Project Wedding Blog

Jon and Keri first met while studying abroad in Italy, but it wasn’t until years later, when they ran into each other at a mutual friend’s birthday party in California, that the sparks flew. Their wedding was both a fun celebration of their love, and a snapshot of gorgeous, Tuscan-inspired details.  In fact, I’m in awe of just how much these photos by Amanda Patrice take me straight to the dreamy, rustic Italian countryside…I just love the sophistication of black bridesmaid’s dresses…  The palette featured black, pewter, and hints of purple.  Cupid’s Arrow Floral Studio worked with heavy greenery in the bouquets and décor to create a balancing effect, a pairing of deep hues with organic accents.

The Mission Inn couldn’t have been a more perfect venue…with its amazing architecture and old world ambiance. Italian lights hung from above, while authentic postcards marked each table. 

A special thanks to Amanda Patrice for sharing these awe-inspiring photos!

Sending heartfelt wishes to this beautiful couple, Jon + Keri…

Photos by Amanda Patrice

Reception Venue: The Mission Inn

Event Design by HMC Event Solutions

Bridal Beauty by Dollhouse Hair & Makeup Design

Flowers by Cupid’s Arrow Floral Studio

Video by Godfather Films

Tags: black, green, Italian, pewter, rustic, succulents, Tuscany-Inspired.

Laurel and Adam’s destination wedding in Carillon Beach, Florida had all the trappings of a shabby chic, East coast party… and we’re just marveling at all the details…  The couple chose a palette of red, pink, and green that displayed beautifully against the blue backdrop of the ocean town buildings.  A special thanks to Kay Meyer Photography for sharing their lovely day with us!After the fresh, daylight ceremony, Laurel and Adam cozied up on the beach for portraits. The groom’s cake was a work of confectionary art…  while the wedding cake was pretty in oh-so-shabby lace.  For favors, the guests were sent home with adorable S’more packets!

But the dearest part was, of course, family.

♥

Photos by Kay Meyer Photography

Event Coordination by Carillon Weddings

Florals by Nouveau Flowers

Bridal Gown by Jim Hjelm

Catering by Townsend Catering Co.

Cakes by Confections on the Coast

Tags: beach, blue, East coast, Florida, green, ocean, pink, red, shabby-chic.

Mary Kate and John’s Austin wedding has that feeling of the classic South, yet the color palette and details were perfectly unique.  We were taken by the blues and greens, and of course the beautiful Barr Mansion setting.  Katherine O’Brien did an extraordinary job capturing the day in creative film and digital photos!  Each bridesmaid selected her own ivory dress, but they were coordinated with blue ribbon and the gorgeous hydrangea and succulent bouquets by  STEMS Floral Design.  Love those blue nails in the pic below!Mary Kate and John first bonded over a similar taste in music and they definitely had music on the mind as they planned their day.  During the ceremony, Barton Strings played Over the Rainbow for the processional and Here Comes the Sun for the recessional.   Along with their officiant, Sarah de la Fuente, the two designed a custom ceremony that spoke to them.  They said their vows on the scenic grounds of the Barr Mansion.  The reception, held in the Barr Mansion’s modern ballroom, featured a rainbow of rustic florals and lots of dancing to local Austin band, Soul Track Mind.  Their music was a hit with guests!Mary Kate and John married on what would have been her grandparents’ 61st wedding anniversary.  To honor them, she baked 700 peanut butter cookies (her grandmother’s recipe) to give to guests as favors!

Read more from the bride just below or {click here} to see the full feature…

Photos by Katherine O’Brien Photography

Venue, Event Coordination & Cake by Barr Mansion

Bride’s Hair & Makeup by Snodene Blakenely

Bridal Gown by Modern Trousseau from Unbridaled

Invitations & Programs by Bella Figura

Ceremony Musicians: Barton Strings

Officiant: Sarah de la Fuente

Florals by STEMS Floral Design

Reception Band: Soul Track Mind

From the Bride:

The weather was perfect considering the summer we had. The week of our wedding was the first break we had from 100+ degree temperatures all summer long.

