This is one of my favorite posts of the year. I love going back through all of the weddings from the previous year, checking out the trends that proved popular, drooling over all the pretty details. Here are our top 5 real weddings, in no particular order (it would be impossible to pick favorites in this bunch!):

Gwen and Kevin’s wedding was one of those lovely events that I often thought back to. I dig a beautiful courthouse wedding. Gwen and Kevin were married at San Francisco’s City Hall and all of the pretty was captured by Emily Takes Photos (LOVE her, by the way). This event just goes to show you that you don’t need to have a lavish wedding for it to be stunning and memorable.

Lisa and Kim’s wedding was just so full of their personalities! They incorporated different cultural elements, featured their favorite things, and even added their own graphic design talents. Just from the photos I can tell that this wedding felt completely like this couple, and that’s pretty much the most important thing. Heidi-O-Photo captured all of this SoCal event’s beautiful charm.

Molly and Chris pulled off the impossible with their wedding: it feels equal parts traditional and modern. This rainy day wedding was filled with unexpectedly “dark” elements like raven place cards and unique murals on the wall. The effect is both creepy and warm–the perfect combo for an autumn event! Thanks to Ashley O’Dell for sharing this with us!

Vintage continued to be a huge wedding trend in 2012, and none proved more beautifully photographed than Amelia and Matt’s wedding. Shot by Juan Maclean, every detail in this wedding exemplifies the delicate grace of a vintage theme. And I think the rain adds a little bit of interest, don’t you?

Who would have thought that such an amazing Southern wedding would come to us courtesy of New York? Nicole loved the Southern weddings she saw featured and decided to go with a rustic theme for her event. Besides the awesome color palette, this wedding had some of the best details of the year, all photographed by the wonderful Brookelyn Photography.