New York Weddings

I feel like Thursday is a perfect day for a little break of the wedding video variety. By this time in the week, you’ve logged one to many hours thanks to the daily grind, you’re hoping for the weekend and you just need a little pep in your pretty little step. Well ladies and gents, I bring you pep. It might make you get a bit sappy, but I think we all secretly love that. I mean, you can seriously place bets on the fact that I WILL cry when the couple exchange vows in every.single.video., and this one is no different. So tell your boss I said it’s break time, take a deep breath and enjoy this fabulous film from I Do Films.

Mark & Jennifer from I Do Films on Vimeo.

From I Do Films… Mark and Jen first met at the flat rock saloon in Philadelphia, not long after Jen moved there from New York. They are a fun-loving couple that enjoy live music, the World Cup, and cheering on the Phillies. Jen has a style all her own and really let it shine through with her choice of shoes, jewelry, hair pieces and colorful flowers.

Their Long Island wedding was full of tradition, dancing, and lots of wonderful Croatian music. Plus, Jen’s dad even stepped in to play the accordion for a few songs. Rumor has it he has become quite famous for his skill among his native Croatians!

We had a great time filming the wedding and working with so many talented wedding industry professionals.

Cinematography: I Do Films / Wedding Photography: Shira Weinberger / Wedding Ceremony Location: Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church / Wedding Reception Location: The Royalton at Roslyn Country Club / Hotel Accommodations: The Inn at Great Neck / Wedding Dress: La Sposa via Pronovias NYC / Bride’s Shoes: Stuart Weitzman / Bride’s Handbag: Via Bella / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groom’s Tuxedo: Trussini via Boyds / Makeup: Anni Bruno of NYC Faces / Letterpress Invitations: Plume via Two Paper Dolls

Be still my nautical-lovin’ heart. Not only does this engagement session by Lauren Gabrielle Photography zone in on my love (borderline obsession) for all things ship and sea, but they also went all adorable vintage on me, and that my friends is what really did me in. Can we also talk about the sweet little sail boat cake toppers?! I mean really, those are seriously adorbs. There isn’t one thing I don’t love about this engagement shoot, and thankfully there is even more in the full gallery!

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From Lauren Gabrielle Photography… New York has endless amazing and unique locations for photos, and we took advantage of this in both parts of our adventurous photo shoot. The first part was taken at South Street Seaport in Manhattan, where the cobblestone streets, vintage buildings, and large old fashioned ships provided the perfect backdrop for our vintage nautical theme. The second part of the shoot took place on Sunken Meadow beach in Long Island, where we had the perfect sunset and incorporated lots of fun vintage props. Paula and Emanuel were amazing to work with and were very open to just about anything. Definitely my kind of couple!

Photography: Lauren Gabrielle Photography / Hair: Stacy Pitt of Styles on B / Dresses: Anthropologie / Love Banner, Newspaper Ships, Silverware, Vintage Letter & Belt Buckle: Etsy / Cake: Crumbs Bake Shop / Additional Decor: Home Goods / Locations: Sunken Meadow Beach + South Street Seaport

We just absolutely love hearing from brides and their families that went through the planning process arm in arm with SMP. It gives us the warm and fuzzies, and this wedding by Christina Bohn Photography is sure give you the warm and fuzzies as well. With a picture perfect bride and a backyard wedding full of sweet details, I would say all of their arm in arm planning paid off. For even more of this pretty backyard affair, be sure to check out the full gallery of images.

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Mother of the Bride… I am the mother of the bride… what an honor.  We joked about having a “Style Me Pretty” wedding.  Your site is an adjective.  There wasn’t just one wedding we wanted to emulate, it was all of them.  Each one had something special to admire and swoon over. My daughter and I spent hours and days upon days sending each other links and printing out inspiration photos from your site. We started collecting elements of things we loved and wondered how it would all come together as one cohesive idea, since we loved so many different ideas. Would it be rustic, tea party, garden party, elegant, or casual?  Along the way we found out it would be all those things, our favorite things, and in the end they fit perfectly together as if they were meant to be.  Once we discovered your inspiring blog, I found it impossible to concentrate on anything else. There were just so many beautiful things to see and dream about.

