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From the Bride… The vision I had for my wedding day evolved quite a bit as the date approached, and many ideas I had initially, I didn’t end up up using in the end. I’m not one of those girls who has always pictured her wedding day to be a certain way; in fact, I never really pictured my wedding until it was upon me. At first I thought I wanted to do something totally different from other traditional weddings. I even considered it might be just the two of us, plus immediate family, in a tiny Spanish town we’d visited together when we first met! It was all very dreamy and far-away feeling at first, and I think it was when I went dress shopping with my sister and mother that I realized this was really my wedding. It was also when I decided what I wanted to look like, what I wanted everyone else to look like, and what feeling I wanted the whole scene to evoke. I realized that I simply wanted the day to be a reflection of us; a celebration of who we are as individuals and together, and that I wanted to celebrate with everyone I held dear. I’m a romantic, so I ended up with a traditional white dress with a long train that I could not call anything but “so pretty.”  Corey and I are flirty and a bit goofy as a couple, so I wanted to keep the style fun and playful. We’re also both pretty style-conscious, and I’m quite crafty, so we chose a modified retro look with some personal DIY touches thrown in here and there, and I think we ended up with something like Old Hollywood Glamour meets Alice in Wonderland… if there is such a thing!

With a lot of help from family and friends, I added some personal touches that I think made the wedding more memorable for everyone there. My sister Lauren is an artist, and offered to make my invitations, save the dates, and programs for me. She used real photos of Corey and I and used Photoshop to place us in an old 1950′s convertible for the save the date: they were too cute! I had an idea early on to use bells during the ceremony, as a way to let the guests participate. I ended up placing small bells in each program, with instructions to ring the bell at various parts of the ceremony (when I walked past each row as I entered, and at the end when we kissed, of course). I remember how nice it was to hear the bells as I walked down the aisle– a sort of reminder that all of the people around me were there in loving support. I also had a friend playing the Viola for our ceremony music, and to keep things fun we had him play the Hallelujah chorus for the recessional! It was definitely a joke that was only appreciated by some. For our first dance, Corey and I wanted to do something special, so we took a few dance lessons together and choreographed a flirty Mambo dance to Dean Martin’s version of “Hey Mambo.” I changed into a short sparkly number for the dance– we had a great time and definitely missed some steps, but it was fun to see our family’s reaction: no one saw that one coming!  Corey and I are both from Louisville, Kentucky, so for favors we had “Getting Lucky in Kentucky” cookies from Kizito Cookie company in Louisville.

I chose to use various shades of golden yellows mixed with deep indigo blues and navy tones for my color palette throughout, from the invites to the grooms’ boutonnieres, to the flowers and the table decorations. As a personal touch, I created little origami bird placecards made out of these beautiful fancy golden and blue handmade papers I found at a paper store in Vancouver, and placed these on a “tree” made of some curly willow in a vase. A friend helped to write each guest’s names on tags attached to the birds with golden ribbon, along with the guest’s assigned table number. These were a big hit and everyone took them home as favors. I added retro and antique elements throughout to play up the old world feel: I gathered old photos from Corey and my family, and placed them on a screen by the guestbook table. I also used old gold photo frames I found at an antique mall to hold the table numbers, and all of the vases on the tables were different antique-store finds as well.

I remember being inside the Club Continental with my mom and stepdad before the ceremony, waiting for the music to start and watching all of the guests being seated from behind the glass double-doors I was about to walk through, and I remember a sudden sense of calm that no matter what- no matter if I tripped my way down the aisle- this was going to be one of the most wonderful moments of my life. From that moment on, I didn’t care what happened, I was simply so happy to be marrying this person, on this day. The rest was kind of a blur!

