Click here for more inspiration in the full wedding gallery!

When they finally got engaged after 8 years of dating, Sarah and Matt decided that they wanted to celebrate their marriage with all their friends and family on the island of Maui. About five months into the wedding planning, it became clear how financially difficult it was going to be for their friends and family to make the trip out to Maui for their wedding. So they decided to scratch all their plans for a tropical destination wedding and go back to the drawing board.  When they found the Flying Caballos Ranch in San Luis Obispo, everything started to make sense and the wedding started falling into place.  San Luis Obispo is where Sarah and Matt met, fell in love, graduated from college, and lived for 5 years of their life together. Working on a really tight budget, they enlisted the help of their friends and family to make this wedding happen.

They decided to go with an eclectic, vintage, down-home theme and vibe for the wedding.  Sarah, dressed in her favorite color and she and Matt walked down the aisle together and were married by one of their best friends who got ordained to perform the ceremony. Matt’s best man designed and built the doorway they walked through to the ceremony (which featured metal cut-outs of their two Boxers), the alter they were married on, and the photo booth wall that was covered with wedding photos of their family and wedding party. The tables were labeled by street names that Sarah and Matt have lived at together and growing up. The table scape featured burlap runners made by Matt’s mom, an array of different china and silverware that they bought from thrift stores and swap meets, mason water jars, planted succulents holding the place cards, and array of beautiful yellow and red flowers. Instead of a cake, friends of Sarah & Matt contributed their dessert specialty to the Friends and Family Dessert Table, which was a huge hit! After their first dance to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” sung by on of their good friends, the band (also friends) started playing the “Ring of Fire” just as the bonfire started roaring.

The rest of the night was spent dancing the night away under the stars and celebrating with their closest friends and family. This wedding would not have been possible if it wasn’t for all of Sarah and Matt’s amazing friends and family who did whatever they could to make this day perfect for the bride and groom.

Wedding Photography: Bluephoto Wedding Photography / Florals: April Flowers / Venue: Flying Caballos Ranch / Caterer: Gus’s Catering / Wedding Coordinator: Rhone Studios / Invitations: Reason 4 Design / Save The Dates: Ryan Metlen / Ceremony Band: Austin Bruce / Reception Band: Undercover / Ceremony Doorway + Alter, Photobooth: Paul Rhodes Construction / Hair: Asha Hickerson – Salon Lux / Make-Up: Kelly Sterkel / Rentals: Taylor Rental Party Plus / Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero Fiorenza / Bridemaids Dresses: Anthropologie / Groom + Groomsmens’ Suits: Ralph Lauren from Men’s Warehouse

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: April Flowers, Bluephoto Wedding Photography, budget, California Weddings, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Flying Caballos Ranch, San Luis Obispo, Vintage
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, California Weddings, The Blog

click here to see the full wedding!

We were engaged on New Year’s Eve, at twilight, outside Windsor Castle in England. Eric proposed first, not with a diamond engagement ring, but with a very sparkly pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. That night was more than magical – and it set the precedent for the rest of our engagement, and wedding. As I began to think of what kind of wedding I wanted, what kind of wedding would best represent our relationship; I began to ask advice of some our already-married friends and family. There was a common denominator in almost all the suggestions we received: do it your way; don’t try to please anyone else; make it about the two of you. And so I began planning a very unique little event, hoping that our friends and family would leave saying, that wedding was SO them!

After our engagement, I stumbled upon a little blog called Style Me Pretty. And so began my blog-obsession; I, like most of you reading this, spent an embarrassing amount of time online, looking at other beautiful weddings, gathering ideas, and noting what details I found to be most important. I created a myriad of folders on my computer for sorting design ideas: flowers, food, décor, photo ideas & poses, fashion & hair, cakes, themes, etc. I used these sample photos to communicate my “vision” with my vendors, especially my photographers, Chelsea & Mack of McGowan Images. There is no one more responsible for the successful outcome of our wedding than those two – photography was a priority for us from the beginning, but our expectations were far exceeded in the relationship we created with our photographers. Chelsea was my sounding board – she listened to and gave feedback on my ideas, helped in any way she could, and kept me from drowning in the final weeks before the wedding. I am genuinely proud of the images she captured at our wedding, and they are all the more special, because they’re the product of a nine-month commitment to a wedding that was uniquely “us.”

