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Because the wedding took place on an island and it was a destination wedding for everyone, it was important to the couple and their parents that all of the weekend’s events reflected a warm, intimate and hospitable atmosphere. The rehearsal dinner did that and more, and it really set the tone for the following day. The groom’s parents hosted a fabulous traditional lobster clambake, complete with fire pit and lobster bibs that said “Alice & Ben” above a red lobster. During cocktail hour, the guests wandered about the property, which includes lovely stone walls, grazing horses and an idyllic pond. For dinner, the guests were seated under a beautiful tent at nine long tables lined with gorgeous sunflowers and set with mason jar mugs, black-and-white checkered tablecloths and red napkins. A close friend of the groom’s brilliantly emceed a program of roughly 15 toasts and speeches. The night concluded with a fantastic slideshow created by a sister of the groom, and everyone departed having eaten well and laughed hard in a truly lovely setting.

Photography: Christian Oth Studio / Venue: The Captain R. Flanders House / Coordination: Julie Hatt / Catering: Lobster Tales / Flowers: Island Ambiance / Tent, Linens + Table Settings: Tilton Tents / Liquor: Edgartown Market / Invitations: Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger / Lobster Bibs: Sand Scripts / MC: A Friend of the Groom / Slideshow: A Sister of the Groom

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Post tags: Black, Bryn Chernoff, Captain Flanders Inn, Christian Oth Studios, Edgartown Market, Island Ambiance, Julie Hatt, Lobster Tales, Paperfinger, Red, Rehearsal Dinner, Sand Scripts, Tilton Tents, White
Post categories: Casual Elegance, event, Massachusetts Weddings, Real Parties

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From Lisa Teso Photography…Two creative girls and one problem – Finding a special way to change their last names.

A few months ago, Jennifer Mele, co-owner of Hi, Friend Design in Portland, Ore. found herself in a pickle  - following her wedding in 2009 she still hadn’t found the time to change her name. That night a plot was hatched with a fellow co-worker who was also facing the same predicament. Looking for a meaningful way to officially change their last names and also a reason to throw a fabulous party, the two decided to surprise their husbands with a fun summer ceremony. With the help of friends, family and local event vendors, the Maiden Voyage was born and two unsuspecting husbands had the surprise of the summer as their wives finally took the plunge at a summer backyard ceremony.

A few details to help you follow along…When the husbands returned home from golfing they were met with glasses of their favorite whiskey and outfits for the night ahead. The nautical theme (Maiden Voyage, get it?!) could be seen throughout the event – from the music, to the ceremony, to the yellow/blue color motif. Small detailed touches were everywhere including: Customized wine labels on the wine bottles and mini bottles of champagne, cupcakes baked by Jennifer herself in husbands’ two favorite flavors, black and white photos of the two couples from their wedding days, a photo booth with nautical themed props, Enlarged copies of their new licenses for guests to sign with their well-wishes, the officiant was the same gentleman that married Jennifer to her husband Steve in 2009 – he focused on the meaning of a name and the importance of taking on someone else’s name for your life. One of the highlights of the ceremony was the girls grabbing iPads from their “maids of honor” and officially changing their names on Facebook.

Invitations: Hi, Friend Design / Photography: Lisa Teso Photography / Photo Stylist: Kimberly Brandt of Billede Design / Wives’  Attire: BCBG / Husbands’ Shirts: Banana Republic

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Post tags: Banana Republic, BCBG, Billded Design, For Your Party, Hi Friend Design, Lisa Teso Photography, Name Change Party, Nautical, Oregon
Post categories: Real Parties, The Blog

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From Diana Lupu Photography…This wedding shower was put together by Felicia’s best friend Ursula, who envisioned a beautiful, bright Spanish Fiesta theme filled with tons of personal details, each one carefully created and made by Ursula herself. From the hand painted greeting cards adorning each table with words such as “many kisses,” to the yarn backdrop for the cake, no detail was overlooked.

The day was beautiful and as the group of ladies sipped on cold Sangria’s, a Spanish guitarist provided lovely tunes in the background. Classic games were played by everyone and Ursula designated a perfect area for photographs in the form of a classic red velvet sofa and a ruffled Anthropologie curtain. Guests could write messages to the bride on cue chalkboards which was one of my personal favorite details. Photographs of Felicia and her fiance adorned each table and the food was a delicious myriad of Spanish cuisine.

All of these details were kept under wraps for months as Ursula carefully planned and created, but the greatest surprise of all was when Felicia’s husband-to-be stopped by to greet his fiance, play a few games, and of course, grace me with some time for photos. That, along with the too-adorable-for-words polka dotted cake, was the perfect, sweetest ending to Felicia’s day and I felt honored to have been able to photograph it.

Photography: Diana Lupu Photography

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Post tags: Bridal Shower, Diana Lupu Photography, Florida Wedding, Spanish Inspired, Wedding Shower
Post categories: Florida Weddings, Real Parties

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From Hazlitt Vintage Rental… Amanda wanted to do something special to ask her friends to be her bridesmaids.  The gals gathered in the gardens of The Red Pump in the pretty Village of Bayfield.  Amanda bought beautiful fascinators from Buds and Blooms for each bridesmaid-to-be.  She found a poem on-line, printed the cards, attached a ribbon and attached the fascinator.  She displayed them on the tables so each gal could read it when they sat down to enjoy cocktails.  The excitement from these gals when they read the poem quickly escalated into squeals, hugs and big smiles.   They spent the late morning snacking at the bagel bar and eating delicious summer desserts from the vintage inspired tables on the lawn.  A little game of croquet set the mood for fun and got them talking about all the fabulous things associated with weddings; dresses, decorating, flowers, cakes and more.

Rob Boyce, from Your Life In Stills, captured the happy smiles.  The childhood friends live in different cities and Amanda wanted to make sure they had lots of pictures together to remember the event.  Amanda will marry her high school sweet heart, Patrick in August 2012.

Styling & Vintage Rentals: Hazlitt Vintage Rental / Photography: Rob Boyce of Your Life In Stills / Fascinators: Buds and Blooms / Linen Rentals: NJS Design / Flowers: Luann’s Flowers & Gifts / Dresses: Something Irresistible / Venue: The Red Pump

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Post tags: Buds and Blooms, Hazlitt Vintage Rental, Luann's Flowers & Gifts, NJS Design, Something Irrestistible, The Red Pump, Your Life in Stills
Post categories: Canada Weddings, Ontario Weddings, Real Parties

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From Clemens Designs…The bride to be, Gabriela, is a fashion designer so my approach as I designed her bridal shower was to incorporate her passion into a vintage theme. I wanted the event to have a vintage/romantic feeling and to incorporate texture and fabrics. Once we had the date I worked with her sister-in-law, who was hosting the event, and came up with the design for the whole party. The florist came from Boston and did an amazing job! We used a lot of flowers in vintage tea sets.We used a lot of vintage elements like wooden thread spools, lace,fabrics, crochet tableclothes and even a sewing machine. To add more texture to the decor I created a Chandelier with coffee filter flowers.I actually used them on cages hanging from the ceiling. The invitation was sent with a recipe card that the guests were asked to bring it back to the shower to share it with the bride-to-be. We sent guests home with a cake in a jar – strawberry shortcake made by the hostess herself. A sweet touch to end an amazing afternoon.

Photography: Pam Rodrigues Photography / Flowers: GIF Floral and Events Design / Event Design, Planning + Invitations: Clemens Designs / Location: Clearview Golf Club / Cake: Teaspoon Bake Shop

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Post tags: Bridal Shower, Clearview Golf Club, Clemens Designs, GIF Floral and Events Design, New York Weddings, Pam Rodrigues Photography, Teaspoon Bake Shop, Vintage Chic
Post categories: New York Weddings, Real Parties

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From Olivia Griffin Photography... This is definitely the most eventful rehearsal dinners I’ve ever photographed.  Everything was thought out by the event planner and the groom’s mother, Jan.  Julie, the bride, loves to fish so the groom’s mother decided to do a fishing theme for the dinner.  I thought this was very thoughtful and sweet of Jan.  Also, the groom’s family is big in the golf scene.  The groom and the groom’s father are actually in the PGA tour and quite successful golfers.  Because of this, the family likes to go with themes other than “golf” for big gatherings.

