Chicago wedding photographer Kortnee Kate Photography and event designer Dora Manuel of Viva Bella Events collaborated to bring you “Pride and Prejudice, Midnight Tea.” Designing an event around what would have been a late night tea reception after the wedding of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.

Held in Darbyshire, England in the late 18th century and overflowing with striking details and one of the fanciest wedding cakes we have ever seen. See more Pride and Prejudice wedding ideas in the full gallery by clicking here and read on to hear complete decor details.

The stationary designs are intended to capture the timelessness and formality of a late 18th century British courtship while infusing unexpected modern embellishments. In true “high tea” form, rhinestone encrusted escort cards are each displayed atop a single sugar cube foreshadowing the events to come with period-correct tea time details like teapots, cups and saucers—each appearing among prim swirly bits inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel. We particularly love the subtle detail in the escort cards’ placement on the worn squares of the chess board complimenting the shape of the sugar cubes perfectly, as true to then as to present day.

Mr. Darby and Elizabeth’s invitations include traditional fonts—but formatted in a very new, dramatic way. Large, sweeping text playfully mimics steam from a teapot while silhouettes of bride and groom give a nod to pristine English cameos worn in the era. Classic Victorian patterns weave throughout each piece; but instead of pastels, we update the traditional palette to bold, rich hues of teal and black complimented by rich jewel tones. Silk tea bags nest inside vintage English tea cups—each elegantly tethered to a custom tag welcoming its guest with one of many inspirational messages pertaining to love, tea and sweetness, remaining true to the “Pride & Prejudice, Midnight Tea” design theme.

The lighting sets the tone as subdued yet energetic, cool blue, yet romantic, more “club” than “country club,” and strikingly true to our image of “the late night event of the era.”

The deep teal table linens chosen by the design time were rich in color and texture to set the stage for the opulence and extravagance of the setting. The linens and napkins are accented with brooches. The ruffled chair skirts are feminine yet bold in color and design.

Classic cameos are thoughtfully placed at each setting and vintage brooches adorn each swag in the table linen, candy dishes overflow with gems and pearls and hanging English tea cups reminisce our theme.

The grandeur of the time is accentuated with gorgeous centerpieces in rich jewel tones including Hydrangea, Roses, Cabbage, Eucalyptus, and other organic elements, all in a formal silver vintage footed vase. As often seen in the Georgian era as well as today, we’ve incorporated fruit to reflect abundance and prosperity. Additionally, we have impeccably dressed vintage silver containers for the occasion with sugar cubes, fruit, and flowers.

Our dessert table exudes noble and timeless British elegance with engraved cake labels placed delicately into impressive gem-laden stands and proudly displayed on the cake tiers aside their miniature counterparts. Each confection incorporates the luxurious elements of our imagined “Pride & Prejudice, Midnight Tea” theme; black lace and jewel toned satin and pleated ribbons adorn these opulent, sinful delights.

The sugar flowers are as reminiscent to the late 18th century fashion as they are to today’s haute couture adding to the whimsical mood of the theme. Each guest is delighted with a confectionery gift designed to welcome them personally to Darbyshire’s quintessential event of the era, the “Midnight Tea” reception of the esteemed Mr. Darcy and his new bride, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s brooch bouquet features vintage heirloom rhinestone brooches with a dupioni silk, satin, and organza stem treatment.

Photographer: Kortnee Kate Photography
Event Designer: Dora Manuel of Viva Bella Events
Venue: FB’s in downtown Cincinnati, OH
Makeup: Nancy Dawson of Brideface
Hair: Jen Nally
Cake: Ileana Saldivia of Sugar Realm fine bakery and cake design
Dress Designer: Fabulous Bridal
Flowers: Courtenay Lambert Florals
Lighting: Goodwin Lighting
Stationery: Lauren Hayes of Giddy Ink
Table linens: La Tavola Linen
Chair decor: Wildflower Linen and Chameleon Chairs
Chairs: Chameleon Chairs: Classic Party Rentals

We’ve always been captivated by horses and love the idea of incorporating them into your wedding, especially if you are horse lovers like our next couple. Like most couples, they wanted a relaxed atmosphere where they could spend the day and dance the night away with their friends and loved ones.

Emily’s parent’s house where she grew up riding horses was the perfect spot – Chris loved it as much as she did. Complete with a farmhouse,  old stonewalls,  and a big red barn. It was the ideal place for Chris and Emily from the beginning. You can see more horse wedding ideas in the full gallery captured by Orchard Cove Photography.

Their wedding stationery tied perfectly in with their equestrian style wedding and designed by Griffin-vites. The bridesmaid’s dresses in a perwinkle blue from J. Crew went with their whole blue theme. Everything tied together beautifully.

