Ruffled

Are you ready to be wowed by a couple with so much style it almost hurts just to look at them? Because that’s Jackie and Joe, who wore an impeccable lace gown with pink heels and gray suit with a stylish tie, respectively. Pat Furey photographed every moment of their exciting day at 501 Union, and every floral arrangement was lovingly put together by The Mini Rose. Buckle in, because this one’s a doozy!

This bouquet is a new favorite, with a mixture of orange orchids and kumquats with heaps of greenery.

We’ve seen a few weddings at 501 Union now, but we never get tired of the incredibly ceremony space. We love how Jackie and Joe chose to add a ceremony arch accented by a bevy of ferns accompanying the aisles!

This wedding inspiration is a southern delight, complete with a sprawling outdoor location, fabulous photos by j.woodbery photography, and darling florals by
The Sonnet House. We definitely weren’t shorted at all on the amount of pretty in this shoot: the design ideas were unreal and one example are those place settings. A heady mix of oyster gray and gold, all set atop a lovely baby pink linen. We could definitely gab all day about this inspiration!

From the photographer, j.woodbery photography: The Sonnet House is one of my absolute favorite venues to work with. Not only is it a gorgeous property, but the folks who own and run it are such a joy to be around! When we started brainstorming for this styled shoot, we were all on the same page for the colors we liked- greens and dusty pink with a pop of dark red, and some fun metallics to add texture. The more we planned and designed, the more excited we got. Everything came together so perfectly that I’m not sure it could’ve been any better! The whole shoot was so amazing and I’m excited to share it for inspiration to brides!

Corey at The Sonnet House did all of the florals (and killed them!). I love that they offer in house florals as well as catering. Magnificent Cakes created a stunning cake and The Heavenly Donut Company joined us with their doughnut truck as a treat as well! Katie and Joseph, our real couple (I actually shot their wedding two years ago!), were so much fun and were looking good in their wedding clothes! Katie had two dresses, both from Bella’s Bridal in Birmingham, one from a private label and one from Kitty Chen. Joseph’s suit and duds were all from Saks. Linens were from Decor to Adore, paperie from Max and Mila, makeup by Katina Carter, and the motorcycle borrowed from a friend.

We’re heading to the luxe Costa Rican seaside with today’s wedding by Chloe Murdoch Photography and it is certifiably what we would want our Costa Rican destination wedding to look like, hands down. Tropical Occasions took Gillian and Anthony’s wedding vision and made it come to life in this glorious tropical setting. Stylos y Flores was inspired by the warm weather and the pretty colors to be found everywhere, and this translated into the bouquets and the colorful rose centerpieces. After checking this wedding out, let’s all head to Costa Rica!

From the bride, Gillian: I wanted the wedding to be beachy elegant with a Costa Rican flair. I’m a huge beach, warm weather person so I always wanted a beach wedding where it stays warm all night, is all outdoors and there isn’t a time or noise limit on when it had to end. And for Anthony, he wanted there to be an amazing dance party dj’d by our good friend who came all the way from Berlin with delicious drinks flowing! We are also both huge foodies so we wanted delicious, fresh Costa Rican cuisine as well! Costa Rica is a really special place to us. My family has a home there and Anthony and I have vacationed there together a lot. It truly feels like a home away from home and a culture we love so much. When Anthony proposed, we immediately knew we wanted to get married at the Reserva Conchal beach club and didn’t look at any other venues!

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Destination weddings are an amazing way to elongate your wedding! Instead of 1 night or a weekend with our guests, we were able to spend a full week with most guests! For a destination wedding – hire a great wedding planner who you trust understands your style. Having a language barrier and working with vendors who don’t have good websites or portfolios was stressful. I really had to trust that if my planner recommended them then they would be good. We showed up not knowing exactly what to expect and she truly made our vision come to life! There were definitely some details that were slightly off and a few things that didn’t go exactly as planned but I was really the only one to notice. Don’t sweat the small stuff, mistakes will happen but don’t let it ruin the night!!

Dance party music: Upbeat mix of old school, the classics and present day hits designed to keep the party going until the last note. We never wanted people to feel like they could leave the dance floor without missing one of their favorite songs. Let’s just say our dance floor was packed all night long! Our first song after our first dance, the father/daughter and the mother/son dance included a riff from Lil Wayne’s remix of the Black Eyed Peas single, “I Gotta Feeling,” which started with Lil Wayne saying “Party on the beach…” repeatedly. :)

When a baker gets married, rest assured the dessert table is going to be a whopper. Bride Toni owns her own bake shop with her sister, and the two went all out designing sweet treats for her wedding to groom Josh. The entire day was a creative fall wedding to remember, with the help of the talented Jessica Hendrix Photography and Pocket Full of Posies.

From the bride, Toni: Our wedding took place at Willow Creek Winery in cape may New Jersey. Kevin Celli was our guide and planner and did an amazing job with helping us out in any way possible! For my wedding I imagined a rustic but colorful and creative vibe. It was fall, but I wanted to incorporate peacock blue/green with bright reds and oranges. Some gold accents. I did a lot of my own crafting, like stained crates handmade seating arrangements signage, etc.. I handmade my invitations and save the dates, at each setting. There was a clementine with a leaf cutout with hand gold embossed names!

One of the biggest things I did for the day was the wedding cakes and all the desserts! I own my own shop in Haddonfield, New Jersey called Sweet T’s Bakeshop. My sister and own the shop together and made a ton of desserts for my day! Two cakes including three different flavors: blood Orange velvet, sweet potato with spiced pears, and baked apple cinnamon dolce! We also made individual apple pies in mason jars, French macaroons with hand painted gold spiders (it was Nov. 1) mini pumpkin cheesecakes with ginger snaps crust and ice cream cookie sandwiches with homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and Bassetts pumpkin ice cream. We also had an array of vintage glass bottle and jars scattered everywhere in tables.

I was in love with my floral arrangements by Pocket Full of Posies in Galloway NJ. Beth Ann did a fabulous job! When my flowers arrived at my hotel suit while we were getting ready I was so so so excited and blown away! I had some succulents, orchids, eucalyptus, deep purple Calla lilies, blue thisle, red berries, and some really pretty bright orange and red needle looking flowers!! In love! Oh yeah, I also had sunflowers with the petals picked off! My table arrangements had turquoise lanterns and white lanterns scattered with candle and some of the antique bottles had a flower or two. There were also some blue mason jars with flowers.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? My advice for other couples is to try and make it special for yourselves. Don’t worry about what other people think. Put your love and every into little details and it will become something special!

Wedding Music:
Bride’s Processional: “January Rain,” David Gray
Recessional: “Wild Fire,” John Mayer
First Dance: “Sweet Pea,” Amos Lee

Listen up, guys and gals… It’s actually a bit absurd how good this wedding from Austin Gros and Big Events Wedding is. I’m just going to warn you now that you’ll probably want to set aside some time to soak in all the details, because they’re not even just good, they’re everywhere. Adair and Kane’s wedding in Nashville is the perfect welcome for fall, which is just right around the corner!

From the bride, Adair: Kane and I both felt very strongly about getting married in Nashville. We had both left our homes and moved to Nashville alone to start a life for ourselves. And roughly seven years later, we were starting to put our family roots down in Nashville together. Kane also wanted to get married in the fall. The native trees in Australia don’t turn and Tennessee has one of prettiest displays of fall foliage known to man. He wanted his family and friends to experience that and I loved the idea of everyone coming to our town and getting to experience a little piece of our life.

Bouquet recipe: Garden roses, various types of eucalyptus to pay homage to my husband’s homeland, as well as kangaroo paw and gum nuts. Orchids, ranunculus, hydrangeas etc…

I wanted the day/night to move progressively and we wanted each space to be different from the last. The flowers and decor were to get deeper in color, as the daylight got more scarce. Each space would be slightly more elegant than the last. The ceremony would be during daylight with softer colors of blush, nude and cream and more natural, organically shaped arrangements. The cocktail hour at the pavilion would be at dusk and more color was introduced in the arrangements and decor. With sunset at 6:02 and dinner at 6:15 the greenhouse would be illuminated with candlelight and moonlight and would be dripping in jewel toned, lush arrangements with a bit more structure.

We wanted the day to feel intimate and private. We chose to have only 65 of our closest family and friends. It was really important to us that the day be about us officially starting our lives together. We didn’t want to invite anyone out of obligation. We also didn’t want to meet anyone for the first time on the most important day of our lives. We wanted to enjoy the day and actually get a chance to speak to everyone that we hold so dearly to us. It wasn’t just about us, it was about us sharing the moment with everyone that has supported us and helped us grow as individuals and as a couple. We also chose to not have any bridesmaids or groomsmen for this very reason. Everyone attending has been a part of our lives separately or together and made an incredible impact on us.

It’s really hard to pick just one moment for a favorite. The first moment we saw each other will always be what I think about. How his face lit up like a little kid excited to see Santa Claus. I had several people tell me after the ceremony that they had never seen a happier groom. We both loved the moment after we walked up the aisle as husband and wife. We finally got to see each other and catch up for the first time all day. We sat in the horse drawn carriage while our guests were taken to cocktail hour and talked about how we were so impressed that neither of us cried and how excited we were for the rest of the day. We spent the next hour getting our family photos and then our bridal photos snapped and had a ball. The pressure was off and it was party time.

We wholeheartedly agree with today’s bride, Chrisli, who says that simplicity can still be exciting as long as it’s well-executed. If you need some convincing, just take a look at her wedding! South African wedding professionals dna photographers, AnnaH, and Fleur Le Cordeur helped Chrisli and Matt find their true wedding potential

From the bride, Chrisli: We wanted something sophisticated, but still young, fresh and out of the ordinary. We believe less is more if it’s well executed – and there’s always space to add a touch of your own personality. Let’s just say we went for ‘red carpet’, not fairytale!

Flower recipe: Imported yellow baby orchids, white orchids, tulips and interestingly used greenery.

We wanted simplicity and sophistication, with a touch of personality. Our colour scheme was natural, white, wood and a touch of gold and yellow for fun. Minimalist, simplistic, sophisticated, fresh, slightly off-beat, light and summery!

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? 1. Don’t get lost in the detail – remember the main reason for the day (if you end up marrying the love of your life, everything went according to plan!) 2. Hire a wedding planner (they save you many hours, tears and frustration…and most likely money too) 3. Download a To-Do list app (like Wunderlist) to keep track of everything that needs to be done.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Mid Air,” Paul Buchanan
Recessional: “Over the Rainbow,” Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Reception Entrance: “Hooked on a Feeling,” Blue Swede
First Dance: “I Wanna Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” Whitney Houston

It’s styled shoots like this one from Jen & Chris Creed and Enchanted Florist Nashville that make me fall in love with purple all over again. We love how much attention was paid to all the little details here, especially the decoration for the gold chiavari chairs used for the ceremony!

From the photographers, Jen & Chris Creed: “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”— John Muir (The Mountains of California). There’s a certain peace and calm that comes from being in nature, and that is where we found the inspiration for this wedding styled shoot. This is for couples who feel called to wilderness, and who want to celebrate with their friends and family under a canopy of trees, while still incorporating a sparkling style!

We started with the venue, a hidden gem just north of Nashville, TN, where the owners lovingly planted the rows and rows of pine trees, and continued to draw our inspiration from nature. The florals were designed with a loose and wild style in mind, and incorporated various purple hues as an accent to all the natural evergreens. The ceremony set up featured gold chiavari chairs under stunning mirrored star lights, to add a lavish touch to the natural backdrop without overwhelming it. The chairs faced a simple whitewashed whiskey barrel altar, and the aisle was lined with pine branches found on the venue property.

A lounge area was set up with whitewashed vintage furniture, perfect for taking in the surroundings during cocktail hour, or for the couple to slip away for a quiet moment! For the reception, we loved a barnwood table set amongst the pines, with lilac and plum linens as an accent. Succulents topped the menu cards, and we did two different look options with plates and chargers. One clear charger with antique china, and one a gold charger with a clear plate. The bride’s dress was a multi-layered tulle gown by Monique Lhuillier, which floated beautifully through the trees. The lace top was by Augusta Jones, and tied into the vintage feel of the lounge area and china. The bride wore a crystal headpiece for the ceremony, and later changed to a more whimsical flower crown for the reception! Her groom was handsome in a navy tuxedo and lilac bow tie.

Even when the days get a bit chillier, a beach wedding is never out of the question – as this styled shoot from Karla Korn Photography and Rockstar Catering + Event Co. attests. This team drew inspiration from rugged rocks and crashing waves, and opted for a silver-grey gown for the bride (a detail we absolutely love). Some silver leaf details and beautiful greenery from Botanical Bliss ties everything together beautifully!

