GSS Featured Wedding :: Ashlin & Steve’s New York Military Wedding :: Kassie Moore Photography

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today’s fabulous featured wedding comes from Kassie of Kassie Moore Photography.  Kassie is a Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas based wedding photographer.  Kassie has been so sweet and accommodating to GSS and we have truly enjoyed working with her on this feature.

Ashlin and Steve were married on December 3, 2011 at the Merchant Marine Academy in Long Island, New York.  Kassie even took the time to tell us a little bit about the wedding day:

“The weather was crisp and gorgeous! It was December 3rd, 2011 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point Long Island, where Steve began his service and loyalties to our nation. This academy is a gorgeous 82 acres of manicured lawns, beautiful statues, and stately buildings. Ashlin and Steve were married on campus in the Mariner’s Chapel. It was beautifully lit with natural light. We catpured their final shots as the sun was setting behind the New York sky line. The reception was also held on campus at the charming Melville Hall.

Melvin Hall’s dining room is surrounded by open windows looking out into the bay, hosting hundreds of vessels of small crafts. Ashlin chose to use navy with touches of silver. Everywhere they had decorated in Christmas charm, with touches of patriotism.

Steak and lobster were served during an elegant sit down dinner followed by dancing. And guarding the dance floor were two elegant Christmas trees dangling ornaments as parting favors.”

Our blushing bride, Ashlin was also kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How did you and Steve meet? We met as children 15 years ago.

How long have you been together? 6 months

How did your husband propose? He proposed in Central Park.

What sold you on your wedding venue? The setting

Your dress is gorgeous, where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”? It’s Priscilla of Boston. I saw it in a magazine and it was the first dress I tried on!

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”? Old- Great-Grandma’s earrings; New-Veil: Borrowed- Grandma’s Rings; Blue-ribbon.

How did you choose your wedding color palette? We had a Military wedding- so I wanted something classy but appropriate. We chose Navy Blue.

What song did you dance to for your first dance? Adele. “To Make You Feel My Love”

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process? Try to do as much as you can yourselves, but don’t take on more than you can handle!

What was your favorite part of your big day? Seeing my groom!

Vendors:

Venue: Merchant Marine Academy

Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Cake: Mr. Stancotti

Floral: Myself

Linens: White linens with white bows

Catering: Mr. Stancotti

DJ/Band: John Christian Band

Videographer: Groom’s brother

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: Myself

Event Planner: Myself

Thank you so much, Kassie, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by her website and show her some love!  And thank you, Ashlin, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Steve a lifetime FULL of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

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GSS’s Things We LOVE :: J Dot Designs’ To DIE For Shoe Accessories!!!

December 22, 2011 By 4 Comments

Are you searching for some FABulous pumps for your bridesmaids?  Or maybe just a really sexy pair for New Year’s?  We found these super gorgeous shoes by Martinez Valero (above image) on Endless.com.   But for some ladies, they might be a bit pricey.  But have no fear!  We, again, we have found a true gem on Etsy!  We introduce you to J Dot Designs!!!  These brilliant shoe accessories (aka ankle cuffs and spats) that slide or tie on, will turn any ol’ plain pair of pumps into something so sexy and sassy!  So instead of running out and purchasing a pair of shoes that you may only wear a couple of times, pick up a pair of these shoe accessories and switch and change them out on all of your pumps!!!  Stop by her Etsy shop (you can get there by clicking here) and give her some love!  She also makes gorgeous cuffs and belts too!!!  (Not sure what a cuff is?  Check out our post on them by clicking here!) She also does custom orders too!

 

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Kristen & Frank’s 11.11.11 Antique Wedding :: Tara Swain Photography

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today’s fabulous featured wedding comes from Tara Swain of Tara Swain Photography.  Tara Swain is an East Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas based wedding photographer.  Tara has been so sweet and accommodating to GSS and we have truly enjoyed working with her on this feature.

Kristen and Frank were married on November 11, 2011 at the Hickory Street Annex in Dallas, Texas.  How cool is that date (11.11.11)?!  (Frank wanted that date so he would always remember their anniversary!)  Kristen was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How did you and Frank meet? We met through mutual friends at a bar called “The Flying Saucer“.  It’s amazing really that we didn’t meet until we did because we’ve had a lot of the same friends a couple years before we actually met. Which means we happened to miss each other at parties and strangely enough at the “saucer”.   And I won’t make it too long, its been a long running joke that was brought up many times at the wedding, my nana told me for years while I was living with them that I would never meet a nice boy at a bar.

Side Note:  Did you notice that the design on Frank’s wedding band is a fingerprint???  Here’s the story behind that: Frank’s ring is my finger print. It’s actually my entire first finger, I wish we had gotten a better picture of what I call the “top” to his ring with the swirls of my fingerprint. But the thought is that my finger is wrapped around his. It was actually a surprise, he didn’t get to see his ring until our “first look” pictures before the ceremony.  LOVE!!!

How long have you been together? We have been together going on 4 years now :)

We LOVE these signs!  They are absolutely TO. DIE. FOR.  Where did you get them?  Our beautiful signs were made by my uncle and myself.  I’d say for the most part, that since a lot of work went into them, it was a family effort. But the two of us did most of the work on them . As I said before, with my grandparents owning the Uncommon Market, they actually had the frames that I painted and then we turned them into chalkboards. They gave us one of the frames for a gift so we can always have it in our home :)

How did Frank propose? I am not an easy one to surprise, I will tell you that.   He wanted so badly to surprise me.  Every Wednesday (whether we were together or not, so for the past 5 years or so) we go to the saucer for “glass night”.  When you go, they have a beer of the night and you get to keep your glass.  A group of us go every Wednesday and we collect glasses and it’s a time we can all hang out.  On random Wednesday, September 1 to be exact, we did our usual thing and went to the saucer. I never thought anything of it, just because that’s what we always did on Wednesday. Well, when they brought our glasses out, turns out mine was just a bit different :) Frank had a glass made that said marry me. Took me a while to realize that my glass was different, he had already started talking when I realized what exactly was going on.  And the rest is history :)

What sold you on your wedding venue? My grandparents own a big antique store in the design district of Dallas called The Uncommon Market. So my entire life, I’ve grown up around unique items and things that are generally just “old”. So we knew we wanted something different, and Hickory Street Annex was perfect for us. The building itself I feel could stand alone without much decoration, which was very important for us.

 

 

Your dress is gorgeous, where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”? Everyone who knows me, knows that I am not a “dress girl”. I still don’t even wear make up. So I was terrified of the dress process. I happened to find my dress online and wanted to go try it on. It really was the only one that I felt was really “me” in looking online and through magazines.  It was a Melissa Sweet Fern dress and we got it at Priscilla of Boston that sadly is closing its doors after more than 60 years :( It was the first one I tried on and the only dress I’ve worn that I didn’t want to take off.

 

 

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”? My nana has a gold coin that she wore in her shoe during her wedding and every girl in our family has had in in their’s, this served as my something old and borrowed.  My something new and blue was my garter which was an amazing Etsy find.

 

 

How did you choose your wedding color palette? As you probaby saw in some of the pictures, my sister and Grandad found an amazing sign in Europe that they gave to us for a Christmas present. It is an old pub sign that amazingly enough says “the Flying Saucer”. We took colors from the sign and used it as inspiration for our palatte.

 

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process? Don’t be afraid to go against the norm. I was told time and time again that I wasn’t a “traditional bride”.  I hated to hear that because other than our decor, maybe we were very traditional.  But do what makes you happy. We had a very comfortable wedding, it wasn’t super structured at all.  I used to bartend at Southfork Ranch during weddings and I learned what made guests happy and what made guests bored. We have had tons of compliments on how “easy going” our wedding was for everyone.

 

What song did you dance to for your first dance? We had Ricki Derek and the Vegas Six as our band. I have some serious love for the old crooners. I’ve been a Sinatra fan since before I can remember which is exactly who they are. I’ve heard Ricki Derek be called the Frank Sinatra of Dallas. Loving so many of his songs it was hard for us to choose. Our “real” song he actually didn’t have on his playlist which is “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by the Platters (which I will tell you we snuck a dance to while we were getting ready for the reception when it was playing on the ipod) but for our official first dance with guests we danced to “It Had to Be You” we found it very fitting for the both of us.

 

What was your favorite part of your big day? It is so hard to nail down a favorite part.  But our entire reception was just perfect.  Every toast that was done, ALL the dancing, our amazing band.  Our goal was to have a celebration of bringing two families together and to celebrate our love for each other…and thats exactly what we had.  A big party of family and friends with good drinks, fabulous food, and amazing music.

Vendors:

Venue: Hickory Street Annex 

Dress: Melissa Sweet “Fern“

Cake: All desserts were made by friends and family

Floral: Brianne Denton with Blue Lotus

Linens: BBJ Linens

Catering: Glory House Catering

DJ/Band: Ricki Derek and the Vegas Six

Videographer: sadly none :(

Wedding Favors: My father and I made all the jam you saw in the pictures. Which it took a long time to make 144 jars of jam, but by far my favorite party favor!

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: Bella Figura

Event Planner: The Bride herself (Along with her amazing family!)

Thank you so much, Tara, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by her website and blog and show her some love!  And thank you, Kristen, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Frank a lifetime FULL of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: Bella Figura

Event Planner: The Bride herself (along with her amazing family)

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Jennifer & Brian’s California Vineyard Wedding :: Three Nails Photography

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Hump Day, Lovelies!!!  Today’s featured wedding comes from Hunter and Brittney Leone of Three Nails Photography.  They are a Shreveport, Louisiana based husband and wife wedding photography team.  Hunter and Brittney have been more than accommodating to GSS on this feature.  Thank you!  Jennifer and Brian were married at Lago Giuseppe Winery in Templeton, California on June 11, 2011.  Jennifer was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How did you and your  husband meet?  At business school.

How long have you been together?  5 years

How did Brian propose?  Brian proposed on a rainy day on the pier at Nick’s Cove– an adorable oyster shack on the coast near San Francisco. 

What sold you on your wedding venue?  When we visited Lago Giuseppe, we knew it was the place for us. We love the central coast of California and the venue is simply beautiful, with wispy oak trees and a private lake.  We also loved the fact that the venue is family owned and run. Joe and his family were warm, accommodating, and extremely easy to work with. They didn’t have strict, limiting rules like most wineries in Napa or Sonoma. They allowed us to make our wedding into what we wanted and not something that had to fit in a package.

Your dresses are gorgeous, where did you get them and how did you know they were “the ones”?  My wedding dress is from Vera Wang. I loved the layers and the romantic feel to the dress. It was also not your typical wedding dress.  My 2nd dress is from BHLDN. I loved it because it was fun, comfortable, a bit bohemian, and it still looked like a wedding dress.

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”?  I actually didn’t follow this tradition.

How did you choose your wedding color palette? I wanted something soft, a bit rustic, and something that complemented the outdoor setting.

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process?

1.Unless you have unlimited time on your hands, try to limit the DIY projects to just a few things that you’d like to really personalize.  With all the amazing DIY weddings you see online nowadays, it’s easy to let your creative juices run wild. But there’s only so much time for everything.

2. Set realistic expectations on the level of your fiancé’s involvement — some guys will want to have a say in everything and some will want to just show up on the day of the wedding. If the former, let him have a say. It’s his wedding as much as yours.  Perhaps decide what’s most important for each of you and let each have ownership of those things.  If the latter, know who you’re marrying and accept that. This will save a lot of fighting, disappointment and resentful feelings. Having full carte blanche isn’t necessarily the worst thing. It could even make the deciding process easier. Just make sure to get enough support from others so you’re not taking the full burden of managing everything.

3. Try to get everything done a week before the wedding so that you’re not completely stressed out or sleep deprived the days leading up to your wedding day. You could end up getting sick, breaking out, or just simply exhausted and grumpy.

What song did you dance to for your first dance?  Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Frank Sinatra.

What was your favorite part of your big day?  My favorite moment of the wedding was when Brian gave his speech at the reception.  He secretly planned to give his speech to my mom in Korean, as my mother doesn’t speak English very well.  Reaching out to one of my Korean friends to have it translated, he had planned to surprise the both of us. Though I unfortunately found the translation on the dining room table two days before the wedding, the thought and effort he put into it will never be forgotten.  His mispronunciations made the moment that much more adorable and the look on my mom’s face told me that this gesture meant the world to her. 

 

Vendors: 

Venue: Lago Giuseppe

Dress: Vera Wang and BHLDN

Wedding Cake: Sarah Lagrotteria of Apples and Onions; Other cakes and desserts: Madonna Inn, Lette Macarons

Floral: April Flowers (bouquets and boutonnieres), Skyline Flowers (DIY)

Linens:  Elite Events Party Rentals

Catering: La Donna Dolce

DJ/Band: We played our own playlist

Videographer: Chad Clough

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: (all DIY) Re Jin Lee and Me

Event Design & Styling: Re Jin Lee and Me

Thank you so much, Hunter & Brittney, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by Three Nails Photography’s website and show them some love!  And thank you, Jennifer, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Brian a lifetime full of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

 

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Liz & Nathan’s Botanical Garden Wedding :: Gabriel Harber Photography

November 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

Happy Hump Day, Lovelies!!!  Today’s featured wedding comes from Gabriel of Gabriel Harber Photography. He is a Oakland/San Fransisco, California based wedding photographer.  Gabriel has been more than accommodating to GSS on this feature.  Thank you!  Liz and Nathan were married at University of California Botanical Garden at Berkley, California on July 31, 2011.  Liz was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:  (Side Note:  I have to say that Liz has some of the most touching, sincere and wise answers to our questions.  Please make sure that you take the time to reader her answers and not just skip past them while looking at their beautiful images.  They are so worthwhile and insightful!)

How did you and Nathan meet? The old-fashioned way… in a bar on the dance floor! 

How long have you been together? Couple years?  5 maybe? 

How did Nathan propose? On one knee, after making me a perfect cup of coffee and homemade heart-shaped waffles.  He said all sorts of beautiful sweet things that I wish I recorded because I honestly can’t remember them… but there were some happy tears and a loud yes.  And a stunning ring.  I call it my free range rock, since it is a conflict-free diamond from Brilliant Earth.  Hopefully our marriage will be equally conflict-free and we will continue to make choices together that support happiness and health for all people. 

What sold you on your wedding venue? Nathan loves redwoods, and Mather Grove just has this really sacred feel.  We had the ceremony there and the reception at the Claremont Hotel.  We went from rustic nature to old world glamor, but it felt very local and special to us… and was simple for our guests. 

Your dress is gorgeous, where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”?  The dress is Nicole Miller and it is from an awesome boutique on Park Street called ZOE Couture.  I knew it was the one when it fit and the salesgirl told me it was included in the half off sale!   

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”? I didn’t really do this – I wore my Nana’s crystal necklace – that was old and reminded me of her, which reminds me of love.  But the borrowed item did not fit, and the blue item just did not happen… although I guess my bridesmaids wore blue… I think this was one tradition I just skipped.  I also skipped the bouquet toss – trust me ladies, your single friends really hate that event. 

How did you choose your wedding color palette?  Navy looks good on everyone, and green is fun.  

If you love Liz’s Navy and Green wedding color palette, be sure to check out our Navy and Apple Green Inspiration board!

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process? Talk to each other about what is important.  This is an expensive event, even if you try to be frugal, and so you want to spend on what matters. For us, we spent money on the photography and the food.  We saved by having it on a Sunday and going with a hotel for the reception… and we saved a lot on flowers and decorations.  I made the favors.  Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we had a street party with a taco truck caterer. Instead of having 150 people, we had around 75 and were able to afford the event we wanted.  I know everyone says this is your day and so do what you want, and that is true, but I also think that you do want to consider the needs and comfort of your guests.  Don’t read too many wedding magazines. You can get some great ideas, but you can also set some unrealistic expectations if you are not careful and start buying wacky stuff. Cute as they are, your guests really don’t need coordinating parasols and flip flops.  They are there to celebrate you!  Feed them well and make sure they have drinks and lots of fun. 

What song did you dance to for your first dance? “Home” by OK Sweetheart, a Texas band.  We saw them live a few years ago at an after show at Austin City Limits and we loved them.  The lyrics are spot on… “where ever you go, I’ll go, knowing one day I’ll be calling it home.”  I moved a lot when I was younger, and I didn’t realize until I fell in love with Nathan that I have not felt “home” for a long, long time.  I have this overwhelming sense of belonging where I am when I am with him. We now have a beautiful home together…and I know we always will, no matter where we go!  

What was your favorite part of your big day? Every single moment was incredible.  Seeing how happy my husband was and how much fun he had was awesome. The toasts by our family and friends were so touching, and everything was just right. 

Venue:  Mather Grove , UC Botanical Garden (ceremony) and The Claremont (reception) 

Dress: Nicole Miller 

Cake: Katrina Rozelle in Oakland, plus a grooms cake from FeelGood Bakery 

Floral: Sarai from the Berkeley Farmer’s Market 

Linens:  The Claremont

Catering: The Claremont 

DJ/Band: The best!!!  DJ Jeremy 

Videographer: No thanks!  Pictures are plenty. 

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: Made my own, bought paper at Target, bought custom stamps from Etsy 

Event Planner: Me!

Photographer: The best!  Gabriel Harber 

Thank you so much, Gabriel, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by Gabriel Harber Photography’s website and show him some love!  And thank you, Liz, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Nathan a lifetime full of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Melanie & Wes’s Texas Ranch Wedding :: Ashgene Photography

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Hump Day, Lovelies!!!  Today’s featured wedding comes from Ashley of Ashgene Photography. She is a Texas based wedding photographer.  Ashley has been so accommodating to GSS on this feature.  Thank you!  Melanie and Wes were married at Melanie’s family’s ranch in Seguin, Texas on April 23, 2011.  Melanie was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How did you and Wes meet?  Wes & I went to Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas together.  We met & became fast friends within the first days of starting school freshman year and by Senior Year of High School we were doing everything together.   We both went to University of Texas for college, but we never interested in dating each other – we were each other’s support & best friend. 

How long have you been together?  Oh goodness, it feels like,…. when were we not?  But, literally, we have been best friends for almost ten years… dating for 6 of those years & engaged for a little less than one year & married for 6 months!

How did Wes propose?  After almost five years of dating and ten years of sharing a best friendship, Wes surprised me with pink champagne & long stemmed pink roses on the rooftop of our NYC apartment!  While the Empire State Building watched from above, Wes got down on one knee & popped the question.  We enjoyed our first moments of our engagement on top of the world as the sun slipped away behind the Hudson River.  What a miraculous sight!  Once the sun had said its last goodbye, we went to feast on our favorite meal- Paella and Sangria from our favorite NYC Spanish food restaurant, of course! “Cheers-ing” to many years of happiness and adventure ahead, we could not have been more blissful.

Your dress is gorgeous, where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”?  Well, now that’s a funny story.   Being from the fashion industry & educated in fashion, I have been sketching wedding dresses my whole life.  I knew what I wanted & knew I wasn’t going to find it.  I didn’t want strapless, I wanted layers & layers of organza on the skirt.  While in NYC, I bought a white double-faced satin strapless dress as a base so I wouldn’t have to spend time doing the boning & I was going to build my dress on top of that.  As life goes, my dress wasn’t touched until about a month before the wedding.  My parents were very concerned, so we went to all the Austin wedding boutiques. I remembered one boutique that carried Vera Wang.  In the back of my head, I always knew the Diana dress by Vera Wang was the most similar to the dress I had envisioned as my perfect dress.

To make a long story short, we found the dream dress. I took it directly to my tailor, Elsie, to change it a little bit to my liking – raising the hip line, taking in the side seams a bit & redoing the heart shape to better suit me.  I altered the Wang.  Elsie had it completed in a week – I tried my altered dress on for the first time the Wednesday before my Saturday wedding!  I knew it was the “one & only” the second I put it on.  I think I can say everything happens for a reason after that – I love my dress more than anything.  In the end, I decided not to put straps on it.  It just seemed too perfect the way it was.

Oh, I did squeeze in time to making my poofy Priscilla Presley-inspired veil & the Bridesmaids’/Flower Girls Organza Flower belts & corsages with the helpful skills of a friend from fashion school coming to Austin early!

What sold you on your wedding venue?  Well, I’m from Austin, but as I say, I grew up on my Ranch.  The one place I dreamed of having my wedding in Austin was Laguna Gloria.  Clara’s old villa & the beautiful grounds overlooking Lake Austin in itself is perfect.  It also had a lot of sentimental value in my life as the place I cultivated my passion for design & in Wes’s family too.  His parents were married there in the 80′s!  However, my dream place to get married was my family’s ranch, The Runnin R Ranch in Gonzales County.  More precisely, I wanted to get married in the barn!  However, having a classy affair on a working horse ranch was every overwhelming & my dad would reply with a chuckle, “That old smelly thing!” 

I was engaged on June 11, 2010.  When this inevitable day came & we started planning for the big day – my first choice was the Runnin R, of course! And without missing a beat, my dad’s reply was the same.  I went with my second choice of Laguna Gloria. Luckily, they had April 23rd available!  We booked it in July & vigorously started planning, but I didn’t let the ranch go.   Through the summer, autumn & winter, my mom, sister & I planned, planned, planned!  Save the Dates were sent right after the New Year.  Little by little, my parents started to understand that my heart wasn’t fully in Laguna Gloria & as much as I loved it & wanted to make it work, it wasn’t where I was meant to get married & have our special day.  Plus, our guest list was much bigger than LG was really available to accommodate.  At the beginning of February, less than three months before our wedding date, & after much (much) convincing, my parents finally agreed & committed to changing the venue to the Ranch.  However, our ranch is a lot different than a hundred-year-old Italian Villa in Austin.  We threw everything out the window & started the planning from scratch three months before the wedding!  On top of that, we needed to seriously update the place including roads, barns, etc in order to accommodate the 250 guests.  Through a lot of overwhelmingly hard work & many people laboring day after day on little things like gardening to huge projects like renovating the tack room to be a fun photo booth, building a full functioning bar with pull up window in another room, having a neon Runnin R sign made for the new bar, hanging chandeliers & moving hay, we created an oasis in the middle of the country.  With no professional wedding planner wanted (my family are creative party throwing people), my dad, mom & I took this project on full time with help from my sister, brother-in-law, fiancé & many friends of our Ranch community – We created the Ranch Wedding Sanctuary I had imagined.  All out guests from Austin were brought out there by charter buses on April 23rd & the rest was magic.

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”?

- My something old was my cake topper.  It is my maternal grandparents from 1950 whom celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in June.

- My something new was my teardrop diamond necklace my parents gave me as a wedding present.  I had mentioned I would love to wear my mom’s necklace down the isle as my something borrowed, and they surprised me with my own.

- My something borrowed was my maternal great grandmother’s 100 year old Bible that was used in our ceremony.

- My something blue was a white ribbon sewn into in my dress with my maiden name embroidered in blue.

How did you choose your wedding color palette? Well being Easter weekend, I thought pastels. I am a pink lady, so I always knew soft pinks.  I also love all white crisp weddings & monochromatic anything.  So, we did white & ivory, light pink & slightly deeper but still soft peony pink against the rustic brown & gray barn, green trees & blue sky.

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process?   Ha!  Yes, don’t change your mind weeks before the wedding and maybe get a wedding planner!  This is a day to be happy & only that!  So, once the day comes, let all the planning & details slip away, breath & soak it all in.  Brides focus on what matters & thoroughly enjoy you & your husband’s day – it’s the only wedding day y’all will get!

 

What song did you dance to for your first dance?  We wanted our wedding to feel like an NYC Chic Party had been dropped onto the Runnin R Ranch.  Both adoring true oldies of music & film, we picked Swing so we could dance to Frank Sinatra, the best performer of all time & a New York legend.  We love the fun upbeat vibe & words to ‘Cheek to Cheek’, as well as it has meaning that we will dance through life ‘cheek to cheek’ & the title is engraved in Wes’s wedding ring.

What was your favorite part of your big day?  The most memorable part was when the ancient transformer exploded about mid-reception, (leaving us in the dark for a while), a huge cheer went up from the crowd & we impromptu cut the cake by candlelight.  Also, hugging my parents at the end of the aisle during the ceremony was super special & joining the reception by dancing with my husband to Cheek to Cheek – all of which really set the tone for the whole experience of the wedding!

Vendors:

Venue: The Radford’s Runnin R Ranch (Yes, there is no g and no apostrophe)

Dress: Vera Wang

Hair:  Jessika Cottle  owner of Jco Salon and Spa of Austin

Cake: A wonderful local lady named Oralia Avalos who owns Austin Sweet Delights.

Floral: My sister, Glenna K Bruun designed & created all the floral from the centerpieces to boutique to boutonnières. My mom did my bouquet.  My mom & I picked the flowers we wanted to use (mostly tulips, peonies, lilies & ranunculus for Easter & then carnations because they are symbolic for our sorority Chi Omega.) at Austin Flower Company & purchased them in bulk.

Linens: We bought bolts of burlap & muslin from Hobby Lobby – my aunt, mom & sister created them!

Catering: Whole Foods Market on Lamar Blvd, in Austin, Headquarters

Tents and rentals:  Premiere Party Central of Austin

Take Away Restroom:  A Royal Flush, Inc

Lighting:  FILO Designs

Transportation: Star Shuttle and Golf Cars of Austin

Bartenders: Austin’s Elite

Hotel:  Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel,  Austin, TX

String Quartet:  Pricilla Arasaki (pricilla.aransaki@gmail.com)

Day of Wedding Planner:  Sarah Staats

DJ/Band: Hotcakes (hotcakesentertainment.com)

Photographer:  Ashley Roberts of Ashgene Photography

Videographer:  Ashley Wedding DVD and Video (RexAshley.com)

Invitations/Wedding Stationery:  I did it!  I designed them on Photoshop, bought an industrial printer & sat at home for three weeks printing every part of every one – when I say they were, “made with love” I mean it.  I did the save-the-dates, programs & other paper goods the same way, except when we finally got around to printing the programs the week before the wedding I sent them to a small printing company to do the job for me!

Thank you so much, Ashley, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by Ashgene Photography’s website and show her some love!  And thank you, Melanie, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Wes a lifetime full of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Cristina & Fabrizio’s Tuscan Wedding :: Valeria Beltrami Photography

October 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today’s featured engagement comes from one of our sweet readers, Cristina.  She’s the blushing Bride in this feature!  We LOVE it when our readers submit their photos to us for a feature!!! Valeria Beltrami, of Valeria Beltrami Photography documented their big day beautifully.  Cristina and Fabrizio were married on October 1, 2011 at San Galgano, a beautiful roofless abbey in Tuscany.  Cristina was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

 

How did you and Fabrizio meet? We have been colleagues for some years in two different advertising agencies, but did not get along very well for a long time: we didn’t even say hello when we met in the corridors!

Translation: For tears of joy”

How long have you been together? Considering also the “difficult periods”, we’ve been together for 4 years.

How did Fabrizio propose? Now, that’s a long story: he proposed the first time at dinner during a week-end in Sorrento, but at that time my divorce from the previous wedding was still not ratified, so I told him he would have needed to do that again, and asked him to be far more creative than the classic “restaurant-dinner-ring” thing.

A year later we were having a trekking holiday in Germany, and he proposed at dinner, in a restaurant in Freudenstadt, but I was quite disappointed that in a year he couldn’t think of anything better than restaurant and dinner (again), so I said no.

Finally, in April, I was having a quite tough period at work and taking care of my children and all the rest, and he sent a “Kit Kat” to my office, and when I opened it I found a small card saying “Have a break, and take this time to consider my wedding proposal”.

So I went to his office, and asked the door keeper to call him and give him a card: he took it and didn’t even notice I was few meters away: got into the elevator and read it. When he read I was downstairs ready for saying yes, he stopped the elevator and got stuck into it, but at the end he succeeded to reach me and we kissed, had a glass of wine, and set the date.

What sold you on your wedding venue? We chose San Galgano for the ceremony because we had our first vacation there, and though we were really far far away from feeling that we would have gotten married one day, we made fun of each other saying “Ok, let’s get married here!”.  So, when we made the decision, that had to be the place! The abbey is dated 1200, so we wanted to keep a sort of continuity for the dinner venue, and we chose a 1200 mill in the vicinity that we stayed at during all our weekend there.

Translation:  “No Rice.  But a wish perfumed.”

Your dress is gorgeous, where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”? This was my second wedding, so I did not feel like wearing the classic white dress, and as far as red was in our palette, my dressmaker and I took inspiration from an evening dress picture we saw and decided to mix white for bride and red, modeling the dress very much on my personality. It was a bit scary to start without having actually not seen the dress on me, but watching it becoming “my” dress step after step was very exciting.

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”?  My something old was my great-grandmother’s necklace; my something new was my outfit (dress, shoes, hat), I borrowed from my best friend the shawl she used on her wedding day, and I had blue ribbons on my underwear !

How did you choose your wedding color palette? Fabrizio and I have a passion for opera, so the first and more important color we chose was the “theatre curtain red”; we added ivory and grey thinking of the retro mood we wanted to give to the whole event.

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process? I think the most important thing is giving your wedding a very personal touch, and making it reflect who bride and groom are: so my advice would be not to stoop to compromises and work for making your big day actually your’s.  That is a bit more demanding than choosing “ready-to-use” solutions, but will make the difference at the end!

