We are going to keep you going right through this gorgeous Wednesday with a city chic affair in New York. All of the best spots in NYC are covered with this fete – we are talking the subway, Central Park, a reception at One if by Land, Two if by Sea and all of it captured beautifully by Gulnara Studio. See what all the fuss is about in the gallery where there are even more gorgeous images oh so perfect for a little evening looky loo.

click here for the FULL wedding

From the Bride… Shane and I share a keen interest in history, especially that of our home, New York City. Our reception venue (the restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea) is in a historically significant building– it was once the carriage house of Aaron Burr, and is allegedly haunted by his daughter Theodosia, who perished at sea under mysterious circumstances. We chose the restaurant for its food and atmosphere, but were delighted to learn it had such a storied past. When we realized that our ceremony location– the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park– and reception venue shared a vaguely nautical theme, we went with it, ultimately ending up with something that felt true to our style: locally-inspired, old-timey and a little offbeat.

With help from our wedding party and friends, we DIY’ed most of the décor items from the chuppah to the table runners, many of which were pieced together from flea market finds (the guest book, for example, was a repurposed scrapbook from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition I picked up for $5). Making invitations and paper goods for the wedding was a blast as it involved looking through lots of old newspapers for inspiration and gave me an excuse to learn how to do letterpress printing at a local studio (thearmnyc.com), and also an occasion to have our friends over for an evening of wine and collating.

We knew we wanted to get married in the fall, but mid-November is a weird transitional time for flowers, and as a gardener I tend to want to use materials that are in season locally because it feels more authentic. The boutonnieres are blue spruce and ornamental cabbage, and my bouquet included the same blue spruce– which a family member cut from her garden–and lambs ears and artemesia we’d grown on our balcony (not pictured–the terrace in the photo is actually the home of a friend who generously offered it to us as a staging area). The floral containers came from eBay– we snagged a lot of old amber medicine and chemist bottles for their beautiful labels, and my intrepid fiance and matron of honor cleaned some pretty frightening looking (and aromatic) residues from insides.

I couldn’t bring myself to wear a veil, so I did the next best thing and made a hairpiece that incorporated a piece of lace from my mother’s veil. The cameo is from an earring I found at a flea market. Two days before the wedding, short on something blue, I serendipitously discovered the brooch with blue bells that belonged to my late grandmother, which I pinned to the inside of my dress. What we liked best about the wedding is that it was so close to home– we were married by a friend, in a public park a few blocks from where we live, after which we took the same subway we take every day to get to the reception. It was a celebration of our life together, and an invitation to our loved ones from near and far to be a part of it.

Photography: Gulnara Studio / Ceremony: Riverside Park at 90th Street, NYC / Reception: One if by Land, Two if by Sea, NYC / Wedding Day-Of Coordinator: Vanda High Events / Floral Arrangements: Spencer Merolla with Elaina Pennola / Officiant: Benjamin Maron / DJ: Party Up Productions / Ceremony Music: Phillip Racz / Pianist: Joe Rubenstein / Stationery: Spencer Merolla, The Bride / Cider: Fairway Market / Gown: Melissa Sweet / Bridesmaid’s Gowns: Jenny Yoo / Makeup: Mariella Smith-Masters / Hair: Sherry Stinger

These Vendors are members of our Little Black Book.
For membership information, click here

Bridesmaid

Jenny Yoo

View Portfolio

This southern soiree by Grace Leisure Events couldn’t be sweeter if you poured honey all over it. Seriously, it’s just precious. Complete with barns, a vintage truck, and adorable personal touches you can feel through each image captured by Kellie Kano Photography, it has all the necessary elements needed to make me a bit slaphappy with delight. For a nice little afternoon pick me up, be sure to check out the full gallery.

click here for the full wedding gallery!

We knew that we wanted an outdoor, fall wedding from the beginning. Being outside is part of who we are, in fact the proposal was supposed to happen on a backpacking trip last fall, a plan foiled by black bears and a torrential rain storm. However beyond “outside” we had no idea what else that would entail, that is until we stumbled across The Inn and Rock Quarry Farm. The scenery was breathtaking and the vibe just right. It immediately felt perfect and the rest literally fell into place from there.  (Fell into place should really read “with the extraordinary efforts of my amazing mother and wedding planner”)

There were a few details that were important to the men involved in this celebration. First and foremost being the music, handled by the New South Players, who might be the most amazing wedding band of all time. We are still talking about certain relatives spotted breaking it down on the dance floor when they thought no one was looking. Second was the food and beverages. We like to think of ourselves as somewhat of foodies, so this point was critical. Tom at Durham Catering blew us away, however this is still a sore point with my father who in true “father of the bride” style didn’t even taste the food.

There were a few other details that were more special to me. I wanted to incorporate a few family items into my ensemble that were sentimental to me. My grandmother was unable to be at the wedding but she was certainly remembered with her favorite gold bracelet that I donned proudly. My mother was also able to incorporate some of the vintage lace from her own veil into the flower on the sash of my gown. It not only added dimension to the sash, but a special touch that meant a lot to me. I know everyone probably says this but its true that we cannot stop talking about how perfect our wedding day was. Every detail from the ceremony to the reception had a meaning to us and was exactly what we wanted. We could not have pulled it off without both of our families tremendous help. It truly was the perfect day!

Photography: Kellie Kano Photography / Dress: J Crew / Reception Dress: BCBG / Shoes: Tory Burch / Bridesmaid and flower girl dresses: J Crew / Flowers: Cynthia Mangum (and Elizabeth’s mom, Jenny) / Coordination: Grace with Grace Leisure Events / Groom Suit: J Crew / Ties: Brooks Brothers / Invite: Smock Letterpress / Programs: Anna & Elizabeth Routh originals / Band: New South Players / Venue: Rock Quarry Farm

If I had ONE word to describe this New England wedding, it would be happy. Yes, of course. All of our weddings are happy. But this one ~ from Orchard Cove Photography ~ it’s just more happy. Filled with brilliant blues and apple greens, set in the spring in an idyllic New England town … it’s just more. Add to that a super-adorable couple and Amanda’s award-winning style … well, it all makes us pretty certain that you’ll leave here with a smile on your face!

See the whole gallery here!

Head on over to Orchard Cove’s blog for even more fabulous shots from this terrific celebration!

Becca and Brendan, The Old Round Church,
Richmond, VT

I grew up in Vermont, so we had decided that it was a perfect location for our June wedding. We wanted a wedding ceremony location that was indoors, just in case it rained. The Old Round Church was perfect–right across the street from close family friend’s home–and we loved the history behind it and the fact that we would be able to visit the location in many years to come. The Old Round Church has such a beautiful, simple New England feel to it that we adore. It was nice that it didn’t need to be overly decorated to still be beautiful! We scouted out many venues for our reception and were so lucky to have found The Essex! The atrium at The Essex continued that simple style that the Old Round Church had. With wall to wall windows, the Atrium looked like a greenhouse and the twinkle lights from the rafters sealed the deal. What we fell in love with the most at The Essex was the location for the cocktail hour, which was held next to the Atrium in their patio/herb garden. This allowed for our guests to walk around the garden area and enjoy the culinary works of the kitchen that were all part of the Vermont Culinary Institute!

The décor for the wedding was meant to hold on to the simplicity of the Old Round Church and The Essex Atrium. If we had to categorize the wedding, I would say it would be casual-elegant style. Our favorite colors are blue and green, so we used navy blue and grass green as our main colors, which work so well off of each other. Originally, we couldn’t decide on a theme, but we fell in love with our “falling leaves” invitations and loved the idea of incorporating a leaf theme into the wedding. We utilized the leaf theme throughout the wedding and reception and pulled in green apples to complete the design. Green apple and leaves were used in the escort cards, table numbers, and cocktail hour decoration. Some elements of our reception were DIY, including the table numbers which were made out of apple stamps with the numbers in calligraphy by my sister Jane. The escort cards were green apples with two green cardstock leaves. In silver paint-pens, my father wrote out the guest names on the larger leaf and the table number on the smaller one. These leaves were pinned into the apple stem to make it look like real apple leaves!

With the atrium at The Essex being all white, we wanted to pull in our colors to make the room “pop” against the walls. We used navy blue, white, and green Chinese lanterns of different sizes to decorate the area above the dance floor. We also used navy blue tablecloths with white linens and green flowers to make the guest tables stand out. Our flowers were such a huge highlight of our wedding, which really pulled the reception together by bringing the more natural element into the room.

Above all else, we value family and traditions in our wedding. It was extremely important to us to incorporate these into both the wedding and reception. Brendan’s strong Irish heritage was used frequently in the wedding. Nancy from A Schoolhouse Garden put in Bells of Ireland into the bouquets and centerpieces to honor his heritage. In addition, we had Brendan’s mother read the Irish Blessing and we used a celtic oathing stone during our vows. The Celtic Oathing Stone was something we read about and thought that it would be a perfect addition to the wedding. It is said in Celtic tradition that when vows are said while holding the stone (usually a river stone) that they will be “set into stone”.

Our ceremony recessional was to the tune of Jerry’s Beaver Hat, a traditional Irish fiddle tune. We downplayed the Irish traditions in the reception with the exception of the last dance. It was extremely important to both of us to have “The Parting Glass” played as the last song of the reception. This song is a very old Irish song that was traditionally sung at the end of gatherings of family and friends. A fun note—it was actually the original Auld Lang Syne song! We felt that this song said everything that we wanted to say to our guestsabout togetherness, love, and the importance of close family and friends in our life. It was perfect.

On my side, my heritage is more of a melting pot. My details were inspired by my mother and the strong women on her side who were from Slovenia. To incorporate a little bit of blue into the bridal bouquet, I chose to have a few blossoms of Iris in there, which also were the flowers used in my mother’s wedding bouquet. I was extremely close to my Grandmother on my mother’s side. She had passed away in 2008 and I wanted to honor her memory and keep her close on my wedding day. I purchased a pin locket for my bouquet in which I placed a photograph of Grandma. It was pinned to the bouquet for the entirety of the wedding and it was amazing to be able to hold her memory in my hands as I walked down the aisle. My second cousin had found a pin owned by our Great-Grandmother in an old snuff jar and sent it to me on our wedding day. It was worn by our Great-Grandmother on her wedding day in 1910 and I was fortunate enough to continue that tradition one-hundred years later. I found a place for it and it was pinned inside my gown by my heart. Finally, I found a beautiful hand painted parasol that I fell in love with for the wedding. From Etsy.com the parasol was white and the word “love” was painted on the top. I felt that it would be amazing to have for photographs and it spoke to what the day was about—being in love.

Favorite parts of the day …
Becca – It is nearly impossible to choose my favorite part of the day. It’s amazing that everyone always says that your wedding day is the best day of your life—and it is SO true! If I had to choose one it would have to be dancing to the last song of the night, “The Parting Glass” a traditional Irish song that is played at the end of a joyous occasion. I think that was the moment that we were able to reflect on how amazing the whole day truly had been, and we were able to look back on all the other countless memories that were made that day.

Brendan – My most vivid memory has to be when Becca and I read the vows we had written to each other. I was very nervous about saying something so personal to a group of people that were so close to us. When it came time to say my vows, I had to resort to my notes in my pocket, and I began reading them out of order. That moment added a sense of humor to our ceremony, which was great because laughter is such an integral part of Becca and my relationship. When it came time to hear the vows that Becca had prepared, my nervousness melted away. The biggest surprise had to be when Becca sang “Here, There, and Everywhere” by the Beatles to me during the reception. It is one of our favorite songs, and I kept pushing to have our musicians play it during the ceremony, and Becca refused. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t want it played, but when she sang it in front of all of our family and friends it was a great moment.

One unexpected thing that happened…
During our first dance we had a truly unique and hilarious moment. While we were dancing to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, Brendan’s grandfather decided to steal the stage from us. We couldn’t stop laughing as he danced around us making a scene for the whole room to experience. While the moment is a little bittersweet because it showed a bit of senility on his grandfather’s part, we were able to laugh through the moment and it ended up being some of the best photographs of the night. It will be nice to look back on that moment in years to come and remember not only our first dance, but also Brendan’s Grandfather having a blast dancing to Al Green too!

A few words of advice…
Plan in advance if you can and don’t procrastinate! If you get more done earlier in your engagement then you will be able to enjoy those last months a little more leading up to your wedding day. Also remember that no matter how much you plan in advance there will always be one or two details you missed…and it’s okay. If you have a lot of DIY details, make sure that you ask for help from friends, family, and your fiancé!

Also, your photographs are going to be the one thing that will capture the special moments from your wedding. In our opinion, the choice of your photographer is going to be the most important decision in the planning process. Do your research and make sure that their style fits yours. You won’t regret it when you see your photographs for the first time after your big day!

On the day of your wedding, drink some chamomile tea if you’re nervous and enjoy being around your closest friends and family. Make sure to take a moment to look up during dinner and take the entire reception in. Dance the night away and allow yourself to be okay when your hairdo falls out or if things don’t go perfectly. Do not take one moment for granted, as the night goes by in a flash!

Photographer: Orchard Cove Photography / Floral Designer: A Schoolhouse Garden / Cake Designer: The Essex – NECI / Caterer: The Essex – NECI / Invitations & Menus – 123print.com / Donation Cards & Save the Dates – Vista Print / Becca’s Dress – Paloma Blanca / Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Ann Taylor / Oathing Stone & Parasol – Etsy / DJ – Paul Pecor from Super Sounds

Two of my most favorite artists in the world – Saipua and Anna Bond of Rifle Design – created a crazy beautiful masterpiece out of this New York wedding from Weddings by Two and Always a Bridesmaid.  The delicious arrangements of white and peach blossoms in mercury glass vases and Rifle Design’s signature dreamy paper goods are just a match made in wedding heaven.  I don’t think the Bowery Hotel has seen a more romantic evening!  There is more from this dream team in the full wedding gallery!

Click here to see the full wedding gallery!

When my now-husband and I started planning our wedding I never, for one second, thought a volcanic ash cloud would define the day. But thanks to Eyiafjallajokull’s enormous cloud of ash, 33 of our guests flying from London to New York City were left on the other side of the Atlantic. Fortunately, there is YouTube. The best man, stuck on the other side of the pond, organized a lunch to celebrate our wedding – everyone dressed in their wedding best and filmed a touching toast that was later aired at our reception.

Ash aside, the day was magnificent. All the beautiful details we planned came to life, and we had such an amazing time, we now plan to hold a ‘blessing’ in London for all the guests who could not make it.  Fast forward to after the wedding, and we were left trying to find accommodations for the UK guests who were told by various airlines that they might not be able to fly back to London for three weeks.

Meanwhile, my husband and I were packing up our New York City apartment as we were about to embark on a year-long, around-the-world adventure. I almost can’t believe we pulled it all off!

Wedding Photography: Weddings by Two / Cinematography: Sweet Pea Studios / Flowers: Saipua / Event Planning: Always a Bridesmaid / Ceremony Venue: All Soul Church / Reception Venue: Bowery Hotel / Invitations: Anna Bond Rifle Design / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Dress: Anna Maier~Ulla-Maija

Garden parties were born to be in England. They are like peanut butter and jelly, those two, and this pretty number photographed by Tamara Kuzminski is an English garden fete done so, so right. The lovely hats, the pretty tea cups, the green rolling hills…we’ll take it all! See more of this wedding from across the pond in the gallery.

see the FULL wedding here!

Poppy and Mark had their wedding reception in the garden of Poppy’s childhood home in rural Oxfordshire, England. The family home is a beautiful old building. And I mean REALLY old. It was even mentioned in the Doomsday book (that’s almost a thousand years ago!) Poppy’s mother had been working really hard in the garden for months, to make sure that it was gorgeous and colourful on their big day. And it did look totally stunning. So many people commented on it and all the hard work that must have gone into it (and also mentioned that if Poppy’s mum is available, there are several guests’ gardens who are now seeking her as a gardener!)

The couple’s two dogs weren’t forgotten on the day either, and joined in the celebration in the village church (they were extremely well behaved!) where Mark’s brother also played the piano and his sister played the saxophone while the register was being signed.

Photography: Tamara Kuzminski Photography / Wedding Venue: St James the Great Church, Southleigh, Oxfordshire, England / Reception Venue: Marquee in Poppy’s childhood home’s garden, Southleigh, Oxfordshire, England / Dress: Blue by Enzoani / Suit: Ascot suit hired from Moss Bros / Bridesmaids dresses: Jasmine / Flowers: Rachel Jones / Marquee: Pink Fish / Caterer: Golden Goose / Cake: Marks and Spencer decorated by Poppy’s mum and granny Ceilidh: Licence to Ceilidh

And here we are at Wednesday again! That ever so lovely day on Style Me Pretty where we fill your screens with so many inspiring events your inspiration folder will be bursting at the seams. Who could complain about that? Of course, you’ll want to check out the full galleries of each wedding for even more lovely images to file away.

You can file this wedding under rainy-day charm fest (assuming that is one of your files, it’s totally one of mine). By looking at the super sweet images by Ashley Davis Photography, you wouldn’t even know they completely lost power during their reception due to torrential rain! This couple made the absolute best of their day when things didn’t go exactly according to plan, and boy did they look good doing it! See the entire charm fest in the full gallery.

click here for the full wedding gallery!

Phil and I met July 4th 2006 while camping with some of our mutual friends.  It was that night we shared our first kiss.  Then 2 years later Phil proposed on the 4th of July while camping in Estes Park while looking for a fly fishing spot.  It only seemed fitting for us to get married on July 4th 2009.  Since we got engaged in Estes Park, we decided to start our search of a venue there.  After long days on the internet and many frustrating conversations with venue managers, we decide to make things easy (or so we thought) and have it on my parents property in Franktown.  I had previously been a wedding planner and new the look and feel I wanted to capture (rustic, romantic, and fun).

The day of was not only a day I will never forget, but I am sure it will stay in the memory of our guests for a long time.  Everything was perfect.  I had spent the last year mastering my dream wedding to my dream man.  However, the one think you can’t pay for is to have perfect weather.  Our ceremony was outside under a huge pine tree.  As we were saying out vows, I could hear the pitter-patter of little rain drops but luckily we were able to get through the ceremony.  Our exit to get our pictures taken was on our Harley through our family and friends followed our wedding party in my dad’s 1956 Ford Galaxy.  We went off to get our pictures taken and the sky was the darkest I had ever seen it.  We knew we didn’t have much time.  We got some shots out in the field when Ashley was like “we should head back”  We had not even gotten in the garage and off the bike when we looked back at the torrential downpour that had unleashed. In Colorado, rainstorms might last an hour at the most, but on this 4th of July it wasn’t going anywhere.  In fact it rained 4 inches in 2 hours and even had some nice marble sized hail.  But this wasn’t going to stop us from having a great time.  We got all our guests from the barn to the tent using an assembly line of umbrellas and because of all the rain we now had a river going through the tent.  The ground was so wet that our guests chairs were sinking into the ground.  Then came time for the speeches, and just as we were getting started, the electricity went out.  I wish we could say that loosing the mic was our only problem but since my parents’ property is run on a septic tank, the toilets are controlled by electricity.  So all our guests….including myself in my wedding dress….. now had to find a tree.  We had a band, but because again we had no electricity, they couldn’t play.  So we had to improvise. Luckily my sisters boyfriend had his guitar.  Guest surrounded us with candles as we danced our first dance song to Wilson Philips “Hold On For One More Day”.  Not our first pick, but hey, we didn’t care.  Finally we got some generators and the band stared up and finished the night off with songs by Michel Jackson and Journey.  And even though the day didn’t go exactly as planned, I wouldn’t change a thing.  Because, anyone who says sunshine brings happiness, has never danced in the rain.

As far as details go finding the dress was the easiest feat.  I had found a picture on the Knot.com and only one bridal store in all of Colorado carried the dress. My thoughts were “What are the chances it going to look as beautiful on me as it did on the gorgeous girl in the photo?”  I went to Bea’s bridal and tried on the dress and fell in love.  It was perfect.  Just to be sure, I went to 3 other bridal store and nothing came close.   To add a fun flair to my elegant dress, I had avocado green shoes.  Since Phil is a huge Colts fan, I had my something blue be the Colts blue garter.  My something borrowed was a pin that was my grandma Jean’s which my mom lent me.

Since I had been in the wedding industry, I had my heart set on a specific photographer.  Since we had worked together in the past I was sure she was going to be able to cut me a small deal since we were on a fairly tight budget.  Unfortunately, that was not the case so I was at square one looking for a photographer.  While looking for venues in Estes Park, Ashley Davis’s name kept popping up.  I fell in love with the photos on her website decided to meet in Boulder for coffee.  Instantly there was a connection.  Ashley was relaxed fun and overall gave off a great vibe. Our DIY consisted of making the fans/programs for the guests.  Instead of using tongue compressors like I had seen before, my dad came up with the idea to use twigs from the property to add a rustic flair.  I also wanted to make name place cards using pinecones from their property.  My mom added a fun touch of chocolate brown flip flops by the door of the barn labels Dancing Shoes for guests to wear.  For months before the wedding, we collected mason jars from spaghetti to jam to chocolate fudge and for the wedding, we filled them half way with sand and used them as lanterns around the property.  Phil’s dad even made Sheppard’s hooks to make a path from the tent to the dancing barn.  My dad had taken old pieces of barn-wood to make signs directing guests to the ceremony to the reception and of course to the bar!  Instead of having guess sign a guest book, we had them sign a piece of wood which we then turned into the tabletop of our bar at home.  I was having a hard time deciding what kind of cake stand to use that would pull all of our elements together so my dad surprised me by making our 3-tiered cake stand out of logs and branches from the property.

