As we approached our last year in medical school and began to apply for residency we were forced to think very seriously about our commitment to each other. We needed to decide whether it was worth it to apply for residency as a couple or risk not being in the same city.

In the midst of an incredibly hectic interview season, Jono suggested we get away for a weekend in Vermont. We drove up to his ski house near Mount Snow and he had arranged for dinner at a new restaurant. I suspected he was up to something, and asked if I should wear a dress – no ring…

The next morning he surprised me with skins that we could attach to our skis so that we could hike up the mountain. It was a beautiful morning and we set off up the Cascade Trail. Skiers in the lifts above shouted, ”You’re going the wrong way” but we loved the challenge. Just near the top, Jono had pulled ahead and was fixing his boot by the time I caught up. While down on one knee, he said the most beautiful words about our relationship and our future and pulled out a gorgeous ring from his ski jacket. I was jumping up and down, and of course, said yes. A ski patrol officer noticed the commotion and came over to ask if we were ok. I showed her the ring and we got our first congrats!

We drove back to NYC that evening and Jono suggested dinner at our favorite restaurant on the upper east side called Sfoglia. There, we were escorted to a hidden back door, up a flight of stairs, and into a private dining room filled with both of our families. Jono has pre-selected for all of our favorite dishes to be served family-style and as usual dinner was amazing. It was the perfect proposal from start to finish!

I remember when we were getting ready, the site coordinator came over to explain that it was raining and the lake was flooding the dock (the site for the cocktail hour). She explained that we could move the ceremony inside at the last minute, but the cocktail hour needed to be decided on earlier on. The room was quiet, as my parents, each of my 9 bridesmaids, and even the hair and make-up stylists stared at me, waiting for a decision. I remember feeling surprisingly calm, looking out over the lake, through the rain, and seeing a patch of clear skies heading in our direction. I knew exactly what Jono would want us to do… I decided to go ahead with everything outside as planned. Sure, I walked out in the rain, but we got the rainbow and the cocktail hour was beautiful. The rain started up again once we were in the tent and didn’t even affect the fireworks!

The ceremony was my favorite part of the day, I feel like I remember every second of it. I wasn’t sure how our interfaith ceremony would turn out (he is Jewish and I am Catholic), but our officiant did an amazing job of balancing our traditions and focusing on our love for one another and our families. She also met with us each individually beforehand to remind us to be present, and it really helped. A friend sung “Feels like home” during the ceremony, while the wedding party and our immediate family members passed around and each blessed our wedding rings. We stood holding each other, looking out over our guests and the beautiful surroundings and listening to our friend’s beautiful voice and the sweet lyrics; we really soaked in the moment and I will never forget feeling so happy and fortunate. It was incredibly special.

Another memorable part of the ceremony was the weather. It was crazy for those 40 minutes, we had rain, sun, wind… and best of all a double rainbow, just as the officiant had finished saying something about how couples who get married in bad weather can weather any storm! We felt so blessed that weekend, but the rainbow was like a sign from nature affirming our commitment.

Ceremony & Reception Location: Basin Harbor Club / Florist: Blomma Flicka Flowers / Photography: Orchard Cove Photography / Band: Sultans of Swing / Bride’s Dress: Sassi Holford / Bridesmaid’s Dresses: J.Crew / Hair: Erin McKenna / Makeup: Heather Garrow of Makeup Artists Guild / Invitations: Shindig Invites / Wedding Structure: Brian Gluck of Vermont Rustic Cedar / Rentals: Vermont Tent Company / Photobooth: Vermont Photo Booth Company

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Autumn, Autumn Weddings, Basin Harbor Club, Blomma Flicka Flowers, Bowties, Cherries, Chuppah, Dogs, Erin McKenna, Fall, Fall Weddings, Heather Garrow, Interfaith Ceremony, J. Crew, Makeup Artists Guild, Orchard Cove Photography, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Weddings, Pumpkins, Rainbows, Sassi Holford, Shindig Invites, Sultans of Swing, Tented Receptions, Vermont, Vermont Photo Booth Company, Vermont Rustic Cedar, Vermont Tent Company, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Buffy Dekmar Photography…What better place for an authentic Georgia elopement than in a peach orchard on a hot summer night when the peaches are ripe and the beer is cold? We loved putting together this inspiration session!

