There are a few things that I am absolutely obsessed with wedding-wise. Okay… there are a million things. But one of those million obsessions just so happens to send me in to a wedding loving tailspin every.single.time. Yes, vintage-inspired nuptials. I adore them with a passion and, regardless of the era, if it’s vintage, I can’t get enough. So, of course, I am head-over-heels in love with this Fort Myers stunner by Joshua and Tarah Ihrie, completely designed by the bride and groom with so many stunning details, I just might copy every single one of them for my big day, including that gorgeous broach bouquet. Yes. Please. Now this is what I call vintage chic and I am in heaven. Join me in the gallery for even more inspiration!
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From the Bride… My husband and I decided to have our wedding earlier than we had in mind because my mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease two years ago. I wanted her to have this moment with me even though she wasn’t fully there at least she could enjoy it with us. My husband and I are old souls and knew we would have a glamour vintage themed wedding. We wanted the 1950s and before. We also had roses and peacock feathers in our theme. Chris and I did this for our grandparents. His grandfather had peacocks on his catfish farm when he was growing up and my grandparents were in the rose society. I grew up around Roses. We found the perfect location in downtown Ft. Myers FL. just a few minutes away from us. We had our wedding at the historic Heitman House on the river.
The ceremony and reception was held in the backyard. We had a beautiful tribute to my grandmother who we lost this year to Alzheimer’s. We put a single rose on each chair for the ceremony for the guests. After the ceremony the wedding party went out to the dock and tossed the roses into the river for her. The guests followed after. The song used for her dedication was Hymn to the Sea by James Horner. I always said I was the young Rose and my grandmother was the old Rose in Titanic. Chris and I put together a playlist starting from the 1920s to the 1950s to fit our vintage themed wedding. All the decorations were made by Chris and I. We bought our birdcages and chandeliers on this wonderful site called Save On Crafts. We found some birdcages also at the flea market and antique stores. Chris made all the signs and one hilarious one where he found pictures of our wedding party making funny faces and cut them out and pasted them on vintage wedding photos. I put together the card boxes using my mother’s childhood suitcases. I decorated them with things that were meaningful to Chris and I. I bought a 1920s autograph book on Etsy for very cheap and we were lucky that the pages were blank. Because Chris and I love antiques we were able to use a lot of items from our home for decorations as well. We used our two early 1900s chairs for us to sit on for our reception table.
We had a very special event for our wedding. Chris and I met through the music of OURS, a band we adored for so many years. Chris and I have been very dedicated fans and even have a tattoo of their symbol which is how Chris found me. Chris talked to Jimmy Gnecco the lead singer and told our story and he wanted to be a part of our wedding which we still can’t believe he actually played at our wedding. He does not do weddings so we felt pretty special. His music made soulmates find each other and we will forever be thankful to him.
Wedding Photography: Joshua and Tarah Ihrie / Flowers: Costco / Event Design: The Bride and Groom / Event Planning: Malynne Wall (family friend) + The Bride and Groom / Location: The Heitman House / Wedding Invitations: The Groom / Bride’s Shoes: Lace and Roses Bridal / Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero via Lace and Roses Bridal / Jewelry: Antique + Etsy + Mark Loren’s / Make-up + Hair: Cherry Dame / Fascinator: Kristen Kuehn Designs