I spend a lot of time drooling over beautiful gowns here at SMP. That’s just part of my job. (I know, I know… I’m lucky.) But, if I had to (had to) choose my all-time favorite gown, it would most definitely be this stunning Claire Pettibone number, which never EVER fails to make me smile. Especially when paired with an uber-elegant barn wedding chock-full of personal details (Harry Potter, anyone?), the planning expertise of Julie Atwood Events and a gallery filled to the brim with crazy gorgeous images from Andrew Weeks Photography. Join me there for sooo much more and then stay tuned for a beautiful film from Kiss the Bride Films below.
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From the Bride… Eric and I met through a mutual friend a few days into our first year of college in St. Louis. A year later, we started dating, and it only took us a few months to know that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Six years later we were thrilled to (finally!) become husband and wife. And of course, the mutual friend who started it all was standing by our side as the best man!
When Eric and I were planning our wedding, one of the most important things to me was that the venue had a barn. I love the rustic elegance of a wedding in a barn, and because Eric is from Missouri, I thought it would be a playful nod to where he grew up and where we met. Other than that, I didn’t have a specific theme for the wedding, and it stressed me out whenever anyone asked what our color scheme was, because we never really had one! All we knew was that we wanted the wedding to be very natural and romantic, with a touch of vintage glamour. We were also the first wedding out of all of our friends, so we knew that it had to be sentimental and FUN! These are the emotions that guided us in all of the decisions we made — walking back down the aisle to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s “Home,” serving mini pulled pork sliders and fries, my dad and me surprising everyone by reenacting Pulp Fiction’s famous dance scene as our father/daughter dance, and serving See’s Candy as dessert, which is what I grew up eating with my grandmas. We had my high school English teacher and track coach marry us in a sweet and quirky ceremony. To create the ceremony, he had us write letters to him explaining how we met and why we loved each other. We also wrote our own vows, which among some of the more serious sentiments, both managed to reference our love of Harry Potter and popcorn. The ceremony was definitely our (and many of the guests’) favorite part of the day. Although the bridal party and friends and family in the audience were crying, Eric and I were just so happy we couldn’t stop smiling and laughing!
One of the best parts of our venue is that it offered so many wonderful locations to celebrate throughout the night. The ceremony took place on the lawn, dinner and the first dances were under a tent next to the vineyard, and dancing and dessert took place in the barn. Even though we loved every bit of the venue, it was the barn that just took our breath away. With the help of our event planner, I chose the furniture and lighting, but it was really Julie who put it all together and just completely transformed the barn into a twinkling, elegant, retro dream come true. It was the perfect ambiance to dance the night away and enjoy some good-natured debauchery with our friends and family. This day would not have been possible without our amazing vendors. The delicious food, the energetic Motown band that kept everyone dancing until the very last song, the beautifully unique flowers, a photographer who made everyone feel at ease and captured the day so beautifully — I cannot say enough about how much I loved my vendors. I had always wanted to do a lot of DIY projects for the wedding, but with the hours I worked at a start-up and Eric at law school, it just wasn’t possible. That’s when I became obsessed with Etsy. The women I worked with were so talented and really added that intimate and homemade touch I was looking for. It felt really good to support their growing businesses, and we ended up using Etsy shops for our invitations, menus, programs, guestbook and chair decorations.
Wedding Photography: Andrew Weeks Photography / Wedding Venue: Atwood Ranch in Glen Ellen, California / Event Planning + Coordination: Julie Atwood Events / Floral Design: Anne Appleman Flowers & Plants / Wedding Cinematography: Kiss the Bride Films / Wedding Cake: Forget-Me-Not Cakes / Wedding Invitations + Menus: Lemon Square Designs / Programs: paperandlaceaustin / Band: Napata & The Kisses / Guest Book: Lorgieandme / Wedding Dress, Veil + Headpiece: Claire Pettibone / Bride’s Shoes: Lanvin / Hair + Makeup: Meaganne McCandess / Bridesmaids’ Dress: Amsale