We’ve seen a couple weddings at The Club Continental in Florida recently and each one is totally unique and simply divine. This romantic fairy tale of a day captured by Browne Photography is sweet enough to give you a tooth ache. I love the mustard and blue tones and the whimsical meets traditional flair that is carried throughout from the quirky bird escort cards to the bride’s stunning and classic gown. Plus that Sarah Seven bridesmaid dress is ridiculously amazing and needs to get in my closet immediately. Click here to see even more!
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From the Bride… The vision I had for my wedding day evolved quite a bit as the date approached, and many ideas I had initially, I didn’t end up up using in the end. I’m not one of those girls who has always pictured her wedding day to be a certain way; in fact, I never really pictured my wedding until it was upon me. At first I thought I wanted to do something totally different from other traditional weddings. I even considered it might be just the two of us, plus immediate family, in a tiny Spanish town we’d visited together when we first met! It was all very dreamy and far-away feeling at first, and I think it was when I went dress shopping with my sister and mother that I realized this was really my wedding. It was also when I decided what I wanted to look like, what I wanted everyone else to look like, and what feeling I wanted the whole scene to evoke. I realized that I simply wanted the day to be a reflection of us; a celebration of who we are as individuals and together, and that I wanted to celebrate with everyone I held dear. I’m a romantic, so I ended up with a traditional white dress with a long train that I could not call anything but “so pretty.” Corey and I are flirty and a bit goofy as a couple, so I wanted to keep the style fun and playful. We’re also both pretty style-conscious, and I’m quite crafty, so we chose a modified retro look with some personal DIY touches thrown in here and there, and I think we ended up with something like Old Hollywood Glamour meets Alice in Wonderland… if there is such a thing!
With a lot of help from family and friends, I added some personal touches that I think made the wedding more memorable for everyone there. My sister Lauren is an artist, and offered to make my invitations, save the dates, and programs for me. She used real photos of Corey and I and used Photoshop to place us in an old 1950’s convertible for the save the date: they were too cute! I had an idea early on to use bells during the ceremony, as a way to let the guests participate. I ended up placing small bells in each program, with instructions to ring the bell at various parts of the ceremony (when I walked past each row as I entered, and at the end when we kissed, of course). I remember how nice it was to hear the bells as I walked down the aisle– a sort of reminder that all of the people around me were there in loving support. I also had a friend playing the Viola for our ceremony music, and to keep things fun we had him play the Hallelujah chorus for the recessional! It was definitely a joke that was only appreciated by some. For our first dance, Corey and I wanted to do something special, so we took a few dance lessons together and choreographed a flirty Mambo dance to Dean Martin’s version of “Hey Mambo.” I changed into a short sparkly number for the dance– we had a great time and definitely missed some steps, but it was fun to see our family’s reaction: no one saw that one coming! Corey and I are both from Louisville, Kentucky, so for favors we had “Getting Lucky in Kentucky” cookies from Kizito Cookie company in Louisville.
I chose to use various shades of golden yellows mixed with deep indigo blues and navy tones for my color palette throughout, from the invites to the grooms’ boutonnieres, to the flowers and the table decorations. As a personal touch, I created little origami bird placecards made out of these beautiful fancy golden and blue handmade papers I found at a paper store in Vancouver, and placed these on a “tree” made of some curly willow in a vase. A friend helped to write each guest’s names on tags attached to the birds with golden ribbon, along with the guest’s assigned table number. These were a big hit and everyone took them home as favors. I added retro and antique elements throughout to play up the old world feel: I gathered old photos from Corey and my family, and placed them on a screen by the guestbook table. I also used old gold photo frames I found at an antique mall to hold the table numbers, and all of the vases on the tables were different antique-store finds as well.
I remember being inside the Club Continental with my mom and stepdad before the ceremony, waiting for the music to start and watching all of the guests being seated from behind the glass double-doors I was about to walk through, and I remember a sudden sense of calm that no matter what- no matter if I tripped my way down the aisle- this was going to be one of the most wonderful moments of my life. From that moment on, I didn’t care what happened, I was simply so happy to be marrying this person, on this day. The rest was kind of a blur!
Wedding Photography: Browne Photography / Floral Design: Susannah Sands, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: The Club Continental / Wedding Cake: Paul Collins of Signature Cakes by Paul / Hair Accessories: Kathy Vito, Friend of the Bride / Wedding Dress: Anjolique via The White Gown / Wedding Invitations: Lauren Morris, Sister of the Bride / Bridesmaid Dresses: Sarah Seven / Groom’s Attire: Theory / Groomsmen Ties: DKNY