The words we heard most from the guests at the wedding…magical, exquisite, unique, a little girls dream come true. It was truly a spectacular and joyous party. However, as much fun as the wedding was, the journey to get there was just as special and important. I am blessed to have been able to plan this wonderful event with my daughter and good friend, Helayne, wedding planner extraordinaire. Helayne is knowledgeable, resourceful, organized, calm, and so kind. To be part of such an important time in my daughter’s life fills me with happiness. I felt privileged to be able to share this with her and grateful to have Helayne’s guidance along the way.

Ali has been looking at bridal magazines since she was 2-years-old.  I do not exaggerate.  When she was old enough to have boyfriends she asked to hide them (we had many) so as not to scare anyone away!  She really was the little girl with the fairytale wedding in her head.  This is a very difficult expectation to meet. Instead, we somehow exceeded it with help and inspiration from Style Me Pretty.

First came the dress, one of her favorite parts. The dress she found was just right. It was romantic and almost had a 50’s styling.  It was perfect for a garden setting. To this day she can’t understand why every bride wouldn’t choose this same dress. There was never a doubt.  Just love. The rest of the planning was easy and fun.  Ali wanted an eco-friendly at home party and wanted to do a lot of the decorating on her own. We did not want assigned seating and instead planned passed food and food stations scattered throughout the yard.  Food and Photography were top priorities.

Our photographer, Christina Bohn, was fantastic. Her personality meshed so well with Tom and Ali.  She somehow faded into the background, yet captured everything.  She made them feel so comfortable that she was able to capture them being real and not one photograph was a lined up group of people with fake smiles. She is so creative and was able to capture the love and warm feelings of the day.  I have never seen Ali and Tom looking so happy and having such a fantastic time. Christina is an exceptional photographer and at the end of the day all your have left are the photos to keep the wonderful memories alive.

It is a tremendous amount of work to have a backyard wedding.  We had close to 200 guests and the most amazing caterer, Food for Forks, and catering staff to help. Especially helpful was Mike Jessup who acted as the day of coordinator. Not only were they all truly professional, they listened carefully to my few requests and executed each thing to perfection.  They helped decorate each food station to perfection and they never left a dirty dish or glass around.  They were courteous and so friendly to our guests. The food was beyond delicious. I am still dreaming of the next party I can have, just so I can hire Peter Ambrose and his staff again.

We didn’t have to worry about flowers at all. Ali works with a fabulous florist and figured that was the one area she didn’t have to be concerned with.  She totally trusted Nancy to make all decisions relating to the type and style of flowers. Ali wanted everything to be simple and natural and we spent months collecting bottles and vessels to house the beautiful blooms. We couldn’t get over the beautiful bouquets that Nancy created, they were just perfect. Nancy used so many different beautiful flowers that it is impossible to list them all here.  She is creative, talented and so easy to work with.

Ali was the calmest bride I have ever seen.  She truly enjoyed every moment from planning to the celebration. Having an at home party allows one to spread the joy.  We had family and friends helping throughout and laughed through heat waves and crazy projects.

Ali and Tom’s ceremony was beautiful and personalized.  Tom’s brother, Mike, was the officiant.  It was very special having someone that knew them both so well performing the ceremony.  I don’t think I was truly prepared for the intense emotions I felt that day. It was overwhelming, standing with my husband, in this perfect setting, watching our daughter looking so beautiful and happy. We were surrounded by our closest family and friends.  I think I cried tears of joy all night long.

Wedding Photography: Christina Bohn Photography / Event Planning: Helayne Damianos (HelayneDamianos@me.com) / Floral Design: Nancy Munch of Open House Country Flowers / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: Private Residence / Catering: Peter Ambrose of Food For Forks / Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. / Guest Restrooms: Norsic / Tent Rentals: The New York Tent Company / Band: Stan Weist / Wedding Invitations: The Writing Place / Makeup: Jamie Mazlin (Jamie_Mazlin@yahoo.com) / Wedding Dress: Christos (Desiree) / Bride’s Shoes: Tracy Reese / Bridesmaid Dresses: Wtoo by Watters + Bill Levkoff / Bridesmaid Sandals: J.Crew / Groom’s Attire: J.Crew + Banana Republic

Hello romantic spring wedding by CLY Creation! Seriously, these images just ooze romance and the entire affair is just a perfect spring occasion. Her stunning gown, bountiful florals and could.not.be.cuter flower girls make it easy to see why I will be spending my day swooning over all the romance. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it and with a full gallery of images, you too can join me in the swoon fest!

