Rustic Michigan Wedding by Abby Rose Photography

I don't know about you guys, but I am really digging anything and everything yellow these days. Then this little gem of a submission from the fabulous Abby Rose Photography shows up in my inbox. I lay my eyes on the stunning flowers and uber cute bridal party and it's a done deal, hook, line and sinker. And while this wedding remains close to my heart partially because it took place just a couple hours down the road from Grand Rapids in Ann Arbor, the details from this farm celebration are so genuine and sweet that I know you'll feel the same way too. Just look at all that yummy eye candy! Congrats Jaimie and Ari and hope you two are having an incredibly memorable honeymoon! Enjoy your day, blogettes and do something brilliant.

{From Abby, the photographer} This charming barn wedding was such a blast to photograph! Jaimie and Ari wanted a laid-back vibe to their day, and they definitely achieved it. Guests arrived around 6:00 pm for a lovely outdoor ceremony (complete with a marimba player!) and then made their way to the tent for a delicious meal prepared by renowned Ann Arbor chef Eve Arnoff (the couple met working at Eve's restaurant years ago!). After dinner, guests were treated to make-your-own strawberry shortcake for dessert, followed by a rockin' dance party in Misty Farm's beautiful barn.

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Photography: Abby Rose Photography / Venue: Misty Farms, Ann Arbor, Michigan / Brides Dress: Priscilla's of Boston / Bridesmaid's dresses: J. Crew / Flowers and bouquets: Pot and Box / Catering: Eve Arnoff / Groomswear: vintage suit found at Kiwanis, and custom tailored / Entertainment: Laith Al-Saadi, local Ann Arbor musician / DOC: Laura Davis Events

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DIY New Jersey Wedding by Brookelyn Photography

Do you ever come across photos of couples on their wedding day and they just seem so very much in love? Then you find their wedding is not only the most adorbable public display of love and affection eva but they are both artsy fartsy creative minded individuals who diy-ed their entire wedding day; managing to infuse personality into every element without taking things over the top. Phew that was a long sentence wasn't it? Oh and ths wedding had big balloons. You know how I feel about that. The beautiful images wouldn't have been possible without the talent of Brooke from Brookelyn Photography and Apphia, my heart goes out to you. Any bride who takes on the brave task of playing bride and planner/stylist on the same day gets major points in my book, because after all, I too juggled those two roles once. Read on to scroll through the pretties and as usual catch the details below. Happy Wednesday loves! 

{From the bride} Ian and I met at a set up through a long time no see friend. I told my friend that my ideal type of man was someone who was 5 feet 7 inches in height, 135 pounds, skinny, sensitive, neat, detail-orientated, and is an interior designer with a sophisticated sense of fashion. Then she introduced me to Ian who was 5 feet 8 inches, 136 pounds, an interior designer with a sophisticated sense of fashion, who was sensitive, detail orientated, loving, humorous and gentle! Since I'm a graphic/event designer and Ian is an interior designer we coordinated the entire wedding and every small detail from print design, the flowers, the bouquets, the photo booth word bubbles to all the decorations. I loved seeing all of these things come together on our wedding day. But because of all the intense preparations, I only slept 2-3 hours every night for two weeks prior to the wedding. I almost collapsed in the middle of our ceremony, so I had to ask the officiant to allow me to take off my shoes and to walk out after the ceremony in my bare feet. Millions of thoughts were crossing my mind at that moment, as well as Ian's and the bridesmaids. But Ian held onto me so I wouldn't fall and smiled at the crowd with a great sense of humor. It took a lot of courage on my side to suddenly ask the officiant this bizarre request but thankfully everyone cheered for us, and this moment has remained in our heart as a touching memory.

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Venue: Grounds for Sculpture Park / Photography: Brooke Fitts of Brookelyn Photography / Bouquets and florals: made by the bride with flowers from the flower district NYC / 3" latex balloons: Balloons.com / Cake: Macaron Cafe / Paper corsages and teddy bear brooch: Etsy / Bride's gown: Nicole Miller / Groomswear: Theory / Flower girl and ring bearer clothes: Crewcuts by J. Crew / Stationary Design/Invitations: made by the bride

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Intimate DIY Wedding by Onelove Photography

When I first opened this darling submission I almost did five cartwheels in.a.row across my living room carpet; and lemme tell ya, I have a really great cartwheeling technique. I blame it on the purple tones throughout this wedding, the sweetly made handmade touches and that adorable little pink hued cottage (which I need to live in like asap) all blended together to create the dreamiest DIY affair imaginable. The incredibly ah-mazing Sara from Onelove Photography sent this gem over to me and tells me that to ensure an intimate and warm celebration, Brooks the bride, selected a hidden, rustic Napa/Santa Rosa Bed and Breakfast as the venue and did most of the wedding day decor herself. Uhm Brooks, I don't think you could have done it any better than this. But that's enough out of me blogettes (like you're even reading this anymore), go frolic in the prettiness already. Happy a fabulous rest of your Wednesday everyone! 

