Style Me Pretty: Wedding Blog for the Style-Obsessed Bride

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Rustic

From The Bride…When planning our wedding, it was important that the event was a reflection of us. We wanted it to be elegant and intimate, with an element of romance and rustic charm. With guests travelling from all corners of the earth, it was important for us to create a weekend that would make everyone feel at home.

The vision for the wedding came together when we fell in love with the venue, Le Manoir at Domain des Oliviers de l’Esterel. Having dated for over 8 years, we spent many summers visiting the groom’s grandparents in the South of France, where we immediately fell in love with the Provençal countryside. Travel and food are a big part of our lives, and we were sold on the venue when we saw the olive groves and lavender rows which evoked memories of countless road trips we and had shared together in the local hills.

We tried to tie these memories together through the décor and food at the wedding. The chuppah and floral arrangements were meant to feel as though they had always been there, with flowers grown wild in the nearby fields. Lenôtre worked with us to translate our memories into a menu that felt reflective of our relationship. They created an olive bar featuring flavors of Provence, prepared a version of the groom’s grandmother Charolotte’s famous apricot meringue pie for dessert, sourced locally line-caught sea-bass for the entrée, and a presented a selection of our favorite cheese from Herve Mons (a local affineur we discovered while dining at Maison Troisgros). Even our wedding cake was based off of Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan macaron, reflecting a small piece of the bride’s Persian heritage.

More than anything, what made the evening so special was having all of our friends and family there to celebrate with us. Nearly every guest, from the very young to the very old, was out on the dance floor, partying late into the early morning hours. It was incredibly memorable to see all of our friends and family gathered together in a celebration of our love.

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Modern Safari Nursery

Baby fever y’all! It’s real. And it hits when you least expect it! Though I’m tooootally not in baby zone quite yet, it doesn’t stop me from oogling tiny toes and pinning nurseries left right and center. And at the top of said nursery pin board? This little dude’s modern meets safari digs. Designed by Barette Widell and photographed by Renee Dickerson, there’s more where this came from right here!

From Barette at Widell Designs… When we found out we were having a baby the very first thing I thought about was how I was going to decorate the nursery. I couldn’t wait to find out the sex and in fact started buying things for a baby girl since I was convinced that’s what we were having. When we found our we were having a boy not only did we have a name picked out, but we also had all this baby girl stuff to return! I decided that I still wanted to go with the same theme which was a “modern” safari theme. I wanted to keep the colors calm and relaxing whether a boy or girl. I decided to use an old vintage safari themed Gucci scarf that was my moms as the inspiration for the room and pulled shades of blues, grey’s, and taupe from it. I also wanted to mix patterns to make sure it wasn’t all to matchy matchy and fun animal elements have a fun playful feel to the modern room.

Jacquelyn Clark

Today’s modern couple is smart, design-savvy and knows exactly what they want — especially when it comes to registering for their big day! Thanks to Zola, brides + grooms can now create a wish list with endless options, that’s as easy to create as it is to manage. Registering has honestly never been so much fun.

With Zola, couples can customize their registry page with photos, notes and collections to organize gifts! Whether you’re needing some tried + true basics from classic brands such as KitchenAid, Le Creuset or Vitamix or trying to up your cool factor with pieces from up and coming designers such as Billy Cotton and Nine Space, couples can curate their very own mix of gifts, experiences and cash funds and add products from anywhere on the web. The best part? Guests can choose anything they want from your wish list and purchase it all with a single checkout on Zola. There’s even an option for group gifting so you don’t have to feel price-conscious about adding some bigger-ticket items.

To top off the amazingness that is Zola, they make it incredibly easy to manage and edit your registry on the web or on the go with the Zola iPhone app. They also offer a Registry Planner which helps couples figure out how many gifts you need to add to your registry depending on the number of invited guests. Hello, incredible! You can also use their Gift Tracker which alerts you when a gift is purchased, and you can choose to hold, ship or convert it to credits!

Ready to get your very own Zola Wedding Registry? Now’s the time, because Zola is offering SMP readers $25 in Zola credits when they sign up for their registry! New registries must be started (but not necessarily published) between September 16, 2014 and December 16, 2014. Credits will be placed into the couple’s Zola account 4 weeks after a couple’s registry is published live. Head over here to get started. xo

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Blush Jekyll Island Wedding

This Jekyll Island affair? It’s yet another reason that proves choosing the right venue is so, so important. This stunning Bride + Groom chose Crane Cottage which couldn’t have been more perfect for their Gilded Age-themed soiree. And with plenty of DIYs and decor inspiration (including the SMP Weddings book!) the resulting imagery from Concept-A Photography is timeless beauty at it’s best.

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Romantic Hillside Wedding in San Clemente

From the beautiful Bride…Crane Cottage on Jekyll Island, Georgia, was the first location that Adam and I thought of when we started planning our wedding. He’d taken me to Jekyll Island for my birthday one year, and I clearly remember feeling as though we’d stepped into a movie, it was all so perfect. I love our venue because of its history and the natural beauty that surrounds it- enormous oaks with Spanish moss, the river on one side and Atlantic Ocean on the other. The Jekyll Island Club has also been called “the Millionaires’ Club” because it was originally built as a turn-of-the century winter retreat for families such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Morgans, and Pulitzers. The Club Hotel and surrounding “cottages” have been so well preserved and maintained that it was easy to feel like we’d stepped back in time. For that reason, I chose decorative touches with a Gilded Age theme- blush heritage roses, peonies, and dahlias; dotted-swiss vases hanging from shepherd’s hooks along the aisle, and carried the pale pink of the floral design into a post-Victorian-era color palette of grey, cream, and blush. My Marisa dress had an antique feel to it but my amazing seamstress, Holly, played to the art-nouveau styling of the time by customizing the neckline. She used the intricate beading on my Rivini veil to create a beautiful neckline and little flutter or cap looking sleeves.

Our venue really was the centerpiece of our wedding. We almost didn’t need decorations. And surprisingly few of our friends and family had ever heard of it, even though it’s only an hour north of where we live (Jacksonville, FL). The comment I got the most that weekend was, “this place is amazing, how did you find it?”

The best part of having our wedding at Crane Cottage was that we were able to hold every event in and around the cottage. The “cottage” was actually the most expensive private home built on the island at the time by one of the Club members, with 14 rooms, a sunken garden, and an interior courtyard. Our parents, the wedding party, and a few close friends stayed at Crane Cottage while the rest of our guests stayed at the Club Hotel next door, or at another nearby hotel on the island. Our rehearsal dinner was held close to sunset on the west-facing front lawn of the cottage, overlooking the River across a wide expanse of lawn, flowering shrubs and oaks strewn with Spanish moss, and it was absolutely gorgeous. To welcome our arriving guests, we hosted a party on Friday evening at the “Rah Bar”- a very authentic indoor-outdoor bar situated over the water on a huge, old dock across from the hotel.

The wedding ceremony itself took place outdoors on the grounds adjacent to the Cottage under a giant oak- the oldest and largest on the island- that provided an amazing canopy of hanging Spanish moss. As we recessed back up the aisle, everyone threw cones of dried lavender and rose petals in the air. The cocktail hour was held in the Crane Cottage garden, which is also where we had taken our bridal party photos earlier that day. (It’s so stunning that it’s usually where wedding ceremonies are held at Crane). Then finally, the reception was held in the outdoor courtyard at Crane Cottage where columns of incredibly fragrant jasmine happened to be in full bloom! I remember thinking it couldn’t be more beautiful or perfect.

When you spend months and months planning a wedding it’s really exciting to see it all come together in real life. I’d looked through books, magazines, and blogs (including a copy of the Style Me Pretty Weddings book!) It’s so helpful to see real weddings and pick out elements you love (and don’t love) and then tie them all together. My bridesmaids (who wore Annabelle by Jenny Yoo) each chose a different way to tie their dresses, and my mom created belts for them using some bulk beaded fabric trim purchased on Etsy. Leading up to the wedding I’d gone back and forth about the whether the colors of their dresses would work (they were all in grey except for my sister, who wore blush) but seeing them all put together was breathtaking. Those dresses were one of my favorite things about the entire wedding! We took pre-ceremony photos in the garden and the palette was gorgeous – the pale greys and blush and my dress against the green. Halfway through the photos we looked up and our friends were hanging out of their window cheering at us. I loved it! It was so special to have everyone so close all weekend.

We wrapped up the weekend with a lovely Mother’s Day brunch in the Grand Dining Room in the Club Hotel. Having our wedding at Crane Cottage, surrounded by our favorite people all weekend, with everything a short walk away, could not have been more perfect! Post wedding we were floored by how beautiful our photos, by Concept A Photography, turned out. We had a day after session thrown in, so we really got to use every part of the grounds, and we went to a driftwood beach with huge trees that we climbed into. Though we’d expected the photos to be amazing, we weren’t as sure about our videography since we were using a student from the University of North Florida (where I work). We were amazed at how well our videography turned out. Jonah Roberson, our videographer, gave us a highlight video that was better than anything from the established videographers I’d looked at in our entire region. We were able to save a lot of money by using students from the local university for both the videography and the string quartet.

Here’s a list of everything we DIY’d. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our very talented families!

Inspiration for several of my favorite DIYs came after I saw a banner (Martha Stewart) created from fabric printed by Spoonflower. I created a monogram which we made into a banner that hung at the head table, a guest book by printing the monogram onto fabric and wrapping/stapling it around a block of wood (which is now hanging up in our house instead of being stored in a bookcase), a large menu banner that featured hand calligraphy by our calligrapher, Farin, who we found on etsy. The menu ended up being 6’ long and was on display during the cocktail hour.

My aunt sewed the ring-bearer’s pillow using beading and pieces of satin from my grandmother’s wedding dress, my great-grandmother’s brooch was pinned into my bouquet- it was my something old, my mom made belts for the bridesmaids out of trim we bought from Etsy – they were gorgeous, at a fraction of the cost of the actual belts being sold on Etsy and at bridal stores, my mom also made the delicate blush table runners, my sister made amazing heart-shaped cookies frosted in pink and white, imprinted with our initials, that two of my cousins wrapped in translucent bags and tied with ribbon for everyone to take home after the reception, Adam and I stamp-embossed our monogram onto guests’ welcome boxes using his sister’s embosser and a custom stamp I got from the etsy shop “Blinks of Life”

Inside each gift box was a bottle of our favorite champagne- Wycliffe- that we re-labeled as “Woodruff-Kane Wedding Champagne”. The labels were so identical that a server accidentally poured us the Woodruff-Kane champagne instead of Wycliffe at the reception! Instead of a photo booth we had an old polaroid camera and some black and white film from The Impossible Project which people used to take photos of themselves. They then swapped the photos for their escort cards. I bought a cardboard “A”, “C”, and “&” from a craft store along with some fake flowers and hot glue gunned the flowers to the cardboard letters, then ran a string through the letters and hung it over the door to the cottage. My stepdad brought lots of bulb lights that we’d gotten for the engagement party and hung them around the courtyard which added a beautiful soft glow once it got dark. I had a topper made for the groomscake by The Canine Couture. They used photos of our lab, Lulu (who wasn’t at our wedding) to create a very Lulu-looking sculpture out of clay. Now we have that as a keepsake instead of a fondant topper that would’ve been thrown out. The table numbers were pictures of Adam and I at each age (Table one was 1 year old, etc).

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Bridesmaid

Jenny Yoo

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Jenny Yoo

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DIY Felted Ball Mobile

Most everyone here at SMP headquarters is either on mat leave, has just returned from said leave, or has recently announced that they’re expecting. There are maybe two of us who joke that there’s something in the SMP water, and we’re crossing our fingers it’s not contagious (hashtag NotReady). But then we create a DIY the likes of this one, and I start to second guess myself. Because, you guys? It’s so cute!!

Materials Wool roving in various colors
Embroidery thread in various colors
Clear fishing line
Dish soap
10” embroidery hoop
Scissors
Sewing needle
Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Fill a mixing bowl with hot water and mix in a bit of dish soap.

Take a small tuft of wool roving and dip in the water and roll lightly between your palms for several minutes until a ball forms. Keep adding wool to the ball until the ball is an inch or so in diameter. Squeeze the ball of any excess water and place on a towel to dry.

Repeat step 2 until you have about 40-45 felted balls. If the water cools as you go, refresh it with more hot water. Don’t stress about the size of the balls, it’s good to have a variety of sizes. Make sure you have several balls in each color of wool.

While the balls are drying (1-2 hours), prepare the wooden hoop. Use the inner hoop of the embroidery hoop (without the metal bracket). Glue one end of a strand of embroidery thread to the inside of the hoop, and wrap the thread tightly around the hoop. Keep wrapping until several inches of the hoop are covered. To change colors as you wrap, just knot in a new color thread, trim the excess thread, and keep wrapping. When you reach the other end, glue the thread to the inside of the hoop. Repeat in 4 more sections around the hoop.

Cut a 12” length of fishing line and knot one end. Thread the other end through the needle and string on a felted ball. Tie another knot several inches above the ball and thread on another ball. Repeat until there are 3 or 4 balls on the strand.

Repeat step 5 until you have 13 strands of felted balls and set aside.

Tie a strand of fishing line down the center of the hoop. Tie a second strand perpendicular to the first, to form a cross of fishing line in the center of the hoop. Put a dot of glue on each end of fishing line to keep the lines from shifting.

Tie (4) 24” strands of fishing line to the embroidery hoop, spaced evenly apart. Hot glue in place. Gather the strands and tie to a hook in the ceiling above your crib, making sure the hoop hangs evenly.

Tie on the strands of felted balls, starting with one strand in the center of the fishing line cross. Then tie one strand on each leg of the fishing line cross. Tie the remaining strands around the embroidery hoop, evenly spaced. Dot each strand with hot glue so the line doesn’t shift. Cut any excess fishing line, and enjoy your new mobile!

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Photography: Ruth Eileen Photography | Design & Styling: SMP Living

Jacquelyn Clark

Gather ’round, SMPers, because we’re about to dive head first into a sea of watercolor goodness like you’ve never seen before. From the stationery and design by The Romance Between, to the flawless coordination by LVL Weddings & Events, to the drool-worthy florals from Fleuretica , it’s layer upon layer of quiet hillside romance, and Kurt Boomer beautifully told the story from start to finish.

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Glamourous Palm Springs Wedding at The Parker Palm Springs

From the Bride…Jason and I wanted our wedding to be romantic, intimate and fun. In a sense, we really wanted to whisk our guests away from their busy lives and simply allow them to enjoy good food amongst great company. We must have researched hundreds of venues but we had an instant connection with Bella Collina and the quaint city of San Clemente. Mixing the natural beauty of the venue and collaborating with Euri from Fleuretica, our vision resulted in an array of gorgeous spring colors nestled in a Tuscany-like hillside.

The Romance Between, an event design, planning and paper goods company founded by one of my bridesmaids and I, is slated to launch in January 2015. The company was birthed while designing, lettering and creating things for the wedding. A test trial so to speak. From the welcome baskets, the invitations, calligraphy on the invitations, dessert bar, menu, place cards and the welcome signage, it was all a beautiful process. We incorporated watercolor and brush calligraphy into the invitation suite and tied it with Froufrou Chic’s organic ribbons to emanate romance. I can confidently say that a paper goods vendor has the capability to create the entire mood of a wedding. It essentially is the first “gift” guests receive prior to attending the wedding and I am so ecstatic that we were able to find utter joy in doing our own.

We were incredibly lucky to work with the most amazing vendors. The wedding day was a lot windier than we had imagined but Kurt captured the wedding flawlessly. He used the wind to deliver some of the most ethereal images we’ve ever seen. Euri and her team from Fleuretica created the arch of my dreams and even waited around until the end of the ceremony to ensure that the arch stayed intact through the wind. Kelly and her team from Kelly Zhang Makeup made me and my girls feel beautiful and comfortable in our own skin. Arielle from LVL Events guided us with all of the logistics of the day and did it flawlessly. Allen and Young from Shine Entertainment made our guests laugh and cry all at the same time. Karen, Executive Chef Paul and the team at Bella Collina offered us food and service that our family and friends still rave about to this day. And last but not least, Greg and his team from Fiske Film rolled their cameras all day long to ensure our perfect day was recorded on film. We are so grateful to have found these vendors and thank them daily for allowing our vision to come alive through their talents.

It was an absolutely perfect night and a perfect start to our life together.

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Plum Pretty Sugar

Castelbel & Trumpet

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Lilli Tru

PomPon

Plum Pretty Sugar for BHLDN

PPS Couture

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This wedding is my everything. It’s the perfect amount of glitz mixed with some serious style thanks to Artisan Events Floral Decor, making my wedding-loving heart sing this morning. But I just have to say, this Bride’s Berta gown might just be my favorite to date – so it goes without saying this gallery beautifully captured by Mi Belle Photography will dance in my dreams all day.

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Michigan Farm Wedding full of Rustic Elegance

From The Bride…Our ceremony, reception and after party were held in the Gene Autry residence at the Parker and our wedding pictures at the windmills (first time Josh from Mibelle has shot a wedding at the windmills and I hope you agree he has done an amazing job). My dress is Berta (I wish I could wear it every day) and my styling was done by Artisan Events (Joey Lizotte).

Myself and my (new) husband, Baz, live in London. I am half Welsh, half American (with Jewish heritage) and Baz is half English, half Persian. My dad was born and raised in Palm Springs and I have always loved spending time there each Summer. Baz also fell in love with the place the first time he visited. The weather, cool vibe, laid-back atmosphere – what’s not to love?! When we got engaged in Charleston, South Carolina, we knew we didn’t want to risk the British weather and decided on an April wedding in the desert. It also coincided with my grandfather’s 100th birthday the day before!

We planned the wedding from London which involved a LOT of Skype dates with our vendors! In terms of style, I wanted classic and stylish with a hint of Palm Springs glitz and glamour. My grandmother on my dad’s side was an amazing and talented lady, and a lingerie / clothing designer in her day. Her sewing room is still as she left it and I used to love playing with all of her beautiful buttons. It was these that started my inspiration for the styling – beautiful golds, pinks and creams, with an injection of glitter and sparkle. I actually used her vintage buttons as part of the place settings to attach the name tags. I wanted vintage styling, but more opulent and French rather than shabby chic. Ornate gold mirrors and frames, chandeliers, velvet seating, candles – I wanted to bring the inside outside into the open space under the stars. For flowers, I wanted pink peonies, darker pink ranunculas and garden roses, as well as some beautiful hydrangeas to remind me of the UK. Parasols and fans were laid out for guests to protect themselves from the heat, and pashminas to keep them warm from the evening chill (as well as flip-flops to keep the guests dancing and palm tree sunglasses, inflatables and wild animal masks for the dance-floor party)!

We ordered a lot of bits to the UK, but dad had to deal with things being delivered every week to the Palm Springs address! We arrived in the states two weeks before the wedding to relax and get prepped – the evenings were spent rounding up family, drinking wine and making confetti bags, glitter signs etc., but it was great fun. We also had to get our wedding license which was a relief!!

I love fashion but was worried I would struggle finding the perfect dress. I didn’t think I would ever find ‘the one’. I visited a number of shops with family and my bridesmaids, and although I found potential options, none of them were perfect. It was after one full day of dress shopping that I came home and started investigating Israeli dress designers. The problem was that no shops in the UK sold the dresses!!I had just about convinced myself that I would have to make the trip to Tel Aviv when I discovered that there was ONE shop in the UK showing a designer called Berta for one weekend only. Problem was it was Sunday evening and they only had the dresses until Monday. I called up, and they said they were actually holding the dresses for another couple of days, so I booked a train and traveled to Birmingham (about an hour outside of London). I was on my own, so was worried about not having a second opinion, but I knew as soon as I tried on the first dress that it was the one for me. I text my bridesmaid a picture and was on the train home one hour later having ordered my dress. The veil was a full length Italian tulle, the shoes sparkly glitter Louboutins and I had a custom made clip made from vintage brooches and combs for my hair.

The bridesmaids were wearing blush pink Two Birds dresses which were perfect seeing as they could wear them in their own style. The flower girl was in a white tutu and glitter flat pumps, and the pageboys in white linen shorts and shirts, braces and bow ties.

We were staying in the Gene Autry residence at the Parker which was super cool (and ironically the place my grandpa used to dine with Gene back in the golden era). My chief bridesmaid stayed with me the night before – the next morning we had a chilled girly breakfast then cracked open the bubbly! We wanted to create a real house party atmosphere around the space. Guests sipped on lemonade from the lemonade stand before the ceremony on the backyard, we then had a mariachi for entertainment whilst we had pictures at the windmills in the desert, then we had the reception on the back lawn, under the stars with views of the surrounding mountains. Our first dance was a Frank Sinatra classic ‘fly me to the moon’ – fitting seeing as we were in Palm Springs and dancing under the moon, then we all headed back up to the house for the afterparty which wrapped up around 4am…We had the breaking of the glass to honour my Jewish family after which guests could say good luck in their language of choice – Mazel Tov, Pob Luc (Welsh) or Mo’afagh bashed (Farsi).

Pairing rustic farm tables and the prettiest pink peonies is a winning combination. It takes classic and rustic and melds the two into one very beautiful farm wedding. With details crafted by VLD, gorgeous blooms by Passionflower, weathered furniture draped in garland and all the festivities photographed by Chelsea Brown, this gallery is just where we want to be.

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Intimate Wedding at Starling Lane Winery

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Rustic

From Chelsea Brown Photography… Cornman Farms is a fully functional/ educational farm and it provides much of the food for the Zingerman’s restaurants and food businesses. William and Laura’s wedding was the first wedding to take place on the property and the styling was designed and executed by VLD out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. William and Laura’s reception featured rustic farm tables and chairs, an assortment of seasonal flowers such as peonies, tulips, and lilacs, and hand lettered paper products such as place cards, menus, a floor to ceiling bar menu, and custom coffee insulators.

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Bluewater Kings Band

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Willowby Fall 2014

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Willowby Fall 2015

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With a palette of pretty pastels, the creative geniuses at Platinum Floral Design set the scene for an intimate wedding at Starling Lane Winery. The couple wanted a vintage feel with some personal touches, so the DIY welcome sign, table numbers, and escort cards were the perfect additions to the affair. Click here for even more from Katrina Massey Photography.

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Romantic, Al fresco Hawaii Wedding

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Rustic Vintage

From The Bride…We wanted our wedding to be warm, personal and most of all fun. We had an intimate guest list of very close friends and family. We wanted to be able to enjoy all of the people that were there. We live in Vancouver but both of our families live on Vancouver Island so we decided to have the wedding in Victoria. We really wanted a vintage feel to the wedding and wanted to be out doors, and when we looked at Starling Lane Winery we thought it was perfect. The feel of it was exactly what we were looking for. I had no specific colour palette in mind. I just wanted a lovely mix of pastels and Platinum Floral Designs took it from there. The flowers were gorgeous. I had some friends comment that it was the prettiest wedding that they had been to. Tammy from Blue Lily did a wonderful job in setting up the reception and ceremony along with my florist.

A few special touches to the wedding were the local guitar player we had for the ceremony and cocktails. We hired Brad Prevederos, from Victoria to play acoustic guitar for the ceremony and back ground music for after the ceremony. After the ceremony we had lemonade, sandwiches and cookies as well as wine tasting for the guests. We also had home made caramel corn from my aunt to snack on. As we wanted a small wedding my nine year old niece was my maid of honour, and my 6 year old niece the flower girl. My 3 year old nephew was the ring bearer. My husband’s dad was his best man. To add to the vintage feel, my husband made a corn hole game for guests and kids to play, we also had croquet and some other games.

At the reception we had a “coca-cola” toast to thank our guests instead of a champagne toast as Justin doesn’t drink but loves Coke. So everyone was given a small glass coke bottle to toast with. We also built our own smores station out of a planter that we stained to give it a vintage feel. We also had as a candy bar, which included macaroon’s from Bon Macaroon in Victoria. The smores and macaroons were a huge hit with the guests.

We had some very special people help us with personal touches as well. One of my best friends is a very talented baker and cake decorator so she made our cake for us, which turned out beautiful. My dad is a painter, so we asked him to create our guest book for us. He painted a tree for us to use as our guest book and have guest stamp a thumb print and sign their name.

I made the ring box from a wooden box that I picked up at the dollar store. I stained it with the same stain that we used for the Smore’s station. I made the table numbers myself with wine corks and hand painted the numbers on card stock. The welcome sign that we used at the ceremony was an old mirror from my parent’s basement that I painted and turned into a chalk board. My sister used some old fencing to make a sign that read “Nelson 9-15-13” with a heart painted on it. I found a vintage window pane and hand painted escort cards to hang from it for guests to find their table number. We also rented vintage books from Victoria Vintage China to use as part of the table scaped floral arrangements that my amazing florist set up for us.

My dress and sash were from the amazing ladies at The White Peony in Victoria. My head band and earrings were also from The White Peony. My shoes were from Davids Bridal. I had them dyed blue for a pop of colour. My husband’s suit was purchased at Moore’s

Our wedding day went off with out a hitch. It turned out absolutely wonderful. It was everything we wanted it to be. It was warm, relaxed, intimate and cheerful, but most of all, we had fun.

The beautiful Bride of this stunning Hawaii soiree said it’s hard to put into words the love and joy they felt on their wedding day, but I swear you can almost feel that joy in all of the gorgeous images from James Moes. Their breathtaking day was nothing short of magical, and you can soak up all the sweetness here.

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Elegant Nashville Wedding at Belle Meade Country Club

From The Bride…It is hard to put into words the love and joy we felt on our wedding day but every time we look back at our photos from James, we are immediately transported back to the emotions of that day. Hawaii has always held a special place in our hearts. I was lucky enough to be raised on island of Oahu and Doug is an avid surfer and ocean enthusiast. We knew Hawaii would be the perfect setting for our dream wedding – personal, relaxed, and most importantly fun! Our inspiration was an intimate outdoor party with lawn games, good food, dancing, and plenty to drink.

We kept the ceremony short but meaningful to allow more time for cocktail hour and the reception. Our dear friend and Doug’s roommate throughout college wrote a beautiful ceremony and officiated the wedding. Doug and I selected readings on love and marriage for each of his four sisters to read. We wanted to highlight the natural beauty of our venue by keeping the décor simple and organic. We also tried to minimize the stress of planning a wedding by hiring our wonderful planner Lauren to guide up through the process and edit down our details to a few select projects. Instead of rented drinking glasses, we hand etched mason jars with the help of my mom and auntie, which also doubled as escort cards and keepsake favors for our guests to take home. Doug made all the wooden signs from old pallets. He also sourced a wooden bench from a local furniture maker to use for guests to sign-in and then engraved our initials into the bench.

My bridesmaids and I arranged the flower centerpieces, bouquets, and boutonnieres. A group of our family and friends gathered the night before and morning of the wedding to assist with the set-up and break down. The fact that so many of our loved ones played such a huge role in our wedding made the day all the more special for us and we are forever grateful for their support.

Aside from becoming husband and wife, the best part of the day was being able to celebrate love and friendship with all our closest family and friends in one setting. We could not have asked for a more perfect day!

Wrapped up in this beauty of a day beautifully captured by Sayher Heffernan is the perfect amount of elegance and fun. It’s a wedding that is not only stylish, but smile inducing – and the laughs almost seem audible when you glance at the gorgeous images below. It’s a day filled with heart, and trust me, you don’t want to miss a second of it. Catch it all here.

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Beacon Hill Proposal Film

From Sayher Heffernan…Matt is from Melbourne and Eliza, Nashville. The two met in Cece Winans home after Matt was nearing the end of his stay in Nashville. They hit it off, Matt proposed in New York and less than two years later got married in Nashville joined by a strong Australian crowd. It was a fun few days in Nashville with food and bowling at the Pinewood social club, a rehearsals dinner complete with taco truck and then a super fun wedding at Wightman Chapel (Scarritt Bennett) and reception at Belle Meade country club. The styling of the day was elegant and simple with a focus on fresh flowers (Australian florals included).

For those of you who haven’t yet visited Boston, let me tell you that a stroll through Beacon Hill is an absolute must. Think cobblestone streets, historic brick buildings, and gaslights at every turn. Basically, it’s the most charming place a guy could ever propose, and we’re about to watch it happen thanks to Harris Films. Grab a tissue and press play.

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From Harris Films…There are few things we enjoy more than capturing the raw emotion of a proposal. There is something so different about it that really draws you in.

Vince proposed to Lauren on a quiet street in Beacon Hill on their way to dinner. We had him mic’d and captured the incredibly beautiful moment as it unfolded. As if the proposal wasn’t enough when they arrived to dinner her family was waiting for her after traveling all the way from St. Louis.

Shortly after the proposal we shot their engagement session along the Charles River and Esplanade, one of their favorite spots to spend time on the weekends. Vince and Lauren were such a fun and easy going couple to work with. We really enjoyed getting to know them and are so grateful they choose us to share this special time in their life with.

Photography: Makayla Jade Creatives | Cinematography: Harris Films

Flower-Drenched Rustic Wedding Film

My favorite part of this film is the very beginning and these sweet, sweet words from the Groom that will absolutely melt your heart… “Love is not a pretty poem, it’s a collection of these quiet, everyday moments”. The rest that follows from Fairytale Studio is a dreamy wedding story, a day of deep love, covered in the prettiest blooms from Paradise Flowers. Press play below to see every beautiful moment.

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From Fairytale Studio… A Russian-Jewish wedding of Rachel and Daniel from Pleasantdale Chateau, NJ. We were in awe with all the flowers. The floral crowns the girls were wearing, the bride’s bouquet and also the botanic garden inside the chateau. Everything felt so down to earth; one with the nature. Rachel even called me to make sure not to use any posed shots we did, rather only all natural. I think that’s what makes it so authentic. And we absolutely love the red room Rachel was putting on the dress. The contrast of white dress against the red floral wallpaper is just stunning. This was definitely one of the most unique weddings we have ever done.

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Lazaro

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When it comes to picking a season to say “I do”, springtime seems to be the bride favorite. But, there’s something about the elegance added to a black tie affair when the wedding is a winter one, and this Virginia bride wouldn’t have had it any other way. Kelley Cannon Events was on point with all the tiny details and Sweet Tea Photography captured the classic shots in the prettiest gallery right here.

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Bedroom Design by the Novogratz + A GIVEAWAY

From Sweet Tea Photography…Lauren and Adam met at Wilfie and Neil, a New York City bar, where they both lived at the time. Adam confessed that Lauren being 5’7 and blonde caught his eye but he was truly drawn in by her kindness, fun loving attitude, and how comfortable she made him feel around her. Lauren had been obsessed with Texas since she had been recruited at UT and A&M for PwC. So when Adam said he was from Texas, she knew he was definitely getting her number but it was his charm that reeled her in….and his smile!! After that first night, Lauren invited Adam to her friend’s rooftop oyster party and they completely hit it off!

Lauren and Adam dated for 13 months and then the proposal was made.

From The Bride…It was the day we closed on the house we were buying and we also moving in that afternoon. So our apt was packed up and boxes were everywhere. He asked me to help him look for something so we had to start unpacking boxes. Inside one of them was a smaller box and inside that he had put a small bag from one of our favorite restaurants in the city (Mermaid Inn). When he told me he loved me for the first time the year before he said he knew during a dinner we had there that he was in love with me. He told me to look in the bag and he had the ring inside. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

As soon as we got engaged, I knew Alexandria would be the perfect place. I had taken Adam there on one of our trips to visit my parents and he loved it. Plus with a number of people flying in from out of town, being 5 minutes from the airport was just what we needed. Also I knew all of our New York friends would love the walk ability of the town. I really only had 1 option in mind and that was Hotel Monaco. When we went down to see it, I had all fingers and toes crossed that Adam would like it and luckily he did (hard not too!). The hotel was the perfect size plus it was down the block from the church. And all the staff were so helpful and accommodating which made the decision even easier.

Since our wedding was the last day of February, I wanted the colors to be more on the winter side and less summery. We knew the guys would be in tuxes, so I suppose the tux inspired the black and white theme. I also knew that I wanted all my bridesmaids to pick their own dress. I chose black because there are so many dresses to choose from in this color and everyone looks great in black.

We were going for simple elegance and I definitely think we achieved it. All of our vendors totally got on board and understood our vision. All our vendors were just the best – I know we are biased but we couldn’t have had a better team!

Holly Chapple nailed our flowers. They were to die for and I knew they would be. When Lisa Marie gave us her recommended vendors, I went onto Holly’s website I knew I just had to have her for our wedding….and I was right. When our planner Kelley Cannon showed us the room for the first time, we were so taken aback – everything was stunning.

I also loved our wedding cake. One of my bridesmaids (who I have known since I was 3) made our wedding cake. She has always been skilled when it comes to the kitchen so when it came to picking a baker, Paige Allen was the only one who got a call. Although she was a little hesitant since she is not a professional baker (but she should be), she accepted the challenge and knocked it out of the park! We also had pieces of cake for breakfast the next morning – cake for every meal (and yes I have a sweet tooth!).

I am obsessed with my bridesmaid gifts. One of my bridesmaids recently started a bag company (Beau and Ro) and she made a special edition bag for my wedding and my ladies. They were such a hit and the perfect gift!

DJ Dan, there really is nothing else to say except he is amazing. Everyone had such a blast at our wedding and danced their faces off and I attribute that all to Dan. Our make-up and hair Stylist, Amie Decker, was phenomenal. Similar to Holly, I was flexible on a lot of things but hair and makeup is something that I knew I wanted / needed the dream team and Amie Decker and Kelley Small were just that. Couldn’t have trusted 2 people more and they both made me and the rest of the bridal party look stunning.

I hired Kelley Cannon as a day of planner. After the wedding, I was raving to my mom about Kelley – I kept calling her my 7th bridemaid. She literally did everything for us and made the day completely perfect. I didn’t worry about 1 thing knowing Kelley had everything under control. She really was the glue that held everything together and I can’t thank her enough for doing such a fabulous job.

I really had never envisioned having a winter wedding but I would do it again in a heart beat. There was something magical about it. And for anyone on a budget – you can get some major deals because it is definitely not as busy of a season!

My favorite memory was our ceremony. Adam walked me down the aisle and walking in to the church together. We are also blessed to have prepared and married by Father Kleinmann at St. Marys who I can’t say enough amazing things about. There are just know words for how special he made our wedding day. Hearing the homily, saying our vows and exchanging rings was something I will never forget. Truly life changing.

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Amie Decker Beauty

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Hello, my name is Jacquelyn and I am a Novogratz junky! But can you blame me? What with their booming design business, line of awesome products and plethora of talented kiddos? These fine folks are kicking butt and taking names! They’re not afraid to think outside the box, and we’ve got a collection of awesome bedrooms to prove it (plus a giveaway below)!

10 Novogratz Bedrooms

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10 Novogratz Bedrooms

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And in celebration of their new “bed in a bag” line of products, we’ve lined up quite the giveaway. Let’s take a quick moment to pore over the awesome bedding, shall we?

Amazing, yes? Well we’re giving away FOUR of them to four lucky SMPers! Simply enter below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jacquelyn Clark

Modern Print Tablescape Inspiration

Real weddings are the heartbeat of our content on SMP, but every now and again we like to focus in on stand-alone design inspiration that pushes the envelope. It’s the result of vendors like SQN Events who dreamt up this modern tablescape with bold prints from BBJ Linen that managed to steal the show. One part pink, one part teal, one part gold, one part coral, and all parts fabulous. More from Kina Wicks‘ lens right here.

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