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Bride… Our love story is a bit unusual.  We met in the dorms as students at Harvard Law School, became friends, fell out of touch, reconnected six years later, fell in love right away, and got engaged shortly thereafter!  Though years had passed, the same familiarity and comfort between the two of us remained.  We wanted our late spring New York wedding to reflect the feelings of the season, as well as our own feelings about our amazing (re)union:  freshness, loveliness, optimism, and the sense of things budding everywhere.  To reflect that, we picked soft lavender, sage, cream, pink, and gold as our wedding colors and designed around that.  We were married in a small English garden on our venue’s grounds, under an arch featuring deep pink peonies, sage green antique hydrangea, lavender roses, and cream dendrobium orchids.  Our centerpieces at our reception had these same flowers plus cherry blossom branches for drama and height.

We tried to DIY a few things for the wedding, primarily because we discovered through wedding planning that we actually love to make things ourselves.  Doing so allowed us to create unique, bespoke items with our own mark on everything.  For example, when we struggled to find a box that would perfectly fit all of our hand-calligraphed escort cards/envelopes (which were styled to look like pieces of mail complete with stamps on each corner), Gene handmade a box from balsam wood.  He even hand-turned almost one hundred pieces of copper wire for each escort card so that they would stand upright in the dried moss that lined the box!  We also made our menus with our “JG” monogram, our accordion-fold programs, and our favor tags (which hung from the neck of miniature bottles of zinfandel).  The programs and favor tags featured our custom silhouettes, hand-drawn by Gene’s sister, an artist.

Being both of Korean heritage, it was important to us to incorporate a traditional Korean paebaek ceremony into our wedding, during which we paid respects to our family members by bowing and offering wine.  Most of our younger guests had never seen this before so it caused a huge sensation when we re-entered the ballroom in our traditional Korean attire. After it was all over, I changed back into my gown and Gene back into his suit and the raucous dance party began!  We were amazed to see people of all ages cutting a rug, from our grandmothers to our distinguished guests (even members of the judiciary!) to our little nieces; everyone was out on the dance floor and having a great time.  It was a magical day, and for us, it truly captured how we felt about our (re)union:  full of hope, optimism, and just joy!

Photography: CLY Creation / Cinematography: Magic Flute Videos / Floral Design: Pedestals Floral Decorators / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: Crest Hollow Country Club / Wedding Invitations: Bella Figura / Calligraphy: Rona Siegel Calligraphy / Wedding Gown: Maggie Sottero / Bride’s Fascinator: Virginia Geiger Elegant Jewelry Design / Groom’s Suit: Calvin Klein / Groom’s Tie: Brooks Brothers / Day of Coordination: Vow Wedding Consulting / DJ: FM Entertainment / With Love Cards: Twin Ravens Press

A wedding inspired by and built around a gorgeous Amsale wedding dress is my kind of wedding. Dripping in luxurious undertones from the exquisite stationery by Deborah Nadel Design to the glittery Jimmy Choos, each image by Brian Dorsey Studios just screams elegance. Gorgeous, candlelit and sophisticated – sounds delightful indeed! For even more of this romantic affair, check out the full gallery of images!

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Bride… My whole inspiration for my wedding started with my dress. I found my dress the first day I even started looking and fell in love with it!  I am not one for glitz, but the dress was perfect because it made a statement on its own. From that point on I had this whole image of everything kind of blending and coordinating with my dress.

After five years as a merchandiser at Ralph Lauren, and now at Intermix, I obsessed over the color of everything. I wanted everything from the invitations to the the color of the roses to blend, and make a neutral, romantic color palette. Deborah paid attention to every detail and we worked together to choose the perfect paper and ink color to make everything match. Our florist, Meredith, from Belle Fleur knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and put together a regal and majestic day. We incorporated tons of candles in the the hallway, which created a romantic and calm environment, where Adam and I saw each other for the first time. It was one of the craziest rain storms on the day of our wedding yet it was so peaceful inside the country club.