On Wedding Decor & Details:

We wanted the day to feel natural and the look to be true to the farm setting but also be beautiful—we were striving for the right blend and contrast of the rustic and the elegant. We didn’t want to take away from the setting, with the horse barn and the stonewalls around the house, so we tried to stick with “less is more” for decorations, bringing in some pops of color for flowers and a few natural and vintage elements scattered around. Chris re-built the most prominent stonewall that would separate the cocktail hour and the dinner tent and he also built one of the bars that we used out of salvaged wood from our barn. My sister painted signs from more barn boards to direct people around the property. We used a wooden gate to hang the escort cards and also keep the cocktail space separate from the dinner tent. I didn’t want to be too matchy-matchy with a very specific two-color scheme, but we loosely used a dark blue and a soft blush pink as our inspiration and went from there. We ordered grapevine balls and wrapped them with twinkly lights to hang from the tent and decided to use the dark ballroom chairs to complement the grapevine. My grandmother sewed table runners out of a natural burlap, bringing in some texture and layering onto the ivory linens. The whole day came together thanks to all of our family and friends who helped us set up and added their own touches.

Makeup & Hair: Hair Daze
Caterer: Lake Sunapee Country Club
DJ: The Pulse of Boston
Dress Designer: Melissa Sweet
Flowers: Art of Nature
Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse
Shoe Designer: Cole Haan
Stationery: Griffin-vites
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: J. Crew
Calligraphy: Dancing Pen Calligraphy
Rentals:  Lakes Region Tent
Ceremony Musicians : Putnam-Pirozzoli
Jewelry: Priscilla of Boston |Officiant: Reverend Richard Dutton

Kati and Bryan envisioned a wedding that was tailored, sophisticated and accented with gorgeous flowers.  Little elements referencing their love for their favorite band (Dave Mathews) surrounded them in a tasteful fashion, and made their event very unique and personal. Read on to hear more wedding planning tips from Toledo Event Designers Elite Events and be sure to see more green and blue wedding ideas in the entire gallery captured by Mary Wyar.

If you want your Wedding Party to be in high fashion dresses, but do not want them to shell out a fortune considering renting the dresses form Rent The Runway. They are able to wear a snazzy fashionable gown at a reasonable price. Great idea …. right?

From The Bride:
How to make sure your wedding vision comes to fruition: Being aware of whom you are as individuals and as a couple is the MOST IMPORTANT part of designing your wedding. Piece together what your love story is. Look at photos of the two of you throughout your relationship and write down what you like to do together, how you fell in love and some of the greatest memories you have made. This should tell you what type of a couple you are and give you a starting point to begin gathering images and examples for your wedding designer. Use the images you have gathered to work with your event designer and coordinator to create an inspiration board that reflects not only your style but your budget as well. Take this with you for every wedding related meeting to insure your florist, cake artist and even your bridesmaids all understand exactly what you are going for.

Location:
Bryan and Kati fell in love camping at Dave Matthews Concerts. Keeping in line with how they fell in love outside, they wanted a location with an outdoor natural setting that would subtly transport their guest’s into their love story. They chose the Historic Toledo Country Club built in 1892. The gorgeous building’s large windows, wrap around porches and terrace dance floor provided guest with views of the Maumee River, an award winning golf course, perfectly manicured gardens and a night sky full of stars.

The Design:
Elite Events created a brand for the couple which subtly can be found in every detail. The custom inspiration board titled Tailored Sophistication reflected a color palette that coordinated with the exterior facade of the venue including shades of Greens, Blues, Greys and Whites. Since the couple fell in love camping at Dave Matthews Band concerts, Elite Events took inspiration from an album cover art and transcended the image into the interlocking circles you see on all the details. The circular image represents the couples joining of lives, shared love of a band, and a never ending commitment. The love story continued in other details, using quotes on straw tags and programs, naming tables after meaningful songs, and turning music sheets of the Song “Everyday” into cones that held flower petals in which guests would toss at the conclusion of the ceremony. Paying tribute to the couples favorite past times, the ring bearers dressed like golfers, the flower girls resembled ballerinas and the couple’s dog carried the rings around his collar just as he did during the proposal.

The Reception Décor:
Event Designer Nikki Wolfe incorporated circular details into the table décor utilizing 3D marshmallow white confetti accent linens that complimented the sophisticated Indigo Lamoure linens alternating throughout the reception area.
3 floral designs were created to keep the guests eyes moving throughout the room.
Look 1: A Modern Touch: moss spheres wrapped in white calla lilies and placed in clear square vases
Look 2: A Simple Statement: Dendrobium Orchids playfully emerging from square beds of wheat grass
Look 3: An Understated Elegance: 3 cylinder vases varying in height displayed submerged Cymbidium Orchids, overflowing large Phalaenopsis Orchids, and sprays of newly budded Dendrobium Orchids.

Fun with Food:
Jane’s Cakes created a 3 tier cake inspired by the bride’s ceremony & reception dresses which was topped with a cake topper molded to resemble the couple and their pets. Out of town guests were offered goodie bags filled with Apple butter and Pepper butter made from ingredients grown in the groom’s family garden. The couple invited guests to enjoy their grandmother’s homemade cookies and kept the party going into the late hours of the night with a Nacho station in honor of the grooms favorite late night snack.

Photographer: Mary Wyar
Venue: Toledo Country Club
Cake: Janes Cakes
Coordinator: Elite Events
DJ: Decorative Sound
Dress Designer: Mikaella
Flowers: Bartz Viviano
Groom’s Attire: Ticknor’s Mens Clothier
Shoe Designer: Badgley Mischka
Stationery: Elite Events
Veil or Hair Accessories: Davids Bridal
Prop or Furniture Rentals: Rent a Center
Bridesmaids Dresses: Rent The Runway
Makeup: On Site Bridal | Hair: Destry Newell

Courtney and Geoff  have strong roots in Virginia. Both raised and both attended, met and fell in love at the University of Virginia. They wanted to introduce their  guests to their state and love story in an intimate garden setting full of romantic and personal details. Designed beautifully by Fleurish Events and photographed by Abby Jiu, you can see more lovely chocolate brown and aqua blue wedding ideas in the full gallery by clicking here.