My Godmother owns the Stationery Company in Cherry Creek, so I knew our invitations were going to be incredible.  We even had a graphic designer create an adorable map on how to get to my parent’s house. Our flowers were done by a family friend Sharon Sullivan who did an incredible job.  The center pieces and bouquets were the perfect combination of elegance and rusticness which also incorporated my colors of cream, brown and green.My expectations of the photos were pretty low because the weather was sooo nutty.  So when Ashley sent me my slideshow, I held my breath.  I immediately I started crying.  They were INCREDIBLE.  She had captured everything and more.  I seriously don’t think they could have been any better.

Venue: Brides Parents backyard, Franktown Colorado / Photography: Ashley Davis Photography / Dress: Anjolique from Bea’s Bridal / Bridesmaid Dresses: Priscilla of Boston / Rings: 5th Avenue Jewelers /Brides shoes: Nordstrom / Catering: Gourmet Fine Catering /  Invitations: Dauphine Letterpress from Lin Logan of The Stationary Company / Floral Design: Sharon Sullivan & Christin Schultz / Cake: Gourmet Fine Catering / Lanterns, Wooden Signs, Barn Decorations & Programs: DIY from the entire family / Band: Phat Daddy / Candied Apples: Erica McNeish / Rentals & Tent: Butler Rentals

This Louisiana wedding sent to us by Three Nails Photography is about as vintage and gorgeous as they come. So gorgeous, in fact, that upon first glance we thought it was a photo shoot. But no, it’s just a really amazing, totally stylish and eclectic real wedding and the even better part? The extremely talented Groom also happens to be the photographer behind most of these beautiful images. How awesome is that? Sit back and revel in a little Louisiana beauty and definitely click over to the gallery for more of this perfect day.

click here for more from this gorgeous wedding!

From the Bride… Our wedding was very unique in that all the decorations were antiques. We got a lot of the pieces from our grandparents and family members. All of the old pictures are of our family. Some of them who arn’t with us anymore and it meant a lot that we could have them there, even if it was just in a picture. We both believe we should have been born in the 40’s so we tried to take that vintage/indie feel and express that in the most meaningful day of our life. The necklace I wore was my great grandmothers who past away when I was one. She is who I was named after and I loved being able to have a piece of her with me that day.

What was really special is having my fiance take my bridals. It took me a while to agree to it but in the end I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Who can say that they’re future husband took their bridal portraits? It also took away a lot of nerves on the day of the wedding knowing that he’d seen me in my dress already. What I love the most is that my now husband, photographed the entire day. We did have help by an assistant for the ceremony and other pictures he was in. He came in and took some pictures of me before the ceremony and it was really fun being able to see him before. We loved that Hunter was able to capture our wedding exactly how we saw it.

The most memorable part of the day for me was probably dancing with my dad, and glacing over and seeing my new husband with his camera capturing the moment. We wanted our wedding to totally express who we are and what we love. We wanted it to be different, like us. I walked down the isle to Dream by Priscilla Ahn. It couldn’t have been more perfect. And as husband and wife we walked back down the isle to Temper Traps Sweet Disposition. The music at the reception was just a playlist of all of our favorite songs. Our first dance was to I’ll Be Seeing You by Billie Holiday. When we first heard this song we fell in love.

Photography: Three Nails Photography / Flowers: Branches in Shreveport, Louisiana / Event Design: Three Nails Photography / Ceremony and Reception Location: the Dixie Cotton Gin / Invitations: home made / Shoes: Mod Cloth / Dress: David’s Bridal / Bridesmaid dresses: ASOS / Bridesmaid hair pieces: etsy with some coustomizing by us / Hair and Make up: Total Changes Hair Salon / Cake: Lisa Massingill

I have a little love affair with all things nautical so it will come as no surprise that this next little coastal gem from Studio 28 Photo satisfies my inner sea captain.  Stick some gorgeous florals, an adorable couple and a slew of personal touches into the mix and you get pretty close to classic, maritime perfection.  I’m a wee bit obsessed with the rope knot table numbers and may need to add that to my own inspiration folder.  There is more seaside inspiration in the full wedding gallery!

Click here for more inspiration in the full wedding gallery!

Being 24, it was my goal to host a wedding that was both youthful and traditional, and that could be enjoyed by guests of all ages. For this reason, we selected the Newport Harbor Yacht Club as the venue, a venue located in my hometown and that is both warm and relaxed and yet also encompasses old-school charm. It was also our goal to infuse personal touches and create a wedding that was telling of us and our love story.

My husband and I met and fell in love at the University of California, Berkeley. Out of gratitude to the University for bringing us together, and in recognition of our shared pastime of cheering on the Golden Bears, we incorporated many UCB themes. Following the ceremony, the bridal party walked down the aisle to the UCB Fight Song, the groom was surprised with a UCB football inspired groom’s cake and guests were treated to yellow gummy bears (symbolic of the Golden Bears) as favors.

In addition to our UCB theme, we incorporated several other personal details to give our guests a greater understanding of our lives together and where we come from. In lieu of a guestbook, guests signed vintage postcards from places significant to us: UCB, Newport Beach (my hometown), Santa Barbara, (groom’s hometown), Goleta (our new home) and Saint Lucia (our honeymoon spot). We also brought in furniture from my family’s home (couches, cake table and stands, etc) and items from my parents’ in-law wedding (cake cutters) to make the venue feelfamiliar.  Our personal connection to the wedding was further strengthened by the amount of DIY projects included. From the ceremony programs to the design and assemblage of the lamps (a Z Gallerie candle stick holder and Fenchel lamp shade), the wedding was a labor of love and was something we took great pride in.

However, the most important personalized aspect of the wedding was the vendors and guests themselves. We cannot thank the vendors enough for sharing their expertise and countless hours of time. You each indulged me and my love for detail, inspired me and in the end, are now family. We are also incredibly thankful to our guests, whose presence, kind words and dance moves made the wedding a success and are the reason why we will forever reflect upon the day with a smile.

Event Photography:  Studio 28 Photo / Event Planning:  All About You Events / Venue: Newport Harbor Yacht Club / Cake: Flour and Flower Designs / Linens: La Tavola Linens + Signature Party Rentals / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Florals: Dana Anderson

I think that a big part of the charm in having a vintage vibe in your wedding is the feel-good factor. The atmosphere is more relaxed ~ there’s a lot of whimsy and fun in all the preparation and the decor ~ and everyone, young and old can take part in the celebration! Lindsay and Nate’s wedding ~ with photos from Kelli Boyd at Donna Von Bruening Photographers ~ is pretty much a perfect example of what we’re talking about!