After having gone to Emory together, and knowing each other for almost ten years, Adam and I were beyond excited to party with all of our friends. I loved that we went from this emotional ceremony to a crazy party filled with tons of friends, high energy music, and plenty of food and drink!

Wedding Venue: Fresh Meadow Country Club / Wedding Photography: Brian Dorsey Studios / Wedding Stationery & Calligraphy: Deborah Nadel Design / Floral Design: Belle Fleur / Band: Hank Lane / Table Linens: Table Wraps / Makeup: Kimara Ahnert / Wedding Dress: Amsale / Groom’s Tux: Ermenegildo Zegna / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm / Flower Girl Dresses & Shoes: J.Crew

There’s one thing we know FOR SURE. We know that EVERY single one of you are thinking about the details that will MAKE your wedding. The big and the small. The obvious and the not so obvious! That’s why you’re here, right? And that’s what makes today’s wedding so absolutely enormous . The details … you can see ’em in every shot (i.e., every ~ fabulous ~ shot from Turn Loose The Art)!

from the super creative and beautiful bride …. Kathleen …
It was very important to us that we incorporate our personalities into the wedding. From our invitations, to our quilt guest book we wanted every detail to match who we are as a couple.  Being a huge fan of photography, our pictures were an aspect of the wedding that meant so much to us. We knew it would be those pictures that would serve as that tangible memory of our most special day. We were SO lucky to have found Joe and Britney at Turn Loose The Art.  Not only are they masters of their art, they are absolutely wonderful and fun people!

Britney & Joe have lots more gorgeous shots from the day on their blog! Definitely take a look: Turn Loose The Art: Kathleen & Chris

Share all their joy in this highlight from Pat Ingravallo from Golden Moments Video!

Kathleen & Christopher from Pat Ingravallo (Golden Moments) on Vimeo.

. . .

When we first got engaged it was a no-brainer that we would be married on Long Island surrounded by our closest friends and family. Port Jefferson has always been a special place to us. Not only do we love it’s old world charm, it’s where we had many of our first dates. We knew the church on the big hill would be the perfect place to promise the deepest parts of our being to one another.

Chris and I both love all things old, vintage, and rustic, so we immediately knew we wanted to bring as much of that into our wedding as possible. As much as we would have loved to have our celebration outdoors we were worried about New York’s random weather so we opted for the Hamlet Willow Creek in Mt. Siani. It was breathtaking and had many of the elements we were looking for.

We knew that our bridal party would consist of family members who are very near and dear to our hearts. Our main concern for our bridesmaids and groomsmen was that they each felt comfortable. Their own style dress and shoe, and Nike Air Force Ones helped us accomplish that goal! Chris was the star of the night with his break dancing performances. The smiles and laughter from our friends and family were truly captivating and lit up the entire room. We received so many compliments from our guests who said they have never seen a bride and groom have so much fun on their wedding day. It was the best thing anyone has ever said to us.

Wedding Gown: Priscilla of Boston / Church: Infant Jesus / Venue: Hamlet Willow Creek / Makeup: Makeup by Oksana / Flowers: Roots Florist / Stationery: Rachel Jasper Designs

Anytime Christian Oth stops by for an afternoon of gorgeousness is a really good day in my book. In the wedding industry, Christian is a total celebrity. His photographs are shockingly gorgeous and have been featured in some of the most beautiful publications you could ever imagine. And yet while he’s still kind of like the cat’s meow…he also happens to be really thoughtful, really kind, really authentic. A perfect combination in my book. Well, lucky for us, Christian is spending the day with us and he’s brought along three insanely beautiful weddings and some GREAT tips for you brides out there coming up later today. First up, I couldn’t resist this picture perfect Hamptons affair. It’s proof that a stunning venue only requires simple, refined details to take it to a new level of pretty. Click here to see even more.

From Shawn, the groom, on his proposal…

I had her best friend Melissa fake an emergency to get her out of the office on Friday around 11am (I had also let her boss know so she would be able to leave).  The plan was for them to get an early lunch at a nearby restaurant, but Melissa called at the last minute and said she was so upset she couldn’t handle being in a public restaurant and that Kristen needed to meet her upstairs at the outdoor rooftop lounge.  I had the whole rooftop blocked off and was waiting for her to arrive.  She arrived on the roof at around 11:20am where she found me waiting for her. I walked her over to the corner of the rooftop with a view North (Empire State Building etc) where I had a table set up with champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and the ring there for the proposal.  She said yes and then I surprised her with a trip to Turks and Caicos for the weekend.

From the bride, Kristen…

We selected Wolffer Estate because we love the Hamptons especially in the summer, we wanted to get married outdoors and it’s so beautiful there with all the lush greenery and gorgeous white hydrangeas. I’m from New Orleans and Shawn is from Boulder so we thought it was a good compromise location that would embrace both of our personalities and tastes.

We loved our ukulele player Josh Cho who played and sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World while I walked down the aisle. He also played Jack Johnson’s Better Together for the bridesmaids to walk to.

Our gift bags that we worked so hard on were natural cotton totes that were reusable and earth friendly. The totes had a map of the Hamptons on the front and were filled with local snacks like Tate’s cookies, North Fork Potato Chips and Wolffer Estate Wine. We personalized everyone’s dinner menu with their name on it as a nice touch.

My wedding dress and veil: Vera Wang / My Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Shawn’s suit: Valentino / Shawn’s shoes: Prada / Wedding bands: Kwiat / Bridesmaids dresses: Thread / White Roses/White Hydrangeas: Sag Harbor Florist / Food and Wedding cake: Fresh Flavors / Florist: Sag Harbor Florist / Hair/Makeup: Daniel Martin and Seiji Yamader (Wall Group) / DJ: DJ Ray Jarrell and DJ Ani Quinn / Videographer: Open Eye Media / Photographer: Christian Oth

PS…For those of you who are loving the Today Show Wedding happening live, we’ve got the gorgeous images from Denis Reggie right here on SMP. Click here to see the all of the pretty!

Sometimes we come across a wedding that looks so effortless, so elegantly laid-back and carefree like this one. This perfect slice of wedding goodness photographed by the lovely Patricia Kantzos who captured every pretty parasol, every last gorgeous bundle of wildflowers and one very adorable pair of red shoes. Not to mention all of the scrumptious bright colors woven into each and every detail. Let’s just say we kind of love it. No, scratch that. We absolutely, majorly, no-holds-barred, totally LOVE it. Not only because a wedding like this makes a blogger’s job EXTREMELY easy but also because it’s just sort of perfect. What’s not to love? See lots more of this Long Island beauty in the gallery.

see the FULL wedding here!

From Patricia Kantzos:

Britt & Thad got married on June 26, 201 at Martha Clara Vineyard on the NorthFork in Long Island. Both Britt and Thad are in the environmental science filed finishing their post doctorates at UCLA. It was important to them to have a wedding that was beautiful and fun but also not wasteful. A trolley was rented for all their guests to travel to and from the vineyard. The wine was local as were the flowers and pies. BTW – yummy pies baked with locally grown fruit. They chose June 26 date specifically for the full moon.

Her dress, by Domo Adami, was gorgeous. I loved the symmetry and fluidity of it. It had a very organic feel to it. The lavender in her hair went perfect. Britt opted for a pair of shoes that she will definitely wear again. The boys suits the same, all from J.Crew. Shannon from Naturally Delicious was amazing. Britt & Thad planned their wedding while living in Arizona, then traveling to Thailand and moving to California. Shannon made it easy for them – and for me. As a photographer, my wish is to have an event planner at every wedding. What a difference in the easy flow and low stress of the day.

Martha Clara Vineyard was spectacular. It rained a bit. Britt &Thad planned for a sunny day so had beautiful handmade paper umbrellas to help block out the sun. Instead it helped with the rain. ALL their guests were so great – no one complained. Instead they embraced the beauty of the outdoors – we all agreed that the little bit of rain added to the joy. It really was a special group of people that Britt & Thad surrounded themselves with to share this day.

