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

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…When Zayne and I first decided it was time to get married, we knew we wanted to host a weekend-long event for our closest friends and family. We also knew we wanted to choose a location and decorative elements that would create a warm and homey feel. Luckily for us, Virginia, our home state has amazing state parks with a variety of accommodations. We chose Belle Isle State Park in the rural Northern Neck Region of Virginia. The location’s colonial-style mansion provided a perfect backdrop for the festivities.

Planning the wedding was a labor of love. I made as many things as I possibly could, and I enlisted the help of my Mom and Grandma. We were separated by several states, but we worked together to prepare for my handmade autumn wedding. I prepped hundreds of tissue paper puff flowers, sewed pennant banners and garlands, and crafted paper flowers for my bouquet and for table arrangements. My Mom assembled the mason jar tea light votives and my Grandma hemmed the table runners. Even my little sister, the maid of honor, helped from a distance. She knit the shawl I wore for most of my wedding day, and I knit the one she wore. My Grandma and I made the lace table runners just two days before the wedding. Most of the doilies we used came from my Grandma’s collection, which she had inherited from a variety of great-grandmothers and great-aunts. Assembling those runners was just the beginning of an incredibly busy couple of days leading up to the wedding. Friends helped fluff the tissue paper flowers and string them into garlands and arrange flowers in a mixture of new and vintage glass bottles. Then there was pressing all the vintage napkins and stuffing them with silverware, filling copper vessels with apples, and arranging everything on the tables.

Family and friends pitched in to get everything prepped; by the time we finished I think everyone felt a sense of accomplishment. Even some of the things I couldn’t make myself I hired others to do for me. My dress and veil were both Etsy purchases (as were our wedding rings).

Wedding Photography: Natalie Bell Photography / Flowers: Patsy of River Birch Florist / Event Design + Planning: The Bride, Friends and Family / Ceremony + Reception Location: Belle Isle State Park / Invitations: The Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Shannon Britt / Wedding Dress: Etsy / Caterer: Willaby’s / Wedding Cake: Jackie of Carried Away Cuisine

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Post tags: Belle Isle State Park, Carried Away Cuisin, Etsy, Lancaster, Natalie Bell Photography, River Birch Florist, Shannon Britt, Virginia, Willaby's
Post categories: The Blog

In a beautiful, traditional Filipino wedding ceremony that family often said was ‘meant to be’, they declared their love for each other in front of over 400 guests!

Amanda totally captured the ‘awesomeness’ of the day!

Jennifer & Richard are both of Filipino descent ~ their parents actually attended medical school together in the Philippines! And though they have weathered years of a long-distance courtship, they were married in grand and glorious style this past June.

Their reception was held at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, PA.

Our congratulations to Jennifer and Richard! And a huge thank-you to Amanda Kraft for sharing the beauty of the day!!

* * *

Wedding Credits: Photography-Amanda Kraft (Lancaster PA) Wedding Gown Designer-Lazaro (from Kleinfeld of Manhattan), Invitation Designer- Persnickety Invitations, Florist-  Blooms by Vickery, Cake Designer-About Weddings; Videographer-American Classic Studios

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Post tags: About Weddings, Amanda Kraft Photography, American Classic Studios, Blooms by Vickery, Camp Hill, Filipino, Harrisburg, Kleinfeld, Lancaster, Lazaro, Pennsylvania, Persnickety Invitations, Radisson Penn Harris Hotel
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

LOVE the photography (Little Black Book member,  Jeremy Hess)

I adore everything about these gowns!

We have a Real Wedding and a Real Berte’ Bride coming up … so please check back in a bit …

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Couture, Janell Berte, Jeremy Hess, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Post categories: Wedding Dresses, Wedding Fashion, Wedding Style

In a recent interview with her, I asked how she defines her wedding gown design aesthetic. Her answer was swift and straight-forward … “clean lines and luscious fabrics that incorporate french lace and decorative accents.”

I think, though, that the most significant thing Janell told me was that she designs for real brides with real figures and real curves.

Each of Janell’s gowns has a definite personality, a definite style. Once created, each gown will prompt the unfolding of a young lady’s dream-come-true wedding day.

We’ll be back with a few of our favorite gowns from Janell’s Couture Collection …

And if you’ve already selected your gown, head on over to The Little Black Book Blog for a stunning, classic Illinois wedding from Jeffrey and Julia Woods Photography. A little later today, we’ll be featuring another dazzling Real Wedding From Andrew and Katrina at Sedona Brides on the Little Black Book Blog!

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Post tags: Couture, Designer, Janell Berte, Lancaster, Nick Gould Photography, Pennsylvania, Wedding Dress Styles, Wedding Style
Post categories: Wedding Dresses, Wedding Fashion, Wedding Style

Wedding dresses! We ALL love looking at wedding dresses. We all LOVE spring collections of wedding dresses. That is why today is such a lovely day! Believe it or not, the snow and ice that is slamming much of the country will melt and spring WILL arrive. What better way to spend a few minutes brightening up your day than oohh-ing and aahh-ing over the 2009 Spring Collection from Janell Berté. We have the distinct pleasure of saying that Janell — an award winning couture dress designer — is one of the founding members of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book.  Janell’s private bridal studio and workshop is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Brides from as far away as New York City and Baltimore have traveled to her salon to work with her in fashioning their very own, perfect, dream-come-true wedding dress.

The Spring 2009 Collection from Janell Berté …

photography by Nick Gould

I spoke with Janell a few days ago and found her to be absolutely delightful. Very approachable. Very enthusiastic about her designs (her ‘babies’)! I asked if she had a favorite design from her 2009 collection and she replied that it would be impossible to name just one. Her gowns are her babies and each stands on it’s own merits. She loves them all.

We’ll be back in a bit with more …

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Post tags: Bridal Gowns, Janell Berte, Lancaster, Nick Gould, Pennsylvania, wedding dress
Post categories: Wedding Dresses, Wedding Fashion, Wedding Style