From Rachel Pintarelli, Rockstar Catering + Event Co.: We’re pleased to share with you a sweet styled session celebrating the coastal winter wedding. Coral Cove Park in Jupiter FL was the perfect backdrop for our intimate affair which featured the moodiest of December skies and our real-life sweeties, Kristie and Tyler. From the beginning, Karla’s vision for the shoot was clear – soft and romantic images that capture the coziness of an overcast evening and the movement of an ocean breeze. With inspiration stemming from the beautifully rugged rocks along the sandy coastline and the waves that crash over them, our creative team worked with a color palette that combined muted hues of ocean blues and grays against natural textures and tones with added pops of silver.

Each and every detail you see was handcrafted, designed, or selected by our vendors, right down to the silver leaf flatware and sea salt favors. For the florals, Chloe from Botanical Bliss composed a unique collection of Cotton, Air Plants, Spanish Moss, Dahlias, Italian Ruscus, Rice Flower, and Orchids with a wispy, airy feel. Candlelight and hand written paper details from Erica Dunhill upped the romance factor table-side, alongside winter white faux fur ghost chair accents, timeless china from Atlas Party Rental, and vintage furnishings by Urban Vintage. The dinner menu featured fresh, seasonal fare from Chef Kyle of Rockstar Catering + Event Co which paired perfectly with our signature Pear + Prosecco cocktail. For dessert, Earth and Sugar created a stunning three-tiered cake adorned with silver leaf and cotton accents.

Our lovely bride, made wedding-day ready by Agape Airbrush Makeup & Hair, modeled a gorgeous gray dress from BHLDN with her handsome groom by her side in a navy suit from Tux Shop and Stubbs & Wootton shoes. We hope you find yourself inspired from our collection of details attainable for every style of bride – vintage, modern, beachy, classic, or glam – seaside soiree or not.

Destination weddings are always a welcome treat in our world, and Ness and Roger’s shindig in Bali, Indonesia is definitely the sight for sore eyes. The couple brought along Lara Hotz behind the camera and used Global Weddings to coordinate their unforgettable wedding event, which included a ceremony be the ocean and a poolside reception with paper lanterns aplenty. How could we not fall in love?

From the bride, Ness: The overall style and concept was a mix of colonial, natural, textured and classic. I feel this came through once it was all brought together on the day. When it came to picking a venue, being near the ocean was an important component and Semara Luxury Villas in Uluwatu delivered on this without a doubt! In addition to being near ocean, having lots of greenery and being outdoors was also key. The base line colours were all very neutral with colour accents brought through the flowers.

Bouquet recipe: Like many brides I first headed to Pinterest, gathering pictures of my most favorite floral designs. I gave these pictures to Global Wedding and they coordinated with our florist to create my bouquet, table centerpieces and flower arch. The pictures I gathered were to be used as a guide as I just wanted to use flowers that were locally available. The florist did a great job using a mix of hydrangeas, white chine lotus, dendrobium orchids, calla lilies, tuberoses bloom, foliage, silver suede and pale pink baby roses for my bouquet, and white china lotus, dendrobium orchids, phaleonopsis orchid, calla lilles, tuberoses bloom and foliage for the centerpieces. Finally we had green hydrangea’s used amongst the candles in the swimming pool.

I always say less is more, so we kept it pretty simple. Lots of candles and flowers which are two things I adore were throughout the venue. Simple lanterns framed the reception and for our ceremony we had a beautiful flower arch. Given how beautiful the location was we really didn’t have to do much. Colour wise we kept everything well balanced with lots of natural tones with hints of colour but nothing too dominate throughout, I feel this created a nice flow and energy.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? 1) Invest in a photographer. I understand that the costs of weddings are incredibly high these days. But one thing to not skimp on is the person that documents that day for you. Roger and I were privileged enough to have Lara Hotz document our day and I can honestly say it was absolutely worth the investment. Lara is magnificent and our photographs completely and utterly capture our perfect day. 2) These days everyone has access to email or is on social media. As such, we decided to save on costs and be eco-friendly by sending out save the dates and all of our wedding invitations via email using Mail Chimp. We also created a website using Wedding JoJo. They offer great website templates that you can easily tailor to suit your needs. 3) It’s your day so don’t get overwhelmed by it all. Do what you want to do and don’t let traditional wedding concepts dictate the style of your wedding day.

