I think I just might have fallen for this couple a bit when reading their story. Erin and Grant had a laissez-faire attitude when it came to planning their wedding, accepting that things may come together a little differently than their initial vision. Photographers A Couple of Night Owls were on hand, along with quite a few cans of silly string to keep the kiddies happy!

From the bride, Erin: When Grant asked me to marry him, I thought he was joking. Not because marriage is something that should be joked about (balls and chains are never a laughing matter), but because the proposal was so relaxed, understated and so him that I thought it was to get a laugh. Which sums us up in a nutshell: goobers. And we tried our best to bring that into our day in as many ways as possible.

Like a good bride, I started a Pinterest board, ordered a Topshop dress online that turned out to be too small in the butt region for me and used the wedding money to buy a house. All in the name of fun. I organised the big things like catering, a singing man, the celebrant, the ceremony venue and a scout marquee for the backyard and then took a break to move house and take a week’s holiday to Rarotonga that was booked before the rest of the crazy.

None of the details really turned out as what we thought they would look like. We had a vision, would start executing and as things wouldn’t work or were deemed to difficult, we’d change tact. Which was super fun, but we didn’t really know what everything would actually look like until it was done. We bought glasses, teaspoons and side plates from op shops, spray painted plastic animals and made clouds. We really wanted to create a chilled out vibe where everyone could relax and have a laugh so we had outdoor games after the ceremony and a pub quiz to kick off the reception. May I recommend cans of crazy string if you plan to have children at your wedding. It was a massive hit with the under 10′s.

My favourite part of the day was sitting down in the marquee and watching. Everyone was laughing and mingling and Grant and I had a wee chat about how many rad people we know. So many! We just about injured ourselves laughing on the dance floor. A wedding’s not a wedding without some sweet shape cutting and people didn’t hold back with their rad dance moves. Sharing’s caring.

To all the upcoming brides – try and make everything as simple as possible. There are so many thing’s going on that simple will save the day. And when in doubt, make clouds and watch the unfortunate dress scene in Bridesmaids on repeat with wine and chocolate. It puts everything in perspective.

Wedding Location: Hamilton, New Zealand / Wedding Photographer: A Couple of Night Owls / Ceremony Venue: Private Residence / Reception Venue: Glasshouse, Hamilton Gardens / Flowers, Hair, and Makeup: Melodie of Melodie M / Wedding Dress: Trelise Cooper / Reception Dress: Topshop / Wedding Shoes: Nude / Wedding Caterer: Spit Roast Catering Company / Cakes: The Cheesecake Shop / Macarons: Grace Cafe / Wedding Music: Edward Jackson

Invitations set the tone for your impending nuptials and we can’t think of a better way to do that than with the beautiful new designs from Hello!Lucky. They are always at the top of our list for dependable stationery beauties, but we are particularly crushing on their brand new gold foil designs. What better way is there to introduce a party than with a little sparkle? Take a peek through some of their fantastic new designs below.

Founded by sisters Eunice and Sabrina Moyle, Hello!Lucky is a boutique design studio specializing in affordable custom invitations and stationery. Hello!Lucky began in 2003 with a small line of letterpress greeting cards and soon expanded to offer custom wedding invitations, birth announcements, and social stationery. They now offer both letterpress and flat printing to fit all budgets. They are always adding new designs to the site, alongside classic favorites like Nouveau Peonies, so be sure to check in often.

Just for Ruffled readers, Hello!Lucky is offering 20% off all wedding stationery with coupon code Ruffled2013. Coupon offer expires 3/31/13. That should be incentive enough to get shopping for your perfect invitation suite!

*all photos by Edyta Szyszlo

We never shy away from a bit of rock and roll chic, so when we saw this styled shoot from Rachael of laceandlikes and Tyler Branch Photo, we were pretty smitten. Rachael took the idea of a man and his “ball ‘n chain” and a whiskey bar, and added some touches of desert bohemia for an inspiration shoot sure to inspire both edgy and whimsical couples alike.

From the stylist, Rachael of laceandlikes: I was really inspired by motorcycle culture and bohemia. The whole concept of riding out to the desert with your ol’ lady, (or your ball ‘n chain) on the back of your bike is so romantic to me. I wanted it to feel deserted, edgy and beautiful all at once.

There are inspirations brought in from Native American culture as well, such as the feather in the bride’s hair and the dreamcatcher backdrop. I suppose you could call it “Rebel Without a Cause” meets desert hippies meets classically beautiful. Also — I absolutely love Makers Mark and whiskey in general so I just had to bring that in as well ;)

Also, in case you’d like to know how to make the dreamcatcher backdrop, here’s a step-by-step tutorial from Rachael:

Wedding Location: Claremont, CA / Photographer: Tyler Branch Photo / Event Styling, Design, and Floral: laceandlikes / Event Venue: Marian Bear Park / Hair, Makeup, and Headpiece: laceandlikes / Rentals: Pow Wow / Paper Goods: Alexandria Manson / Videographer: Lennd