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Green Gables inspired

How many brides can remember Anne of Green Gables? The books, the movies? The cute little red head with a vivid imagination, Anne, can give us a few lessons for weddings! Her muse is chock full of romantic ideas, elegant parties and big fashion.

Prince Edward Island can be great inspiration for your vintage or outdoor themed wedding. Do you crave a simpler time when all you needed was green grass and cows? Anne of Green Gables gives us all that and much more charm. You can channel all that rustic elegance into an old time theme.

Anne is the romantic to beat! You can incorporate twine on the invitations, old custom picture frames, hold the ceremony outside near a meadow or decorate tree branches as center pieces. Whatever your fancy, Green Gables has amazing charm to add to any wedding.  You might want to include quirky elements of your unique relationship just like Anne and her beau Gilbert. Your groom might even want to get a vintage tux for the occasion! There are a lot of dresses inspired by Anne too.

Green Gables gives everyone that romantic, rustic feel of love that is eternal. You can be creative and use your favorite parts of the stories like the row boat, nicknames (Carrots, White way of Delight), The Highwayman poem or just be vintage all around!

A Casual Affair

A Casual Affair

A Casual Affair

Maybe you’re not very traditional. Perhaps you don’t have a lot of money to contribute to your wedding. Or, maybe you just want a low-key, intimate affair to celebrate your big day. Whatever your reason may be, opting for a less “stuffy” method of celebrating sounds mighty appealing to some.

Make sure to tell your guests that you are opting for a more subdued approach and less “pomp and circumstance.” Surely, you don’t want your guests to overdress or misinterpret your style. Setting the tone is muy importante in regards such as invitations, décor, and even the setting.

The look and language of your invitations is typically the indication of the formality of these events. For example, engraved invitations speak to elegant and traditional-type weddings. While, casual weddings may utilize handmade papers, textured ribbons, snazzy monograms, etc. Less fancy and more unique.

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A Casual AffairStyle My Corntoss

If you want to get married in a forest preserve overlooking a lake, a Vera Wang princess blush ballgown is probably not the best option. If you can imagine bean bag toss, Frisbee tossing, and a general laid-back backyard feel to your day, then you might want to dress accordingly.

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A Casual AffairWish Lantern

Wedding stylists and planners will often suggest their clients close their eyes and tell them exactly how it looks, feels, smells, etc on their big day. If you envision Chinese lanterns swaying in the wind under a starry sky and a buffet of homemade foods and desserts, then this is your best option. If you imagine a country club adorned with ice sculptures, white glove service, and displays of shellfish…this is definitely not your cup of tea.

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A Casual AffairImagine That Wedding

Setting the table in a communal farm table is a really nice way to get everyone mingling and blissfully enjoy an unstructured reception dinner. Displaying and serving in-season fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and rustic loaves of bread are simple ways to make this a casually-elegant day. Think finger foods and comfort foods. They are big crowd pleasers and are very minimalist in presentation and palette.

Just remember, your wedding is not an all-night event, note that your caterers or band may slap you with some giant fees if you go over on time. This is meant to be an easy-going evening not to be interpreted as a rave or frat party.

Pinterest Pins of the Week

Pinterest Pins of the Week

Pinterest Pins of the Week

Flower girl portrait: Let’s put aside for a second the fact that this little girl is just too cute for words, and her perfectly coifed bouffant hairdo is beyond perfection. The idea of having your littlest attendant sit for a portrait style shot is a great idea. For one, it’s timeless and is actually a nod to the days when brides and their wedding party sat for a painted portrait instead of all day photo shoots during the wedding. A few quick shots of just your flower girl is a classic and lovely way to mark the day and in just a few years ( or way down the road) when they are all grown up, it will make a perfect memento to always remember their part in your marriage. We LOVE this idea so much and we hope to see some serious little lady poses in future weddings to come!

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Pinterest Pins of the Week

Natalia Zakonova Photography

Rustic Wedding Charm:  We may sound like a broken record at this point when it comes to our love of rustic, natural elegance for weddings.  This stunning display features wooden rounds that look freshly cut from the woods to create a warm, natural feel perfect for so many types of weddings. This look could enhance a winter-white wedding or a summer soiree that brings the outdoors in.  You can even carry the theme through with wooden coasters, menus created on thin slabs of wood, and rustic farm tables with no linens just maybe a burlap runner down the middle.

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Pinterest Pins of the Week

 Colin Cowie Weddings

Champagne Fountains: What ever happened to the champagne fountain? It used to go hand in hand with high-class weddings and events ( hello, haven’t you seen The Great Gatsby or even a single episode of Downton Abbey?)  SO yes, we are declaring the champagne fountain is officially back. And whether you look at it as a throwback, or a really fun and chic way to explore your love of champagne, the look just screams “Time to celebrate!” And we , of course, are all about that! For an added touch of nostalia, try seeing if your venue will serve other drinks in fun champagne coups. It really does make everything taste so much better!

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Pinterest Pins of the Week

 One And Only Paris Photography

Wedding of the Week: Snippet and Ink

There is a must see wedding on one of our favorite blogs,  Snippet and Ink, this week. You can find it under Nadine & Joe: Rustic FallWedding in the Berkshires. Everything about this event screams homespun, yet it remains utterly elegant and chalk full of festive and personal details.

The bride and groom said they were inspired by dinners they had growing up. With long, bountiful tables of family and friends, and of course amazing food. They called on Fire Roasted Catering to bring that homey feel to life while also taking the culinary element up a notch. With  a menu featuring salt rubber cod, roasted beef, and fire roasted pig with apple chutney, the bar was set and guests felt free to roam and eat and also take a seat at the gorgeous long tables. Piles of fresh corn and perfectly fragrant meats were on display as almost décor, which went perfectly with the rustic, yet refined scenery.

We absolutely love when couples mix high and low or rustic and elegant for their big day. The rustic element allows you to set a welcome and relaxed tone for guests, while also making things extra special for the occasion. These two were no exception. The tables were lined with crips white linens, burlap, and local flowers and finished with classic birchwood chiavari chairs. The look is timeless and the perfect choice for an Autumn affair.

Along with florals, the scene was enhanced by seasonal fruits and nuts wrapped in burlap, menus and invites tied in twine and baker’s string, and a sweet old-fashioned candy bar.  Simplicity truly proved to be the way to go with this wedding and we could just feel the love through the stunning and very candid pictures.

So if you are considering a homespun wedding, with an outdoor or even rustic feel, this wedding is too charming for words.

Sarah Culver Photography

Rustic Charm

As we predicted in our earlier post about 2012 wedding trends, rustic-themed weddings continue to be a popular choice among brides. Add a little rustic charm to your upcoming summer wedding with these simple ideas:

Mason Jars: Whether you use them for drinks, décor, or favors, mason jars are a cute and inexpensive way to create a laid-back vibe at your wedding. Load various sized jars with flowers or candles and lay them out across tables or hang them from tree branches for an outdoor gala. Or, fill them with homemade jams or dry baking ingredients for a super cute favor. When all else fails, fill ‘em up with beverages and top them with fun straws for a simple, yet rustic, touch.

Vitalic Photography

Hand-Painted Signs: Grab some reclaimed wood and repurpose it in as an adorable wedding sign. Label various food stations, create signs for directional purposes, or simply paint sweet sayings atop boards for decorative uses.

Kraft Paper: Brown kraft paper adds a note of relaxed charm to any gathering. Use it to print invitations, menus, and programs; craft it into paper cones to hold snacks or rose petals for throwing; or, wrap small bands of it around bottles and vases to add a countrified touch to décor.

Tree Trunks: Rely on nature to add a rustic flare to your event by utilizing tree trunks. Larger stumps make great, casual seating options for outdoor receptions and cocktail hours, while thin trunk slices are a perfect way to display food and desserts, hold table numbers, or—when carved with your initials—act as a cute centerpiece.

JK Photography

Wildflowers: Add some color while maintaining a homey feel by using wildflowers and grasses. Wildflowers can be fashioned into a chic arrangement for bouquets or assembled in small glass bottles, jars, or tin cans for simple and sweet centerpieces.

Hay Bales: Nothing says rustic charm like incorporating hay bales into your affair. Use bales of hay as seating during a laid-back outdoor ceremony, as a place to stack presents or favors, or simply as a way to mark off designated areas at your reception (i.e. the dance floor or buffet line). To glam them up a bit, consider draping them with vintage lace, pretty fabrics, or old quilts.

Clothespins: Clothespins are an inexpensive and practical accessory that can be used in a wide variety of ways. Use them to hang photos of you and your spouse along a ribbon at the reception, affix place cards to string outside of the reception, or clip table numbers or food labels along serving tables.

Chalkboards: Not only do chalkboards add a laid back whimsy to your event, they’re incredibly easy to make yourself. Buy a gallon of chalkboard paint at a local hardware store and start creating signs of different sizes to use as table numbers, props for photos, directional signs, or place cards.