From the bride, Krista: We really just wanted our wedding to be fun and laid back–a celebration of the two of us and the things we love: family, friends, great food, great cocktails, and a great party. We wanted to include lots of little touches that spoke to who we are and the things we enjoy without it seeming like we were writing anything in flashing lights. Everything from the amazing charcuterie and pickle spread (by Vadim Akimenko) to our two kickass bartenders (Ben Sandrof and Misty Kalkofen) to the awesome raw bar to the homemade pies (by Cobrina Grieco) to the music and reading we chose for our ceremony to the herb pot favors to the purple and chartreuse florals to the after-party at The Independent (our neighborhood bar) was there for a reason–because in some way it represented something about who we are, what we care about, and what we enjoy together. And… I guess it worked! I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me saying things like, “Your wedding was so ‘Krista and Joe” or “so ‘you guys’”. No matter how many times I hear it, it always makes me happy. It really was (thanks our incredible friends and families) a pretty stellar party, if I do say so myself.

As far of the style of our wedding goes, we wanted it to be pretty and classy, but not fancy or stuffy in any way–just a lovely garden party with white linens and simple, but striking centerpieces that reflected the wild yet manicured (if that makes any sense) setting that we were in. We didn’t set out to have a vintage style wedding per se, but I think the style of our clothing (Really, that’s just how we like to dress when we get all fancied up!), and obviously the venue, which had a very Agatha Christie mystery/English garden vibe to it really gave the day a vintage feel.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding music:
Processional: “Crush,” Smashing Pumpkins
Recessional: “I Thank You,” Sam and Dave
First Dance: “Let’s Dance,” David Bowie

Wedding vendors (Belmont, MA):

Wedding venue: Mass Audubon / Wedding photographer: Kristin Korpos / Wedding coordinator: Amanda Connor at Hummingbird Bridal / Wedding caterers: Forklift / Ceremony musician: Fil Pacino / DJ: Elvis Collins Entertainment / Wedding dress: Dolly Couture / Makeup: Alison McAlear / Hair: Danielle McKenna / Wedding flowers: Julie Raymond at Bittersweet Gardens / Wedding invitations: Linley Dolby / Groom’s attire: Brooks Brothers / Groom’s shoes and belt: Allen Edmonds / Hair accessory: Sofisticata / Transportation: ETS International

Kristin Korpos is a member of our vendor guide, Blue Label

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Posted under: Garden Weddings Audubon, eco-friendly, fall weddings, garden weddings, Kristin Korpos, Massachusetts, New England, purple

From the bride, Fawn: Hi there Ruffled readers! I have to tell you as I was planning my wedding I was reading this gorgeous blog religiously, constantly being inspired by all the ways brides were able to make their days deeply personal and special for their guests. Brian and I knew we wanted a simple wedding that stayed true to our values and honored who we were as a couple. We incorporated a lot of vintage including my dress from the 1920’s, floral tablecloths, and tons of homemade crafty goodies. One of my favorite projects was the chalkboard table numbers with felt love-birds on top. The other project I loved was screen printing our own totes to give to guests with lyrics from one of our favorite songs, “Today was a good day” (Ice Cube). It was super fun and romantic.

If I had to give advice to a bride I would say two things. First, work only with people who put a smile on your face. If anyone makes you nervous or is not so nice DON’T book them! I would like to send a shout out to Amy Harmon at M Café and April & Lindsey of Sweet Monday Photography! These ladies helped to make our day so smooth and carefree. I can’t thank them enough. Second, invest in memories! Splurge on a killer photographer and get someone to video your event. My mom went out and purchased a video camera (and my step father trained himself how to use it) for the day. Being able to watch ourselves exchange our vows was such a precious gift! I didn’t cry at the ceremony but balled watching it later!

