We meet a lot of crafty bride and grooms out there in SMP-land, but when it comes to uber-talented ladies, this lovely Mrs. just about takes the cake. Because not only did she design each and every one of her beautiful bridesmaids’ dresses (awesome), she, along with a talented team of vendors, managed to put together a day that is chock-full of pretty, from the gorgeous florals from Stems Floral Design to the awesome cake from Michelle’s Patisserie to the gallery of breathtaking images from She-N-He Photography. Oh, and her gown? A Matron of Honor original. See so much more in the full gallery.
From She-N-He Photography… Lauren and Kevin married at Chapel Dulcinea under the most perfect conditions ever, a little windy with beautiful blue skies. Their reception was held at Stonehouse Villa in beautiful Driftwood, Texas. They had some of the most amazing small touches that came together beautifully with Heather from Vintage&Lace at the helm. Lauren designed her bridesmaids dresses and had them custom made. Stems devised and orchestrated a gorgeous display of flowers in pale colors with touches of tea party silver and crystal and also elements of the outside with succulents and tree stumps. Guests noshed on tea sandwiches and scones from The Steeping Room and shared pints of mead and stout from the home brewing operations of both Lauren’s and Kevin’s Dads, and Michelle’s Patisserie delivered my most favorite cake to date, built to Lauren’s exact specifications – perfection.
From Lauren… My Matron of Honor, Valery Hitt, designed and sewed my wedding dress, train, sash embellishment, and hair adornments. She put a lot of time and love into everything that she did for my wedding and I really think that it all turned out beautifully. She is a dear, dear person and immensely talented. The bridesmaids dresses were designed by me (after some unfruitful searching for off-the-rack styles). They were patterned and sewn by Austin Bridal and Formal. They turned out beautifully and have already accomplished their goal of being worn beyond the wedding!
Terra Vista Strings met every request that I sent to them. So I got Final Fantasy VII music for my bridal processional and Concerning Hobbits for the wedding recessional. And then they played my Final Fantasy music again!!! It was awesome! The song that Kevin and I danced to at the wedding was from a show called Pushing Daisies that we watched together when we first started dating. It is super cute and I think it will always remind us of when we first fell in love with each other. My Maid of Honor, Sarah Nelson, drove all the way up from Houston almost every weekend for a few months to teach us a dance for it. We think that we ended up doing a passable job of it on the day of the wedding. The song that I danced to with my father was called Arirang which is a very, very, very old Korean folk song. It was one of the few Korean songs that my dad remembered my mom singing when they were younger.
I purchased my husband’s ring from a jeweler named Johan Rust on Etsy. The center band of the ring is a seamless meteorite. Kevin is studying Astro-Engineering at the University of Texas and has always loved Outer Space so I had an engraving put on the inside of the ring that reads: Sic Itur Ad Astra 3113 It means “Thus you shall go to the stars.” And the “3113” is the date of our wedding. I’m giving him a leg-up for anniversaries.
The necklace that my husband gave to me on the day of the wedding has special significance to me. I was enamored with it at the jewelry shop and wanted very much to wear it on the day of my wedding. Kevin went behind my back and purchased it shortly afterwards. He gave it to my bridesmaid Elizabeth Boyd for safekeeping. And then he got everybody to lie to me for over half a year (including the wonderful shop owners at Franzetti’s) about the disappearance of the necklace and prospective availability of another one. So I am very glad that everyone lied to me as it increased my delight on the day of my wedding. The large gem in the center of the star is a sapphire which was my only something blue on the day of the wedding. It will forever be a symbol of my husband’s love and of the wondrous love and goodness of the people around me who aided him in giving me such a beautiful surprise.
My wedding ring was designed and made by McCoy Jewelcraft. Kevin’s mother was a friend and client of theirs and they remembered her when Kevin and I came to have my ring made. They were very kind and helpful to us. They suggested that we bring in gold from broken or unused jewelry to help with the price of the ring. So my ring has gold from Kevin’s class ring, my mom’s old jewelry, gold and diamonds from my dad’s second wedding ring (he and my mom remarried each other), and gold most generously given from my lovely friend Elizabeth. The ring guard was the ring guard from my mom’s first wedding ring. It was fixed and resized by McCoy’s. When we ordered my ring and turned in the gold for it, I told McCoy’s that I trusted them to make a beautiful ring and left happily with no idea of what it was going to look like. When Kevin proposed to me that Christmas, he presented me with a ring beyond my imagination. It is beautiful and unlike any other.
The dollhouse was a project that Kevin and I started for the wedding. I thought that a dollhouse would be appropriate since we were asking for house money to put in savings in lieu of other gifts. We bought a $30 kit from Hobby Lobby and thought that it would be easy. I helped to paint the house and then Kevin did pretty much everything else and the project took on a life of its own. His original degree is in theater set design so I suppose it makes sense. He built a plot of land for it to sit on and put together all of the small details that made it charming. It was a project that I thought would not last beyond a couple of weeks and it turned into a several month long adventure in arts and crafts. It was a labor of love.
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Wedding Photography: She-N-He Photography and Design | Ceremony Venue: Chapel Dulcinea | Reception Venue: Stonehouse Villa | Event Coordination: Heather Sorensen of Vintage&Lace | Officiant: Larry Todd | Catering: The Steeping Room | Ceremony Music: Terra Vista Strings | Floral Design: Stems Floral Design | Cakes: Michelle’s Patisserie | Groom’s Pies: Tiny Pies | Officiant: Larry Todd | Hair: Belle’s Ball + Erica Gray | Makeup: Erica Gray + Christy Edlin
