First, way, way, way back when, I created a vision board. Originally wanting an ivory and gold wedding, it soon became clear that some touches of purple would liven things up. I posted this ages ago with the hope to recreate the vibe and feel of this board - not an exact literal translation.
As the look and feel started to come together I wasn't exactly sure what to call the style I was hoping to achieve. "Classic elegant romance", "Regal and romantic", "Sentimental"? One of the front runners for my recaps was "Happy Tears and Chandeliers". You get the idea, and I was going for something I couldn't quite name. Maybe you'll know the perfect description.
There were a few elements I tried to keep consistent throughout: ivory, gold, deep purple, leaves and chandeliers.
For flowers, I opted for a more traditional look and went for bold color with my bridesmaids.
The chapel was adorned with leafy greens and hydrangeas picked from my godmother's garden!
A wonderful family friend asked if she could help in any way, and I outsourced our "wedding sign" to her. It was probably the only element of our wedding that could be classified as rustic, but it blended beautifully.
You've already seen the vintage Rolls Royce, a fantastic touch if you ask me or Mama Seashell.
Here's the stuff I've been holding out on sharing: the reception venue! In many ways, the feel of our wedding was inspired by the venue itself. Sure, modern elements or a bold color scheme could have worked, but it seemed so much more fitting to enhance what was already there - a french chateau built in the 1920s with elegance, charm, and a more classic appeal.
Remember the chandeliers Mama Seashell found? Our florist perfectly executed the vision.
Just before the wedding, I was told that the "Just Married" sign couldn't connect our chairs because the sweetheart table always had the chairs set across from each other. I asked the coordinator to "make it work" and was thrilled when the sign was set the way I'd intended!
There really is a reason brides love them - there is something beautiful about chavari chairs. The fact that they came in gold simply made my day.
The table numbers and leaves on the olive oil favors were the product of becoming good friends with the Cricut.
A really sentimental and beautiful element of the wedding was the "family tree" with the favors set below it. Of all our wedding photos, I think this is the only one that doesn't to a detail justice. It was quite striking as guests entered.
Oh, and those smaller leaves on the olive oil favors? They're from family in Greece!
For all of our paper products, font consistency was especially important to me. We used 3 fonts for everything. Chopin Script was the "header" font, Abermarle Swash was for "details" and Garamond was used for any "descriptions". One tip I can share is to never over-use a swirly font. It looks cluttered and busy, so always add a more straightforward font like Garamond, Helvetica, or Times to balance out the swirls.
Our saxophone player rocked the cocktail hour. He gets his own photo because I'm counting it as a detail too.
Our cake was beautiful in its simplicity. Honestly, I thought it would mimic my dress a bit more but it still was wonderful.
We had a small station with our guestbook and slideshow playing throughout the night. I loved that people who weren't at our rehearsal dinner could get a glimpse of the slideshow I'd worked so hard on, yet it did not distract from the main event.
The mantles were decorated with simple floral arrangements and soft, glowing candles.
After dinner we opened up a dessert bar, filled with traditional Italian goodies and candy (in ivory, gold, and purple of course).
The last detail of the night were our sparkly wands. I'm not sharing pictures of our send-off just yet, but they were a perfect touch in working around the no-sparkler rule.
And finally, candles and our "A" and "B" monogrammed floral letters greeted guests as they entered the reception.
And there you have the Seashell wedding details! Are you a detail lover too?
{All photos from the fabulous Blink of an Eye Photography}
Previously in the Seashell Wedding:
- One Shell of a Wedding! : Two Days Before
- One Shell of a Wedding! : The Day Before
- One Shell of a Wedding! : We Rehearse
- One Shell of a Wedding! : The Welcome Party
- One Shell of a Wedding! : Time to Get Ready
- One Shell of a Wedding! : Getting Bridal
- One Shell of a Wedding! : Boys, Bow Ties, and a Surprise
- One Shell of a Wedding! : Seashells and Wedding Bells
- One Shell of a Wedding! : The Ceremony (Part 1)
- One Shell of a Wedding! : The Ceremony (Part 2)
- One Shell of a Wedding! : You & Me
- One Shell of a Wedding! : The Photo Shoot of a Lifetime
