Jenny and Jim: Cincinnati Wedding Film from Steve Zugelter on Vimeo.

Jim and I wanted our entire wedding themed around friendship and Cincinnati, which is how our love story all began.  Jim and I met at work and quickly became  good friends.  Our shared interest in sports, Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, friends and living life to it’s fullest was hard to ignore and our friendship quickly blossomed into a love story.

As soon as we began planning our wedding we knew it had to be around the city we love and our friends.  Our invitations played a large part in informing our guest about our wedding weekend events and our passions.  Our custom made save the dates featured us on Cincinnati Reds Diamond Club seats and our custom made invites featured the skyline of Cincinnati.  We also wanted our rehearsal dinner to be intimate and promote our beautiful city – it couldn’t have been any better when we found our perfect rehearsal venue, Friendship Park.

We wanted a wedding weekend that was unique and special to us.  Our venues were extremely important.  We decided to get married in an old Cathedral that has since been converted to a venue to host events.  The beautiful floor to head stained glass windows, delicately painted ceilings, and collective bell towers decorated the interior and provided a warming touch.  Lush flower pots filled the red brick patio where guest had the chance to enjoy post ceremony cocktails.  As soon as the doors opened guest were wowed by the amount of candles we lined the church with.  With such a beautiful ceremony location the simple floral arrangements added a fresh scent and burst of purples, greens, and white.

We wrote our own vows and created a ceremony that was unique to each of us.  Embedded in my wedding bouquet was a locket with my Father’s picture so he was with me on my special day.  Our programs gave shout outs to friends and family, featured our aspirations as a couple, and even acknowledged our best canine friend Chili.

Our day was amazing, our wedding video was even more amazing.  It captures how special and unique our day was to us and our family. It captures the love that was in that room, how much fun Jim and I have together, and the overall theme of our lives – friendship.

Photography: Neysa Ruhl Photography / Makeup: BRIDEface / Floral Design: The Tulip Tree / Venue:  The Bell Event Center / Cinematography: Studio Z Films

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: brideface, cincinnati, Color Palette Purple, Neysa Ruhl Photography, Ohio, Studio Z Films, The Bell Event Center, The Tulip tree, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Cinematography

From April at Bluebird Photography … Jennifer & John booked me about a month out from the wedding! It was a small, intimate wedding of about 30 guests at a local park. She created the most beautiful table … one long table for all of her guests. The details were just gorgeous!! She took phrases and music from french songs, printed them on paper and curled them to place in vases. The small cake served as the centerpiece while the rest of the table was decorated with gorgeous, black candle holders… just lovely!

From Jennifer … It was pretty instant between John and me. He lived in Columbus and I lived in Cincinnati, so we had our first date in Dayton the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We somehow managed to have a three hour dinner. I think we just kept ordering more food so we could make it last. I remember laughing a lot, and I remember being mesmerized by his smile. On our way out of the restaurant, I took his hand, and it just felt right. He called me on his way home from dinner, and we talked the whole way home. I was falling for him so I introduced him to my two year old son. When they became best buds by the end of the day, I knew he was the one.

The three of us spent Christmas together, and I knew I wanted to spend every Christmas with him. On Valentine’s Day, he took me to New York, took me to a jeweler, and told me to pick one out! We had planned on going away and getting married somewhere just the two of us. We are both so close to our families, though, that in the end I decided I wanted to have them there. There were so many people who were so happy for us, and I wanted to celebrate the moment with them. When all of the vendors and location I wanted were available on the same day, we went for it! I had four weeks to plan the wedding! Because I was planning on a very short time frame, there was no messing around. I got the best vendors, told them what I wanted, and trusted them to do it. And they did!

