Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Amanda Nichole Photography…One of the design themes of the wedding was a paper crane that I’m told symbolizes peace and that if you fold 1000 of them you will receive your wish.  I’m not sure how many cranes Leah folded for the big day but hopefully I’m doing my part to make her wish come true by submitting her wedding to the blog.

Leah and Jess were married in May at the Minnetonka Orchards.  It had been a rainy week and had promised to be a rainy day so the ceremony was moved inside of a tent where Leah was quick to find amazing places to hang the paper cranes that she had carefully crafted herself.  Leah also wore a beautiful crane necklace that matched with the theme of the wedding.  I loved all of the details from the apples running alongside the aisle to the colorful poofs throughout the tent.

The best part of the entire day though was the fact that the bride and groom were not afraid to go out into the rain and muck to capture some amazing shots.  Leah had thought before hand to have some practical clear umbrellas for the bridesmaids as well as a pretty, pink umbrella for herself.  The ceremony was simple and elegant and was followed by a relaxed and fun pig roast.  They had a non-traditional wedding dessert, many different types of cheesecake with different toppings. The day was all about friends and family including the conclusion with a bonfire and s’mores to end the evening.

Location: Minnetonka Orchards / Wedding Photographer: Amanda Nichole Photography / Salon: Dean Gray Salon + Spa / Florist: Ashley Fox Designs / Tables, Linens, and Setup: Ultimate Events / Caterer: Divine Swine / Wedding Cake: Muddy Paws / Wedding Coordinator: Hailley Leverty of Evolution Events

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Post tags: Amanda Nichole Photography, Ashley Fox Designs, Dean Gray Salon + Spa, Divine Swine, Evolution Events, Minnesota, Minnetonka Orchards, Muddy Paws, Paper Cranes, Ultimate Events
Post categories: All Real Weddings, The Blog

click here for the full wedding gallery!

Our inspiration came from our passions and priorities as a couple.  We truly connect with the land around us, and wanted to honor and compliment its natural beauty.  We also really love craft brewing, which made the beer pairing dinner a no brainer. During our vows the sky began to crackle with thunder and the sky shared raindrops of love upon us and all of our guests.  It was perfect.  To be fair, we warned everyone that mountain weather can change at any moment… sure enough Mother Earth didn’t disappoint.

Be true to yourselves and enjoy the process.  The details matter so much.  Take time to personally craft the language of your ceremony so it is an accurate reflection of your relationship and each individual’s journey. Also, hiring a good coordinator takes a lot of pressure off the bride, groom, and families.  Worth it!  You’ll also want to go with Jake and Christin Willis with We Heart Photography to do your photos.  They’re the best. Be sure to involve and include all ages of your guests at the reception.  For example, don’t jump strait into hip hop.  Represent some classic rock at first to bring everyone together. Champagne during the ceremony really helps loosen people up. Try something different, unique.  Have fun with the celebration.  Remember, people are there for you.

Photographer: We Heart Photography / Venue: The Cedar House Sport Hotel / Coordinator: Patty Baird with The Cedar House Sport Hotel / Catering-:”Stella” by Chef Jacob Burton, at The Cedar House Sport Hotel / Florist: Gail Holbrooke from Blooms and Zooms & Sara Treblicock with the Villiager Nursery / Cake: The Cedar House Sport Hotel / Entertainment: Sean Sand, DJ / Gown Designer: Adele Wecshler

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Post tags: Adele Wechsler, Blooms & Zooms, Sean Sand, The Cedar House Sport Hotel, Villiager Nursery, We Heart Photography
Post categories: All Real Weddings, The Blog

There is so much more romantic inspiration in the full gallery!

From the cutie-pie bride, Leigh…

From about 2 weeks into our relationship, I knew he was it – the guy, the one. We were best friends from day 1, and that’s exactly what I was thinking while I walking down the aisle “there’s my best friend (insert ridiculously large grin)”. So when, after about a year of dating, he proposed we knew that we wanted to get married as soon as we could realistically plan a wedding. Our dream was to get married in Tuscany, but the most important thing for us was to have everyone there and we knew Italy would immediately eliminate some of those people.  The best alternative to Italy was Sonoma, California with the rolling hills, wine, and great food! We both love to travel, so we thought “why not go on a weekend trip with our families and closest friends?”

From the beginning we had decided that we had to stay focused on the most important things to us: PLACE, PEOPLE, PICTURES. We knew we wanted to really enjoy every moment so we kept everything low stress, fun, and made sure to plan/make everything together.  We never lost focus on the importance of the day – that we were coming together as a family rather than throwing some party.

We only had about 4 months to plan, and we knew we wanted to make each piece of the day as personal and special as possible so our love would permeate the day. And so, we set out on a lot of DIY projects! Each weekend we tackled something new so that it wouldn’t get overwhelming while planning every detail from afar.  We scoured fabric and craft stores for table inspiration finding random vases and containers , burlap,  mason jars, and twine for the tables. We cut and sewed the burlap runners, painted table numbers, made mini-chalkboards, candy favors wrapped in twine, and mason jar lanterns that hung from trees. We even took a day trip up to a forest and my husband (yay!) chopped pieces of wood off of a fallen tree for the cupcake stands – a real Paul Bunyan.    For flowers we visited a local lavender farm outside of Sonoma to find the lavender and a local market for the other flowers and plants. A few of our friends put together all the flowers the day of the wedding.  My Matron of Honor has a letterpress business, so her gift to us was our lovely invitations. All the other paper products we made ourselves including personalized notes for each person at their place setting, bride and groom signs for our chairs, and table seating charts. What we couldn’t make ourselves we found on Etsy. So 2 days before the wedding we packed everything up in 5 suitcases and my dress and carted  it all through the airport on our way to Sonoma.

The day was absolutely wonderful. It rained all day, but it seemed to clear up right before the ceremony started. I walked down the aisle to one of our favorite songs, “Til Kingdom Come” by Coldplay, which seemed like a perfect fit for us. I loved seeing his sweet face at the end of that aisle – eyes filled with tears. My favorite part of the day was every moment spent with my new husband – laughing, dancing, and surprising him with his favorite dessert, Coldstone Creamery, at the end of the night.

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Photography: Marin Kristine Photography / Venue: Viansa / Letterpress Invitations: Little Owl Letterpress / Wooden book: Lacuna Work / Wooden plaque: True Connection / Guest Book ‘Finger Print’ Tree: i do it yourself / Blue Bird Cake Topper: Laika 6000 / Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Shoes: Target / Hair flowers: Handle & Spout / Cupcakes: Sweetie Pies / Bridesmaid and Flower Girl Dress, Ring Bearer Tie: J Crew / Groom’s outfit: Banana Republic / DJ: Chris Webb

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Post tags: California Weddings, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Etsy, Marin Kristine Photography, Monique Lhuillier, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Viansa
Post categories: All Real Weddings, California Weddings, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Napa Valley Weddings, Vintage Chic, Whimsical

See the entire lovely gallery here!

From the lovely bride, Dante …
We wanted our wedding to be beautiful, fun, down to earth and delicious. We picked the venue, the John J. Audubon Center at Mill Grove, PA because it captured the combination of outdoor simplicity and vintage elegance that we love so much about our family home in Vermont, and we picked colors of blues, whites, greens and soft browns to reflect the venue. Wherever possible despite our busy schedules (throughout the planning process, the bride was studying law in New York City while the groom was in medical school in Philadelphia), we tried to create details that were handmade, and include our loved ones’ talents. The veil was designed by Dante and her mother Lisa, and Lisa hand knit the veil in cashmere and silk over the course of an entire year. The veil was inspired by Shetland lace knitting, in which the traditional wedding shawl is supposed to be so fine that it can fit through a wedding ring. The dress was custom designed in collaboration with the bride, and hand made by the amazing Holly Greenhagen of Dame Couture in Evanston, IL. The stationery was sourced at Papersource, and was inspired by the theme of a tree since the ceremony took place in a pear orchard. Several details were found on Etsy.com, such as the vintage croquet set and custom rubber stamped table numbers which also carried through to the place cards featuring each guest’s entree of choice in picture form, hand stamped by the bride. The bride also made the favor labels and boxes, which included the couples favorite candy, gummy bears, with Jordan almonds as a nod to their shared Italian backgrounds. The bridal party made the ceremony decorations by hand of loose lavender in brown paper to toss. The band was Via Audio, who are friends of the couple. Wedding bands were handmade by Beth Cyr, and the engagement ring is a family heirloom from the bride’s great grandmother. The wedding party wore dresses and suits by J. Crew, with the flower girls in Little Angels. Photography by the wonderful John and Kim Sanderson, and catering by Jeffrey Miller (including the made-to-order donut stand, which was a huge hit!). We loved every single vendor we worked with, and we are so grateful for the beautiful day we enjoyed with all of our family and friends!

Venue: John J. Audubon Center / Flowers and Decor: TableArt / Photography: John and Kim Sanderson of Sanderson Images / Catering: Jeffrey Miller / Wedding Dress: Holly Greenhagen of Dame Couture / Bridesmaids: J. Crew / Wedding Bands: Beth Cyr / Stationery: Paper Source / Band: Via Audio

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Post tags: Beth Cyr, Holly Greenhagen, J. Crew, Jeffery Miller, John J. Audubon Center, Mill Grove, Paper Source, Pennsylvania, Sanderson Images, Table Art, Via Audio
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings

see the rest of this soiree here!

From the start, Marc and I wanted a wedding that truly felt like us- fun, exciting, eclectic and a little different from the norm. Every little detail had a meaning behind it, making the day all the more special for both of us. We fell in love with the Carl House from the start. We loved the big backyard, the rustic, vintage feel of the decor and the brick wall backdrop where we’d say our vows- mostly, we loved how it felt like home. We wanted our guests to feel completely at ease to let loose and dance like crazy. The planning process was really a joint project. Marc was involved from day one- he built the wishing tree for our guests to sign when they first arrived at the wedding and handpicked the groomsmen’s outfits. Yellow has always been my favorite color and little bursts of it could be seen throughout the wedding. I wanted my bouquet to be unique and different- I fell in love with the billyballs in it and we used them throughout the ceremony and reception in the decor. My sister and I scoured Etsy.com for DIY ideas and we made the frame for the seating arrangement and the heart canvas that housed Marc and my engagement photos. We wanted each detail to have a twist on the traditional.

The ceremony was so special to both of us. We used our favorite songs for the processionals, exchanged five things we vowed to do for one another, and listened to our closest friends read lyrics from a cherished song and an inspirational book (Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss). We laughed the entire time and so did our guests. One of our readers actually fell out of her shoe as she walked to the microphone! It was perfect. The reception was an absolute blast and I think Marc and my personalities really resonated through. We used white tree branches with yellow flowers and candles hanging from them instead of traditional centerpieces. Marc competes in several triathlons throughout the year, so we used bikes in many of the details. My shoes and the bridesmaid’s shoes were from Vince Camuto, where one of the bridesmaids works in New York and I wore my mom’s wedding ring around my neck. The candles on the table came from a candle store I worked in during high school and we drank my dad’s favorite beer, Corona, from an Ole Miss tin to remember him and both our alma mater. Every detail had a story behind it and I was so happy with the way it turned out.

Photography: The Reason / Event Planning and Flowers : Denise Myers of TruSo Weddings / Ceremony and Reception Location: The Carl House / Dress: Casablanca / Wedding Shoes: Vince Camuto / Veil and Hair Flower: Twigs and Honey / Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew / Bridesmaid Shoes: Vince Camuto / DJ: Ken Myers / Cake: Sugar Kneads / Food: Carl House

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Post tags: Casablanca, Georgia, J. Crew, The Carl House, The Reason Photography, TruSo Weddings, twigs and honey
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, The Blog

see the full wedding here!

From the beginning, Dave and I knew our big day had to represent the couple we’ve become over the last eight years spent together. We also knew it all had to take place on my family’s farm in Plainfield, New Hampshire. Dave and I hold this place very near to our hearts so it was only natural to invite everyone up to Riverview Farm for the wedding festivities. During the fall, the farm is open for pick-your-own apples and features a corn maze designed by a local artist, Gary Hamel. This year we were honored to have the story of the maze inspired by our wedding. As a surprise during the rehearsal dinner night, we revealed to our bridal party that they were each a scarecrow featured in the maze. It was so much fun walking through the corn and watching as each member discovered their own scarecrow. It was the perfect kick off to a truly memorable weekend and was a nice way of letting our friends and family know how much they mean to us.

