Not only can this bride rock a topknot bun like nobody’s business, but she makes planning the cutest of cute weddings (in five months flat!) look like a total walk in the park. Set at a gorgeous vineyard venue, it’s one part glam and one part rustic with a dose of preppy stripes thrown in for good measure. More pretty from Amanda Crean’s lens sitting here.
From The Bride…Brian and I met at the wedding of two of our very best friends in the summer of 2012. He quickly went from my wedding dance floor partner, to my long-distance boyfriend, to my fiance in the January 2014. I have to admit, before we got married, I had planned just about every theme of wedding in my head. An outdoor fall wedding, a beach destination, even a New Year’s Eve bash. It wasn’t until Brian brought up the idea of having a summer wedding in the same town as my family’s lake house that I felt like the dream wedding started to become a reality.
I tasked our extraordinary wedding planner (my mom) with finding an unforgettable venue and boy, did she deliver. I still remember her calling me at work to tell me the date options that were open: June 28 or July 5 of 2014. I laughed at the idea of both. Planning a wedding in 5 months? There was no way. Little did I know this was my first glimpse into how married life is done – jump right in with both feet and figure out the small stuff together along the way. So we booked the date, 5 months to plan, and slowly July 5 started to feel like it was meant for us all along.
Our vineyard venue was off the beaten path, so I loved the thought of having guest feel like they had stepped out of the country and into a summer soiree. I picked gold as our main color to give a touch of glam to the rustic surroundings and used the pops of coral and greenery to highlight the natural colors in the vineyard. As for the navy, I have to give credit to my now husband, who’s only request for our big day was to wear a “really cool” blue suit.
Before we got married, I prepared for all the small details that I thought would define our big day. And while those details turned out beautifully, I must say now what defined our day was the love that was put into making all those details come together. My sister and sister-in-laws surprised me by painting the 300 gold vases and candles we used as our center pieces because they knew I had a lot on my plate at the time.
My mom won the blue bicycle at an auction because she knew it would be the perfect accessory for the beach and in the vineyard. She even asked for a bike basket as her Mother’s Day present so she could fill it with flowers for pictures. My dad let me stretch the wedding budget just a little bit further to get the white bulb lighting of my dreams and then patiently screwed in the 500 light bulbs while checking to make sure each one worked. And Brian stayed up with me until 3:00am making the stop-motion video we played during our reception, allowing me to ask him for “just one more picture” over and over again.
No matter the theme, colors, decorations or dress, the most important part of our wedding was the people who came to support us. We ended our first night as husband and wife in our big white tent on the dance floor surrounded by the best family and friends two people could ask for. I couldn’t have imaged starting our new lives any other way!
Photography: Amanda Crean | Cinematography: Wooten Media Co | Coordination: Lauren Kelleher | Floral Design: Lauren Kelleher | Wedding Dress: Ryan Seacrest Distinction | Ceremony Venue: Willow Harbor Vineyard | Reception Venue: Willow Harbor Vineyard | Hair And Makeup: Blend Beauty Studio | Band: Toast and Jam | Programs/signage: Adam Anderson