My sister, Heather Kramb, has done event design for many galas. She and I used to own a French antique store together in Lebanon called Maddie Lisee. We are both total junkies for everything French and old and beautiful. When John and I decided to get married at Ault Park, a French Country style for our wedding was a no-brainer for me. It’s a look that I have loved for ten years, not just the latest trend or style. I used my all-time favorite colors: aqua, ivory, black, and silver. The event design was a collaboration between the floral designer, Dennis Buttelwerth, my sister, and I. You could say the look was a marriage of the finest materials we could find and handmade details. Dennis brought in the most beautiful pleated silk aqua linens from Washington, DC, and I made table runners from vintage French toile fabric. He had gorgeous, huge silver candelabras and my sister found rococo candlesticks to use between them. Dennis lined the table with beautiful ivory hydrangeas and roses in silver bowls and julep cups. He also used lavender and dusty miller, which I would have never thought of but loved. My sister had antique french sheet music in her closet that I wrapped around votives. She came up with a design element that was both inexpensive and beautiful, too, with the cylinders. We filled cylinders with pearls at the bottom, then I filled it with curled up pieces of parchment paper. I used the lyrics to “La Vie en Rose.” (Yes, my sister has things like antique french sheet music in her closet. You should see her basement!)

With his vast experience and creativity, Dennis came up with an unusual and beautiful way to have the ceremony. He draped the overlook at Ault Park with garlands and white flowers. It was simple but elegant and didn’t look like a “stage.” With such a small guest count of 36 and no bridal party, he suggested doing away with the center aisle. Instead, we put all of the chairs together. John walked out of one room at Ault Park, and my son and I walked out of the other end, and we met in the middle in front of our guests.

The first time I ever saw the Ault Park Pavilion was shortly after I started law school, about eight years before our wedding. For our wedding, I wanted something elegant but comfortable. I have been to weddings that were so elegant everyone forgot to have a good time. We wanted our wedding to be a celebration. We wanted our guests to relax and enjoy themselves. Having it outdoors seemed perfect for us. Because we had such a small group, we were able to seat everyone at one long table under the arches and have a candlelit dinner with our closest friends and family.

I bought all of my wedding day attire at La Jeune Mariee in Worthington, Ohio. It’s a bridal salon owned by sisters Lyndsay and Stacey. They were amazing! The service they gave me was unbelievable. After visiting larger bridal salons where all I heard was “that dress takes six months,” Stacey and Lyndsay didn’t hesitate and made it happen for me. I fell in love with a dress by Lea-Ann Belter. Stacey called the rep from the company and managed to get me into a made-to-measure couture gown in weeks! It literally came in days before my wedding, but it was perfect! My shoes were Benjamin Adams and dyed a french blue. I found the most gorgeous tear-drop earrings. Bridal jewelry seems like an extravagant expense on top of so many other expenses, but it’s the only thing from my wedding day that I can still wear when I go out!

The one thing John asked for in our wedding was to keep it very small. He was absolutely right! Coming from a big Irish family, I didn’t know how to do small. It was wonderful, though. Everyone at our wedding knew everybody else. There were no “how do you know the bride and groom?” moments with our guests. It was a really great joining of our families. My mom and John’s mom held hands and cried together during the ceremony.

My sister has a successful jewelry company where she takes vintage jewelry, breaks it down, and makes it into something new. Her pieces are gorgeous! I didn’t want to do the same old favors. I wanted something the guests would actually use but would remind them of our day. Heather made a unique necklace for each of the ladies in attendance with antique chandelier crystals and a variety of french charms. Each was one of a kind and different. The men each received an LED light keychain. She then put them in organza bag, attached a tag stamped with a fleur de lys and wrote the guest’s name on it. It also doubled as a place card holder.

My favorite memory from our wedding was saying our vows. It felt so right to say our vows to each other, at that moment in that place. When I think back to our wedding, what I remember most was how right it felt to become John’s wife. The funniest thing happened, though, when we were standing in front of the preacher and realized we had left the rings in my purse inside one of the rooms at Ault Park. I signaled my friend Lauren. God love her, she went back in, found them, and gave them to my son to bring up to us. I’ll never forget a smiling three year old in his suit walking up to us, handing us the rings, and saying “Here you go!”

I had a “dream team” of vendors. Because I had such a short time to plan, I got the best vendors and trusted them to do what they do best. The most amazing thing about each of them, though, was their ability to step outside the box and make my dream wedding happen in four weeks!

Vendor credits Photographer: Bluebird Photography / Wedding Gown Designer: Lea-Ann Belter from La Jeune Mariee / Earrings by Haute Bride, San Francisco / Floral Designer: Dennis Buttelwerth / Event Designer and Planner: Heather Kramb and Dennis Buttelwerth / Invitation Designer: Fun Invitations / Cake The Bonbonerie

See more of Jennifer & John’s beautiful wedding on Bluebird Photography’s blog.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ault Park, Bluebird Photography, cincinnati, Dennis Buttelwerth, Fun Invitations, Haute Bride, Heather Kramb, Lea-Ann Belter, Ohio, The Bonbonerie
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

Click here for more inspiration in the full wedding gallery!