{What were some important DIY elements?} Since our wedding was small and intimate we wanted to incorporate our family into our day. We both have family members that are no longer with us and we wanted them to be remembered as well. There are so many people that help you on your journey in life and allow you to get to a place of happiness and love. The 'family tree' was our way of honouring and celebrating those people, the ones still with us and those passed on. We got to go through lots of old and fun pictures, so did our parents and it was a fun project all around. Everyone seemed to love it at the wedding as well.

{Do you have any fun or interesting stories from your planning process?} Not so much any fun stories but I did start out with very high DIY expectations of myself, then quickly realized how much there was to all this wedding planning. So I spent a good deal of time cruising Etsy and found lots of fun touches to add (like the chalkboard candles, the paper hearts garlard, gifts, etc).

{What the most memorable moment from your big day?} I know I've said 'perfect' a few times already but honestly when Trevor and I talk about that day we are both still thrilled. It was a perfect day, I wouldn't redo anything. We talked about it and one of our favourite moments was during the ceremony reciting our vows. We wrote the ceremony together and tried to give it as much of ourselves as possible. So on our wedding day we were truly opening our hearts to each other and all of our family and friends. We also really had fun with the photo booth/guest book. The little props were so cute and everyone had a blast taking pictures and writing in our guest book! We did get a great tip from our fabulous photographer for the camera and album combo!

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Photographer: Onelove Photography / Venue: The Gables Inn / Hair: Salon Miel, Ledora Francis / Cake/Desserts: Ann Walker (personal strawberry shortcakes) / Caterer: Ann Walker / Dress Designer: Amy Kuschel / Floral Designer: Dragonfly Floral / Groomswear: J Crew and Converse / Lighting: JRB Event Services / Shoes: Dessy / Stationary: Wedding Paper Divas / Bridesmaids dresses: J Crew

{Wedding Paper Divas is an official sponsor of the Hey Gorgeous blog}

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Carmel California Private Residence Wedding by Bret Cole Photography

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a glorious weekend full of the finer things in life; like sleep, chocolate chip pancakes and lots of sunshine. I finally had the weekend off of work (can I get three cheers for that?) and headed back to Michigan where I threw my sweet husband a little surprise party for his 28th birthday. We were also able to finally check out our new little abode (oh thank goodness this place is temporary), hang out on a Friday night and lastly I had a consult with my darling May bride after a walk through at her venue. But more on all that fun stuff later. Because this stunner of a wedding has been on my mind for more than a week now.

I cry wolf a lot on this blog claiming this wedding and that wedding are all in fact my faves. I can't help it. I'm a sucker for beautiful light, fabulous details and the most heart warming of love stories. Then, be still my heart, I found this gem of a celebration from the sun-drenched hills of Carmel, California and I was absolutely in love. The details are so sweet. The story behind how the groom met the bride is so sweet and even the invitations, which I shared with you last week, are incredibly sweet. I think once you let all the sweetness soak in you'll have to agree too. A giant hug to the talented and sweet Bret of Bret Cole Photography for sending over all of these incredible images that speak more than a thousand words; I'm honoured to be sharing them here with you all. Happy Monday!

{Courtney and Sean's Love Story} These give a little glimpse of our story but our families go way back. Sean and I were introduced by our grandparents who were best friends. Our grandparents grew up camping together, they started a church together 50 years ago (which they still attend), and their kids (our parents) grew up together as friends. My grandpa got sick a few years ago and Tony (Sean's grandpa) would visit him everyday. My dad was in town visiting my grandpa one day and him and Tony ran into each other at the hospital. They got talking about their kids and grand kids. My dad told Tony that I was moving to SF in a few months and Tony suggested I reach out to Sean. He wanted Sean to show me the city and introduce me to people. So Margaret (Sean's grandma) emailed him to ask him to email me to offer to show me around SF. After a few reminders from his grandma, Sean sent me an e-mail. I took him up on his offer and met up with him when I was visiting SF for an interview. Although we had an immediate connection I had to return to Michigan for a few months before the official job offer came through. During those three months we talked everyday and by the time I moved to SF we were dating. Eight months after moving to SF he proposed and five months after that we got married.   

{Biggest Obstacle While Planning} We decided to have our wedding at my Aunt and Uncles house in Carmel. We didn't realize how much work we were going to have to put in by hosting it at a private residence. It was a lot of work for my Aunt and Uncle. It was also hard not having my mom in town. She was in Michigan and was helping from a far but I had to plan most of it. The road up to the house also presented quite an obstacle. It was windy, steep and narrow. We ended up having to rent vans for guests for safety reasons.

{Advice to Future Brides} At the end of the day, you'll be married, so just relax, enjoy it all and celebrate with all the people you love and who love you. Also, it's not going to be perfect. Be alright with that.

{Fun Fact} Sean and I found out that we met when we were five years old at his cousins birthday party. We were sitting right next to each other enjoying birthday cake. We've got the picture. Pretty amazing. (And Rhi here now, speaking of pretty amazing check this out: when I posted this wedding on my facebook page this morning, a friend of mine commented on the post letting me know who Courtney is. Turns out the bride here was a NCAA volleyball player at Michigan State where I was also a gymnast. My former academic advisor (who like me is Canadian) was a senior the same year Courtney was a freshmen. Funny thing is the gymnastics team and the volleyball team shared a women's shower and bathroom area. I wonder if Courtney and I ever passed another in crossing! Hi Court! Go Green Go White!

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Photographer: Bret Cole Photography / Flowers: Laughin Gal Floral / Rentals - tables and chairs: Chic Events / Caterer: Paradise Catering / Select Decor: Alameda Flea Market, Pottery Barn and friends houses / Wedding dress: Trudys / Men's Shoes: Vans / Bride's cowboy boots: Steve Madden

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DIY Oregon Fall Wedding by Nate Broshot

When a bride sends me her wedding and tells me she found most of her DIY project inspiration from my blog, I have to say my heart melts just a little bit. Then when she proceeds to tell me that she and the ladies in her family picked out, purchased and arranged all of the flowers and bouquets the day before the wedding, I'm pretty sure this is one chick we can all learn a thing or two from. Highschool sweethearts Kelley and Matt were married on September 17th at Rogue Valley Country Club in Medford, Oregon and their celebration was a completely adorable handmade affair. Scroll on to soak in the gorgeous images from Nate Broshot of a License to Still and be sure to check out the helpful advice from Kelley herself at the end of the post! This is one wedding I would have loved to be a guest at.

Kelley's dress was created by local Portland designer Lena Medoyeff and aside from being completely gorgeous on her, she tells me it was super comfy. Being able to get married in a super styling gown that's as comfortable as it is beautiful while supporting a local designer? That's a win win in my books. I love that perfect bow too. Oh and I hate to state the obvious by Kelley you are beautiful!

The girls.

Kelley and Matt decided to do a first look which she describes as her fave moment of the day....

...except as luck would have it, during their first look photos it started to rain. And not just a little bit of rain but a complete downpour forcing their ceremony indoors. Yet Kelley says instead of feeling annoyed or stressed that the weather was ruining her plans she instead was filled with so much joy and love that nothing, rain included, would get in the way of her happiness. While the brides parents and venue employees frantically moved chairs and the arbour her dad made for them to get married under inside, Matt and Kelley could do nothing but smile and look forward to finally getting hitched. And how cool is this? It rained on both Kelley and Matt's parents wedding days. It must be a sign for a long and happy marriage. And thankfully they scored this phenom photo below. Le sigh. 

Dear Kelley and Matt, please get this photo made into a canvas. Love Me.

Are these peachy coloured blooms not the prettiest blooms you've ever seen?

Some details. All made by the bride herself.

{Advice to future brides} It is so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the wedding such as the guest list, location, bridal party, dress, hair, flowers, cake, the list goes on and on. Don’t get me wrong, I think those are all important details that need to be planned out, but my advice is to not get so wrapped up in them that you loose sight of what you are doing all of this for – to marry the love of your life. I had spent so much time planning out each and every detail, like the table centerpieces and then I realized the day of the wedding I did not even stop to notice how they looked on the tables. Why did I not notice? I was having so much fun laughing, dancing and celebrating with my new husband, family and friends! My point: don’t forget the reason for this day. There will always be something (or many things) you look back on and wish you would have done differently or great ideas you wish you would have thought of. However, at the end of the day I would rather enjoy my wedding to the fullest then have each and every detail perfectly in place and not feel truly happy.

{Biggest Obstacle Planning} The guest list! My husband has a huge family (most of them are from Chicago) and our reception location had a limit so it was very challenging to meet that due to our large guest list. This was probably our one and only major conflict during the planning process. At one point, I wanted to cancel the wedding and elope because I was so frustrated that we couldn't seem to agree on the guest list. I am so glad we didn't cancel the wedding and elope!

{Fun Fact} We got engaged on May 3, 2010 and originally set our wedding date for July 16th, 2011. I thought I needed a really long time to plan the wedding, but I quickly realized that I just couldn't wait that long. One month after getting engaged, I had practically planned the whole thing out in my head anyway!  After some convincing, I talked Matt into moving the wedding date up by 10 months. He thought I was crazy, but I kept telling him to trust me and have faith that I could do it! Sure enough, I did! (With help from my mom of course). I am so glad that we moved the date up. We got married in the fall, which I have always wanted and having around 4 months to plan was just the right amount of time for me. I realize that some people need more time to plan. I think it depends on your personality, how you like to make decisions and your schedule. I like to make up my mind quickly plus I wasn't working at the time and had pretty much all day every day to plan, plan, plan!

And Kelley and Matt's rained out wedding day is proof that this...

Can turn to this...

But this will still be just as magical and special.

A big thank you Kelley for sharing your incredibly special wedding day with us. Be sure to check out her blog where she shares lots of goodies on projects, interior design and life as a newlywed! xo

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