Ruffled®

We got another J.R.R Tolkien’s bride fan! You may remember this sweet vintage-inspired wedding from last month, and now we have another beautiful wedding inspired by the writer’s work to share! The bride Anastasia was heavily inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, and just for good measure, she threw a dash of Jane Austen in as well. The result is a gorgeous affair with plentiful whimsy. Dana Grant was on hand to capture the day.

More from the bride Anastasia’s Mother:

It seemed like my daughter wanted to invite JRR Tolkien to LothLorien. The Forest setting with Tolkien era furnishings and romance inspired embellishments stunned the guests. Think Tolkien entering LothLorien, mixing his era with his imagination. Candles hanging from massive oaks, twinkling lights on the dance floor, outdoor candle lit iron chandeliers, billowy table linens, flower faeries, letterpress Invitations, silk, peonies, roses, silver, lace but a shocking lack of satin.

We really did visit 100 venues and my daughter pretty much had given up. On a whim, we stumbled on ‘The Ranch’ and her jaw dropped, eyes bulged with tears and I said..where do I sign.

For 17 months, I was out at 6am scouring the tri-county area for 1890-1930′s era antique settee’s, over-sized wing, trunks, chairs, etc. which we had re-upholstered in a wedding cream velvet.

Anastasia’s Grandma sewed the flower fairy dresses. The Jr. Bride’s Maid of Honor (A.K.A. lil’ sis) tirelessly designed and assembled the faeriesque wings.

Almost everything was DIY. I ordered 1,000 hex mason jars which the maid of honor and bridesmaid adorned with twine, labels and candles. My family, friends and I sewed custom the 3 layered draped table cloths and warm, custom embroidered wraps for the ladies. We scoured every Marshals for the silver pedestal, stained glass bowl centerpieces (each store only had 1 or 2 and we needed 35) and other stores for 80 iron bases for the side florals. We silver plate painted the bases and ironwork.

Don’t miss the video by Nick of Goofy Foot Films:

Wedding Vendors (Ventura, CA):

Venue: Wiggy Ranch / Photographer: Dana Grant / Coordinator: Viviana Savila of Bella Notte Events / Florist: Elegant Thorn / Bride’s Dress: Novia D’Art / Bride’s Veil: Eve of Milady / Bride’s Head Piece: Maria Elena / Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss / DJ: Atmosphere / Caterer: Contemporary Catering / Videographer: Goofyfoot Films

It’s time to showcase one of our lovely sponsors, Green Eyed Girl. Green Eyed Girl is the brainchild of Cate Reilly, a Brooklyn-based designer and former litigator who left the law to pursue more creative and rewarding work. Cate combines her penchant for beautiful things with her green sensibilities to create a lovely, vintagey, feminine and truly unique line of statement jewelry, hairpieces and veils, accessories and decor accents that are are perfect for the vintage bride, the green bride or the bride looking for something truly unique for her special day. Each imaginative, one-of-a-kind piece is handmade out of repurposed found vintage jewels, beads, baubles, fabrics and details. Since each and every piece is different, shopping at Green Eyed Girl ensures you will always be rocking something special; something that is yours and yours alone.

Cate loves working closely with clients to create the perfect custom piece for any fun occasion. Her statement necklaces, hairpieces and veils, silk floral belts and her soy vintage teacup candles can all be entirely customized.

Green Eyed Girl is an environmentally and animal friendly shop. Because Cate finds new purposes for old items, the company, and in turn its customers, tread lightly upon the earth. Green Eyed Girl’s wool and leather items are all made from recycled, reclaimed and repurposed materials. All feathers used in hairpieces are naturally molted and humanely gathered. Green Eyed Girl’s candles are made from environmentally sound soy wax and use clean burning wicks. And Cate uses all eco-friendly packaging and her business cards are printed on recycled card stock with environmentally friendly dyes.

Cate has kindly extended a discount to Ruffled Readers. Use the code Ruffled15 for 15% off all orders, including custom purchases from Green Eyed Girl through August 31st.

Product shots by Green Eyed Girl. All other photography by Jami Saunders.

Amber and Emily of Amber Karson Events recently designed this darling butterfly themed bridal shower with a rustic flair. The maid of honor picked the venue and let the talented ladies of Amber Karson Events do the rest. I am loving the intimate feel of the room and the oh-so-adorable butterfly adorned favors! Check out the wonderful shots below from Abby Jiu Photography. Thanks for sharing, ladies!

From Amber and Emily: To kick off the rustic charm of the event, custom invitations were sent to each guest using colors of moss green and wrapped with twine. We wanted to create a romantic feel to enhance the natural elements such as stone and wood the Harvest Room provides. An array of branches with clusters of flowers and hanging butterflies was the focal point for the long farm style table where guests enjoyed mimosas and Sunday Brunch. Using leftover burlap and twine, we created small favors adorned with a butterfly for each guest.

Bridal Shower Vendors (Washington, DC):

Design: Amber Karson Events/ Photography: Abby Jiu Photography/ Venue: The Harvest Room at Farmers and Fishers

I am absolutely in love with Courtney and Payton’s wedding, shot by Josh Goleman. I can’t get over the sweet pastel color scheme, hand sewn buntings and linens, and pretty hobnail glass pieces. This is what my dreams look like, literally!

From the bride, Courtney:

I knew that I wanted a vintage style wedding. I also wanted it to be personal, relaxed and fun. I love vintage linens and hobnail glass and I knew I would incorporate some of those elements in the decor, but I wanted to retain some formality, and so I also included silver vases, chivari chairs and formal china.

All I wanted was peonies. My parents owned a bed and breakfast and we had peonies everywhere.

I grew up in Asheville, NC and as a family we would spend lots of time at our lake house in nearby Mill Spring. My parents now live there year-round. Our ceremony was held at their church, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and the reception was held at Rockhouse Vineyards. Both are located in Tryon, NC.

The wedding had a vintage floral theme. The color scheme was mint, peach and pale yellow with pops of magenta. My mom sewed the bunting for the tent. She also sewed the linens for my sister’s wedding 9 years ago. I loved the colors and decided to use them too!

The cake had three tiers with the following flavors- Yellow Cake with Wildberry Preserves and European Buttercream, Coconut Cake with Creamy Toasted Coconut Filling and Chocolate Cake with Caramel crème and European buttercream. All layers were under Marshmallow Fondant. We also had a strawberry cake for the groom.

Some advice from Courtney:

All of the details of planning the wedding started to overwhelm me. I wanted to eliminate little things from the wedding just because I didn’t want to deal with planning and executing any more projects. In the end, my mom convinced me to stick with it and to do everything I had originally planned to do. It was so worth it…our guests really did notice all the thought and effort we had put into everything.

Wedding Vendors (Tryon, NC):

Photographer: Josh Goleman / Ceremony Venue: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church / Reception Venue: Rockhouse Vineyards / Florist: By Mother and friends, ordered from Whole Blossoms / Bride’s Dress: Magnolia by Vera Wang / Bride’s Shoes: J.Crew / Bridesmaid Dresses: Quail Bridal / Flowergirl Dresses: J.Crew / Groom’s Suit: Calvin Klein / Band: The Tea Leaves / Caterer: The Colorful Palate / Cake: Tiffany’s Baking Co / Wedding invitations: Erica Miller from Thoughtful Day / Videographer: Richard Davis