Our Wedding Video

So I've shared our wedding video with you once before, but you're getting it again. #sorrynotsorry

Hiring a wedding videographer was not something Ant and I agreed on initially.  Not that I blame him, but he was more worried about the additional cost we would be taking on, and not completely convinced it was "necessary".

I pushed the point a little bit, and convinced him to at least come meet with Max from Maxmotion Video with me.  Max had done our friends Jay and Marissa's wedding video, and they had only good things to say about him.

We met up with Max at a Starbucks halfway between us and him, and by the end of it Ant was on board TOTALLY on board.  Max was very low-key - in a way that we found very relatable.  He was no frills, what you see is what you get, and also very willing to work with us to make sure we were getting what we wanted.  His standard package is one fee that covers all day coverage by him with two cameras, a full day edit delivered on BluRay and a short clip delivered online.  He shows up during preparations and stays through the majority of the reception.  No hour limits, no strict schedules, easy peasy!  While we were chatting with him, he mentioned that he was just starting to offer one potential upgrade, to include a second shooter with him.  Ant & I left our meeting with him feeling very good about everything we had heard, and decided to hire him & Matt!

The day of, Max & Matt were wonderful!  They showed up SUPER early, before our photographer and even before one of our MUAs.  They were excited about the shots they were getting, and very personable with myself, my family, and all of my bridesmaids.  They stayed out of the way when it was appropriate, and jumped in to get shots they wanted when it made sense too.  I loved their creativity and am thankful for so so many of the memories they captured for us.

The final edited clip made me cry all over the place....and still occasionally does when I go back and watch ;)  It is such a small snapshot of the day, but captures the emotion and excitement in a few minutes so well. (and my dads speeches are notoriously tearjerkers to begin with)

The morale of the story: HIRE A VIDEOGRAPHER.

There are so many out there, in so many different price ranges.  Find one that works for you, find someone that you get along with, and hire them! and then thank me later :)

You can also view the video on his Vimeo site here.

xoxo

The Little Things: The Sparkly Stuff!

It has been SO long since I talked about my wedding details - I know our wedding was over a year ago.  But there are still so many pretty things to talk about!! 

Once the dress and the veil were chosen, the next step was getting the right accessories.  I've already told you about my long and exhausting hunt for my glacier beauties!  With the shoes and my belt chosen, all I needed was jewelry to match, so my mom, my MOH Melissa and I went to TWD for an accessory appointment!  I knew I was looking for bigger earrings, that would coordinate with my belt.  I tried on a few {gorgeous} pairs from Haute Bride - but they weren't quite right.  Then my mom actually pointed out a pair from Maria Elena Headpieces.  I put them on, and they were perfect!  They were big and blingy, but I liked how they had so many intricate details.    The picture quality isn't great, but I took this photo so you could see that they sparkled just as much from the back as they did from the front!  

My mom had commented before the appointment that something for my hair might be nice - so I asked the stylist to suggest a hair piece that would go with the look.  When I put this one on, Melissa and my mom fell in love and insisted I get it as well!  It was just enough extra sparkle to add some detail to my hair, which was otherwise going to be very simple, just curled with a little bit pulled back.  Here's all my sparkle together, minus the belt:

The day I picked everything up from TWD it was like a better version of Christmas.  I had my hairpiece and earrings, PLUS the 7 pairs of earrings for my bridesmaids!  That is a LOT of sparkle in one little bag :)

I loved the way all of my accessories helped tie my look together, and made me feel absolutely amazing on our wedding day.  

Originally, I wasn't sure that the hair piece was necessary... I didn't know how much you would see it and if it would really make a huge difference....but my mom had loved it so much I'd agreed to wear it.  Looking back - mom really does know best!!!  It was the perfect simple and beautiful addition to my look, and made a huge difference in some of my favorite pictures of us that day! 

How did you decide what accessories to add to your bridal look?  Did you pick them yourself, or bring friends shopping with you??  For someone who usually keeps my accessories to a minimum, I had SO much fun choosing these details for our wedding day!

xoxo

The Little Things: Gifts for Mom

With Mother's Day coming up, I thought this was an appropriate time to jump back into blogging about "The Little Things" - the details that made up our wedding day! Who knows, maybe this will spark some inspiration for you :)

When it came to our mothers, we wanted to give them gifts that would have special meaning, and be a nice reminder of our wedding day.  We knew we would be gifting them photos in the future, but that was after the fact - we wanted something to give them the morning of the wedding as a "Thank you" for all of their love and support leading up to the day.  

After lots of brainstorming and online searching, we came up with two different ideas!

First, we found Sarah Ku on Etsy! {Have I made it clear how much I love Etsy yet??}  She had beautiful and simple designs, and so I reached out to her about getting two custom prints done.  The first, for Ant's mom was a quote from "You are my sunshine" which has always had special meaning to them.  For my mom, we used a part of the poem that she would be reading during our ceremony by e.e. cummings.  Sarah did a beautiful job with the wording and watercolors!  Each one is unique and special, exactly what we were looking for!

For the second part of the gift, we worked with Kelley from Aquinnah Jewelry {now also on Etsy!} to create pieces for each of our moms.  She had recently posted pictures of new butterfly charms she had that I absolutely LOVED.  I had her make a gold butterfly necklace for my MIL, and silver butterfly earrings with pearl accents for my mom!

What did you give your mother on your wedding day?? Or if you aren't married yet....what are you getting mom for mother's day???  It is coming up in just a couple weeks and I am ALWAYS looking for good ideas for our mommas :)

xoxo

Branford House RW: Michelle Girard Photography and Design

I have not shared a Branford House RW in a longgggg time, and this one left me dreaming of summer - which seems SO far away as I'm waking up this am to single digit temps and threats of more snow tonight.  This couple, photographed by Michelle Girard, got married on Cedar Island & then took a boat back to the mainland for their reception at the Branford House!  How cool is that??  I love their vintage details and beautiful beach ceremony.  They also have THE most adorable ring bearers I've ever seen....and you know I'm a sucker for any golden hour shots on the rocks at the BH :)

For the rest of the stunning images - including a vintage car, check out the full blog post here!

Anyone else ready for summer??

xoxo

The Little Things: Table Numbers

Ant and I are {hopefully} about to be snowed in for the next 36 hours or so!  So we are busting out the wine and I just put brownies in the oven, but before we start our mega Netflix marathon I wanted to share some more wedding details with you!

Early on in our wedding planning, I knew there were a few projects I was definitely going to want to DIY.  I don't think we did NEARLY as many DIY projects as Brittni - but I'm pretty proud of the few we did pull off!  Table numbers are definitely one of those.

Travel is huge for Ant and I - and we have been to so many fun and special places together.  We wanted to incorporate that into our wedding day in a pretty and fun way, and this was the perfect solution!  I combined a few different ideas I had seen around on pinterest and other wedding blogs - the image below is one example. {again - so old I don't have the source - sorry!!} 

I loved the simple frame with the gold numbers - and the way the backdrop was pretty but not distracting.  This gave me the idea to try it with black and white pictures as the backdrop instead!  We went to the dollar store and bought roughly a million frames, all 4x6 but all different styles, colors and designs. {and ALL $1!!!}  We then POURED through all of our favorite travel photos and came up with our top 20ish {not knowing how many tables we'd end up having} and printed them all in black and white.  We loaded up on gold and gold glitter spray paint, and went to Hobby Lobby on a search for numbers!  We found smaller numbers than the example above, which I thought were perfect.  The smaller number allowed you to see more of the photo itself, which was really the most important part.

Don't ask why we set this up inside in the living room....I don't have any good reasons.  But that's okay!  We took the glass out of a couple of the frames and spread them out in the living room to test the gold and glitter on both the frames and the numbers.  As it turns out, its a good thing we got the gold glitter, because the plain gold was very very dull.  The glitter added JUST the right amount of extra sparkle!

After testing a couple, we brought the rest out into the driveway one afternoon for a massive spray painting session.  I painted frames while Ant mowed the lawn! 

I love the way the numbers were small and subtle, allowing the picture to speak for itself.  For our sweetheart table we used a photo of Chaffinch Park, where Ant proposed to me, and I used a scrapbooking heart shaped punch to make the "number."  So perfect!

Our total cost for the table numbers, including all of the spray paint was less than $50....just the type of budget I was looking for!  I love how they were a simple addition to the tables, and gave each table a little bit of special meaning to us.  We wanted our table set ups to be very simple and clean, and I think they came out perfect!  Below are the photos our wedding photographer took that night:  Table 4 was Annecy, France...Table 3 was Geneva, Switzerland...and Table 11 was Florence, Italy. {This is also a sneak peek at our STUNNING centerpieces from Earth Blossoms!}

Of course, this was my favorite table of the night {not that we ever sat there}....my bouquet, our Kate Spade champagne flutes and Chaffinch Park for the sweetheart table.

Have you thought about DIY-ing for your wedding?  What projects in particular are you planning to tackle???

xoxo

Wedding Flowers: Earth Blossoms

Okay so it has been MONTHS since I last chatted about flowers...but I'm back for the next part of my three part installment on wedding flowers.  You're getting alllllll the nitty gritty!

Last time I told you about the two meetings I had with florists and my MIL.  As it turns out, from a budget perspective, both florists came in at almost exactly the same number - so finances were basically a non factor in the ultimate decision.  In the end, I essentially went with my gut.  I wish I could give you a better explanation than that....but I can't.  Both were very professional, in different ways, and I'm sure my flowers would have been stunning with either florist...but my MIL said it simply: it's YOUR wedding.  You choose.  So I did!  I emailed Noreen back almost immediately and told her we couldn't wait to work with her for our wedding day!  She made me feel so comfortable.  Her email after our initial meeting was so detailed and specific.  There were no surprises - everything we had talked about was there in front of me on one sheet.  Her communication was also AMAZING.  She emailed me back almost immediately, every time...and was so reassuring that I knew I wouldn't need to stress the details.  The little things, like communication, can make the big difference when you're planning a wedding.  So I went with my gut!

