Blush Pink & Navy Vintage Chic Wedding

Feb 22nd

by: Lauren

Happy Wednesday everyone!!! Traveling for the past week was fun, but boy am I glad to finally be HOME… mostly because I’m spoiled with my big desktop computer and fast internet! :) For today’s feature, I have a lovely wedding from Focus Photography for you all. A light, blush pink paired with navy, combined with vintage elements and a chic style make for a pretty awesome wedding if you ask me! The lovely bride Nicolle will also be sharing her wedding insight with us- keep an eye out for it… you might learn something new! :)

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

Soon after I got engaged, I created my wedding planning binder (a suggestion from a married bridesmaid) that really helped me stay organized and communicate well with my vendors. I kept inspiration pictures for everything in it (flowers, hair, makeup, dress, centerpieces, escort cards, etc) and brought it to all my meetings so every vendor could see my entire vision. I got a lot of praise from them for being so organized! I also kept a calendar in it to mark important deadlines, and copies of all my contracts so I could easily refer to them at meetings and on the day of the wedding. My maid of honor (who works in event planning) came to most of our venue meetings which was also a huge help because I had NO idea what questions to ask! Our bridal party and family were actually really amazing and helped with so many things before and on the day of the wedding, I don’t know what we would do without them!!

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

We didn’t have an unlimited budget, so I did extensive research to make sure I was getting the most for our money. With that in mind, we prioritized our vendors, venue being the most important and photographer being the second most important. I followed my intuition with most of the vendors, and decided to work with people I felt comfortable with and who seemed very knowledgeable and reliable.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

Our photographer did something pretty cool – they gave us a large masonite print of our favorite engagement photo to display at the wedding. We also got a free 2012 calender with our wedding photo album! Our videographer made a ‘teaser’ video for us about a week after the wedding, which was really awesome too because we got to watch it while we were still on our honeymoon.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

One of my favorite moments was when we did our “first look”. I was so anxious all morning, and as soon as I got to hug Matt all my anxiety melted away. I was also just obsessed with our venue and couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else! Other than that, the feeling of having every single person we care about there with us to celebrate and support us was a uniquely wonderful feeling that I will cherish forever.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

If you can, hire a coordinator or planner! I wish I had hired a wedding planner, but in the end we had a day-of coordinator and without her it would have been utter chaos. I think I would’ve saved myself a lot of stress if I had someone helping out beforehand, because there are just a ton of tiny little things you never think of until it’s too late. I enjoyed a lot of my DIY projects, but making sure it all comes together how you planned while you are also trying to get ready for the wedding is super tough!! Also, make sure to take mental snapshots all day long so you remember the day. I did this, especially during the ceremony (looking out at the guests helps) and I am happy to say it WASN’T all a blur!

Yep, that advice is pretty spot on- I of course totally agree. :) Nicolle, thank you for sharing your wedding with us, and thank you to Focus Photography for capturing such gorgeous photos of it! Oh, and I do have a little something else for this feature too… the teaser video from Mawwiage Films!

Matthew & Nicolle Kasch from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

There’s just something so amazing about having moments captured on video, don’t you think?!

Well, I don’t know about you, but I just love the blush pink with the navy… and the postcards inside frames as table numbers are awesome! They give the tables an extra pop of color- love it! What are your favorite details from this vintage chic wedding?

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Focus Photography, Inc. / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Passionfruit Catering / Reception Venue: The Mountain Mermaid / Cinematography: Mawwiage Films / Cake Baker: Cakewalk Desserts / Personalized Hanger: Lila Frances on Etsy / Bride’s Dress: Watters Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Aldo / Bride’s Jewelry: Sereba Designs / Bride’s Veil/Hair Accessories: Bella Bridal Veils / Bridesmaid Accessories: Made By Sam

Tuesday Tips: Avoid Wedding Planning Burnout

Category: WEDDING PLANNING 2 Comments

Feb 21st

by: Brit Stewart

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For some of you couples, you dive right into the planning and enjoy every second of it. Some couples cannot even stand the thought of it. And, then there are those couples who love love love it, and burn themselves out.

It’s tremendously easy to do. When you have wonderful wedding magazines like Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, The Knot coupled with awesome websites and blogs like Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes (and, this one, of course) you’ll catch a case of information overload.

Do you go with the burlap runners or a pattern? Mason jars and wildflowers or sleek black vases with simple white flowers? Mermaid gown or ball gown? DJ or band? Sprinkle in the million questions you receive from family in friends, the stress of managing a budget and planning the largest party you probably have every planned and you’re stuck with an overwhelming feeling of the pieces just not falling into place. So, how do you avoid it?

1. Ask for help. Also known as hiring a wedding planner. Lauren has preached this topic before, and rightfully so. Hiring a planner doesn’t mean you’re out of the picture, it just means that you’ll have help.

2. Define a clear focus for your overall design / vision. Pick a color palette and stick with it. Opt for details that are inline with your personal style but add that touch of flair. Do not feel like you have to use every trend on every magazine page and blog.

3. Don’t let the details become bigger than the purpose. Yes, details are what help give personality to the wedding. But the couple, marriage and celebration are more important. If you focus on the purpose, the details fall in place. It’s when you get wrapped up in the details that the wedding starts to lose focus…

4. To do lists! Create a list of all of your to-do’s, enlist the help of your fiance, and prioritize what’s important and necessary, what isn’t and what needs to get tackled now.