From The Bride:

I was raised in Virginia, it’s the state my husband and his military family lived the longest, and more importantly, it’s the place we met and fell in love at the University of Virginia. We chose to exchange open air vows at the Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg, Virginia. The venue’s 18th century origins, brick walkways, and manicured gardens appealed to our sense of history and home. Inspired by the tint of Southern porch ceilings, painted blue to mimic the sky, we chose dusty aqua as a base color and grounded the palette with a rich chocolate brown, providing a sweet contrast to vintage silver and creamy petal accents. Inside the house, our guests were greeted by a display of family wedding photos, a nod to the great love stories we know by heart, and outside, they were treated to the lush green and heady sunshine of Virginia spring. Carrie Moe applied the most beautiful finishing touches arranging our extensive collection of DIY elements and surrounding the ceremony area with luscious peonies, mercury glass, and custom monogram swags and signage.

My handy groom built a frame to display our handmade escort cards and a sign to guide family and friends to their seats, while I baked cookies from a family recipe to serve as favors, and my mother-in-law scoured her collection of vintage items for antique frames and handkerchiefs to add to the decor. In one daring DIY escapade, I made my first ever mosaic after a case of mercury glass votives arrived broken–and non-returnable. Piecing together those shards of glass reminded me of all the people we love who made us who we are, that life has mysterious ways of leading us to find the perfect fit, and that even when wedding planning hands you lemons (and it may) there’s not one that can’t be turned into lemonade if you keep your eyes on the prize: honoring your partner and the love you share.

In homage to our collegiate beginnings and love of literature, blue-toned books joined varied floral centerpieces on chocolate linens in the reception tent, and handmade posy pins with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s quote, “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever,” rested on each napkin.

Photographer: Abby Jiu
Event Designer: Fleurish Events, Carrie Moe
Venue: Thomas Birkby House
Makeup: Blend, Ryan Krasney
Cake: Market Salamander, Jason Reaves
Caterer: Savoir Fare
DJ: kirkabee DJs, Kirk Rubley
Dress Designer: Essense, Bridals by Elena
Flowers: Growing Wild
Groom’s Attire: Tom James
Shoe Designer: Stuart Weitzman
Stationery: Deleted Space Creative, Jennifer Olmstead

We couldn’t wait to share today’s wedding with you! This lovely barn wedding was photographed by one of our absolute favorite southern wedding photographers, Austin Gros. It is truly a picture guide on how to throw a barn wedding.

Amanda and Lucas’s Tennessee wedding could not have been more perfect. All the details were impeccably and thoughtfully planned out in only six months. With comfort in mind along with a, “southern-style” you will love this laid-back wedding held at  Southall Eden, a private farm located just 6 miles outside of Franklin, Tennesse. Be sure to see all the images in the full wedding gallery.

From the Bride:

“Once Lucas and I got engaged in February last year, our wedding planning began almost instantaneously. From the very start, it was extremely important to both of us to have a wedding that was “us.” We also both knew we wanted a venue that would take full advantage of the beautiful rolling hills, laid-back charm and rural setting of our hometown, Nashville, Tennessee. With only 7 months to plan, we were very fortunate to stumble upon Southall Eden, a private farm located just 6 miles outside of Franklin, Tennessee. The setting could not have been more perfect! It really set the mood for the day. Our guests were able to kick off their heels, loosen their ties and just enjoy celebrating with us. Comfort was key! We tried to incorporate that theme in everything from the “southern-style” catering to the bridesmaid’s dresses. I’m thrilled beyond words with how everything turned out. Lucas and I had the time of our lives at our wedding. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to kick off the rest of our lives together!”

Photographer: Austin Gros
Event Designer: Southall Eden
Venue: Southall Eden
Event Planning: Bridal Blueprints
Makeup: Stephanie Harrison
Cake: Jo’s Custom Cakes & Catering
Caterer: Puckett’s Grocery
Dress Designer: Anjolique
Flowers: Enchanted Florist
Groom’s Attire: H&M
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Anthropologie

With a chic aesthetic all their own, Karla and Aspen’s Walnut Creek wedding was filled with style and some seriously fabulous steal-worthy ideas. Their closest friends and family stepped up to give these two brides and unforgettably gorgeous day.

Their friends decorated the space, bought and arranged all of the gorgeous flowers in the reception, prepared delicious food, performed as DJ’s at the reception and even found two pomegranate trees for their ceremony site. As you will see, everyone’s love and support was truly reflected. There are so many more pretty pictures from Emily Scannell Photography that you must see in the full gallery.

We are in awe over this super hip wedding invitations. Karla (bride) designed all of paper goods you see., including the custom beer and wine bottle labels. I am pretty sure she designed the way cute CDs we gush about below.

One of our favorite steal worthy ideas from Karla and Aspen’s wedding was their personalized wedding favors/escort cards. It looks like they made personalized music mixes for each of their guests. Within the CD you would then find your table assignment. Tables were then named after bands like Radiohead, and placed on wine bottles. We wonder if they placed the guests at tables that had similar music tastes. We love love this idea and for sure would be at the Madonna table.

We love love the idea of a having a Mexican Taco Party at your wedding. Nothing says delicious like authentic Mexican street tacos and all the fixings. Delicious! Another great idea these two ladies had was having their friends and family bring dishes to accompany the tacos.

For dessert, they had a traditional wedding cake and then had Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. bring an ice cream cart to make sundaes. Both incredibly great ideas…right?

Photographer: Emily Scannell Photography
Event Designer: Karla Dominguez
Venue: The Gardens at Heather Farm
Ice Cream Cart: Ghirardelli Chocolate Co.
Beer : Van Houten Brewing Co.
Florist: Bridal bouquets and boutonnieres by La Fleuriste
Reception and Ceremony Flowers: James Q. Chan and  April Frederick
Ceremony Musician: Mark Abdilla
Wedding Dress: Watters gown, Tyler
Hair Accessory: ODA
Jewelry: Wedding rings designed by Vanessa Gade  | Earrings by SMV designs
Shoes: Miz Mooz
Karla’s suit: Banana Republic suit |  J.Crew shirt
Karla’s shoes: Nicole Women’s Oxford shoes|
Transportation: limo provided by Provider Limo
Groomspeople’ suits: Gonzalo: Ben Sherman plaid suit,Tahari suit
Hair & Makeup: Marie Meher
Stationery: Design by: Karla Dominguez | Event Designer: DIY with April Frederick, Kathleen Phan & James Chan | Day-of Event Coordinator: Kathleen Phan  | Veil/Hair accessory: Mission Statement artistMeher | DJ/Band: DJ’s DJ Emotions (Iris Suarez) and DJ LaNiche (Joanna Peñuela) | Officiant: Jose Vergelin | Wedding Cake: wedding cake by Maria Stolz

Asiel Design and Lauren of Downey Street Events teamed up to put together this shabby chic wedding with a formal twist. Using old keys and Kraft tags as escort cards, soft flowers and succulents carefully settled in split peas for centerpieces makes for an elegant affair with a dash of whimsey.

All photographed by Julie Mikos at the Northern California wedding venue, Kohl Mansion. To see more prettiness visit the full gallery by clicking here.

The bridesmaids looked ultra chic in their ocean blue Twist Wrap Dresses by The Dessy Group. We love that each dress was wrapped differently, giving all of the bridesmaids their own look. Most of the wedding party wore their hair in an up-do for a sophisticated and polished look.

Emily and Will took advantage of our Free Crown Wedding Printable. We have the invitations, response cards, menus and programs available for free. You simply need to type in your information and chose your colors. If you love the crown theme we also sell a regal tote to go with your elegant affair.

We have all seen In-N-Out burger at the weddings, but never quite like this. The highlight of the evening, Emily said, was “when we had In-N-Out burger deliver to the venue at the end of the night. Our wedding planner, Lauren, was so brilliant — she had the assistant wear a cigarette tray and an In-N-Out hat and served everyone.” Seriously…how cute is that?

Event Designer: Downey Street Events
Venue: Kohl Mansion
Makeup & Hair: Meaganne McCandess
Cake: Sheng Kee Bakery
Caterer: Thomas John Events
Coordinator: Downey Street Events
DJ: Big Fun DJ
Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero
Flowers: Asiel Design
Groom’s Attire: Fendi
Shoe Designer: Rene Caovilla
Bridesmaids dresses: Twist Wrap Dresses by The Dessy Group

Leslie and Nick’s intimate Kansas City wedding was filled with personal do-it-yourself details. Lucky for us Leslie, dishes on all her budget friendly details. We highly recommend reading if you are also planning a budget friendly vintage whimsy wedding. We also have to mention that we love Leslie’s Pronovais dress. We are always suckers for endless amount of ruffles. Way cute!

Captured by the incredibly talented Alea Lovely Photo + Video. To see more of Leslie and Nick’s check out the wedding gallery.

Boutonnieres:
I took supplies I already had from architecture school: basswood, pins and glue, and made a Pratt truss since my husband is a structural engineer who loves structures.

Chalkboards:
Since I hate wasting paper, I decided to make a program and menu chalkboard to display important aspects of our wedding. And the chalkboards added to the vintage whimsy aesthetic. My husband and I went out to a home improvement store to buy chalkboard paint and MDF and plywood boards to later spray and write our program, menu, and signs for the event.

Centerpieces:
My florist, Erin Volante and I agreed on lush flowers with creams, ivories and whites. I told her my idea of mixed vintage bottles and jars to complete my vintage look that I wanted and we got super excited about it. I went to secondhand and antique stores as well as using food jars from the grocery store like jam and spaghetti jars. My mother-in-law had quite the collection of mason jars as well. We also decorated the centerpieces with a wood slab at each table that my father-in-law did for us by hacking down a couple trees. We also included paper airplanes, painted wood numbers, and a building at each table representing Nick and I as a couple who loves architecture and engineering.