Photography: Buffy Dekmar Photography / Event Design: Buffy Dekmar Photography + Molly Ferguson (sister) / Ceremony Location: Hudson Farms / Groom’s Shoes: Earnhardt

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Buffy Dekmar Photography, Earnhardt, Georgia Wedding, Hudson Farms, Inspiration, Orchard Cove Photography, Peaches, Photo Shoot
Post categories: Georgia Weddings, Photo Shoot

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Bride… I had grown up visiting Cooperstown in the summertime and knew that the town had so much to offer, so we came up with a four-day itinerary for our guests and really tried to emphasize the different events on our custom made save the date with Spark letterpress… we would throw a beer tasting with a local brewery during a welcome party at the Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday evening, hold a golf outing at the Otesaga Hotel’s golf course on Friday morning, a softball game on the famous Doubleday Field before the rehearsal dinner on Friday and then have the intimate wedding ceremony and reception that we were hoping for on Saturday evening. Cooperstown just felt FUN – and we couldn’t wait to show our guests this perfectly quaint and beautiful village.

We wanted to respect the quaint, rustic and historical aesthetic that makes Cooperstown so special – we kept the ceremony decor simple but detail-oriented. The church at the farmer’s museum was such a blank canvas and I fell in love with it for its simplicity. It felt unfair to try and “pretty” it up too much. My mom and a few of her friends collected vintage hankies for over a year and we displayed them in a basket at the entrance of the church with a note that said “for your happy tears.” We followed along with this same theme at the reception with pashminas in a vintage suitcase and a sign reading “for a midnight stroll,” next to these were flip-flips with a sign reading “for your dancing feet.” I love mason jars and initially tried to use them as our reception centerpieces but ultimately decided they were better suited for the ceremony location. They fit in perfectly with the beautiful church windows.

Our paper goods became such an important part of our wedding process. We realized that in order to get people to Cooperstown for more than just one night we really needed to lay the foundation for a fun, energetic and lively weekend. The team at Spark Letterpress were out-of-control, cannot-describe-accurately-in-words AMAZING and I would recommend them (and do recommend them) to everyone I know. We worked with them on designing and letterpress-printing our save the dates and invitations – and then they designed our menus, programs, place cards, favor cards and welcome basket items – but had their partners at Village Invites in Manhattan do the actual digital printing for these items.

Zack and I are both pretty into food so we spent a few different car rides coming up with food and drink pairings to act as table cards – each table was named after things that go well together – like “peas and carrots,” “meat and potatoes,” “bacon and eggs” – and our head table was named “Laura and Zack.”

As for reception details, we organized bocce and croquet games on the back lawn during the cocktail hour which made for good times and some amazing photos! We also had several tables set up in a room off of the dining room displaying wedding portraits of family members, the cigar bar, candy bar and photo booth- these details helped to gave off the vintage, fun and whimsical feel that we were hoping to emulate that night and throughout the entire weekend.

There are so many moments throughout the day that we will treasure – but after we were about 10 minutes into all of the festivities and Zack and I had the opportunity to look around and see all of our friends and family laughing, playing croquet and bocce on the back lawn, enjoying the beautiful veranda and view of the lake, we really just felt a huge sense of relief come over us… like we “did it!” And while I know it sounds a bit cliche, the feeling of having so many people surrounding you on that day and having them all in the same place and rooting for you is just an indescribable feeling and one we will carry with us always.

Wedding Photography: Orchard Cove Photography / Wedding Ceremony Location: The Farmers’ Museum / Wedding Reception Location: The Otesaga Resort / Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Bride’s Accessories: Sara Gabriel / Florist: Coddington’s Florist / Band: Prime Time Horns / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Hair: Timeless Spa and Salon / Videographer: Bigler Productions / Umbrellas: Bella Umbrella / Invitations: Spark Letterpress

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bella Umbrella, Bigler Productions, Coddington's Florist, Cooperstown, Grey, J. Crew, Lavender, lawn games, Mason Jars, Monique Lhuillier, New York, NY, Orchard Cove Photography, Pink, Prime Time Horns, Rain Boots, Sara Gabriel, The Farmer's Museum, The Otesaga Resort, Timeless Spa and Salon, Umbrella, Vintage Chic, Whimsical
Post categories: Casual Elegance, New York Weddings

Click here to see entire image!

My family has been visiting The Gasparilla Inn on Boca Grande since I was three years old. To us, it is a place that symbolizes pure joy, relaxation and togetherness and these seemed like the perfect traits upon which to build a wedding weekend. Zach and I wanted to be able to spend as much time with our guests as we could, both in our bathing suits and in our wedding best, and having our wedding at the Inn enabled us to do that. All of our guests stayed at the Inn, including Zach and I and both of our families. In essence, our guests were our captives for the entire weekend! From the casual festivities to the more formal ones, everything was within walking distance of the Inn and you could see little parades of people making their way to the beach, to the golf course and to the ceremony. Everyone was together and this was ultimately the most important thing to Zach and I. It meant the world to us to have all of our nearest and dearest friends and family in one place, celebrating us, for an entire weekend. In truth it meant more to us that weekend than we ever could have expected when we planned the wedding a year and a half ago. Zach and I moved, somewhat unexpectedly, to Zurich, Switzerland five months before the wedding so to be back in the states, surrounded by all of the people we love and who love us was incredibly special.

The Gasparilla Inn and Boca Grande already exude a wonderfully simple, casual style. In our planning and pondering my mom and I really just wanted to accentuate the style that already permeates the island. Our style catch phrase became organic island elegance, three words we must have repeated a gazillion times. For the ceremony site it meant a public street, in town, transformed for a few hours into a natural cathedral. For the flowers that meant peonies, sweet peas, parrot tulips, springs of green and the assurance the the table decorations would flow and move and not be static. For my dress it meant a combination of simple and elegant, with a plain tuille top meeting a delicate lace skirt, tied together with a big bow in the back. For the stationary it meant pairing hand caligraphed letters with a playful drawing that I had done, all pressed into crisp white paper. We didn’t plan with “colors” in mind, but instead considered each piece in itself and how it would lend something to the larger picture. The bridesmaids dresses didn’t match the blue of the invitations which were both considered separately from the flowers, but everything came together into a wedding that was rich with detail and very much reflective of Zach and I as a couple.

I treasured the moments throughout the day where Zach and I were truly together. Those moments took on different shapes and emotions and were spread out throughout the day: from the morning when I was getting ready to go to the beach and he was getting ready to go play golf and all we kept saying was, “we are getting married TODAY, today as in a few hours, as in holy cow wooweeey today;” to the first look, which was an amazingly peaceful moment where we really had a chance to take it all in and cherish the day before the celebration began; to the ceremony, where it felt like we were alone under the Banyan trees, just us, our vows and the glow from the sun; to the parade back to the Inn, which we led, arm in arm through town to the music of a bagpiper and to the cheers of local spectators; and to our first dance, which we hadn’t practiced, but was perfect in it’s spontaneous spins, which were led off by my whispers of “okay, spin me now!”

The joy I felt during the ceremony is an emotion that still comes to find me in the quiet moments of life back in Zürich. It is a pure, complete, and amazing sense of happiness. The ceremony was truly a moment unto itself which I will always remember with love and a smile. The walk down the aisle with my teary-eyed dad, smiling and crying standing next to Zach, the moment of silence, the readings, our vows, and then the walk back down the aisle as husband and wife, were all amazing moments. I find joy and love in those memories everyday.

The wedding weekend was scattered with person details, family traditions and what we hope will be new traditions. From the very early planning stages I was very interested and involved in the stationery. We worked very closely with Mr. Boddington’s Studio to create a paper suite that fit us and the place where we were getting married. I have always loved to draw and doing the drawing for the weekend accordion was certainly a highlight and added a very personal and fun twist to our invitation suite. We brought the drawing to the weekend itself by printing it on the canvas beach bags that we handed out as a welcome to Boca Grande gift. Our invitations were further personalized by my aunt, who painted the image for the rehearsal dinner invitation, which was bright and colorful and worked wonderfully with the rest of the paper.

