Real Wedding Saturday: Chloe hea

If you like preppy, then you are going to love this wedding! Melanie Mauer sent this my way, and it seemed like such a perfect Southern summer wedding to share with you. Though Chloe and Shea live in Chicago, they decided on Lexington, Kentucky - Chloe's hometown - for their July wedding. Southern hospitality and Lexington's horse racing traditions inspired this traditional wedding, and since the wedding took place on Fourth of July weekend, the couple planned a number of activities and events for their 120 guests. One Fine Day helped to design and coordinate the weekend.


Save-the-dates by One Fine Day. Invitations by Crane & Co.


Chloe wore a dress by Carolina Herrera.


Chloe created this green and blue argyle motif that was incorporated on many of the printed items, including the programs that Chloe printed and tied herself.




Flowers by Suzi Hjorth at Magnolia Floral Designs.


The ceremony took place at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Lexington. A string quartet provided the ceremony music.






Seating cards were clothespinned to Derby cups with miniature bouquets of roses and mint.


The reception took place at The Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa.


All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen found flip-flops at their seats so they could change into more comfortable dancing shoes.


Mint juleps were served in mason jars.


There were two types of cake from Martine's Pastries: red velvet with cream cheese frosting, and bourbon cake with strawberries and white chocolate mousse.


Each table was named after a different Derby-winning horse from a year that holds significance to the bride and groom.


In lieu of a traditional guest book, guests were asked to take Polaroid photos and write notes, then leave them in an adorable filing box for Chloe and Shea to enjoy later.


Chloe arranged for the band, Orange Krush, to surprise Shea by learning and playing one of his favorite songs, Walking In Memphis by Marc Cohen.

Congratulations Chloe and Shea! And thank you so much to Melanie Mauer and One Fine Day for sharing this lovely wedding and all of these details with us!

Real Wedding Saturday: Chrissy & Alex

Today's feature is actually a rehearsal dinner, but I think it could just as easily be a really fun wedding, and it felt like a really fun theme for the Fourth of July weekend. Laurie Arons created this retro hoedown party for a bride and groom in Calistoga, and Thayer Allyson Gowdy captured it all in these great shots...




The wedding took place at a private home in Northern California.




During the cocktail hour guests enjoyed a full bar, including the signature drink of whiskey sours, as well as mesquite grilled prawns and chipotle deviled eggs, provided by Daniel Ripley Catering. Dinner included buttermilk fried chicken, barbecue ribs, biscuits, cornbread and coleslaw.


Hats and bandannas from Oriental Trading Company.


Everyone came dressed in their cowboy gear! Welcome baskets included the classic children's book This is San Francisco, old fashioned peanut brittle, Popchips, sunscreen, a San Francisco/Napa Valley Zagat guide customized with the couple's wedding date (a gift from the Zagats, close friends of the couple), a tin of roasted almonds from Torn Ranch, Calistoga mineral water, and a detailed welcome letter listing the weekend's activities.



A bluegrass band, booked through Innovative Entertainment, serenaded the cocktail hour, and played after dinner.








PSPaper created the table names - each one named after vintage western movies and shows.


Guests enjoyed a country western themed movie about the bride and groom!






After dinner there was square dancing, complete with a caller.


The bride loves cake, so she had Perfect Endings make a display of home-style favorites, including devil's food, banana, spiced pecan, and red velvet. There were also s'mores (with organic dark chocolate, and homemade marshmallows and grahams - of course!) to end the evening. Guests were sent home with small burlap bags filled with retro candy.

If this doesn't look like a fun time, then I don't know what does! Congratulations Chrissy and Alex, and thank you so much to Laurie Arons and Thayer Allyson Gowdy for sharing this wonderful party with us. You can also see some of Thayer's pics of the actual wedding day over on Laurie's blog.

Real Wedding: Crystal & Robert

Not only is Crystal and Robert's wedding sweet and lovely, I think it's extra fun that it was held in my new home of Austin!


Crystal was inspired by the flowers and birds at her home in Austin, and those elements, along with a color scheme of yellow, blue and brown, pulled the look of the wedding together.








Crystal wore a dress that she had custom made. Her bridesmaids each wore a different dress in the same color of chocolate brown.




Crystal and Robert wanted a venue that was beautiful on its own, helping them to keep down decorating costs. The Barr Mansion in Austin was just the place, and made planning everything a breeze, providing everything but the alcohol, from the organic dinner to the cake to the flowers to the wedding coordinator.


Crystal shares her favorite moment of the day with us: My favorite moment was walking through the enormous wooden doors to the ballroom and being introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Hale.




The ballroom was decorated with yellow and cream roses, hung with tea lights, and draped with cream fabric.







Best wishes to you Crystal and Robert! And thank you so much to Suzi Q for sharing these photos with us!

Real Wedding: Roslyn & Andy

If you've been contemplating a destination wedding, then today's real wedding might just convince you. Roslyn and Andy love to travel, and have visited at least one new city or country each year since they started dating. When they traveled to Mexico's Riviera Maya, they instantly fell in love with the white sand beaches and crystal blue water, and when they got engaged, they knew it was the perfect place for a dreamy, intimate beach wedding...


Guests were greeted with fun welcome boxes, filled with coffee from the Dominican Republic, where Andy is from, as well as a disposable camera to be used and returned to the couple at the end of the weekend. The wedding favors were CDs of some of the couple's favorite songs - Andy made the CD inserts with caricatures of Roslyn and himself.




Roslyn wore a dress by Priscilla of Boston and a Swarovski brooch. Her mother, a stylist at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in New York, did her hair and makeup. Flowers were provided by the resort.


Andy wore a suit from J.Crew, and Converse shoes that Roslyn custom designed for him with "The Groom" stitched on the back. Roslyn - a Yankees fan! - gave Andy a pair of Boston Red Sox cufflinks to wear on the wedding day.


The wedding took place at the Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort & Spa, which Roslyn discovered with the help of Destination Weddings.


Roslyn and Andy's wedding was set for the week that the swine flu became big news, and had 12 out of 32 guests cancel at the last minute. Thankfully, Indira of Eventus helped to coordinate the weekend, and to make sure that everything went smoothly even with all of the last minute changes, and the intimate weekend was a great chance for everyone to spend time and get to know each other better.






Roslyn and Andy wrote their own vows, created from past cards they had written to each other, and the maid of honor read a surprise poem during the ceremony. Andy's brother officiated.








Each seating card included a button that the bride and groom customized for each guest - something that fit each guest's personality.






Instead of hiring a band or a DJ, Roslyn created playlists for the entire wedding, from the ceremony to the reception. Guests also enjoyed a Polaroid guest book.




At the end of the night, the couple surprised everyone with a donkey piñata!

Congratulations Roslyn and Andy - what a beautiful and fun day! And a big thank you to Robert Sukrachand for sending over these gorgeous photos - if you're as big a fan of his work as I am, you'll want to add his blog to your list. So much inspiration there!