From the bride: We chose 24 Fifth because of its Art Deco feel and sunken dance floor. This space used to be the ballroom for the old 5th Avenue Hotel which was built in the 1920s. The building is now apartments but they’ve kept the ballroom. I really wanted our guests to feel like they were in an old supper club which technically, they were! We then chose the church because of it’s location and history as well. It’s the oldest Catholic church edifice in Manhattan.

I made my bridesmaids’ feather hair clips and necklaces with vintage dress clips I bought on Etsy. I really loved getting all the photos of our grandparents together and hunting down these antique frames to put them in. None of them are with us anymore so it was a way of having them there. In the same respect, my bouquet was filled with old pins from my mother’s side. I had hat pins from my grandmother as well as my grandfather’s TWA pins. He was an airline mechanic for them for 30 years.

Everyone knows the actually GETTING MARRIED part is pretty incredible but I have some runner-ups. Walking into the venue and seeing what I had been working so hard on for the past year come to fruition was overwhelming. I cried very happy tears. Also, one of the best parts of a wedding is having all your favorite people in one room. We had friends and family from all over the world (including Australia!) fly in for us. It wouldn’t have been the same without each and every one of them there.

Anything else you’d like to add? I can’t say enough good things about Etsy. I had only recently started buying from there before planning the wedding and it was mostly just for vintage clothing. It then became a part of my wedding planning obsession. Everything from the invitations, to bridesmaid presents to my after party dress was bought through Etsy! I may or may not have made over 40 purchases through them. The customer service you get through the sellers is better than you’d get through any brick and mortar retailer.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Vendors (New York City):

Ceremony venue: St. Joseph’s of Greenwich Village / Reception venue: 24 Fifth / Wedding Photographer: Love Me Do / Wedding dress: Lazaro / Groom’s suit: J. Crew / Hair: Alissandra Hipona of High Horse Salon / Makeup: Jackie Schneider / Wedding flowers: Pristine Events / Birdcage veil: AgnesHart / Wedding shoes: Milk and Honey / Bride’s clutch: vintage / Invitations: Hello Love Boutique / Labels: IvyPink / Escort cards: SpectacularStuff / Cards, banner: FlapperGirl / DJ: Hi Society Productions

We love when we catch our vendor guide members gracing vendor lists in our features! Hi Society Productions DJ and Love Me Do have our Blue Label vendor guide stamp of approval.

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 19 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings Art Deco, Love Me Do Photography, New York, New York City, silver, vintage details, vintage glam

From the planner, Lauren of Loli Events: Maria and Oliver really wanted to host a fabulous dinner party followed by dancing and through out everything weave in their personality. As guests entered the beautiful and slightly mysterious Foundry they were greeted by a bed of moss covered in vintage keys each with their names and table number for the dinner later. The intimate ceremony took place in the courtyard on a warm fall evening as the sun was setting. Cocktails and dinner was filled with the couple’s favorite food.

After dinner guests went into another room where a table was cover with bite size desserts. For the cake the couple had a custom cake toppers one of a Ukrainian girl and the other of a German boy both resembling them quite well.

After lots of dancing, their guest were handed a candied apple as they left each with a calligraphied message from the couple. This was appropriate because of the season but also because their first date was making an apple pie, so apples always hold a happy place in their hearts.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Vendors (Long Island City, NY):

Wedding Venue: The Foundry / Wedding Photographer: Nelson Hancock of Weddings By Two / Event Planner: Loli Events / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller / Wedding Flowers: Poppies and Posies / Wedding Caterer: Michael Stuart NY / Wedding Cake: Nine Cakes / Calligraphy: paperfinger / DJ: 74 Events / Makeup: Sharon Becker

Michael Stuart NY is a member of our wedding vendor guide Blue Label.

