Rustic Eclectic Pink & Aqua Wedding

Mar 4th

by: Joelle

The details in this gorgeous pink and aqua wedding are just incredible! I really think that the bride and groom thought about everything for this one, and they are so beautiful and personal that it makes my heart happy! You can really tell that they are such a sweet couple, and that they let their personalities shine through on their wedding day. I honestly can’t get enough of this one. I wish there really were more beautiful photos from Courtney Bowlden Photography to share!

From Courtney Bowlden Photography:

Liz wanted her wedding to be chic yet have a personal feel to it. She got her flowers from a local flower booth (ones that are randomly on the side of the road) and put the arrangements together herself with the help from her bridesmaids. She tied several different ribbon strips around her bouquets and around the ceremony location/reception area. The quilts that were behind the bridal party table were all family quilts. They had a booth outside the reception area for people to write messages on so they can make their own quilt with them all. She had pictures hanging outside the reception area as well.

Liz lost her mom and dad a couple years back, which made this day very emotional for her and her family. Her brother and sister played big parts in the wedding and getting everything planned and ready. Her uncle was the officiant and married them. They included her family in the ceremony as much as possible. Her nephews walked down the aisle with one of the signs.

Liz made her own signs, walked down the aisle to the Beatles “Here Comes The Sun.” They had classical guitar playing while people were waiting for the ceremony to start.

The mood was very warm and relaxed. There was a lot of laughter from the grooms family, being a family of all boys.

Ryan gave all his groomsmen cigar clippers and lighters and their own personalized converse shoes to wear to the wedding.

From the bride…

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

My fiance (now husband:) and I planned and designed our wedding ourselves. My background is in Interior Design and I am currently starting my own Wedding Design business, so planning our wedding was natural to me. We really wanted to focus on keeping the day light hearted and casual and let our personalities show through the details. By deciding on a color scheme and theme early on we were able to create a design that truley reflected us. Reading wedding blogs and Pinterest also helped a lot!

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

I really wanted to focus on using unique and local vendors. I did a lot of research before selecting my vendors, and I made sure that they were passionate about the product or service that they offered. I couldn’t have been happier with the services they provided.

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

I had recently lost both of my parents, and really wanted them to be part of our special day. We used elements that were very meaningful to us like my dad’s fishing basket and my mom’s vintage wedding quilts as inpspiration and went from there.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing about my wedding was being able to celebrate the love and happiness with all of our friends and family. The last five years had been very hard, especially this last year with my mom passing away unexpectedly. Our wedding was a chance to celebrate love and friendship, and the little details just helped to make the day extra special.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Be true to your style. Find a way to express it in a fun and unique way, and splurge on a photographer to capture your style – you will have these memories for a lifetime.

I seriously cannot get over how much I adore this wedding and this bride. The attention to detail is just so admirable, and as a wedding planner, I’m really impressed! Those flowers? Absolutely gorgeous. Can you honestly believe that she did them herself? Amazing! I’m so excited about this wedding!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Courtney Bowlden Photography / Reception Venue: Woodland Park Zoo / Catering: Lancer Catering / Ceremony Musicians: Julian Catford / DJ: Groove Entertainment / Rentals: Scout Vintage Rental / Dessert Table: A La Mode Pies / Hairstylist: Melissa Thavorn Hair and Makeup

A Shabby Chic Florida Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 12 Comments

Mar 4th

by: Lauren

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Happy Monday everyone! This shabby chic wedding from pure7studios is an absolutely fabulous way to start this week! And the fact that it took place at a beautiful waterside location makes it even more amazing. The blush and seafoam green gives it just enough of a girly style, and when you add in rustic elements, you have a wonderfully shabby chic- and gorgeous- wedding! And the lovely bride Megan is here to share some excellent insight with us today!

