If you think glamor and DIY won’t look good together, well, think again. Richard and Emily’s wedding is just as glamorous as well as DIY-ed. One big DIY was their welcome bags filled with necessities including Richard’s award-winning homebrewed beer. To make it more personalized, Emily had made a sticker (with their wedding logo) as labels and monogrammed caps for the bottles. I mean, Hooray for teamwork!
Emily wanted her wedding to be elegant and tropical. Now, how does one do that you ask? Well, take it from the bride herself, browse through their gallery and get some tips and tricks!
Our Story:
Rich and I had dated for many years before we got engaged and then married. Our wedding was as much as celebration of our union as it was for our family and friends who have supported us and our relationship throughout those years. My main goal was for everyone to have a great weekend and enjoy the party. I wanted our guests to leave saying “this was the best wedding I’ve ever been to!” and many people did.
Wedding Day Outfit Inspiration:
Having a destination wedding in Key West, I knew I wanted bright, tropical sunset colors but I did not want to go the traditional route. I wanted everyone to be elegant, but still have a tropical feel by using bright colors. For the groomsmen, the guys mostly picked everything on their own, which is pretty surprising considering they wore pink shirts! I decided not to do the traditional beach khaki and opted for gray instead. While the guys were trying on suits, my brother was being silly and tried on a pink shirt for fun. Everyone ended up really liking it, so it was settled.
For the bridesmaids, I wanted everyone to be comfortable but have their own look. We opted for convertible dresses and I had them custom made to match the guys’ shirts. For my dress, I really wanted a pink wedding dress but searched high and low and couldn’t find anything with the right look for my ceremony. I fell in love with an ivory satin taffeta Alfred Angelo dress with a long train and just the right amount of bling. However, it was very heavy and I wanted to be able to party at the reception so I knew a second look was a must. I completely lucked out with www.TheLastMinuteBride.com who happen to have a sample pink Mori Lee tulle ball gown in my size! I added some sparkle trim and I was ready to go. My flower girl called that the princess dress and it is exactly that! I loved that dress so much I wore it to the after party on Duval Street.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Projects:
Rich is a home brewer, so part of our welcome bags included his award-winning Kolsch beer. My over the top wedding style rubbed off on him and he decided that 2 beers were not enough so he decided to give everyone a 4 pack. I took things a step further and found a website that prints custom labels, caps, bottle openers, and carriers. We were able to customize them using our wedding logo and theme. The results were incredible! That particular batch of beer has gone on to win 2 more medals since the wedding!
Favorite Part Of The Day:
The entire day was absolutely incredible it’s hard to narrow down a specific moment. If I had to pick just one though, there was a moment where Rich and I were sitting at our sweetheart table looking out at all of our guests and the energy and love in the entire room just hit me all at once. It was pretty intense to realize we have such wonderful family and friends who truly love us and to see everyone together in one place.
The Highlights From The Ceremony & Reception:
Our ceremony was short and sweet. My brother is a wonderful cellist so he played the music for the ceremony. We used somewhat less traditional songs, but they still sounded traditional coming from a cello. For the wedding party processional he played, Bach Cello Suite No. 1 prelude; for the bridal processional he played Camille St. Saens- The Swan with accompaniment. For our recessional he played Journey Don’t Stop Believin’ which sounds great on the cello.
Our reception was incredible thanks in part to our amazing DJ and his unbelievable mixing skills. It was so fun to see some of our more conservative family members really cut loose on the dance floor. We took a mini time out to do a night photo shoot with sparklers and not only did those photos turn out great, but it was neat to see the party from the outside and it was clear everyone was having a great time. Later on at the after party, a cab driver told me that people at other nearby hotels were dancing to the music from my reception because it was so amazing!
Most Memorable Moment:
Nobody was surprised that I teared up during our vows, since I pretty much cry at everything, but Rich actually shed a few tears too which was a surprise for me to see and pretty darn sweet too.
VENDORS
Photographer: Limelight Photography
Dress Store: Alfred Angelo
Hair Stylist: Bella Luxe Hair & Makeup
DJ: DJ Buggy
Event Planner: Just Save The Date
Jewelry: Mavilo
Dress Designer: Mori Lee
Invitation Designer: Signatures by Sarah
Event Venue: The Reach Waldorf Astoria
Bridesmaid Dresses: Vanel Designs
The gold patterned table runners are amazing!!