Sweet table:
It started out with my love for cupcakes. Since I am a baker as well as my mother-in-law, we decided to bake a bunch of treats like cake balls, cupcakes, truffles, mini cupcakes and almond coconut macaroons. My mother-in-law did most of the baking. I didn’t  want my guests to leave without rolling out with a full belly.

Photo-booth:
I took two long sheets of blackout linen to make a backdrop for the booth. And a bunch of hand cut moustaches, lips and glasses on wood sticks for fun props. The drawing on the backdrop is of a yacht + us on this small boat thing + a shark, a reproduction of a drawing my husband drew and gave to me for Christmas right before he proposed to me. Through the week before Christmas he said he got me a real yacht for Christmas.

Photographer: Alea Lovely Photo + Video
Venue: Longview Mansion
Makeup: Catered Beauty
Hair: Catered Beauty
Cake: Rebekah Cake Artist
Caterer: Longview Mansion
Cinematography: Alea Lovely Photo + Video
Coordinator: Jenny Brown
DJ: Two Guys, a Girl and Some Speakers
Dress Designer: Pronovais
Flowers: Erin Volate Floral Designs
Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse
Jewelry: Bailey, Banks and Biddle
Officiant: Melissa Brooks, Simple2 To Elegant Weddings
Shoe Designer: Paris Hilton
Veil or Hair Accessories: Mother of the Groom

Devon and Carizza planned this stylish fete in only ten weeks. It does not hurt that Carizza works for one of the best event and styling teams around, In The Now Weddings & Events, who pulled together to create a cohesive, love-centered event. Filled to the brim with stylish details including a way cute heart design that was carried thorough out the event. From the invitations to all the signage,  it was even placed as a decal on their getaway car. Way Cute!

To see all of the Modern Yellow Wedding Ideas from Carizza and In The Now Weddings & Events up close visit the full wedding gallery by clicking here.

How perfect does our, Orange Ombre Heart Tote go with Carizza and Devon’s heart theme? They look even more fantastic paired with the bridesmaids navy and burnt-orange cardigans. Très chic!

From The Bride:

No matter how many weddings you’ve attended, worked on, been in, or read about, there is nothing like planning your own. Being a part of the wedding industry is an amazing blessing. But being a bride on the other side of things, I felt a lot of pressure at first, mostly self-inflicted. With our engagement being a short 10 weeks, Devon pulled me aisde one day, hugged me, and reminded me, “This isn’t for the industry. This is for us.” Words of the man I fell in love with. From there, wedding planning was as purposeful as the gravitational pull of the Earth. We poured out love into every detail, because we wanted that love to be shown and shared with our guests. Every part of the wedding was designed to invite our guests to share in our favorite parts of life together.

Our logo and invitation suite was designed by Amanda, my boss at In The Now, my mentor, friend and cheerleader in this whole wedding process. Along with the entire ITN team, each vendor that was picked with care, people who were stoked about life and passionate about what they do – and it showed! We were blessed to have them carry out such a cohesive, love-centered event.  Devon and I walked down the aisle together, to reflect that we were entering into this marriage together. His dad was our officiant. We picked our weekly date night food truck as our caterers, to share that special experience with our guests. Our last dance was to “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. Each choice surrounding the wedding meant something to us. Our wedding had a clear message to start our marriage off right and to share a very important message to our guests: love each other.

In The Now Weddings & Events is one of our exclusive The Hand-Picked Vendors. Hand-Picked Vendors are at the top of their game and provide excellent services! These vendors are chosen because of their commitment to excellence, stylish and fresh ideas, and their overall fresh approach to weddings. To learn more about how our Hand-Picked Vendors are chosen please click here.

If you are a BHLDN gal and love a good old fashioned Anthropologie Wedding, than you are going to want to pay close attention to our next feature. All of the essentials were accounted for – including some incredibly cute Vivienne Westwood pumps, lacey bridesmaid dresses, way cute groomsman outfits and some of the cutest fabric bouquets we have ever seen. Lucky for us, the bride goes into more detail about how she pulled all of this off. If this is your kind of wedding, you should definitely check out all of the images captured by, June Bug Company  in the full wedding gallery.

From The Bride:

Not to be cliche, but our wedding day was the best day of my life! It was sort of like floating on a cloud… it was just so magical. I couldn’t believe that our months and months of hard work was coming together before my eyes. Being born and raised in Texas, I knew from the beginning that I wanted a fun rustic style wedding with handmade touches. I’ve always been in love with antique shops and vintage finds so I immediately started scouring local shops and flea markets for pieces that I knew I could incorporate into our big day. Justin is a sixth grade teacher and I’m currently still in school, so the chalkboards, old books, and school bus really had meaning to us.

Some of the homemade details of our wedding included: ribbon wands, flower girl signs, all of the bunting and banners, all chalkboards, silverware and napkin wraps, the dessert buffet, faux photobooth + mustache/bowtie/lip props. We also painted or stained all of the frames to match our color scheme. Other handmade details that I purchased from Etsy include: bouquets, boutonnieres, table runners, and the thumbprint tree guestbook, and cookie favor bags. I was so hands on during the entire engagement and wedding day that my sister-in-law had to literally put a glass of champagne in my hand on multiple occasions and instruct me to relax and let other people help.