The rehearsal was held at the Old Edwards Inn, the Farm and then the dinner was held at the Bascom. The place settings were really unique.  Each table was identified by a rock painted with the name of a lake that Julie had fished from so the guests had to find a rock with their name painted on one side and the name of a lake on the other side.

Dinner was served “family style”, which means each table received a large bowl of food for each person to take a portion. Next was desert…and this was really cool.  It was called “live bait.”  Each person got a little dish of oreo crumbs with a gummy worm inside…so cute! However, what came after desert was crazy!  A brief story was told about the groom’s bachelor party weekend and being out on a boat and something about minnows and before we know it, a shot glass with live minnows is being handed out to all the groomsmen!  The reaction was fantastic and it was definitely hard to watch, but everyone took down the shot. Towards the end of the evening came many wonderful and tearful toasts…such a happy and sweet occasion

Photography: Olivia Griffin Photography / Event Planner: Walton Event Design / Videography: Jeff Bradt Video / Event Location: The Bascom / Rehearsal Location: Old Edwards Inn

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Post tags: Destination Wedding, Highlands, Jeff Bradt Video, North Carolina, Old Edwards Inn, Olivia Griffin Photography, Rehearsal Dinner, Sunflowers, The Bascom, Walton Events, Yellow
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Real Parties

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From Anahi Navarro Photography… Lauren and Paul’s engagement party had a casual elegant feel.  The attention to details literally shined through the hundreds of candles draping from the trees lighting the dinner tables.  The colors highlighted by the beautiful floral art pieces completed the look perfectly.  The evening highlight were the parents toast which expressed the nights emotions.  The party was capped off with great cigars out by the backyard lake.

Photography: Anahi Navarro Photography + Marcin from AGAiMAGES / Linens: Susana of All Party Rentals / Caterer: Nena Siller / Mini Cakes: Cynthia’s Cakes / Music: Blue Rio Band / Floral Design: Rene Salinas / Dress: Aidan Mattox

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aga Images, All Party Rentals, Anahi Navarro Photography, Blue Rio Band, Brownsville, Cynthia's Cakes, engagement party, Hanging Candles, Nena Siller, Orange, Pink, Rene Salinas, Southern TX, Texas, TX
Post categories: Real Parties, Texas Weddings

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From Alder’s Photography: Table Décor: Mai of Bunch Studio created the tablescape for the shower. The chocolate linens were covered in a paper runner that was comprised of graph and ruled paper.  Not only was the runner full of chemistry notations, but personalized with little encouragements for the bride to be. The table was lined with floral gatherings of various blues, yellows, and creams in keeping with the turquoise and metallic color scheme.  Test tube stands and books completed the look and were scattered throughout the arrangements.  Metallic gold pipe cleaners made to look like atoms and metallic gold Styrofoam balls adorned the table for the finishing touch.

Dessert Table: Kayla of Nummie! took the science theme and ran with it, creating custom made desserts perfectly suited to the chemistry theme.  She created Sugar Cookies in the shape of beakers, flasks, test tubes, and atoms. There were “Pretzel Test Tubes” covered in white or dark chocolate with almonds and dusted in silver powder and turquoise drizzle.  She purchased beakers to house her “Mini Beaker Cakes” in two flavors: vanilla bean with white chocolate amaretto buttercream or chocolate with salted caramel buttercream.  And she included “Cake Molecules” which were lemon cake with meyer lemon buttercream and white chocolate ganache center dipped in white chocolate and brushed with metallic dust.

Cake and Individual Cakes: Kristal of Sweet Love Co. created the 3-tiered cake as well as an individual exposed cake for each guest.  The creations were a vanilla/chocolate medley filled with raspberry ganache wrapped in Italian cream frosting.

Stationaey: Angelique from Seafoam SAFARI on Etsy created the stationary for the shower.  She custom designed the invitation, place cards, menu, Meghan’s chair sign, favor instructions, guest book instructions, and descriptions of the cake, desserts, bath salt scents (made to look like periodic elements), and cocktail.  Using a custom logo as well as a signature font throughout, Angelique tied all the stationary together with turquoise and metallic gold coloring.  She topped it all off with gocco press printing.

Menu: The menu was comprised of different categories of chemistry: analytical chemistry was the spirits, bio chemistry (soup), physical chemistry (sandwiches), organic chemistry (salad), environmental chemistry (sorbet), pharmaceutical chemistry (sips), and inorganic chemistry (sweets).  The guests were invited to mix and mingle for the first hour of the shower, and were offered the shower’s signature cocktail (spirit): Blue Curacao and Blue Raspberry Cocktail infusion with Champagne.  The other non-alcoholic drinks (sips) were lemonade, iced tea, or fruit infused water and were served in 3 ### flasks.  Once seated, the guests enjoyed a four-course lunch that started with the soup: a delightful chilled gazpacho garnished with celery fronds.  The second course was the sandwiches: breads layered with savory cream cheese, chicken salad, and egg salad fillings and garnished with rosemary.  Third was the salad: mixed greens nestled in cucumber rounds, gorgonzola, spiced pecans, and garnished with a strawberry.  The lunch was completed with the sorbet to cleanse the palette: a trio of lemon, lime, and raspberry scoops garnished with a raspberry and mint leaf.

Games: After Libations and Lunch, guests were invited to join the Bride in a time for Games and Gifts.  Games were printed on graph paper as science experiments.  Match the Bride’s Phrase, Name That Wedding Cake, and The Match Game brought on many laughs from the attendees.  In Match the Bride’s Phrase, guests were give a sheet with a word and a blank.  The correct answers were Meghan’s answers and whoever matched the Bride the most won.  In Name That Wedding Cake guests were given clues and different cakes and had to match them up.  For instance, “a cake you would enjoy in bed” was sheet cake. Whoever matched the cakes first won.  And in The Match Game, the mad scientists lead the guests through matching phrases on two boards.  Each phrase’s prize was an associated candy.  For instance, the prize for “wedding coordinator” was Lifesavers and for “first dance” was Fun Dip.

Waiters: No chemistry bridal shower would be complete without two mad scientists to serve you!  Bow ties purchased from Divine Domestication on Etsy in yellow and lab coats from a local costume shop created the look for the waiters.

Guest Book: I purchased a vintage 1894 chemistry lab book, complete with handwritten notes on each experiment for the guests to write their well wishes, advice, prayers, and support for Meghan and Josh in as the perfect keepsake from the shower.  The book and a pencil in an adjacent beaker were laid out on a table along with the favors for the guests.

Favors: In keeping with the “perfect chemistry” theme, I wanted a favor that not only incorporated science materials, but also was a science experiment.  So I purchased 3 scents of bath salts from ahavaus.com and displayed them in 1000 ml beakers with descriptions made to look like periodic table elements.  The guests were invited to take a test tube and experiment with their favorite scent (or a mixture of all 3) to take home along with a natural sponge (purchased on eBay) for a relaxing bath.

Misc Décor: An M and a J were purchased from Paper Source and covered with a “vintage laboratory experiment” paper from Dancing Bird Arts on Etsy.  The downloadable image was customized with a turquoise hue before being printed to cover the letters.

Bride to Be: Meghan Witzke / Photography: Alders Photography / Designer and Florist: Bunch Studio /
Cake and Individual Cakes: Sweet Love Co. / Dessert Table: Nummie! / Stationary: Seafoam / Rentals: Orchid Party Rental /
Venue: Private Residence / Catering: Friend of the Bride / Bath Salts: Ahava / Bow Ties: Divine Domestication /
Test Tubes, Holders, Beakers, and Flasks: Ebay and salvage stores / M & J letters: Paper Source /  Paper: Dancing Bird Arts

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Post tags: Ahava, Alders Photography, Bridal Shower, Bunch Studio, Dancing Bird Arts, Divine Domestication, Ebay, Nummie!, Orchid Party Rental, Paper Source, Sweet Love Co.
Post categories: Real Parties