Wedding Photography: Browne Photography / Floral Design: Susannah Sands, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: The Club Continental / Wedding Cake: Paul Collins of Signature Cakes by Paul / Hair Accessories: Kathy Vito, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Dress: Anjolique via The White Gown / Wedding Invitations: Lauren Morris, Sister of the Bride / Bridesmaid Dresses: Sarah Seven / Groom’s Attire: Theory / Groomsmen Ties: DKNY

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Browne Photography, Club Continental, FL, Florida, Jacksonville, Kathy Vito, Orange, Signature Cakes by Paul, St. John's River, Yellow
Post categories: Florida Weddings, Jacksonville, Traditional Elegance

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From the Bride… I had always had an image of what I wanted my wedding day to look like: a Hollywood style love story with the big white dress, beautiful flowers and the perfect groom. After college, a mutual friend introduced me to my now-husband and I knew from our very first date, that Josh was the man I had always pictured walking down the aisle towards. After Josh and I became engaged, we immediately decided on a destination wedding, to get out of our harsh Midwestern winters and marry under the warm sun in St. Augustine, Florida, with our family and closest friends.

The phrase “Old Hollywood Glamour” quickly became the wedding’s inspiration, and after visiting the Club Continental, we knew this venue was it. It is a historic Mediterranean-style estate located on the banks of the St. John’s River.  This was the ideal location because it captured the perfect combination of Old Hollywood elegance, romance and glamour that we wanted for our perfect day. The natural beauty of the Club was emphasized with fresh white roses lining the aisle and the river provided an immaculate backdrop with the water glistening from the sunshine.

The bridesmaids (my four sisters and two best friends) wore deep pewter Alfred Sung dresses, in different styles to capture everyone’s unique personality. The bouquets by Liz Stewart’s Flowers Design were a bundle of rich fuchsia to give the glamorous pop of color that I wanted. The groomsmen (Josh’s brother and five best friends) wore traditional black tuxedos to play up the red carpet vibe. It was the perfect color combination as the bridal party framed the alter for our vows. My bouquet was one of my absolute favorite things. It was a romantic assortment of white and pale pink roses and hydrangeas, while touches of white feathers and sparkle were added throughout. Secured with a crystal broach, it gave me the added “glam” touch.

After the ceremony, guests indulged in gourmet appetizers and cocktails on the front terrace of the Club as a five piece string quartet provided a joyful ensemble for the hour. Guests made their way into the reception, where tables were draped in a combination of high and low soft white flower arrangements with crystal garland cascading from the vases, creating an eye-catching amount of sparkle throughout the room.

In lieu of a guest book, we asked each of our family and friends to write Josh and I  a “wish” for our future and hang it on a tree. Another special twist that Josh and I made to personalize our special night was to combine our favorite desserts- cupcakes and canoli’s instead of a traditional wedding cake. We danced the night away in celebration of our new life together.

It was a day that Josh and I will never forget- a love story pulled right out of a movie. My dream day had finally become reality and we were so grateful to have been able to share this special day with our family and friends, it wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Wedding Venue: The Club Continental / Wedding Photography: Brooke Images / Floral Design & Decor: Liz Stewart Floral Design / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Sung / Wedding Planner: Christi Knowles / Wedding Dress: Demetrios (Illissa Collection) / Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Calvin Klein / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bride’s Jewelry: Sorreli (Earrings) + Family Heirloom (Bracelet) / Invitations & Paper Goods: Ghega Scolari of CartABELLA / Calligraphy: Jane Farr / Cupcakes: LuLi’s Cupcakes / Canolis: Amici’s Italian Restaurant / Bride’s Hair: Kate Dahlberg of Cortello Salon / Bride’s Makeup: Carrie Hammock / Bridesmaid Hair & Makeup: Kaley Shaffer & Jenna Gambuzza of The Glam Squad

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alfred Sung, Brooke Images, Club Continental, Crystal Garland, Destination Wedding, Feathers, FL, Florida, Fuchsia, Grey, Liz Stewart Floral Design, Old Hollywood Elegance, Pewter, Pink, silver, St. Augustine, St. John's River, The Club Continental
Post categories: Florida Weddings, Traditional Elegance