Many of the initial decisions I made started with the shoes – I knew I wanted to wear the engagement Louboutins for the wedding, and I knew I wanted them to really be seen. I chose a short dress to feature the shoes, and decided that the dress lent itself to a more nontraditional sort of wedding. And so one personal/unique/nontraditional decision led to another; my bridesmaids were given a color palette to choose from, and encouraged to pick a dress (and shoes!) that they liked, in a style that would suite their personality and body type. We served breakfast-for-dinner at our reception, and then moved the whole party out to the garden for desert and dancing. We chose my grandmother’s birthday as our wedding date; my Dad (a licensed minister) did our ceremony; my matron of honor’s mother did the beautiful flowers (and her father sang the special music), and a friend from work baked the cake. Our friends and family did all setup, decorations, light-installation (including the mounting of a chandelier from Eric’s grandmother’s house), etc. We hired very few vendors that we didn’t have a previous relationship with.

I saw so many other weddings using vintage books as décor, and was intrigued – not by the look of the books themselves, but by the stories within. The first present Eric ever gave me was a copy of Pride & Prejudice, from the Jane Austen museum in Bath, England. As our own story spanned several years, and many different chapters, the idea of “stories” as a theme for our wedding seemed a natural fit. And so we were married, surrounded by our closest friends and families, and by some of literature’s most classic love stories.

Most of our decorations and design elements came from my grandparent’s house and barn. I borrowed boxes of antique bottles, mason jars, cut glass and crystal, wooden candle pillars, and tons and tons of lace doilies. My one “splurge” was the mercury glass – I bought it wherever I could find it, which isn’t so easy between the months of January and October! Our cake topper (vintage penguin salt and pepper shakers) was ordered from Etsy, along with my veil, the custom burlap table runner for the head table, and my bridesmaid’s gifts (custom printed clutches).

I look back on our wedding day with a lot of pride. I’m proud that we were able to do so much with such a small budget (the grand total of our whole event was just under $13,000). I’m proud that we spent so much of our day together (the “First Sight” we did really helped with that). I’m proud of the reaction we received from so many people, telling us that our wedding, was indeed, very “us.” And I’m extremely proud of all our wedding images – they’ll be a lifetime reminder of the fabulous day we started a new chapter in our story together.

It is so inspiring to see the current movement towards a more personal wedding, and Style Me Pretty is a wealth of information for those that decide to do their wedding their way. I didn’t have the budget for a big white wedding, and didn’t feel pressured or disappointed in my decision to host an affair that was truly us. Our day was perfect, not because the invitations were perfectly letter pressed, or because we served the perfect four-course menu – our wedding was perfect, because it was perfect for us.

Photography: Mack & Chelsea McGowan, McGowan Images / Venue: The Belltower Chapel & Garden in Fort Worth, TX / Florals: Classic Flowers & Gifts in Bridgeport, TX / Wedding Dress: Justin Alexander / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Penguin cake topper: PrettyDarnCute / Burlap Table Runner: TheRufflyOwl / Birdcage Veil: VeilLady / Bridesmaid’s Cluthches: PoppyPunch

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Post tags: Books, budget, Christian Louboutin, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Etsy, Fort Worth, Justin Alexander, literary, Literature, love stories, McGowan Images, Texas Weddings, The Belltower Chapel & Garden
Post categories: Budget Beautiful

Click here to see the full wedding in all it’s fabulousness!

We met this past October during Oktoberfest in Amana – it was definitely love at first sight. On New Year’s day, Adam proposed and so began our fairytale.

As a graphic designer I had many ideas and thoughts going through my head as what I wanted the wedding’s theme to be… I have always wanted to have an outdoor ceremony – something so beautiful and real about having your wedding outdoors. To me its one step closer to God – surrounded by all his creation. And our reception had to be in the Festhalle Barn! The location of Oktoberfest… Where we met! With all its rich and strong history and elegance it was a great place that not only had meaning but potential!

There was one thing besides our tight budget ($13,000) that was very important to us. I wanted to carry throughout the wedding day the “feeling” that our guests would have. A feeling of a whimsical fairytale that they were swept into the beauty of nature in our ceremony and experiencing the elegant contrast of the rich wood barn against the flowing fabric and tranquil candlelight – - while they listened to the soft jazz / classical music of the band while they enjoyed their night away from their reality.

Some of the interesting snippets of the wedding / decoration…

We bought wine glasses from all sorts of second hand stores, vintage stores, goodwills, etc. — which made them all different shapes and sizes – creating a very homey individual look. Also the guests got to take the wine glasses home with them as a favor. All of the brass we used to decorate with throughout the reception area came from Goodwill’s so there was no sets — just playful and random. The fabric we used to drape was muslin (which you know is extremely affordable). We used lots of fabric softener to make it easier to drape. The backdrop for the reception (behind the band & photo booth) was cardboard pieces that I painted then we taped them together.

The menu was made up of a piece of wood which I sprayed chalkboard paint on then wrote the menu on — the frame was from an antique store. For our ceremonial unity we used different types of rope/string/etc. So… Adam came up with a piece that depicted him, I did and each set of our parents did. Then during the ceremony we tied them all together.

The directional signs for the wedding were just old pieces of barn board that we hinged together and my mother in law painted. Oh and all the little candles were bought at Hobby Lobby (not sure how wide-spread that store is…) which were very inexpensive! Another place that saved us money was GotPrint.com — we printed all of our invite pieces from this website for… I think around $280.

Planning / Coordination / Design & Decorating – Done by the bride with help from family and friends / Photography – Eric Yerke / Ceremony Venue – Kent Park / Reception Venue – Festhalle Barn in Amana, IA  / Cake – Deluxe Cakes & Pastries / Groom’s Suit – DKNY / Dress – The Bridal Connection, designed by Christina Rossi / Bride’s Shoes – Menbur, bought from Endless.com / Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Victoria’s Secret / / Hair – Tracy Andes / Flowers (bouquets & boutonnieres only) – All Seasons Weeds / Flowers (table arrangements) – Amy Raes / Wreath, Swag – Mother of the bride / Ceremony Music – Janet Carlon, Amy Carlon, Joey Russell / Band – Freestyle Band / Caterer – Howard Ball  / Beer – Millstream Brewery / Appetizers – Amana Meatshop

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Post tags: $13, 00, Amana, budget, DKNY Christiana Rossi, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Festhalle Barn, Handmade, Iowa, Kent Park, Victoria's Secret
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

photographs by Aaron Delesie (who we looooove)

Ceremony Style

Use planters packed tightly with white carnations (really tightly) to line your aisle. You can either buy inexpensive ceramic planters and paint them a high gloss chocolate brown or you can make your own wooden ones. A super easy DIY that even we could do. To save a little mula, skip the flowers sprinkled on the aisle. Although gorgeous, your guests won’t notice their absence.

The altar is the real stand out feature. If you are lucky enough to have a a structure already in place, simply drape it with really basic winter white fabric. You can tie off the edges with wire then cover with simple greenery. If not, use four poles with large sheets of fabric secured at the top of each (puddling on the ground) to create that same dreamy effect.  You can also use thick white ribbon tied down the pole. It will blow in the breeze and look gorgeous.

Rather than a bouquet of orchids, go for hydrangeas. They aren’t quite as polished, but you get a big bang for your buck as you only need a few stems. Plus, they have that creamy color and pretty, feminine style that will look perfect within this wedding style. Your girls can carry the purple variety, tied simply with a pretty white ribbon. Please note that hydrangeas don’t have a long shelf life unless they are really treated with care. Here are some tips.

Consider renting your wedding dress, rather than buying it. Which is just what this bride did. Just make sure to do your due diligence on the company you rent from and get plenty of recommendations. Give your girls free reign on their own bridesmaids dresses by giving them 3-4 fabric swatches in a soft gold and letting them choose their own dress.

photographs by Aaron Delesie

Cocktail Hour and Reception Style

Decorate your cocktail tables with succulents, tucked in sand inside glass vases. A crazy easy DIY project that you and your friends can actually do WAY ahead of time. Just hit up your local wholesale flower mart for different varieties of succulents and inexpensive vases.

Create indoor/outdoor spaces by adding little antique cocktail tables (found at flea market or Good Will and spray painting them white), cute throw pillows and draped blankets. You can find such good “ambiance” details at IKEA for next to nothing. When all is said and done, these make great Christmas and holiday gifts!

Layer basic white table cloths that your venue provides with light blue square fabric pieces. You can make your own super easily by purchasing the fabric at a wholesale store or online, then using easy hem to finish off the edges. The square should overlap the edges of the table slightly OR be placed in the center leaving 12″ or so at the corners. If you are lucky enough to have square tables, you can use a light blue runner instead.

Make your napkins using a great lavender fabric. Napkins are probably the easiest sewing project on the planet, and you can finish them off by wrapping a pretty pale blue or white cord/ribbon around them. Or take it one step closer to the real wedding style and fasten old brooches as napkin rings (often found at flea markets).

For perfect centerpieces, make sure to vary the styles on your tables. Some tables should be tall, others low and others can simply feature an array of candles tucked in varying sizes of hurricane vases. Use Kathleen’s DIY to make pretty, muted gold vessels to hold your flowers. Stick with all one hue, shades of whites, and go with inexpensive but fluffy flowers…hydrangeas and tightly packed carnations.

Finish off the look with a bit of glitz. Use jeweled frames to house your table numbers, roll a few of your vases in super sparkly crystal clear glitter (we did this for our wedding). Or you could just dust off your bejewler, rent every episode of sex in the city and get to work adding a band of bling to your vases.

So that should give you some good ideas as to how to translate today’s gorgeous featured affair into one that can be done on a budget. By looking at each element as a separate piece to the puzzle, and tackling them one by one, you’ll be able to see how these ideas can really be done on any budget. The key is in not getting overwhelmed with the whole…rather finding the elements that stand out to you the most, and figuring out a really cost effective way to achieve that same look.

And one last thing…hiring professionals to help you (florists, planners, etc) will most definitely ensure that your vision is translated with ease. A florist often knows great ways to trim the cost of things that you might not have thought of so they just might save you more money than DIY.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aaron Delese, budget, California Weddings, Look for Less, Palos Verdes Wedding
Post categories: California Weddings, Los Angeles Weddings, The Blog

We had people to tell us we should cut costs by asking a friend or an art student to take the pictures, and I am thrilled that we completely ignored that advice. We set out looking for photographers who could really capture the essence of the day. Cheesy photos of wedding parties jumping in the air and grooms dipping their brides didn’t interest us. We wanted the pictures to not only remind us of how we felt during the celebration, but to convey to those who couldn’t make it a real sense of what it was like to be there. Johnny and I are both novice photographers, and we love a more photo-journalist style.  Kitty and Craig absolutely exceeded our expectations. Not only were they in the thick of everything, but they pulled it off without being the least bit intrusive. They were like ninja photographers! And the pictures represent the day so intimately and honestly, people joyfully tear up when looking at them. The added bonus of them living in the very same New Mexico village where our wedding was held was simply too serendipitous to ignore.

And, some last words that are SO important for every bride on a budget to remember…

Using the resources you have, hunting for great deals, going to local businesses rather than large wedding retailers, and incorporating the talents that you have and the talents of others close to you – all of this is my best advice for creating a wedding that is not only affordable but that is truly your own.

The last thing I would add is that all of the guests made comments about how wonderful the rain was, affirming my belief that working with unplanned events (rather than trying to fight against them), is the best practice. Brides in particular get so caught up in the day being ‘perfect.’ We were rained on, ran people from courtyard to tent back to courtyard, had technical difficulties with the father-daughter dance, had to improvise a plan to fill water glasses, my bustle broke, my dress got muddy, the bus showed up too early to take guests back to the hotel, just to name a few mishaps… and it was the most spectacular day of my life. At least 20 of our guests told me that the evening was “just perfect,” and I couldn’t agree more.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

* * *

Couldn’t have said it better myself!! Coming up next, we are announcing the Crate and Barrel Favorite Four Giveaway Winners!!! And later today, we have another pretty killer giveaway…in the meantime, check out the AWESOME Gourmet Invitations Giveaway on the Little Black Book Blog!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: The Blog, Vintage Chic

From Elizabeth, the lovely, lovely bride…

We found that buying silverware at thrift stores was more than 50% cheaper than renting it.  We provided one fork, knife and spoon for each guest, and picked up cool serving utensils as we stumbled upon them – all in all about 375 pieces of silverware.

We borrowed napkins from my cousin. She had used them at her wedding, which was also deluged by a heavy rainstorm. There was speculation among my family members that perhaps the napkins brought the rain with them…

It was my little sister’s idea to name our tables after some of our favorite jazz musicians, a passion Johnny and I share. The night that we met we had a lengthy conversation about the film ‘Sweet and Lowdown,’ and our love for the swing era. The head table was then named after the (fictional) lead characters from that film, Emmet Ray and his love, Hattie. The lanterns came from a decor hunt Johnny and his mother went on in Johnny’s hometown of Durango. The jars and bottles we collected at antique stores and garage sales during our engagement. Julie had sage bushes in her yard, so we used branches from them in the jars, and then attached the table markers to the branches with clothespins.

Our desserts were made by three of our friends. One of them made the wedding cake, her first ever attempt, to rave reviews! It was a chocolate-cocoa cake with buttercream frosting and fresh berries. The coconut cake in particular was too delicious to be described. Finally our third baking friend made cookies and mini cheesecakes for those who prefer something other than cake.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

We are love, love, loving Elizabeth and Johnny’s featured affair today. I have to admit, it was the incredible photography shot by Twin Lens that first caught my attention…and then, as I read more about the wedding, I realized that it was the ridiculously lovely, completely creative couple that made each photograph shine.

We had a friend growing flowers as her gift to us (as well as for her own personal edification as a novice gardener). We basically found images of flowers that we thought we pretty, and she planted as many of them as she could find. We knew some of them might not grow in the desert, so we developed a plan B of using supermarket bouquets to fill out our floral arrangements. This is ultimately what we ended up doing – combining flowers from Julie’s garden with flowers from Whole Foods to make bouquets, boutineers, and a few table arrangements. We didn’t really need many flowers for decor, as our location was a lush, garden setting. If you think about the average wedding bouquet costing around $250, a few bunches at $15-$20 a piece becomes a really great deal.

My dress was actually a contemporary gown by Lian Carlo. I found it at Belltown Bride in Seattle, ‘a discount bridal boutique.’ The owner sells overstock and sample dress, all of them quite affordable as wedding gowns go. My sisters came with me, and we were on a mission as it was about 10 weeks to the wedding. I had pretty strained dress experiences up to that point, but I found about 5 different possible dresses at this shop. The dress I chose was the one with absolutely no cons on the pros & cons scale. The flower accessory was a bouquet belt from Jcrew (my secret addiction). I thought it made the flower embroidery on the bodice come to life.

Johnny’s suit came from a vintage shop in San Diego called Wear it Again Sam. It’s from the late 1940′s. As a member of the band Le Chat Lunatique, Johnny owns a number of suits for playing gigs with this dapper quartet. He originally bought the suit just because he loved it and his band gives him the perfect excuse for owning gorgeous attire.

So much more to come!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

Classic first words from today’s gorgeous bride as she described her vision to Kitty and Craig of Twin Lens Images. The bride wanted a wedding that was all about the love, all about the romance. And most importantly, all about the friends and family that they shared their life with. And the result captured my heart completely!

Elizabeth, the bride, has been sweet enough to share some really beautiful details from her wedding….

It’s funny because we never really talked about a particular theme, but rather just making the wedding a representation of who we are as individuals and as a couple. At one point in the planning process I read something about having a theme, and we decided that if we had one it was likely to be “thrift store chic.”

The most important thing to both of us was to truly involve our families, friends and community in the event. So many weddings feel like a party you just show up at, where you are completely catered to, and where everything matches perfectly. That approach works for a lot of couples, but for us those ideas lend a feeling of being disconnected from the event itself.

I read a lot, and as I read about weddings, I learned that in the early part of the 20th century a wedding was likely to be a gathering of the community with everyone bringing some sort of contribution. Whether it was food or clothing or flowers, or giving their time and energy, everyone pitched in. That was the feeling we wanted to create – that of a truly collective experience and celebration.

Johnny (who is a musician in local jazz band, “Le Chat Lunatique”) and I have many of our own interests, but it was our shared joys that really influenced the wedding. One of our first conversations included a chat about how we both feel we may have been born in the wrong era, and our strong connection to the 1920′s, 30′s, 40′s and 50′s. He’s the only man I’ve ever known who chops wood, drives a pick up, goes mountain biking, yet also understands and loves fashion almost as much as I do.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Thrift Store Chic, Twin Lens, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic