Hold onto your seats, because I don’t think I’ve ever had such a hard time narrowing down images for a post as I did with this one from Lisa Devine Photography. There’s just so.much.goodness. Gemma and Ian approached their wedding day as a fun weekend-long celebration with friends and family, with endless amounts of handmade accents and 1920-inspired details.

From the bride, Gemma: We knew from the start that we wanted a really relaxed and fun wedding with good food, good music and good people. Basically we wanted to throw a fun and meaningful little party over a few days and call it a wedding. We didn’t have a particular theme in mind; instead, we drew upon all things rustic and mismatched as inspiration, as well as the 1920s era. We had a strict budget so to keep costs down our whole wedding was DIY from invites to the ‘altar’ we walked down. Ian and I made handmade fabric hearts for everyone to wear – it was brilliant to see a sea of hearts everywhere. Our favorite DIY project was the “All you need is love” sign which now hangs above our bed.

We were so lucky to be able to utilise not only our own crafting skills but those of our friends and family. The community that rallied around our wedding was truly amazing. My mum and sister-in-law made all the hundreds of metres of bunting, we used fabric from old t-shirts/tablecloths – taking scraps of fabric from all our generations. The best men made a yurt, cakestand from wood stumps, our chapel sign, oil drum BBQ and recycled old window frames to make blackboards. We picked sloes in October and my dad made sloe gin and sloe vodka which we used in the cocktail hour.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Enjoy the process, don’t get overwhelmed, make as much as you can and let the wedding reflect both of you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Chances are, your friends and family probably want to be involved, so let them!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Israel Kamakawiw’ole
Ceremony Song: “All You Need is Love,” The Beatles
Recessional: “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher,” Jackie Wilson
First Dance: “You Never Can Tell,” Chuck Berry
When we had exhausted all of our unrehearsed moves we attempted to re-enact Fatboy Slims – Praise You with all of Team Awesome. The dance on the day was not seamless, a little wonky and a bit shabby but we wouldn’t have done it any differently.

Wedding Location: Devon, UK / Wedding Photographer: Lisa Devine Photography / Wholesale Flowers: J W Blooms / Wedding Venue: Buckland House / Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham “Eden” / Hair Accessory: Flo & Percy “Maryann” / Groomsmen’s Bow Ties and Handkerchiefs: Knotty By Nature / Wedding Caterer: Piglet Cottage / Wedding Cake: Bride’s sister / Wedding Invitations: Pete Williams

Today’s shoot from Springvine Design and Crystal Stokes Photography is just the kind of thing that sets our hearts racing: 1920s accents, touches of anemones, and a little bit of painting influence taken from the art nouveau movement. All of these details add up to a photoshoot chock full of dark dramatic romance, with just enough gold to keep it bright and modern:

From the stylist, Springvine Design: Our style inspiration for the shoot was twofold: 1) Old Hollywood elegance & glam of the late 1920’s & 2) “The Kiss” – a painting by Gustav Klimt during the art nouveau movement which was characterized by his use of gold leaf & bold colors & of course, romance. We wanted to use these elements (and a hint of drama) to unveil a beautiful love story by this modern bride & groom.

The bride wore the Claire Pettibone “Kristene” gown with a gorgeous heart shaped train– Her jewels were understated to start and became more glam as the shoot continued. Her makeup remained flawless with smoky eyes and a well-defined burgundy lip. She carried a lush bouquet filled with anemones of white, deep burgundy ranunculus and amaranthus, pink O’Hara and David Austin Patience roses, and foliage of dusty miller and seeded eucalyptus. The groom was decked out in an all-black, tailored suit and was topped off with a touch of a white anemone himself.

Our sweetheart table was adorned in a sultry, gold linen and topped with gold-rimmed china and stemware. The centerpieces of golden urns and mercury glass were filled with the same floral beauties that were included in the bride’s bouquet. The three-tiered cake mimicked the lace in the bride’s gown and was shot against a lit backdrop of golden and textured film. We focused on showcasing the mantle made of salvaged barn wood primarily and enhanced it with an installation of flowers handcrafted from gold and white papers, as well as pages from vintage books. Below the mantle, inside the fire pit, we mixed various sized candles, brass candlesticks, and mercury glass votives on top of stacked firewood to create the most romantic ambiance for our bride and groom.