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

My mom and my best friend/Maid of Honor Kathryn were on board with just about every idea I threw at them and they stopped at nothing to make sure it all happened. Grove Fisher from Fisher’s Flowers was the biggest help in the design of our wedding. Grove is truly an artist, she has a personality that is so calming and reassuring! She would take down every last detail of things I mentioned I wanted and every bit of it was there on our big day. Bless her- she even let my mom and I come by her shop the day before as they were preparing the decor to look at the flowers that had come in and show us the linens, centerpieces, etc. that they were working on. When rain forced our outdoor ceremony indoors, she and her team took the indoor reception spot and tent and made it just as beautiful. Best of all, they did it without having to worry me on an already crazy day! Laura and Alexis from Bentley’s on the Bay were very helpful throughout my planning process, but Laura was an absolute life saver in the last 24 hours leading up to the wedding. I am incredibly OCD and I worry about every last detail-it poured down rain the entire wedding day and she managed to keep me completely calm! Her timeline she created was flawless, I was so thankful to not have a care in the world on that day but to enjoy it!

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

My mom and I are drawn in by personality. Each vendor we chose had amazing energy and excellent communication from the start. It was like we could just tell that they had a love for what they did and that they’d do everything possible to make our day special. Bentley’s on the Bay had special significance because over the years as my family vacationed in the SeaGrove area, we often went to Bentley’s when it was known as Cafe 331. My grandmother loved that place, and the last time we took her to the beach before her passing, we celebrated her birthday with dinner and dancing in what is now the bridal suite at Bentley’s. Her photograph as a teen is pictured in many of the photos of me getting ready.

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

Justin and I are both from an area that is what we consider “country”. We love the beach, but didn’t really want the typical beach decor. Instead, we wanted a lot of neutrals. We started calling it “beach shabby chic”. I’m not super girly, but everything I loved led me back to blush and seafoam green.The groomsmen gave me all kinds of grief about those pink ties! I liked the idea of flowers with burlap, wood elements, ruffles etc. As far as the little details of the day, I wanted it to represent us. We made our guestbook coffeetable style using photos we took of our favorite places on 30A. I made the flower girl tubs, ribbon wands, and the ring holder as DIY projects over several weekends. We wrote love letters to each other throughout our engagement, and sealed those in a box with a bottle of wine and two glasses as part of our ceremony. We will only open it on our 25 year anniversary or in the event that our marriage is in trouble. My bouquet was especially important to me as it held a photo of my grandmother to walk down the aisle with me, and my grandfather’s wedding ring that he never takes off. Grove added those for me right before the ceremony so he could wear it until then. The convertible Packard as our get away car was Justin’s favorite detail.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing was probably our first dance. We used our computer to make a dance mix. Even though lots of couples have done this. It was probably the last thing our family and friends expected since I am such a stickler for tradition. However, my favorite part of the whole experience was our Trash the Dress session with Pure 7 the morning after. Was it fun to get up and get ready at 4:30 the next morning? Not at all, but we both felt like we got to have fun with some photos of just us on the beach without people watching. Even Justin made the comment that he was having so much fun and he 1) hates taking pictures 2) hates anything he has to do before breakfast! It was so worth the lack of sleep!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Cliche as it is, I’d say to try and enjoy it all. I learned the hard way through my DIY engagement party that it might turn out exactly how you want it, but you later learn that you are too exhausted to really enjoy it. As a result, I turned over the major details of the wedding to my vendors early on. In the days leading up to the wedding, I didn’t have to worry about a single detail. I got to enjoy sunset cocktails with guests as they came in town, a relaxing rehearsal brunch, and my maids and I had a wonderful time in the bridal suite getting ready over a champagne brunch! The wedding flew by- it took us days on our honeymoon to recount all the events of the day and I can only imagine what it would’ve been like if I had been trying to squeeze in last minute projects during those days instead. Also, I learned the life lesson that sometimes you just have to go with it. Invitations came with a misprint? Go with it. My dress got a hole from being steamed at my final fitting…go with it! The more I hoped for sunshine on my big day- the more it poured. I had to go with it! I’m a control freak, this wasn’t in my nature, but I learned and thankfully, had an amazingly beautiful (and enjoyable) wedding day.