Photography: Patricia Kantzos / Venue: Martha Clara Vineyard & Farm, Long Island, NY / Dress: Domo Adami (but re-designed a bit at L’elite in Boston / Florist: Rebecca Jens-Johnson of Moments in Time Floral Design, Riverhead, NY / Hair: Myles at Special Effects Salon, Greenport, NY / Makeup: Amelia at Special Effects Salon & Spa Greenport, NY / Pies: Briermere Farms, Riverhead, NY (cherry-peach, strawberry-rhubarb, apple, blackberry) / Bridesmaids Dresses and Ties: LulaKate / Men’s Suits: J. Crew / Wedding Coordination: Shannon McCormick at Naturally Delicious, Brooklyn, NY / Catering: Naturally Delicious, Brooklyn, NY / Music: Dexter Lake Club Band, Brooklyn, NY

Rather than blab on and on about this wedding, I want to just dive right in. But I did want to quickly mention that one…it’s indoors (finally) and two…it’s modern and DIY. And really freaking gorgeous. Oh and the bride has been sweet enough to share all of the behind the scenes details so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. This is a really good one.

Luis and I had a singular focus on making our wedding modern, fun, and festive. We didn’t want just a wedding like everyone else’s, we wanted a party that happened to include a celebration of our marriage. As a graphic designer – and coming from a family of graphic designers and artists – there is no way I would ever turn over creative reins to anyone! Between me, my mother, and my sister in law, we designed everything to be beautiful and cohesive, pulling our illustration theme and color scheme throughout all aspects of the wedding.

The color scheme we selected was apple green, dove grey, black, and white – colors which played nicely off the illustration, the polished concrete floors in our industrial venue, and a bright springtime color that warms my heart whenever I see it. Once I had settled on apple green, we knew that apples would play a major part in all of our decor choices. Indeed, there was an enormous vase of apples on the escort table at the entry, and apples adorned all of the tables – a cheap and beautiful decorative choice.

My mom and I decided to save money and keep our creative control by doing all of the flowers ourselves as well. We ordered dozens and dozens of assorted white flowers from an internet supplier, as well as green hypericum berries and Bells of Ireland. We used the berries along with white ranunculus to make the boutonnieres, and the Bells of Ireland made gorgeous and dramatic bridesmaids’ bouquets. My bridal bouquet was entirely comprised of white freesia, and I left the bouquet untied until just before the ceremony so that me and my bridesmaids could complete the ribbon wrapping and tying together as a group effort. Finally, each table received a modern, asymmetrical arrangement in a rectangular glass vase anchored with dark grey river rocks. The overall effect was modern, clean, and beautiful without being overly feminine.

As you’ll see from the photos, the Foundry is a tall space. In order to warm up the space without spending a lot of money or making it lose its industrial character, we relied on candles – some 400 of them! We also wanted a dramatic centerpiece for the room that would frame the “altar” space where the actual ceremony would take place. My mom undertook what I refer to as the great manzanita project, creating gorgeous 8.5 foot tall pieces entirely out of silk flowers and non-perishables. She and my dad assembled everything themselves. They built the “stumps” and covered them with moss. They placed the trees within using cement and sandbags to anchor them. They lovingly glued individual blossoms and leaves to the branches. And they strung tiny white blossoms onto fishing line for the draped effect you’ll see in the photos. They were gorgeous and really helped frame and fill the massive Foundry space.

Music is a tremendous part of our lives. It was incredibly fun for us to put together our entire wedding mix, which was run off of my laptop in the corner. That’s right – no DJ! We got compliments from all of our friends and family on the thoughtfulness of our choices, and how “us” the entire mood of the evening seemed. Luis walked in to the opening strains of “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica. Luis’ sister sang “I’ll Cover You” from the musical RENT during our ceremony. Our reception started to Ozzy shrieking “All aboard” in his song, “Crazy Train.” During dinner, we played Bauhaus and Joy Division.

