Wedding Stuff
Wedding Crashing: A Bright & Brilliant Bash
We’re back with yet another fun and fabulous wedding, and this time we crashed an August affair thrown by an adorable Arizona couple. Meet Bob & Azure.
Their turquoise, tangerine, pink and brown color scheme was just as bright and happy as they are. And their gorgeous wedding was surprisingly budget conscious and DIY (although you’d never know by looking at it). Azure scored her dress at David’s Bridal for a mere $300. It came with a slew of ribbon colors to choose from- and the turquoise option was perfect. Oh and check out the invitation that Azure designed herself (she’s in the business of making stationery and wedding-related paper goods). Of course we didn’t get one since we crashed, but we got to see ‘em afterwards. Here’s the super fun outer pocketfold, which opens…
… to reveal a sophisticated inner pocket full of designer looking wedding details (can you believe she made ‘em herself?!).
Notice the corn icons on the top of the invite which she used as a theme throughout her wedding. See, although Azure and Bob hail from Arizona, their wedding was actually held in their hometown of Iowa (yep, they both just happen to be from there) and the double corn stalk icon was a fun reference to their happy Iowan childhood. Also notice that they didn’t use all of their colors on the invite. So as not to overwhelm, they stuck with brown and turquoise for the initial mailings, and waited to introduce tangerine and pink on their big day.
And what a cheerful day it was. With bright gerbera daisies tucked behind their ears, the bridesmaids carried colorful bouquets (also of gerbera daisies) and wore playful turquoise dresses from David’s Bridal (scored at a discount since the bride got her dress there as well). And yes, almost all the girls from Iowa and Arizona are tall and blond. (Let’s just say I didn’t have the easiest time blending in- but of course my tall, golden haired husband had no problem at all).
The groomsmen also did their part to keep things cheerful and bright, donning casual short-sleeved turquoise button downs and some neutral colors khakis.
We almost felt out of place in our dark and demure wedding attire. Had we done more research before the crash we would have come dressed in some serious brights. The ceremony and reception was held at the Salisbury House in Des Moines Iowa, which Azure booked over the internet (!) all the way from Arizona.
After an outdoor garden ceremony, the guests made their way to a nearby courtyard where the tented reception took place. Once there, each guest picked up a festive mimosa glass that also served as their seating card (with their name and table number printed right on the hand tied label). And of course Azure made the labels herself (another creative and affordable DIY idea). Too bad wedding crashers don’t get seating cards, but the brides are always really good about making room at one of the tables somehow…
And speaking of the tables, perhaps one of the most memorable ideas were the corn stalk centerpieces (freshly cut that very morning by Azure’s own uncle) which certainly made quite an impact without breaking the budget. The stalks were wrapped in colorful ribbon to create a tripod effect so they could stand on their own, and table cards were tucked inside each centerpiece. Functional and almost free. Gotta love that.
Another perk of wedding crashing? Definitely the food. Bob and Azure served Iowa-esque food buffet style, which meant we got to stuff our faces with everything from crab legs and shrimp to beef, chicken, potatoes and, of course, corn.
The abundance of cheerful color and fresh blooms kept the event looking ever so adorable. And since Azure stuck to one type of flower, she got a lot more bang for her buck. Everything from the casual bouquet on the end of each row during the ceremony to the happy collection of daisies that dressed up the cake kept the day feeling fresh and fun. And the cake situation was actually quite unique. Azure got a small top tier of a cake made (so she and her hubby could feed each other) while the bottom two tiers were actually made up of…
…adorable cupcakes clustered to fill out the two bottom tiers in place of more cake. Best of all, Azure found a woman who made the cupcakes in her basement for around 50 cents a pop, so she was able to save money without sacrificing an ounce of style. And trust me. They tasted great.
Definitely our favorite detail from the day, Bob and Azure ordered Iowa popcorn in their wedding colors (from here) and filled clear boxes complete with a colorful ribbon and a personalized homemade sticker for an adorable favor that looked as good as it tasted.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our latest bout of wedding crashing. Feel free to sound off about your favorite part! Any other colorful ideas you’ve seen that you’re dying to share? Do tell. And stick around to see which classy and creative celebration we’ll drop in on next. Until then we’ll be working on our latest disguise…
Wedding Crashing: A Chic Manhattan Loft
We’re back after charming our way into yet another fabulous wedding. Meet Michelle & Matt, a metropolitan couple who hosted a magnificent June wedding at Bridgewaters in downtown New York City. The bride wore an elegant Reem Acra dress (snagged for a 50% discount at a Kleinfelds sample sale) and the bridesmaids slipped into pale blue strapless satin numbers from Dessy (purchased at Macy’s).
The bride also pulled a Carrie Bradshaw and splurged on some Manolos but has since worn them to at least six other weddings so she thinks they turned out to be a great investment. Stylish and practical. Gotta love that.
Perhaps one of our favorite details were the tiny pewter chair placecard holders, which also served as cute take-home favors for each guest. There were even some leftovers for us to snag. We were positively giddy (the bride picked them up here).
An abundance of white linens accented by chic brown napkins and oodles of pale green and white blooms really dressed up the loft and set the perfect scene for a romantic and memorable gathering. The flowers ran the gamut from peonies and hydrangeas to roses and even green berries for lush texture and subtle color.