Lindsay & Nate
October 23, 2010

Nate and I met at the University of North Florida in 2007. He was studying to get into dental school and I was studying to get into optometry school. When Nate was accepted into the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry the following year, I began frantically searching for a job in Gainesville. Soon after I moved in, he proposed in a photobooth at our favorite restaurant. Even though I had to put my schooling plans on hold to be where he was, it was all worth it!

It’s funny how weddings seem to “morph” into something bigger than ourselves. I began stalking Style Me Pretty soon after we got engaged at the advice of a friend. It quickly became an obsession that made it difficult to pin down any particular “style” I wanted for our wedding. We decided on getting married in Savannah, GA (not far from my hometown of Jacksonville, FL) on a Florida football bi-week. We really wanted our family and friends to enjoy a mini-vacation and Savannah seemed like the perfect spot. It also happened to be a week before Halloween in the most haunted city in the South! Last October I saw the “Very Vintage Halloween” party pictures featured on SMP and they became my inspiration in planning our wedding design. I wanted something festive without being typically Halloween.

We wanted to have our ceremony in the historic district, but not being from Savannah made it difficult to find a church that would let us have our ceremony there without being a member. Savannah has 27 “squares” or parks throughout the historic district, so I chose the quaint Washington Square for our outdoor wedding. We provided our guests transportation to and from the ceremony location with a white trolley from Olde Savannah Trolleys. Even though everything was within walking distance, I think our guests really enjoyed the added touch! Two of my amazingly talented friends from college “performed” in the ceremony. Natalie sang “Heavenly Day” by Patty Griffin as we walked down the aisle, and Lisi read the excerpt “What is Real” from the Velveteen Rabbit.

Savannah is just filled to the brim with wonderful vendors. When I chose the Olde Pink House for our reception venue, I knew I had stumbled on a gold mine! Bianca, the event coordinator at the Olde Pink House, was so wonderful and accommodating. Being that the Pink House is a five start restaurant, the food was amazing and the ballroom was gorgeous! Not having to find a caterer or rent linens, tables and chairs was a plus too! Amy Harvey Designs did our flowers and centerpieces. When I took them the pictures from the Style Me Pretty feature, they totally read my vision! I contributed many of the lanterns, which were painted by my cousin, as well as the little “knick knacks” mixed in on the tables. We went antique shopping for months leading up to the wedding and I think it really added to the vintage flare. I couldn’t have pulled off the final product without lots of help from my “day of” wedding planner Bonnie, from First City Events. Having a destination wedding meant I needed lots of advice throughout the planning process and “all hands on deck” the week of the wedding. I couldn’t have been as calm and collective as I was without her there!

Photography: Kelli Boyd with Donna von Bruening
Flowers: Amy Harvey Designs
Event Planning: Bonnie with First City Events
Reception Location: Olde Pink House
Ceremony Location: Washington Square
Cake: Carrie Briscoe at Two Cakes
Dress: Romona Keveza from Solutions Bridal in Gainesville, FL
Bridesmaid dresses: Vineyard from Bella Bridesmaid in Jacksonville, FL
Shoes: Nina

We are completely giddy with excitement over what we are about to share with you all. Our friends at Crate and Barrel are holding a contest and it is seriously the ultimate for all of you engaged couples. You could win … are you ready for this? … the wedding of your dreams. Now that is a contest we can get behind. Not only that, but the Ultimate Wedding Contest comes with a whopping $100,000 budget for one lucky couple and all of it will be crafted by celebrity wedding planner Yifat Oren. We told you this was a sweet, sweet deal.

Crate and Barrel has all of the juicy details so be sure to pop over and read all about this awesome giveaway. And, lucky you, entering is easy peasy. Simply head over to Crate and Barrel and start a wedding registry before March 31, 2011. Already have a registry? Perfect! In that case you can skip right to the contest entry form and share a little bit about you and your fiance.

Easy, right? AND so worth the time for the chance to win your dream wedding. Plus the wedding isn’t the only prize. You also have a shot at winning one of several Crate and Barrel gift cards (ranging from $1000 to $7500). So be sure to stop by Crate and Barrel and enter to win the giveaway of the year, maybe even the century. We would be thrilled if one of you SMP readers won so hop to it!

I have so much admiration for brides and their families these days. Not only do they seem to have impeccable taste, but they also seem to be masters of DIY projects and design. Not 100% sure how that happened, but I am forever grateful for the crafty brides and weddings like this darling Mercury Hall Austin affair by Nessa K Photography. They make my days ever so lovely, and the full gallery of this wedding is sure to make your day lovely as well.

click here for more adorable!

I am a wedding photographer (visit me here), so I am lucky to have seen plenty of weddings and have had plenty of time to become addicted to way too many wedding blogs (I’m becoming better at my job by reading all of those…right?). Initially, it was pretty overwhelming. There were so many things that I wanted to do. But, I’d just like to say that with the help of some amazing people (MOM!), my wedding turned out way better than I had imagined. Dru proposed to me July of 2009, so I had over a year to figure out what DIY details I wanted to accomplish. Armed with many great ideas and inspirations, my mom and I set out on a grand wedding-planning mission. My two main things were that I wanted to get married outside and in the  fall. Austin has so many great outdoor wedding venues, it was hard to choose. But, Mercury Hall won my heart with its beautiful, outdoors-y charm right within a mile or two of downtown Austin.

I also, obviously, needed an awesome photographer- and I am so lucky that I found Nessa K. Let’s just say that she is amazingly talented and so great to work with. My wedding day-of coordinator (though she did so much more work than just day-of), Lindsey Watts of Lilleypad Events, made the day run SO smoothly. There are no words to describe how awesome she and her team were and I definitely couldn’t have pulled it all off without her. A few DIY details include: flower arrangements by my mom, ring embroidery hoop by the Groom’s grandmother, napkins and muslin table cloths sewed by my mom, guest favors (flower bombs) made by my parents and I- muslin bags included (the Gocco printer was my friend), paper goods (table assignments, save the dates, invites, programs, signs) by me, wooden bean bag toss by my grandfather, bean bags sewn by my mom, “celebrate” and bunting by me and my mom.

There were a few minor issues, but they really did not matter to me in the grand scheme of things. The weather was ALMOST a problem- it started pouring down rain the morning before, on our rehearsal. I also had a bit of a panic attack when my mom and I brought all of our flowers back to the hotel room to arrange them the day before. You should have seen our room- it was like a greenhouse. Not sure if I would recommend arranging your own flowers in a hotel room…especially in a hotel room (though awesome it was) with very limited floor space. But, let’s forget about that stuff, shall we? Because it turned out amazingly and I had such a good time, and so did our guests. My main tip would be to make your ceremony personal- pick out your own music (it doesn’t have to be the traditional “Here Comes the Bride”- I had a bluegrass band play), have people who are important to you participate in the ceremony (my brother and aunt did readings, and my cousins sang a song by Cat Power, my uncle was the minister), and don’t worry about the traditional details- do what you want! Everyone kept telling Dru and I how our ceremony was so “us.” Also, have a photo booth with props. People love that- and the photos are hilarious.