Photo by ELV photographer, Jordan Weiland Photography

5. ENJOY the process. As overwhelming as it can be, the last thing you want is for the engagement and planning process to take over your life. I always tell my couples that if it is too much work, you’re doing it wrong. Re-evaluate how you’re tackling your tasks and know when to ask for help.

6. Step away from the inspiration when you have solidified your ideas and vision. It never fails that once you have finalized those details, you get sucked into other inspiration and develop a case of “I should haves.” You don’t want that. Re-visit that inspiration only in moderation.

7. Involve friends and family. When you delegate tasks (like crafting), it makes the process seem less daunting and stressful, and much more enjoyable.

While there are a number of other ways to beat wedding burnout (like a good glass of red wine every now and then), these tips will help to keep you from going crazy. When things start to get overwhelming or tiring, take a break. No one said you had to eat, sleep and breathe wedding planning once you’re engaged.

And, most importantly, have so much fun. Honestly.

– Brit

Rustic & Vintage DIY Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 9 Comments

Feb 20th

by: Lauren

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Hi friends! Sorry for later posting today… this 3 hour time difference in Vegas is weird to me! ;) Bare with me though, because my laptop is on it’s last leg of life, so it took me about twice the time to write this. For some reason, my keyboard enjoys just deleting the words that I write. Yep, it’s super fun.

This North Carolina wedding from Meet The Burks is absolutely adorable… not to mention the bride put together most all of it with her grandmother! Love it when details have a special meaning! :) And the bride, Miranda, is stopping by today to tell us all about her DIY wedding!

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

I came up with my ideas from many hours looking through blogs and my grandmother was instrumental in helping me make my vision into reality. We spent several weekends carefully crafting DIY elements and she was a great help in providing jars and milkglass.

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

Honestly, budget. I knew we didn’t have a lot to spend, but I was confident we could still have a beautiful wedding. So my goal was to make the most of our budget by DIYing everything I could and prioritizing the rest. I designed the save-the-dates, invitations, and programs. I made my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets, and the boutinierres. The dress I wore was from a friend. The milkglass vases and candle jars were collected throughout the year we were engaged by myself and family members and our flowers were ordered wholesale and arranged by my family the day before the wedding. Our vendors (catererer, cake, DJ, wedding director) were all friends of my husband’s family (who is from Wilmington where we were married). We even entered a photo contest and won second place, so our photography was 50% off. Because we saved and did many aspects of the wedding ourselves we were able to splurge on the venue.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

This is such a tough question so I’ll give you my top 3 moments.
1. Our First Look- We did our first look at the exact spot where Mark proposed almost exactly one year prior at a friends private house on the sound. It was was special spot and such a sweet and intimate moment to share before the ceremony. I loved having the moment between just the two of us.
2. Communion During the Ceremony- We decided to take communion during our ceremony and afterward we prayed together while Mark’s sister sang one of my favorite songs. It was such a personal moment eventhough we were in front of our friends and family because our backs were to them and we were facing out at the water. I remembering feeling so thankful and full of joy!
3. Walking Down the Aisle- Words cannot describe how wonderful it was to walk down the isle to the man of my dreams. I know it’s cheesy, but it was such a climatic moment to walk past the faces of our friends and family with the music and the sun shining with the confidence of knowing I was marrying the man for me.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

Embrace the stress and take breaks from planning. Maybe some brides didn’t find wedding planning stressful, but I did! Eventhough it was good stress and I was excited it was still stress. When you get engaged people tell you what a sweet time engagement is, which I believe is true, but they don’t say to you (at least no one said to me) that it will also be a stressful time. So my advice is to embrace the stress, acknowlegdge that planning a wedding is stressful and try enjoy it through the stress because it will all be worth it in the end.

Thank you so much for sharing your wedding planning experience with us Miranda! And thank you to Meet The Burks for capturing it all amazingly!

What’s your favorite part of this vintage DIY wedding? I love all of the burlap and twine accents… it adds a nice bit of rustic to everything!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Meet The Burks / Reception Venue: Watermark Marina / Catering: Diamond Foods / Flowers & Decor: FiftyFlowers.com / Cake Baker: Cannady’s Cakes / Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew / Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse

Detail To Love: Fringe!

Category: DETAILS 2 Comments

Feb 17th

by: Lauren

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My life is consumed by fringe right now. I’m doing a shoot in Las Vegas in 2 days, and that is one of the elements I’ll be using… needless to say, I’m up to my elbows in tissue paper and crafting supplies! Not to mention that I’m in a hotel room in DC and brought a whole suitcase of my crafting supplies with me. Yeah. I’m kind of ridiculous.

But anyways, FRINGE is a pretty awesome detail for you all to love! It’s been everywhere lately, but I think it’s because it can be used in SO many different areas of your wedding- not to mention it’s chic and fun! I actually even created a whole inspiration board of different types of fringe that can be used- there are so many different options!

Row 1: Cake, Fringe wall, Fringe felt garland

Row 2: Fringe backdrop, Fringe streamers, Fringe Drink Stirrers

So what do you all think of the fringe? And are any of you going to use fringe elements anywhere in your wedding? It’s a great DIY project too! :)

Have a great weekend everyone! I’m off to Vegas tomorrow… wish me luck in creating a super amazing inspiration shoot for 25+ photographers to shoot, and of course ultimately to inspire all of you!!!! :)