This wedding from Carlea J Photography simply defines lovely. From it’s romantic hues to it’s gorgeous blooms by Plants and Petals and all the sweet details in between, it just doesn’t get prettier than this vintage garden wedding at the The Parador. But you don’t have to take my word for it, there is so much more proof of the pretty waiting for you in the full gallery of images.
From the Bride… Glen and I met by chance through a friend. We walked the same high school hallways, went to the same movie theatre and lived not far from each other most of our lives. Fate didn’t work it’s magic until I was just about to start college and he decided to ask me to dinner on the Philadelphia waterfront. I fell hard for his for his dashing good looks and fantastic sense of humor. His English background makes him dangerously charming and he was always such a gentleman. Turns out, he’s quite the gentleman all the time so I figured I’d better hang on to this one! We dated for quite a few years and he proposed on a family holiday to Devon, England. It was simple and outrageously romantic all at the same time, just his style. Through (his) tears, I said yes and the rest is history!
The inspiration for the event was a classic and vintage garden party. I was raised to love antiques and that objects have stories of love and life, Glen has also adopted this interest of mine after years of antique malls and yard sales. We incorporated as many vintage elements as we could. All the ladies that attended the wedding received vintage hankies as a momento of the day. I knew the groom was going to cause quite a few tears of joy. Our table numbers were postcards from significant places. One of our passions in life is traveling and I thought it would be a great symbol for this new journey of marriage and life we are about to embark upon. Almost all of my jewelry was borrowed from various women in my family.
I am a graphic designer so I’ve essentially art directed the day – from the programs and advice cards to the menus and thank you notes. The invitations were letter-pressed by a local printer, Cara Matocha. She helped me set the mood for the event before the guests even arrived. I absolutely love this printing technique so letterpress was a must for us and also gave a nod back to the vintage theme we had started. My local Houston friends helped us immensely with invitation preparation.
My maids of honor (yes I had two, I’m a lucky girl) we’re miles away, one in Philadelphia and another in Los Angeles. They are fabulous and were so supportive and helpful via email and phone calls throughout the planning process. When they arrived in Houston a few days before the wedding they quickly met and joined my Houston maid and they got to work! We created petal toss cones from pages of a vintage book on friendship, cards for each of the vintage hankies and quite a few things for our BBQ rehearsal dinner.
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Wedding Photography: Carlea J Photography | Reception Venue: The Parador in Houston, Texas | Floral Design: Plants and Petals | Catering: Behind the Bash | Wedding Cake: Edible Designs By Jessie | Ceremony Music: Chamber Music Unlimited (cmuhouston@comcast.net) | DJ: LG Entertainment | Wedding Dress: Houston Bridal Gallery | Hair + Makeup: Sharon Van Gessel (sharonvangessel@icloud.com) | Stationery: Vanessa Broomfield