Real Wedding: Leah and Michael, IV
Today’s real wedding is the definition of Style Me Pretty…a totally unique, personality filled affair that fits within your comfortable budget and allows you to kick back and have a really great time. And chic, of course. Really, really chic.
all of these stunning photographs were shot by Centric Photography
From Leah, the stunning bride…
The bridesmaids and groomsmen wore whatever they pleased (although I did ask the girls to wear black as a base)– they all have such eclectic, wonderful style, I wasn’t worried at all! I begged Kenley Collins, Project Runway finalist, to make me a custom feather headpiece /veil, as I had loved her on the show and just couldn’t find anything quite right on my own. I think it really pulled my look together, and my two bridesmaids liked it so much, they jumped on the theme and bought their own off Kenley’s site. I got my wedding dress at a Christmas sale, and I hope it achieved the vintage 1930’s/ 40’s/ 50’s fusion I was going for!
So much more to come! (ps…how cool is it that Kenley made Leah’s headpiece. I am a Project Runway addict, so this makes me much happier than it would most normal people.)
This is so similar (dress, overall style and BUDGET) to what I am planning for my own wedding. I completely agree that if you pick your favorite things and find a place that is beautiful on its own that all of the important factors will come together. I believe that a focus on the "f's" (family, friends, fun and food!) tend to make the day come out right. Congratulations, Leah, you completely succeeded in making your day unique and chic.
I love your wedding style! So perfect. Where did you get your heels?
Thanks! The heels showing in these pics-- the gold and cream ones, are seychelles, ordered online, I think from piperlime.com. The ones in the getting ready shots, the blue ones, are vintage 1940s daniel green.
I LOVE Kenley! How great is that?
Great Job with everything Leah - i'm getting so many awesome ideas!
I'm wondering, how many guests did you have? We're shooting for around 150 & wanna keep the costs under 10K.
Thank you. We had 55 people at the sit down dinner, so it was quite intimate, and more affordable. We had 4 courses in our dinner, passed appetizers, an open bar cocktail hour, and then wine and beer during dinner. This took up more than half our budget. I think maybe cutting back on the appetizers, or a course, or having a buffet would help things out financially. People actually drank less than I had anticipated. It was the food that was the highest budget item. But, it was one of the tops on my list of importance-- way above flowers or decorations etc. A good, shared meal.
At the church we had a few more– my parents invited some of their friends, and people brought their children (the dinner was adults only). What helped was that after dinner we had a party at a separate bar/ dance venue (not shown on SMP) where we opened it up to absolutely anyone. That way a lot of my friends who I otherwise could not have seen on that day were able to come. The reception dinner was open bar, hosted by us. But the dance party was cash bar, and cost us nothing. I thought it was a great compromise.
Oh you smart girl Leah, I would never have thought to wear two pairs of shoes on my Wedding day! I was thinking of having a ceremony and reception dress but maybe one dress AND two pairs of shoes is more reasonable especially going from big-family-wedding to budget beautiful. I love the pics! I mean even if everyone couldn't be invited, at least they can see all your effort and love in the pics :)