Wedding Music:
Bride’s Processional: “You Got Me,” Colbie Caillat
Signing of the Register: “If I Ain’t Got You,” Alicia Keys
Recessional: “September,” Earth, Wind and Fire
Bridal Party Entrance Song: “Best of My Love,” The Emotions
Cake Cutting: “Crazy Love,” Michael Bublé
First Dance: “Let’s Stay Together,” Guy Sebastian

Wedding Location: Bali, Indonesia / Photographer: Lara Hotz / Event Planning: Global Weddings / Florist: WIB Flowers / Venue: Villa Tamarama at Semara Uluwatu / Wedding Dress: Tanya Anic “Isabella” / Wedding Shoes: Diavolina “Kito” via Zomp / Bridesmaid’s Dress: Rachel Gilbert “Avaria” in salt / Bridesmaid’s Shoes: Tony Bianco Heels / Bridesmaid’s Earrings: Samantha Wills “Whiskey & Roses” in silver / Groom and Groomsman Suits: Brent Wilson / Groom’s Shoes and Pocket Square: Florsheim / Groom and Groomsman Socks: Paul Smith / Groom’s Watch: Citizen / Caterer: Bali Catering Company / Wedding Cake: IXORA / Music: DJ ROK, Vision One / Wedding Invitations: Created by Bride using MailChimp

Los Angeles’ The Fig House is undoubtedly one of our favorite new venues on the block, so you can imagine how excited we are to share this stunner of a wedding from Christine Farah Photography, CCL Weddings & Events, and The Vine’s Leaf. It’s jam-packed with color, geometric details, and great ideas (like the hangover kit for guests to take home), so let’s jump on in!

From the bride, Jennie: We wanted something fun and lively, really a party atmosphere because that’s what a wedding is a big fun party. Fun. Bright. Colorful. Modern. Festive. Geometric. We didn’t have a theme really, but we wanted to work with what the venue already had to make it really seamless.

Bouquet recipe: I have really bad allergies, so we told our florist to keep the florals to little to no scent. They included orchids, hydrangea, ranunculus, lisianthus, and anemones.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Focus on what you want and not what everyone else wants. Try to remember as much of the day as possible because it will go by so quickly.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Latch,” Sam Smith (acoustic)
Recessional: “Just Like Heaven,” The Cure
First Dance: “Wonderful Tonight,” Eric Clapton

Wedding Location: Los Angeles, CA / Photographer: Christine Farah Photography / Wedding Planning and Design: CCL Weddings & Events / Florist: The Vine’s Leaf / Venue: The Fig House / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Wedding Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS / Hair and Makeup: Theresa Huang / Caterer: M Grill Brazilian BBQ / Alcohol and Bar: Sunseris / Wedding Cake: Merely Sweets / Dessert: PopGram / Wedding Music: Dean Hata / Rentals: Town and Country / Stationery Design: Lani Choi / Hand Letters: Skye Cho #fontgirl

From time to time, we fall deeply in love with a bride’s style; obviously that was the case with Anni. From her blunt bangs to her incredible lace and tulle wedding gown to her floral crown by Love & Grace, everything is just about as good as it gets. Lad & Lass did an incredible job as always behind the camera!

From the bride, Anni: We wanted the big day to represent our personalities and every day style. I wanted the guests to see and feel that they are special to us. We made the day very personal, by only inviting 80 of our closest friends and family. The venue helped us with creating a relaxed environment with a big mountain and Hartebeespoort dam in the background. Our family love to entertain and decorate. This was a big excuse for my mom and me to host a big party. We used a lot of grey, white and yellow flowers to create a clean, fun and modern look. We used all of our own vases and glass holders that we collected over the years, to hold the flowers. This helped to keep the decor personal. We wanted the day to be a big party for all of our guests with good food, a live band and attention to detail.

Flower recipe: yellow orchid stems, yellow and white roses, eucalyptus leaves, cockscomb and desert roses.

We decided on a grey, ivory and mustard yellow colour scheme. We wanted to keep the wedding modern, different, simplistic, informal, and a little bit quirky. I paid a lot of attention to small details (posing in my mother’s wedding dress, wearing vintage gloves, inviting Cooper the pug into the wedding party and framing old photos of my mom and her mom’s wedding pics to hang in the reception) — I knew all these small details would add up to create the feeling that we wanted. We involved our pug named Cooper into the big day. He walked down the isle together with my bridesmaids. Pugs were featured on our stationery (which my sister and I designed). The thank you gifts were cookies in the shape of a pug. My mom spent 2 whole days in her kitchen, just baking cookies. My mom and I made big fluffy balls out of tulle to hang from the ceilings in the church. My mom in law folded the old books into different shapes to hang around the venue. I spent a lot of time on Pinterest, getting ideas to experiment with. We folded paper flowers out of old sheet music. We made many meters of bunting to hang around the venue.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? I think the most important elements were the venue, the photographers, and my dress. Once these things are sorted, the other details fell into place. When comparing venue prices, it is easy to get confused with all their hidden costs. Do a proper total cost analysis on each venue before deciding, as the venue and catering tends to take the biggest cut from your budget. Make an initial budget and update this budget monthly, it is very easy to over spend if you are not keeping track of all the costs involved. Make sure all of the big details are sorted 2 days before the wedding, so that you can enjoy the day before and of your wedding with the people close to you, instead of running around and creating stressful situations. Use suppliers that understand your style and look that you want to create.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Somewhere Only We Know,” Keane
First Dance: “Hear You Me,” Jimmy Eat World

Wedding Location: Hartbeespoort, South Africa / Photographer: Lad & Lass / Flowers and Flower Crown: Hester from Love & Grace / Venue: Villa Paradiso / Wedding Dress: Catherine’s Collection / Wedding Shoes: Charles & Keith / Hair and Makeup: Erin Smylie Make up Artist / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Urban / Groom’s Suit: Hilton Weiner / Groom’s Shoes: Country Road / Wedding Cake: Groom’s Aunt / Band: S1

Few things pique my interest quite as much as the idea of a rainforest wedding. As a wedding planner, bride Kira knew she wanted her wedding day to Brendan to be unique, relaxed, and one heck of a party, and we got on board with that pretty quickly. Thank you to Shari + Mike Photographers and Filosophi Events for doing their wedding beautiful justice!

From the bride, Kira: When planning our wedding we sat down and thought about what was most important to us on our wedding day. We wanted to be with each other all day, we wanted to say our own vows, and we wanted to throw one heck of a party. We didn’t want a super flowery, girly wedding, but wanted something raw, different, and relaxed. Working in the wedding industry as a wedding planner, I’ve seen almost everything under the sun and so I knew right away what kind of vibe I wanted for our wedding. It was important that we got married in the winter (we’re lovers of snowboarding and met at a snowboarding event – he an athlete, me as event staff), so it just seemed fitting. With the date set we then choose our venue, the Cheakamus Centre in Paradise Valley, just outside of Squamish, BC. It is a unique green-built ‘tree house’ set in a mossy rainforest with snow-capped mountains found in the distance. Being there made us feel like we were in another world and it hardly required us to do anything to make it look phenomenal.

Bouquet recipe: Cymbidium orchids, Xerographica, air plants, succulents, and greenery.

We decided to forgo some traditional elements to our wedding day and spent the morning with our wedding party in a rental house cooking breakfast, getting ready, and… writing our vows! On a day that goes by so fast, it was really nice to be able to spend all day with the man I was going to marry. One of my most favourite moments was when I was able to straighten his tie and have a few moments together as he got ready. We may or may not have exchanged a couple high fives at this point. Another element that we left in the dust was starting a wedding with the ceremony. Instead we started with cocktails and hugs! We wanted to get the party started right, so we mingled with our friends and family over some beverages and then headed outside for our ceremony. It was so amazing to be surrounded by friends and family right from the beginning of the wedding. We then got hitched in the freezing cold, rainy covered area under the Cheakamus Centre and I got to tell the man that I love that I wanted to get really, really, really old with him. We then celebrated further with a second cocktail time, a gourmet dinner buffet and capped the night off with dancing, ‘life-size’ Jenga and foosball!

The style and decor of our wedding was industrial chic and elements of cedar wood 4×4 beams, glass bottles and candles showcased down long tables could be seen. Charcoal grey, oxblood and gold were the colours that also played with the theme. Brendan and I agreed that we didn’t want to focus on florals for decor, but wanted to use items that were raw/industrial yet played with the background of being in a forest. We wanted simple. So what started off as simple turned out to be a whole lot of DIY. Brendan cut 4×4’s into various heights which were used on long tables as centerpieces. I then taped and spray painted over 200 votive candles which would then be placed at various levels among the 4×4’s. Between the blocks, clear glass bottles filled with cotton and greenery and helped break up the length of the tables.

FYI – The glass bottles with flowers were something I had talked about with the girls at Filosophi, but at the end of the day our budget wouldn’t allow for it. But to my surprise, they appeared on our tables as a very generous gift from some people ‘in the know’ and I may have shed some tears upon seeing the room and the generosity of some pretty amazing ladies. Brendan also cut a small cedar block which we used to hold each place card. The place cards were cut from plexi glass and rounded corners were sanded. I then hand wrote in calligraphy each guest’s name. While we spent a great deal of time making the perfect pieces for our wedding, it really was the girls at Filosophi, the wedding planning company I work with who set everything up, made the venue look incredible and made sure that our wedding was one of the best days of our lives. I may have shed a few unexpected tears when I walked into the room and saw how it had all come together. It was more amazing that I’d ever had imagined in my head!

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Your wedding day goes by incredibly fast. Too fast! Get ready together if you’re not into doing the traditional thing, sneak away with your new husband after the ceremony for a few minutes and revel in the fact that you’re actually married(!) and hire a wedding planner so that you can focus on mingling, dancing and partying. Definitely mingle. dance. and party. Oh and just one more thing – stay true to yourselves throughout the planning process. Take in stride the advice you will get from family and friends and work as a couple to determine the must-haves. It’s your wedding day. Make new traditions, leave old ones behind, and make sure you have fun throughout the planning process.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Your Song,” Elton John
Signing License: “Sea of Love,” Phil Phillips
Recessional: “Life is Better with You,” Michael Franti
First Dance: “Who We’ve Become,” Joey Cape
Father/Daughter Dance: “Fathers and Daughters,” Paul Simon

Wedding Location: Paradise Valley, Squamish, BC, Canada / Photographer: Shari + Mike Photographers / Event Planning: Erin Bishop and Corinne College of Filosophi Events / Floral Design: The Flower Factory and Delovely Creative / Venue: Cheakamus Centre / Wedding Dress: Vera Wang White Collection / Hair and Makeup: ML Makeup / Bridesmaids’ Skirts: Express / Wedding Bands: Grimson & Sons / Wedding Cake: Sweet Bake Shop / Ceremony and Cocktail Hours Musician: Martin of Side One / Rentals: Flowerz and A&B Party Time Rentals / Wedding Invitations: DIY / Transportation: Squamish Party Bus

It’s amazing how much of an impact a wedding day detail can have – like, say, the ring pillow. Creating a custom “pillow” filled with fresh flowers and moss is a surprisingly simple task with such an incredible wow-factor, that it was impossible for us not to fall for this DIY from Anthomanic and Rachel May Photography. Imagine all of the possible flower combinations!

For this project, you will need:
-4x5x2″ block OASIS floral foam (wet kind, soaked)
-a stem of each: brunia berries, orchids, hydrangea, silver dollar eucalyptus, hanging amaranthus
-gardening shears
-bind wire (other string)
-reindeer moss
-3 yards double faced satin ribbon (2 for bow, 1 for rings)

Directions:
1. Using the block of foam, hold pieces of moss to what will be the underside and sides of the ring pillow while securely wrapping with bind wire. Wrap it multiple times to secure the moss across the bottom and sides. Once this has been covered, secure the loose end of the wire.

2. As if wrapping a present, wrap the 2 yard long piece of ribbon over the top of the pillow and twist on the bottom, tying and knotting at the top – creating a bow.

3. Cut flowers to a 1″-2″ stem length and insert into the foam. Fill all space to create a squared pillow effect by placing flowers so their heads are at the same height on the top and sides. For a natural effect, leave some longer pieces of foliage or buds hanging off the sides or lower sections as I’ve done here!

4. Finish the design by looping the extra 1 yard long piece of ribbon through the existing bow and affixing the wedding bands.

This design is created to be lightweight and easy for a little one to carry! It can also double as an engagement ring presentation! Store in a fridge above 40 degrees to keep fresh overnight.

These images that Matt Haines Photography shot and sent over our way, featuring gorgeous floral design by Michelle Hirrel of Shell’s Petals makes us ooh and aah in unison. The tropical little peek of orchids and the variety in blooms is just so timely for a spring garden wedding.

Flower Guide:

Purple Phalaenopsis orchids
Tuberose
Green mist
Lavender and fuchsia stock
Green hydrangea
Pink ranunculus
Lemon leaf

Contributing resources:

Venue: Orcutt Ranch (Los Angeles, CA) / Photographer: Matt Haines / Hair and Makeup: JaNice Estrada / Florist: Michelle Hirrel of Shell’s Petals / Dress: Pepsi Herrera / Shoes: Steve Madden/ Model: Tammy Cheng