Eclectic Handmade St. George Island Wedding

Oct 12th

by: Lauren

Happy Friday everyone! This wedding I have for you all this lovely afternoon (it kinda sorta finally feels like Fall here in Florida!) is from Ashley Daniell Photography, and it’s full of some wonderfully eclectic details! Not to mention that it’s always fun to see a wedding on the beach that isn’t quite “beach” themed. The bride, Lindsay, wanted her wedding to be all about being surrounded by her loved ones, as well as reflecting her love for all things natural. It’s gorgeous, and she’s here with us today to share some of her wedding insight!

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

I’d say I did a lot of my wedding on my own. I’d say keeping good notes and staying organized was most helpful. I also utilized a timeline and calender to keep up with all my DIY projects. I did hire a colleague to help with planning and who worked the weekend of the wedding. This helped because he knew my vision and could execute plans when I was spending time with my family on the weekend of the wedding.

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

I wanted to chose a venue that would be most conducive to an environment where my friends and family could feel comfortable and have fun, while still supporting my theme.

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

I think I gained most of my inspiration from Southern Weddings Magazine. This magazine always has the freshest ideas for off-the-beaten path elements. I also started planning just around the time Pinterest took off, which did help provide some last minute ideas. I have a fascination for all things natural. I wanted a wedding theme that reflected nature and my obsession with wildlife and the outdoors.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

I loved the fact that my whole family and wedding party could spend the whole weekend in the same house sharing meals and fun time at the beach. This was just as good as the culminating event! Many of my family members remarked that the wedding felt more like a vacation than a one-day event.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Create a system for staying organized. This might mean a system you create in a notebook or this might mean the assistance of a professional planner. If you are all about the DIY, make sure you create a to-do list with a timeline. This helped me prevent stressing out at the end because I had appropriately paced my projects well in advance. I refused to “create” anything new within a month of the wedding. Everything was packed and ready for the out-of-town event days in advance. I also thought it was helpful to label the outside of each box with details of the contents. This helped me delegate the tasks on the weekend of the event. Another helpful thing I had was several helpers on the day of the event to do the running around for me.

That is some GREAT advice- doing DIY projects is always about the timing. You definitely don’t want to be rushing to get things done in the days before your wedding, that’s for sure!

Will any of you be incorporating handmade DIY details in your wedding like Lindsay did? What will you be making?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Vintage Eclectic Purple Nevada Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 2 Comments

Oct 12th

by: Carlee

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[From the Editor: Hey friends! I’m excited to introduce you all to another new contributor here on ELD, Carlee Sizemore!! I can’t wait for her to infuse her style and expertise into some posts here on ELD. Head over to the About page to meet her, and be sure to show her some love on her first post! :)]

This pretty purple wedding from Chantel Marie Photography has tons of personality! From DIY projects to a fun day-after photoshoot, the bride and groom combined vintage eclectic details with their favorite color, purple, to create a one-of-a-kind wedding with personal touches at every turn.

From the Bride:

Our inspiration was for our wedding was to be intimate and represent my husband and myself . We went with natural colors with a vintage feel because we both love to find the beauty in the things that are simple, old and new and we really put a lot of effort into making things handmade so our wedding could be original. We also decided to write our own vows because we didn’t really believe in the things regular vows said. We wanted to really show everyone what we loved about one another.

Our main vision for our wedding was to show our guests our personalities through the various parts of our wedding and making sure the experience and ambiance was one of a kind. We hand made the majority of our signs with burlap and paint. We would buy regular items and transform them into something un-buyable like our cake knives or the wooden crates. Both of our favorite color is purple so we tried to include purple in a lot of different areas.

Our inspiration for our wedding, for the most part, was having a vintage look. Along with that, we wanted to have earthy tones with small pops of color. We really wanted things to look natural. With the help of The Wooden Trunk, we were able to rent a bunch of antique items like suitcases, glass bottles, rustic tables and doors, and vintage sofas. We also bought an old typewriter, more glass bottles, and old looking frames. We also bought some wooden crates and stained them so that they would have the vintage look to them. The way we achieved having earthy tones to our wedding was by using a lot of burlap. It hung at our cabana, which we got married under. It was part of the centerpiece at each table and it was wrapped around multiple items like my bouquet and our cake knife. The pops of color were mainly from the restaurants decor but we also wanted to include the color purple in various areas. We had the bridesmaids wear purple heels and a lot of the homemade burlap signs that we made, we used purple paint to write our messages.