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 11 comments | Posted under: Real Weddings Loli Events, Long Island City, New York, Poppies and Posies, The Foundry, Weddings by Two

From the bride, Eunhee: I started shopping for my dress 4 months before the wedding. I enjoy shopping when it’s for leisure, but when I have something specific to get, I procrastinate due to dread. Initially, I wanted a tee length baby blue dress, but my mother was not having that. She said “if you wear anything else but a long, white dress, I’m not coming.” I found my dress after only going to one other store. The consultant picked out all these typical dresses-strapless, mermaid style. Although all those styles are quite lovely and stunning, I just didn’t feel like me. I didn’t think it reflected my style or personality. I saw a dress at the corner of my eye, a high neck 1950s inspired gown, and said “I want to try this on” the sales lady looked and me and said “trust me, you don’t want to try that one. for one it’s a size 10, and secondly, that dress has been here for 5-6 years and not one soul has tried that on. it’s old fashioned, and you are too young for that.” I totally understood where she was coming from, but I do believe no one knows what you like and your style more than you. I tried it on, and fell in love immediately. I love details and for me, details are everything. I loved how when right amount of light hit the top of the dress, it looks like this beautiful necklace, and how the bottom was finished with a thick off white ribbon, keeping with the 1950s inspiration. It didn’t come with a black sash. I envisioned it with a thick, silk black sash to break up the dress, so it’s not just one long white thing. Also, the sash helps to keep a nice balance between the top and bottom textures.

We pretty much made everything other than the food. Joshua hand drew and painted the invitations. We folded over 1,000 cranes for good luck (but then Hurricane Irene came!); made the pendants and wrap for the mini honey favors; made the canisters and filled them with mini bubbles for the chairs; made bubble signs. We took a bunch of polaroids throughout our wedding planning and hold punched them and strung them on the branches along with other memorable photos, including photos of our family.

Any advice for future brides? Pick a photographer that you can 100% trust and feel connected to. Brian and Brandon got us right away-our style, our desire for something with whimsy, depth and of course, a great eye for details. The Photos reflected Joshua and I perfectly. It was like “this is totally us. This is totally what we look like.” It was kind of creepy, but in the kindest way ;-) When our August 28th wedding was canceled, they were already in NYC, so they suggested a bridal/faux wedding shoot, where Joshua and I would wear our formal attire and take photos on the farm. Brian and Brandon were so generous in heart and spirit. We were able to walk the farm, enjoy the craziness of all that was happening. Because a hurricane was on its way, the sky was amazing! It was light pink, purple… I’m still left breathless when I think about that sky. But honestly, I really don’t think any other photographer could have taken their place. Everything about your wedding will fade including your own memories, which will get cloudy over time, but photos are these physical wonders that recreate those memories for us. Choosing the photographer that you feel the most comfortable with would be our number 1 thing, even more important than the venue, dress, etc.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding vendors (Pocantico Hills, NY):

Wedding Venue: Blue Hill Farm / Wedding Photographer: The Brothers Wright / Wedding Dress: Vintage Novia D’art / Bride’s Black Sash: Mokumba / Bride’s Earrings: Museum of Modern Art / Bride’s Shoes: Butter / Beaded Purse: Lost and Found Vintage / Bride’s Hair: Cowlicks Japan / Bride’s Makeup: Space Salon / Groom’s Suit and Shirt: Bespoke by Brooklyn Tailors / Event Coordinator: Estelle Sibermann / Wedding Flowers: Sandy Clothier / Wedding Cake and Catering: Blue Hill Farm

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 12 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings black, Blue Hill Farm, farm, New York, Pocantico Hills, The Brothers Wright, vintage wedding dresses

From the bride, Jenn: Grant and I wanted to elope for several reasons. We knew we wanted to get married in New York but we knew it wouldn’t be possible for our family to fly. We told our parents about our plans and although they were initially sad (I’m the only child for my mom), they were extremely supportive. We both spent our lives compromising on so many things that for our wedding, we just didn’t want to compromise on anything – we wanted to follow our hearts and have a wedding on our terms, in our vision. Our parents, the few people who knew about our wedding beforehand, were very supportive of our decision. We also didn’t want to spend too much for just one day; it’s an important day but we felt we could make it special without going into debt. So we set a number we absolutely could not go over, and that budget was a really good guiding light. And even if money wasn’t an issue, Grant and I wouldn’t have wanted a large wedding. We wanted something intimate, unique, romantic.

As for the specific location in Central Park, we knew that we wanted to get married at Wagner Cove in Central Park because that was our special place in the park when we lived in New York. We even have our initials engraved on the wooden shelter there. Wagner Cove is a very dreamy hidden oasis from the rest of the park, and that’s the only place we envisioned exchanging our vows, right by the water. The added bonus was it was free to wed there.

About Jenn’s wedding dress: We had about three months to plan our wedding and trip to New York. Two of the most important things for me were finding the right wedding dress and the right photographer. I knew it was going to be a bit challenging for me to find the right dress because I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress and I was on a tight budget. After a disappointing online search for vintage or vintage-inspired dresses, one day as I was crossing the street in my neighborhood, I saw a taupe colored evening gown hanging in the window at a used clothing store called Take 2 by my apartment and so I went in. The lady told me I wouldn’t fit it because it was a size 12 (I’m a size 4) but I felt compelled to try it on, and as expected it was huge on me, sagging down, there were holes and rips everywhere, but Grant’s eyes lit up when he saw me in the dress. We both saw the beauty and potential in that dress and so I bought it despite the flaws. I didn’t care that it was a Badgley Mishka evening gown, I just loved that it reflected my style. My wedding dress was not perfect (the beads started falling apart on my wedding day), and I understand some brides would probably freak out about that or wouldn’t even dare wear the dress. But what attracted me to the dress initially was that it had an air of old world glamour and I knew that not every bride would have it. To me, the dress is intricate, delicate, refined but a bit rough around the edges, and it was a bit of a pain to fix, but it was completely worth it. I had some family and friends who weren’t so happy when I told them my dress is a taupe color since they all said “but you should wear white or ivory” but as a bride you have to wear what reflects your personality and personal style, and this dress was it for me. Since we were going to be walking around all day, I wanted to be comfortable so I wore an old pair of comfortable gray shoes I’ve worn for many years.

Some advice from Jenn: It’s really important to work with people who not only have a great portfolio but have an easy-going attitude and are just simply nice. On the night we had to change the wedding date, both my photographer and videographer kept emailing words of encouragement like “don’t worry about a thing” and “it’s no problem for us.” You have no idea how much that meant to me because I would have spent all night feeling bad that I had to trouble them, but those emails they sent me put me at ease. Just keep in mind that something will go wrong on your wedding day, and it’s good to be mentally prepared for that ahead of time. But the most important thing to remember is that even if everything doesn’t go according to plan or how you envisioned everything lining up in your head, it’s okay because when you exchange vows with your best friend, all the negative stuff just melts away and you will find a bright, perfectly imperfect perfect day.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Music:
First Dance: “Harvest Moon,” Neil Young

Wedding Vendors (New York, NY):

Wedding Venue: Wagner Cove, Central Park / Wedding Photographer: Mademoiselle Fiona Photography / Wedding Videographer: Madison Waters / Dress: Vintage Badgley Mischka, Take 2 (Seattle WA) / Dress Alterations: Misook Chung, Superb Custom Tailors (Seattle WA) / Officiant: Beth Lamont, Wedding Your Way New York / Wedding Flowers: Wholesaler at Manhattan Flower District

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2012. | Permalink | 20 comments | Posted under: Indie Weddings Central Park, city weddings, elopement, gray, gray wedding dress, Mademoiselle Fiona Photography, New York, New York City, vintage wedding dresses, Wagner Cove

From the bride, Renee: We wanted a rustic city chic wedding with personal elements incorporated throughout. We wanted to find a venue that incorporated our personality and where guest felt they were really part of the celebration. Elements like vintage seltzer bottles, wooden high ceilings and square tables made the venue feel unique and intimate. The color scheme reflected the colors you’d find in an Indian Summer sunset with elements of early Fall coming through. There was a mix of raw elements like the burlap table runners against the white linen table cloth and the beautiful flower arrangements in mason jars that gave the venue a polished yet accessible and intimate feel.

There was no specific theme, even though wine was a given direction. Some elements were very reflective of the venue we chose, like our invitations, menu cards and place card holders. But other details reflected the colors and elements that we wanted to include in our day. Some things I was very specific on, like having all the guys in grey tuxes. But for the girls, I wanted them to pick out their dresses so that each dress reflected their personality and style. They had to stay in a color range but other then that, had free range. Plus I got to go shopping with each of them and make a great day out of it. All the girls ended up getting one shoulder dresses, except for my maid of honor who was strapless. When you put the dresses together all the colors worked great.

We had lots of DIY! We hand tied the programs with ribbon to save on assembly costs. I bought vintage handkerchiefs online and put them in a basket with a sign that read “for your happy tears”. The place card holders were made from recycled wine corks that friends and family saved all year. The extra corks were used as accents on the tables. The wine labels were designed closely with our venue and their in house designer.. We named our homemade wine “curly tail red” which represents a family joke. Each wine was carefully selected for our cocktail hour wine tasting. The wine tasting also included a stand for our homemade wine four guests to sample along with the other wines showcased.

I searched forever for white small gourds that were placed on each table along with the flowers. The white gourds represented the September month but the white color still had a feeling of summer. We wanted to showcase our grandparents’ and parents’ wedding pictures and placed the frames in front of a window along with our guest book and framed wedding poster (a gift from my bridesmaids). I gave each parent a handkerchief with a special note along with the wedding date as a special keepsake. Our cake topper was actually my husband’s parents cake topper from their wedding 41 years ago. They said it would give us good luck… let’s hope so!

My husband’s dad sang us an Elvis love song that we danced to which was really special. He was such a hit that guests clapped him on for an encore song! We also had an Italian singer from Naples come in and perform classic Italian songs like “mama” that The groom and mom danced too along with fun dance songs we all danced too. Having those moments in our reception added to the uniqueness of the day.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Follow your gut! Everyone will have an opinion. When I told people my bridesmaids were wearing different colored dresses, I got strange looks. But don’t let someone else’s vision or opinion affect yours. It’s your day and that means you can do what you want, because whatever you do reflects you and your personality and that’s what matters. There is no right or wrong as long as you follow your heart and everything will come together perfectly in the end.

Wedding Music:
First Dance: “Something,” The Beatles
Father/daughter Dance: “Summer Wind,” Frank Sinatra

Wedding Vendors (New York City, New York):

Ceremony Venue: Regina Pacis Roman Catholic Church, Brooklyn / Wedding Venue: City Winery / Wedding Photographer: Turn Loose the Art / Wedding Dress: Ivy and Aster, “In Bloom” / Bride’s Sash: Untamed Petals / Bride’s Shoes: Ivanka Trump / Wedding Hair: Mark McAlpine / Wedding Makeup: Lynette Broom / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BCBG, Alice + Olivia, and Tadashi / Wedding Flowers: Jerome Florists / DJ: Scratch Weddings / Wedding Desserts: Momofuku Milk Bar / Videographer: Wellspun Weddings / Transportation: Settembre Limo

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings blue, multicolored, New York, New York City, Turn Loose the Art, wine

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

We had always envisioned people lounging around on blankets, playing cards and field games, dancing and frolicking, but we also wanted to balance the casual vibe with a sophisticated look.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Something will always go wrong – be prepared ahead of time to laugh it off! When things get tough, it’s so easy to forget the real reason you’re arranging those flowers, baking those cupcakes or packaging your favors. You’re getting MARRIED- and that’s an awesome thing on its own.

Delia also shared the ups and downs of having a DIY wedding, as well as all of her insights and lessons learned on her blog.

Wedding Songs:

Processional: “You and I” by Ingrid Michaelson
Recessional: “Skin of Our Yellow Country Teeth” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Wedding Vendors and Venue (Salt Point, New York):

Venue: Salvato Mill / Photographer: Channing Johnson / Florist: DIY with flowers from Fifty Flowers / Wedding Dress: handmade / Crown: handmade by the bride / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo heels, Christian Louboutin flats / Bridesmaid Dresses: handmade by the bride / Groom’s suit: Ben Sherman suit, Banana Republic shirt / Groomsmen Ties: Penguin / Caterer: Rossi’s Deli / Wedding Cake: DIY / Wedding invitations: DIY using paper, envelopes, stamps and prints from Paper Source and Paper Presentation; Jeff Hinchee designed and screen printed the vintage image on the front of the booklet

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 18 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings casual, Channing Johnson, DIY, New York, picnic, Salt Point, tea length wedding dresses, vintage

From the bride, Millie: Joe and I are visual people (filmmakers by trade); we felt the aesthetic of the wedding should reflect our love of both vintage and modern. We wanted as intimate and personal an experience as possible: our guest list was 60.

I handwrote notes to each of our guests, letting them know how much we appreciated their presence that day. Joe’s brother Mike helped me tie each note up with twine, a clothespin, and a Photoshopped image of Joe and me together as children. The notes were waiting for each guest at their place settings at the reception.

Joe and his sister Sarah put together a video piece in which he talked about our relationship and what I meant to him. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been working on this project for months while I was out of the apartment or asleep. I bawled when I saw it for the first time. We thought it might be fun to share it with our guests.

We also showed a compilation of clips from our favorite movies, and a funny video piece our friend Tim made about Joe. We connected my laptop to the projector and used Skype to call our friend Max into the storytelling hour of the reception. It was a great way to involve Max, who would have loved to be present in person but lives in Sydney, Australia. We were thrilled to book The Standard New York as our reception venue: in addition to its sharp and eye-catching design, it happens to overlook the High Line, the park in which Joe asked me to marry him.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Don’t be overly concerned with convention. Your day can be whatever you want it to be.

View all photos from this wedding

Wedding Vendors (NYC):

Ceremony Venue: Church of St. Ignatius Loyola / Reception Venue: The Standard Hotel NY / Photographer: Clayton Austin Love Stories / Wedding planner or event designer: Wedding planner: Gigi Dement / Event designer and Florist: Hatch Creative Studio / Wedding Dress, Veil, Shoes and other accessories: I bought my dress (from the WToo Collection: Marguerite) and accessories at Lovely Bridal / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Hair: Emma Heser @ Cutler 57 / Makeup: their own / Caterer: In-house catering at The Standard New York / Wedding Dessert: Assorted pies from Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn, NY; cupcakes and banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery / Wedding invitations: Swiss Cottage Designs / Videographer: we asked some of our friends/guests (also filmmakers) to shoot the ceremony and reception on 4 different HD and Super 8 cameras.

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Posted under: Real Weddings bouquets, city chic, city weddings, New York, pink, red, vintage, vintage details

From the bride, Bethany: We love all things vintage & handmade, so we wanted our wedding to reflect that. (especially 1950s & 1960s era!) We love that both vintage & handmade goods are more sustainable than buying things new and it is one of our values to be as sustainable and socially responsible as possible in terms how we shop, or decorate our home, or plan our wedding. Plus, we love the aesthetic. We also have an incredibly talented & close knit community and we wanted our wedding to be a reflection of our community as well. Almost every detail of our wedding was covered in the fingerprints of our friends & family, and that made it feel so much more special.

I love the deep rich colors in peacock feathers so we decided to use a peacock feather as our color inspiration. In terms of DIY projects, we tried to hand make as many elements as we could. Jerod drew our cameos and used them to design our save the dates & programs. He and I also handmade our invitations from tiny glass bottles we collected on a magical beach in Brooklyn. (We also used bottles that we found there as the vessels for the flower arrangements at the reception). As everyone came into the church for the ceremony, they received a tiny flag to wave which had been stamped with “b & j” or “love”, which friends and I made using letters from an antique printing press and a mix of vintage fabrics and scrap fabrics in peacock colors. We used the same fabrics to make the bunting, strung throughout the reception space. The garlands of crocheted yarn, strung from the ceiling of the reception space, were made by my aunt, my brother-in-law, one of my bridesmaids, and me.

As one of my bridesmaid gifts, I made 12 different hair pieces for each of the girls to wear (with help from my mom!). For the guestbook, we had the ribbon on my grandma’s antique typewriter replaced, and the hand-typed notes that we came home with were so special! The incredible boutonnieres for the groomsmen were made by my dear friend, bridesmaid and crafter, Kylie Fife. It was truly a community affair, which made it such an emotional and incredible experience to walk into the reception site for the first time and see all the beauty.

Jerod and I designed the “message in a bottle” invitations and made them using 200 tiny antique bottles we scavenged on a Brooklyn beach. We printed the paper invitation component ourselves on quarter sheets of teal paper, and tied and bottle neck with twine. We attempted to hand deliver as many as we could, but the ones that were mailed even managed to make it to South Africa intact!

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Accept help! Sometimes this can be difficult to ask for or accept, but once I began delegating and letting people help me, the load felt so much lighter, he the outcome so much more beautiful. Secondly, the wedding is so important, but ultimately, the wedding is a precursor to the marriage, so don’t lose sight of prioritizing that! Throughout our engagement, Jerod and I had at least 1 night a week in which we did not talk about the wedding planning at all, which was really refreshing and important for us.

And everyone says this, but try to really be present on the day of. So many people had told me that their wedding day felt like a blur and it was my desire to really be present, relish in it, and take it all in, especially because we had so many friends in from all over the world that we rarely get to see. After all, when again will you have all the people that you most treasure and love in the same room? I feel like we were really able to do this and it made the memories of the day so sweet and priceless.

View all photos from this wedding

Wedding Songs:
Processional: “Sigh No More,” Mumford & Sons
Recessional: “Forever Young,” Bob Dylan
First dance: “When It Don’t Come Easy,” Patty Griffin

Wedding vendors (New York City, NY):

Ceremony venue: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn / Reception venue: 320 Studios / Wedding photographer: Tahni of Joyeuse Photography / Wedding flowers: Leeanne Rickey / Wedding dress: designed by bride, made by Heather Anderson / Makeup: Stephanie Wise / Wedding hair: Felicia Nelson / Groom’s suit: Calvin Klein / Wedding music: Jake Armerding, Gregory Essington, Laura Rogers, and Brian Miller / Wedding cake: Laura Huss / Wedding invitations: bride and groom

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings 1950's, blue, feathers, green, handmade, New York, NYC, peacock, short wedding dresses, teal, vintage

Below are some of my favorites, but be sure to check out all photos in the gallery:

With the romantic aesthetic of Ruffled Blog in mind, this inspiration shoot was created for Jen Huang Photography’s workshop as a collaboration between the many talented vendors involved. A slight drizzle enhanced the secret garden theme and the beautiful Central Park Zoo provided the perfect hideaway for our beautiful couples Naysa and Whitney and Michelle and Jeffrey. We paired classic table pieces and calligraphy by Paperfinger and draped the tables and chairs with florals by Saipua and cakes by Sugar Flower Cake Shop. The lush, intimate scene was captured not only on film but on canvas by a live painter. The concept and mood was designed by Jackie at Merci New York and all the attendees were able to interact with and learn from Jen Huang on site. In addition to these workshops, Jen will be hosting a couple more this year in NY and CA and more information can be found on her blog.

View more images from this shoot

Wedding vendors (New York City, NY):

Venues: Central Park Zoo and South Street Seaport / Workshop: Jen Huang Workshop / Wedding photographer: Jen Huang Photography / Wedding flowers: Saipua / Wedding Cake: Sugar Flower Shop / Painter: CapturedOnCanvas.us / Fashion Styling and Event Styling: Merci New York / Rentals: PartyRentals.com / Jewelry: Rent the Runway / Wedding dresses: Reem Acra and Claire Pettibone via Gabriella Bridal / Engagement dresses: blue dress by Anthropologie, multicolored dress by Zara / Wedding Accessories: Gabriella Bridal / Calligraphy: Paperfinger.com / Make-Up and hair: Kerry Makeup / Hair: Face Time Beauty

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Posted under: Wedding Design bohemian, bridal sessions, engagement sessions, garden weddings, green, New York, pink, vintage details, zoo

From the photographer, Karen: At Erinn and Randall’s wedding I let the day carry me away. I loved the details and every part of their beautiful wedding. The flowers, the stationery, the color palette, the bride’s dress, the location, the amazing late September light and all the personal touches they added to their day that made it their own – loving and beautiful with style. Erinn and Randall married each other and in doing so blended their families into one. They had their children, her daughter and his son and daughter, participate in the day by having them part of the candle lighting ceremony. It was very touching.

From the bride, Erinn: Warm, elegant, romantic, intimate describe our day. I created a look book of ideas including flowers, stationery, table settings, clothing, accessories and overall look and feel. I shared this with everyone on the team so they could help me create the look and feel I wanted. Water was an important element in our wedding so we chose the River Cafe as our venue. Our colors were the reflected colors of the Manhattan skyline, the necklace lights of the Brooklyn Bridge on the water. Our colors were teal blue, black and metallic copper. Our invitations were a designed by a friend and featured copper stamping on black stock. We featured the Brooklyn Bridge and designed a logo that was carried over to all the DIY menus, programs, napkins and matches. I worked with Rory Kotkin as a calligrapher to pen all the invites, seating cards and dessert table cards: copper ink on black stock. I also had ribbon printed and used it to make a copper foil cupcake stand for the dessert table. The look was very rich and unusual.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Make an inspiration folder or book. I used Powerpoint. Anytime I saw something I liked I put it in a folder. As I organized the information, it really helped me narrow down what was important. This helped save lots of time and got all the creative people excited about interpreting the vision. Also, get a day-of wedding coordinator! I work as a producer and am very detail-oriented, but on that day I was so happy to not have to think about the details. I just enjoyed my day. Finally, interview people in person! A phone call or email won’t give you a real picture of someone and whether they are right for you.

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Wedding Songs:
Processional: Cat Stevens, “Moonshadow” and Tom Petty, “Here Comes My Girl”
Ceremony: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Recessional: Etta James, “At Last”
First Dance: Chris Botti, “Ever Since We Met”

Wedding vendors (Brooklyn, NY):

Wedding venue and catering: The River Cafe / Wedding Photographer: Karen Hill / Wedding flowers: The Green Vase / Wedding dress: Vera Wang / Wedding veil and hair jewels: Brideshead Revisited / Wedding shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding jewelry: Maurice Jewelers / Groom’s suit: Armani / Wedding cupcakes: Magnolia Bakery / Wedding favors: La Maison du Chocolat / Wedding stationery: Leah Morgan Design / Calligrapher: Rory Kotkin / Day-of wedding planner: Exquisite Events / Wedding musician: Vida from Scratch Weddings

© 2008-2012 Ruffled® , 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Posted under: Vintage Weddings birdcage veil, Brooklyn, bubbles, city chic, feathers, Karen Hill, New York, vintage details, vintage dresses, white