Megan’s comments about how the wedding flew by brings me back to my own wedding- and how my husband and I also took the relaxing days of our honeymoon to recount everything that happened! But hey, that’s why we have amazing people like pure7studios to capture the day, right?!

Will any of you be having a shabby chic wedding like this? What colors will you be using?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: pure7studios / Reception Venue: Bentley's on the Bay / Flowers & Decor: Fisher's Flowers / Musicians: Gulf Talent Services / Transportation: A Bride's Ride, Inc.

Film Friday: A Classic Florida Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 1 Comments

Mar 1st

by: Lauren

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I adore this week’s wedding film! I love how Imprint Cinema tells the story of this couple’s relationship and their personalities, all while also telling the story of their wedding day! You must see it- it will definitely put a smile on your face! :)

The Wedding of Jared and Jessica by Imprint Cinema from Imprint Cinema on Vimeo.

From Samm of Imprint Cinema:

Jessica and Jared’s wedding was, well, amazing. I have never stepped into a room of over 300 people and felt more like everyone was family. It felt so intimate you would have thought you could ask anyone in the room and they could have told you every single person’s name. And what we loved more than anything was that Jessica and Jared were so excited to have all of these people there with them sharing in their wedding day that it almost seemed like it was everyone’s big day. And when the celebration began, it certainly was a party. We loved being a part of Jessica and Jared’s wedding day and we are so happy and excited for them and their marriage!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Cinematographer: Imprint Cinema / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Tickled Pink Brides / Reception Venue: JW Marriott Grande Lakes / Band: Clint Wiley's None Other Band / Makeup Artist: M3 Makeup / Flowers & Decor: Flourish Floral Productions

Colorful & Eclectic Texas Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 3 Comments

Mar 1st

by: Sammantha

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Good afternoon everybody! I’m getting the feeling this week that most people are ready to take some serious advantage of the weekend with the weather finally warming up a bit! Well today I have a gorgeously colorful wedding that is going to bring a smile to your face and a little warmth to your heart. Ellen and Jason’s wedding is absolutely the most precious thing you will ever see and I am in love with their fun and eclectic details! Here are some amazing photos from Ellen and Jason’s fabulous photographer Lauren Reynolds Photography!

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

I’m a designer in my day job and the biggest help I found during the planning process were blogs and Pinterest. By browsing other people’s weddings, I was very visually inspired and it helped a lot in making decisions. We hired a day-of coordinator which was one the best decisions we made. She handled all the details so my family and friends (and us!) could enjoy the actual day to the fullest.

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

I wanted to pick vendors that were, local small, and owned by women. I loved being able to give them my support and in turn, I got exceptional service. Most of our vendors—dress, photography, flowers, cake, catering and coordinator—were local women-owned businesses.

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

My biggest inspiration was keeping things simple, but beautiful. We didn’t get caught up in traditions that didn’t have special meaning for us. Instead we spent our dollars where it counted most for us.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My favorite thing about our wedding was the atmosphere. We started with a great venue and kept things casual and relaxed. We only invited people we knew and loved and it ended up being a wonderfully fun evening spent with the ones we love. I also liked that the decor and atmosphere was not too feminine—the groom deserves his day too!

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

My best piece of advice is don’t get too wrapped up in the details of what you “have to do”. You don’t “have” to anything you don’t want to!! There can a lot of people involved in the planning, but at the end of the day, its you and your husband’s day and you should make it exactly they way you want! Also, don’t let decision making anxiety stall your planning efforts. Go with your gut!

Okay so I loved SO many things about this wedding from the floral design and paper goods to the absolutely amazing venue but something I wish I had done for my wedding… That kids table!? The way Ellen incorporated the children at her wedding into the reception but made sure to give them their own ways to have fun was amazing! What are your ideas for entertaining the kids at your wedding or, are you having an adult only party?Can’t wait to hear all about it!

Cheers!

Samm