A truly special and meaningful detail and tradition was my wedding veil. It was purchased in 1939 by my great-great grandmother, Irene Talley Bradley, who also happens to be my namesake, for her daughter Kate. Since then it has been worn by all of the Bradley girls, including my grandmother and my mother, and so for me to be the ninth Bradley to wear it was wonderfully emotional and special.

In an effort to personalize our ceremony we honored Zach’s Quaker school upbringing by having a moment of silence followed by the singing of the quaker hymn, Simple Gifts. The moment of silence was a highlight for both of us. It allowed us wake up from the ‘wedding dream’ and be in the moment with each other and with all of our guests.

One way in which we tied all of our years at the Inn into our wedding weekend was standup Bingo at dinner. The Inn hosts Bingo twice a week and we always used to play, and in fact we still play. I’ve never won, but my favorite game of Bingo is standup, where when a number on your card is called you have to sit down. We printed the dinner menu, which was also everyone’s place card, on the back of Bingo cards and played a giant game of Bingo before we all sat down for dinner. My brother and his closest friend, who has also been coming down to Boca Grande as long as we have, called Bingo and one of my friends from high school won! It was a fun way to get everyone ready for dinner.

My only real advice is to do a first look. It was the best wedding decision we made. Zach and I knew we would see each other throughout the day, whether it was at the beach or at lunch, so seeing each other before the ceremony didn’t bother us. The photos from the first look are among our favorites, we were giddy, excited, full of smiles and very much ourselves. Not only are the photos wonderful, but the ability to share those moments with Zach before the ceremony and celebration began was really special. The day goes by in a blurry, amazing, smiley flash, but it goes by quickly. Having time before the ceremony to take it all in and cherish each other and our day was amazing.

Photography: Orchard Cove Photography / Ceremony Location: Banyan Street, Gasparilla Island / Reception Location: Gasparilla Inn / Florist: Urban Chic, Inc. / Band: Powerhouse Band / Event Planner: Camille Williams / Paper Suite: Mr. Boddington / Reception Dress: Calypso St. Barth / Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Amsale / Hair: Courtyard Hair / Bridesmaid’s Hair & Makeup : James Griffith Salon / Rentals: New York Party Rentals & Panache / Honeymoon: South Africa

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amsale, Banyan Street, Calypso St. Barth, Camille Williams, Courtyard Hair, Florida Wedding, Frank and Julio, Gasparilla Inn, Gasparilla Island, James Griffith Salon, Mr. Boddington, New York Party Rentals and Panache, Orchard Cove Photography, Powerhouse Band, Traditional Elegance
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… We wanted an old-fashioned wedding at home and to really make history where we are putting down roots: on our farm in Vermont. I imagined a rural wedding with our guests parading through our meadows and long harvest tables for the wedding feast – it was even more beautiful than I could have anticipated. Getting married on our 200-year-old farm was perfect. It made our home sacred.

Our wedding was rustic and romantic; mercury-glass bowls on the tables with crimson pears and dusky purple figs, ivory pillar candles in glass canning jars, linen napkins. We wanted the pictures of the day to be interchangeable with other centuries.  Finn has a background in bookmaking, so he designed and sewed our wedding invitations, which were delivered sealed with scarlet wax.  Our friends wove an arbor for us from grapevines and draped it with black and crimson berries. It was really gratifying to use the services of our friends and neighbors. Our friend, who runs a local chocolate shop, made organic black-rum caramels for favors, which we wrapped in brown paper and sealed with wax. She also made our wedding cake and was mother of the flower girl!

I think we started a lot of traditions that day. But one tradition Finn and I shared with our guests was five minutes of Quaker silence during our ceremony. It was long enough to really bring us all into the blessing of the moment.  The candles were lit by each of our mothers as in a normal unity candle tradition, but instead of a unity candle, Finn’s parents built a luminaria behind the altar, which is the type of structure that is burned on sacred days in the pueblo where they live in New Mexico. The luminaria and altar were both on the site of Finn’s proposal.  A gun was fired by Finn’s Dad to alert the wedding party to start the procession. Finn and his Dad elk hunt together and my dad was a lifetime writer for Sports Afield and Field & Stream (hunting & fishing magazines), so firing a muzzle loader seemed appropriate. Also, our house is on major Revolutionary War ( and I think French & Indian War) ground.

My favorite part of the day was reaching Finn at the altar, who was weeping. And vowing to be his wife, this day and every day.  My veil flew off in the wind right after we were pronounced husband and wife. No matter. Finn scooped me up and carried me down the aisle.

Wedding Ceremony & Reception: Bride & Groom’s Home / Wedding Photography: Orchard Cove Photography / Catering: Kathleen of Bevo / Florist: Hollyhocks / Wedding Gown: Wearkstatt via Deb at Sewly Yours / Bride’s Shoes: Cydwoq / Bride’s Hair: Shear Cuts / Hair Accessories: Bride’s Head Revisited / Groom’s Suit: Michael Kehoe Ltd. / Wedding Cake & Favors: Daily Chocolate / Event Rentals: Celebration Rentals, Inc. / Place Cards: Timeless Paper

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bevo, Brideshead Revisited, Celebration Rentals, Cydwoq, Daily Chocolate, farm wedding, Hollyhocks, Inc., Michael Keho, Orchard Cove Photography, romantic, Rustic Wedding, Sewly Yours, Shear Cuts, Vermont, Wearkstatt
Post categories: Casual Elegance

We previewed their wedding yesterday morning, on the Little Black Book Blog … the ceremony taking place at The Church of the Heavenly Rest and their reception at New York’s Central Park Boathouse.

From the beautiful bride … I think our wedding could be described with two words – Romantic…and FALL! Everything from the church to the reception was meant to make people feel like they were in the middle of a beautiful, bountiful fall day. From huge branches in the church, to small arrangements of cabbage roses, dalias, pears, pumpkins and berries on candlelit tables, we wanted to convey warmth and love.

At the boathouse, our goal was to “bring the park inside.” We had large trees everywhere that had beautiful colored leaves that began falling in the middle of the evening! Each long table had small bouquets of flowers and a cornucopia of fall elements strewn everywhere. Every table was different, giving it a natural and not-over-planned look. The lighting was created mostly by dozens of small tea lights and votive candles that seemed to be everywhere, from the table where we had a Polaroid camera and album for our guests, to the cookie table that appeared after dinner! Even our cake, done by the unequaled Sylvia Weinstock, had tumbling berries, flowers and branches cascading down it. The whole effect was spectacularly romantic, warm and autumnal.

We also wanted to add some unexpected touches. My bridesmaids, in beautiful Amsale dresses, were given big, dramatic, jeweled necklaces from Roberta Freyman’s shop. I picked out a different necklace for each girl, and they made such a great statement as they walked down the aisle – the exact opposite of Park Avenue pearls!

My own attire had a touch of the unique as well. My dress was all lace, in a soft antique-ivory from Rivini. My veil was a wonderful family heirloom – over 120 years old and custom lace, it had been worn by almost every woman in my family, and every bride’s initials were woven into the lace. It certainly looked different than any of the veils on the market today, and wearing such a beautiful antique made my entire look soft, romantic, and completely timeless.

One of my favorite moments was when the doors opened and we walked into our dining room at The Boathouse, filled with gorgeous decorations and everyone we loved, and stepped onto the dance floor, it was just us. For the first time that day, we both started to really breathe, and realize that we had done it! We were married, and we were dancing to our favorite song (Everything by Michael Buble). John and I had tried to do what can loosely be termed “practicing” in the weeks leading up to the wedding. We were a little nervous about remembering what we had decided to do – but in the end, none of it mattered. He twirled me into his arms, and I closed my eyes and realized that the night, and our lives, were just beginning.

One of John’s favorite photographs is from the very end of the evening. Everyone was given rose petals to throw at us as we exited the reception area and headed out toward our vintage New York taxi cab. We said goodbye to our parents, and everyone joyfully threw their little handfuls of petals. One of his groomsmen had absconded with the huge box of petals that everyone had taken their handfuls from. In a moment that was perfectly funny and unplanned, he summarily dumped the entire box on our heads. It was so fitting for him, and for us – as we’re never ones to do anything exactly by the book.

See more of Hannah & John’s wedding on Orchard Cove’s Blog and in our gallery!

A little advice from the bride and groom …

When John and I first got engaged, we spent some time figuring out what was REALLY important to us, those things that we felt really strongly about, together, and those things we didn’t want to lose sight of in all the wedding madness. This is such an important thing to do, and I think the best advice I can offer. There are so many options, and opinions, swirling around you as you plan a wedding, there will inevitably be compromises you have to make. And that’s ok! Not everything will happen exactly as you had pictured it. Because it’s not just you planning this event….it’s your friends, your family (especially your family).

But, if you decide together on the (few) things you will fight for – it makes giving in and making allowances in other areas so much easier and less stressful. It’s akin to picking your battles – but doing it at the very beginning. You absolutely can’t control everything, but you can control how you react to the ups and downs, and feel good about when you fight, and when you concede.

The other thing I would say is talk to each other…all the time. So often girls feel like anything wedding related goes in one ear and out the other for their fiancees. But the wedding isn’t just one person’s…and it should represent both of you. No matter what you envisioned when you were 9 years old, the final day should make everyone feel like they are celebrating YOU BOTH. And making sure that you both are equally involved and aware of everything going on can only lead to good things. Not only will you both feel attached to the event, but you’ll both know and understand the stress that each is under, and can comfort each other so much better. It can definitely be a stressful, and emotional time, and a time when you’ll need your best friend more than ever!

Finally, I’ll say that it’s critical to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. John was so good about countering every worry I had with the simple truth that “it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that at the end of the day we’ll be married.” It sounds silly, but keeping each other grounded throughout the engagement and wedding planning process is so important, and keeps you remembering that this is truly supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life!

Photography – Orchard Cove Photography / Ceremony Venue – The Church of the Heavenly Rest / Reception Venue – Central Park Boathouse / Event Planning – Elizabeth Allen / Hannah’s Dress – Rivini via Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier / Bridesmaid’s Dresses - Amsale / Hannah’s Hair – Aldo Giacomello / Hannah’s Makeup – Kimara Ahnert / Cake – Sylvia Weinstock / Dresser – Couture by Vassa / Florist – Lewis Miller Designs / Lighting – Levy Lighting / Music – Ludlow Street Band (Hank Lane Music)

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aldo Giacomello, Amsale, Central Park Boathouse, Couture by Vassa, Elizabeth Allen Events, Fall Wedding, Hank Lane Music, Kimara Ahnert, Levy Lighting, Lewis Miller Designs, Ludlow Street Band, Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, New York City, Orchard Cove Photography, Rivini, Sylvia Weinstock, The Church of the Heavenly Rest
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

Wedding cake by Sylvia Weinstock!

Walking down the aisle. I was so excited and nervous, and had been thinking about that moment for years. Everyone had told me to go slow, look around, and enjoy that moment. My mother walked me down the aisle, which was so meaningful. Not only because the last time she had walked down that aisle was for her own wedding 30 years earlier, but because she represented the other two men who should have been there, on my arm. The first was my father, and the second was my grandfather who had passed away not 2 weeks before that day, and who was a hugely important person in my life. Holding my mother’s hand and enjoying every moment of that walk down an absurdly long aisle, and seeing John at the end – is absolutely a moment that I will never forget.

We have the rest of the story from this gorgeous day all set for tomorrow morning.

‘Til then, we just had to give you a quick look at the necklaces Hannah gave her bridesmaids from the Roberta Freymann collection!

See you bright and early tomorrow with the full feature! For those who want MORE right now … head on over to Orchard Cove’s Blog!!