My gown was designed by Demetrios with a few modifications added by my mother and me. The dress features a tiered ruffle section down the left side – we augmented each tier with added layers of birdcage netting and white feathers. In the end, the dress looked really beautiful but didn’t bust our modest budget.

Vendors: Venue, The Foundry, Long Island City / Catering by Real Food Catering / Photography by Kate & Georgina / Videography by Love In Progress / Cake by City Sweets / Gown by Demetrios / Veil by Artikal Millinery / Hair by Stacy Pitt, Styles on B / Officiant Pastor April, Church of Ancient Ways

Thank you so very much to Brian Marcus of Fred Marcus Photography for sending us today’s featured wedding. Your photographs have inspired us to no end! And of course, to Erik and Melissa for sharing their absolutely gorgeous celebration with us!

We’ve featured two totally different weddings today…the first a crisp, sophisticated beachside affair with AMAZING flowers by Karen Tran. And this one, shot by Brian Marcus…a romantic, rustic/chic style with a sense of warmth and intimacy that I love.

Two completely unique styles, two completely different weddings and yet they both evoke the same sense of romance and unabashed beauty. It just goes to show that if you let your own personality shine through, your day will be perfect…filled with a sense of style and grace that suit you and your love to a T.

We had a few really great touches that made our wedding so special for us…we gifted the women pashminas (the rolled up fabric in basket) just in case they got chilly. We had guests take B&W photos of themselves with a vintage photo booth. Because of Erik’s music connections, our band went out of their way to do special songs just for us…like David Bowie – Modern Love.

More on the way!

For those of you that don’t know about Fred Marcus Photography, it’s one of those studios where the focus is always on the couple, always on the emotion. Capturing the simple but innate beauty of the day.The perfect details and the absolute joy behind each image. And when I saw this wedding that they recently photographed, I think that I fell in love all over again.

All photographs by Brian Marcus

From the absolutely gorgeous (and by gorgeous I mean that I am a little jealous of her) bride…

We held the ceremony right in the middle of the vineyard which was such a breathtaking moment….right in the middle of the grapes! In the hours before the wedding, it poured and poured and poured, then right as I walked down the aisle the sun came out!  Such a magical moment.

My gown was by Monique Lhuillier and had a beautiful ombre (gradation effect)…  went from ivory to latte.  An absolutely gorgeous dress. Erik wore a tux by John Varvatos, a tie by Ralph Lauren and a Vest by Duncan Quinn (who also made his cufflinks). Classic elegance.

I loved this wedding the minute I laid eyes on it. Shot by the amazingly talented team at Fred Marcus Photography, the style is all about rustic, warm elegance. With some chic thrown in for good measure.

This couple is one of those really creative, fun couples that you just know threw a pretty great wedding. Erik is a partner at Hank Lane Music (who of course did the music for the event) and Melissa works in product development for Victoria’s Secret.  The wedding was held at the Wolffer Vineyard in New York.

So much more to come!

Thank you so very much to Kate Webber, the photographer who sent us today’s gorgeous wedding. Kate’s  is one of those photographers that I simply adore…her work is so unbelievably elegant, so rich in emotion, in texture, in color. If you haven’t already, spend some time on her website which is filled with eye candy and inspiration.

And, a HUGE thank you to Erin and Ted for sharing their absolutely lovely celebration with us!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Have a great weekend!

If you thought that today’s featured wedding was gorgeous, feast your eyes on the reception…

From the ridiculously talented Kate Webber…

A palette of dark blue with yellow and white accents was chosen to contrast with the deep green of the lawn and to reflect the blues of the ocean and the crisp September sky in Sagaponack. Local seasonal flowers, such as daisies, sunflowers, Queen Anne’s lace and chamomile, were used throughout the ceremony and cocktail hour to create an elegant country atmosphere.

After cocktails on the front lawn, guests made their way through a path of candlelit lanterns to a wooden fence where escort cards were pinned to the center of hundreds of sunflowers specially grown for the event by a local farmer.

Inside the tent, classic navy table cloths and centerpieces of white Phalaenopsis orchids potted in silver urns provided a more formal setting for dinner and dancing. Silver lanterns suspended from above created a romantic glow. Erin and Ted paid homage to their respective hometowns by naming the tables after favorite beaches, bays and ponds in Alaska and Sagaponack.

