For this couple who fell in love on the island of Nantucket, it only felt right to return to where it all began. They planned a classic-as-can-be celebration infused with subtle nautical details as a nod to their beachside setting. The result? This insanely gorgeous gallery from the lens of Lacie Hansen that you can stare at All. Afternoon. Long.

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From The Bride… Both of us grew up traveling to Nantucket for family vacations. Joe’s grandparents had a family vacation home there and now his mom lives there year round. My parents started going to Nantucket in college and they would camp out on the beaches with my aunt and uncle. They loved it so much that they started taking us there when we were young and eventually purchased a vacation home in Madaket. Joe and I probably played on the same beaches growing up, but did not meet until summer of 2011.

Joe was living on the island year round when we met. I was just visiting for a few summer weeks. He asked me out on a date to American Seasons (a very quaint and romantic restaurant). We ended really falling for one another and spending as much time together as possible for the rest of my vacation. Things went so well that we started dating long distance (Chicago-Nantucket). We did that for a year and a half until Joe decided to move to Chicago to be with me. Even though we live in Chicago full-time, Nantucket will always be a very special place for us. It is where we first met, had our first date, and where we got married. We plan to make sure we are there for every anniversary to come.

From David M. Handy Events… A collection of round and rectangle dinner tables filled the grand ballroom at the Nantucket Hotel & Resorts. The room was enhanced with gold ballroom chairs, gorgeous gold and blush table linens, vintage chargers, table numbers and lots of romantic candlelit. To complete the look the room was washed in a warm amber color.

Photography: Lacie Hansen | Floral Design: Soiree Floral | Cake: Petticoat Row Bakery | Stationery: Feast Calligraphy | Ceremony Venue: First Congregational Church Of Nantucket | Reception Venue: The Nantucket Hotel | Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Engagement Ring: Graff | Catering: The Nantucket Hotel | Hair + Makeup: Laura B Salon Spa | Band: Joey Scott & The Connections | Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss | Earrings + Rings: Therese Crowe Design | Event Planning, Lighting + Design: David M. Handy Events | Linen Rentals + Chargers: BBJ La Tavola | Tables, Flatware + Chair Rentals: Rentals Unlimited | Wedding Dress + Veil: Vera Wang

Listen up, loves.  Today we’re talking all things Animoto and, believe you me, you don’t want to miss a moment.  Because when it comes to creating memorable keepsakes of your Big Day, crafting totally unique videos with their easy-to-use interface and crazy cool templates is, well… a serious no-brainer. Think fun-filled clips documenting every second of your journey, all in just THREE steps.  It’s awesome.

Available on both web AND mobile, documenting your memories with Animoto is super simple and super fun. I’m talking three easy steps to a video crafted with your special photos and video clips that will wow every one you know.  Simply choose your template from Animoto’s 100 gorgeous options, drag and drop your images and video clips, then select your music from 500+ songs OR upload that tune that means oh-so-much to you and your loved one… you know the one.   You can even crop and edit your photos right there in the app AND share your creation to your social channels with just one click.  You’ll be creating a unique memory that will last a lifetime… and you know how much we love that.

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Whether you’re crafting a “Story of Us” video to share at your wedding or rehearsal, documenting every moment of your journey with video albums (think proposal, bridal shower, the Big Day and honeymoon) or designing the world’s coolest Save the Date, head to Animoto NOW to start creating. You’re only three steps from your very own masterpiece.

Animoto is offering SMP readers a 20% discount! Just use code smp2016 at checkout. Have fun!

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Wedding Photography: Vanessa Joy

What could be more romantic than saying “I do” in the soft glow of candlelight? Nothing. With the vision of an intimate dinner party, Kat and Paul worked with Marisa Nicole Events to create this beautiful day with a focus on delicious cuisine, engaging entertainment and understated decor with florals from Enchanted Garden Floral Design. See it all thanks to Becca Rillo Photography in The Vault!

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From Marisa Nicole Events…Kat and Paul got married on December 4th at the Carondelet House in downtown Los Angeles surrounded by fifty of their nearest and dearest. Their goal from the beginning was to host an intimate dinner party style celebration with delicious cuisine, engaging entertainment and understated gorgeous decor, at which they would just happen to tie the knot.

Our aesthetic aim was create a sense of classic, comfortable elegance. We wanted guests to walk in and swoon a bit, but not feel as if the decor was contrived or over the top. Carondelet served as the perfect backdrop in bringing this feel to life. Katherine loved the idea of having candles anywhere and everywhere to create a sense of glow and warmth throughout the space. We coupled all that candlelight with neutral whites, creams, and dark browns, diluted blush, and touches of gold. The guests dined on long wooden rectangular tables, paired with a mixture of upholstered seating and wooden cross-back chairs. The floral designs were grounded on a light neutral colored soft and textured runner. We used arrangements that were roundish and somewhat symmetrical in shape, but relaxed in structure. Kat loves ruffled blooms in a mixture of sizes with bits of textured items and greenery peeking throughout.

A few of our favorite personal touches from the celebration where the items located at each place setting which served to reflect Kat & Paul’s personalities in just a lovely way – with a little bit of class and a little bit of silliness. For the class, each guest was gifted with an individual sized customized champagne bottle with his or her name on it. And for the silliness, along with the napkin treatment & menu peaking out of a beautiful napkin was a scratcher for each guest to try their luck to win big. We hung “for richer, for poorer” tags on each, along with pennies and guests played the lotto just before their family style feast. Kat & Paul don’t really love cake, so we brought in a cake and cookies truck instead and guests hopped around between the dancefloor, photo booth and ice cream truck throughout the party part of the evening.

Photography: Becca Rillo Photography | Event Design + Planning: Marisa Nicole Events | Floral Design: Enchanted Garden Floral Design | Catering: Tres L.A. Catering | Hair + Makeup: 10.11 Makeup | DJ: Dart DJ | Officiant: Alan Katz | Venue: Carondelet House | Ceremony + Cocktail Hour Music: Matthew Commerce | Dessert Food Truck: Drive Me Cookie | Getting Ready Venue: The Westin Bonaventure | Invitations + Stationery: Prim & Pixie | Photo Booth: Flipbooth LA | Runners + Napkins: BBJ La Tavola

Every bride-to-be knows that time is a precious, precious thing. Between planning a wedding, working a full-time job and (keyword) trying to stay sane, squeezing in a workout can easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list. Luckily, the fitness-pros-meet-superheroes at FLEX Studios created an at-home adapted barre workout just for the SMP bride! Think 7 minutes, 0 equipment necessary and 100% guaranteed to get you looking and feeling seriously wedding dress sexy. So grab your sneaks and get started already!

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PLUS: Even More Booty-Busting Workouts

Abs & Booty Workout | Tone it Up Total Body Workout | Wedding Ready Arms

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Craving more Fitspiration? Follow this Pinterest Board!

Though you might expect a professional baseball player and his Bride to have baseball touches sprinkled throughout their wedding, the only obviously baseball touch of this day is the baseball bat guest book. And even that got a glam makeover. With a classic black-and-white color scheme, accented with gold, this gorgeous Bride and Groom hit it out of the park with this Arizona wedding. See it all from Elyse Hall Photography in The Vault!

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From The Bride…Joe and I met while we were out listening to one of my favorite musicians Kelley James. We both spotted each other instantly and a mutual friend sparked a conversation between us. He was the first man to ever open the car door for me on our first date and after that the rest was history.

Our wedding was a special day and time for us as we had been states away for the last 6 months during the baseball season, Joe is a professional pitcher for major league baseball. We wanted to put together a fun celebration for our family and friends to enjoy as well as ourselves! As much as baseball is a part of our lives, we kept the theme minimal as to not distract from the true meaning of our marriage and love for one another.

We chose the location of the reception due to the view of the beautiful green golf course and our favorite hobby to do together playing golf. We wanted the guests to enjoy the outdoor terrace during cocktail hour and be brought in for delicious food and dancing. We wanted to keep the decor simple, yet elegant and modern. We felt a black and white color scheme with a gold accent would be classic and timeless. Food, drinks and fun were most important for our reception. We brought in the next best thing to Kelley James, his brother, to DJ and keep people on the dance floor.

The actual day was full of love, laughter and tears. It’s hard to put into words how I felt walking down the isle and looking at all of the wonderful family and friends that were there to celebrate our love for each other and God. The day was about celebration, enjoying life and our future as Mr. and Mrs. Wieland.

Photography: Elyse Hall Photography | Event Planning: Imoni Events | Floral Design: Petal Pusher | Wedding Dress: Mariée | Invitations: Idieh Design | Bride's Shoes: Kate Spade | Lighting: Karma Event Lighting | Transportation: Ollie The Trolley | Venue: Westin Kierland Resort | Linen Rentals: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: Event Rents | Rentals: Us To U Rentals

Close your eyes and picture a wedding in Maui. White sand beaches, tall palm trees, fresh flower leis, tropical colors and hula dancing all should come to mind. Now open your eyes and look at this absolutely gorgeous day from LVL Weddings & Events. Head to The Vault for photos from Wendy Laurel, assisted by Jeffrey Oltman, for photos that will give you a taste of island life!

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From Wendy Laurel…Laura met Star at college at the University of Alabama where he was a quarterback on the football team.  It was sneakers that brought them together — they both noticed and admired each other’s sneakers one day on campus.

Laura’s family has deep Hawaii connections so it was only natural for Laura to dream up a Hawaii wedding.  The wedding design was filled with little sentimental and Hawaiian touches.  Laura had both her Grandmother’s gorgeous blue ring as her “something blue” and her original wedding band on during her ceremony.  The family’s bible was used as well. Palms and Hawaiian flowers and vivid colors were the mainstay of the weddings styling.  The flowers and amazing table designs all reflected this theme.  The highlight of the reception was the hula dancers.  Not only did the hula dancers perform for the guests, they had all the guests, including the bride, up learning the hula and laughing and dancing.

From LVL Weddings & Events…Laura and Star were not ones to be center of attention so they choose a private estate with an amazing ocean front view.  Laura grew up coming to Maui as a child and had many fond memories to include visiting Keawalaʻi Congregational Church on their trips.  It was an easy decision to say their I Do’s on the island of Maui where so many memories were made and now the two of them could begin making memories together on the beautiful island.

Laura loved color and flowers so we came up with the idea to create 4 canopy structures and dangle color leis from the center pole along with a beautiful landscape floral runner across the wooden tables.  We had custom calligraphy menus made with each guests names printed on them to offer a personal touch.

We also had a floral crown and ankle floral bracelets for the beautiful bride!

In addition as the guests arrived to the cocktail hour they were greeted with leis and were able to enjoy a authentic hula show while enjoying cocktails.

They finished up the night dancing under the stars!!

Photography: Wendy Laurel | Event Planning: LVL Weddings & Events | Floral Design: Wildheart | Cake: Maui Sweet Cakes | Ceremony Venue: Keawala'i Church | Reception Venue: Sugarman Estate | Catering: Cafe Olei Maui | Hair + Makeup: Meili Autumn Beauty | Calligraphy: Miss B Calligraphy | DJ: Maui DJ Services | Photography - Assistance: Jeffrey Oltman | Polynesian Dancers: Manutea Nui E | Rentals: Maui Rents

This North Carolina wedding from Leigh Pearce Weddings is every Francophile’s dream. The Bride walked down the aisle on her father’s arm to “La Vie en Rose.” The flower girl carried an American flag while her ring bearer counterpart wore a beret and carried a French one. The pastor said the vows in English and the Bride and Groom repeated them in French. Does it get any more romantic than that? See all the pretty from Boonetown Story in The Vault!

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From The Bride…I met my husband while teaching English in France after college. Since then we’ve traveled all over the world; so from the beginning of wedding planning, we knew we wanted the overarching theme to be travel inspired. Leigh Pearce did such a great job creating this for us, without the theme being overwhelming or tacky. The small details made everything so perfect. Our seating chart was a world map, our cocktail napkins read “love knows no borders,” and our guests waved miniature French and American flags for our exit — just to name a few.

I knew from the moment I saw the Belmont Estate that I wanted to be married there. It’s a classic, Southern house set back on a large piece of property in rural North Carolina, and was such a beautiful backdrop to our wedding day. I wanted a fall-like color scheme, but wanted to avoid yellows and orange, so we went with a palette of bordeaux with gold, cream, and blush accents. My bridesmaids were beautiful in their bordeaux dresses!

For the ceremony, the flower girl walked down the aisle with an American flag, while the ring bearer (wearing a beret!), carried a French flag. I walked down the aisle with my dad to a string duet playing my favorite French song “La Vie en Rose.” The pastor said our vows in English, and we repeated in French, so that the Americans and the French in attendance could both understand. My sister-in-law and my husband’s sister did a reading together — alternating in English and French.

Our beautiful day wouldn’t have been possible without our wedding planner, Leigh Pearce, or without my sweet sweet parents. We’re forever grateful.

Photography: Boonetown Story | Floral Design: The Farmer's Wife | Wedding Dress: Justin Alexander | Cake: Delicious Cakes | Invitations: Minted | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Catering: Belmont Estate | Hair + Makeup: Carla White | DJ: Complete Music | Venue: Belmont Estate | Event Planning + Event Design: Leigh Pearce Events | Rentals: Partymakers

I love classic Southern celebrations, but add in an amazingly chic dress and now we’re really talking. This Austin Scarlett masterpiece is one for the books and we’ve already pinned to our boards to ogle at for weeks to come. It’s the icing on the cake of this whole wedding planned and designed by Ooh! Events, and captured for our lucky eyes by Clay Austin. See it all in our Vault right this way!

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From Ooh! Events… Sarah and Pablo met in New York at a party. Pablo walked in and Sarah was determined to meet him. The rest is history – his original plan was to only be in New York temporarily, but when he met Sarah his plan changed and their love story grew in the Big Apple.

Sarah’s family has a place in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and they wanted to choose a place that was just “Sarah and Pablo” so they landed on the grandeur and beauty of a Sunday wedding at Lowndes Grove Plantation on October 25, 2015.
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Peruse more South Carolina weddings here!

Photography: Clay Austin | Event Planning + Design: Ooh! EventHaus | Floral Design: Out Of The Garden | Wedding Dress: Austin Scarlett | Hair + Makeup: Wedding Hair By Charlotte | Ceremony Music: Stephen Darby | Wedding Venue: Patrick Properties Hospitality Group | Reception Music DJ: Stephen Darby | Rentals: Ooh! EventHaus

I grew up in a family-owned restaurant surrounded by generations of all French-Canadian ancestry. Needless to say, I love food and entertaining is in my blood. Although I have not yet been to an authentic French bistro, it’s on my bucket list—and I can fully appreciate the charming atmosphere thanks to Pinterest. My solution? Create your own little French bistro-inspired kitchen. This is how!

10 Steps To a French Bistro-Inspired Dream Kitchen

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10 Steps To a French Bistro-Inspired Dream Kitchen

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A few other goodies you might love…

8 Things To Avoid if You Want Open Shelving
7 Rules To Designing the Kitchen of Your Dreams
50 Magazine-Worthy Gray Kitchens We’re Crushing On

We’ve officially decided that this is the most beautiful beachside inspo ever. Complete with a windswept gown, elegant florals, and a cathedral veil that goes for days, we’ve got Donny Zavala to thank for this stunner waiting for you in The Vault!

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From Donny Zavala…This Malibu Bride shoot was inspired by the amazing natural setting and the proximity to the Pacific Ocean. With that in mind, we set out to find the most amazing light amongst the greenery of the hills. Our first look was inspired by the cathedral veil. We wanted to make a statement that wearing a cathedral veil amongst gorgeous light and tall grass could be a otherworldly. That is exactly what we found—our bride embrace the location creating a look that was just as what envisioned. Our second look was intended to create a different look that complimented the Pacific Ocean. Our bride wore two different dresses that compliment the sand tones and was easily whipped in the ocean air. At last, our bride was adorned with her veil and spent the sunset drenched in the California golden light.

Photography: Donny Zavala | Floral Design: Catalina Neal | Wedding Dress: Gossamer | Jewelry: Susie Saltzman | Calligraphy: Kelsey Malie Calligraphy | Bridal Accessories: Melinda Rose Design | Film Scan: PhotoVision Prints | Hair + Makeup Artist: Hikari Murakami | Model: Aston Models | Photography - Assistance: Savan Phann

I am so not modern and my little cape cottage is proof of that but I am the first to fall hard for a bit of lucite or fur.  They are the kind of pieces that just work. It’s like decor magic. They fit a multitude of home styles from vintage to romantic, you name it. And they add a layer of cool. So jump on that modern bandwagon with 12 items to add to your must buy decor list. Marble, lacquer and gold… here we come.

Modern Decor Must-Haves

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Modern Decor Must-Haves

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More Interior Design Goodies this way…

It’s only Wednesday and we’ve been to Mexico and back with one image after another, filling our Pinterest boards with inspiration and aspiration thanks to Jose Villa’s Workshop last fall, where we not only presented but fell in love with weddings all over again. To cap it off, we have the Farewell Dinner here, where attendees dined on authentic Mexican cuisine (we’re talking tacos and churros to our heart’s content) and admired the beauty all around. Can the 2016 Workshop hurry on up and get here?

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Jose Villa 2016 Mexico Workshop

Dates: November 6 – 10, 2016
Location: Hacienda El Carmen

Click here for more information!

Photography: Jose Villa Photography | Wedding Dress: Temperley London | Wedding Dress: Inbal Dror | Cake: Maggie Austin Cake | Engagement Ring: Trumpet and Horn | Hair + Makeup: TEAM Hair and Makeup | Calligraphy: Anne Robin Calligraphy | Venue: Hacienda El Carmen | Candles: Creative Candles| Custom Artwork: Karina Puente | Custom Wax Seals: Written Word Calligraphy | Dress Bust: Found Rentals | Film Maker + Photography: Joel Serrato | Fine Catering + Welcome Gift Snacks: Paula LeDuc Fine Catering | Floral + Design: Mindy Rice | Floral + Design: Studio by Fleur | Floral Assistant: La Musa de las Flores | Food Styling: Diana Perrin | Food Styling Backdrops: The Surface Library | On-site Wardrobe: Summer Watkins | Paper + Design: Amber Moon | Planning + Design: Easton Events | Printed Paper: Czar Press | Table Cloths: Designing Linens | Table Rentals: Classic Party Rentals – Santa Barbara | Tabletop Rentals: Casa de Perrin | Wardrobe Stylist: Geraldine Magazine | Welcome Party Napkins: Jan Barboglio

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

Easton Events

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Joel Serrato Film Photographer

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Written Word Calligraphy

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When Erin recently told me that I had to see Julianne Hough’s gorgeous kitchen, being a kitchen lover (and a fan of Jules) I immediately headed over to her Instagram account for a bit of stalking. And now, I’m determined to paint my cabinets or island blue. Do you love this look? See more details on here kitchen here!

Breakfast with my baby!

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

Petit Bouquet

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