Other personal touches: We used the same bus company that Justin’s school uses rather than a limousine company. We had BBQ catered from a restaurant Justin and I went on a date to. We had a family friend marry us. We set up most of the decor ourselves, in fact, Justin did a lot while I was brunching and pampering with the girls and he exceeded my expectations! We had a co-worker bake treats for our dessert buffet and cookie bar. Since my mother-in-law has only boys, I asked to wear her wedding dress for some shots before the wedding… they turned out great!  We also chose to hold the wedding in old historic downtown McKinney, a suburb of Dallas that we moved to about a year prior. We loved the charm, history, and proximity to our house. Plus, being on the downtown square, we were able to walk everywhere all weekend!

It is really hard to not to fall in love with the idea of jet setting to the Florida Keys, and having an Elegant Islamorada Beach Wedding. We think it will be hard for you as well after you see Maggie and Ryan’s intimate beach wedding.

Maggie and Ryan were high school sweethearts and on a surprise romantic trip to the Florida Keys, Ryan got down on one knee and finally asked Maggie to marry him. Captured beautifully by one of our Hand-Picked wedding vendors KT Merry. You must see more of this stunning wedding in the full gallery.

From the bride:
Ryan and I started dating when we were 17 years old. Whenever I pictured my wedding day, he was the only person I could ever imagine waiting for me at the end of the aisle. On a surprise romantic trip to the Florida Keys, Ryan got down on one knee and finally asked me to marry him. I have been going down to Islamorada with Ryan ever since we started dating as teenagers. We have so many memories there and through the years it has become a very special place for us.
It was not easy for us to decide to have our wedding in Islamorada. Both of our families are from Chicago and it would have made a lot of sense to have the wedding there. However, Islamorada was where we pictured saying our vows to one another and spending time with our closest family and friends. Once we made the decision to get married in Islamorada, we never looked back. Ryan and I spent a lot of time planning even the smallest details of the wedding. It wasn’t always easy; but in the end, it was all worth it. We could not have pictured a more perfect day. We felt like we were in a dream.

Venue: Cheeca
Makeup: Kiki’s Spa
Cinematography: Belvedere Stories
DJ: Mike Sipe Entertainment
Dress Designer: Vera Wang
Flowers: Floral Fantasy Weddings
Groom’s Attire: J Crew
Shoe Designer: Tory Burch
Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas
Hair: Alma Bosco
Cake: Islamorada Restaurant & Bakery Bob’s Bunz

Here at The Wedding Chicks, we love sharing a good wedding venue with you. Without an exception, Fernbrook Farms in New Jersey is a perfect place for all you tri-state brides looking for a little something rustic with a whole lot of elegance. With large gardens, vast lawns and farm fields, Fernbrook has a wonderful ability to transform itself into exactly what you are looking for on your day.

You can definitely see that in our next wedding from J-Anderson Photography. To see more of Fernbrook Farms Wedding be sure to click here. On a side note, how about those red wedding shoes from Manolo Blahnik. Super gorgeous.

From The Bride:

“Jeff & I knew that we wanted a wedding that was a little bit elegant, a little bit relaxed/outdoorsy and a lot of fun. We looked all over the tri-state area to find a wedding venue that could fit the bill without being a wedding hall and when we saw Fernbrook Farms knew that it was just right. Fernbrook has an 18th century farm house that has been turned into a bed & breakfast, a few semi-formal gardens & is a working 400 acre farm that the caterers source produce from for dinner.

The caterers helped us incorporate our favorite meat (pork!) into the menu, the florist helped make arrangements with vibrant flowers & succulent plants (to last forever!), our friend officiated to make our ceremony personal, our dog Sodapop joined in as part of the wedding party, all the bridesmaids/groomsmen choose their own outfits and the DJs pulled off a night of non-stop dancing!”

Photographer: J-Anderson Photography
Venue: Inn at Fernbrook Farms
Makeup& Hair: Matthew Sky
Caterer & Cake: Main Street Catering
DJ: Lord Easy & Chris Goldteeth
Dress Designer: Victorio & Lucchino
Flowers: Flower Station
Groom’s Attire: John Varvatos
Shoe Designer: Manolo Blahnik
Stationery: Annoushka Owen
Veil or Hair Accessories: Bridal Veil Falls, Margaret Duncan

With all this winter talk, we thought we would throw a little sunny seaside San Diego wedding your way. Kari and Matt’s La Jolla Scripss wedding was filled to the brim with some incredibly vibrant wedding details that we know you are going to love. Including some of the cutest wedding place mats we have ever seen.

This stylish seaside wedding did not happen on its own, it took a whole lot of talented vendors to make it super fabulous. Luxe Events coordinated and styled, Joielala Photographie snapped all these pretty pictures and 10.11 Makeup made everyone look pretty. Be sure to see this entire Seaside San Diego Wedding in the full wedding gallery.

