Q: Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?
A: We were going for a very French country vintage vibe; all pale blues, off-whites, grays, creams and natural greens. While our families are religious, we are not - however, we did have framed photos of our loved ones who died who were not in attendance at the alter with us to share in our exchange of vows.
Q: Let's talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?
A: The main attraction of the hotel was their terrace, with string lights, multiple green hedges, open airy space with a great view of the city and river. One element that was a must have was vintage furniture rentals - all old lounge type seating and multiple runners to walk down the aisle on. Extremely DIY from the 50+ mismatched frames from various stores with old photos of family member's weddings and pictures of the bride/groom, to an old, decorated suitcase with elements from parents and grandparents weddings (real corsages and an all lace wedding dress from a great grandmother on a mannequin).
Q: What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?
A: I knew nothing of how flowers should work at a wedding - I didn't know the right pricing to try and negotiate, I could name probably 5 types of typical flowers (roses, sunflowers, hydrangeas, etc.); all I knew is that I wanted a lot of soft greenery with pale, white flowers to go with our French/vintage theme. Our florist was great! I came with print outs from Pinterest with no real idea of what I was asking for and she helped by telling me although the look of one flower was really pretty, it was also expensive, and this other flower looked identical but was 3x less the price. I kind of left it up to her in terms of decorating. I knew we wanted hoop bouquets for the bridesmaids and a hoop covered with greens/flowers for the alter. I also knew we wanted mismatched vase heights and lower centerpieces with flowers cascading out of them - very romantic/relaxed feeling. Everything came out great BUT I will say, at the end of the day, the flowers were the last thing on my mind. So if you're looking to save money somewhere, do it here!!
Q: Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?
A: Extremely DIY from the 400+ homemade macaroon wedding favors to give our guests a taste of our honeymoon (South of France) to the drink stirrers with photos of our dog and cat glued to each. We are BIG music lovers, of all genres, so we made a Spotify playlist of the songs guests would be hearing at the wedding + some of our favorites as a couple. We made little cards notifying everyone of our playlist and placed them on the tables. We bought small records from amazon that we spray painted in our light blue/grey/white colors and had gold lettering clear stickers with table numbers and guests on each. These hung on a gold pipe rack with greenery around the sides for the table seating element - very romantic, yet showed our love of old fashioned things and music.
Q: Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look?
A: I wanted the dress to look vintage, elegant and romantic, just like the theme. I also wanted to be able to move and dance, though, so no poofy princess/long train for me. I loved my dress! It fit great, was gorgeous and I could breathe and move in it (big plus). We knew with the theme we didn't want any black or brown colors (or other bright colors) so the groomsmen had navy blue with white shirts and brown shoes/belts. The girls all had mismatched dresses of the same hue of blue. The groomsmen all had mismatched ties of the same blues, with the groom in a standout floral blue tie. We loved the look of everyone - we did not want the same dress/same tie look, but something very effortlessly, yet put together.
Q: How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.
A: We met working together, after being friends for a few years. We saw each other date other people and decided to one day try it ourselves. It was an immediate connection on our first date. After 2 years of traveling abroad, moving into a townhouse and adopting the best dog and cat ever, he asked me to marry him in the comfort of our quaint backyard, with our fur babies in attendance. After, we went on a gondola ride of downtown on the river, just the two of us. It was romantic, but not in the showy way of most proposals. We've always been homebodies and enjoy the company of each other the most, so it was the perfect proposal.
Q: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
A: The walk down the aisle to see my new (almost) husband for the first time. I've always been a sucker for that part being the most special, romantic moment of the day - with music playing and all of your family and friends lost in the crowd while you look at each other for the first time about to say the most important words. I don't care for first looks, so we nixed that right away. I will say, the moment lived up to the thought I had of it. It was the start of a wonderful wedding and night.
Q: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?
A: 2 big pieces of advice that I wish I followed:1. Don't pick anything for the wedding until you have the venue locked down. Your entire idea of what you want can change with the look of the venue.2. If you have parents or family members giving you money towards the big day, be sure to honor their wishes and wants, but don't let their opinions dictate the big decisions. Write down a list of all things that go into the wedding planning (flowers, ceremony script/vows, music, speeches, etc.) and decide with your partner which are areas you are unwilling to compromise on with your family. Give your family the "little wins" so they feel their voices are being heard, but stick to your guns on the big, important ones you feel you must have on your day. There are going to be so many opinions flying around, but try not to let the small things like your mom wanting to buy yet another sign telling guests to "choose a seat, not a side," get in the way of you being happy with the larger choices you're making on this day.
