Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

And just when you thought you couldn’t adore this wedding any more than you already do, we have one very fabulous film from Tampa Wonderworks Films to make you fall even more in love.  Enjoy!

From Pezz Photo… Paige and Matt were all about the details with a touch of whimsy. Their French Countryside wedding took place in June at the historic, waterfront Powel Crosley Estate in Sarasota, Florida.  As guests arrived, they were greeted with the Old Ball and Chain Gazette whose headline read, “You Made It!”.  This newspaper was created by the bride and groom outlining the day’s events along with hilarious bios of the wedding party.

For the ceremony a variety of vintage mix-matched chairs and church pews were incorporated into the estates natural beauty. Above the bride and groom hung a simple yet lovely garland of ivy and tree fern.  The ceremony furniture was then transitioned around the property for a non-traditional reception.

Adding on the uniqueness of this event, guests who grew moustaches for the wedding were treated as VIPs all night.  Dark mahogany bars with bakers racks and artisan breads added to the French countryside feel. In lieu of a traditional photo booth the bride and groom opted for a vintage set-up of a small dresser which held an instant camera, a scrap book, and a chalkboard as a back drop for personalized messages.  As the sun set a pre-arranged fireworks display kicked off the party as a surprise to the bride and groom.

Wedding Photography: Amy Pezzicara of Pezz Photo / Second Shooters: Stephanie Smith + Michelle Fader / Wedding Venue: Powel Crosley Estate / Event Coordination: Elan Event Studio / Floral Design + Décor: MMD Events / Vintage Furniture Rentals + Specialty Bars: I Heart Vintage via MMD Events / Chiavari Chair + Table Rentals: Signature Event Rentals / Wedding Cinematography: Tampa Wonderworks Films / Paper Products: Seaside Invitations / Catering: Good Food Catering / Linens: Connie Duglin + Cloth Connection + BBJ Linens / Wedding Invitations: Oblation Papers & Press / Fireworks: Creative Pyrotechnics / Croquembouche: Small Batch Bakery / Favors: Blue Bottle Coffee / Music: Breezin’ Entertainment

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBJ Linens, Blue Bottle Coffee, Breezin' Entertainment, Cloth Connection, Connie Duglin, Creative Pyrotechnics, Elan Event Studio, Florida Wedding, Good Food Catering, Michelle Fader, MMD Events, Oblation Paper & Press, Pezz Photo, Powel Crosley Estate, Sarasota, Seaside Invitations, Signature Event Rentals, Small Batch Bakery, Stephanie Smith, Tampa Wonderworks Films
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Florida Weddings

click here for even more elegant excellence!

While Ari and I love the excitement and exhilaration of living in NYC, we have visited and fallen in love with Newport, RI every year since we began dating 4 years ago.  The beauty and serenity of this historical sailing town just captured our hearts from the start.  Knowing that this was a special place to both of us, we decided to take a spontaneous visit on a hunt to find a perfect venue for our special day. When we arrived at Belle Mer, it felt like we stepped into a mélange of chic NYC elegance and serene Newport charm with stunning views overlooking both the Harbor and Narragansett Bay.  More importantly, it was large enough to host all of our family and friends who always love a good party!

The inspiration was a blend of vintage elegance and modern, romantic touches so as to surround ourselves and our guests in a warm, ethereal setting. Neutral colors of light beiges and creamy whites with highlights of soft pink helped to create the overall feel. There were amble amounts of candlelight– lanterns that flickered with subtle light during the ceremony, hundreds of tea lights throughout the room, and tall white pillar candles enhancing the beauty of the long staircase and cozy fireplace.  Creamy white and beige roses and fluffy hydrangeas centered the tables and highlighted the ceremony.  One of my favorite elements was an idea that our lovely event coordinator, Venessa put together at the last minute for us! With the cool ocean breeze that was chilling the air that day, we offered our guests hot cider and donuts as they arrived for the ceremony.  It was a wonderful addition to a chilly Fall day!

It was important to us to make certain elements of our day very personal: two of my brothers played their guitars and used their amazing voices to perform acoustics with specially selected songs during the reception, the mother of the groom wrote out beautiful gold calligraphy on all of the place cards, white cakes from our favorite NYC bake shop were brought in and our favorite candies were offered at a candy bar throughout the evening.  My late grandmother also had a meaningful presence in my special day.  I wore her favorite broach on my vintage fur shawl and the pearls from the veil she wore on her wedding day adorned my veil– all as a thoughtful gift from my mother. In lieu of favors, we made a donation to the American Cancer Society to honor of my beloved grandmother and all of our friends and family that have been affected by the disease.

The hours flew by before our eyes with our guests glued to the dance floor, to heartfelt and witty speeches, and an all around fantastic evening.  Our wedding was a story of the love we have for each other and being surrounded by our friends and family made it complete. It was truly unforgettable! Thank you to all of our vendors for making it so perfect!  Special thank you to Melissa Robotti and Kristen Teig of Melissa Robotti Photography for capturing the wonderful emotions and telling the story of the best day of our lives through photographs!

Photography: Melissa Robotti Photography / Flowers: Broadway Florist / Ceremony Location: Belle Mer / Reception Location: Belle Mer / Save-the-dates: BeforeYourParty.com / Invitations: Oblation Papers & Press / Menus and Thank You Cards: William Arthur Stationery / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Dress: Modern Trousseau / Cake: Billy’s Bakery / Band: Synergy / Hair and makeup: Jennie Kay Murphy

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beforeyourparty.com, Belle Mer, Billy's Bakery, Broadway Florist, Jennie Kay Murphy, Melissa Robotti, Modern Trousseau, Newport, Oblation Paper & Press, Rhode Island, Synergy, William Arthur
Post categories: The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Oblation Papers & Press has been a long time love of mine. If you’ve ever seen their work in person, you know how luxurious the papers are, how gorgeous the letterpress work is and how absolutely delightful their designs are…

And just look at the process that is involved in creating these invitations…it’s absolutely incredible!

I’ve asked the team at Oblation Papers & Press to write up a bit about their amazing invitations and the process behind each design…

Oblation Papers & Press is an old world letterpress print shop and urban paper mill. We use traditional techniques to produce 100% cotton sheets of paper by hand. Our paper is strong, acid free, and produced from remnants from the garment industry. It also happens to be perfectly suited for antique letterpress printing.

We consciously price our invitations lower than others in the premium letterpress market. Our work starts at about $6 for an invitation and $3.5 for a response set. All of our work is made to order. We offer design services, we accept custom artwork, and we encourage couples to create wedding invitations that are unique to them.

We recently released new wedding designs featuring large-format invitations, bright white handmade paper, and bright white envelopes. Our new Prairie Flower design mixes saffron colored botanical silhouettes and calligraphic swashes with simple modern text and open space. A delightful combination that is perfectly suited for the nature inspired couple.

Remember… as always, we make our tree-free cotton paper by hand in Portland, Oregon using remnants from the garment industry. Our envelopes are made with 100% post-consumer fiber. We letterpress using soy-based inks whenever possible. We encourage customers to use single envelopes and reply postcards– two simple options to lighten your invitation suite’s footprint on our earth.

Our staff is dedicated to environmentally friendly practices. Whether we’re bringing our own mugs across the street to our favorite latte spot, or feeding our lunch leftovers to the worm in our worm composting bin, we’re genuine about improving the health of our planet.

Thank you SO much to Oblation Papers for sharing these behind-the-scenes details with us, and for giving us a sneak peek at your new designs!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Letterpress, Oblation Paper & Press
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery