Embellished Weddings

There really are not adequate words to describe Alicia and Kevin’s wedding day that took place a few months ago. They were an incredible couple to work with that had incredible style. I always looked forward to the design meetings with Alicia to talk about new and unique ideas. I am kind of sad that their wedding already took place because our monthly meetings are over. It was a such a joy to work with them and serve their families. Now get ready for a lot of incredible details!

First, typically before a bride books us, we have a free consultation where we meet at our studio or a coffee shop close to the bride to go over all the ideas and details that she is envisioning for her wedding day. Brides used to bring cut outs of magazine or a binder full of pictures. Now, they whip out their Ipad or Macbook and log on to www.pinterest.com and show us their wedding boards! Typically, brides show us pictures of past weddings that either took place in Oklahoma or some other state where they found the picture on Style Me Pretty, Southern Weddings, or other wedding blogs/websites.

When I asked Alicia to show me ideas for her up-and-coming wedding, she did not show me pictures of past weddings. To my surprise, she showed my two pictures of two different Kate Spade stores:

She told me that the inspiration for her wedding is based off of the above pictures and she lovingly branded her theme as “Preppy Modern.”

I about died when she showed me her inspiration pictures. My mind was racing and a lot of ideas where all coming together. I threw out some ideas that she loved, and some ideas got booted out. Here are a few more of her inspiration pictures:

Now are you ready to see the final design? Get excited!! It was one of my favorite weddings of all time! Kate Spade, meet, Gaillardia:

Stunning, right? You can thank the bride for this amazing style and design. She is just that cute! A few details to make note of:

Almost every venue provides 60 inch round tables. Since a lot of this design was modern, we decided to stick with straight lines and not a lot of curves. We rented square tables from Mariannes that perfectly fit the design we were trying to achieve.

Second, did you see those linens? Custom linens from Mariannes. To-die-for. Enough said.

You can thank IES for the incredible lighting all over the room.

You can thank Poppy Lane for those stunning centerpieces.

And the incredible dessert table with cakes by Mishelle Handy and two macaroon towers by Coco Flow.

The cake table was in front of the curtains in the ballroom at Gaillardia. Alicia bought gold garland from at Etsy Seller and IES hung it from the curtains to add to the cake’s background. It was a perfect touch.

Alicia bought all of the gold chargers for the tables and also found really cute Wedding Libs on Etsy. Leslie and I spent the morning turning every napkin into a bowtie with help of a silver sequin ribbon and a stapler.

Here are a few other details that we loved:

Of course the bride was wearing the cutest Kate Spade shoes that matched her wedding theme perfectly.

And, you can never go wrong by hiring Cafe Evoke to supply a specialty coffee bar for your reception. Guests love them. We love them. It’s a win-win.

We loved this wedding guestbook alternative idea. You can find it here on Etsy.

Let’s not forget the details that made the wedding ceremony “preppy modern” too:

Are you not just in love with this wedding? We seriously have the most incredible brides. If you have not heard me say it before, hear me now: my favorite part of a wedding is when the guests walk in and I hear them say, “Oh my goodness, this is totally Alicia and Kevin.” And that is exactly what I heard with this wedding. They perfectly customized their wedding with their style, their ideas, and their budget. We just helped them make sure not one detail was overlooked and that they could enjoy the whole day because we took care of all of the set up and clean up. Every detail is in the hands of a professional, so you do not have to worry about a thing!

June 2, 2012 was an incredible day for Alicia and Kevin. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of it. We really enjoyed working with you and wish you the best of luck in all you do!

(Every picture besides the inspiration pictures were provided by the incredible Aaron Snow Photography).

After the “I Do’s” and “You may now kiss the bride,” the one thought on every guest’s mind is, “Let’s get to the party!”

So much time, and a chunk of your budget, goes into planning the picture perfect reception. Spend a little time searching for inspiration on Pinterest and you’ll be swimming in a sea of candles, centerpieces and cakes – not to mention all of the theme options: rustic chic, winter wonderland, understated elegance, crystal and chandeliers, backyard barbecue… the list goes on and on.

But, one thing that should not be forgotten as you plan the perfect reception is…

What will your guests do while they await your arrival?

With the growing trend of pictures before the ceremony, this “wait time” has been reduced, but it is still something important to consider. Many brides arrange a cocktail hour for their guests, but we’ve included a few ideas here for you to consider – activities your guests will not soon forget!

1. Have a Caricaturist illustrate guests at your reception –

They can then take their picture home as a wedding favor and memento from your special day!

-image-

2. Have guests sign the back of a puzzle piece – or a Jenga block.

This activity serves as a creative guest book, but also creates a fun activity of putting the puzzle together, or building the tower.

-image1, image2-

3. Include a wedding Mad Gab sheet at the bar, or at every place setting,

for guests to fill out at the reception. Brides and grooms will get a kick out of reading what their guests wrote!

-image-

4. Arrange with your photographer ahead of time to have a designated area at the reception

with props for guests to dress up and take pictures while they wait for the guests of honor to arrive!

-image-

(If your photographer is working solo and will be snapping photos of the wedding party after the ceremony, a photo booth with props in a nearby basket is a great alternative!)

Your reception is the time to celebrate the start of your wedded bliss with all of your family and friends.

They will certainly appreciate that you thought of them.

Personalizing your guest book is a great way to add some of your own personal touch to your wedding, and can also be great memorable for your wedding day. We have noticed that when our brides use a guest book that is a little different or more “personal,” then they are more likely to look at it/use it down the road! An example of this would be using a photo album or photo booth and having your guest write you a little note next to their picture- instead of just signing their name into a book. This is something that you would more likely want to look at again down the road because you could look at pictures and read something special, instead of just signatures!

Another idea is this guest book frame (found at theknot.com), and not only can it be used to display an engagement picture but also allows your guest to sign their name and whatever else they want. This can be a wedding keepsake that you will cherish for years after!

Other than the traditional guest book that you typically see at weddings…there are some really neat options to use for your guest books that can be a little more “personalized.” Whether it is simply adding your names to the front of your book, or using the “finger print tree” for your guest to use- if remembering who was at your wedding is something that is important to you- you may want to think about adding a personal touch!

I have noticed a trend when it comes to wedding guest books: brides are steering away from the traditional guestbook. Brides prefer something that means a little bit more than a white book with lists of names. They want something they can look at after the wedding and that holds meaning.

A lot of brides have had their guests sign their names on a matte frame where they placed their wedding pictures they receive.

A lot of brides make a custom photo guestbook from their photographer that includes dozens of pictures from their engagement session.

And a new trend that is becoming popular is a Wedding Thumbprint Tree.

I love how personal it is and how cute it would be to hang in your house!

All you need is a print of a tree with bare branches, and then a few sets of ink and a pen, and your guests “sign in” by placing their thumbprint on the tree and sign their name. It is custom. It is meaningful. It offers more than a list of names.

If you need a print of the tree, I have a designer that I recommend to give you the perfect print.

Or you can always order it off of Etsy from this seller.

(Picture #1 from www.katebotwinskiphotography.com. Picture #2 from www.sloanphotographers.com. Picture #3 from betwixtstudio.com. Picture #4 from www.aaronsnowphotography.com.

I always want to blog immediately after a wedding takes place, but trust me, you do not want to see a blog with all of the pictures taken from my I-Phone. So, I wait patiently for the photographer to edit the pictures and to find the time to send me the images to use for the blog and website!

And, now I finally have the images from Lacie and Jordan’s wedding in September. Lacie was one of the most fun, sweet and beautiful brides! We obviously love everything about weddings, but we are sad when they are over because we stop the constant communication with our sweet brides! We miss that!

I am so excited to share images from her amazing beautiful, shabby-chic, whimsical wedding! But first, is she not the most beautiful bride you have ever seen:

You might remember this post that was written while we were in the planning stages of her wedding and reception.

Well, all of those ideas and visions and details came to reality with the help of some amazing vendors in the OKC metro area.

(every picture in this post is provided by Carl Zoch Photography).

I also have the following venues and vendors to thank! We love working with such quality Oklahoma vendors!

Wedding and Reception Venue: Farmer’s Market

Musician: Aaron Newman at Box Talent

Photographer: Carl Zoch

Videographer: Glorious Day

Florist: Jan Edwards- The Flower Girls

Invitations/Stationary: Taylor Jill Designs

Caterer: Abbey Rd. Catering

Cake Designer: Mishelle Handy

DJ: M&M Productions

Rental Items: Marianne’s Rentals

Vintage Car: Kings

Photobooth: Oklahoma Photobooth Company

Other items provided by Cloverleaf Boutique

By working a lot of weddings, I see a lot of guest books. Some are the traditional ones, some are homemade, some are a large picture frame that everyone signs around, some are designed from the photographer. This wedding, however, had none of these. I loved the personal touch that these guest book pages provided:

Each guest fills out their own page. There is a space for them to place their picture, sign their name, write how they know the bride and the groom, write where they traveled from, and a large space to write a personalized message and well wishes to the bride and groom. It is perfect!

The only “dilemma” is that I would not recommend having these pages at the sign in table as they take some time to fill out. This bride had one page at each place setting on the table in the reception room. That way, while the bride and groom were taking pictures, the guests could fill that voided time by filling these out. It worked out great.

Definitely check out the website and order some for your wedding today! What a great keepsake to have and to look back on.

This weekend was full of great couples and gorgeous weddings and receptions. The bride and the groom on Saturday were precious! They were so easy to work with and I enjoyed every moment helping them with all of the planning!

I just want to post some pictures of their wedding: