I hear people say it all the time: “If I had to do it all over again, I’d totally take off and have a beach wedding.” Which makes me think that Nick and Sara are geniuses to do it in the first place.  Today’s Cabo San Lucas wedding, shot by Luna Photography, is warm, sunny and super chic. I think some may crinkle their nose at the idea of a destination wedding for fear of photos of them barefoot starring at a groom in a white linen suit (which PS looks good on like 4% of the male population. MAX.)  And I’m not sure who decided that that was the beach wedding “look” but today we’re throwing the linen suit idea away.  We’re bringing black tie to the beach.  And it looks good.  And I mean GOOD.  It doesn’t hurt that both Nick and Sara uber good looking.  Nor does it hurt that they infused the adorable concept of Mexican chic through pops of pink and orange color (we heart the pomanders!).  Bravo to Luna Photo for capturing every moment perfectly – any photo could easily be an ad for a super high end beach resort.

Before I let Sara fill us in on all the little secrets of her day, I have to say her welcome bags sound killer.  Just the perfect beachy welcome:

We wanted to make sure that our own personal style was reflected in our wedding. We created table names that were various words associated with love, and we wrote them in Spanish (ie: Amor, Beso, Amistad, Confianza). Our escort cards were heart-shaped, cork-top bottles filled with tequila and tied with colored ribbon that held each guest’s name. We gave all of our guests welcome bags filled with a Cabo Magazine, a CD that we created, local wine, sunscreen, bottled water, snacks, and a handmade program that included info on all wedding events as well as local info (ie: Recommended restaurants, activities, etc). Our theme was “Mexican Chic”- we had bright pink and orange pops of color (bridesmaid dresses, hanging pomanders, flowers on cake) combined with neutral colors (white/ivory flower bouquets, linens, candle luminary centerpieces, lounge furniture). Our signature cocktail was a watermelon margarita, and our cake flavors were red velvet and pina colada.

Wedding Coordinator: One Happenings and Events |  Venue: Cabo Azul Resort |  Wedding Dress: Rosa Clara |  Bridesmaid Dress: Simple Silhouettes |  Menswear: Calvin Klein |  Caterer: Javier’s Restaurant |  Wedding Cake: Cabo Dessert Diva |  Invitations: Take Note Creations |  Florist: Flores de Cabo
Photography: lunaphoto

If you’re looking for feminine, rustic wedding decor ideas – your search has ended. And you have Jennifer and John’s wedding to thank. Oh and maybe also thank Joseph and Jaime Photography for the dreamy way they’ve captured all the stunning details from this north of Toronto wedding. I typically fist pump the air when I receive an amazing wedding submission (I’m weird) AND if it was a Toronto wedding…well, I get all kinds of excited. Part one from this Toronto wedding had a reference to the awesome flippy flops that were made available at the wedding.  But I’m even more hyped about the blanket situation.  This should be a stable for outdoor weddings.  It’s sheer genius.

From our bride, Jennifer: Our wedding was hosted at our family farm in Caledon, Ontario on the very same spot my sister was married and where I’ve spent countless childhood days. The inspiration was the sheer beauty of the landscape paired with an urban love of style, fashion and design. The vibe was a combination of 1920’s Art Deco, the movie Meet Joe Black and my favourite painting – Carnation, Lily Lily Rose – by John Singer Sargent.

Colours were pink and grey – and we tried to bring this through with loads of pink Champagne, flowers and the marquis design. Planning our wedding was fantastic – but not anywhere near as much fun as the actual day – I couldn’t be a luckier bride to have all my wildest dreams come true. Everything from our spirit lanterns to the ice sculpture and amazing band was just what I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl. The team at Pearl Bridal was an absolute joy to work with and truly made me feel special while Joseph and Jaime are the most incredible photographers – capturing every detail in a style that really suited John and I – and making it so much fun! The old-school scotch tent and football logo’s on each table helped to put John’s spin on things – and of course, the red velvet wedding cake was all him! I wish we could do it again!

Wedding Coordinator: Bride’s Mother – Willa Gauthier | Venue: Someday Farm | Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston – Pearl Bridal | Shoes: Karen Millen | Wedding Hair/Makeup: Hanoch Dori | Bridesmaid Dress: Amsale | Menswear: Thomas Pink / Zegna | Caterer and Wedding Cake: Gourmandissimo | Invitations: Paper Ideas | Florist: Parterre Flowers | Entertainment: Toronto All Star Big Band | Bridal Veil: Vintage Lace | Photography: Joseph + Jaime Photography

Vegas baby!  Sigh.  I do love Vegas.  Recently we took a roadtrip from Nevada to Utah and back down to LA.  I have to say that I saw a different side to Vegas.   Just like we’re about to see today with this classic Las Vegas wedding.  Set in Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada, this wedding is just brimming with style.

When I received these photos from Troy Grover, a Cali wedding photographer, I fell in love with the cream on cream bridesmaid dresses.  They’re just glam.  And so are these photos.  I have a serious love affair with black and white photos. Some wedding blogs shy away from featuring black and white photos and that has always puzzled me. They’re so classic and crisp. They’re drama makes them irresistible to me. And may I say that Mr. Troy Grover knows his black and white photography. Add to that the fact that I LOVE dancing at weddings and you won’t be surprised to hear that my favorite shot is of the bride and groom on the dance floor.  Makes me want to take ballroom dancing.  Or just shake “it” in my living room. One or the other.

Troy gave us a glimpse into this wedding story: The bride was wearing a stunning Monique Lhuillier gown with Louis Vuitton shoes accessorized with Tiffany and Channel bracelets. Her bouquet was full of gorgeous light pink peonies. The bride and groom are both performers in Las Vegas so they loved the idea of having their wedding away from the strip at the beautiful Lake Las Vegas Ritz. The couple included their two adorable dogs in the ceremony as the ring bearers wearing fresh floral collars. The reception had a live 8 piece big band for that old classic feel. We also provided a photo lounge in the ballroom where guests could take pictures ‘photobooth’ style.

Photography: Troy Grover Photographers | Video: Pristine Videos |  Venue: The Ritz Lake Las Vegas  |  Band: Las Vegas Event music

Friday. It’s the day you where forgive the rest of the week for being really dumb and live it up cuz…well, it’s Friday. This Friday I thought we’d bid farewell to the silly work week with a sweet South Carolina wedding with blue details. Renee and Nathan are the classic Southern couple.  If they were a food they’d be your favorite comfort food.  They just look so wholesome, non?

Officially the wedding took place in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Alisa and Christina from Charlotte Event Design are the design damsels behind this adorable shindig.  Loving the door wreath!  It may be the inspiration for a future La Belle Bride DIY project!  Here’s our Belle Bride Renee with some details about her day:

Nathan and I have different styles, but I knew what our wedding should be like: clean and classic. Black and ivory are always elegant, and I chose an ocean blue as the accent color to be crisp and fresh. Because Belk Chapel is such a beautiful space and Bonterra has such a wonderful ambiance already, I wanted to use minimal flowers, make use of candles and let the spaces speak for themselves. The flowers we did choose had beautifully clean lines. I also really enjoyed being able to use my design talents to create our printed materials to fit this style, from our invites to our programs to our thank you notes. All included our black, ivory and blue colors, and a swirling scroll design that tied everything together.

Alisa and Christina of Charlotte Event Style were incredibly creative in helping me come up with budget-friendly ways to add little touches to make our day really special, like the wreaths on the chapel doors, the blue flower napkin rings and the photos framed at each table. Alisa used inspiration boards to help pinpoint what we liked, and we meshed our creativity together for some fun details, like the “Just Married” sign above our sweetheart table and the blue-water-filled vases with floating candles on the bar.

I also had a minor (surprise) theme going in that some details incorporated the South Carolina symbol of the palmetto tree and moon. Nathan is a die-hard lover of the South Carolina Gamecocks and the state of South Carolina, where he was born and raised, and having a South Carolina garter, SC ribbons on the guys’ boutonnières and engraved champagne glasses was my way of making him feel like it was his day too, even though weddings usually tend to focus on the bride! The rehearsal dinner was all about him as well, with a low country boil, more SC-themed items, and the best part…a surprise cake incorporating a mini Nathan and all the things he loves most!

The planning process was truly a pleasure once I found Alisa and Christina, and they did an amazing job of helping make our day even better than I had imagined. We were blessed with beautiful weather after having horrible cold and snow on several photo shoots, shower days and other wedding-related events, but the day of the wedding was absolutely perfect in my eyes. I had all my favorite people around me all day, no one was missing or late, we had wonderful hair and makeup people and everyone was relaxed and having fun. The best part of March 6, 2010, was seeing Nathan waiting for me at the front of the church, knowing that it was just the first day in our lifelong adventure together. I was so emotional that day, but we were just so blessed to have so many of our friends and family there to celebrate our love, and I believe everyone had a great time that night, especially us! It was over far too quickly, but luckily we had amazing photographers that documented it all beautifully so we can relive it any time we like!

