Planning a winter wedding? This gorgeous photo has all the essential elements for creating a Winter Wonderland feel. What you’d need to create this look:
-Twinkling white lights
-Branches (spray paint them silver for a more cohesive look)
-Candles
-Hanging crystal strands
-White flowers
-Snow berries
-Glass vases
Vendor Credit:
Photography by Anna Kuperberg
Event Planner: Allison van Every
Event Design and Flowers: Water Lily Pond and Pod and Seed
The fun with Grace and Jason continues! (If you missed their ceremony and prep, head over and check it out because it’s gorgeous! Don’t worry, we’ll wait for you.) For their reception, they had what I consider to be the ideal outdoor locale – a small (fancy) barn with a patio so they were able to eat outside and then when it cooled off, head indoors for dessert, a dance contest and piñata whacking. Yep, it was that kind of wedding.
And, you can see the love and attention that went into every detail of their wedding – the wedding bundt cake made by Jason’s mom, the garlands and more paper cranes handmade by Grace, her adorable, ruffled sweater for when it started to cool down outside, all captured beautifully by Emily Takes Photos. (Editor’s note: In the newsletter that went out this morning, I mistakenly referred to their origami cranes as Chinese rather than Japanese. The couple is teaching in China and it was all a bit too much for my pregnant brain to process.)
Be sure to keep reading after the photos as Grace talks about what surely every bride has experienced at one time or another – wedding nightmares.
Did anything funny or out of the ordinary happen?
So much of the wedding was a bit “spur of the moment,” but that’s what made for our most awesome memories. Before the wedding, my dad and I found ourselves disagreeing a bit on what song we should dance the father-daughter dance to. Eventually, we decided to nix it completely and just “see where the music took us.” During the reception, Jason and I were having a hard time getting people on the dance floor until “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond started playing, which is sort of a sentimental song for my dad and his brothers. My sister quickly called my dad to dance with me and it became an impromptu father-daughter dance. My dad is a big crier, but he’d managed to hold it together through the entire wedding until that moment! It was a little strange, holding onto my dad while the two of us were crying and Neil Diamond serenaded us, but it is a moment I will always cherish. It was far beyond anything we could have planned in advance.
Tell us details of the events surrounding the wedding as well.
Jason and I are English teachers in China, and got engaged while we were back in the US during a visit. Since I knew we’d be out of the country for another year, we had to get as much wedding planning done in just two months! Most blogs and wedding planners will tell you to spend as much time as possible to interview different photographers and visit as many venues as you can. We actually booked the first venue we visited and the first (and only) photographer we met with. At the time, it was all we could do, but as time passed, I’d realized how huge my decisions were, and when we got back to the States, it made me a bit anxious.
Thus began my series of wedding nightmares. They ranged from Jason not showing up. Jason showing up in shorts and a t-shirt. No guests showing up. My in-laws not showing up. A bridesmaid throwing a fit. The decor being awful. The food being horrible. Having to get married in a casino. Every morning, I’d wake up wondering if I’d made the right decisions, had overlooked something, or if my wedding would be as disastrous as the weddings (ironically) of my dreams. Finally, in the middle of another nightmare, I threw up my hands and said, “I don’t care, as long as Jason and I are married by the end of all this.” This didn’t stop future nightmares from coming, but it certainly helped me to change my outlook on things. And you know what? At the end of our wedding day, we were married. And he didn’t show up in shorts, either.
How did you know your partner was “the one”?
This is something that I don’t believe is a one-time deal for me. There were tons of times when I was sure that Jason was the one, and there were many times when I wasn’t so sure he was the one, or if I wanted to get married at all. Even now, as we are figuring out what it means to be married, living in a foreign country, and sharing our lives together, the horrible thought that I made a huge mistake does cross my mind from time to time. But there are daily reminders or little things that Jason does that reassure me that he was placed in my life specifically not just because he’s an incredible, brave, and kind man who loves me, but because we are amazing together.
Any advice you’d give new brides who are just getting started?
If you hear people laughing (at appropriate times), if you had a great time, if you still think it was a wonderful day a month later, and if you managed to get married by the end of it, it was a successful wedding. And really. That’s all that matters.
Bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo
Bride’s shoes: Steve Madden
Bride’s comb: Heavenly Treasures
Groom’s suit: Banana Republic
Groom’s tie clip: Keys and Memories
Bridesmaid’s jewelry: Starfish Project
Groomsmen’s suits: Banana Republic
Groosmen’s tie clips: Keys and Memories
Venue: Radonich Ranch
Photographer: Emily Takes Photos
Catering and coordination: Vignette Events
Pies: Beckman’s Old World Bakery
Invitations: Kari Waldrep
Find other Northern California vendors.
Editor’s Note: Yes, it’s Monday morning and so you’ll have to excuse my brain lapse! In the newsletter that went out, we mistakenly said that the details were Chinese rather than Japanese (Grace’s lovely, origami cranes). Rather Jason and Grace are teaching English in China and I, obviously, need a very long vacation.
Oh, I love, love, love this wedding we have for you today from Emily Takes Photos. Grace and Jason are absolutely adorable and their wedding is chock-full of fantastic DIY details (Grace made their paper cranes, napkins and garlands; Jason’s mom made their bundt cake while her mom helped with the flowers; one of her friends designed her fabulous invites).
And I think Grace has some of the best advice I’ve read in awhile for brides just getting started on their planning who want to tame the wedding beast: We sat down and chose three things that we absolutely needed to have: great food, a casual atmosphere, and a memorable ceremony. After deciding on what was most important, the details became extraneous, and things sort of fell into place. If we ever had a disagreement or hesitations during our planning, we’d ask, “Will this contribute directly to our ‘core three’?” So smart, right? Be sure to keep reading after the photos for more ideas and insight.
And, it’s such a fun wedding we just couldn’t fit it all into one day! Check back on Monday for their delightful reception!
Tell us about any specific details or DIY projects you did yourself or that have special meaning….
As Jason and I were preparing for the wedding, I got sucked into the world of wedding blogs and got quickly lost track of what was really important. While the color scheme, flower arrangements, linens, etc. all lend to a beautiful event, it became apparent over time that all the traditional wedding details weren’t important to us, and brought us more stress and anguish than the joy and love we wanted to feel from our wedding.
We sat down and chose three things that we absolutely needed to have: great food, a casual atmosphere, and a memorable ceremony. After deciding on what was most important, the details became extraneous, and things sort of fell into place. If we ever had a disagreement or hesitations during our planning, we’d ask, “Will this contribute directly to our ‘core three’?” And if the answer was “yes,” we’d readjust our budget and continue on. If the answer was “no,” I’d sulk about it and eventually remind myself that my soon-to-be-husband is wonderfully level-headed and patient for dealing with my wild wedding demands.
I wanted the wedding to have a lot of small details that added color and charm to the day. Bunting and origami cranes were popping up everywhere in the wedding blog world, but I still loved the element of casual whimsy and color they added, so I strung together hundreds of paper cranes (not a thousand, though!) and made bunting using the same origami paper and some fishing line. After burning through all that paper, I still had quite a bit left, so I made sweet little signs to hang up in different areas of the venue to tie everything together. During our engagement, Jason and I were living in China, so we went to different wholesale markets and bought up fabric in different patterns and colors, and had them made into napkins for the reception.
We also loved the idea of the wedding being a collaborative effort, so we enlisted help from a lot of our friends and family. The invitations were designed by one of my bridesmaids. A few of my friends made a scrapbook guestbook using our engagement photos and old ticket stubs from movies and places that Jason and I had been to together. My mom, aunt, and Jason’s mom all collected lavender that was tossed during the recessional. Our wedding cake was made by Jason’s mom, who made Jason’s favorite bundt cake in different sizes and stacked them. My mom, sister, and I got together the day before the wedding and made the bouquets for the bridal party. All the collaboration made the wedding day so much more personal than if we’d hired people to do things for us, and we were so blessed to find that people were more than willing to help in any way they could.
Did your wedding location hold a specific significance to you?
Jason and I met in Santa Cruz, CA, and we knew we’d want to marry there. We also knew we wanted to get married outdoors in a beautiful and intimate environment. Radonich Ranch was the perfect venue for what we wanted… and came with the perfect coordinator, Marky Carr, who saw us through to the very end of the day when she sent us off with hugs and a spare loaf of bread for our after-party!
What was the most meaningful part of your day?
Our ceremony was everything we’d hoped it to be – personal, full of emotion, and extremely honest. As we were preparing our vows and the flow of the ceremony, Jason and I knew that we wanted people to have a glimpse into the devotion and love we share for each other and our faith. We believe so strongly that our faith is what will keep us together in difficult times, and it was an honor to share that with our guests. We also were overjoyed that our good friend officiated for us. He was one of the first people to know Jason and me as a couple, so it was so symbolic and meaningful to have him join us in marriage.
Bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo
Bride’s shoes: Steve Madden
Bride’s comb: Heavenly Treasures
Groom’s suit: Banana Republic
Groom’s tie clip: Keys and Memories
Bridesmaid’s jewelry: Starfish Project
Groomsmen’s suits: Banana Republic
Groommen’s tie clips: Keys and Memories
Venue: Radonich Ranch
Photographer: Emily Takes Photos
Catering and coordination: Vignette Events
Pies: Beckman’s Old World Bakery
Invitations: Kari Waldrep
Find other Northern California vendors.
Sometimes it feels like you can sum up a wedding with a single element – a vintage hairband, an elegant arrangement or, in Ashley and Eddie’s case, really cool shoes. Between Eddie’s Vans, the bridesmaids’ Toms and Ashley’s hot pink flats, you get the sense this is a couple who is ready to enjoy their wedding day and life together.
And their photos by Acres of Hope Photography capture that sense of closeness and fun – their First Look series is absolutely priceless and you can’t fake the laughter and smiles that pepper their shots with their friends, their vows and during their first dance. I’ve gotta say, they kinda sparkle, don’t they?
Vendors:Venue: Skyline Ranch outside San Diego
Photographer: Acres of Hope
Event planner: Couture Events
Proud to say Acres of Hope Photography is a mywedding member.
For her wedding to long-time love Darren, Rachel wanted a Garden-esque theme that felt romantic and, I gotta say mission accomplished. Her soft palette of pinks and oranges, to her dress (her dress!), to the smart suits the guys sported, to the DIY décor she and her friends put together, it all feels very 30s yet totally modern.
Captured gorgeously by Maggie Heinzel-Neel, this is one of those weddings where I kept going back to the photos to catch more details (and fine, because I couldn’t get enough of her dress). Make sure you check out their photo gallery for lots more shots and ideas.
And keep reading below – Rachel has great advice for brides just getting started on their own wedding journey.
Darren proposed to me in March of 2009, at the Waterfront Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We had been together for about 5 years; it was still a huge surprise, but one that I was certainly ready for. We found out later from an uncle that the day was a rare Jewish celestial calendar day, which I thought was cool, so we decided to plan the event around a celestial event. What worked best for weekend dates and location was the perseids meteor shower, so August 14th it was! We live in Brooklyn, but we wanted to get out of the city and not to mention had to to be able to see the sky, away from city lights. We also really wanted a weekend-long wedding (they’re never long enough!), with a BBQ-star-gazing-campfire party instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner. So we found the perfect venue in the Catskills called Full Moon Resort. Along with that, I’ve always been a bit vintage-obsessed, so I went for a 30s Garden Party-esque theme with the colors, decoration, attire, and music. So I kind of mixed that in with the star gazing theme, and had lots of DIY details. Thankfully, our engagement was long enough to prepare it all (year and a half).
Most meaningful part of my day was the ceremony. I was very nervous to read the vows, and wanted to keep them down to a minimum, but when I discovered the hindu wedding vows I knew I would regret NOT saying them, so I practiced… a lot, we both made it through, and it was lovely (see them below).
vows:
You have become mine forever.
Yes, we have become partners. I have become yours.
Hereafter, I cannot live without you.
Do not live without me. Let us share the joys.
We are word and meaning, united.
You are thought and I am sound. May the night be honey-sweet for us;
may the morning be honey-sweet for us;
may the earth be honey-sweet for us and the heavens
be honey-sweet for us. May the plants be honey-sweet for us;
may the sun be all honey for us;
may the cows yield us honey-sweet milk.
As the heavens are stable, as the earth is stable,
as the mountains are stable, as the whole universe is stable,
so may our unions be permanently settled.
Funny moments:
Darren’s 3 young half-brothers stayed up way past bedtime, taking in cat naps between hitting the dance floor. The funniest moment was dancing with my dad for the father-daughter dance and Darren’s little brother, Ethan, was hovering near us and then broke in and yelled “SHE ALREADY HAS ONE!!” to my father and ran away. Apparently he was jealous, but it left us in tears laughing for the remainder of the song.
Also unexpected was that many people used the tissue flowers from the napkin rings in their hair, or around their wrist and in suit pockets, it was really cute.
Before the event:
Save the dates/Invitation: I took a letterpress class and decided to make my save-the-dates. I used vintage postcards from the Catskills (some still with writing on them from the early 1900s) and printed “SAVE THE DATE” in red over the front, and attached a mini envelope with a star-punched card inside to the back for the info. A few months later, I designed the invitation based on a vintage star chart. It actally works too!
Welcome bags, etc since we essentially picked a “destination” venue. Nearly all of our friends and a lot of family stayed on the site with us, which was great. I made welcome gift bags for each room with goodies for the weekend, including: a waterproof picnic blanket for friday’s star gazing, a flashlight, an itinerary, mexican wedding cookies (made by groom’s mom), bug wipes, exedrin, water (with personalized star label), and emergen-C. (for the hangovers). The best man also brewed a special beer for us, which we broke out at the campfire on friday. (of course, with coordinating star label “best man’s bitter brew”)
Wedding Day:
Bridesmaid Dresses: They are all vintage floral printed chiffon dresses from the 20s and 30s. They were very delicate and one of my bridesmaids ended up with a large hole in the front mid-reception. Thankfully, we all suspected that would happen and had a change of clothes!
DIY decor: We really went overboard here with the details. My sister and MOH came up and stayed with me in New York the month before the wedding, incurring craft wounds and a few nights of panic, making every single pom pom (hanging from tent), napkin ring, and cocktail stirrer out of tissue paper. We also made program fans for the ceremony, along with the dinner menus (calligraphy by Betsy Dunlap), and wedding favors. Wedding favors were jarred pink or grey salt with a personalized label and matching baker’s twine. The table numbers and escort cards were designed with constellations, which were hand drawn by my sister and I. I really enjoyed getting to spend the extra time with my sister doing crafts and sipping on Hudson Whiskey (which we also had at the wedding).
Centerpieces: I collected hobnail milk glass vases and bowls over the engagement period and the florist, Jim from Elderberry Flowers, arranged them according to each vase.
Cake/cupcakes: Baked (from Brooklyn) we had them made so each flavor was decorated with a different flower that we used for the centerpieces. They were set up to look like garden rows of flowers.
Music: The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn, classical guitarist Christopher Gotzen-berg for ceremony
Dress: Monique Lhulliere
Advice:
As far as DIY projects, don’t bite off more than you can chew, and know who is willing to help! The actual wedding goes so fast, so I think it’s good advice not to get caught up in little mishaps (which are bound to happen) and remember to step back and take it all in.
Proud to say, Maggie Heinzel-Neel is a mywedding member.
This inaugural wedding is a doozy. It’s about as glam as they come, every photo reveals a new, steal-worthy detail and the bride and groom, well, let’s just say they don’t come cooler than Chris and CC. Seriously. I can’t decide if Noa over at Feather Love Photography just happens to shoot the hippest people on the planet or if her skills just bring out the inner Rat Pack in everyone. It’s probably a bit of both.
Lovely Inspiration for a Rainy Thursday Afternoon
Adorable DIY Idea: Wedding Favors for Kids by Chelsea from Frolic
Cute Rustic Engagement Session by Daniel Moyer Photography
Erica and Falling in Love with Your Husband via “The Bachelor”
Bethany and Deanna's Vintage Wedding from So You're EnGAYged
November Couple of the Month: Maria and Robert
Sponsored Post: Win This Giveaway from Image 3D Invitations!
Love it or Hate It: Priscilla Chan's Claire Pettibone Wedding Dress
Inspiration Board: Fascinator Veils
Spring Green Moodboard by From Britain With Love
Sponsored Post: Send Out Your Invitations in a Bottle
Bride’s Perspective: Anne and Deciding Who To Invite
A Shower Outfit that Transitions to Your Bachelorette
Heidi and Brent's Day After Surfing Session
Alternative Wedding Registry Ideas
A Stylish Fusion Wedding from Fri at Wedding Nouveau
Sponsored Post: $50 Giveaway and a Classic Black & White Inspiration Board from Beau-coup
A Playful Farm Engagement Session from 2&3 Photography
Bride’s Perspective: Erica and the Definition of Miscommunication
Ethical and Elegant Engagement Ring Ideas from the Green Bride Guide
Snippet and Ink Gets the Weekend Going with Friday Links
Color Board: Clementine and Pool
Hayden and Sean’s Very Creative Save the Date Video
Modern Wedding Cakes (with some Pizzazz) from Erica O’Brien Cake Design