I wanted the overall feel of the wedding to be sweet, simple, and infused with fun details. I spent the engagement months (ok, really I started before he even popped the question) pouring over countless wedding blogs for inspiration. I collected pictures, harassed Etsy designers, organized excel charts, and created countless DIY projects. Together with my family, we were able to pull off a budget friendly wedding by making a lot of the details ourselves and using local vendors and resources. We made the table numbers, napkin rings, favors, boutonnieres, mason jars, lanterns, chalkboards, signs, lemonade stand, photobooth, and even the dance floor! My mother and I spent months collecting bud vases and doilies for the centerpieces and my sister spent hours ironing the bar towels we bought to use as napkins. My father, Dave and I planted the rows of flowers for the ceremony aisle and my sister and father created all the planters throughout the reception area. The day before the wedding we went to a local Dahlia garden and picked all the flowers for the wedding. I had so much help from my ladies with arranging the flowers and creating the most beautiful bridal bouquet, complete with a locket from my Grammie and a broach from my Gramma. It was such a group effort to transform my crazy ideas into a reality and to see it all come together that weekend was a dream come true. SMP helped out too – I entered into tons of giveaways and won two big prizes: A car banner by A Bride’s Ride and clutches for the bridesmaids by BeeGee Bags! Keep up the great work, lovlies! (I even had a guest come up to me and tell me the wedding reminded her of Style Me Pretty. I could have died right there on the spot.)

We made sure that everyone who took part in the wedding were people we loved and considered family – from our officiant, Linda, my mother’s friend and college roommate, to one of my oldest friends, Kehvon, who read “Corelli’s Mandolin” during the ceremony, everyone made the day so special and so unique to Dave and me. We were also incredibly honored to have our favorite NYC piano player, Bugsy Moran, play parts of our wedding. He learned our first dance song for us, “Happy Song” by Otis Redding, which turned out to be one of our favorite moments from the night. My brother also surprised everyone by performing a little skit/piece on the piano, which left everyone cracking up and made for some priceless pictures. We ended the night with everyone up on the barn deck, surrounded by candlelight, singing along to Bugsy on the piano. Pure bliss, if you ask me. So what do I love most about our wedding? So many things. I love that in some of our more formal pictures you can tell Dave and I are on the verge of cracking each other up. I love that people who have never been to my farm are now planning their next visit. I love that no matter where I looked, everyone was enjoying themselves in the backyard where I spent my childhood. But most of all, I love how friends and family came together, kicked off their shoes, and danced in the grass to some good ‘ol soul. The whole day was us, only a smidge better.

Photography: Amanda Perkins Photography / Flowers: By Design Dahlias / Event Design: Bride / Ceremony and Reception Location: Riverview Farm / Dress: Pronovias (Design is “Gaula” – Bride made some design alterations to it) / Bridal Salon: Madeline’s Daughter / Hair Comb: Lo Boheme / Flowers on Bride’s gown and Maid of Honor’s dress: Untamed Petals / Boutonnieres: Bride / Tent: Sperry VT / Hair: Vivo Salon and Day Spa / Makeup: BG Makeovers / Caterers: Maple Street Catering / Rentals: Bloods Seafood and Catering / Cake: Bakers Studio / Band: Big City Wedding Band, Bugsy Moran

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Post tags: Amanda Perkins Photography, By Design Dahlias, Lo Boheme, New Hampshire, Pronovias, Riverview Farm, Untamed Petals
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Budget Beautiful, Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, The Blog

see more of this modern beauty here!

When we started planning our wedding we knew we wanted to create a setting that was a true reflection of our personalities and life together while making the evening a memorable event for our guests. Our first priority was to find the right venue. Through our work in the Montreal wedding industry we had seen so many weddings in different venues and we knew right away that we wouldn’t have the wedding in a traditional wedding hall, nor did we want it somewhere that we had seen a lot of other weddings. We wanted to find a place that would feel unique to us. We loved the idea of getting married in an industrial, loft style art gallery. The Parisian Laundry had everything we were looking for: old Montreal character, huge windows, exposed brick, and it definitely wasn’t a place that typically holds wedding. It was perfect! Since it is first and foremost an art gallery, they have very little availability for private events. Serendipitously we were driving by one afternoon and stopped to inquire about availability for Sept 4th, which was our first choice for wedding date. As it turns out they were between exhibits that weekend and could accommodate us. As we were discussing details with the gallery coordinator, someone else called to reserve the same date. Fortunately, just moments before we had placed our reservation. Talk about good timing! The next priority was photography, and this was an easy one for us. We knew Davina + Daniel’s work, and we knew that they had exactly the right style that we wanted for our wedding. They approach their work with a photojournalistic style, and achieve photos that not only document events, but also truly convey the emotion of the moment. Plus, they are cool people that are pretty fun to spend the day with!