And we loved the bamboo chippendale chairs, in fact I wanted to take one with me to spraypaint pale green and use as a desk chair. But we draw the line at wedding crashing (no wedding stealing permitted).
Better than art, the room overlooked the New York Harbor with breathtaking views of the Wall Street skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance. It was really romantic to be back in NYC, our hometown of many years (and the place John and I met and fell in love). What can we say? Love was definitely in the air at this scenic wedding.
And speaking of in the air, an unexpected firework show in the distance served as the exclamation point of the evening. The bride and groom had nothing to do with the pyrotechnics, but of course we all got to enjoy the view. Gotta love unexpected moments that work out to your advantage!
We hope you liked dropping in on Matt & Michelle’s special day. Stay tuned to see where we’ll end up next. And if you’d like us to crash your very own upcoming nuptials, just shoot us an email with the where and the when (along with a few swoonworthy details to whet our appetites). So many weddings, so little time…
Wedding Crashing: A Green & Brown Extravaganza
This time our wedding crashing feature took us all the way to Denver, Colorado- where we caught up with another beautiful couple with a wedding worthy of some serious documentation. So here’s their swanky and super memorable event served up on a silver platter for all you wedding lovers out there. Meet Rebecca & Roman.
Their April nuptials were chock full of gorgeous green and brown accents. As demonstrated by the lovely bridesmaids who sported Waters & Waters gowns of varying lengths in rich chocolate brown and their lush green bouquets. The bride was a major stunner in a Brides By Demetrios gown, and her dripping bouquet was insanely delectable. Stay tuned for a close up…
And their photographer Diane Perry went above and beyond. Check out this amazing shot in the middle of the street. Bellisimo. If only we could crash the bridal party pictures too…
Here’s the gratuitous bouquet shot as promised. Isn’t she lovely? The florist combined hanging amaranthus, green roses, hydrangea, white freesia, fern frawns and hypericom berries for a magnificent looker of a bouquet. And it was just as gorge in person, even at the end of the night after it had been used and abused. Gotta love flowers that keep a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.
The ceremony was held at the breathtaking St. Paul Lutheran Church…
… and the reception was held at the elegant U-Club Denver, where R&R served up some mighty tasty top sirloin steak, tortellini, stuffed chix florentine and salmon (you know we both had the steak, right?).
To complement the elegant decor, the bride and groom continued their brown and green color scheme through some pretty fantastic monogrammed paper goods along with some sage colored napkins…
… and even projected their initials onto the wall above their insanely gorgeous four-tiered and three-flavored cake. Not a single detail was overlooked, and we love that the bride took a high/low approach to dessert. While she splurged on the mouthwatering cake, she was thrilled to find the cake topper at Target of all places. Such a score.
Everything from the ceremony program and the menu cards to the favors were emblazoned with their graphic logo and luxe color scheme (all the paper goods were designed here). And we especially loved the sweet CD favors created by the bride and groom that were neatly tied with chocolate ribbons and adorned with their signature monogram.
We hope you adored this delightful Denver wedding and would love to know whatcha think. Any favorite parts? Any ideas for others planning a spring wedding or using green & brown as their colors? Do tell. And you might want to keep an eye out for us at the next wedding you attend, you never know where we’ll pop up…
Wedding Crashing: A Swank & Scenic Bash
We’re up to more wedding crashing mischief, and this time we’ve invaded a classy spring wedding at a pretty gosh darn amazing location. Meet Heather and Christian, the blushing bride and groom. After a decade of dating, this adorable duo (who met at Red Lobster where they both worked in high school) decided to make it official. And when they did they chose a bold red, white and black color scheme along a breathtaking location: The Madison Hotel in New Jersey.
Heather snagged her La Sposa dress at a bridal boutique in New York City while the bridesmaids donned strapless satin dresses from David’s Bridal (with a little tweak: they were hemmed a bit to expose the black tulle slip underneath). The textured red on red bouquets were packed full of roses, lilies, renunculous, and gerber daisies and the groomsmen sported red rose boutonnieres and red satin ties…
… along with some elegant matching watches from the groom (for their groomsman gift):
Here’s the remarkable location, a glass domed conservatory that held the ceremony as well as the reception (they rearranged all the furniture when the guests moved outside for the cocktail hour). Oh and see if you can spot us quietly observing in the second to last row in the right. We may be wedding crashers, but we’re subtle, polite wedding crashers.
Heather and Christian went all out and hired a 12 piece band for the reception and asked the sax player to work his magic during the cocktail hour for a festive and jazzy feel while guests munched on shrimp and sipped champagne.
A cute reference to the couple’s high stakes proposal (which took place in a casino) the wedding favors were a set of glass playing card coasters that the bride ordered here.
And now onto the sweetest part of the night: the cake. The bride has quite a sweet tooth, so she not only insisted on New York style cheesecake with strawberries for her lovely guests (and her lovely wedding crashers. yum!)…
… which was plated gorgeously by the way…
… she also doled out tiny chocolate and peanut butter pies for each guest. When she couldn’t decide between her two favorite treats she thought: Let them eat cake. And pie.
And after the sun set and the tiny string lights illuminated the conservatory, the band played into the night and Christian and Heather danced the evening away.
It was definitely an elegant affair to remember (even if you’re just attending virtually). We hope you’ve enjoyed peeking in on their big day. Stick around to see which wedding we’ll pop in on next. So many nuptials, so little time…