What song did you dance to for your first dance?  For our first dance we chose an Italian song from the 40’s: “C’è una casetta piccina” by Alberto Rabagliati.

What was your favorite part of your big day? More than a moment, I’d say my favourite part was feeling that all the people there were sharing our same emotions: that was really moving, and unforgettable.

 

Vendors :

Venue:  Ceremony:  San Galgano abbey – Chiusdino (Siena) – Italy

Reception:  Mulino delle Pile – Chiusdino (Siena) – Italy

Dress:  Angela Guzzo atelier – Milano www.angelaguzzoatelier.com

Cake & Catering: Pere e Margherite – Pieve a Presciano (Arezzo) – Italy

DJ/Band: Luca Campana

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: H-57 Creative Station – Milano – Italy

 

Thank you so much, Valeria, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  And thank you, Cristina, for taking your time to answer our questions and sharing your love story with us!  We wish you and Fabrizio a lifetime full of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

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GSS Featured Wedding :: Caroline & Jeremy’s Vintage Farmhouse Wedding :: Kate Takes Photos

October 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Hump Day, Lovelies!!!  You’re all in for a treat today!!!  Man, our submissions just keep getting better and better!!!  Today’s fabulous featured wedding comes from Kate Miller of Kate Takes Photos, a Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas based wedding photographer.  Kate has been so sweet and accommodating to GSS and we have truly enjoyed working with her on this feature.

Caroline and Jeremy were married on June 24, 2011 at an 1800′s Texas farmhouse and their wedding was FILLED to the brim with amazing details!  (Side Note:  Remember Emily and Landry’s awesome Ranch Wedding that we featured last year? The groom of this feature, Jeremy, is the brother of Emily.  Apparently amazing wedding planning runs in their veins! Side Note 2:  Make sure you read about Jeremy’s proposal.  Sweetest. Proposal. EVER.)  Caroline was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

How did you and Jeremy meet? We both went to Texas Christian University—we were introduced through a mutual friend and got to know each other through Disciples on Campus, University Christian Church, and the TCU Religion Department.

How long have you been together? 2.5 years

How did Jeremy propose?  One day in early 2009, several of our friends were planning an evening at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.  By the time we left TCU, however, all but two of our group had cancelled. Who was left? You guessed it: Me and Jeremy. We decided to go anyway, just the two of us. Jeremy loves photography, so, of course, he brought his camera. In one of the halls of the museum that looks out over the reflection pool is a piece of art created from THOUSANDS of pieces of green, cellophane-wrapped hard candies. You can take the candy as a memento or as a snack, and the museum replenishes it intermittently. Jeremy took a great photo of me that day–a photo which later graced his nightstand. We had an incredible time laughing, talking, enjoying the art and each other’s company. We have come to call this our first “pseudo-date.”

A few pseudo-dates and a few regular dates later, we are in December 2010, completely in love. Unfortunately we are also in two states separated by 1,700 miles, since he was starting a masters program in Berkeley, and I was finishing up at TCU in Fort Worth, TX. Anxious for December 20, when we were to meet at SFO airport, I was trying to make it through the last couple weeks of class.

Over Thanksgiving, my best friend, Sarah Parker, asked me if we could go to the Modern on her next day off, which happened to be the next Thursday. I said we could go between my classes since I have a four hour break. We headed to the
museum, and I was excited for a girls’ afternoon. We stopped and talked about a few of our favorite pieces, but Sarah did not linger long at any of them. Then, we turned a corner. There, by the windows, standing where I am standing in the picture from 22 months earlier is Jeremy (wearing my favorite shirt of his!).

I stood there in shock for a moment, confused at how he was there. He was supposed to be in Berkeley. He was supposed to be cramming in research for his term papers. He had just texted me on Tuesday that I should make three weeks go by faster. Tricky. When I was convinced I was not hallucinating, I asked him what he was doing here. He responded, “I think you know why I’m here.”

Getting down on one knee, he told me he loves me and that I make him smile like nobody else can. Then he said I would find a special present hidden among the green candies. I started eyeing every pocket and dent in the sea of green, looking for a spot that looked like it had been messed with. Realizing how long this task would really take, I turned back to Jeremy and pleaded, “You have GOT to be kidding me!” He laughed, said “Yes,” pulled the perfect ring from his pocket, and asked if we could be married.

I think you can guess my answer. :)

What sold you on your wedding venue? It was outdoors. Jeremy and I really wanted an outdoor wedding, and our venue had a beautiful grove of trees, which was perfect for the ceremony and had a great pavilion for our casual, fun reception.

Your dress is gorgeous (seriously, we’re obsessed with it!), where did you get it and how did you know it was “the one”? I’ll be honest. The one thing I HAD dreamed about was the dress. For the few months prior to the proposal, I had my suspicions and I started scouting dresses. I love the vintage, Audrey Hepburn look. With my figure, higher necklines are more flattering and more comfortable, so I knew I wanted a bateau neck. My back is one of my favorite parts of my body, so I wanted to show that off. And, I knew I wanted a tea-length dress, for many reasons (the TX heat in June, my inability to dance in a long dress, etc.) SO,
this dress was perfect. I found it on UniqueVintage.com, and ordered it right away (I mean within a week of the proposal!). When it came in, I found that dress sizes have changed DRAMATICALY since the 50s, so I had MAJOR alterations done (lowering the V in the back, adding the lace at the waist, letting out EVERY seam allowance) at Margo West Bridal Alterations in Dallas.

I absolutely love it. It is truly one-of-a-kind. Plus, the lace we added was salvaged from my aunt’s graduation dress slip (I wore thedress for the rehearsal dinner)! Hooray for repurposing!

What was your “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”? I had multiple “something olds:” my dress (and the lace), my veil (tulle was taken from a hat that belonged to my great-grandmother), vintage pearl necklace.

“something new:” my fabulous purple shoes! (from Anthropologie).

“something borrowed:” I wore my mother’s pearl earings.

“something blue:” I carried a baby blue hankie.

How did you choose your wedding color palette? Purple is (and always has been) my favorite color, plus it is the school color for TCU. Green is Jeremy’s favorite color, and we both liked the combination of moss
green with purple and lavender. We added some pale blue with vintage glass jars and some cranberry/pink with my dad’s zinnias and the gladiolas in the ceremony just to add some brightness.

Do you have any advice for bride and grooms that are in the planning process?

  1. RECRUIT HELPERS! Especially if you do everything DYI, like we did, helpers are invaluable. My mother is a school teacher, so we both had the few weeks prior to the wedding off, and we worked tirelessly for those
    few weeks.
  2. Do things according to your strengths—Jeremy, who is very artistic, drew our invitations, save-the-dates and painted the signs for the reception, etc. I am more artsy-craftsy, so I put the invitations together, made napkins, etc. But, be sure to do some things together, as well. It makes the whole process more fun.
  3. Don’t take things too seriously. You will forget things the day of—we forgot to put out the 15 pounds of grapes we bought! Oops! But, remember that while the little things are wonderful and create an amazing atmosphere, they are not really what the day is all about.

What song did you dance to for your first dance? “The Very Thought of You” by Billie Holiday.

What was your favorite part of your big day? Really, the whole day was wonderful. Even setting up was fun! Our whole wedding party helped, along with our families, and we had a great time. The ceremony was
beautiful, with many meaningful words and actions, and the reception was a blast! That being said, my favorite moment:

We served communion during our ceremony, so after a friend of mine sang a few songs, everything was quiet. Jeremy and I really had a special moment to ourselves when we could just be together. Even though everyone was still there, it felt like a very private moment. To make the perfect moment more surreal, a cool breeze came through (blessed relief!) and two cardinals started calling back and forth in the trees.

 

Vendors:

Venue: 1899 Farmhouse, Princeton, TX

Dress: UniqueVintage.com

Cake: Jeremy’s mother made the “wedding cake” and various friends and family members baked the rest of the tasty treats on our dessert bar. (My mother made upwards of 600 cookies!)

Floral: We bought the flowers from 7th Street Flower Market in Fort Worth, and our good friend Anna Ross did the arrangements and bouquets.

Linens: provided by 1899 Farmhouse

Catering: DIY

DJ/Band: 1899 Farmhouse provided basic sound equipment, and we had a friend manage an iTunes playlist we created

Videographer: n/a

Invitations/Wedding Stationery: DIY

Event Planner: n/a

Thank you so much, Kate, for sharing this amazing wedding with us!  Please stop by her website and show her some love!  And thank you, Caroline, for taking your time to answer our questions!  We wish you and Jeremy a lifetime full of love, laughter, and happiness!!!  May every day be better than the last!

If you have an engagement, wedding, day after, or anniversary session that you would like featured- Please send it to us at submissions@groomsoldseparately.com.  We HEART submissions!

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GSS’s things We LOVE :: Beyond White’s Whimiscal Window Pane Wedding Seating Charts

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last year we showed you an awesome idea for your wedding reception seating chart using a repurposed window pane.  (You can see that post by clicking here.)  This can easily be recreated for your own wedding.  Just find an old window pane at your local junk yard (or a new one at a home improvement store (think Home Depot or Lowe’s) and roughing it up with sandpaper to look old) and a paint marker from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.  Then, in your best handwriting, write the table numbers followed by the guests to be seated at that table on each window pane.  Voila!  You have a fabulous wedding reception seating chart!  However, if love the look but would rather leave the dirty work up to an expert- Beyond White has you covered!

Here’s a little bit about Beyond White from their Etsy store:  You can mix or match styles to create a unique and useful art installment for your wedding and reception.  Menus, programs, and signs are available.  Have another idea?  Great!  I love working with couples to create something special. 

I really enjoy creating such unique pieces of art for your wedding day. I will go to great lengths to make each and every person absolutely satisfied. I pride myself on providing exceptional service and being totally available to my customers. If you have ideas but aren’t sure how to execute them, or perhaps want to adjust designs to accommodate your needs, please let me know.

Take a look at some of their fabulous creations!

 

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