Working with Elyna from Unity Weddings was another effortless decision. We had worked together many times before for other people’s weddings and we knew she would bring together all our visions and ideas. In terms of the rest of the planning, we knew that it was the details that would create the ‘wow’ experience that we were looking for. We tried to make thoughtful choices that we felt our guests would appreciate and still be a reflection of us. We had a cocktail-style dinner to encourage guest mingling in the early part of the evening, a midnight poutine bar, and a surprise performance from our friend’s band. One of the best compliments we received was when a friend told us she felt like she was at our house. Two of our favourite elements at the wedding were the wall of paper flowers and the ping-pong table. We had this crazy idea to create a huge, 6’x8’ backdrop of hand made paper flowers. This was an enormous project that required countless hours of work. There was no way we could do this alone, and thankfully our family and friends stepped in and spent many long nights hand crafting each flower. In the end, the flower wall had great visual impact at the wedding, and it was so fantastic that our loved ones could help us create such an important element. We brought in the ping-pong table so that our guests could have an alternate activity to dancing. We purchased an inexpensive used ping-pong table and painted it red to match our décor. It ended up being used all night long, not only by the non-dancers, but the children in attendance and those with more competitive spirits!?In the end we were able to create an extraordinary evening, and can’t think of a better way to start our marriage than the celebration we had with everyone who loves and supports us.

Photography: davina + daniel / Venue: Parisian Laundry / Catering: Chez L’Epicier / Cakes: Bride – Jessica Berard Cakes / Planner: Unity Weddings / Stationery: Love the Design / DJ: Jason Hattem / Dress: Melissa Gentile Couture and Amsale / Shoes: Nine West / Jewelry: Elsa Corsi / Hair Piece: Lo Boheme / Purse: Davie & Chiyo / Makeup: Kato / Hair: Pure / Groom suit: Phillipe Dubuc / Groom’s shoes: Converse, Jack Purcell / Groom’s Tie: Hugo Boss / Watch: Fossil / Cuff Links: Paul Smith / Decor and furniture: Le Coordonnateur / Flowers: Fleuriste Sens / Sweet Table: Joe’s Prop House

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Post tags: Amsale, Chez L'Epicier, Converse, Davie & Chiyo, Davina + Daniel, Elsa Corsi, Fleuriste Sens, Fossil, Hugo Boss, Jessica Berard Cakes, Joe's Prop House, Kato, Le Coordonnateur, Lo Boheme, Love the Design, Melissa Gentile Couture, Nine West, Parisian Laundry, Paul Smith, Phillipe Dubuc, Pure, Unity Weddings
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Contemporary, Real Weddings

First up on the wedding train is a DIY masterpiece photographed by Red Fish Blue Fish. Not only does this dynamic duo have a fabulous moniker but they also happen to snap pretty fantastic images. Case in point, this Washington farm wedding where dahlias run a plenty and so do the cheeky paper goods. Don’t forget, there is so much more where this came from in the gallery so click it.

be sure to check out the gallery for more from this pretty fete!

All of the decorations at my wedding were DIY (made by me) and were completely budget friendly. Our location was at Swans Trail Farms in Snohomish, WA; the town I grew up in. It was a perfect, perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and I couldn’t have asked for a better setting. My bridesmaids and I put together the bouquets the night before the wedding, using the fresh cut dahlias I ordered from the Dahlia Barn in North Bend, WA. I bought brown satin ribbon that we wrapped the bouquets with and secured them with pearl topped pins. Some info about the clothing…my shoes were a vintage inspired style. I didn’t want the classic white so I went with a skin tone, so I’d almost look barefoot. The bridesmaid dresses were from Anthropologie at only $89 a pop and we added light blue ribbon to wrap around the girls waists.

Photography: Red Fish Blue Fish Photography / Flowers: The Dahlia Barn, North Bend, WA / Event Design: the bride (Emily Bruton) Event Planning: the bride (Emily Bruton) / Ceremony and Reception Location: Swans Trail Farms, Snohomish WA / Invitations: the bride (Emily Bruton) / Shoes: Chelsea Crew / Dress: Paloma Blanca / Bridesmaid Dresses: Anthropologie / Rings: Shane Co. Lynnwood, WA and Green Lake Jewelry Seattle, WA / Cake: That Takes the Cake, Lake Stevens, WA / Caterer: Simply Seasoned, Snohomish, WA

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Post tags: Anthropologie, Paloma Blanca, Red Fish Blue Fish Photography, Snohomish, Swans Trail Farms, The Dahlia Barn, Washington
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Budget Beautiful, Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, The Blog