A dreamy Florentine wedding for your Tuesday! Laura, the lovely bride, happens to be a fashion editor, and she looked at her wedding as “the ultimate styling job.” The result was nothing less than lovely. Plus, Ed Peers‘s photos will absolutely make you wish you were there.
The groom had both something borrowed and something blue! He wore the bride’s father’s oxfords, and lapis blue cufflinks.
Guests received simple invitations, one for the garden luncheon, and another for the dinner party that evening.
Laura had such a beautiful plan for the wedding. “However,” she says, “I couldn’t have done it without the help and vision of my husband, my gorgeous friend Polly who decorated the garden for the day part, my lovely aunt Silva who recreated a little piece of woodland inthe church and my Mum who tied up all the loose ends.”
Laura’s favorite part of the day? “I loved being showered with rice outside the church! There’s so much love in the air and the anticipation was huge.”
How on earth has it been so long since I posted an inspiration board?! Sometimes they’re just harder to pull together than at other times. For this one, all of these gorgeous tomato photos kept popping up in my reader and on Pinterest, like they were begging me to turn it all into a wedding idea, so here you go. It seemed like the perfect thing for the dog days of summer, with tomatoes at their peak. It’s also a perfectly simple, budget friendly theme for a wedding. Crates or bowls or (in this case) colanders full of various tomatoes serve both as centerpieces, as well as take aways for your guests. Tomato jam is also a yummy favor. Vintage labels and seed packets and stamps embellish invitations and details. Kraft paper makes for an unexpected table runner. All in all, there’s nothing fussy about this wedding idea, and it’s easily diy-able. And of course you’d have to feed your guests some tomato-laden dishes.
One of my very best friends is getting married tomorrow! She is one of the sweetest, smartest, most down-to-earth people I know, and she’s found the most wonderful guy to share her life with. (That’s the two of them below.) I love you Susie!
I had a chance to meet the very sweet Olivia Leigh at the Visual Supply Co. workshop this week, which was appropriate since I had planned to share Lindsey and Mike’s wedding with you today. They got married in a beautiful old church, then celebrated with friends and family at an antique store. All I know is, any wedding where you can frost your own cupcakes is right up my alley…
Lindsey borrowed handkerchiefs from both her grandmother and Mike’s.
Says Lindsey, “Mike said something at the reception which I liked: your wedding day is probably the only day in your life when you will be with everyone—everyone!—you love and who loves you. I think that’s what makes weddings seem so surreal: that your boss is next to your grandma who’s next to a fellow ensemble member from your theatre who’s next to your uncle who’s not really your uncle, and there’re all there smiling, together, for you. It’s a beautiful, once in a lifetime event. Savor it.”
The dessert table had a variety of mini cupcakes, some frosted and some not so that guests could choose any combination they wanted: carrot, orange chiffon, red velvet, or chocolate fudge cupcakes, and vanilla buttercream, mocha buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or orange curd.
From Lindsey:
Why did you choose this for your wedding? We wanted it to be personal, we wanted traditional and non-traditional, to feel like both a party and a ceremony. The mash-up of one of Chicago’s oldest buildings (Old. St. Pat’s Church) and the more hipster venue of Salvage One was the perfect blend.
What was your favorite moment or part of the day? We thought it would be the reception, but honestly, it was the church. We’re parishioners at Old St. Pat’s and it is simply stunning. We gave a good amount of thought to our readings, our priest made everyone feel so welcome, and the church could not have been more accommodating with our request to have our musician friends play us out with Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are The Best Thing.” Love abounded, the room exploded with joy.
Did you include any traditions in your wedding? Something Mike really wanted was the Irish tradition of “The After”, so the day after the wedding, everyone was invited to meet up at Galvin’s Pub in Jefferson Park. Of course, not everyone makes it, so you get a much smaller, zero pressure, and quality time filled kind of party with your friends and family—it’s also a great incentive to not over-celebrate the night of your wedding.
What is your advice for other brides? You always hear that the day goes by in a blur, but much of that is up to you. During the vows, make sure to take a breath, slow down, and look at the man standing there who loves you, and tell him how you feel. Also, Michael and I agreed to protect about 20 minutes to be together, alone, to let the ceremony sink in and to savor the day. We did this during the cocktail hour, and it worked out perfectly. (It also gave us a chance to eat!)