Our favorite parts would have to be our first dance.We hired the most amazing wedding DJ there is to hire. Not only did he make our wedding run extremely smooth but he had his personal touches that made our wedding even more personalized. He did this by adding voice overs during our first dance that included special messages we had recorded to one another. Each of us had no idea what the other was going to say in the voiceover. This made hearing it really special for the two of us. We also loved watching our love story for the first time. We hired a unique wedding cinematographer called Something New, that really made our wedding one of a kind. They hung out with us for a day and saw what our daily routine was like and created our love story video. They decided not to show us what they had come up with until the day of our wedding. So, we watched the video at the same time as all of our guests watched. To say the least, the wedding became very emotional. It honestly felt like we didn’t record anything during the day Something New was hanging out with us, but they were able to put together a very special and loving video showing our love for each other.

My husband’s favorite part was the garter removal because he loved the song he chose, Nice and Slow by Usher. We also really liked seeing how all of the work we put into the wedding, like making the signs and staining the wood, came to life at our wedding. Finally seeing our vision become reality was amazing. We both think that our wedding could not have been any better.

We can’t forget to mention our super cool, super fun and perfect photographer. She made this whole experience, from when we took our engagements to when we took our formals, very special and exciting. Her personality made smiling for the camera really easy and she made being ourselves around her and a camera comfortable. The florist we chose was very chic with her style. Instead of combining various flowers for my bouquet, she used eucalyptus pods that made my bouquet one of a kind. The flowers she chose for our centerpieces were different for each centerpiece. We honestly loved all of our vendors.

Their day-after session in the desert is breathtaking! I love how relaxed they both are and on a personal note, the black and white images from this session may be some of the sweetest I’ve ever seen. How about you? Would you consider a portrait session the day after your wedding?

xoxo,

Carlee

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Chantel Marie Photography / Reception Venue: Vintners Grill / Event Design & Planning: The Wooden Trunk / Flowers & Decor: Layers of Lovely / Cinematography: Something New / DJ: Djs To You / Hairstylist: Cortney Murphy - Tease Salon / Makeup Artist: Tara Lisheski / Invitations & Stationery: Camie Mumpower / Cake Baker: Sandy Wright / Bride’s Dress: Oleg Cassini / Bride’s Shoes: Chinese Laundry / Bride’s Jewelry: LavenderByJurgita / Bridesmaid Dresses: Urban Outfitters & Cache / Groom’s Attire: Express

Thursday Tips: What To Know Before Your Wedding Day

Category: 2 Comments

Oct 11th

by: Lauren

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As another “wedding season” begins, I can’t help but think of all the brides who are feverishly making last minute preparations… and quite possibly stressing out a little bit. I asked a few of my vendor friends what advice they would give a bride before her wedding day, and I wanted to share what they said! Some are totally serious, and some may give you a little comic relief…

Photo by Roohi Photography

“At the end of the day you are marrying the love of your life. Let go of the small things and be present. Celebrate and enjoy your day.” Brynn Davello, Davello Photography

“Be sure to eat throughout the day and stay hydrated!” Heather Canada, First Coast Weddings & Events

“It’s okay if the day’s running a few minutes behind schedule. Life goes on – there will still be a Mr. & Mrs. at the end of the day. Don’t stress!” Mikkel Paige, Mikkel Paige Photography

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Have faith in the professionals you hired and enjoy your day!” Tanya Hendricks, Southern Charm Events

“At the reception take a few moments with your husband to just step back and soak it all in. Walk off the dance floor or away from your dinner table and watch the most important people in your life celebrating you. Just for a minute. It goes by so quickly that you’ll be glad you took that minute to just observe.” Erica Stawick, Sweet November Events

“Shave your armpits the morning of! And bring deodorant! Also, don’t be afraid to grab some liquid courage. Day drinking is perfectly acceptable the day of your wedding.” Stephanie Haller, Ahava Studios

Photo by Cyn Kain Photography

“Hire a wedding planner! They are worth the investment to help you keep your sanity and can make sure your day runs smoothly.Invest in great photography. After the day is gone, the photos and memories are all you have left.” Dana Goodson, Dana Goodson Photography

“Once you have your final meetings with vendors, especially your wedding planner, don’t stress about all of the details and logistics- that’s what all of the professionals are there for. Try to relax and enjoy the pre-wedding time with your fiancé!” Jaclyn Fraser, At Last Weddings & Events

“The wedding day will be amazing and you’ll enjoy it, but the marriage is the part that will be the real thrill ride :) And the wedding day is just the beginning of that fantastic ride!” Twila Allen, Twila’s Photography

“Don’t forget your marriage license!” Layla Mayville, Simply Savannah Events

“Hire a good wedding planner and photographer, trust your vendors, relax and enjoy your day and any fun quirks that may happen. Embrace each moment as it comes :)” Mari Darr-Welch, Mari Darr~Welch

All of these are awesome things to remember in the days before your wedding! You can also see some of my own advice for before the wedding day here: Don’t Forget! and 5 Things To Know About… The Wedding Day. It always helps to be prepared and just know, right?

Any brides out there who have already gotten married? Do you have anything to add for what brides should know before the wedding day? Or maybe what you WISH you had known?