We were super lucky to be surrounded by amazing friends and family on our special day. My dear friend Amy single handedly made all the floral arrangements and used glass food jars we saved up for a year. Another good friend became ordained to marry us. We did not have to hire a wedding planner as our good friend Lauren happened to be amazing at organizing. At the end of the day Brian and I were beyond touched to have so many good friends participate and that really made the day just so much more special.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

From the photographer: Fawn & Brian not only adore all things vintage but they are super duper crafty and they put together an amazingly gorgeous, sweet and intimate wedding on a Sunday afternoon in one of the local Los Angeles area state parks. Bicycle rides en masse are very popular, especially on the east side of LA and Fawn & Brian happened to be riding next to each other one night & they’ve been inseparable ever since. For their wedding they spent months & months scouring Etsy, eBay and various other online outlets and local antique stores for the different elements of their wedding. Fawn’s dress was vintage from the 20s and she had a slip made by the woman who makes the costumes for the TV show “Pan Am.” They collected vintage table cloths & quilts, all of the bridesmaids dresses were vintage, Fawn made fabric buntings, chalkboard table numbers, felt birds (the fabric on the birds wings matched the fabric buttons on the escort cards), yarn wreaths, and she & Brian even took a screenprinting class when they had their tote bag party favors printed. They designed their own Save the Date and RSVP cards and had them printed by a local LA printer. And perhaps our personal favorite element was their custom invitation designed by Le French Circus which shows the two of them on their wedding day with their bicycles and their two kitties sitting in a tree. The quilts were laid out on the ground with various board & lawn games. Other than us, the only other “pro” vendor was a local vegan restaurant and otherwise all of the flowers, music, video, etc. that went into creating the mood of the day was provided by their talented & generous friends and family. The parasols and the escort card numbers were donated by a friend that had been married recently. So not only was the day adorably vintage but it was also incredibly eco-friendly!

Wedding vendors (Los Angeles, CA):

Venue: Temescal Gateway Park (Deer Meadow) / Photographer: Sweet Monday Photography / Wedding dress: Vintage / Bride’s slip: Revamp Vintage / Bridesmaids Dresses: Vintage from Shareens, Etsy and a flea market / Groom’s attire: J Crew suit, H&M shirt, Top Shop for Men tie, Barneys Co-Op shoes / Invitation Designer: Le French Circus / Printer for Invitations & RSVP cards: Indie Printing / Screenprinter for tote bag party favor & Save the Dates: Grow Your Own Media / Caterer: M Café

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings 1920's, beige, eco-friendly, Los Angeles, purple, Sweet Monday Photography, vintage, wildflowers

From Cate: We wanted our ceremony to feel like a celebration of life, with a little magic mixed in. The “fairy ring” of redwoods brought the magic, the flowers, bright colors, and people brought the life. Especially the kids, hilarious. We had 8 or 9 flower children (one had be in her Mom’s lap, but she still counts). We wanted a woodsy, non-urban setting, but fun venues for the rest of the parties. Santa Cruz, CA has a fun relaxed vibe and is beautiful. All the kids had fun at the boardwalk and the grownups explored the coastline. The Dream Inn was really cute throwback to the era of woody’s and highwaisted swim trunks. It fit with our style b/c it was pretty and comfortable while maintaining a playful atmosphere. Pema Osel Ling speaks for itself.

It was at a Buddhist retreat, so the color orange was a big inspiration. That was the base that we kept coming back to, but, as my niece puts it: “my favorite color is rainbow.” So…

We encouraged everybody to wear whatever made them feel happy and come for a good time. No worrying about impressing anybody or meeting expectations.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Don’t worry too much about it. Pick out a few details you really care about and take care of those. The day of will be perfect no matter what goes “wrong.” If at the end of it all you’re married to the person you love, it was a success. Having an awesome wedding planner helps a lot – ask her about do-it-yourself projects. She brought a lot of ideas to life that I didn’t have time to do. Also, I requested the DJ play a certain song without checking that he’d got the right one. It was not the right one, but it didn’t matter.

