Welcome to The Surf Club in Wrightsville Beach, NC where Emily and Steve joined together as Husband and Wife
The best part of the day was after we were married and had done some photos and had 20 minutes to ourselves before we were thrust back at out our adoring fans. Taking that time alone to sit and be happy together without any stress was really lovely moment.
What would I do differently? I would have kept it a little smaller and more intimate.
Advice for other couples? Don't sweat the small stuff. Seriously. No one is going to remember all of your decorations, ( I spent months making those pompoms) and while many of my girlfriends told me that everything was beautiful and the food was great... the comment I get the most is that EVERYONE had so much fun. I mean, we had a soul train dance off for crying out loud! .
Today’s real wedding features the wedding celebration of Anne & Michael. An intimate day set in the home of Michaels parents bringing two families from two different continents (Germany and US) together all on the same day! It truly was a special day they will never forget!
Tell us about your special day.
Our wedding reception was held at Michaels parent's house in Milton, GA. It was an intimate party with only our closest friends and family. The house was wonderfully decorated and was the perfect setting for a family affair.
The wedding reception was wonderful! Everything was perfect and we had a blast!
Do you have any advice to couples that are planning their upcoming wedding?
Our advice: As much as you plan and stress yourself before the big day you really need to enjoy every moment of it. Once the day comes it is over in a fly. And don't forget to eat!
Adam & Sara were joined together as husband and wife among family and friends, just as they had hoped for on their wedding day. The bride tells us, “For Adam and me, our wedding day was most importantly a celebration of us. When we talked about how we wanted our day to feel, we wanted to make it a really fun party. We wanted our family and friends to have a great time and leave feeling like our day was uniquely ‘Sara and Adam’“. Read more from the bride herself in today’s Real Wedding as she gives us her recap of their special day.
“We were married on June 1st at Planterra Conservatory in Michigan. Our ceremony was absolutely perfect. It was personal and quirky and full of love. We worked with our officiant to design our own ceremony. We asked our friends to choose their own readings, we included stories from family and friends, and we wrote our own vows. One of my absolute favorite moments of the day came after Adam’s vows when he wowed the crowd and everyone started applauding! It was such a fun, beautiful moment."
The beautiful venue was one of the many things we absolutely loved about our wedding. The greenhouse provided a gorgeous backdrop and it was easy for us to decorate by adding just a few of our own personal touches. Adam is a teacher and poker player, so our program and table numbers were chalkboards and we added vintage poker chips to the boutonnieres. I collect milk glass and floral hankies, so we used those for the centerpieces and ceremony space. Those little things were significant to us and made the space feel so much more special.
It was so nice to hear after the wedding that people had a good time, that they thought it was cool we did what we wanted, and that we seemed so relaxed and happy. I think a lot of people get too caught up in planning and forget the reason for the celebration.
On our wedding day, we were calm and able to focus on what was most important, each other! We had help from our wedding planner, Erika of EcoPosh Events, and we had a unique, fun, stress free day that was exactly what we wanted from start to finish. It wasn’t perfect, but it was perfect for us!
Sarah & Adam chose our Sweet Elegance Invitation Design for their wedding day
Today's Real Wedding Thursday, brings you to the Warm and Beautiful Southern California for the wedding of Monique & Scott. We loved working with this couple, who also offered some great advice to all the new couples out there planning their own wedding. We couldn't take our eyes away from all of their amazing all the photos. We hope you enjoy!
What was your highlight of the day?
Honestly, the whole day was both my husband's and my highlight. There were so many special moments that it is impossible to pick just one.
Do you have any advice to couples that are planning their upcoming wedding?
Yes, start early with your planning and don't be afraid to delegate jobs to close friends and family (and who you trust to get stuff done).Also, have fun with the planning process - work with vendors who are fun, creative and easy to work with (which I was lucky to have!).
Lastly, stay true to yourself and don't waste time and money on details that are not "you." Instead, focus on ways to creatively express who you both are and your love for each other on your wedding day. So be creative and be yourself.
Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?
No, I really can't think of anything. It all came together perfectly and everyone had a blast!
Great feature on Martha Stewart for the wedding of Christie and Greg. The couple used the Flora Invitation Suite designed by Love vs Design Featured Artist Grace Lee.
Today’s Real Wedding features the union of Rob & Kristin on June 30th, 2012 in Monterey, CA. It was a beautiful summer day for them to remember for years to come!
What was your highlight of the day?
The highlight of the day was doing a "First Look," where Rob and I saw each other for the first time before the wedding. It was such an emotional, private time where we had the opportunity to really be there in the moment -- just the two of us -- and take it all in.
The reception was also a big highlight because we could finally let out a big sigh of relief and really let loose (and dance our butts off).
Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?
I would have asked for more help initially in the planning process. I took on too much and it ended up stressing me out. Thankfully we decided to hire a day-of wedding coordinator, which was a HUGE stress (and sanity) reliever!
Do you have any advice to couples that are planning their upcoming wedding?
Don't get lost in all the small DIY details -- no one really notices them anyway.
Do a "First Look" with your photographer so you can have that one moment where it's just the two of you. If your budget allows, hire a day-of wedding coordinator. The most important piece of advice is not to loose sight of what the day really is all about -- two people deeply in love, surrounded by a wealth of love -- joining together as one love. All the rest is just icing on the cake.
Wedding Location
Ceremony& The Old Whaling Station, Monterey, CA
Welcome to your next edition of Real Weddings! We are pleased to introduce to you, Nathan and Jennifer. After being friends since 5 years of age, they were finally able to call each other husband and wife on October 5th, 2012 in Burton, OH.
What was your highlight of the day?
There were so many highlights from the day that it is hard to choose just one. I would have to say though the fact of knowing that at the end of the day I was going home with Nathan and there was nothing to worry about was the most relieving feeling. We left the reception, looked at each other and both agreed that that was the best wedding we had ever been to because we are so blessed with incredible family and friends who genuinely care about us. The energy on the dance floor was such pure celebratory dancing and joy. I have never experienced anything like it!
Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?
There is not much of anything that we would have done differently. Our engagement was 6 months long, almost to the day, and during that time we delegated tasks to friends and family who offered to help. I think closer to the wedding day I would have asked for more help and shared my vision with more people so that when I was not present at a certain point others would know exactly what needed to be done. Nathan and I knew exactly what we wanted and found the most thrifty and creative ways to achieve that. We had a great circuit of friends with different connections and creative ideas and pulling from all of those sources made the planning and execution much easier. We had people we trusted completely to carry out our ideas and it was having those wonderful people that made it easier to pull ourselves away from the decorating or organizing. Giving trust over to others was the best thing I could have done.
Do you have any advice to couples that are planning their upcoming wedding?
My advice to those getting married is twofold. First of all, like I mentioned earlier, take people up on their offers to help. Don't just say thanks for the offer and ignore it, doing everything yourself. People offer to help because they want to, and when you truly give over your anxiety about every little detail being perfect you will relieve yourself of so much stress. It will be a beautiful wedding because of the act of love taking place between the two of you, not because of the trendy place settings or the wedding favors. Share your ideas with those closest to you, whether its your parents or bridal party or wedding planner. Sharing your vision with others will ensure that even when you are not present others will carry out the plans the way you want them. Second of all, don't worry about the little things. I know many brides and grooms are very detail oriented and that can be a good thing, but when you are stressing yourself out the week before the wedding about the flavor of frosting on the cake, or having the perfect music playlist for the reception you just have to let it go. Trust that your guests are there for you, not there expecting the best party of their life.
Wedding Location
Ceremony& Reception: Burton Century Village
Happy November! We would like to kick off the month with the start of our Real Wedding Blog posts. Over the next few months we will be sharing the weddings we have been so lucky to be a part of and hope that there will be some helpful advise from the couples to all those out there planning their own weddings. We hope you enjoy it!
Today we would like to introduce you to Kelly and Andrew, married on September 15th in Atlanta Georgia. Their day was filled with surprises, dancing and most of all love!
What was your highlight of the day?
Andrew had several surprises staged throughout the day. First was a blindfolded kiss before we walked down the aisle. It was Andrew's sneaky plan to steal a kiss before we said our I do's without us actually seeing each other. Second, was a gorgeous set of emerald earrings and diamond necklace, given to me as I was getting ready. Third was our band called me up onto the stage to open a present (again... clueless). Inside the box were personalized his and her tambourines to play with the whole night long, we had which was a blast!
Another favorite for both of us was a private dinner with just the two of us during cocktail hour at the reception. It gave us time to absorb and talk about how special this day was and how overwhelmed we felt that our favorite people in the world were all in one place together :) We could not stop smiling the entire evening!
Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?
Not one thing!
Do you have any advice to couples that are planning their upcoming wedding?
Plan ahead so you can enjoy and relax as soon as possible (my goal was to be done with all of my big projects by Wednesday the week of the wedding)
Having a day of coordinator is extremely helpful. Watermark Wedding in Atlanta truly made me feel like a guest at my own wedding. I enjoyed every single second and did not worry about ONE thing at our ceremony and reception. If something went wrong, I had no idea!
Share the work, communicate, help each other as much as possible, and remember to focus on the marriage not just the wedding!
Wedding Location
Ceremony: Cathedral of Christ the King
Reception: The Peachtree Club (both Atlanta, GA)
Hi everyone, Jennifer and Floris here. We haven’t posted much about our own wedding on this blog, so we thought it might be fun to tell you a bit more about our wedding story!
Jennifer and I (Floris) got married on May 17th, 2009 at Marvimon in Los Angeles. I can’t believe it has been more than 3 years already!! We planned our wedding pretty far in advance since we had friends and family fly in from Holland, Guam, Canada and across the US.
At the time of our wedding, Jen was working at Smashbox Cosmetics and I at Volcom. Through our jobs we were able to put together some creative product trades with our wedding vendors (bar tenders, catering, DJ, filmers, etc). This really helped us reduce the overall wedding costs.
One of our dear friends Karen Kostrinsky became a licensed officiant and the three of us wrote our ceremony together. Both of us had prepared some vows so while Jen promised to cook me many nice meals. I promised to take Jen on several trips around the world. The entire ceremony from beginning to end only took about 10 minutes and after the ceremony the party officially started!
We wanted our wedding to be a great time for everyone so we intentionally kept it very informal. We bought a Ping Pong Table on Craigslist, painted it bright yellow and we had a Beer Pong tournament going on all night long!
Building our own photo booth with light boxes, external flashes and a remote control resulted in 500+ hilarious photos as the night progressed. For a backdrop during the party, a few weeks before our wedding, we filmed some clips on our Super 8 cameras around Long Beach. We looped the video on a big screen throughout the evening, while our friend DJ Wade was spinning records late into the night.
Looking back at our wedding it was an amazing day. Yes, we definitely had some things that didn’t go as planned (the music cut out for a few minutes while the groomsmen/bridesmaids walked up, several place cards were mixed around and one of our friends fell through a glass table in the hotel lobby to name a few…), but at the end of the day you roll with the punches and have to laugh about it. We figured as long as there is a lot of food and drinks, all our guests would enjoy themselves!
In the next few months we will be posting more short wedding stories from our customers and readers. If you'd like to share your story, please email us 6-10 photos and let us know what are some of the highlights of your day, what you would have done differently and any advice you would give to couples who are planning their own upcoming wedding?
Thanks for reading our wedding story and we can’t wait to hear yours!
