Dara & Tony

October 27

Santa Rosa, California

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

It was the venue itself. When we first got engaged, we looked at over 15 wineries, and they all looked the same to me. I felt like the guy from the movie “Sideways” screaming about Merlot, but I was swearing off looking at another row of grape leaves. Then we walked into DeLoach. Yes, there were grape leaves but also so much more. 

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

First, our flowers. Our florist, Olivia, transformed DeLoach into a fairytale. I sent her a few pictures of the look we were going for and really just let her run with it. She nailed it, above and beyond. I cannot say enough about her and Papillion Floral. They were professional and so fun to work with! Second, my hair. I just loved my hair, it was perfect. If I could have Jolene at The Loft salon do my hair like that every day I would. Lastly, our food.  Food is very important to our family, and this was an area where we really wanted to seek out the best. Not only did the food look gorgeous, it tasted even better. 

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you can’t stop thinking about.

Towards the end of dinner, after speeches were finished, the sun had set and candles were lit, my husband and I looked at each other and then looked out at both of our families and friends, eating, drinking and laughing. Everyone we loved was in the same place, smiling under the same twinkling lights for us.

Olivia & Simon

May 25

North Garden, Virginia

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From the Event Planner: “Olivia and Simon, both University of Virginia graduates wanted a wedding that was ‘very Charlottesville’ but also full of  tradition. Simon was born in Kenya and grew up in Botswana, Africa and Olivia is from Ridgefield, Conneticut. So how much fun would it be to incorporate African customs into their ceremony and reception? We loved the singing by Simon’s family members during the wedding ceremony. Their singing was not only beautiful, but brought a sense of happiness and excitement to everyone in their presence. The blanket ceremony was also one of our very favorite moments – laying down blankets as the bride and groom recessed not letting their feet touch the ground.” – Amore Events by Cody

This year, we published over 200 real weddings on this blog – from glamorous affairs to laid-back celebrations, we’ve truly seen it all. But some weddings and details really stood out, and we wanted to share them with you.

Modern and Cheeky Wedding Stationery

The wedding of two graphic designers in Palm Springs, California featured some of the coolest details we’ve ever seen. In particular, we loved the paper goods – from the aisle markers to the menus, the contemporary design and informal language really sets the tone for a totally relaxed affair and showcases the couple’s sense of humor. See more of Tiffany and Mark’s completely creative wedding here.

Photo: Mike Arick Photography

Kim & Billy

September 15

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

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Q & A with the Bride:

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. We had life-sized cutouts of our dogs made on foam core so that they could be at the wedding too.  This lead to a lot of great photo opportunities.  Our photographer took the extra step of doing a photo shoot with them around the property, this made for a lot of laughs once we received our photos post-wedding.
2. We decided to have a small and intimate wedding with just close friends and family which allowed a more vacation feel.  With the smaller size we were able to have a week’s worth of fun events for the whole group.
3. The first time I saw my husband to be in the garden.  We wanted to enjoy our guests post-wedding ceremony so it was important to us to have photos taken beforehand.  I feel it made the first look even more special to have a private little place for just the two of us.
   

If you could offer one piece of advice for other couples planning their wedding, what would it be?

To trust the people you hire to do their jobs.  Of course, do the “background” work upfront and then just trust them to do what they do best.  It will allow you to have so much fun and not look back and say “was I less than nice to the people I love the most?!”  Also keep in mind this is a day about you and your husband vowing to spend the rest of your lives together, make sure you don’t get caught up in the details and focus on what really matters. 

 Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about.

 I can’t pin it down to one moment, I think it was the overall feeling of love from our friends and family.  Everyone had to travel and really sacrifice their own personal time to be with us.  It was so nice to see everyone having fun with each other.  There was no feeling of bride’s side and grooms side we were all just one big happy family!

Sarah & Kalin 

June 9

Franklin, Tennessee 

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Q & A with the Bride: 

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

The venue was so beautiful, picturesque and quaint. Also, CJ’s allowed us to have a wedding coordinator, who could organize things with us, considering we were from out- of-state.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. Flowers

2. Gazebo

3. Chandeliers

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding day that you can’t stop thinking about. 

Our favorite moment was under the gazebo when we, along with our preacher, bowed together while Kalin said a prayer asking for God’s blessing. It was so beautifully intimate, and we felt as though we were the only three people there.