It’s that time of the month where we want to say thanks so much to our Premier Partners in the Vendor Boutique. We truly love this talented and passionate group of wedding professionals and know you will too! Be sure to head on over to their inspiration boards and catch up with all their wonderful details.

Decor, Event Design and Florals

Danielle Pasternak, Wedding Coordinator

Olam Wedding Canopies

Danielle Pasternak, Wedding Coordinator – Danielle is a fabulous planner and one of the most efficient people I know. She always has great tips on her blog too. One of my favorites is her “12 Steps to a Smooth and Efficient Wedding Rehearsal” – go check it out, you’ll be so happy you did!

As we wrap up October, we want to share some of those bright colors that are some of our favorites at this time of year. I couldn’t resist to combine orange and purple with a dash of natural elements as I created this wedding inspiration board.

It is truly a bold man that can pull off a purple suit jacket, but wow, I do love the visual of that look, pair it with a lavender shirt and you’ve got something truly special going on for your groom. All the rage right now, white pumpkins make a great centerpiece decoration along with some fabulous bittersweet. Here in New England, bittersweet is abundant and fun to gather at this time of year. It lasts a long time once it’s picked – from now right thru November and even longer. Makes for great accents on tables, wreaths, candles – so many possibilities! To add to the natural feel of our wedding inspiration board today, we chose something that depicts romance like nothing else – initials carved into a birch tree. There are so many ways to incorporate this little detail into your wedding from invitations, candles, even vases. Can we now please talk about those gorgeous shoes? Orange with purple bows – okay, speechless! Sigh. Natural elements and beautiful, rich purple flowers in our bouquet provide a perfect complement to our groom. And those little pumpkins, looking oh-so-cute, are actually lollipops!! Great, fun alternative to cake pops! It’s all very Halloween chic, is it not? :)

Hope you have a spook-tacular day!

xoxo

Row 1: Groom by I Heart Weddings via Style Me Pretty, Pumpkin Centerpiece via Your Cozy Home, Initials by Erica Ann Photography via Style Me Pretty

Row 2: Shoes via Southern Weddings, Bouquet by Caroline Tran Photography via Brides, Pumpkin Lollipops via Sweet Sugarbelle

Colors: Purple, Pumpkin, Bark, Birch

For those of you in areas that don’t experience much fall, you are definitely missing out on one of Mother Nature’s best shows. It’s brilliant, spectacular, vibrant, fabulous, and rich in the most beautiful ways – color!!! That is what we are bringing for you today… colorful fall wedding inspiration. Sit back and bask in all of fall’s glory!

Photo via Rebekah Hoyt Photography

Photos via Inspired by This

Photo by Rachel Thurston Photography via Inspired by This

Photos by Chenin Boutwell Photography via Wedding Chicks, by Nancy Ray Photography via Southern Weddings & by Kristin Byrum Photography via Every Last Detail

Photo via Katelyn James Photography

Photo by Natalie Franke Photography via Bridal Musings

Photo by Erica Turner Photography via Inspired by This

Photo via Nancy Ray Photography via Southern Weddings

Photo via Deborah Zoe Photography

Photo via Katelyn James Photography

Fall colors and weddings leave me… well, breathless…

xoxo 

There are many, many reasons to love this classy and elegant wedding captured by Erica Rose Photography and coordinated by Rita Swanson of Premier Planning Services, Inc. From the handsome groom and his groomsmen in tuxedos, to the ballroom reception, to the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping floral arrangements of all kinds. Then there’s the cream colored bridesmaid dresses with illusion halter necklines. And we can’t forget the incredibly happy bride sporting the prettiest of pretty top knots :) Seriously. I’m swooning all over this wedding, and I’m certain you will be too!

In 2001, they were strangers walking the halls of Holy Family Catholic High School. Karla was quiet and cute. Alex was witty and, to put it lightly, opinionated. Through the course of high school, they slowly became friends. But when high school ended, they each went their separate ways – Karla to the University of St. Thomas and Alex to Saint Olaf College.

