There are some great pointers in today’s wedding for any bride-to-be that has just started planning. Do you start by booking your venue first? Or, do you pick out your colors and theme first? Here’s the sound advice Cydney got after she’d already begun to put her mood boards together:
“A friend told me to find my wedding gown first, because it would dictate the tone of the entire wedding. I thought I would wind up with a delicate, tea-length summery dress suitable for a small, intimate wedding. Was I ever wrong! As soon as I tried on that Pattis gown with the roses all over the bust and the train you could hide a family in, I knew our wedding was going to be a ballroom affair with 200 people.
Ballroom or not, Cydney + Warren had a gorgeous wedding! Let’s check out the photos, captured by the talented, Amanda Gallant.
That handsome fella next to Cydney isn’t the groom, it’s her brother Caleb, aka the DOH (Dude of Honor).
Their first look is crazy adorable. Warren had a tie wrapped around his eyes while he stood surrounded by hearts hung from the ceiling. Cydney sidled up to him and whispered that she had gotten bike grease from one of his (many) bikes on her dress that morning, at which point they started cracking up.
Cydney walked down the aisle to Sufjan Steven’s, The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us. Listen to it here:
The ceremony decor was meant to be sparse and drive the focus to the stage. Warren’s dad made the wooden backdrop out of an old deck (free). The vases on either side were made of sticks, rocks, and tiny lights from Michaels ($40 each). After the ceremony they were transported to the reception, and used behind the head table.
The favors were small jars of jam made by Cydney and mother-in-law. Each jar was tied with a different colored piece of yarn to indicate the guest’s choice of entrée. Jam jars were purchased at Canadian Tire ($120 for jars).
A nice tip: Warren and I had originally rented an old, rustic-looking hall for the reception. But as we started budgeting for caterers, audio equipment, decorations, and the time/energy of our friends and family to help set up and tear down, we realized that renting a hall meant putting a lot of people we loved to work. The last think I wanted was for my parents to have to clean up after me at the end of the day. So we switched to a ballroom in a downtown hotel that would do EVERYTHING for us. AND it was thousands of dollars cheaper than having it in a hall.
Congratulations Cydney + Warren!
Photographer: Amanda Gallant of AG Photography/ Hotel: Edmonton Coast Plaza / Flowers: Christy Heinbuch / Bride’s Dress: Pattis from Beautiful Bride / Bride’s Hair: Courtney Ewing at Celebrity Hair / Bride’s Shoes: Arnold Churgin / Bridesmaid dresses: Anthropologie+ vintage / Groom’s Outfit: Moore’s + H&M
