Seaside Wedding with Shabby Chic Style

Abby
January 6, 2017
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance
Tags: Outdoor Ceremony, Seaside

If ever there was a wedding that brought Shabby Chic to a place of pure and total elegance…this would be it. The care and attention to details, the quiet luxury, the understated but chic sophistication are everything and the photographs from Olimb Photography? Breathtaking. Click here to see the gallery and scroll down to see the gorgeous video from Theory Y Design.

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From the bride… We didn’t just want to have guests coming from all over to enjoy just the wedding itself (we live in Chicago, family coming from Georgia, Indiana and Maryland) so we decided to make it a “wedding weekend”. On Thursday we started with a welcome event dinner and dancing, a rehearsal dinner on Friday with all guests invited more dinner and dancing and then the wedding Saturday night. Three nights of celebrating is definitely better than one!

I chose to go with very light pastel colors- light pink and blue with silver accents. I wanted a beachy touch but not too cheesy “beachy”. I really wanted a tent to have the wedding reception under to give a soft feel to the event, even though the Hilton told us it was not possible to put a tent on their deck. We searched and searched through tent companies and finally found one who was able to make it possible! I think it made a HUGE difference in the overall look and feel of the wedding.

I purchased small air plants and ordered sea urchin shells to place the air plants in (they turned out adorable!) We then attached thank you notes and placed them on the guests plates as a favor. We still have a few of them around our home that remind me of the special day! Also, we had a family friend who hand painted watercolor around each wedding invite to add a special unique touch.

Some of my favorite moments… Ryan (the groom) and I have a son (who was 9 months old at the wedding) and my twin sister, the MOH, has a daughter (who was 7 months old) who came down the isle as the ring bearer and flower girl in the most adorable wagon. We had purchased a simple wagon online and had the florist decorate it with baby breath. It was by far one of the most adorable moments of the ceremony. I think my husband may have gotten just as emotional about this as he did when he saw me coming down the isle. The groom’s parents surprised us with fireworks at the reception! They had no idea but I had always said (half joking) that I wanted to have fireworks at my wedding one day and they made it happen.

I wanted the flowers to overall be a very pastel look—the bridesmaids were mainly white and mine were white and light pink. I wanted to add a little messiness to them so we added eucalyptus leaves. We also handed out beach bags with beach towels, snacks, maps, weekend itinerary, etc. for each of the guests when they arrived at the resort for the weekend.

My gown was purchased at a store called Glamour Closet in Chicago. They sell sample designer wedding dresses, so I had to decided ASAP when I found the dress if it was the one or not, or else it may not be there when I went back. I was so happy with my decision!

The cake was the chef’s special at the Hilton. We wanted a simple wave design for the cake and just had the florist add flowers to make it a little special touch.

My advice for other brides… stress as little as possible! It will all turn out amazing even if every detail isn’t exactly as you imagined. And you’re the only one that’ll notice if something isn’t right. Enjoy the day and take everything in—it will fly by!