Wedding Coordinator and Event Design: Charlotte Event Style |  Venue:  Ceremony: Belk Chapel at Queens University; Reception and Caterer: Bonterra Dining & Wine Room |  Wedding Dress: Pronovias, from The Lily Rose  |  Shoes: Colorful Creations |  Wedding Hair: Jennifer Nesbitt of Salon Cielo  |  Wedding Makeup: Who’s the Fairest |  Bridesmaid Dress: WToo by Watters  |  Menswear:  Men’s Wearhouse  |   Wedding Cake: Cake It Your Way  |  Florist: The Place for Flowers |  Entertainment: One Stop Live!  |  Photography:  Jere Dotten Photography |  Entertainment: One Stop Live

You know me and vintage.  We go together like gravy on potatoes. Vintage weddings get me every time.  Even when it’s just a subtle hint of vintage love, as is the case with today’s darling Phoenix vintage wedding.  Oh boy this is cute.  And it’s a DIY wedding to boot!

Jessica and Daniel represent that couple that everyone knows who are just cute as buttons.  We all love them and kinda want to squeeze them.  I mean just check out the photo of Daniel waiting for Jessica at the alter.  I melt.  And that brings me to another amazing aspect about this wedding:  the photography.  Marianne Wilson is absolutely dreamy with her lens.  I love the candidness of each and every shot.  Cyber high five to you, Marianne!

Other points of intense cuteness include those amazing hanging cranes, Jessica’s lovely hairpiece and the tiny hint of turquoise she incorporated with her dress.  So did these two cuties let their stylish vintage day go to their heads?  I beg you to find a more humble chick than our Belle Bride Jessica:

I grew up with a very creative mother. We were craft-project hounds and homeschoolers, so I knew store-bought elements wouldn’t be enough for my wedding. I wanted to share bits of our lives with all our family and friends in attendance. Everything I could DIY was DIY’ed, from the invitations, the flowers, and the centerpieces to our vows, the “Wedding This Way” sign, and even my dress! The result was about as mish-mash as you can get, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

To start off, the ceremony was in the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden in Downtown Phoenix, echoing my parents’ wedding in a Japanese garden in Hawai’i. We had a friend officiate our ring warming ceremony, and we wrote our own vows. I was crying after Daniel read me his, and by the time I finished mine, everyone else was crying with me! At the conclusion, my parents presented us with leis overnighted from Hawai’i by my aunt.

My bridesmaids rocked the dresses they picked out, and my dear little sister (and MOH!) designed and crafted both her dress and my own. We all had DIY daffodil bouquets and boutonnieres made from flowers that I purchased online from a grower. My hairpiece was some $5 clips and a piece of netting all bunched up under them. Finish it off with some $20 jewelry from Etsy, and voila! Instant bride for a total of about $350!

The reception was a blast! We finally settled on a Mexican restaurant with a great private patio area so we could share the local cuisine with Daniel’s East Coast family. My mother, sister, and mother-in-law helped me with all the decorations – in more ways than I originally thought! When I got to the reception, my jaw dropped because there were hundreds of paper cranes everywhere! My parents, my grandfather, and family friends all contributed. How that many people kept that many cranes a secret is beyond me.

And that wasn’t the only surprise! I surprised Daniel by dancing the Hawaiian Wedding Song hula for him, but only after he and his groomsmen surprised me with a rendition of “For the Longest Time” by Billy Joel. iTunes played the whole night without a hitch, and the it was full of dancing and chatting and impromptu karaoke. My only wish is that we had more time to spend with all the people we love. Thankfully, our fantastic photographer caught it all. Even amongst all the DIY, I knew I had to splurge on my photographer, and I’m so glad I did! These are some of the happiest memories of my life, and I’ll be reliving them forever. I actually think teal and yellow are my new favorite colors!

So humble!  Thanks Jessica and Daniel!

Interested in seeing another fabulous vintage wedding by Marianne Wilson?   Check out our real weddings area for Jana and Matt’s gorgeous vintage wedding.