First … the winner of the suite of letterpress invitations from Love At First Invite is … Susan (#34)! In her comment she said, “Thanks so much for this post. I’ve seen so many posts about “affordable” letterpress, but this is the first time that I looked at the website and actually thought, “wow…that might actually be possible for us.” I know so many brides would love to have gorgeous letterpress invitations, but they are just not in the wedding budget. Thanks, Cathy for finding a way to pass on this little luxury to us (and thanks Abby for telling us about it)! All that said, my favorite is Dotted. It’s not only uniquely beautiful, but those tiny dots just scream for letterpress–the texture would be amazing!” Congratulations Susan. We’ll be in touch.  For those of you who didn’t get in on the Style Me Pretty Sneak Peek of the new “Ready To Love” invitations, heed Susan’s words … they’re letterpress, they’re lovely, and they are totally affordable. Cathy, the super-talented creator of Love At First Invite, was so pleased to read all of your thoughtful answers, that she is extending a runner’s-up prize to ALL those who entered. She is offering all the contestants FREE table numbers with the purchase of any invitation package. Just contact her via her website.

Next Order of Business … Our incredibly talented Little Black Book Vendors have been sending us tons of Real Weddings and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to post them all! With Valentine’s Day and love and romance in the air, we want to show you as many Real Weddings the rest of this week as we can. To save time, we’re not going to elaborate on all the details … we’ll mainly be showing you lots and lots of weddings. Please … submit your comments and we’ll be sure all your questions get answered!

So onto our Valentine’s Week Wedding Blitz …

Our first wedding is from Little Black Book photographer Agnes Lopez, photographing weddings in Ponte Vedra Beach, Amelia Island, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Georgia’s Golden Coast!

A great old-fashioned love-story … Christienne + Justin

from Christienne …

“Justin and I met in chemistry class our junior year of high school. We never had the same circle of friends, but we always had one or two classes with one another. Naturally, I had the typical teenage crush on him back then! We struck up a friendship the summer before our big college move, and everything just fell into place. From the moment I first laid eyes on him, I always knew that I wanted to be with someone like him, but I never thought that it would actually be him!”

“Our wedding was hosted at Club Continental, an historic Mediterranean-style estate located on the banks of the St. John’s River, Orange Park, Florida. The location was a great choice for us as there was no mistaking the Old World elegance I wanted to produce for our wedding. To work with the natural beauty of the club, I chose an earthy theme for our event, so our colors included chocolate brown, shades of green, and hints of yellow, orange, and red. Our ceremony décor was very simple. With a view of the river and grand oak trees behind us, what more could we need?”

“We saved money by reusing the floral elements of the ceremony (including our bouquets) as table centerpieces or to dress up the dance and food areas. It wasn’t necessary to spruce up the receptions areas, either, since the interior was already attractive on its own. I added touches of our personality wherever I could. We had a Polaroid guest book, and our favors were candy-filled Chinese take-out boxes tagged with Moo mini-cards of our favorite engagement photos. Since the majority of our guests were out-of-towners, I had caramels specially made with a typical Floridian flavor – key lime!”

photography by Agnes Lopez

“To add texture, we splurged on pin-tucked linens for our tables, and I spray-painted leaf-shaped candle holders that would serve double-duty as table numbers. I also wanted to employ fabric in some way, and our table chart was a fabric-covered cork board (to make it easier, I bought inexpensive pre-stretched canvas, glued cork to it and wrapped/stapled fabric over it).  The dining area for our guests had recently been expanded and renovated. Due to this, the fire code hadn’t yet been officially approved, so our wedding coordinator was sorry to inform me that we couldn’t light any candles in there! I don’t think it took away from the ambience at all because the low lighting and glass walls worked to our advantage. If anything, it made the area more intimate.”

Congratulations to Christienne & Justin from all of us at Style Me Pretty!

Wedding Coordination by  Cassandra, Flaire Weddings & Events; Bridal Gown – “Tia” by Augusta Jones, Love Bridal Boutique; Make-Up Artist: Kimtasha Armstrong

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Agnes Lopez, Augusta Jones, Club Continental, Color Palette Brown Green, Florida, Love Bridal Boutique, Mediterranean Style, Old World Elegance, Orange Park
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance