We’ve got a treat for you this morning my lovelies. Brighter Lights Media captured a wedding, complete with a groom who needed a sweet little hand hold from his bride to get through his vows, and it is magical. It’s the kind of wedding you would have given anything to be a part of. And with this highlight (and a gallery of beautiful images from Zen Photography) you can feel like you were there. That is why Saturdays rock.
Beautiful photography courtesy of Zen Photography.
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From the lovely bride … When Shawn and I sat down to plan our day, one thing was very clear: our main goal was that we wanted everyone to enjoy themselves. Being that our date was in the beginning of August, we expected hot weather, but little did we know that it would be the third hottest summer in recorded history! We were happy that we decided to go with a casual, intimate atmosphere for our ceremony and reception.
Choosing our venue was actually quite simple. We were looking for a place that we could hold our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. We found MountainView Manor on The Knot, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. It turned out that not only was the mansion owned by a friend and former colleague’s husband, but it was originally built by the Singer family. Shawn had proposed to me in Boldt Castle located in the 1,000 Islands during our family’s annual camping trip, and the last castle on our tour was also built by the Singer family. We felt as though the stars were aligning for our big day.
The rest of our wedding planning continued to work out the same way our venue did. Our photographer was my aforementioned friend and colleague, and wife of our venue’s owner. We were married by my friend’s husband, who is a lawyer and a judge. Our good college friend was our videographer. My very good family friend did our hair for the wedding day, and her friend did our make-up. Working with people we knew and who knew one another made our day feel much more personal and it helped us stay true to ourselves.
Shawn and I also tried to put a personal touch on the décor. I spent countless hours scouring the internet for inspiration to Shawn’s dismay, as we would come home from work and I’d have another project ready for him! He ended up making the escort card holder with his father, and he also made the box for our cards at the reception.
One of the websites I frequented the most often was Etsy. Working one-on-one with vendors was another way to make sure that the details turned out just the way we wanted. papergirlstudios created the banner for the card table, and I worked closely with LittlePaperFarmhouse to create the perfect escort cards.We printed the guests’ names and table numbers on the outside, with a personal note to the guest on the inside that explained their gift was a donation in their name to the American Cancer Society in both of our mothers’ honor.
The table numbers were my pet project (pun intended). Our dog, Penelope, is a huge part of our lives. She’s a two-year-old golden retriever, and true to her breed, she is still very hyper. We knew that she couldn’t be physically present at our wedding, so we carefully chose our favorite pictures of the milestones in Penelope’s life, printed them with our table numbers, and put them in an eclectic mix of frames.
Another area where we focused a lot of attention was my mom’s table. My mother passed away four years ago from lung cancer. Before she passed, I promised her that she would be my Maid of Honor. I was determined to keep that promise, so we had Shawn’s brother and Best Man walk a candle down the aisle to a small table with mom’s urn in her memory. The candle and urn was then brought down to the reception site where a table was dedicated in her honor. I placed some of my favorite pictures of mom amongst items that were special to the two of us. Her presence was undeniable that day.
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Photography: Zen Photography | Cinematography: Brighter Lights Media | Coordinator: J-Angelo Events | Flowers: Floral Cottage Weddings | Wedding Venue: MountainView Manor | Shoes: Bellissima Bridal Shoes | Cake: Elliegant Cakes | Makeup: Maggie’s Spatique | DJ: DJ Flow