Photography: Nessa K Photography / Ceremony and Reception Venue: Mercury Hall / Day-of Coordinator: Lindsey Watts of Lilleypad Events plan@lilleypadevents.com / Band (ceremony and cocktail hour): Shotgun Party / DJ (dinner and reception: Byrne Rock / Food: Hoover’s Cooking / Pies & cocktail food: Feast Gourmand / Flowers: Austin Flower Company (arranged by my supermom) / Dress: custom made by Shirin Askari / Groom’s clothes: J.Crew / Boutenniere + Hair pin: Emersonmade / Paper Poms: Pom Love / Hair & Makeup: Consuelo at Salon by Milk + Honey / Hotel: Hotel San Jose (getting ready) / Hotel: Saint Cecilia (first look)

Many of you may know photography extraordinaire Max Wanger for his whimsical approach behind the lens but many of you haven’t seen Max quite like this – paired with a perfectly classic New England wedding full of elegant touches. The result is sort of blowing our minds with its sheer gorgeousness and we can’t quite get over how fashionable the guests are. They are bringing wedding attire to a whole new level of cool. Bravo Massachusetts. See the rest of the pretty details from this Crane Estate soiree in the gallery.

see the FULL wedding here!

The prettiness doesn’t stop there… we have the gorgeous film from VideoDesign Films right here for your viewing pleasure…

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/16032730?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff 601 338]

My vision for the wedding was for it to be elegant yet whimsical. My family is English (my mother is from London) and Griff grew up in the South (Virginia), so I wanted to combine elements from both of our backgrounds. I wanted it to be filled with contradictions and contrasts: a grand estate on a rolling hill as the setting, with an ultra casual bluegrass band as the ceremony/cocktail music; vintage urns stuffed with white and green flowers with hanging leaves (reminiscent of an English garden) on belgian linen tablecloths (that my mother made for us) contrasted with the vegetables we used as centerpieces on the outdoor cocktail tables; formal menus, programs and seating cards in ivory and pewter with vintage postcards (collected entirely by my husband) as our guest book. My husband, Griff, is obsessed with 2 things: farmers markets and postcards. He rides his bike to the farmers market EVERY wednesday (rain or shine) and he has been collecting postcards for over 10 years (when I met him his bathroom was absolutely covered in postcards, each with an IKEA frame). I wanted to make sure that his favorite things were included in the wedding in some way, so we wanted to make the cocktail hour feel a little bit like a farmers market with a different vegetable on each cocktail table (brussell sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, artichokes even a bell pepper!) and we had a raw bar with local oysters shucked in front of our guests.

The color palette was neutral with lots of ivory, beige and green with a subtle hint of color (like the pale pink and navy blue striped ties on the groomsmen). I wanted it to feel natural. The bridesmaids wore comfortable summer dresses with pockets and the boys wore blue blazers and khaki’s with beige suspenders. A lot of the evening was spent on the grass, so I had a big basket with “heel stoppers” for the ladies to put on their shoes. For the table names we picked all of our “first dates”: Weird Fish (a restaurant in San Francisco), Burrito Night, English Bay, Hog Island, etc – we wanted the guests to have fun trying to figure out what they meant! For favors, we had brought Earl Grey flavored macaroons from Paulette’s in San Francisco and put them in individual boxes that we hand tied with tulle!

Photography: Max Wanger / Cinematography: Lynne Valeri of Video Design Films / Flowers: Leonhard’s Florist, Beverly, MA (Dorris) / Event Planning: bride and mother / Ceremony and Reception Location: Crane Estate, Ipswich, MA / Shoes: Oscar de La Renta / Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Bridesmaids Dresses: Thread / Groomsmens Ties: Ben Silver / Cocktail and Ceremony Music: The Goodtime String Band

For all those newly engaged folks planning a fun-in-the-sun summertime wedding this photo shoot from She-n-He Photography and Design and Three Apples Events has sunny inspiration with your names written all over it!  We all love a vintage-inspired wedding ’round these parts but vintage with a twist gets us every time!  This super design team took good ol’ 1950s style and paired it with clean lines and pops of yellow for a modern take on a classic theme.  There are plenty of beautiful details to get your wedding gears turning and the full gallery is packed with even more inspiration!

Click here for more inspiration in the full gallery!

Three Apples Events and She-n-He Photography and Design collaborated on this shoot in Austin, TX.  The inspiration behind the shoot was Palm Springs in the 1950s but brought to today. We wanted to have a background of clean lines in whites but then incorporate dramatic pops of various shades of yellow throughout to tie everything together to give a beautiful fresh feel with elements of the romantic and lush.

Finding the perfect venue was easy – nestled up above Lake Travis, Hacienda del Lago is an entirely outdoor venue with a rentable house on the property. Beautiful in its simplicity, it was the exact setting we needed. Since we were bringing such bright colors and fiercely stylized pieces together, we needed a venue understated in its beauty to not compete with the shots.

Nailing the style for the bride and groom was of utmost importance to give the shoot the right feel.  Each of the bride’s three dresses was specifically chosen to match the ambience and décor.  A mid-calf A-line with a feathered headband and lace bolero for portrait-style pictures of the couple. A shorter cocktail-style strapless dress with a custom yellow-ribboned birdcage veil for the photos with the tablescape.  And finally a dramatic billowing floor length gown for the ceremony site.  As for the groom, no detail was overlooked.  He was decked out from his custom fedora to the brocade-backed vest down to the cuffs of his pants.

Our tablescape was the opportunity to really showcase our modern-meets-vintage yellow and white theme.  Using all milk-white glassware for the flowers, we wanted to play with depth and height down the center of the table so the bursts of yellow all hit your eye in a different place from the tallest tulips down to the pin-cushion protea as the name-card holders. With so much yellow popping down the table, we kept the chairs and linens white to provide a crisp, clean background.  The china was all white too, except for a lemon tinted glass salad plate peeking out between two white plates to add one more dimension of yellow.

Aiming for an overall summery, light feel, we also wanted to add some fun and unique outdoor elements.  A cluster of clothes-pinned hanging yellow and white fabric and a striped beach umbrella gave us inspiration for some unique light-hearted pictures of the couple.  Even the cake and candy display combined modern with vintage.  We had the modern looking petit fours in yellow and deep chocolate browns contrasting with a very vintage three tiered cake sitting on a lace runner.  Yellow candy in white glass pieces interspersed with clusters of yellow flowers again brought the two feels together.

Photographer: She-n-He Photography and Design / Coordinator: Three Apples Events / Florals: Wow Factor Floral / Hair + Make-up: Keep Austin Gorgeous / Styling: Shannon Yarbrough / Catering: Austin Catering / Rentals: Premier Party Central / Petit Fours: Paige’s Bake House / Wedding Cake: Wicked Cakes / Venue: Hacienda del Lago / Groom’s outfit: Nordstrom / Bride’s outfits: Dresses by Linda Asaf, Blush Bridal, Bella Saison / Accessories: Tracy Tenpenny / Headpieces: Millistar, Blush Bridal

You can’t complain when you start your Monday in sunny Costa Rica, and that’s exactly how we are going to kick off your morning thanks to the Costa Rican photography talents of Comfort Studio and event planing gurus of Tropical Occasions. With a barefoot wedding ceremony, a star-in-the-making ring bearer (who happens to be the couple’s stylish son), and a surprise fire dancer performance – I would have to say this week of weddings is off to a pretty great start. It doesn’t have to stop there, there is so much more to help brighten your day in the full gallery.

click here for more Costa Rica!

