Project Wedding Blog

This week’s Real Wedding is just. so. darn. gorgeous.  Brittany and Bryan held their luxe-vintage, autumn wedding at Hackberry Hill Farm in a small town between Austin and Houston, Texas.  An organic fall palette of mocha, olive, beige, and brilliant vermillion was woven throughout, leaving us thoroughly inspired.  Many thanks to the awesomely talented Rebekah Westover for sharing this album with us!The bride wore a classic, A-line gown by couture designer, Romona Keveza.  She looked positively angelic on her wedding day.. with soft gold curls falling on her shoulders.
After the outdoor ceremony in front of a romantic, woodsy backdrop, there was a place for relaxing and chatting in the vintage outdoor lounge!The reception was indoor/outdoor… guests could gather at log tables on the patio or inside the fancied-up Silver Oak Hall.  We’re particularly fond of the way colored glass and mini floral arrangements were used on the tabletops. 

Wishing newlywed bliss to Brittany + Bryan!

Catch the full story and more photos {here}.

Photos by Utah-based photographer, Rebekah Westover

Coordination by Deborah Bradley Events

Venue: Hackberry Hill Farm

Bridal Gown by Romona Keveza

Bride’s Makeup by Kandy Glass

Florals by Melanie Tipton of Last Petal

Catering by Bistro 108

Tags: earthy palette, fall, farm wedding, luxe, neutral, Rebekah Westover, Romona Keveza, Texas, vintage.

The setting in this week’s Real Wedding of the Week is just incredible.  Without even seeing it in person, Vanessa and Scott chose The Inn at Palmetto Bluff to host their dream of a good old fashioned Southern wedding.  They couldn’t have chosen a more perfect locale.  The charming architecture and breathtaking landscape of Carolina Lowcountry provided an entirely unique backdrop for their day.  Enjoy the gorgeous photos by Michael Moss. To complement the setting, Vanessa and Scott opted for a neutral palette of pewter, beige, white and green.  The invitations were a custom design by etsy vendor {B.} Designs.  Vanessa layered strips of burlap on the paper goods, for a rustic effect. 

See the full feature in our Real Wedding Gallery, and read more of Vanessa and Scott’s story down below.

Photographs by Michael Moss

Venue: The Inn at Palmetto Bluff

Day-Of Coordination: Weddings with Leah

Flowers by Garden on the Square

Invitations by {B.} Designs

Cake Topper by YourTops

Cake by Signe’s Bakery

From the Bride: Scott and I met at a wedding!  A good friend of mine, who also happened to be a good friend of Scott’s sister, was getting married in October of 2008.   Both Scott and I ended up going stag and happened to find ourselves on the same corner of the dance floor when the band started to play one of the night’s inevitable slow songs, “At Last” by Etta James.  Instead of retreating to the bar with other singles in the crowd, and inspired by Scott’s parents’ endless energy on the floor, I asked Scott to dance.  A year later we were in Hawaii celebrating our one year anniversary.

Scott’s family has vacationed in Point Au Baril, Ontario, Canada for years. A vacation getaway passed down from generation to generation, several weeks out of every summer, the entire family makes it a point to get away from the rest of the world to relax and lavish in the natural, serene beauty of Point Au Baril to focus on the most important thing in this life: family. In the summer of 2010 I was invited along.  Mid week I was sitting down on the dock, book in hand, oversized straw hat shielding my face from the afternoon sun, when Scott came down from the house and asked me if I would like to go out and see the lighthouse. I jumped at the chance to go exploring and we hopped aboard a tiny wooden boat. In no time we were speeding across the inlet when I realized I had forgotten to grab shoes, Scott said it didn’t matter. His family had known the lighthouse keeper for years and he had called ahead. As we approached the lighthouse I was taken aback by how perfect it seemed perched where the water met the land, its red and white hues standing boldly against a backdrop of bright blue sky. We docked the boat and headed in. We were greeted at the front door with giant hugs from the tiny lighthouse keeper and her husband. We made our way to the back of the house where I was ushered up a tall ladder to the very top of the light house, out a small hatch, and back into the sun. We stood at the top of the deck, hand in hand beside the brilliant lamp which would guide boats back to Point Au Baril once the sun went down. It was so beautiful and such a perfect day!  Much to my surprise, Scott turned to me and said, “You know. I brought you out here for a reason…”, then he dropped to one knee, and pulled out a beautiful wooden ring box. I immediately burst into tears, I was completely shocked, and had absolutely no idea that he was going to propose. The next few minutes were a total blur. We kissed, I cried, and he slipped his great grandmother’s wedding ring onto my finger after I finally managed to get out a “YES, of course I will marry you!!!” When we went back downstairs, the lighthouse keeper presented us with a bottle of champagne and two antique glasses.  We found a place to sit on the rocks, drinking our champagne, and taking it all in while celebrating our future.

We wanted a good old fashioned Southern wedding… and we found the perfect place during a random google search.  The minute we saw the Chapel at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff we knew that was it!  We called and found that October 8, 2011 was booked… so we booked the very next weekend sight unseen and its a good thing we did!  It ended up pouring rain on October 8th in Bluffton, but on our big day, October 15th, the sun was out and a nice cool breeze lazed across the lawn.  It could not have been more perfect!  We actually planned our entire wedding from San Diego, before moving to Indiana.  Quite a challenge!  But we pulled it off and I have to say it was pretty incredible pulling onto the property, having never seen it, feeling like we were coming home, and having it not only meet but exceed all expectations!

We picked a natural palette of colors to complement the absolutely stunning grounds and scenery of our venue. Our invitations were custom made from a designer on Etsy that helped me to create one of my favorite elements for our wedding.  We used dark grey and ivory papers with burlap bands and unique touches that made it “us”.  The florals featured oversized white dahlias and draping greenery reminiscent of the huge Spanish Oaks covered in moss that originally caught our eye and drew us to the locale.  The guys wore lightweight tan suits with grey tennis shoes that matched the bridesmaid’s dresses.  The palette reminded us of the color of sand and the color of water on the May River at twilight. My dress and jewelry had a very vintage feel with a soft, understated Southern elegance.  I did a lot of the décor myself, using burlap and twine.  I even made my own clutch from burlap and a vintage bridal headband I found at an antique store!  We had a trolley transport the wedding party to add a little Southern thrill.  Scott’s two best friends played acoustic guitars and my little sister sang me down the aisle to “Make You Feel My Love.”  We had about 100 guests in the tiny chapel, filling it to the brim.  Fishbowl vases were filled with an assortment of flowers and hung on the end of each pew.  Our cake was another one of our custom touches! Scott’s dad makes custom vintage wedding cake toppers and he made an intricately detailed replica for us- including details like Scott’s beard and tennis shoes, along with the exact details of my dress.  Our friends and family came from all over to join us in Bluffton and I think it was an experience that none of us will forget!

Tags: beige, pewter, rustic, South Carolina, Southern, vintage.

We’re in love with this project concept. …and we just didn’t want you to miss it… 
…wouldn’t these little stars look so cute atop your cake?

{Vintage-Inspired Star Cake Toppers}

Concept, Styling & Photographs by Victoria Hudgins.

Tags: cake topper, vintage.

Today, a little handmade prettiness from the heartland.

Josh and Heather married in Oakland, Iowa this past October.  It’s not often that we feature weddings from Iowa… Not for any reason of course, we just don’t hear much from the Iowan folks… so it’s such a treat to have come across this gem of a wedding, photographed by our friends Jonny and Michelle of Paper Antler.

The bride is an artist and she created nearly all of the cute little details and things shown below!  She-so kindly- sent over all of her DIY instructions too, so that you can see how she pieced everything together!

DIY Whimsical Signs
Supplies: Old wood (both flat & in stick form), paint, wood glue.
Paint a white background almost to edges on flat wood. When dry, add letters (J + H) or words
(Wedding with an arrow or Just Married or Mr. & Mrs.) using a bright color (I used teal). Glue stick to
sign with wood glue and allow it to dry. Dig hole and secure in ground or nail signs to trees.

DIY Invitations
Supplies: Card stock, bird punch, edge punch, silver thread, computer, RSVP template, glue stick.
Print invitation information on card stock for RSVP cards and wedding invites. Punch edges to give them a classy, professional look (I used Martha Steward brand for edges and the birds). Punch out 2 birds on
invites. Wrap thread around top of invites. Add a fun scrapbook paper under the bird cutout using a glue stick. I made postal stamps using my artwork (bird-themed) at Zazzle.com- easy and affordable.

DIY Happy Tears Table
Supplies: Old table, old picture frame, paper, hankies, sweet little bin, spray paint.
Find an old table, sand it down and spray paint it a color you like (I used robin’s egg blue). Make a sign
that says, “Happy Tears, Please Take One” and frame it. Arranged old and new hankies in a bin you
enjoy and place on table for guests to use during the ceremony.

DIY Treats Table
Supplies: Old-fashioned or favorite candies and treats, vintage bowls, decorative take-away bags, cloth.
Collect candy and treats (I made white/dark chocolate covered apples) and arrange them neatly in vintage, decorative dishes. Cover table with a vibrant cloth. Have guests take away candy using fun bags. If you
desire, make a fun sign to hang above table (mine said, ‘sweets’  and I used leftover paper and glue).

How lucky we are to get a peek into this DIY maven’s planning process.. Thanks, Heather!

All the best to You and Josh!

Photographs by Paper Antler Photography

Ceremony & Reception Site: Big Grove Country Inn

Paper Goods & Décor by the bride- Heather McDonald- of Wildflowers & Grace

See her etsy shop too!

From the Bride: Riding home on the airplane from San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was elated after accepting Josh’s sweet proposal to me in a garita at Castillo de San Cristóbal, a fortress built by the Spanish in 1783. We opened up my journal that I take everywhere and penned our autumn, vintage-themed wedding, “Elegantly Antique.”

We excitedly planned October 8th, 2011 and hoped this wedding would be enchanting- boy was it ever! We wanted to showcase who we are as people while making everyone who would attend feel relaxed and at home.  Joshua is a brilliant writer and I am an artist who finds creating to be my therapy, so much so that I am studying to be an art therapist; we had ideas aplenty. We put our love-struck minds together and let our creative energies flow in hopes of making the vision of our dream wedding a reality. We scoured many antique shops in Wisconsin, where I am from and in Nebraska, where Josh is from, collecting trinkets and unique finds until we ran out of space to store them. I was busy designing wedding invitations, wedding programs and much of the décor that would grace the wedding site.

We stumbled upon an adorably perfect, four acre, rustic Iowan wedding site which included a Bed and Breakfast, a 100 year old chapel, a one-room school, a quaint reception hall, horseshoes and a merry-go-round, and an outdoor patio with a fire pit and scenic cornfields as far as these excited eyes could see.

Being a lover of nature, I found myself drawn to white birch trees, whimsical birds and various shades of goldenrod and aqua. I envisioned a palate of these colors on my bridesmaids and groomsmen as they stood in the charming country chapel.

Josh’s sister was busy making yellow antique rosettes for my maids’ hair and one for me made out of a blue antique flower pin and fabric from Josh’s grandmother’s wedding dress. We gathered old-fashioned candy for our loved ones to nibble on and mason jars to make hanging lanterns out of. The summer flew by as we made paper and pom-pom garland. I printed beautiful framed 4”x6” prints of my artwork to hang from twine with clothespins that would be parting gifts for our guests- to take a small piece of us with them when they went.

The wedding plans started to come together and finally the day arrived. Everything was lovely and even the weather decided to cooperate. My favorite part of the day was the beauty of love bringing all this together, that and, after the ceremony, a vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky over the Iowa corn and we ran out in the misting rain to capture shots of the glorious moment.

Tags: autumn, country, DIY, fall, gold, Iowa, teal, vintage.

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.

There is such a lightness to this day…  The bride, Kimmee, looked perfectly angelic…and Kevin, her beloved,  seems like one of those dashingly romantic types.   We love how they paired vintage style and Southern charm in a garden setting… sheer loveliness. Belle of the Ball Designs created a romantic pink and warm peach palette of overflowing florals… Kimberlee Miller captured the abundance of beauty in the California sunlight.

That kiss… swoon!

The entire day was hosted at the Maravilla Gardens, a gorgeous venue just north of Los Angeles. For the reception, guest’s names were tucked neatly into horizontal stacks of vintage books, while colorful, Southern-style florals could be found on every table.

If you want to talk vintage, this truly vintage cake-topper adorned the top of the cake, with a heart shaped archway and all!

Sweet Wishes to Kimmee & Kevin

♥

Photos by Kimberlee Miller

Venue: Maravilla Gardens

Florals by Belle of the Ball Designs

Tags: Maravilla Gardens, peach, pink, vintage.

Here’s a little vintage romance for your Tuesday…♥

Elise and Joe’s wedding day was one filled with lace vintage dresses, bow ties, pearls, baby’s breath, shades of pink… and of course, poppies and posies everywhere.  They wed at a Victorian estate in Orange, California. Photography duo Micah & Megan captured a day full of heartfelt emotion.

Photographs by Micah & Megan

Venue: The Jones Victorian Estate

Event Design by Michelle Gregory

Flowers by Flower Allie

Cake by Missy Devine Cakes

xo

Tags: baby's breath, lace, pink, poppies, victorian, vintage.

I am absolutely reveling in the film photographs from Katie and Steve’s intimate wedding in the mountainous, rural landscape of Alpine, Utah.  The rich color palette of wine, blush, aubergine, and antique silver makes for some serious eye candy.  Here’s a peek at a selection of photos by Jonathan Canlas, but you can catch the full feature and read their sweet story in our Real Wedding Gallery!

Photos by Jonathan Canlas

Florals by Simple Stunning Events

Venue: Private Residence

Horse Drawn Carriage: Burch and Sons

See more photos from Katie and Steve’s day…

Tags: antique, aubergine, blush, film photography, jonathan canlas, vintage, wine.

Happy Friday!  Hope you’re headed to the beach or somewhere fun for the weekend.  Here at Project Wedding, we’re musing about this super fabulous, vintage nautical dessert spread that Kaylee Eylander sent over to us.   The delicious and oh-so-creative baked goods were designed by the talented team at Jenny Cookies. Such sweet nautical-inspired confections… oh, and we love the fresh take on the primary colors!

Photos by Kaylee Eylander

Sweets by Jenny Cookies

Paper Goods by Less Ordinary Designs

Styling by Embellish by Terri

Tags: beach, dessert table, gold, nautical, red, starfish, vintage, white.

Allright.. get ready to fall in love… with the most handsome ring bearer named Oliver… with a wedding full of cute comic strip and post-it note accents, and of course, with Emily and James, the fun-loving couple!

Catch the full editorial story by {clicking here}!

Photos by Fresh in Love Photography

Venue: Huron Substation

Invitations: Designed by the groom; Printed by Indie Printing

Bride’s Makeup: Jayme Kavanaugh

Bride’s Dress & Hat: Made by Mom

Groom’s Attire: Thick as Thieves

Tags: dog, fresh in love, indie, loft, mod, retro, Urban, vintage.