Ohhh I have such a fun wedding to share with you all!  I love me an off-beat bride, and Jessi was just that. Wanting to do everything and anything that was as much fun and unique as she and her fiance Benjamin, they put little bits of themselves into all of the best details of their wedding! Jessi and Benjamin married on November 14, 2009 in Washington, PA, and fab photog  Randi Voss was there to capture the day.

As soon as I saw the pink crinoline and the polka dot shoes… please. I was totally hooked.

I mean, how could you not be? So much fun!

From the bride… Benjamin and I are far from your typical couple therefore we couldn’t have a typical wedding.  I wanted to put as much of Benjamin and myself as I possibly could into our wedding as individuals and as a couple. My attire was my favorite part of our wedding.  My dress with my pink crinoline down to my polka dot shoes.  I feel like it just fit my personality.

Like many couples these days, Jessi and Benjamin opted to see each other before the ceremony.

From the beautiful bride…  I loved, for our first kiss as husband and wife Benjamin picked me up and I wrapped my  legs around his waist and kissed (our cake topper matched).  Our son, Keagan, joined us during our first dance and sang every word of our song while strumming his chest as if he were playing his guitar.

From the bride… To down play it, Benjamin and I are Dave Matthews fans.  There was no doubt that we had to incorporate the band into our wedding.  I walked down the aisle “Steady as we go”, at our reception our bridal party was introduced to “Best of what’s around” while we were introduced to “So Right”, our first dance was to “You and Me”,  and Benjamin did the garter toss to “Smooth Rider”.  We named each of the tables a DMB song.  And of course we told our DJ to play as much DMB as he wished!  Our wedding wouldn’t have been complete without DMB.

From the bride… Benjamin’s favorite part was when we were announced at our reception, we were wearing our personalized hockey jerseys… his a Flyers jersey and my Pens jersey.  We may not like the same team but we love the same game.

From the bride… It was also important for us to have a child friendly wedding.  Not only b/c we have a child but because we love children!  We had 2 flower girls and 2 ring bearers and about 20 children attending the wedding.  I had coloring books, crayons, and fun straws at the tables with children and my favorite was hula hooping with all the kids!

VENDORS:
Photographer: Randi Voss- ” I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else.  She is absolutely outstanding!”
DJ: Andy Hutelmyer- “He was fantastic!”
Bridal Salon: Sorelle Bridal Salon- “They went above and beyond anything I could’ve asked for!”

This seriously beautiful wedding comes to us from a new, super fun and super talented photographer, Erin J. Rexroth of Erin J Photography. I love everything about this wedding. The beautiful bride, the light and airy bouquets and those yellow bridesmaids dresses with those amazing shoes. I love brides brave enough to do yellow. Love. it.

Rebekah & Ryan married July 25, 2009 in Richmond, Virginia. Enjoy all of the amazing details from her beautiful wedding.

We really love this one.

Check out her amazing vendor list at the end of the post.

From the bride… I absolutely loved everything about our wedding day! My vendors were amazing, and the day ran flawlessly. Surrounded by my new husband, wonderful family, and 300 friends, I felt blissful! The only advice that I would give to a bride-to-be is to make sure that your reception is as long as possible! My only wish is that my reception would have been about an hour longer, but due to some circumstances, it wasn’t really possible. I would also suggest that you make sure you and your new husband go and greet all of the people who came to celebrate with you–the conversations you have with them will be some of your cherished memories later. I can certainly say that my wedding day was the best day of my life! Enjoy and soak it in ladies!

I love these perfectly simple bouquets. I always hated baby’s breath/Queen Anne’s Lace as a filler with other flowers, but by itself with that little bit of yellow against those yellow dresses. GORGEOUS!

Check out those shoes. A. Mazing.

Ryan & Rebekkah’s vendors included:

Sharper Palate–catering (quality service and divine food)
Erin Rexroth–photographer (amazing to work with, and VERY talented)
Josh Turner–jazz band (sounded amazing, very professional)
Baker’s Kitchen–wedding cake (best cake we’ve ever had!)
Magic Special Events–decorations
Flowers Make Scents–florists (a little pricey, but worth the grand and unique designs)

This beautiful New England destination wedding comes to us from the very talented Randi Voss. I love Randi and every wedding she sends over seems better than the last. Alison and Paul are originally from Pittsburgh, PA, but opted for a small destination wedding in Maine, followed by a huge hometown reception to celebrate. I kind of love this idea. There’s something really wonderful about having as many people as possible there to celebrate with you, and still enjoying the intimacy of a small ceremony. Love.