Throughout the process, she continued to be absolutely wonderful with communication.  When I randomly emailed her after the new year with a few ideas I'd been rolling around in my head {and this picture I had found of the fireplace with string lights!}, she got back to me within HOURS with her opinion and a promise to add the information to my file.

The next time I emailed her was June, this time with a couple images of bridal bouquets I loved, and a request to change the flowers I used for the place card table.  Again - she wrote back immediately, and even though she was busy with other weddings took the time to make sure I knew she was on my side. {on a side note, who doesn't love everything LC does??}

She emailed me again later that month to confirm a few remaining details from our initial meeting...little details I had even forgotten about!  I got another check-in from her in early July when she had found urns that she thought would work perfectly for my ceremony.  When she went to a wedding the month before ours at the Branford House, she came back to me with a few questions and concerns that we were able to talk through.  All of this communication helped make me feel more than comfortable that she and I were on the same page, and that she knew what I was looking for.  Again - this is amazing considering I still wasn't even sure what I imagined it all looking like!!!

Last but not least,  I emailed her roughly two weeks before the wedding asking if we could add a floral element to the wedding cake {similar to the photo below} as a last minute touch!  She was wonderful and pleasant through every step of the process.  She was willing to make suggestions, and always happy to listen to mine!

Choosing the right vendor is THE MOST important part of making your wedding planning process fun...and Noreen certainly did that for me!  How did you choose your florist??

xoxo

**The images above were from screenshots I found in my emails with Noreen from last year - so I hadn't saved the original sources!!!

The Little Things: Pearls and Pastries

TGIF!!!

This week started out nice and normal - work has finally slowed down after the holidays, and Ant and I have had a chance to get back into a slightly more normal routine.  We got to see my parents this weekend, and his mom yesterday...I caught up with my BFFL for a girls night on Tuesday - all sorts of lovely normal things! and then today happened at work.  and I'm ready for a TGIF relaxing night at home.  Soooo, I'm opening a bottle of wine and waiting for my husband to get home with sushi, and I thought I'd share something sparkly with you! 

Enter Pearls & Pastries.

I found her on instagram through my ongoing search for all things fun and wedding related.  I immediately loved all of the sparkle she has, and thought it would be the perfect little detail to add to my wedding day!  She often runs sales if you follow her - so one day when she was running 20% off, I ordered a hanger for myself!

When it came in the mail it was packaged with a pinch of confetti - so much fun! 

In the scheme of things, it was SUCH a small detail of the day, but when I look back at these pictures of my wedding dress it adds a totally beautiful touch! {also, can we just reflect again on those walls??? sighhhhh}

The gold was stunning, but if we're being honest.....this black and white photo is my absolute favorite.  Talk about timeless!!

I bought her standard hanger, but she has so many other fun options if you are looking to make your closet sparkle a bit!  Below are a few photos from her instagram of some of her other hangers for sale....never mind gifts for myself, I think these would make some amazing bridesmaids gifts!!  Who doesn't love some sparkle?  Or a personalized hanger just for them??

The little things may not make or break the day - but they sure do add some fun!! What was your favorite "little thing" from your wedding day??

xoxo

The Little Things: The Veil

Happy Sunday!  I thought I'd get back into wedding details with what ended up being one of my favorites - my veil!

If you remember back in January I was caught VERY off guard when I went shopping for accessories.  I did NOT expect picking out a veil to be as hard as it was!!  A veil is such a traditional aspect of the bridal look, and I honestly think I was surprised by how much of an emotional reaction I had to such a specific detail.  Luckily my mom, MOH and the lovely ladies at TWD did a wonderful job helping me talk through my options and make a decision that worked best for me...

In the end, I opted for a VERY simple and long veil.  It had a very thin ribbon edge, and otherwise no detailing....just longgggg and lovely! I think I expected to want a simple and shorter one, so when I loved the look of the longer one I was a little thrown off.  It seemed fancier, or something....and I was worried in the end it would look less "me" - or not make sense for the outdoor ceremony location.  Jill told me that longer veils often actually work better during outdoor ceremonies - because they weigh more and are less likely to blow around and get unruly...something I never would have even thought about!  As it turns out, this was absolutely the truest advice!  One of my favorite details in some pictures is the veil and how it blows in the wind, just the right amount!  When the wind really picked up during a few of the portraits I ended up wrapping the veil around my arm, which ended up giving the pictures an even softer, more romantic look that I love.

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How did you pick your veil?  Did you find it to be as hard of a decision as I did???

xoxo