, because if we’d just been smarter choosing vendors we could have definitely made this happen, and I think it’s something that would be so special to us and our families. Our photos are incredible and I’m so grateful for them, but video pulls at totally different heartstrings and I wish this is something we had.

Image by Katelyn James Photography

Honestly the good HEAVILY outweighs the things I would have changed about our wedding if I could do it again. If you want to see the three best decisions we made, I wrote a blog post for each of them and you can find them here, here, and here.

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Britt’s “Lessons” are so very common- I hear them ALL the time! Brides, do you have any lessons that you’ve learned already in your planning process? Or do you have any lessons that were passed down to you from your friends and/or family member?

Elegant Purple & Orange Jacksonville Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 4 Comments

Mar 20th

by: Lauren

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I am so excited to share this elegant purple and orange wedding with you all today! This also happens to be the wedding of one of my friends from college (and my sorority “little sister”), Natalie, and she did such an amazing job designing and planning! The shades of purple and orange that Natalie chose are gorgeous- and totally not what you would expect! Combine that with absolutely gorgeous photography by Brooke Images, and you all are in for a treat!

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

So many, but our families were so generously instrumental in funding the wedding. My Maid of Honor and our family friend, Sallie, were truly the best helpers throughout the planning, on the big day and even following the wedding!

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

James and I had a unique perspective on planning our wedding because we are both in the industry. We chose vendors who we have relationships with and knew we could trust with our details.

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

The season, Autumn, and each other.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

That it was truly “ours”. We planned “every last detail” and were so fortunate to share it with the people in this world who have loved and supported us up until the day we met and beyond!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

I was very fortunate to have a fiancé in the industry and who enjoyed being involved in planning the wedding with me. But whether your fiancé is or isn’t this way, before you begin planning make another promise to each other – that during the planning process when either of you gets particularly overwhelmed, that you’ll both agree to communicate that feeling and step away from the details and pick it up again later. This truly helped keep us sane and actually ENJOY planning and preparing together.

I knew Natalie would have some great advice to share with you all! I love her recommendation to step away from something and pick it back up later if something is frustrating you- I know how that is!

I really love the pale shade of purple and bright orange that Natalie and James chose! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it! And those centerpieces- so unique and absolutely gorgeous! So tell me friends, what’s your favorite part of my friend Natalie’s wedding? :)