Alison said… “After getting engaged on the same day as the closing of our house (and being together for 6 years), we didn’t want to wait too long to actually get married. Waiting until 2010 seemed so far off so we decided we would attempt to plan something for the Fall of 2009 (much to the nervousness of my parents who I think will admit they didn’t think we would be able to pull it off!). As Paul and I began the wedding discussions they started to head towards a destination wedding direction. We liked the idea of doing something different in contrast to the normal hometown wedding ceremony/reception all in one day or even a ‘normal’ destination wedding in a warm, sunny, beachfront location.”

I’m a big fan of this wedding and the double party. Seriously Who wouldn’t want to go round two in their wedding dress? I also love, love, love, the details of this wedding. From Alison’s “pretty in pink shoes” to the meaningful pennies and monogrammed mason jars. Too cute.

Plus this super bride managed to move into a brand new house, get engaged, plan a destination wedding AND a hometown party in 7 months! That’s pretty amazing.

We’ll have more from Alison and Paul when their hometown soiree kicks off, but for now, enjoy these amazing images from their September ceremony in New England.

From the bride… As funny as it sounds, the ideas for our two main colors – sage green and chocolate brown, came from kitchen dish towels that we had bought for our new house. As soon as I saw the color combination together, the color choice was made. We thought the colors would be perfect alongside the outdoor setting of the B&B in addition to the fall time of year. A little time later, as we started to really plan out the flowers, we brought in accents of pink for a pop of color and pulled in a bit of ivory as well.

From the bride…  My favorite moment of the day and of which Randi captured so beautifully was Paul’s and my ‘first look’ before the ceremony. We had seen each other earlier in the day, but separated for most of the day as the girls got ‘beautified’ with hair and makeup and as the guys lent their skills in setting up the tented-reception.  By the time we were all ready I was so excited to see Paul and to spend a few alone minutes with him just taking in everything together. I was not emotional at all before or after that moment but as soon as I saw Paul, I couldn’t stop the tears, happy tears of course.  Paul quickly was able to calm me down (which he does so well) and we were ready to get started!

From the bride… The task of planning a destination wedding was a little daunting since we were not at all familiar with the vendors available in that area. However, with the help of Paul’s relatives, who own the Inn where we got married, this worry soon went away as they provided great recommendations in all areas such as catering, flowers, cake, etc. Believe it or not, we never even had a cake tasting for our wedding cake!  The vendors were extremely open to working with us through emails and phone calls, although we did make one pre-wedding trip to Maine in July to finalize a few things and of course to get our all-important marriage certificate!

From the beautiful bride… As soon as I became officially engaged, the obsession with all of the wedding internet sites, blogs, message boards, etc. began as well. The images that I was drawn too included the rustic, garden-style, outdoor weddings that paid great attention to details which were carried throughout the ceremony and reception. Our choice of the Peace With-Inn provided the ultimate back-drop for this “look”.

From the bride…  Understanding that only a subset of our family and friends would be able to join us in Maine, we also wanted to have a reception for our larger group of friends and family back in Pittsburgh after we returned from our wedding ceremony in Maine. On one hand, Paul and I wanted an intimate, relaxed style to our actual wedding ceremony, but we also are two people that don’t shy away from big celebrations either so another reception was an order!

From Alison…  After going through 10-20 invitation books, I was drawn to the casual/modern look of the lower case letter-style and after selecting the invitation, was set on carrying the monogram and lettering style throughout our Maine wedding and Pittsburgh reception.  For our wedding in Maine, I was able to bring this detail into our invitations, ceremony programs, aisle runner, out-of-town guest bag tags and cookies, beverage napkins, mason jar tags, etc.

