28 Jan

A sweet and small Martha’s Vineyard wedding for you all today. Jamie and Adam had a very intimate wedding of only 36 guests, which meant they had tons of time to toil over their DIY projects. Jamie designed their invites and paper goods, as well as their welcome bags and even their water bottle labels.

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Because their wedding was so small, they asked everyone in attendance to be a part of the ceremony. They gave all 20 women a beaded necklace Jamie had made and all 16 men matching bow ties. And Jamie’s grandma made all 21 bouquets the day for the wedding.

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They asked a family friend to marry them, (in Massachusettes, anyone can apply for a one day Marriage Designation to allow them to officiate a wedding), and because one of the Justices of the Peace on the island wears a top hat when he officiates weddings, Jamie thought it only right to find one for their officiant too.

Adam spent the months leading up to the wedding restoring his ‘64 Thunderbird so they could bring it over on the ferry for the wedding. Each can tied on the back had a drawing and wish from a guest. Cute idea!

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They had sweatshirts printed as guest favors… because aren’t they the quintessential summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard souvenir?

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And their reception was a good old fashioned clam bake, with pies from the best baker on the island.

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Beautiful wedding you two! With so many thoughtful details. Seriously, everything Jamie and Adam did for their wedding was a little mini labor of love.

And Whitney & Jesse, thanks so much for the amazing photographs!

Photography: Our Labor of Love

Ceremony venue: Gay Head Lighthouse Aquinnah

Reception venue: The Wallen House

Invites & Paper: Jamie’s etsy shop: The Butter Shop

Planning: The Butter Shop

Dress: Jenny Yoo

Shoes: J Crew

Groom’s suit: Ted Baker

Boutonnieres: Bontanicopia

Flowers: purchased in bulk from The Flower Exchange

Music: Will Pfluger

Catering: Bill Smith’s Martha’s Vineyard Clambake Co.

Pies: Eileen Blakes Pies and Otherwise

Cake topper: Monsta Faktory

30 comments

12 Jan

Proof that you don’t have to wear a white dress to feel beautiful and special on your wedding day. Instead buy an amazing Lanvin, throw in a pair of YSL heels and you’ll look completely stunning and have a killer outfit you can wear forever. SMARTY PANTS, Beth. You look ravishing. Oh wait, AND she had the wrap custom made using fabric she bought in Paris, while she was there hunting for her YSLs. We die.

Ben (a British astronomer, fancy!) and Beth (a psychologist) knew they didn’t want a traditional wedding. Instead they wanted a stylish party to celebrate with their friends. They definitely pulled it off perfectly.

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Their ceremony and reception were held at the historic Huron Substation in LA, a private residence that once housed equipment to convert high voltage energy from Edison to power for the LA Railway Yellow Cars in the early part of the 20th century. Neat, right? Now it’s available for filming, special events and a very select number of weddings per year. Apparently if you choose to be married in a couture cocktail dress, they give you priority.

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As an homage to Ben’s Britishness, Alex Catering created an entirely British menu with things like Scotch eggs, Welsh Rarebit, and Shepherd’s pie.

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The wedding cakes were a mixture of family recipes and plus a traditional English Bride’s cake that Beth made herself. The cake calls for fruit steeped in rum and Beth started steeping the fruit not too long after Ben proposed. How cute is that?

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Congratulations Ben and Beth! You guys look maaaarhvelous.

Design and Coordination: Amber Events

Photography: Carolyn Troadec for Troadec Photography

Dress: Lanvin from Kirna Zabete

Wrap: custom made from fabric the bride found in Paris, with the help of Camille de Pedrini and a recommended tailor in Glendale.

Necklace: Camille de Pedrini

Flowers: Holly Flora

Site Management: J Loop Haro of Tact Event Management

Catering: Alex Catering

Bar Service: CFR Mixology

Music: Dubgypsy Entertainment

Makeup: Kellie Jo Grandy: kellyjograndy {at} mac {dot} com

33 comments

9 Dec

Two words: Llama farm.

How many weddings include a herd of llamas? Kay, we’re focusing on the wrong thing, but we didn’t want that little detail to go unnoticed. Tanessa and Sheldon were married in a little wooden church in Cloverdale, British Columbia. And then had their reception at The Barn on The Mountain in Abbotsford. It is a stunning barn if we do say so ourselves. On 40 acres with huge wooden doors open to look over the entire valley, anyone who’s planning to get married up that way should most definitely check it out.

This wedding just feels so true and so heartfelt. Of course all the weddings we feature are heartfelt, but something about the tiny wooden-walled church, crammed full of close friends and family makes you sit down and pay attention.

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Tanessa made her hairpiece and her mom made her veil. Her grandmother made apple pies for the reception and Sheldon’s sister Jaylene and cousin Jody arranged the flowers they purchased from a local dahlia farm.

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And now if this isn’t the most epic DIY project ever, not sure what is… Tanessa (with the help of her friend Monica) designed the programs to look like a classic novel. She spent months collecting old novels and used their covers to bind the programs. Such a beautiful idea!

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So in love with this intimate photo of their ceremony. They had a bunch of friends serve as musicians and everyone sang old gospel songs that Tanessa and Sheldon chose. Amazing.

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Llamas!!! (Or maybe alpacas? We don’t know the difference).

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They decorated their reception tables with old books and antique picture frames filled with black and white photos of their family heritage.

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Beautiful venue…

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So pretty, you two! The sentiment really comes through. And those programs are unbelievable. Congratulations!!!

Photography: James Moes (you can see lots more photos on his blog)

Ceremony venue: Historic Christ Church

Reception venue: The Barn on The Mountain

Catering: Savoury Chef

Band: The Sumner Brothers

40 comments

19 Nov

We have such a pretty pretty fall wedding for you all this morning. And it’s not in a barn and it’s not really all that rustic. It’s more, say, rustic modern. And citified. San Francisco in the fall. We can’t think of a better place to celebrate the changing of light, the eating of amazing food, and falling in love.

Danielle (of Brown Paper Design!) and hubs Garett searched up and down the state looking for the perfect spot for their intimate marriage celebration. They met in San Francisco, and after an exhaustive search came back to the city where they fell in love, to one of their favorite little restaurants in Hayes Valley. And because it was important to use their resources wisely, they were adamant about choosing a space that they already loved visually. You’ll see that they definitely made wise decisions.

First a few GORGEOUS shots of the the couple, and then onto what we’re all junkies for… the details.

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Vintage fur wrap and grey silk shoes? We love.

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The huge dogwood wreath/art installation that marked their ceremony at Eagle’s Point was inspired by Andy Goldworthy’s “Before the Mirror” and artfully crafted by Erica of Erica Rose Design. So well crafted in fact, it didn’t move a millimeter during the 45 mph windstorm that swept through their ceremony.

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COULD there be a more perfect dress to be wearing in a 45 mph windstorm??? Lacie, please please enter this photo in one of those wedding photojournalism contests. We’d all like a copy of our own!

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Danielle’s dress was handmade by her friend Tracy Radeff McConnell. Tracy fit Danielle the week before the wedding and the bride didn’t have her dress in her hands until an hour before the ceremony. However, we agree with Danielle… it’s got to be the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.

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Now for the beautiful decors. The owner of Suppenkuche does amazing installations on the ceilings of the restaurant every year for Oktoberfest. Danielle took inspiration from these little pieces of art and put together tables full of wheat and herbs and gourds and pretty fall flowers.

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Gaaaaaaah. Who doesn’t need wheat wreaths and birds decorating their ceilings during fall?!!

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Danielle found old walnut logs in her grandfather’s shed and had them cut into risers for the table. They wanted plenty of candlelight so she based her arrangements around beeswax candles in hurricanes.

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Nothing like a cold german brewski to celebrate the changing of seasons. And coincidentally, Oktoberfest was traditionally a celebration of marriage. How perfect that their wedding fell during the last week.

One design element that Danielle was certain of from the beginning was a sheet cake with the California flag. So awesome and refreshingly unbridal. Go with what you want people, it will make all the difference in the personal feeling of your wedding.

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Their band rocked out, their friends drank bier and had fun and danced. And they ended up married. Yay.

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And, Garret designed all the invites himself. He made nifty custom maps of the city that were the perfect size for stuffing in a back pocket. And they collected pretty vintage stamps from their home states for the envelopes. In lieu of a guest book, they asked their friends and family to contribute a favorite recipe they could bring into their new home. What a sweet idea.

Congratulations you two! Totally beautiful and perfectly you. Just the way we like it.

Photography: Lacie Hansen

Ceremony venue: Eagle’s Point at Land’s End, San Francisco

Reception venue: Suppenkuche

Florals/Table design and Decor: Brown Paper Design in collaboration with Erica Rose Design and Sarah Schaafsma of Met Bloem

Flowers/Gourds: Repetto Farms in Half Moon Bay

Dress: Handmade by Danielle’s friend and mentor Tracy Radeff McConnell of Radeff Design Studios. Um, Tracy? Maybe you should go in to fashion design.

Shoes: Pedro Garcia

Fur wrap: Vintage, borrowed from Tracy

Make up: Amy Weissenberg

Cake: Rebecca Klus Catering rebeccakluscatering {at} gmail {dot} com

Band: Dear friend Safa Shokrai and friends

Bus transport between venues: The Mexican Bus

Invites: Designed by Garett, printed by Clear Image Printing

29 comments

13 Nov

Let’s finish off the week with a wedding at one of our favorite venues in the Southern California area… Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse. Is it us or does the light fall ever so perfectly on this spot?

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Meghan and Nevin chose to have an intimate weekend celebration that was a destination for nearly all 50 guests in attendance. They hosted a wine tasting on Thursday, the wedding was on Friday, and they had a casual BBQ on Saturday. What a nice set up! Love the idea of having a whole day and night after the wedding to spend with everyone who came to celebrate with you.

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Meghan’s dad made the wooden signs, and she and Nevin made the invitations and paper goods. They bought the paper at Paper Source, printed them at home, and used a Martha Stewart lace paper cutter to fancy up the table cards. Nicely done guys!

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They collected vintage hankies for the ceremony and made little stamped burlap bags filling with loose lavender to toss after the ceremony.

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Oooh. Love the rosemary wrapped flower vessels. Neat touch.

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Beautiful wedding, you too! Congratulations. And thanks for sending this our way, Kristen.

Photography: Kristen Grinnell

Venue: Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse

Flowers: Florette Designs

25 comments