We have one last look coming up so don’t sign off just yet!

There is something about that Hampton style that just makes me happy. It all seems so effortlessly beautiful, so picture perfect and yet totally laid back and approachable…

photographs by Kate Webber

Didn’t I tell you that cake was gorgeous? It was crafted by Have Your Cake Ltd, and was displayed on Erin’s great-grandmother’s cake stand surrounded by wedding portraits of the couple’s parents, grandparents and siblings. Next up is the reception!

LOVING today’s real wedding sent to us by Kate Webber. It’s beachy, without being cliche. It’s romantic, it’s personal and best of all, it’s incredibly beautiful!

Wait until you see the wedding cake…maybe the prettiest detail of the entire wedding. Actually, it’s a toss-up between that fabulous dress, the woven baskets and the ridiculously gorgeous tablesettings. Coming up soon!

This is probably my favorite batch of photos from today’s real wedding. When you look at each of the details up close, you see just how thoughtful every element was. It’s so great to see a bride infuse her style with touches that speak to her own life, her own loves…

As mentioned earlier, Kate Webber is the photographer behind this gorgeous affair. A few other vendors helped to design the wedding as well and I wanted to quickly mention them…The florist was Karen Lenahan Designs out of Bridgehampton, NY. The day of coordination was done by Tailored Productions. Hair and Makeup was done by Vincent de Silva of Gil Ferrer Salon also in Bridgehampton. The band was Mamalee, Rose & Friends, and DJing was done by Sonimax Sound and Style. Catering was done by Food for Forks.

Such a great job by everyone who helped make this wedding a reality!

When I first saw today’s wedding that the fabulous Kate Webber photographed, it reminded me a lot of yesterday’s featured affair. It’s forever fascinating to me to see how different brides translate similar color palettes and wedding styles.

Both weddings being beach inspired, elegant takes on blue hued palettes…and yet you can really see how distinct their personalities are through the details, the perfect extras that made each wedding totally unique.

Kate Webber, the photographer behind these gorgeous images has been sweet enough to stop by and share a few more of the details…

Erin and Ted wanted an intimate wedding with a hometown vibe that celebrated the natural beauty of the town where both sides of Erin’s family have lived for several generations. The couple chose September, knowing that the summer crowds would be gone and guests would be able to enjoy the beauty of the Hamptons as it is known to locals.

They decided that September 13, 2008 – three years and three days after Erin and Ted met – was the perfect date.  The couple chose a reception site with deep personal meaning- Erin’s parents’ home in Sagaponack, where her mother’s family has lived for over 100 years.

The couple also wanted to pay homage to Ted’s Alaskan roots and welcome guests making the trip from Alaska to the “Lower 48.”  Flown in from Alaska…the wedding ceremony incorporated the couple’s personal and family traditions- Rev. Norman H.V. Elliott, a close family friend of the groom traveled all the way from Alaska to officiate at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, where Erin’s parents were wed 37 years earlier.

So much more to come!

Today we are featuring the most gorgeous real wedding that the forever talented Kate Webber sent us. I am so drawn to great photography, probably in large part thanks to running Style Me Pretty. Learning to take beautiful photographs was actually my New Year’s resolution. So, when a photographer is willing to let me into her creative mind just a bit, I get really excited.

Before I get into that though, let me show you a bit more of Kate’s work from today’s real wedding…

From Kate…

My main aim when shooting comes from my editorial and studio art backgrounds- I try to tell the stories as fully, as beautifully and kindly as possible. My style is a good blend of classic beauty with a bit of an edge…any bit of “funk” I can capture is great– (this wedding was more traditional)!  I never thought I would end up shooting weddings but they drew me in for the love, the creativity present from all the vendors and visions.  There is so much eye candy and so much emotion and I am always excited to capture each.  AND, most importantly, it is truly fulfilling to do something that I love and do well and to give it to people for their families on one of the most important days in their lives thus far.  Its like spreading ongoing smiles to couples and their families each time they look at their wedding images.

I love that. Love Kate. So much more to come from today’s wedding, so many more gorgeous details on the way!