From Alison… Now here is when I could go into comments about how the day went so fast and that before I knew it, the wedding was over and there wasn’t anything more to look forward to wedding-wise, but this is where the perks of having a ‘back-home’ reception come into play…yes, our wedding ceremony was over and we were officially married but we still had a big party to look forward to in only a month! So instead of the wedding celebration being over within a day, we had an excuse to keep the celebration going through our reception in October! For our October reception, Paul and I are really looking forward to spending the time with the family and friends that were unable to spend the time with us in Maine. Stay tuned for my updates after our October reception!

I’m so excited to share this beautiful wedding with you! Jennifer & Stephen married in Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands this past August. Not only did Jennie use up my favorite wedding color combo (Navy and Pink), but the location made for some amazing shots from photographer Heather Morrisey.

I love when boats and weddings equal subtly wonderful nautical weddings. My favorite.
Enjoy!

I created a subtly nautical inspiration board I created on SMP’s Style Circle plus some more fun nautical style thoughts on the SMP Style Circle Blog click here.

From the bride… Iit was the most beautiful day of our lives and the best part was having our friends and family by our side as we started our life together. I was so excited to walk down the aisle with my dad and have Stephen see me for the first time.

From the beautiful bride… I think both Stephen and I would agree the most fun we have ever had in our lives was from 730pm to 1030pm on August 22, 2009. Pictures were done, we had made our rounds to all the guest tables, and it was time to dance and listen to a great band. We danced the night away and even got to sing a couple songs with the band. We wouldnt change a thing…..and I’m seriously considering joining a band

Check out the nautical inspiration board I created on SMP’s Style Circle for Jennie & Steve too!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE wedding photography, and really good wedding photography blows my mind. In some previous life I think this was my destiny, so I make it my business to meet and greet as many wonderful photographers as I can. These days wedding photographers have so much more to offer than your standard church photos, and the latest trend is seriously hot.

Boudoir photos are the hottest trend in wedding photography. Think sexpot, pin-up, Moulin Rouge… whatever you envision, wedding photographers are bringing it to life.

Personally, I think this is an amazing addition to your world ladies! I think every girl should bring that sexy back for herself, and her hubby. Whether it’s a single shot as a pre-wedding gift for your soon-to-be husband or an artistic book of sexy photos for  your first anniversary, this is a gift he definitely won’t forget.

Randi Voss, one of my favorite and totally talented wedding photographers started offering up Boudoir Sessions to bride’s and works with each individual client to create exactly what she’s looking for in the session.

“Beforehand, I take the time to send the model some clothing suggestions or talk with her on the phone about what she wants and expects from the session.” Randi said. She also recommends hair & makeup for the session to make sure the “I feel pretty” effect really comes through in the photos. Who doesn’t want to get all dolled up for a little sexpot session? I mean. Let’s be honest. Even if you aren’t the kind of girl who flirts with an above the knee hemline from time to time, these photos are for you and your hubby’s eyes only, not for your downstairs powder room, so there’s nothing to blush at.

When you’re looking for a photographer to “step out of the box with,” make sure that you feel comfortable with them. If you don’t, it’s definitely going to show.

“I ask her what she wants me to focus on (and what she wants me to hide.)  The sessions are always a little rocky for the first 10 minutes.  You never know how comfortable someone is going to be in this situation.  After the first few shots, I’ll show my model an image on my camera’s LCD screen so she can make any adjustments she wants.  Then, smooth sailing.” said Randi.

The other great thing about Randi. She opts out of Photoshop on these shots. She believes that true beauty doesn’t come with point and click photoshop, so why should these images. I love this actually. While I think some people would be all for “hiding” whatever your least favorite parts about you are, the truth is, your guy is marrying you for all of you, not the photo shopped version of you. So relax, strip down to your skivvies and ENJOY it and it will make for some super hot, and super fun photos.

Here are a few sample shots from Randi. Special thanks to these BEAUTIFUL brides-to-be for sharing their sessions with us! For more information on what to expect from a Boudoir session check out The Knot’s take on this sexy new trend.

Here’s another beautiful wedding from the super talented photographer (and bridesmaid) Randi Voss. I’m kind of amazed how she managed to shoot this wedding and still stand where she needed to be. Smoke and mirrors. Enjoy! Sara and Nigel ( a Welshman) married in Warrenton, VA in August of this year. Enjoy these beautiful pictures! You might even recognize some of our other couples in the group here, like our Hokie Bride Jamie!

