Peaches and Cream Bridal Shower by Elizabeth Kaye

Morning guys! Today I have a sweet little treat for you; a peaches and cream themed bridal shower sent over from my lovely friend and photog extraordinaire, Elizabeth Kaye. I absolutely love when brides hire a photographer to capture their bridal shower because from what I remember my own shower was one of the most memorable days of my life. Then when a bride goes above and beyond to get crafty and carry out a theme throughout the whole celebration (an adorable theme might I add) the results are too delicious for words. Even better, those little peach drinks with the peach ring garnishes? I do believe that was the signature drink at our own wedding! After you scroll through the photos check out all the helpful cost-saving and planning tips from the beautiful bride to be, Sabrina. Enjoy your Wednesday blogettes; be back later this afternoon with more goodies :)

{From the cute bride to be, Sabrina} Bridal showers are becoming more and more elaborate these days. Rather than writing the name of my guests on individual, folded pieces of paper for their seating placements, I chose to buy mini canvases. I painted each canvas peach and wrote guest's names in cursive. Then I placed the small canvas on an easel that I had spray painted sea foam green. This was easy and very affordable and the small easels came in mini packs at the Dollar Store. Bigger canvases stood by the entrance to display what tables guests were seated at. These were also purchased from the Dollar Store. The larger canvases were painted peach and matched well with their little canvas friends. Among these, I also spotted fake fruit further down the craft aisle. I bought several bags of fake peaches and combined them into my floral centerpieces to tie in to the theme.

Even though Dollar Stores are great bargain places to shop at, there are times you can't find exactly what you need. When I visited my local Michaels, I checked the discounted bin and found adorable mini calendars for .39 cents each. Browsing through the months, I noticed lovely designs bordering the back side of each month. I decided to buy as many calendars as I needed and then ripped out the beautiful paper. I then traced my table numbers onto coloured stock paper and pasted it into the beautifully bordered paper. It added a really pretty touch and incorporated the colours I was after. Laminating the table number cards also really polished the look. 

Lastly, DIY projects are always a lot of fun, especially when you have a clear vision of what you want. Plan everything out and give yourself enough time to make your vision a reality. Depending on what DIY project you're working on, start early enough to achieve your goal without worrying about a sudden deadline. Put love and passion into your project and it will shine. Tackle on project at a time so it isn't too overwhelming. If something doesn't turn out exactly the way you want, well then, just remember, when life gives you peaches, make peach juice. Or something like that :)

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Vintage Illinois Wedding by Avery House Photography

A little confession: while you are sitting here soaking in the gorgeousness that is this wedding, I my friends am enjoying happy hour with the incredibly warm and kind Stevi and Matt from Avery House Photography. They are the duo behind my fave wedding I shared with you all last week and again they knocked it out of the park with this phenomenal peach and blue hued Illinois fete. I would have never thought to pair together soft corals, creams and perry winkle blue but Kate, the gorgeous bride, did it in the most perfect of ways. Is her dress not the prettiest you've ever seen? Scroll on to take in all of her insightful advice to future brides. And in case you missed it check out their adorable engagement session that I shared this morning. Enjoy the rest of your Monday, my loves! 

I am seriously lusting after Kate's Melissa Sweet "Fern" gown. The detailing is so romantic!

{Advice to Future Brides} The best advice I can give is to keep some sense of perspective. It is very easy to get caught up in all the pretty details of wedding featured in magazines and blogs but it i OK to pass on some things for the sake of your budget and sanity. The compliment I most frequently heard after my wedding was that I kept all the stuff that mattered and did away with the rest. Yes, custom gift bags to welcome out-of-town guests would have been nice. But those guests had plenty of fun without the added expense and effort on my part. Monogrammed wine bottle labels or candles may have been cute as favors but when I tallied up the expense, I decided that money was better spent on an incredible band. The point of a wedding is to end up married to your honey and celebrate that marriage with friends and family. Focus on those two things and you'll be happy with the results.

{Biggest Obstacle While Planning} My biggest obstacle was most certainly self-inflicted. As a former art student and lover of wedding blogs, I was totally in love with every quirky, creative wedding idea that crossed my path. I wanted to make my own invitations out of antique books and sew old sweaters into wine cozies for my favours. I planned to hand paint our Ketubah and make letterpress stationary as gifts for my bridesmaids. Halfway through the planning process, I had an apartment full of musty antique books (ebay!), frustrated roommates and mountains of work piling up at my job. I had to take a step back and admit that am not, in fact, in the business of wedding planning and cannot expect to tackle every project myself. It was at that point that I started looking to my wedding vendors to do what I had hired them to for - so I could keep the rest of my world from falling apart from neglect. Once I gave up that notion that everything had to be done (perfectly) by me, the rest of the planning process was much more manageable.

{Fun Fact} Jason and I chose to roll the dice and go forward with out outdoor wedding despite looming storm clouds. Towards the end of our ceremony, the first few drops began to fall. Jason broke the glass and everyone shouted "mazel tov!" and as we kissed, not one, but two rainbows appeared above us. While I spent my engagement hoping for a warm, sunny wedding day, we wouldn't have had our rainbows without the rain!

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Photography: Matt and Stevi Savage, Avery House Photography / Flowers: Marie Pauly of Wild Orchid Custom Floral Design / Venue and Caterer: Bloomingdale Golf Club, Bloomingdale, Illinois / Music: Orchestra 33 / Favors: Kelly Siebens, Lillycakes / Stationary: Bella Figura / Dress: Melissa Sweet "Fern" with accompanying cathedral veil / Hair and Make Up: Carla from Appease, Inc / Menswear: Ralph Lauren / Bridesmaids" J. Crew silk chiffon "Sophia" hazel blue / Shoes: Nina / Clutch: Nordstrom / Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Cristine, Cristine Bunting / Papercut Ketubah: Judiac Connection

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Romantic Milwaukee Bistro Wedding by Avery House Photography

This right here my friends, is hands down one of my most favourite weddings to date. The minute I laid eyes on the soft, simplistic photos by Matt and Stevi, the masterminds behind Chicago-based Avery House Photography, I fell completely in love. On Tuesday, I briefly touched on the subject of branding, how important it is to build a brand and for me, how building my brand means showcasing weddings that best fit my styling and aesthetic preferences. And Rachel and Carlos had a wedding day celebration that couldn't better fit everything I love about a wedding and wedding photography; the most romantic of details, beautiful flowers, soft lighting and the most tender and pure form of love. I hope you adore the photos as much as I do. This right here, is absolute wedding perfection in my eyes.

Rachel you are stunning. Just stunning! And those purple things that look like leaves? Rachel informed me that they are actually strips of ribbon flipped underneath of the flower arrangements. So clever. I love.

I adore the photo of Rachel below smelling her bouquet. Canvas please? Admit it, that's what you were thinking too.

Happy Groom alert. Check it out.

{Carlos and Rachel's Love Story} I don't consider it much of a "love" story but I am very thankful for my husband. We met in August 2008 at a church I used to attend. I talked to a lot of people there so when he was a newcomer it didn't seem awkward to talk to him. We talked a few times but I never thought much of it. One evening I was checking with a few friends to see what plans had been made for the night. We decided to go mini golfing and called around a dozen people. The only person who responded back to come was Carlos. That meant it would be my two friends Gabe and Becky, who were engaged and Carlos and myself. I told them, please don't make this awkward for him since he is new. I didn't want him to feel like we set him up. As the night went on I realized how much fun I was having (and I don't usually have fun mini golfing, seriously). The four of us went to go get a burger and ice cream afterwards. Carlos and I ended up sharing two hamburgers (cheese and ketchup only, gross, I like the works), fries and ice cream. We all said our good byes and headed home. Not any more than 1 minute after pulling out of the parking lot, Carlos called me to ask if I'd like to go to the zoo the next day. Not knowing his motives, we had an enjoyable three hours together. Ever since out first 'dae' we hung out just about every day. Officially we started dating October 18th, 2008, got engaged five months later on March 31, 2009 and married on July 10, 2010. I couldn't have asked for it to happen any easier. I am still very in love.

{Advice to Future Brides} Leave enough time between the engagement and the wedding to be able to enjoy your relationship and life. You shouldn't have to feel stressed out because you don't have enough time to 'do life.' I had 14 months to plan and it was perfect. Remember to find enough pictures of the things you love and then narrow it down from there to decide what you want your day to be like. Stick to it and do whatever you can to make it work. I wanted three vases at each table and peonies in my wedding. My florist and I discussed the cost which was way too expensive so we made it work - she found a garden rose that looked exactly like a peony (I loved it even more!) and I went to six thrift stores to find 110 milk glass vases which averaged to to less than $1.00 each. I wanted a sit down dinner and I wanted the venue to match my wedding style (not a hotel with maroon carpet and blue padded chairs) so I looked around and found the restaurant. We paid for a food and beverage minimum, no rental fee. The food was tremendous! And worth every penny - taste, appearance, portion size, everyone was talking about the food (and still is nine months later). Set a budget. Decide up front what the most important features of your wedding are and make sure that is where your money is spent. Research the vendors you are interested in and make sure you meet with them face to face. It you aren't satisfied with them initially, find someone else.

{Fun Facts} I planned the whole wedding all by myself. No wedding planner. My biggest help was the binder I made. I wouldn't have been able to do it if I wasn't so organized. There are plenty of online resources for you to print off and use as budget helpers, vendor lists, etc. Also, the first time I saw my dress with the jacket, my veil and the pieces and my hair together was the morning of my wedding. I am thankful everything turned out well together. I also made sure I had enough money needed so I didn't pay with credit.

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Caterer and Venue: Lake Park Bistro / Photographer: Avery House Photography / Florist: Michelle Herman, Moss Floral / Photobooth: Mugshotz Photobooth / Cake: Stephanie Rauch, Cakes by Stephanie / Hair flowers: Fallen Sparrow / Groomswear: Mitchell Street Menswear / Hair: Eric of Norway Salon / Dress: Eva's Bridal Center / Stationary: created by the bride and printed through Vista Print

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Peach-Hued Bouquet Inspiration

I think it's safe to say that for most brides creating their dream bouquet is one of the most anticipated components to wedding planning. Correct me if I am wrong here but the ability to create the most perfect bunch of flowers through various hues, textures, shapes, accents and details really is an aesthetically driven process that's nothing but fun; how I envy all you floral designers out there! In celebration of spring, I put together two inspiration boards full of peachy-hued bouquet inspiration. And I'm not talking about that peach hue packed with a punch, but that pretty pale muted version that when paired together with pinks, whites and pale greens, completely melts your heart.

{Top Board}

pale peach peonies, peach roses, ivory vandela roses, babies breath and yellow astilbe - Jen Curtis

peach and pink peony and roses bouquet with greenery - Aaron Delesie, bouquet by Annette Gomez

white rose, peach dahlia and pink peonies - This Modern Romance, bouquet by JMFloral Design

pink and peach peonies, white ranunculus and garden roses - Natalie Watson

{Bottom Board}

pale peach garden roses, lemon leaf look-alike, and muted red lilies - Jose Villa, bouquet by Flowerwild

pink dahlia, pale peach peonies, white ranunculus and white anemones - Raw Photos Design

peach and white garden roses, tuberose, jasmine, helleborus, freesia and pieris buds - Ashley Forette

pale pink and white ranunculus, white peonies, greenary, dusty miller - Jose Villa, bouquet by Mindy Rice

What's your favourite bouquet?

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Peach-Hued California Wedding by Aaron Delesie

Anyone remember seeing this wedding by Aaron Delesie featured on Style Me Pretty a few months back? If so - and I am assuming you had the same reaction as me - then thank you for understanding my deepest most glamorous wedding fantasies. If not, well, I welcome you to the blush-pink, romanctic-dreamy, absolute perfection that is this wedding. The ring, the cake, the florals, the flower girls, the venue, the bride, her dress, her hair, the couple. Sigh. This wedding is seriously one of my faves and I mean that with every ounce of my being. And that means a lot coming from a girly girl like yours truly who says she adores almost every wedding she comes across :) Happy first May Monday morning lovelies. Do something new today xo

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