We decided to get married in our hometown of Cincinnati due to budget restraints and the majority of our friends and family still living there.  I have always envisioned an outside wedding, but due to the erratic weather in Cincinnati, we decided to keep the wedding indoors.  Everything was in downtown Cincinnati, and the venue had both the historical and vintage feel we wanted.  It also had a special place in my heart since my parents also had their reception there 25 years ago.

Both Rick and I have a design background, so the design and creation of this wedding was definitely fun and exciting for the both of us.  We designed and assembled all of the wedding stationery.  Everything was inspired by the collaboration of our lives.  We used a “cowboy” font for his love of everything country, and we also used a “vintage” and “cursive” fonts for the vintage modern look that we both love.  For the overall aesthetic of the wedding, I worked closely with our florist.  She was amazing!!  I wanted to bring that outdoor wedding that I have always dreamed of to the indoors with certain design elements. The flowers used reminded us of an elegant outdoor wedding that worked perfectly in the reception hall.   Also, we made sure that we used succulents in our arrangements which was inspired by our California lives.  The tall centerpiece candlesticks were made by my father to save cost.  The cocktail tables and seating chart table were also DIY projects that my father and I worked on the week before the wedding to save money.

Our wedding day was gorgeous. The sun was brightly shining as we walked around that city.  We only walked within in a couple blocks radius, and were able to find some amazing structures to take our pictures.  We rented a trolley to keep the nostalgic feel, but also for fun.  Rick and I are happy to share this wedding with you, and we are so happy that we had the beautiful budget friendly wedding that we envisioned.

Photography: StephCarson Photography / Flowers:  Marti’s Floral Designs / Event Planner:  KL Wedding Designs LLC / Stationery: Erica Keuter Designs / Ceremony Location:  St. Louis Church Cincinnati / Reception Location: Cincinnati Club Building

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cincinnati, Cincinnati Club Building, Historic Venue, Marti's Floral Designs, Modern, Ohio, StephCarson Photography, Vintage
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, The Blog

images courtesy of Stephanie Carson Photography

Grab a tissue … and enjoy!

Caroline & Christopher: The Highlight from Steve Zugelter on Vimeo.

from the beautiful bride …

I have always been the girl who dreamed of her wedding day since playing dress up with my grandmother’s lace and high heels. At the risk of sounding corny, I knew that my wedding day would be just like a fairy tale because I have been lucky enough to live one with my husband. We met when we were just seventeen years old. College and budding careers separated us for a time, but we both knew deep down whatever road we traveled it would eventually lead us back together again.

Nine years later, in the same place we formally met for the first time, Christopher asked me to marry him. I couldn’t have been more thrilled! We started planning immediately, gathering inspiration from one simple word, romance. We wanted everyone who attended our ceremony and reception to experience and feel the love Christopher and I share…and of course we wanted everyone to dance!

The first priority was the venue and we knew when we saw the Hilton Netherland Plaza, Hall of Mirrors there would be no other place in Cincinnati that could compare. Although a traditional ballroom, it‘s art deco details, vintage appeal, and top notch service provided the perfect setting for a celebration. Our next priority was a photographer and I knew long before I was engaged who I wanted it to be, Stephanie Carson. She has the unique ability to capture emotion in the moment, without prearranged staging or posing. Stephanie was able to suggest a number of vendors and that is how we found Steve Zugelter and Studio Z Films. I looked up Studio Z Films online and sat with tears in my eyes watching other couple’s films. I knew his intimate style would complement our vision of telling our love story.

Beauty is in the details, and I wanted this to stand true with our wedding. My approach was: simple but elegant. I also wanted to include small sentimental touches because I am a sucker for nostalgia. Soft sage green, pale pink and ivory was the color palette for our late spring wedding. The flowers were more beautiful than I ever expected, they were full and lush and included fragrant peonies, freesia, garden roses and hydrangeas.