One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing for the first time the bouquets that Abby Daigle of STEMS put together. When we met to discuss the flowers, I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I wanted. I told her the colors that I wanted in my bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets and she was able to help me pick out some flowers that would include all those colors. Then she took it from there and put together the perfect bouquets. I could not have been happier with them!

We were very glad we chose to see each other before the ceremony. It calmed our nerves. And despite the fact that our wedding party was all watching with our photographers Katherine and Jeff taking pictures, it was still a very personal moment.

My father has a huge baseball card collection from his childhood that he has kept in great condition over the years. On the day of the wedding he gave John, John’s father, and his groomsmen each a baseball card from his collection. They were all cards of Red Sox players as John and his groomsmen all grew up in the Boston area and love the Red Sox.  John and the guys also toasted with John’s favorite whiskey before our first look photos.

I gave John Ghostbuster cufflinks the day of the wedding. It has been his favorite movie since he was a child. His grandmother has lots of stories of him pretending to be a Ghostbuster when he was younger.

The ballroom where our reception was held was newly built, finished just a few months before our wedding. Just before we got engaged in June of 2010, lightning struck the original Barr Mansion ballroom and burned it to the ground. It had been a beautiful structure and was a huge loss for Barr Mansion. Right away they set out to begin the rebuilding process. We were confident that they would rebuild it to be just as beautiful as the original. And they did!

Although we wanted a short ceremony, we wanted it to be meaningful to us. We chose Sarah de la Fuente to officiate our wedding because she was more than happy to help us write a ceremony that spoke to us. It was really special to know that we didn’t just write our own vows, but helped create the entire ceremony.

John and I bonded over similar tastes in music when we first met, so it was important to us to have a great band for our reception. In Austin we have a great local band called Soul Track Mind and we were thrilled that they agreed to play at our reception. Our guests could not stop complimenting them long after the wedding was over.

Our friends and family gave some great toasts during the reception. Most were planned but a few folks jumped up on stage without warning, including the father of one of my bridesmaids who told us to “live long and prosper.” John’s brother (and best man) also read a beautiful poem written by their grandfather for our wedding, as he was not able to make the trip from Massachusetts.

One of the funnier moments of the night was towards the end of the reception. My father and his friends have a history of dancing the Gator as they do in the movie Animal House during each other’s wedding receptions. They continued the tradition at our reception when our band played the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” They were a huge hit.

As a result of the hot, dry weather we had all summer we were in a burn ban so we could not have a sparkler send off at the end of the night. In place of sparklers we bought a few hundred glow sticks. John and I have gone to quite a few concerts where we threw around glow sticks so it was very appropriate for us.

We did not want to take on a lot of little DIY projects for our wedding, mostly because the Barr Mansion grounds really don’t need much in the way of decorations. But I did know I wanted to honor my paternal grandparents as we were getting married on what would have been their 61st wedding anniversary. My grandmother was a great cook and our favorite treats growing up were her cookies, specifically molasses cookies and peanut butter cookies. So the week of the wedding, using her recipes, my sisters, bridesmaids, and I made over 700 cookies as favors for our guests. It ended up being quite a project but I am glad we did it!

Tags: Barr Mansion, blue, classic, green, Katherine O'Brien photography, rustic, Southern, succulents.

If you haven’t seen the movie Amélie yet.. well, we highly recommend that you queue up your Netflix account.  It is so utterly sweet, colorfully cinematic, and all-around inspiring.  So inspiring, in fact, that one of our fave bloggers, City of Dionne, designed a girls get together based loosely on the movie!  Perhaps this might make a cute shower, or the décor elements suitable for a travel-themed wedding.  Either way- we had to share it!

The film is about a quirky young French woman who goes about her days doing good for others, while engrossed in a quest to solve a personal mystery.  All of the décor was specific to the movie… Like the gnomes!  (Amélie’s father had a gnome that traveled the world).  The menu was inspired by French cuisine, and the color palette reflected bold hues seen throughout the film.

For escort cards, Dionne used antique keys tied to name tags, and pinned them to a hand-drawn globe that documented the gnome’s travels. Cute, cute, cute!
How creative and beautiful- kale centerpieces!  Below, Dionne curated vintage tins and little childhood trinkets for added cinematic flair.As a child, Amélie liked to play with raspberries on her fingers….  We just love how Dionne picked up on all the sweetest particulars of the story.  Sigh… how fun.  You can see more of her brilliant décor and style ideas here!

Party Venue: Recollection Vintage Rentals

xoxo

Tags: Amélie, blue, City of Dionne, green, red, themed bridal shower.

This week’s real wedding is just so special.  The photos emanate such a divine love… and all of the planning revolved around the connection that Tessa and John share with their loved ones.  The bride said, ‘Once we found that center it was easy to let some traditional elements go and not feel pressured by trends. This allowed us the freedom to create a totally unique and intimate event for our guests.’  The day overflowed with organic beauty and rustic sophistication, and was captured in both digital and film photographs by Michelle Warren.

There is so much more of this gorgeous earthen palette to enjoy!… See the full story {here}.

Photos by Michelle Warren

Venue: A private estate

Bridal Gown: ‘Thank You’ by Reem Acra

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by Calvin Klein via 6pm.com

Event Coordination by Jackie Blackwell

Cake by Montecito Confections

Tags: brown, film photography, gold, green, Michelle Warren Photography, neutral, outdoor, rustic, santa barbara, white.

Nancy and David’s chic, modern Vancouver wedding at Crab Park transitioned flawlessly into a fabulous disco reception at Iron Works Studio.  We’re totally impressed with the ingenuity that went into planning this unique day!  There are so many things to love about this real wedding: the bride’s adorable shrug, mini disco ball décor accents, and the couple’s ultra-70’s reception get-up!  Photos by the talented Melody Davis.

Photos by Melody Davis

Reception held at Iron Works Studio

Flowers by Garlands Florist

Tags: brown, disco, green, modern.

We’ve been daydreaming about spring, bright florals, and all sorts of garden type things… Here’s a green and pink inspiration board that’s along those lines.  This board was inspired by our Spring Favors and Garden Blooms invitations.

THIS WEEK in the shops: Take 10% off all Favors using the code 5206TEN. Until April 16, 2011- use the code: PWM0311 for 17% off invitations! ♥

Row 1: Saipua, Project Wedding Invitations (Garden Blooms), BHLDN. Row 2: Natalie Neal Photography, Prettied, Project Wedding Invitations (Sweetly Playful).  Row 3: Project Wedding Favors, Kate Harrison Photography, Saipua.  Row 4: Saipua, Yann Audic, Project Wedding Favors

Tags: green, inspiration board, pink, saipua, spring, spring wedding favors.

SMS Photography sent over this pretty Southern wedding earlier this week.  When I saw the sweet couple (Ben + Blair) and the unique artichoke and succulent florals, I had to share it!  Check out the lanterns in the  ceremony set-up and the brightly lit trees for some inspired lighting ideas, too…

Photography: SMS Photography

Venue: Green Pastures Restaurant

Event Planner: Clink

Florals: Private Foral

Tags: austin, black, green, Green Pastures, SMS Photography, Southern, succulents.

I came across this lovely photograph from a sweet Seckel Pear favor DIY we did a while back, and I found the colors just captivating.  What a pretty color palette the shades of green pear and rosy peach would make!

So, I went to it…

Among my finds were: Perfectly Paired Invitations and this elegant Pair-scented Soap from the shops. The other photos came from this gorgeous wedding, photographed by Tec Petaja.

From now until Saturday, the 19th, we’ve got a great sale going on in the Invitation Shop:  Save 10% off any order over $99, 15% off orders over $149, and 20% off orders over $199.  {Hop on over} to take a peek!  Use the code PWM0111 when you check out.

Tags: green, peach, pear wedding decor, the perfect pair.

Meagan and Jared had such a sweet wedding and they incorporated tons of neat ideas. The couple celebrated with a back yard reception filled with handcrafted elements- like doily bunting and pretty DIY centerpieces. The bridesmaids all wore the same skirt with their choice of an ivory blouse- the result was adorable! The decor was filled with natural greenery, white florals, and pops of orange.  At the end of the evening, Meagan and Jared rode off on their brand new bicycles to a bed and breakfast a few blocks away!  Enjoy the highlights, and click here to see the full feature.  All photos by Natalie Neal. 

See More…

Tags: back yard wedding, garden party, green, natalie neal photography, orange, white.