From Luxe Events

Kari has an extremely fresh sense of style.   She is drawn to vibrant colors and modern patterns.  So I set out to design a wedding layered in colorful bold patterns.  We let go of traditional ideas of what “matches” and became playful with the design choices.     I’d call the wedding design “Layered Chic”. Once we embraced this concept the plan fell into place.  We picked three fabulous patterns that would complement each other.  We brought the patterns to center stage through unique wedding elements. When we could not find a charger that was just the right color or pattern I came up with the idea to create a stylish placemat.   Enlisting Brightly Designed to take our pattern decor to the next level, she designed super-cool placemats including quotes from favorite songs.  Each table had one of the three patterned placemats.  In addition we made paper vase wraps for the centerpieces.   While we loved the blue and green colors I felt something whimsical was missing, and we added the slightest touch of hot pink.   The pattern and color story carried through from guest book poster, signature drink flags, hanging tissue balls, dangling ceremony flowers, signage above the head table, vase wraps, placemats, lighting, linens and that wow-factor cake.   The end result was a wedding so very Kari and Matt- bold and beautiful.

10.11 Makeup is one of our exclusive The Hand-Picked Vendors. Hand-Picked Vendors are at the top of their game and provide excellent services! These vendors are chosen because of their commitment to excellence, stylish and fresh ideas, and their overall fresh approach to weddings. To learn more about how our Hand-Picked Vendors are chosen please click here.

Photographer: Joielala Photographie
Event Designer & Coordinator: Luxe Events
Makeup & Hair: 10.11 Makeup

Venue: scripps seaside forum
Cake: twiggs
Caterer: coast catering
Cinematography: nr3 productions
DJ: daniel peterson
Flowers: thistledew
Groom’s Attire: gentlemen’s tux shop
Dress Designer: Christos
Jewelry: justine m couture
Lighting: daniel peterson
Shoe Designer: vera wang
Stationery: brightly designed
Veil or Hair Accessories: justine m couture

We have super fun, modern playful wedding for you. Even better they used a few of our free printables to make their special day even more fantastic. The theme was,”Up In The Clouds.” Of course you need to have your wedding as high up as possible if that is your theme. So, The Pasadena Museum of California Art seems like such a natural choice.

As you can see, everything is simple and modern keeping with the up in the clouds theme. Bridesmaid in bright sky blue dresses, floral arrangements popping with color and a very clever way to portray the sun and clouds and the reception. This Modern Rooftop Wedding was captured by Adrienne Gunde. You can see all the photos in the full wedding gallery by clicking here.

From The Bride:

While planning the wedding, I adored all the wedding creativity I saw on wedding blogs, in particular, Wedding Chicks. We pored over the DIY & Downloads section and were tickled when we came upon the perfect Save the Dates for our wedding: the Airplane Save the Dates. We loved the retro vibe of the customized the Airplane Save the Dates to our wedding colors. To save money, we e-mailed the Save the Dates to our guests.

We wanted our wedding to pop with happy, bold colors. We love color, and our color palette began with a subdued blue and green (more specifically, Mint and Deep Ocean, according to Wedding Chicks color palette for our electronic Save the Dates) and ballooned to include sunshine yellow, hot pink, and bright orange. We also could not resist using varying shades of blue and green throughout the wedding.

The escort cards (printed on cloud address labels) and cheery yellow billy balls sprouted from beds of cotton “clouds” which filled a wooden box that adorned our escort card table.

We found a woodblock print of a cloud, which inspired our invitations. The fun customized invitations featured woodblock print clouds designed by our stationer Papercake Designs and our interpretation of the PMCA rooftop. The RSVP cards gave guests two options: “OH YES. can’t wait.” or “OH DEAR! can’t make it.” The invitation sets were mailed in sunshine yellow envelopes, and we used a typewriter font to print out each guest’s name/address to give our invitations more of a fun, retro feel.
Our amazing wedding coordinator Uyen Nguyen of Sassy Girl Weddings & Events worked with us and with our other vendors to design and incorporate cloud details into the wedding. We had loads of fun with our theme.

Eric crafted the hanging clouds floating over the guests at the rooftop reception. There were individual clouds as well as clusters. To create the hanging clouds, Eric magnified varying cloud designs from our invites, pasted the images on foam board, cut the edges to resemble clouds, and attached each ensemble to fish wire. We interspersed the hanging clouds with yellow lanterns that were an interpretation of the sun.

The PhotoBooth Sign! We printed out the freebie from the Wedding Chicks website, pasted the sign on foam board, and propped it up on a striped green tray.

Photographer: Adrienne Gunde

Event Designer: Sassy Girl Weddings
Venue: Pasadena Museum of California Art
Makeup: Theresa Huang
Hair: Theresa Huang
Caterer: Lawrys Catering
Cinematography: Studio West Video
Coordinator: Sassy Girl Weddings
DJ: Premiere Events Group
Flowers: Commerce Flowers
Lighting: Ambiance Party Lighting
Shoe Designer: Ivanka Trump
Stationery: Papercake Designs
Photobooth: Rockstar Photobooth

Our next couple had been together eight years before their wedding. They didn’t want their wedding to feel like their parents party, but they also did not want the wedding to feel like a beginning… like they were starting their lives together. Instead, they wanted their guests to feel as though the entire weekend was a celebration of a bond that they had grown and nurtured over the past eight years and would continue to grow and nurture. Read on to hear some pretty fabulous tips from the bride.

Enjoy more Preppy Pink And Navy Wedding from one of our absoulte favorite Midwest Weddding Photographer Emily Emily Steffen Photography.

Read this is is pretty awesome:

On August 20, 2010, one year before our wedding, I was looking at one of the blogs I follow and I saw a wedding where the bride and groom wrote their vows together. At their ceremony the bride said one line of their vows and the groom said the next and they went back and forth until the vows were over. And when the vows were over they asked each other if they vowed to be the others husband and wife. I had never met these people but I was crying in my office at work after hearing their vows. It was so moving. I went home, showed Scott and he instantly agreed. We wrote our vows that same night . . . a year before our wedding. Our entire wedding weekend was every thing we could have hoped for–the Twin Cities had absolutely perfect weather, everyone was smiling and laughing, and we felt so incredibly loved.

From The Bride on her inspiration and diy projects.

With wedding blogs for inspiration, I set out to make our one of a kind wedding. I have always been the type of person that refuses to pay someone to do something I can do myself, so a few months before the wedding I made the cornhole boards, thank you place cards, moss letters, lavender hand soaps, and welcome bags. When my Maid of Honor arrived from LA the week of the wedding, we made the bouquets, centerpieces, and table card windows. However, none of the details would have been pulled off without our week of coordinator, Lora from At Your Service Weddings. I loved being a do-it-yourself Bride, but I loved even more that on the day of my wedding I could just enjoy every moment and not worry about a thing.

 When the time came to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted it to be timeless and classic, but not traditional, with a dash of good old Southern Hospitality all the way up in Minnesota. Eighty percent of our guest list was flying in for the wedding and we did not want them to worry about a thing. We rented a charter bus to take them to and from the wedding, and when they arrived at the boat club they were immediately handed either a Mint Julep or a John Daly and an Hors d’oeuvre as they waited for the ceremony.

We love the idea of keeping the Mason jar as a wedding favor. Not only do they get to use it at the wedding, but every time guests use it they will remember your special day.

Emily Steffen is one of our exclusive Hand-Picked Vendors. Hand-Picked Vendors are at the top of their game and provide excellent services! These vendors were chosen because of their commitment to excellence, stylish and fresh ideas, and their overall fresh approach to weddings. To learn more about how our Hand-Picked Vendors are chosen please click here.

Photographer: Emily Steffen Photography
Venue: MN Boat Club
Makeup: Sara Feldman
Hair: Sara Feldman
Cake: Wouletts Bakery
Coordinator: At your Service Weddings
Dress Designer: Melissa Sweet
Flowers: The Bride and Maid of honor
Groom’s Attire: Brooks Brothers

As you know, we love a Disney Pixars Up Wedding. It is truly a romantic love story that reminds us all how fun and whimsical love can really be.

Like all of us, our next couple Kelley and Edmund also love the movie Up and ran with this bright and cherry theme of balloons, bow ties and a whole lot of whimsy. All of this Up goodness was designed by White Lilac Inc. and photographed by Adrienne Gunde. Be sure to see more pictures in the entire wedding gallery and check out Kelley and Edmund’s video below from 618studios.

This video is no longer available to view. Please visit 618Studios on their website.

Vanilla Bake Shop is one of our exclusive The Hand-Picked Vendors. Hand-Picked Vendors are at the top of their game and provide excellent services! These vendors were chosen because of their commitment to excellence, stylish and fresh ideas, and their overall fresh approach to weddings.


Photographer: Adrienne Gunde
Cinematography: 618studios
Floral Design: Flower Allie

Event Design: White Lilac Inc.
Venue: SmogShoppe
Makeup | Hair: Kelly Zhang
Cake | Desserts: Vanilla Bake Shop
Caterer: Huntington Catering Company
Shoe Designer: J. Crew
Bridesmaid’s dresses: J. Crew

Stella Event Design created a vibrant color palette of pinks and teals for our next Southwest Michigan wedding. Although both of the colors are quite dynamic, they seem to play off of each other perfectly.

You are going to adore the teal flower girl dress. Seriously, how cute does she look in all that tulle? See more of this Pink And Teal Wedding captured by Bradley James Photography by clicking here.

The mix and match glass turquoise bottles filled with springs of hot pink florals is not only doable, but adds such a punch of color to the white tables and chairs. It might even be fun to find different primary colored bright bottles and keep the flowers one color for a festive look.

Photographer: Bradley James Photography

Event Designer: Stella Event Design
Venue: Millcreek Barns
Makeup: Hanna Wagner Design
Cake: The Shy Cookie
Cinematography: All Star Productions
Coordinator: Stella Event Design
DJ: GR Affordable DJ
Flowers: Crystal Springs Florists

Adding a little bit of whimsy to your wedding day has our vote. Pinwheels are not only colorful and fun, but can be incorporated into almost every part of your wedding decor. From your invites to wedding favors, all the way to your wedding altar.

Our next wedding uses these colorful props to line the wedding aisle. Just pop them in the grass and you have an instant vibrant wedding aisle. They also used them as colorful centerpieces mixed in with citrus fruit. Each one of these pinwheels was made with love by the bride’s father. To see more of this pinwheel wedding click here.

If you are looking to have your own pinwheel wedding you can click here to learn how to make your own pinwheels.

Photographer: Lori Anderson Photographers
Venue: Newland Barn at Newland House
Cake/Desserts: My Sweet and Saucy
Coordinator: Bre Nelson, Joyful Weddings and Events
Floral Design: Kim Sanders, Art With Nature
Lighting: Baker Party Rentals