Shoot Location: Charlotte, NC / Photographer: Crystal Stokes Photography / Flowers and Event Design: Springvine Design / Event Venue: The Arbors Events / Wedding Dress: Claire Pettibone “Kristene” via J Majors Bridal / Accessories: Aubre’s Bridal / Hair: Simply Beautiful Artistry / Makeup: Erin Ashley Makeup / Wedding Cake: Sky’s the Limit / Rentals: Cooke’s Rentals / Vintage Rentals: Mason Dixon Rentals / Videographer: Isabel’s Corner

You may want to settle into your seats, because you’re in for a treat with today’s wedding from Lev Kuperman. With a West Coast groom and an East Coast bride, the results are about what you would expect — a relaxed but nonetheless chic wedding in the apple orchards of New York. We’re still going a little ga-ga over bride Claire’s beautiful Watters gown:

From the bride, Claire: We were going for a “rustic chic” feel. I grew up in NY’s Hudson Valley which is very historic and filled with old barns and apple orchards. Tim grew up in Huntington Beach, CA, also known as “Surf City USA,” so I was worried we would have very different visions but we were almost on the same page. It was my dream to have a fall wedding in a barn near my hometown and Tim was on board, even if it meant that some of his family and friends wouldn’t be able to make the 2,900 mile journey. We wanted our wedding to be unique and something our guests hadn’t experienced before which I definitely feel we achieved.

My inspiration stemmed from a dusty color palette of greens, purples and greys. I wasn’t trying to achieve a vintage look per se, but I wanted everything to feel worn and antique. My mom turned her guest bedroom into a wedding factory and the DIY projects began. She made 14 pomander balls out of tissue paper, over 200 feet of bunting that involved her hand cutting 400+ flags, then starching and sewing each one, 30 clamp jar terrariums, an ombre backdrop, straw flags, burlap table runners -you name it – she made it. My 95 year old grandpa made 2 towers, 1 for cupcakes and the other for the maple syrups that we gave as favors. My sister designed the stationery, ceremony programs, gift/welcome tags, etc. My favorite DIY was the Fujifilm Instax 200 photo station with props, various sized frames and lots of extra film. Everyone left with photographic evidence of the fun they had and it was so inexpensive and easy to set up!

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? If there is something that you can do yourself or with the help of your friends or family, it’s worth it to. The personal touches were what everyone noticed the most and they are what made it feel like OUR day. Put yourself in your guests shoes to make sure everyone has a great time. We made sure everyone had the details needed to plan their travel accordingly and provided them with Welcome Totes upon arrival that were filled with local goodies, interesting facts about the area and more to make them feel special. We tried our hardest to make everything convenient so they could relax and just have fun with us.

Also, plan for weather. Once we saw the weather forecast was a little cooler than expected, we purchased 10 fleece blankets to help guests keep warm. We also purchased umbrellas and a few pairs of rain boots just in case so guests could make it to the restrooms outside safely and comfortably. It didn’t end up raining so we returned all of those items, but we felt a lot more at ease knowing we had them as backup. Be sure to look carefully at what you’re renting. Some items are cheaper to purchase yourself than to rent! We bought all of the mason jars and gave guests the option of taking them home, then my mom used the leftovers for canning, extra drinking glasses and even sold some at a yard sale. For me, being engaged was more stressful than fun but once you’re walking down the aisle, everything is out of your hands and you just need to let go and enjoy the moments because you can never relive that day.

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “Pitseleh,” Elliott Smith
Bridal Processional: “Angeles,” Elliott Smith
Recessional: “Home,” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
First Dance: “Your Song,” Ellie Goulding

Wedding Location: Stone Ridge, NY / Wedding Photographer: Lev Kuperman / Second Shooter: Justin Lee / Wedding Coordinator: Hudson Valley Events / Wedding Flowers: Bride and Joanne of Adams Fairacre Farms / Wedding Venue: Tralee Farm / Wedding Dress: Watters “Sydney” via Lovely Bride / Wedding Shoes: Tory Burch “Eddie” / Hair: Dianna Ryan / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Joie “Susina,” “Rory,” and “Portia” / Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Attire: J. Crew / Wedding Caterer: Terrapin Restaurant / Cupcakes: Moxie Cupcakes / DJ: Marquis and John of Superior Sounds / Wedding Invitation Design: Bride’s sister / Invitation Printing: Sugar Press Printing