Despite being apart, they remained close friends. Up until the summer before senior year, their friendship was strictly casual. But that summer, Alex got a job just five minutes from Karla’s house in St. Paul. As friends, they started spending more and more time together – grabbing the occasional lunch, going out with other friends, taking in a random Twins game, etc. Even after school started again in the fall, they started going out of their way to spend time together. Instead of outings with friends now though, they started doing dinners and movies alone. And yet, as Karla told one of their friends on her first visit down to Saint Olaf, they were still “just friends”.

They’d been seeing each for about a month or so, but it wasn’t anything serious or official. But the more time they spent together, the more Alex knew that he wanted to be with Karla. Each of them, though, has been in long-term relationships previously, and because they both knew that this thing between them could be something special, something forever, their relationship remained in neutral for a bit.

Then, one night, Karla texted Alex from the library saying that she was stressed with work, and it all changed. Alex dropped what he was doing and drove the 40 minutes to Karla’s campus to bring her her favorite snacks – Swedish Fish, chocolate milk, and orange soda. It was then that Karla realized she was ready to jump in and commit to a relationship with him. They couldn’t get enough of each other from that day forward. Every date ended with them lingering in the parking lot because neither wanted to leave. Awww!

They didn’t talk a lot about getting engaged prior to doing so. Having moved to Chicago together a few months prior though was a pretty serious commitment to each other. It went unsaid, but they both knew they would get married one day.

Over Christmas, they returned to Minnesota. It was there that Alex bought her engagement ring. After returning to Chicago, Alex took Karla out for dinner, telling her they’d go to BYOB somewhere, successfully quelling her curiosity about the bottle of champagne he had. As they were walking “towards a restaurant”, Alex stopped one of the horse-drawn carriages and asked if they did rides along Oak St. This was all planned, but Karla thought it was a sweet surprise.

They rode through the city, enjoying the crisp holiday air and the twinkle of Christmas lights lining Michigan Avenue and Gold Coast houses. After about half an hour, they stopped at a gazebo at the north end of Michigan Avenue to “take some pictures”. He fiddled around in his pocket with the ring, knowing what to say, and hoping that he could calm himself down enough to say it.

Once in the spot for pictures, just in front of the gazebo, Alex got down on knee. Karla’s hands flew to her face. She started to cry, as Alex puts it, the most perfect, most pure tears of happiness – and then said yes!

{From the Bride} The wedding day was exactly how people described, a huge blur and it’s over before you know it. It turned out to be the wedding I dreamed of as a little girl. It was elegant without being over-the-top. Classy without being stuffy. And still, uniquely us.

We first saw each other in the small chapel at Wayzata Community Church. Alex waited in there as I arrived, anxious to see his bride. As I entered, he could hear me walking but didn’t turn around until I told him to. That moment was perfect. Never have I smiled bigger, and never has someone been so happy, felt so lucky, as Alex did at that moment. The most vivid feeling, though, was the sense of reality that hit – the wedding was no longer an abstract future event. We debated whether or not to see each other before the wedding for a long time. We are both SO happy that we did.

The ceremony was perfect and couldn’t have looked more beautiful. Wayzata Community Church is a beautiful place and our florist (David at Richfield Florist) took it to another level. Watching me walk down the flower and candle lined aisle was the most beautiful thing Alex says that he has ever seen.

From the ceremony, we took a trolley around the lake for a while and ended at our reception spot, the Lafayette Club. Upon entering, we saw the fountain in the lobby that David had adorned with our wedding flowers. We both kept raving about how amazing all of the floral arrangements looked. While the wedding party jumped into cocktail hour, we poked our heads into the reception hall and were blown away. The lighting, the floral arrangements, the tables…EVERYTHING was amazing. We still can’t believe how great it all looked.

Our first dance was to “Let’s Fall in Love” by Steve Tyrell. Our wedding band played it and sounded great. A great moment. The band didn’t stop there and was fantastic all night. They played with energy until about 12:30, when it was time for all to go home.

It’s weird writing about that day because it still doesn’t feel real at times. And yet, the memories are far too vivid to not be real. We’ve overused the work “perfect” here, but that’s the one that fits our day.

{Advice for Couples} Plan the wedding to give yourselves the perfect day. It’s about the TWO OF YOU, not anyone else.

Congratulations, Alex and Karla, and thank you so much for sharing your love story with us! We wish you both so much love and laughter in the many years you’ll share together! And a very special thank you to Erica Rose Photography, Rita Swanson, and Leila Khalil (of Be Inspired PR & Inspired by This) for sharing this very special day with us today! xoxo

There are three things in this wedding world that I simply cannot get enough of: pretty pastels, rustic details, and sweet, sweet love. Lucky for me (and for you) today’s wedding from Tracy Autem Photography has an abundance of all three. My favorites include the mismatched bridesmaids dresses, the wedding cake with rippled buttercream, the very rustic, almost barn-like venue for the reception (twinkle lights included), and the personalized burlap chair decor. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Riley and Emily met as freshman in college. Once Riley laid eyes on Emily, it became imperative that he meet her. He had a strategy, and once implemented, introductions were made. Their first impressions of each other though were totally opposite. His: “Emily was energy in the room.” Hers: “Hey there, good lookin’, but no thanks.” Ouch.

Their first date was nothing short of hilarious and not necessarily defined as such by both parties involved. Riley asked Emily to go look at Christmas lights one December eve. Thinking this would be a casual drive around the city, Emily greeted Riley in sweatpants and no makeup at the entrance of her dorm. While Riley had a bit more planned for the two that night, they still had a blast driving around Ft. Worth admiring the lights, and later, enjoyed dinner at Chili’s (the only restaurant that Emily could get into with her sweatpants attire).

While in college, their relationship grew and flourished, with both of them learning from each other during critical growth and struggles. Emily went to college seeking answers and direction. Riley was confident and excelled in his studies, though experienced high stress and demands. Together, they supported and complemented each other, offering freedom, encouragement, and a voice of reason. Some of their most favorite dates included climbing trees together, exploring the region, and road trips just so they could “get out” and spend time with each other.

The moment you know that person is “the one” is different for everyone. For Riley and Emily, it was exactly that – different. For Riley, it happened on a camping trip when Emily proudly exclaimed “I did it!” while holding up a tent wire that simultaneously snapped in half over head. To this day Emily is not sure why that was “the moment” for Riley, but it was :)

For Emily, it grew over time as Riley came to know her, understand her, and not run in the other direction when he did. But she was scared to death. Thus, when the time came to say those three little words, it was again quite different than one might think or expect.

They were carrying on a heated discussion (read argument), over what, neither can remember. Through all the frustration, Emily realized that she loved Riley but was very reluctant to be the first to say it. But Riley finally calmed her fears when, after two hours, he said, “Em, I think I know what you’re trying to say. And I love you too.” Are you falling in love with these two yet? :)

Riley had known how he’d wanted to propose for months. He’d yet to be successful (all of his previous attempts had gone right under Emily’s radar) until one much-needed date night that became the perfect night.

After picking Emily up, he presented her with two closed fists, a piece of paper in each one. He told her that it would determine where they went for dinner and that she should pick one. He did this two more times throughout the night to determine the fate of their date. The final time that Riley offered her his fists for decision making, he put the same park name in each to ensure they wound up at Tillery Park (a favorite place of theirs). Pretty sneaky albeit clever of him.

When they arrived at their cherished field in Tillery Park, Emily was perplexed and glowing at Riley’s thoughtful and spontaneous date night. They chose to sit at the base of a tree where Riley shared passages with Emily from his journal about their relationship. As he reached the last page, Riley took Emily by the hand and led her down a ravine to a spot spread with a quilt, lit with candles, and covered in flower petals. With a pounding heart, Emily stood and listened as Riley read his journal entry from that day, then got down on one knee. “Emily, will you marry me?” With tears in her eyes, Emily screamed and said YES!

{From the Bride} Our wedding weekend goes down in the history books as one of the best of our lives thus far. Days after, we were still reeling from the amount of love and support showered on us throughout the weekend and the wedding day that we did not deserve!!

The day of consisted of waking up next to my best friend and little sis, Allie, and having morning breakfast and prayer with my other best friends. It was an incredibly special morning to be surrounded and covered in prayer by these strong women who I cherish so much. Once everyone woke up the day consisted of multiple dance parties in the salon where the bridal party got ready for the day. The day moved like the waves; peace, then butterflies and bursts of giddiness, and then peace again. It was surreal and glorious.