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From the bride, Gina…

Although I’ve seen many weddings while working in this industry, there is nothing like your own wedding day. It was absolutely magical, and I had the added bonus of being surrounded not only by the love of my life, my family and friends, but also my “second” family at 2 Dine 4 Catering, who really outdid themselves to make everything perfect.

Here are a few of my favorite details:

Venue: We both grew up in Austin and consider ourselves to be “old school” Austinites. We wanted a venue that reflected that – centrally located and with a very classic, vintage ballroom feel. The Mansion felt just right.

Food: The food was naturally very important to me, but (surprise!) it wasn’t just up to me…Kyle wanted an elegant menu, but I wanted kitschy and playful for the 4th of July. What we ended up with was a mix of classic and fun: braised beef short ribs and summer salad, but also my favorite panko-crusted mac n’ cheese and mini corn dog appetizers. My favorite food element was the peach ice cream, which 2 Dine 4’s chefs prepared from my grandmother’s “famous” recipe. Paired with almond cake and a slice of Texas peach, it was absolutely divine!

Flowers: Our florist Melanie came up with a gorgeous entryway arrangement dappled with books, peaches and candlesticks. When I said, “make it reflect the venue,” she located candelabras that matched the sconces on the wall! We wrapped my bouquet with lace from the trim of my mother’s wedding dress. (note: this is a great way to knock out your something old AND something borrowed). Mom didn’t have the heart to cut her dress, so she actually un-sewed the lace for this very purpose. Now that’s love. Rather than doing a bouquet toss at the end of the night, I presented the bridal bouquet to my grandmother who has been married almost 62 years! I was blessed to have my grandparents not only attend, but also dance at my wedding, and can only hope that my marriage is as long and happy as theirs.

In traditional Jewish ceremonies, the bride circles the groom seven times before the rabbi begins. This represents the bride creating a protective sort of “orbit” around the groom – indicating that she will take care of him and that he is the center of her world. I knew I would get nervous and not pay attention to counting, so Kyle helped me out. The huppah, or wedding canopy, represents the home the bride and groom will make together. Rather than an ornate floral design, we opted to personalize it with family relics – the covering was a handmade tablecloth from my grandmother’s bridal trousseau and we drank off an antique table that was Kyle’s great-great-great grandmother’s from France.

Thanks to Gina and Kyle for sharing their gorgeous wedding images and touching detail with us. It goes to show that it’s not how lovely a wedding looks, but the meaning behind what’s involved. Congratulations!

Cheers, Mrs. E / apartment 34

Vendor Credits: Photography by The Nichols / Venue: Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs /  Cake: Stardust Pastry / Catering: 2 Dine 4 Catering /Band: Jumpstart / Florals: Last Petal / Getaway Car: SWOOP events / Hair & Makeup: Milk and Honey Salon / Wedding Dress: Blue by Enzoani at Belle Saison Bridal / Rentals: Premiere Party Central

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2 Dine 4 Fine, Austin, Color Palette Pink Peach, peach flowers, Peaches, Real Wedding, Stardust Pastry, Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, The Nichols
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Austin Weddings, Real Weddings, Texas Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Vintage Chic

Have you ever seen anything quite as good as passed ice cream!? It makes me all giddy just thinking about it! Especially at such a sweet Summer wedding like this one. A HUGE congratulations to the bride and groom for designing a wedding that celebrated their own unique personalities, their own unique love. Those are the weddings that we love best here on SMP.

For more wedding eye candy and tons of inspiration, check out Julie’s blog!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Annie and Ryan, budget, California Weddings, Cornerstone Gardens, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Garden, Garden Inspired, Julie Mikos, Real Wedding, Sonoma
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

I am a firm believer that pom poms make any space look better, brighter, happier. A sweet pom at a garden inspired affair is absolute perfection.

Here is a quick note from Annie…My mom and I did the flowers together, my friend Laura Jerrard did the cake, my cousin and I did the paper cut outs, and Ryan and I worked with Al’s Attire in North Beach to design my dress and his suit.

It was an effortlessly elegant, family affair and I absolutely love that.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Annie and Ryan, budget, California Weddings, Cornerstone Gardens, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Garden, Julie Mikos, Real Wedding, Sonoma
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

Annie and Ryan tied the knot at the Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma, California in a complete DIY affair…and I am just completely in love with every little bit of it. I have lots more pictures on the way, so check back in just a bit!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Annie and Ryan, budget, California Weddings, Cornerstone Gardens, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Garden, Julie Mikos, Real Wedding, Sonoma
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

So…first, let’s look at her inspiration board…

Beautiful, right? Well…feast your eyes on her gorgeous wedding!

Reichel has documented all of her pictures and amazing details on her knot bio page…including the cost of all of her vendors. I love that she has done this so that others can really see what went into the planning and design of this wedding. Here are a few more details from Reichel about her big day…

Ryan & I met six years ago in Santa Barbara, CA and started our love affair with wine (and each other!). We moved up to the SF Bay area a few years ago and have learned to love Napa and Sonoma wine country as well. So when it came time to celebrate the wedding it was only natural that we’d choose a winery. After searching high and low in Napa & Sonoma, we decided to have our ceremony & reception at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma. It’s only a few blocks away from historic Sonoma Plaza, as well as only a few blocks away from my Mother’s house.

Buena Vista Winery is the oldest premium winery in California. So that was the starting point of our theme. I wanted to keep everything very old fashioned and romantic. There’s several old stone buildings on the property as well as a rustic fountain. The dinner was held on the second floor of one of these buildings; inside it’s all rich dark wood and very rustic. We held the ceremony in the fountain courtyard in front of their gorgeous ivy-covered champagne cellars. The cocktail hour was held outside as well, in front of their fun outdoor bar, surrounded by trees light up with white Christmas lights.

My colors ended up coming from the winery itself, cream, taupe, chocolate and sage. I chose my dress to fit in with the color theme…it was gorgeous cream alençon lace over latte silk with a pearl brooch & latté velvet ribbon. Ryan wore a classic tux with a latté colored tie to match my sash. The bridesmaids wore espresso JCrew dresses and I gave them sage colored pashminas to wear and the groomsen had sage colored ties to match.

I also used a lot of rich dark wood accents. I actually work for Williams Sonoma, on the Pottery Barn catalog creative team. So a lot of my decor reflects that. I used the Turned Wood collection for a lot of the accents: the cake stand, the candles on the dinner tables, the hurricane candles on the cocktail tables, the chargers, the pillar holders…even the centerpieces were made using the Turned Wood Pedestal bowls.

Also from Pottery Barn were the kraft-colored leaf placecards. They inspired the the kraft paper wine escort tags. I thought it was a fun idea instead of your usual escort cards. I designed all of the other paper items myself. I used a vintage flower design in chocolate on the invites and then had them letter-pressed on thick cream paper. I also used a drawing of the winery that I scanned from one of Buena Vista’s wine labels. The save-the-dates were from a print of an old wine label, I just altered it with our info in Photoshop.

To fit in with Buena Vista’s old history, I tried to plan things that would fit in the appropriate time period. We had a old-fashioned “gypsy jazz band” (the Golden Gate Hot Club). They played for the ceremony and the cocktail hour. They set the mood perfectly with their 20′s – 40′s music, the guests just loved it. I also rented a vintage 1936 touring limo from Ambassador’s Rolls. They actually have two matching limos like this and I spotted them out in Napa one day. I couldn’t resist, it was one of my favorite details! The limo was so unique and fun and it held 14 people; perfect for the whole bridal party. Another classic touch were the engraved stainless steel corkscrews we used as favors. It’s fun seeing them randomly at friends & family’s houses months afterwards! Obviously they’re very useful

It turned out to be such a blast and you could almost imagine you were back in a different era. I just loved how it all turned out…I just wish we could do it all over again

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Inspiration Boards, Real Wedding
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Inspiration Boards, Traditional Elegance