Photography – Orchard Cove Photography / Ceremony Venue – The Church of the Heavenly Rest / Hannah’s Dress – Rivini via Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier Cake – Sylvia Weinstock Florist – Lewis Miller Designs / Necklaces – Roberta Freymann / Wedding Planning – Elizabeth Allen Events

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Church of the Heavenly Rest, Elizabeth Allen Events, Lewis Miller Design, Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, New York City, Orchard Cove Photography, Rivini, Roberta Freymann, Sylvia Weinstock
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

See the whole gallery here!

Head on over to Orchard Cove’s blog for even more fabulous shots from this terrific celebration!

Becca and Brendan, The Old Round Church,
Richmond, VT

I grew up in Vermont, so we had decided that it was a perfect location for our June wedding. We wanted a wedding ceremony location that was indoors, just in case it rained. The Old Round Church was perfect–right across the street from close family friend’s home–and we loved the history behind it and the fact that we would be able to visit the location in many years to come. The Old Round Church has such a beautiful, simple New England feel to it that we adore. It was nice that it didn’t need to be overly decorated to still be beautiful! We scouted out many venues for our reception and were so lucky to have found The Essex! The atrium at The Essex continued that simple style that the Old Round Church had. With wall to wall windows, the Atrium looked like a greenhouse and the twinkle lights from the rafters sealed the deal. What we fell in love with the most at The Essex was the location for the cocktail hour, which was held next to the Atrium in their patio/herb garden. This allowed for our guests to walk around the garden area and enjoy the culinary works of the kitchen that were all part of the Vermont Culinary Institute!

The décor for the wedding was meant to hold on to the simplicity of the Old Round Church and The Essex Atrium. If we had to categorize the wedding, I would say it would be casual-elegant style. Our favorite colors are blue and green, so we used navy blue and grass green as our main colors, which work so well off of each other. Originally, we couldn’t decide on a theme, but we fell in love with our “falling leaves” invitations and loved the idea of incorporating a leaf theme into the wedding. We utilized the leaf theme throughout the wedding and reception and pulled in green apples to complete the design. Green apple and leaves were used in the escort cards, table numbers, and cocktail hour decoration. Some elements of our reception were DIY, including the table numbers which were made out of apple stamps with the numbers in calligraphy by my sister Jane. The escort cards were green apples with two green cardstock leaves. In silver paint-pens, my father wrote out the guest names on the larger leaf and the table number on the smaller one. These leaves were pinned into the apple stem to make it look like real apple leaves!

With the atrium at The Essex being all white, we wanted to pull in our colors to make the room “pop” against the walls. We used navy blue, white, and green Chinese lanterns of different sizes to decorate the area above the dance floor. We also used navy blue tablecloths with white linens and green flowers to make the guest tables stand out. Our flowers were such a huge highlight of our wedding, which really pulled the reception together by bringing the more natural element into the room.

Above all else, we value family and traditions in our wedding. It was extremely important to us to incorporate these into both the wedding and reception. Brendan’s strong Irish heritage was used frequently in the wedding. Nancy from A Schoolhouse Garden put in Bells of Ireland into the bouquets and centerpieces to honor his heritage. In addition, we had Brendan’s mother read the Irish Blessing and we used a celtic oathing stone during our vows. The Celtic Oathing Stone was something we read about and thought that it would be a perfect addition to the wedding. It is said in Celtic tradition that when vows are said while holding the stone (usually a river stone) that they will be “set into stone”.

Our ceremony recessional was to the tune of Jerry’s Beaver Hat, a traditional Irish fiddle tune. We downplayed the Irish traditions in the reception with the exception of the last dance. It was extremely important to both of us to have “The Parting Glass” played as the last song of the reception. This song is a very old Irish song that was traditionally sung at the end of gatherings of family and friends. A fun note—it was actually the original Auld Lang Syne song! We felt that this song said everything that we wanted to say to our guestsabout togetherness, love, and the importance of close family and friends in our life. It was perfect.

On my side, my heritage is more of a melting pot. My details were inspired by my mother and the strong women on her side who were from Slovenia. To incorporate a little bit of blue into the bridal bouquet, I chose to have a few blossoms of Iris in there, which also were the flowers used in my mother’s wedding bouquet. I was extremely close to my Grandmother on my mother’s side. She had passed away in 2008 and I wanted to honor her memory and keep her close on my wedding day. I purchased a pin locket for my bouquet in which I placed a photograph of Grandma. It was pinned to the bouquet for the entirety of the wedding and it was amazing to be able to hold her memory in my hands as I walked down the aisle. My second cousin had found a pin owned by our Great-Grandmother in an old snuff jar and sent it to me on our wedding day. It was worn by our Great-Grandmother on her wedding day in 1910 and I was fortunate enough to continue that tradition one-hundred years later. I found a place for it and it was pinned inside my gown by my heart. Finally, I found a beautiful hand painted parasol that I fell in love with for the wedding. From Etsy.com the parasol was white and the word “love” was painted on the top. I felt that it would be amazing to have for photographs and it spoke to what the day was about—being in love.

Favorite parts of the day …
Becca – It is nearly impossible to choose my favorite part of the day. It’s amazing that everyone always says that your wedding day is the best day of your life—and it is SO true! If I had to choose one it would have to be dancing to the last song of the night, “The Parting Glass” a traditional Irish song that is played at the end of a joyous occasion. I think that was the moment that we were able to reflect on how amazing the whole day truly had been, and we were able to look back on all the other countless memories that were made that day.

Brendan – My most vivid memory has to be when Becca and I read the vows we had written to each other. I was very nervous about saying something so personal to a group of people that were so close to us. When it came time to say my vows, I had to resort to my notes in my pocket, and I began reading them out of order. That moment added a sense of humor to our ceremony, which was great because laughter is such an integral part of Becca and my relationship. When it came time to hear the vows that Becca had prepared, my nervousness melted away. The biggest surprise had to be when Becca sang “Here, There, and Everywhere” by the Beatles to me during the reception. It is one of our favorite songs, and I kept pushing to have our musicians play it during the ceremony, and Becca refused. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t want it played, but when she sang it in front of all of our family and friends it was a great moment.

One unexpected thing that happened…
During our first dance we had a truly unique and hilarious moment. While we were dancing to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, Brendan’s grandfather decided to steal the stage from us. We couldn’t stop laughing as he danced around us making a scene for the whole room to experience. While the moment is a little bittersweet because it showed a bit of senility on his grandfather’s part, we were able to laugh through the moment and it ended up being some of the best photographs of the night. It will be nice to look back on that moment in years to come and remember not only our first dance, but also Brendan’s Grandfather having a blast dancing to Al Green too!

A few words of advice…
Plan in advance if you can and don’t procrastinate! If you get more done earlier in your engagement then you will be able to enjoy those last months a little more leading up to your wedding day. Also remember that no matter how much you plan in advance there will always be one or two details you missed…and it’s okay. If you have a lot of DIY details, make sure that you ask for help from friends, family, and your fiancé!

Also, your photographs are going to be the one thing that will capture the special moments from your wedding. In our opinion, the choice of your photographer is going to be the most important decision in the planning process. Do your research and make sure that their style fits yours. You won’t regret it when you see your photographs for the first time after your big day!

On the day of your wedding, drink some chamomile tea if you’re nervous and enjoy being around your closest friends and family. Make sure to take a moment to look up during dinner and take the entire reception in. Dance the night away and allow yourself to be okay when your hairdo falls out or if things don’t go perfectly. Do not take one moment for granted, as the night goes by in a flash!

Photographer: Orchard Cove Photography / Floral Designer: A Schoolhouse Garden / Cake Designer: The Essex – NECI / Caterer: The Essex – NECI / Invitations & Menus - 123print.com / Donation Cards & Save the Dates – Vista Print / Becca’s Dress – Paloma Blanca / Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Ann Taylor / Oathing Stone & Parasol – Etsy / DJ – Paul Pecor from Super Sounds

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 123print.com, A Schoolhouse Garden, Ann Taylor, Color Palette Blue Green, Oathing Stone, Old Round Church, Orchard Cove Photography, Paloma Blanca, Paul Pecor, Super Sounds, The Essex NECI, Vermont, Vista Print
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography