19 Jan

Mary and Jonathan were married at the historic Rucker Place, a turn of the century home tucked away in the middle of bustling Birmingham, Alabama. They stayed true to their roots and planned an intimate Southern garden party to celebrate their marriage. Such a pretty celebration, and it really captures the spirit of their relationship. These two haven’t spent more than 8 hours apart since their first date!

vintage hankie invite

Mary relied heavily on Etsy wedding artisans for her decor, which is always a fabulous way to go. Even if you’re not the person crafting each piece of your wedding, with an Etsy seller you know that someone is putting time and love into pieces you’ve chosen to decorate your day. Her hankie Save-The-Dates came from Benign Objects, and the sweet hoop below from Elephant Stitchery.

garden ceremony flowers

To help with planning, Mary stopped by an event at Lowe Mill Arts hosted by White Rabbit Studios. There she met her invite designer, her letterpress studio, her photographers, and her DJ! It’s always great to choose vendors who know each other and love working together. Makes the entire event feel so much more cohesive, and you can bet that your creative professionals are going to love planning your wedding.

bagatelles bags

Even Mary’s bridemaids’ gifts followed her easy theme. And guess where they’re from ladies… Mademoiselle Bagatelles! As in the most cutest clutches ever that just so happen to be on sale in our Pop-Up Shop right now! (Get them for your maids at a discount while you can.)

garden ceremony

Aren’t the lacey hoops pretty? Mary made them herself, and as she says, they’re super super easy (don’t even need a tutorial!), but they add a really nice element to your decor.

garden ceremony

They served fried green tomatoes and Southern cocktails on the wrap around porch of Rucker Place. Love the whimsy and sentiment!

balloon gift station

Isn’t that a cute vintage hot air balloon? Such a nice element to their guest book table.

milk glass vase

Mary and Jonathan are big time music lovers and carefully chose the music they wanted to hear during their big day. After months of thinking, they finally settled on Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is” for their first dance. Thought we’d share some of their other choices too, because it’s so nice to see what other people chose, isn’t it?

New Slang by The Shins, All My Stars Alligned by St. Vincent (Seating)
Wedding Bell by Beach House (Bridal Party Procession)
Sea of Love by Cat Power (Bridal Procession)
All You Need is Love by the Beatles (Recessional)
My Girl by Otis Redding (Father/Bride Dance)
In My Life by The Beatles (Grooms Mother/Groom Dance)
Sugar, Sugar by the Archies (Cake Cutting)

reception flowers

wedding cake

Mary also shared some very sage advice on the DIY wedding planning process:

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed with ideas from all of the beautiful weddings that are on the internet. Choose things that you really love and feel best represent how you and your husband-t0-be want to experience your day. Sit down with your vendors, send them pictures, and be up front with everything so they can best help you achieve your vision.”

So super sweet, you guys! Thanks so much for sharing your day and big congrats to the two of you.

Venue - Historic Rucker Place / Photography, Video, and DJ- the fabulous White Rabbit Studio team / Wedding Gown – James Clifford / Bridesmaid gowns- Dessy Collection / Cake, Sweets Table, Guest Book, Cupcake in a Jar Favors- Proper Measures / Embroidered Initial Hoop – Elephant Stitchery / Love Always Banner- Nice by Caitlin / Flower Girl Dresses- US Angels / Handkerchief Save the Dates- Benign Objects / Invitations- Designed by Benign Objects with letterpress by Green Pea Press / Flowers by LSL Event Design / Bridesmaids gifts- Bagatelle clutches  (Bonus! They’re on sale right now in the Pop-Up Shop!)

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18 Jan

“You don’t alter Vera to fit you, you alter yourself to fit into Vera”. You’ve heard that phrase, yes? We’re throwing that out the door! Sorry, Vera. I think we can all agree that Olga owns it in this Vera Wang number. She looks darling and radiant. The Italian backdrop doesn’t hurt one bit either. Clara Boatto, designer and planner of this gorgeous fête used gray, sage, and olive with a selection of white flowers, grapes, silver candelabra, white cushions and throws to create a reception that was bucolic elegance with a trendy touch. Half of what we love so much about this wedding, hands down, are the photographs captured by Lisa Poggi. The other half – everything.

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

The music:

For the processional, You And I by Michael Bublé. Signing of the registry, L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole. Recessional, It Had to be You by Harry Connick Jr. First dance, Fly Me to the Moon Frank Sinatra.

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

How’s this for a romantic dinner? Light gray Tuscan chairs paired with silver vintage cutlery, white porcelain, and those candelabras.

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

elegant bucolic tuscany wedding

Congratulations Olga + Sende!

Photography: Lisa Poggi/ Venue: wine retreat in Maremma, Conti di San Bonifacio / Design + planning: Chic Weddings/ Floral designer: La Rosa Canina / Bride’s dress: Vera Wang / Shoes: Gina / Groom’s suit: Lanvin

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18 Jan

Weddings that span over a weekend are always so fun to share on the blog. Weddings that span over three days and take place in Italy? Well, we make two-parters out of them, close our eyes and pretend we were guests. Together with the charmingly adorable couple, the ladies at Chic Weddings helped to design a very soft, intimate, romantic and elegant party in a hip wine resort retreat in Maremma, the wildest part of Tuscany with a fabulous view. It’s all quite magical. Olga + Sende traveled from Moscow, invited their closest friends and family for a countryside barbecue at Tenuta il Sassone on Friday (celebrating Sende’s birthday), dressed in one of the most unique and memorable Vera Wang gowns for the wedding reception at Tenuta San Bonifacio, and continued the memories on a beach trip to Castiglione della Pescaia on Sunday. Whew – that’s how you do an Italian destination wedding!

tuscan rehearsal

tuscan rehearsal

tuscan rehearsal

You’re going to die when you see the Vera Wang dress Olga wore! It’s coming up soon!

Photography: Lisa Poggi / Design + planning: Chic Weddings

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17 Jan

Can art studios be 2012′s venue trend? Quickly scroll down until you see their reception venue and you’ll see what we mean. Michelle + Haden wanted their wedding to be a not too fussy or formal, but still elegant and pretty, with a slight Texas twang celebration. Their palette of pale pink, slate gray, light blue and poppy red worked harmoniously with the extravagantly unique draped fabric installation work of Molly Gochman.

pretty texas wedding

Michelle’s sister, the graphic designer behind their wedding invitations, established a font and logo with their initials that they used throughout the wedding – from thank you notes to the the design they painted directly on their dance floor.

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

Their nieces played Canon in D (Pachelbel’s Canon) as a violin duet for the processional.

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

This is such a fun idea – they had a New Orleans Brass Band lead their guests into the reception and had everyone dancing immediately–before the toasts & dinner.

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

Keeping with the soft color palette, they placed chrysanthemums, dahlias, Delphinia, and snow berries in various glass bottles. And below is the unique fabric installation by artist Molly Gochman.

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

Above are their initials that Michelle’s sister designed and painted on their dance floor that Haden built! We’re curious to know what they ended up doing with that huge dance floor after the wedding…

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

The music: first dance: “That’s Where It’s At” by Sam Cooke, father/daughter dance: “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan, mother/son: “Mama’s don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys” by Willie Nelson.

pretty texas wedding

pretty texas wedding

Congratulations Michelle + Haden!

Photography: Brooke Schwab Photography / Videography: Patrick Brenson / Planner + stylist + flowers: Kepi Design/ Reception site: the studio at commune north with work by Molly Gochman / Ceremony site: Live Oak Friend’s Meeting House / Bouquets + boutonnieres: Jonathan Andrew Sage / Graphics: Tracy Taylor Designs / Brass Band: New Orleans Hustlers / DJ: Peter Lucas / Cake: Alicia Alvarado, Dept of Hearts and Flowers / Hors D’oeuvres: Kat’s Chow / BBQ: Gatlin’s BBQ / Sides + other dishes: Treebeard’s / Rentals: Recollection Vintage Rentals/ Ice Cream Truck: Snow Dog Ice Cream / Bride’s dress: Saja Wedding / Bride’s shoes: Kate Spade / Headpiece: Twigs and Honey / Matron of Honor dress: Bella Bridesmaids / Groom’s suit: Hugo Boss

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16 Jan

Happy Monday, Cakelets! Today’s sweet eye candy has a bit of unexpected rain, a striking black and white chevron pattern, billy buttons, an amazing oak tree, heavenly flower arrangements, and the Bash, Please touch! The charming new Mr. & Mrs. are both techies (he’s Creative Director at Odopod, she’s the VP of Editorial at Glam Media), living in San Francisco. Oh, and they had 2Pac’s “California Love” play as their recessional song. Rad couple? We know so. Plus, they had the talented Love Me Sailor capture the magic. It’s the perfect way to ring in the week!

yellow grey california wedding

You’re totally dying over her Erickson Beamon necklace aren’t you? We are too.

yellow grey bridesmaids

groomsmen

ceremony

bride groom ceremony

A very sweet moment due to the rain – Ryan’s dad had to hold her train as he walked her down the aisle.

bride and groom ceremony

ceremony

The music: wedding party processional: “At the Hop” by Devendra Barnhart, bride processional: “Canela” by Devendra Barnhart, recessional: “California Love” by 2Pac, first dance: “You’re the One” by The Black Keys.

yellow and grey wedding reception

Bash, Please always nails it with their florals, don’t they? Uunique, soft, elegant, with a touch of romance. If you could bottle up their floral arrangements and save them, we would.

billy ball escort cards

yellow and grey wedding reception

ryan and tim wedding

From the bride…The Hotel Saint Cecilia played a huge part being such a special space on it’s own. It has this really eclectic style with memorable Austin touches like the neon Soul sign mixed with more modern cues like the black and white tiled flooring. Lastly, the Texas southern-style wrap around porches make it feel like your own backyard. It’s a bit of everything with great style connecting it all. The amazing oak tree in the center of the sprawling lawn created an epic backdrop—and because of the rain, the entire mood became more dramatic on the day of. That we didn’t plan.

Congratulations Ryan + Tim!

Photography: Love Me Sailor / Planning + design + flowers: Bash, Please / Venue: Hotel Saint Cecilia / Catering: AnyStyle Catering / DJ: The Flashdance / Bride’s dress: Vera Wang / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Necklace: Erikson Beamon / Groom’s suit: Paul Smith / Shoes: Cole Hahn / Groomsmen: J.Crew / Maid of Honor: dress, Marc Jacobs, shoes, J.Crew / Bridesmaids: dresses, Madewell, shoes, BHLDN

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