Project Wedding Blog

When I saw Denise and Michael’s album, I was totally taken with the soft colors, the beautiful natural setting, and the fresh photographs by Kurt Boomer.  While planning, the couple simply chose a few of their favorite things and planned the day around them: nature, outdoors, and things that are aged and well loved.  Enjoy this fresh and lovely real wedding of the week set in Pala, California…Denise found inspiration for her florals while at the farmer’s market one afternoon.  A vendor was selling locally-grown proteas at an amazing price; right then and there she ordered them for the bouquets and centerpieces!The organic feel of the wedding invitations by Wedding Paper Divas matched the lush scenery of the incredible outdoor venue, the Secluded Garden Estate.Denise and Michael’s romance is a sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of a story…  They met in Las Vegas.  It only took the duration of a dinner for Denise to know that he was the one!  A week later she moved across the country to be with him.
Michael’s prized 1952 Willys wagon made an appearance; it was the perfect spot for portraits. The couple wanted the reception to feel comfortable and relaxed, like an afternoon at their house with good food, music, drinks, and the people they love the most.

♥

See the full story & album…

Photographs by Kurt Boomer Photo

Venue: Secluded Garden Estate

Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas

Bride’s Hair by Allison Catalano of Grand Creation Salon

Bride’s Makeup by Stephanie Lee of Motives Cosmetics

Bridal Gown by The Limited

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Individually Sourced

Bride’s Fascinator by Fascinate Me LLC

Rentals by Premier Party Rentals

Catering by Temecula Catering

Tags: fresh, lovely, outdoor, protea, soft color palette.

We just have to gush a little bit about this week’s Real Wedding…

The couple, Erin and Alan, just radiates warmth and love, and their goal was to plan a charming, inviting celebration for their guests.

They married on a rustic estate outside of San Francisco… it was an incredible venue.

Sara of onelove photography documented their vintage style and priceless moments.  (Her work is amazing)!

The palette was red, yellow, and white, and it couldn’t have been more perfect!The bridesmaids were glammed up in golden frocks by BHLDN and accessories by Stella and Dot.  Erin wore those cute rosy patent leather flats by Steve Madden. The day was filled with tons of stylish details like paper goods by megtab designs, mums for tossing, pennant flags, and handmade accessories for the flower girls.  A spacious setting, elegant landscaping, and Italian string lights set the stage for the reception.  The couple sourced tons of vintage décor from the Alameda Antique Show; Alan’s mom collected over 400 mason jars to use as vases and drinking glasses!

The evening ended with dancing and ice cream sandwiches!

There’s tons more to see, so check out the full feature {here}.

Photographs by onelove photography

Venue: A Private Estate

Bride’s Hair by Jenna Dyer

Bridal Gown by Trudy’s Brides

Shoes by Steve Madden

Florals by Jory’s Flowers

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by BHLDN

Paper Goods by megtab designs

Officiant: Chris Atwell of Portico Church

Lighting by LightHeaded Designs

Catering by Classic Catering

Ice Cream Sandwiches by C.R.E.A.M.

And one lovely video by Cloudless…

Erin & Alan {Walnut Creek, CA} from Cloudless on Vimeo.

From the Bride: Our wedding coordinator asked us to decide on three words for our wedding so that we could focus on making decisions for our big day around those three words. We decided we wanted to have a wedding that was intimate, charming and fun.

INTIMATE: We were so excited to have our family and friends all together in one place and we wanted them to feel completely a part of our big day rather than just sitting on the sidelines.

CHARMING: We didn’t want a wedding that was formal or stuffy. We wanted it to be warm and welcoming….CHARMING!  We love the rustic, elegant look….sort of like Anthropologie… we ran with that with the old milk bottles, pepsi crates, milk tins, burlap, garden flowers, type writers and more!

FUN: We really wanted the wedding to display our personalities and not be too uptight because our goal was just to have a fun celebration with all the people we love. When things started to get stressful, we tried to ask ourselves ‘are we having fun? Will this make the wedding more fun or does it really matter?’

Favorite things/moments:

The venue is a family friend’s home and she was SO gracious to open her home to us for our wedding. We are in love with the place and feel so honored.

My cousin Stacie made the flower girl belts and baskets, ring bearer boutonniere & pillow, and my garter. SHE IS AMAZING!

I love that our guests threw mums down the aisle at us after we were announced husband and wife.

We collected a lot of the décor from the Alameda Antique Show. There were so many vintage things there. One item was an old easel that we hung all the seating assignments on and wrote “Please take a seat.”

My Grammie and Mom made all of our burlap runners and my Grammie made all of our pennant flags : )

My boss’s dad is a bee keeper and provided all the honey favors. We made tags for the honey that said “Meant to bee.”

I loved our sparkler exit. We found them in our friend’s garage and it was all very last minute, but am sooo glad we used them!

One of our favorite parts was the ice cream sandwiches for dessert. A place in Berkeley was more than willing to fulfill this vision of having ice cream sandwiches rather than cake. We were their first wedding which was super fun and they did GREAT! Our guests loved them!

I got most of my ideas from Pinterest. I ordered some things from Etsy too - - the guy’s bowties, socks, ring bearer bowtie, guestbook, and more!

Tags: BHLDN, charming, erin and alan, lighting, onelove photography, outdoor, red, vintage, white, yellow.

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.

And this wedding… with all of its end of summer loveliness…totally put me in the mood!  From the DIY lavender bouquets to the pheasant feather and moss décor accents, Angela and Carson (the blissful bride and groom), had a blast planning many of the elements of their eco-friendly wedding day.  The focal point of the ceremony was a beautiful old maple tree in the groom’s backyard.  Florals hung from the branches and seventy five guests watched from hay bail seating as the couple exchanged vows.  Tennessee-based photographer, Amelia J. Moore, captured this backyard Lousiana celebration.

Photos by Amelia J. Moore

Event Design by Breathe Easy Event Planning

Venue: Private Residence

Enjoy this last August-of-2011-weekend!

♥

Tags: backyard, beige, fall, lavender, moss décor, outdoor, rustic, taupe.

Envision an outdoor SoCal wedding… a purple and blue palette… a rustic and whimsical garden theme… and top it off with a dessert table by Sweet & Saucy!  Cory and Kyle’s day was wildly festive, held over the Fourth of July weekend.  We’re totally honored to have their wedding as the Real Wedding of the Week!  (Special thanks to Hello Studios and Lindye Galloway Events for sharing their work with us).

Photos by Hello Studios

Planning by Lindye Galloway Events

Venue: The Villas San Juan Capistrano

Bride’s Gown by David’s Bridal

Florals by Art with Nature

Desserts by Sweet & Saucy

Go to the Full Feature…

Tags: Hello Studios, outdoor, purple, royal blue, rustic, whimsical garden.

Katie and Thom waited nine years to marry, so they were totally ready and completely excited when their June wedding date arrived!  It was an intimate wedding of fifty close friends and family; they married at Katie’s Grandparent’s farm in Guilford, Connecticut.  The warm summer weather in rural New England was wedding-perfect, and the invitations promised guests a clam bake!  The sweet photographs were snapped by Dustin and Whitney- the talented duo behind Oh, Darling! Photography.

Things we ♥: Tangerine paper pomanders, patterned lanterns, New England in the summertime, and the anticipation built up by a looong courtship!

Photographs by Oh, Darling!

Venue:  A Family Farm

Bride’s Makeup and Hair by Madison Avenue Salon

Catering by Captain John’s Clam Bakes

Have a fun summer weekend, friends…

♥

Tags: backyard, Oh Darling Photography, orange, outdoor, pink, tangering.

This week we’ve featured Christie and David’s love story as our real wedding of the week!  The couple met on eHarmony.com.  After their first meal together at a Burbank café, the two knew there was something special.  Two and a half years later, David proposed to Christie during a hot air balloon ride overlooking California wine country.  They planned their vineyard wedding in five months, and the result was an utterly romantic and intimate day.  

Photographs by Michelle Warren.

Wedding Coordination by Special Occasions.

Florals by Renae’s Bouquet.

Venue: Bridlewood Estate Winery.

Catering by J.R.’s Gourmet Catering

Cake by Decadence Fine Cakes & Confections

{See the Full Feature…}

Tags: intimate, moss, outdoor, pink, romantic, spring green, vineyard.

I can’t stop marveling at this nearly all-DIY wedding!  The bride, Megan, is an aspiring floral designer, so she created the bouquets and arrangements and hand made so many other sweet things like drink flags and bunting!  Joined by Adam, the handsome groom, the couple wed outdoors at the Rye Patch in Aiken, South Carolina.  The ceremony was followed by a charming picnic reception.  Delight in all the DIY goodness below!  A special thanks to A Fresh Take Photography for sending this our way ♥

Photos by A Fresh Take Photography

Catering by Douceur De France

Bridal Gown by Kittychen Couture

Tags: bunting, DIY, outdoor, picnic, Southern.

Fiona and Chris‘ SoCal wedding was so vibrant and beautiful!  The color palette was a unique pairing of burgundy, deep pink, and chocolate and the décor was rustic and elegant.  The gorgeous couple met in high school and are totally in love!  Enjoy the sneak peek below, and see the full feature by clicking here! The pretty pics were snapped by the oh-so-talented Orange Turtle Photography.

See more…

Tags: burgundy, chocolate, Fiona and Chris Real Wedding, Orange Turtle Photography, outdoor, rustic, scrabble.

I just fell in love with Erica and Justin’s wedding… they are such a gorgeous couple and they had a totally lovely wedding. The two met at work and became fast friends. After getting moved to different departments, they knew they would have to see each other outside of work.  About two years later, Justin proposed on a boat coasting the Newport Harbor!  They celebrated at the San Diego Zoo with a romantic, vintage-inspired reception.  The stunning photographs were captured by Anjuli Paschall.

See more from Erica and Justin’s wedding…

Tags: erica and justin, outdoor, Photographs by Anjuli, romance, vintage.