Jordan and I met in college after being introduced by mutual friends. After dating for five years Jordan proposed one week before Christmas. Loving all things romantic I have dreamed of my wedding day since I was a young girl. So it was only fitting that I dove right into planning. Early on in our planning I was introduced to Style Me Pretty by my friend Renee (Designs by Renee), who also designed our beautiful letter pressed wedding invitations and coordinating paper stationary. I was immediately hooked, visiting the website multiple times a day! It was such an inspiration in not only providing details for our wedding, but amazing advice and stories from other brides and grooms.

I could not imagine our wedding anywhere else other then the town I grew up in. Our ceremony was held in the church where I was baptized and had my first communion. Our reception was held at a private residence that happens to be my aunt and uncles home. Although our reception was held outdoors, we wanted a formal wedding with a romantic feel. I loved that Jordan and I could design our celebration from start to finish incorporating our personalities and interests into every last detail.

My mom was my partner in crime throughout the planning process. Whether it was traveling up and down the east coast to find the perfect antique birdcage for our cards or rummaging through old photos of our grandparents and great grandparents on their wedding day, we had such a fun time. Even my dad joined in on the fun taking dance lessons and surprising all our guests with a choreographed father-daughter dance, something completely out of his element.

After a year and a half of planning and waiting, torrential downpours and record flooding reminisce of Tropical Storm Lee threatened our day. Unable to get the tents and rentals in, we almost had to completely move our reception location to an indoor venue. Two days later on our wedding day September 10, 2011 the rain gave way to beautiful blue skies and our reception was able to go on as planned.

Absolutely everything turned out perfect and our day was amazing, sprinkled with beautiful blush, ivory and gold details! We were so fortunate to work with the most wonderful wedding professionals that took our vision and turned it into reality. It was the best day of our lives and we are so happy we could celebrate our marriage with all our amazing family and friends.

Photography: Tennison Photography / Cinematography: Neil Benjers, Blue Sky Films / Flowers: All Things Beautiful / Event Design: Shumaker PDT / Event Planning: Planned Perfection / Ceremony Location: Redeemer Lutheran Church / Reception Location: Private Residence / Invitations: Designs By Renée / Shoes: Valentino and Jimmy Choo / Dress: Melissa Sweet, Bee via Priscilla of Boston / Linens: La Tavola Linens / Catering: The Greenfield Restaurant & Bar / Bridesmaid Dresses: Lela Rose via Hitched Salon / Tuxes: JoS A. Bank / Rings: Kaplans Fine Jewelry

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Post tags: All Things Beautiful, Blue Sky Films, Bouquets, Centerpieces, Chiavari Chars, Designs by Renee, Hitched, Invitations, Jimmy Choo, Jos A Bank, Kaplans Fine Jewelry, La Tavola Linens, Lancaster, Lela Rose, Melissa Sweet, Neutral Color Palette, Outdoor Wedding, Pennsylvania, Planned Perfection, Priscilla of Boston, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Shumaker PDT, Tennison Photography, Tented Reception, The Greenfield Restaurant & Bar, Traditional Elegance, Valentino, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Stationery
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance

And speaking of modern, fresh designs, I am also loving the oh-so-now purple hues in this next set of flowers. The purple undertones add a bit of depth and dimension, so the end effect isn’t quite as girly as your standard pink style…

Top Left Photo by Linda Baldwin Flowers, shot by China Jorrin / Top Right Photo by All Things Beautiful shot by KMPhotography / Bottom Photo by Waterlily Pond shot by Erin Beach

Pinks tend to go in one direction or another…either a bit red/orange or a bit blue/purple. The purple hues are perfect for a bit more edgy, modern affair. I love the sleek sophistication of the bottom photo…a more architectural approach to floral design.

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Post tags: All Things Beautiful, China Jorrin, Color Palette Pink Black, Dallas, Installation Floral, Linda Baldwin Flowers, New York Weddings, Pink Week, Sleek Florals, Texas Weddings, Tri State Area
Post categories: Wedding Flowers

From Melissa, the bride…

The theme of the wedding was a shabby-chic garden wedding with ivory and muted greens and blues as the primary colors.  It was very important to match the existing atmosphere of Lauxmont farms, as well as show my own antique, shabby-chic taste.  The ceiling of the rotunda (ceremony site) is green and ivory striped, which was perfectly tied in with the centerpiece containers painted green and white (found on clearance at Michaels, already painted!!) Planning was done by Melissa Rau of the Event Planning Network.

Our favors were personalized coozies with our monogram and wedding date. We served beer from a local brewery to give visitors a taste of Lancaster.

My earrings were made by a Richmond artist, Maryellen Kim of TwistStyle, and incorporated  pearls with a blue stone drop for her something blue.  Rob’s Aunt embroidered a handkerchief for me and my mother, aunt, and grandmother with the “tree of life” and personalized monogram, which all carried during the ceremony. 

The cake was made by Bellamanse and included blue buttercream frosting with fondant lace decor to coordinate with the bride’s gown.  The flavors included chocolate with chocolate filling (my favorite) and white cake with blueberry filling.
 
Flowers were done by Kelly Steadman from All Things Beautiful. My bouquet included white roses and stephanotis with pearl accents and the bridesmaid’s bouquets included blue hydrangea and sweetheart roses.  It was very important to me to have very small bouquets that were easy to handle with little-to-no greenery.

My wedding dress was designed by Mon Cheri, a cap-sleeved ivory lace gown with a fitted bodice and a victorian feel.  The dress was a one-of-a-kind and was bought off the rack over 2 years before the wedding day! The tuxes were men’s warehouse with traditional cummerbunds, and bowties by Peter Blair, Richmond VA.

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Post tags: All Things Beautiful, Amanda Kraft, Bellamanse, Event Planning Network, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Details
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog, Traditional Elegance