Alex and Eric sacrificed no glamor or elegance when planning their destination wedding in Costa Rica.  Tropical Occasions did an amazing job translating their vision.  Their beach ceremony was emotional and heartfelt and they included their son, Xavier, in the ceremony.  The wedding was small and intimate with less than 30 guests, but they all had a blast, and the bride and groom surprised their guests at the end of the night with a performance by a couple of local fire dancers.  The event was gorgeous, sweet, and stylish, perfectly fitting the couple.

Photography: Julie Comfort of Comfort Studio / Flowers: Stylos y Flores / Event Design and Planning: Tropical Occasions / Ceremony Location: Playitas Beach, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica / Reception Location: Casa Fantastica, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica / Rentals: Costa Mesa / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Dress: Jacquelin Bridal / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BCBG Max Azari / Cake: Chelsea Baldson of Mariposa

Cara and Nick were married on August 7th 2010 at Greystone- a venue that overlooks a lake in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park and has a fabulous backdrop of the Atlanta skyline for photos. In additions, a few very special moments were shared during their “first look” session in Atlanta’s Botanical Garden.  Little Black Book Photography, Jeremy Harwell, took full advantage of both venues, and has shared these positively gorgeous images from this delightful day! We talk, pretty much every day about the details ~ and about making your wedding ‘your own’. And while Cara and Nicks wedding is all that, it’s so much more. You can see in each and every photograph the emotion, their love, and the joy this day brought into their lives …

Cara and Nick are both music professors, so they had over 10 musicians comprised of their students and friends that performed the ceremony music. The couple chose an ivory, tonal purple and pewter palette that was incorporated into every last detail including all of the florals, linens and stationery. Guests enjoyed cocktails (featuring kir royales as the specialty drink which brought back fond memories of the couples travels abroad) and hors d’oeuvres on the terrace after the ceremony. As guests made their way inside for the reception, they found their seats at tables with names based on music terminology and instruments, of course! Speaking of music, the band came from Nashville and was one of Nick’s long time favorite bands. He watched them play often when he was in school at Vanderbilt. The seated dinner featured a dual entree of Springer Mountain Chicken and braised Monk Fish. And there was plenty of dessert- a warm Molten Chocolate Lava cake; a favorite dessert at a restaurant the couple visited with their families, was served in addition to the lemon wedding cake and miniature sweets display.

Planning: Ashley Baber Weddings
Photography: Jeremy Harwell (Harwell Photography)
Design/Decor/Florals: Bold American Catering’s designer, Steve Bales
Band: The Wooten Brothers
Catering: Bold American Catering
Cake: Caryn’s Cakes
Stationery: Inviting Ideas
Bride’s Gown: Rivini
Videography: Evolution Video
Venue: Greystone at Piedmont Park

{The Bride and Groom had their “first look” before the wedding at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens}

See more of Jeremy Harwell’s superb photography on his blog …

Lauren & Paschal’s Nashville Wedding + Their Engagement Shoot (featured on Style Me Pretty!)

Connie & Dave’s Engagement Shoot +  Mucklow’s Fine Jewelry

Atlanta Weddings Magazine ~ Cover and Fashion Shoot

We are here to talk shop today and by shop we mean all things wedding website. Wedding JoJo has long been our go-to for creating gorgeous websites. After all, we can’t think of a better way to announce your big day to friends and family all while infusing your own personal style. Not only that, but Wedding JoJo totally fits the bill in terms of design and function. Easy to use + tons of gorgeous templates to choose from = wedding website perfection.

Wedding JoJo is now boasting eight style-savvy design themes that run the gamut from modern to whimsical but all have our stylish stamp of approval. And we are talking a total one-stop-shop. Not only can you share tons of photos with your guests, display upcoming wedding events and link to your registry but you can also manage your RSVP list. Oh how we love that. And one of our favorite features? Custom domain names! The possibilities are seriously endless with that one.

So imagine all of these great tools wrapped up in a completely user-friendly package. You don’t need to be a computer technician to create a beautiful website with Wedding JoJo. Plus, they’ve just recently revamped their admin pages as well and the result is better than ever with a bright and shiny dashboard and total ease of use. So ladies and gents, the only thing left to do is decide which pretty design you want to use to announce your dream wedding. Believe us, you will have a style savvy website designed in mere minutes and your guests will be blown away. It’s a total win-win.

As visions of fabulously relaxing weekend festivities dance around in our heads, we wanted to take a moment to share this super beautiful bridal shoot by photography guru Sarah Kate. How naturally gorgeous is this bride? Not only that, but she is crafty to boot. She reworked her mother’s vintage wedding gown into that glorious dress concoction. Amazing to say the least. Yep, this bridal session is like a breath of fresh country air and there is so much more to oh and ah over in the gallery. Happy Friday!

See the FULL bridal session here!

Photography: Sarah Kate Barger of Sarah Kate Photography / Bouquet: Brianne Denton of Blue Lotus / Camera and Shawl belonged to Sarah’s grandmother!

Enjoy these pretty posts and we look forward to seeing you on Monday!

a Utah wedding packed to the gills with pretty and a whole lot of family
breaking out the Wellies for this rainy day St. Louis wedding 
Tec Peteja is a magic maker and this Southern California wedding is proof
a white wedding in Colorado
Inspiration of the dreamy French Garden kind
a New York rooftop wedding that completely captured our hearts
a FULL day of gorgeous weddings
modern meets classic with this Rhode Island beauty
a charming Canadian wedding full of yummy coral hues
easy, breezy, breathtaking and don’t even get us started on that dress!

Fun links from around the web:

the perfect way to welcome February via Black Eiffel
we are going crazy for this glamorously glittery photo shoot via grey likes weddings
give your love a driftwood heart via Lake Jane
the cutest wedding we ever did see styled by SMP writer extraordinaire Sweet Emilia Jane
this bouquet had us at hello via Kiss the Groom

We’d also like to extend a very warm welcome to our newest Little Black Book Members…

Paper Sky
Melissa Andre Events
Jeanine Mangan Makeup Designs
Firestone Winery
Lincourt Winery
Favors and Flowers
Ryan Joseph Photographs
KS Weddings
Phototerra
Adam Nyholt, Photographer
Pelican Hill
Events Redefined

Have a wonderful weekend and we promise a whole slew of pretty coming at you Monday! xoxo

Debjani and Sandeep were married this past spring at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York City in what can only be described as a magnificent ceremony. With the fabulous Karen Wise there to capture the beauty, these memories will surely awe every single one of you!

See the entire gallery here!

Karen has sooooooo many more amazing images on her blog!

From the beautiful bride … Sandeep and I met as freshmen at Cornell and were friends until we began dating our senior year. We were long distance for a long time, during which I lived in Virginia, Maryland, DC and Connecticut. Sandeep was always in New York. I finally moved to New York in 2007 after I finished grad school and Sandeep finished law school. We were engaged in Sept 2009. Sandeep had planned to propose on a drive up the California coast, but he had to cancel that trip because I had to fly to Paris for work. So Sandeep flew out there to meet me for a long weekend instead. He spent his first night in Paris scouting spots to propose. We went to dinner on a Friday night and then walked by the spot along the Seine where he had planned to do it, but teenagers were hanging out there, listening to reggae and smoking pot. So he walked us by his back-up spot, but a group of people were burning garbage and fighting there. (He swore later that these spots were much more romantic on Thursday night.) We ended up walking by the Louvre, and with all his plans up in smoke (no pun intended) he surprised me by I.M Pei’s pyramid in the Louvre courtyard. It was late at night and we were the only two there.

Photography: Karen Wise / Location: Angel Orensanz Foundation, Lower East Side, NY / Band: Dexter Lake Club Band / Video: Hart Pictures/ Chef: Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti restaurant/ Deb’s Sari: Simran, a sari boutique shop in New Delhi/ Dress Designer: Angelo Lambrou, a wedding dress designer in the East Village. He used saris and fabric from New Delhi and Binny Fashions, a store in Edison, NJ. Having worn her family’s traditional red sari for the ceremony, Deb picked saris (and flowers for her hair) that were traditional to Sandeep’s family for her reception dress. / Flowers: L’Atelier des Fleurs / Hair and Makeup: My Hair and Makeup/ Invitations, menus, programs, card table poster and all other printed items: custom designed by the couple (except for the save the date which was from a photo that Karen shot at their EShoot) and printed at Boxcar Press, the Center for Book Arts and Kinkos / Groom’s Indian clothes: Om Sari Imports in Murray Hill / Day-of Coordination: Sonal J. Shah Events/ Lighting: Roberto at Angel Orensanz

Hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen, because I have a feeling you are just going to love this beauty of a rustic-meets-elegant barn wedding captured by Mark Brook Photographers. The Santa Barbara gem of a celebration embodies all that is beautiful about countryside weddings, and Joy de Vivre really hit the ball out of the barn with the design on this one. Have no fear, there is more to see in the full gallery.

click here for more rustic elegance!

We also got our pretty little fingers on their amazing highlight film from Gina & Josh at LOLA Video! Feast your eyes on even more loveliness from the day!!

Santa Ynez Wedding ~ Coquelicot Winery ~ Kate & Frank from lolavideo.net on Vimeo.

From the darling Joy de Vivre… From the moment we began planning their wedding, Kate & Frank knew they wanted a barn reception.  Since the Santa Ynez area has lots of barn, we began looking around for something large (and cute!) enough to hold the reception, as well a something close enough to the historic Old Mission Santa Ines where the ceremony would be held.  We checked out a few barns and eventually fell in love with Coquelicot Winery.

The ceremony was held at the beautiful old Santa Ines Mission where flower girls held flower wands as they walked down the aisle.  The bridesmaids all wore different blush hair pieces and taupe and blush dresses.  Their bouquets which were made out of garden roses, peonies and dusty miller and lambs ear were all wrapped in burlap.  The groomsmen wore clean black tuxedos with sweet argyle socks, and twine wrapped boutonnieres.  After the ceremony guests were shuttled to the lawn at Coquelicot Winery for cocktails.  Franks Mom found the most amazing mariachis who serenaded guests until dinner.  The mariachis lead the group to the barn on foot.

Guests sat at 16 foot long tables on either side of the 32 foot long bridal party table.  The guest tables were covered in La Tavola Linens Tuscany Natural linen with sweet white hemstitch napkins and rosemary placed at each setting.  We chose silverware from the Tent Merchant in this amazing, heavy, ornate pattern.  All the tables had tons of mercury glass and sweet fleur de lis votives running down the center around tall blue mason jars holding pillar candles.  The flowers were nothing short of amazing.  Florette Designs created the most stunning arrangements of garden roses, peonies, runnunclus, dusty miller and sweet peas in beautiful distressed wooded containers. To help guests find their seats, Tracy from Lazaro Press hung the most amazing little tags complete with the couples signature skeleton key motif from rusty nails on an old farm fence.  The complete the look, Tracy lent us some very cool rusty iron table numbers backed on weathered wood.

To warm the barn up, Lani from LBPS Events placed about 20 amber hued up-lights around the perimeter of the barn and hung three amazing crystal chandeliers over the bridal party table.  Lani also put up some beautiful ivory chiffon drapery that framed and softened the barn door entrance.  To give the bar some special light, we hung mason jars from rustic twine at different heights over it. Kate and Frank gave their guests vanilla saltwater taffy as they left for the evening.  The taffy was placed in cute mason jars topped with burlap that was tied on with antique lace.  They also set up an amazing smores station outside for guests to enjoy once it got cold!

I’m convinced that folks in Texas know how to have a way better time than anyone else.  If you need proof look no further than these photographs by Jenna Cole Photography.  Not only is this wedding full of sweet, down-home details, pretty shades of pink and, of course, my favorite rustic accessory – cowboy boots – but it may have the most hilarious photo booth I’ve ever seen.  There is more country goodness in the full gallery!

Click here for more inspiration in the full wedding gallery!

Have no fear, if you were craving some more photo booth action, we have a fun slide show from Jenna Cole.  The hilarity only grows as the hours, and, I assume, the beer consumption, increase!

Lauren and Richard planned a rustic country wedding deep in the heart of Texas, at Moon River Ranch just outside of Waco. I know Lauren relied heavily on blogs like Style Me Pretty to inspire her own soiree, and I think she achieved the perfect balance of inspiration and originality.

My favorite details include the invitations (they mailed one to me and it was so fun to open!), her boots, a blue heart pinned to the inner layer of crinoline which was a gift form the mother-of-the-bride, the mix of flowers and vases on each table, and the cake buffet. Cake buffets are a fabulous wedding trend, and their interpretation was the best I’ve seen!

Several items were used multiple times throughout the day. The flower covered initials hung at the entry to the church as well as the reception. Ruffled pomanders graced the aisles of the ceremony and then were moved to a display tree next to the cake table. The bridesmaid bouquets were cleverly used as decor at the reception by placing them in blue mason jars tied with pink and white bows.

After the first dance they had an anniversary dance and Lauren’s grandmother was thrilled to be presented the bouquet when they were the last couple on the dance floor. I found myself laughing hysterically when I saw how the guests were using the photo booth. Grabbing the plastic cows and displaying feet dirty from dancing was the perfect way to illustrate what a fabulous time was had by all!

Wedding Photography: Jenna Cole Photography / Second Photographer: Lynn in Love Photo / Flowers: Bloomingals / Ceremony Venue: St. Mary’s Catholic Church / Reception Venue: Moon River Ranch / Invitations: Parrot Design Studio / Boots: Old Gringo “Lucky” / Wedding Dress : Enzoani “Diana” purchased at Mockingbird Bridal / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Angelo / Cakes: Custom Cakes by Laura / Caterer: Blanek’s / Wedding Coordinator: Caroline Fair / Cinematography: Take 4 Studio / Hair and Makeup: Salon at Ridgewood Village / Programs: Hellotenfold on Etsy / Shoes: Nina “Papina” / Shoe Clips: Oodles of Bling on Etsy / Mens Suits: JC Penny