Handmade accessories for the bridesmaids and my hair piece were found on Etsy. We used Christopher’s grandmother’s recipe to make homemade jelly as a favor for each guest. Beading from my mother’s wedding dress was used to wrap my bouquet. Because we love to journal and document all of our adventures, our wedding gifts to one another were handwritten letters.

The day was perfect and went off without a hitch. All the little memories made the day spectacular. Putting on my dress and realizing I was actually getting married was an overwhelming experience. My dress felt perfect, classic, and timeless. Thinking about seeing my dad for the first time and having him walk me down the aisle still tugs at my heart. I knew seeing Christopher would be one of the most special moments of the day and it was a blur, thank goodness for our film and photos! It was important for us to have our ceremony in a church. Saying our vows in front of our closest friends, family, and God was the central part of what the day was about.

The reception was incredible! From the heartfelt speeches given by my sisters and Christopher’s best man, the phenomenal food, and having the dance floor packed from the first dance to the last dance three hours later made it the best day I could have ever asked for. We thank our family, friends, and fabulous vendors for making it possible and sharing in our love story.

Coordinator: Jen Daut / Photography: Stephanie Carson / Floral: Courtenay Lambert / Entertainment: Nemar Maize / Hair: Jennifer Nally / Makeup: Brideface / Stationery: Poeme / Linens: Adora / Cinematography: Studio Z

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adora, Ballroom, brideface, cincinnati, Courtenay Lambert, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, Jen Daut, Jennifer Nally, Nemar Maize, Poeme, Stephanie Carson, Studio Z
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography

see all the details here!

After over 8 years of dating and 15 months of planning, to say we were looking forward to our wedding day would be an understatement. Being Cincinnati natives, it was important to us to have our wedding in our hometown and we wanted to show our out of town guests why we had been raving about our city for so many years. From welcome baskets at the hotel that were filled with locally made treats to a late night snack of Skyline Cheese Coneys and Graeter’s Ice Cream, our love for our city definitely showed. We got ready at a downtown hotel and then spent the afternoon riding around a trolley to capture the spirit of Cincinnati. We wanted our portraits to be different from the lush garden of our venue.

My favorite moment of the day was doing our first look. Our videographer and photographer arranged for us to meet on the stairwell of the hotel. Walking down the hall and then up the stairs to meet my soon to be husband was one of the most surreal moments. Our team perfectly captured the moment for us in pictures. We really wanted a different venue for our wedding, while still being convenient for our guests and we found that at the Taft Museum of Art. A museum that was converted from the old Taft residence, our guests were able to view all the artwork on display throughout the evening while also enjoying the gorgeous garden space. We were married outdoors in the garden and really did not want to compete with the natural beauty of garden. Inspired by my bridal gown, all our design elements sought to capture a light, airy, and romantic feel. We used an abundance of baby’s breath, lush flowers for the bridal bouquet, and over 300 candles throughout the garden to achieve this vision.

Guests were greeted by the Bride and Groom’s favorite drinks before the start of the ceremony: Root Beer for the Bride and Sweet Tea for the Groom. A specialty cocktail of gin gimlets were adorned with “Love is Sweet” stirrers for guests to enjoy during the cocktail hour. Guests found an envelope at their seats that read “Smiles Go Here” to be used to carry their photobooth strips home at the end of the evening. In a nod to my career as a lawyer, we included a quote from the California “In Re Marriages” case on our program. We tried to include subtle, little touches that reflected our journey together as a couple. While I loved planning all the details during our engagement, at the end of the day there is nothing quite like seeing your friends and family kicking off their shoes to dance the night away. We ended up not even doing a special send off because we didn’t want to leave our reception a minute early.

Photography: TM Photography / Cinematography: Poetic Cinema / Flowers: Katie Elfers of Inspired Floral Designs / Make-Up: Nancy Dawson / Hair: Jennifer Nally / Event Planning: Cincy Event Planning / Ceremony and Reception Location: Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio / Invitations: Giddy Ink / Dress: Melissa Sweet, style: Sidney from Priscilla of Boston / Bridesmaid Dress: Melissa Sweet / Band: Airwaves

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Airwaves, cincinnati, Cincy Event Planning, Giddy Ink, Inspired Floral Designs, Jennifer Nally, Melissa Sweet, Nancy Dawson, Ohio, Poetic Cinema, Priscilla of Boston, Taft Museum of Art, TM Photography
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

The perfect combination of cool mint hues mixed with those crisp blacks gives this look a timeless vintage feel while still maintaining a modern perspective. And, just wait until you see the resulting shoot. Absolute perfection. We’ll be back in a wee bit with the latest From Inspiration to Reality creation.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amo Ink, cincinnati, From Inspiration to Reality, Inspiration Board, JMM Photography, Ohio, Yellow Canary Event Design
Post categories: From Inspiration to Reality, Inspiration Boards, Style Circle

What a magnificent church!

I think it was about 10º outside when Kortnee and Ted shot photos of the wedding party!

Looks like they had a blast, though!

Then on to the dazzling wedding reception at the Hall of Mirrors at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel.

LOOOOOVE the cake, the crystals, the rhinestones and well, just everything about it!

All of the drop-dead-beautiful flowers and floral decor from Ford Ellington Floral & Event Design, Ltd.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful ….

The awesome cake is from Maribelle Cakery Cincinnati.

So great! Congratulations Brooke and Chris! For more fabulous shots from their wedding, click here.

Thanks Kortnee and Ted for sharing!! For more of their gorgeous work, visit their website. and blog.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cincinnati, Ford-Ellington Floral & Event Design, Fur Wrap, Hall of Mirrors, Hilton, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, Kortnee Kate, Maribelle Cakery Cincinnati, Ohio, Rhinestones, St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

more from Dora at Viva Bella Events …

The reception featured both round and square tables with alternating red velvet and black/white patterned linens and 3 types of floral arrangements. We rented black chiavari chairs for all tables to keep something consistent at each table. The lighting designer saturated the walls with a “red fabric” pattern and the ceiling with a red mosaic design. A black and white dance floor completed the look …

The flowers were black magic roses, black callas and fern curls complemented by black feathers for Lauren’s bouquet and white feathers for the bridesmaids bouquets.

When guests were seated for dinner, they found a chocolate dipped strawberry awaiting them at their place setting. The strawberry contained a message from the bride and groom , “Life is Unpredictable. Eat Dessert First.”

As we mentioned in the first post, Lauren (the beautiful bride) is a graphic designer and created terrific invitations and all of the paper pieces that go along with a wedding! Her website is Giddy Ink and shows just how creative she is! Really, you should take a look!

And again, from Dora …

Before the party got underway, Lauren and Jordan shared a memorable … choreographed … first dance!

The total look was fierce and intricate. Uncompromising and memorable. Just like Lauren and Jordan.

A huge thanks to Dora at Viva Bella Events and Neysa Ruhl Photography for sharing Lauren & Jordan’s amazing wedding! And to Lauren, your designs {Giddy Ink} are fantastic!!  Best of luck from all of us here at Style Me Pretty.

Other Wedding Vendors
Make up Brideface – Little Black Book Member
Video: Iconography Video Services http://www.iconographystudios.com
Hair design Sam Hills www.highfivesalon.com
Band: Soul Pocket http://www.soulpocket.com
Rentals: Camargo www.camargo-rental.com
Rentals: All Occasions www.aorents.com
Venue for both ceremony and reception: Phoenix www.thephx.com
Florist: Sprouts www.sproutsfloraldesign.com
Cake: Bonbonerie www.bonbonerie.com
Ceremony music: String Celebrations www.stringcelebrationsusa.com
Lighting: Goodwin www.goodwinlighting.com
Bridesmaid’s dresses were each different chiffon designs from Belsoie.
Jordan’s Tux: designer: Calvin Klein purchased at: Romualdo’s Formal Wear
Lauren’s Dress: designer: Tara Keely; purchased at Bridal and Formal
Feather Hair Pin: Custom Design from K Autumn.
Flower Girls: Custom Designs from Pegeen
Dance Instruction: Best of Ballroom

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cincinnati, Feathers, Giddy Ink, Hairpiece, Hollywood Glam, K. Autumn, Mojito, Ohio, Roses, Strawberries, Table Settings, The Phoenix, Viva Bella Events
Post categories: Bouquets, Centerpieces, Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Wedding Decor, Wedding Invitations & Stationery, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Style, Whimsical