Wedding Songs:

First dance: “3 Rounds and a Sound”- Blind Pilot

Wedding Vendors and Venue (Santa Cruz, CA):

Venue: Pema Osel Ling Retreat Center / Photographer: Meg Perotti / Wedding Design and Planning: Karissa Paxton of Coastside Couture / Florist: Laughin’ Gal Floral / Wedding dress: Adele Wescheler / Wedding veil: her mother’s from 1971 / Caterer: Pema Osel Ling / Wedding Cake: Edith Meyer / Ceremony Music: Francois & Rodrigo / Wedding invitations: Barclay Papers printing in Austin, TX / Rentals: Alexis Party Rental

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Posted under: Whimsical Weddings California, casual, eco-friendly, fun, Meg Perotti, Santa Cruz, woodsy

Below, minimalistic engagement rings by Satomi Kawakita. Swivel (!) gemstone designs by Marie-Helene de Taillac

Love the petal sapphire ring. By Ken + Dana Design

Handmade rings by Katherine Bowman. Obsessed with the back detail.

Antique engagement rings by our sponsor Weston Jewelry. Eco-friendly diamonds by our long time sponsor Brilliant Earth.

We also need to know from the engaged ladies: who designed your ring? Anyone wearing non-diamond rings or antique engagement rings? We’d love to know the source. Please share in the comments!

Gemvara is a member of Blue Label.

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 29 comments | Posted under: Fashion & Beauty Brilliant Earth, Cathy Waterman, eco-friendly, engagement rings, Gemvara, Katherine Bowman, Ken + Dana Design

After Louie proposed to me in front of Mr, Lincoln, I of course said “yes” (well actually I believe I said “really???”), and instantly started brainstorming what it would look like, which is very overwhelming without a theme. Louie and I knew that weddings involved throwing a lot of things away and left quite a carbon footprint, so we decided to have a Green/Recycled wedding, with a dash of shopping local. This made it much easier for me to justify sewing a lot of eco-friendly designs for the wedding, and it didn’t take much to get Erin on board, and thus “hand sewn” became a prominent theme as well. The invites were fun, and were made by me and my trusty industrial sewing machine. As my first clue to the guests that this wasn’t going to be a traditional wedding, I ordered clothing labels with “Kristen & Louie May 29th, 2011” printed on them, purchased recycled green paper, and designed the info card and RSVP postcard (no extra envelopes!) to be printed from Greenerprinter.com. Instead of glue, I sewed the papers together with bright colored thread, and topped them off by sewing the clothing label front and center. I knew people would think I was insane for wanting to design and make my own dress, as well as team up with Erin to outfit the wedding party, but it’s a wedding, and you only do it once right?

Louie and I met in Minneapolis, MN — me being the small town farm girl that ventured to the city, and he being the city boy—and due to a crazy turn of events, I chased him all the way to DC with a waitressing job. Louie has always been my biggest support, which goes to show since I started my own tailoring business out of our apartment within 1 month of moving to DC, and within 1 year I opened an eco-friendly design boutique/tailoring shop called Ginger Root Design with one of my best friends, Erin.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Venue and Vendors (Barrett, MN):

Ceremony & Reception: Barrett Lakeside Pavillion / Photographer: Tiffany Bolk Photography / Event Designer, Coordinator, and Bridal and bridesmaid dress maker: Kristen Swenson at Ginger Root / Dessert bars: made by family members / Florist: Downtown Floral Co / Officiant: a friend / Band: bride’s father’s jazz band / Bride’s hat: thrift store find and re-vamped by her / Necklaces: Claranette / Earrings: Metal Musings (a friend of the brides mom) / Shoes: thrift store / Groom’s suit: vintage, thrift store / Groom’s vest and shoes: Rock It Again / Groom’s white shirt: Hugh & Crye / Cuff Links: Betsy Berberian / Stationery: Greener printers / Wedding bands: Conrad Selle / Hard Cider Labels: Elizabeth Graeber / Caterer: Kopel’s Cooker

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings bridal cap, eco-friendly, Minnesota, MN, wedding veils

From the bride, Diana: We originally envisioned a relaxed outdoor wedding with a touch of vintage. Ramesh and I loved water, so we wanted a lake, river, or ocean involved. I wanted something laid back but still fancy and beautiful, as a wedding should feel. My husband is very environmentally minded and wanted to keep waste at the bare minimum. We also wanted to support local businesses and used local, organic foods. And we loved the idea of a food cart!

Our wedding was completely handmade. Friends and family members all were in charge of different items. My wedding coordinator was a good friend, and my sister made half of the desserts the night before for our dessert bar. The flowers and bouquets were done by my bridesmaids, and I ordered at a local wholesaler. All the decor was the genius of my younger sister, and her and I worked for months finishing all our projects. We were on a small budget, so it was severely tight. My veil was made by my mom for $2 about 12 hours before the wedding from supplies at the local Wal-mart. All my friends and I collected mason jars and old wine bottles for an entire year.

The earthy dessert bar consisted of an eclectic collection of tables, cabinets, lamps, and a barrel. Antique buttons and books propped up cookies and cupcakes. The wedding and groom’s cake rested on fallen tree slices, and marshmallow peeps kept an eye on all the goodies.

Any advice for future brides? I think the packaged weddings are very enticing because they’re stress-free, but I just love the weddings where you feel part of the family, and everything has a personal touch.

View all photos from this wedding

Wedding vendors (Austin, TX):

Ceremony and reception location: Rental home in Marble Falls, TX / Wedding photographer: EE Photography / Wedding planner: Sandi Nguyen, bride’s friend / Flower arrangements: Thao Pham and Rhonda Keneson / Wedding dress: Group USA in Grapevine, TX / Wedding veil: made by bride’s mother / Wedding shoes: Nordstrom BP / Wedding ring: Brilliant Earth / Bridesmaids’ dresses: Last Chance in Phoenix, AZ / Wedding music: Apex Productions / Wedding catering: Max Parfait / Dessert bar designer: Kim Tran / Desserts: Evan Baltazar from sweetebakes and bride’s sister / Wedding invitations: cocodot.com

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Posted under: Rustic Weddings Austin, cabin, dessert buffet, eco-friendly, green, lanterns, rustic, Texas, vintage details, yellow

From the bride, Jenny: Neither of us had ever really considered the actual details of getting married -– it seemed so easy when we were scheming our imaginary ideal wedding day before it became a reality! So we started planning the big day on a bit of a back foot -– and looking through false-veneered bridal magazines were sadly not of any help. The main thing we focused on was that it was important for us to have something personal that utilized our creative talents, and with that came the acceptance that things were not really going to follow the conventional route of traditional weddings. The big things for us were doing a lot of things DIY, making our wedding environmentally friendly, exploring our love of all things vintage, making sure we had enough time with our close friends and family, and never losing that “sense of self” that really makes the best weddings special.

The color scheme was something we both had trouble deciding on. All I knew was that we wanted a “vintage spring feel” and that didn’t necessarily come with it’s own Pantone number. The theme was “vintage adventure,” and having happily found inspiration on several blogs that seemed to “get” what we wanted (including Ruffled!), we started by gathering picture references to start crafting out what we wanted. As two creative people well-versed in planning events on a shoestring budget (we both worked for an indie record label, it’s a necessity), to keep costs down we decided to do many things ourselves when it came to the “look” of the wedding –- from the invites and website to the table decorations, menus, seating placements and cake topper.

Keith is the graphics master, so he handled all the design aspects of the wedding, taking the feel of what we wanted for the style and running with it, designing the invites, website, menus and even “Welcome brochures” for our guests staying in the area all consistent (my dad later referred to this in his father of the bride speech as “building our own brand”!) While the big things like venue/food were inevitably the most important, I am a details person and for us it was the little things that really brought the wedding to life. We had a “Treats” table filled with candy that guests could put in hand rubber stamped bags, in lieu of favors. We had a vintage suitcase with parcel tags with guests names on, to guide them to their seats, and matching tag place settings that, unplanned by us, many guests attached to themselves as name tags during the night.

All the plates and silverware were made of sustainable and recyclable bamboo. The gifts table had a vintage suitcase with a mini “Thank you” banner on it for cards, and an illuminated globe. Each table was named after a place of significance for Keith and I, with the story of its relevance typed in Ikea frames that we “distressed” to look vintage. We had postcards on each table with a blue mason jar of colored pencils for guests to write messages to us instead of a guest book, that they hung on a string of beads hanging in the reception hall. People blew bubbles for our exit down the aisle instead of confetti. Although at times it felt that we were in the middle of a 5-year-old’s birthday party rather than a wedding, I think it only added to the fun (and the open bar helped).

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? While you may be able to do everything yourselves, don’t feel you need to. Try to stay focused on the reason you are doing this in the first place -– because you love each other and want to start your life together -– and not get too buried by the sheer wall of baffling bridal nonsense that so often sends brides (and grooms)-to-be crazy. Stay true to what you want -– it’s your day after all. Even if you’re an unconventional bride, it’s ok to spend time on yourself making sure you have everything you want, and that you both are happy with how you look, even if it feels a little self-indulgent — the photos will stay with you for life.

Don’t dwell on the people who can’t be there and why, put your attention on the people that made the effort to come. Make sure your inclement weather plan includes an umbrella that will look good in pictures. What is right for one couple may not be right for you, so remember the people you have coming to share the big day will roll with whatever you want to do. And plan an open bar. Whatever worries you have and gripes guests might get will be washed away after a few free drinks!

See the rest of the wedding here

Wedding Songs:
Processional: Ingrid Michaelson, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”
Readings: Ryan Adams, “My Love For You Is Real”
Recessional: Starship, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
Bridal party’s reception entrance: “Mariachi El Bronx”
Bride and groom’s reception entrance: Huey Lewis and the News, “Power of Love”
First dance: The Swell Season/The Frames, “Falling Slowly”

Wedding vendors (Middleburg, VA):

Ceremony and reception venue: Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast Inn / Wedding photographer: Gabe Aceves / Wedding Coordinator: Henriette Buell of Buelltiful Events / Flower arrangements: family friend / Wedding dress: Dolly Couture / Bridesmaids’ dresses: Courtesan Boutique / Groom’s suit: Calvin Klein / Groomlady’s dress: Moon Collection / Felt boutonnieres: made by bride / Wedding musician: Matt Moody / Wedding catering: Barn Door BBQ / Wedding cake: Market Salamander / Wedding invitations: done by groom

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings blue, eco-friendly, rainy day, red, short wedding dresses, travel, umbrellas, vintage postcards, Virginia

Clockwise from top:
floral rose garlands, $40; ring bearer’s bird’s nest, $15; Vintage 1950s Wedding Gown, $550

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Posted under: Alerts bird's nest, decor, eco-friendly, garland, ring bearer, vintage details, vintage wedding dresses

Ikea menu frames, 20 for $15; handmade paper garlands tonnage, $100 for all; handmade fabric bird cake topper, $50

Download courtesy of Two Brunettes

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Posted under: Alerts decor, eco-friendly, table decor

Say hello to our newest Blue Label vendors! We’re delighted to have you on as members of the Ruffled Team:
Amanda Donaho Photography: Stunning Cincinnati-based wedding photography (Ohio)
Nicole Jordan Photography: Romantic husband-and-wife photography team (Seattle, Washington)
Mandy and Me Studio: Photojournalist husband-and-wife photography team (Central Florida)
EA Floral: Jaw-dropping natural floral arrangements (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Landon Jacob Productions: Adorable husband-and-wife photography team (Columbia, SC)
A Garden Party: Unique floral creations (New Jersey)
Wiley Valentine: 100% sustainable wedding stationers (online)
Adair Beauty: Minneapolis hair and makeup services (Minnesota)
Dobrin Weddings: Award-winning wedding photography (San Francisco, CA)

Congratulations to Hailey, #237 in our Velvet Raptor Album Giveaway! For those of you who didn’t win this time around, don’t fret — there’s still time to enter our Love vs. Design stationery giveaway!

And finally, we’re delighted to say the Advertising position has been filled. Thanks so much to all of you who applied!

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 8 comments | Posted under: Weekly Wrap Ups DIY contest, eco-friendly, wrap-up