From the bride… Our wedding was totally super stellar and more perfect than we could have ever imagined! I know we look so happy we just might pop and we were/are just that happy!  Our theme was fun and stress free.  We had the best time from the moment we started planning our wedding until the very end of our fantastic day.

From Randi, the photographer… Their wedding began at 11:30 am and this is a photo I grabbed during their “first look” at 9am.  Look at that expression on Nigel’s face!

From Randi, the photographer… Nigel is Welsh and many of his groomsmen came over from Wales to be with Nigel and Sara for the day.

From the bride… I let all of my bridesmaids pick their own dresses, part of that stress free theme.  They all look totally amazing as they know what they fancy!

From the bride… Randi managed to capture all the most special moments!

More beautiful pictures from Amanda & Keni’s beautiful wedding from photographer Melissa Johnston.

Here are some beautiful photos that the Future Mrs. H from Think Happy Thoughts sent over of her and her soon-to-be hubby. The photos are from the seriously talented Brandon and Susan Cook of Addilay Photography. AMAZING. Enjoy! And check out the future Mrs. H’s blog here. Of course when the soon-to-be Mrs. H ties the knot we’ll get you an update and plenty of beautiful photos to go with it! Enjoy!

Ohhhh… there’s something magical about a Brooklyn Bride. This wedding comes to us from the fabulous, fabulous photographer Cindy Johnson. (She photographed Rocco & Larah’s wedding in paradise) Her work is perfection. She captures details and moments that couples must be so happy to frame forever… This wedding is proof that when the weather doesn’t agree, something wonderful can come out of it! 

From the bride… “Brooklyn is a very special place for us. I met my husband there at a bar in 2005. We also got engaged on the Brooklyn Promenade overlooking the Manhattan Skyline, and shared our first apartment there together. My mother’s family also hails from Brooklyn.  In fact, my maternal grandparents had their first date at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. So naturally we chose to get married at the River Café which is a beautiful restaurant in DUMBO located right under the Brooklyn Bridge. We got married on the deck outside the Terrace room with the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan as the backdrop.” 

Proof. That rain on your wedding day can look be beautiful and magical.

From the bride… “Our wedding was very small so we tried to personalize it as much as possible. We wrote our own vows, personal messages to each other, and most of the ceremony.  My mother and I designed the Brooklyn themed table cards and our favors were chocolate cookies shaped like the Brooklyn Bridge.  A close family friend of ours who owns a flower and garden store in Connecticut did our flowers, and a close friend of mine, accompanied by a guitarist sang our first dance song and during the ceremony. ” 

From the bride… “We had decent weather for the outdoor ceremony but then there were torrential downpours for the rest of the day.  At first I was sad because our outdoor photo shoot around DUMBO was canceled. However, the rain turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us because we had the idea to take pictures in the subway instead.  It was very wet and kind of a mess but we had a blast. People taking the subway were so shocked to see us there.  They thought we were shooting for a magazine or something. We were laughing the entire time and have received so many compliments on the pictures.”  

From the bride on her photographer… “Our photographer, Cindy Johnson was so terrific for agreeing to brave the rain-drenched subway with us. She was so energetic and fun to have around and the pictures came out beautifully. ” 

 Sigh. So this Real Wedding is pretty special because I have known the bride for a very long time!  We used to play tennis and listen to Wilson Phillip’s tapes (yes TAPES) together when Wilson Phillips was the jam. Ahh the good old days…

 Anyway, when I saw her wedding photo’s I HAD to share them with you. Such magical, magical photos from photographers, Alisha Clark and Luke Walker of Luke Walker Photography (together they make up Lillie Studios.) Very different shooting styles, yet completely enchanting from every angle!

Don’t miss the link to Annie & Dan’s amazing wedding video (at the bottom of the post) from Lillie Studios and videographer Chris! It’s incredible and so touching given their joint musical background! 

From the beautiful bride on how she met her groom…

“Dan and I met in college at Ithaca. We were in the same violin studio (Dan’s also a violinist; turned to Architectural Acoustic Design, but different circles of friends. We were friends but never really thought about dating each other due to relationships we were in. We were both single during our senior year, and happened to be working together on a project together – my graduate audition CD. Post recording session, we decided to go out for a drink. We had a great time hanging out, we decided to hang out again the next night… and the next…. and before you know it, we were dating. After college, we dated long distance, and worked very hard to keep the relationship strong. About a year after I finished grad school, Dan surprised me with a proposal on the beach on New Year’s Eve, while we were visiting our relatives in FL. He apparently had asked my Dad for permission to marry during Thanksgiving. So everyone knew, except for me. Soon after the engagement, we set a date and started planning.”

Photo Courtesy of Alisha Clark

From the bride… “Our main mantra throughout the wedding process was to be as practical as possible. We did a lot of research on pricing and so before we dove into actually booking anyone, we made sure to plan a reasonable budget. We knew we wanted to splurge a bit more in certain areas like photography and food. Less in other areas like flowers, invitations, decorations, reception venue, etc. We didn’t want to start off in debt. Especially with today’s economy. So having the budget really kept us on track.”

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

From the lovely and very budget conscious bride…(WE LOVE THIS)

“I found my dress at a liquidation sale from a discount bridal store that was going out of business. I actually didn’t expect to find a dress there. But the ladies at the store let me loose in their store and I came out with 2 dresses. I ended buying both dresses because it cost me only $500 for both and I couldn’t make up my mind because they were so different. So I was a 2 dress bride. Now, I chose my dress over the other because the other dress was your typical wedding dress- silk, diamond white, plain. The dress I ended up wearing is a Casablanca Bridal Dress, and it had lovely lace on it with a bit of sequins. Just enough to catch some light. Plus it had a really pretty hem. So I felt more drawn to it after trying it on many times.” 

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Photographer Alisha Clark

Photo Courtesy of Photographer, Alisha Clark

Photo Courtesy of Photographer, Alisha Clark

 From the bride…“Our church (Westminster Presbyterian Church, Albany, NY) was a combined effort. We fell in love with it the first time we stepped through it’s doors. We knew that it was our church, and it worked out in our favor. March was a less busy month for weddings, so they were quite open to doing a wedding. “

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

 From the bride… “We went with a florist that had a background in horticulture for the bouquet, bouts, corsages, and church decoration. We wanted something a bit more unusual and not your typical rose bouquet, etc. So I took clippings from bridal magazines and brought it to him, and basically told him to be creative. We didn’t want it to be too matchy matchy. Dan and I liked more modern designs with shape and simplicity in mind. The day of the wedding, I was blown away with all the bouquets, bouts, and church decoration. It was better than we imagined.” 

Photo Courtesy of Photographer Alisha Clark

 From the bride… “Our reception venue (The Appel Inn in Altamont, NY) was actually chosen by Dan, who’s actually been there prior to planning the wedding. So when we started the process he suggested for us to take a visit, and I loved it and booked the place. From there, we connected with our DJ, reception florist, and limo – and because we were working with the reception venue, we were able to get some good deals and great service.” 

Photo Courtesy of Photographer Alisha Clark

 From the bride… “I can’t really pin point a favorite moment because of how fast the day went, and there was so many things going on. But, I really enjoyed my first dance as husband and wife with Dan to our song “Such Great Heights” by Iron & Wine. It was beautiful and touching and completely sweet. It was also when I felt relief from the day, from the planning, and from experiencing a life changing experience. It was very emotional for me- especially after having planned the wedding for over a year and to finally see everything come together. ”

Photo Courtesy of Luke Walker Photography

From the bride on her photographers… 

“We chose Luke Walker after an intensive search and interview process for about 3 months. We had about 10 photographers on our list, local and non-locals. In the end Luke stayed in our mind because of many reasons. 1) he did photojournalism, which we were in love with. His work was fairly vibrant and colorful, and we appreciated that a lot. 2) he was moving to the area from NYC, so he was local! 3) we talked to him over the phone and he was so laid back and candid with us 4) we had a common connection: ITHACA. He used to live in the Ithaca area, and both Dan and I were Ithaca College alumni 5) he was open minded to a different package set up. In the end we ended up with a very nice package with items that were important to us. Luke has now become good friends of ours through this whole process. We frequently go on double dates. That’s how we became friends with Alisha, and how she came to be the other photographer in our wedding. ”

Check out Annie & Dan’s Wedding video from Lillie Studios. It’s amazing and so beautiful. It completely blew me away…