Category: DIY Wedding Blog
You’ll have to forgive me if The Free Wedding ends up being the longest feature in the history of Once Wed. It was nearly impossible to only pick a few from the 100+ spectacular images Our Labor of Love sent over last week, so I couldn’t resist going a little overboard with the posting today. I can’t tell you what an honor it was to work alongside such an incredibly talented group of vendors for this event, and I’m so excited to be the lucky blogger who gets to unveil it first on Once Wed. Joy Thigpen, the brilliant designer behind this wedding, was kind enough to pop in for the day to share some lovely details from Sam and Kaitlyn’s wedding and how it came to be…
Basically, a few friends got together and decided we wanted to do a photo shoot together to showcase our work. By the bottom of our coffee cups, the little photo shoot had evolved into a full-blown fake wedding, at which point, the light bulb went off in all our minds, why not have a real wedding where we get free reign and someone gets a free wedding! So a contest was held and one month before the wedding, Sam, Kaitlyn and little Jonah were the lucky winners.
Are you loving what your seeing? Stay tuned for so many more details coming up next…
Photography by Our Labor of Love
If Brett and I ever decide to renew our vows, hiring a cinematographer would be one of the must have items on our list. It never really crossed my mind when we eloped, but after blogging for over a year about weddings and talking to numerous couples its the one thing we regret not having at our wedding. There is something so wonderful about super 8 film, and very few people document events like the amazing, Joel Serrato. His films are absolutely breathtaking, so I was super excited when he sent over the final cut from Myriah and Christopher’s wedding for me to share with everyone…
Joel, thanks again for giving me a heads up about this amazing wedding and sending over such a magical film. Myriah, we wish you and Christopher a lifetime of happiness and love. Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us today!
Vendors
Following the ceremony, the guests were ushered into the tea house for the cocktail reception, which had over 20 hanging lanterns with candles and rose petals, an amazing artisan cheese spread (figs, raw honeycomb, etc.) and waiters passed hors d’Oeuvres and wine.
Most of the guests did not know about the wine caves, so when we opened the doors to the cave after the cocktail reception, it was a very dramatic moment. We wanted a very beautiful, intimate meal, and since most of our friends and family were meeting for the first time, we decided to do one long table, which forced the guests to interact and get to know one another.
To see more images from Myriah and Christopher’s beautiful wedding, check out Bret Cole’s photography blog. Also, stay tuned for their beautiful wedding film by Joel Serrato Films coming up next!
Photography by Bret Cole
The flowers, provided by Mary Lois at Loop, were shades of cream, blush pink, and accents of magenta. She did such an amazing job, and really worked with us on price, and found a way to do everything we wanted, without going over budget (which was no small task!). Check out Loop Flowers brand new blog here.
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to get married at a winery in Napa Valley, and did lot of research before we found Hans Fahden Vineyards. With it’s Monet-esque gardens and dramatic wine caves we knew it was the perfect venue for our wedding. We wanted to have a beautiful, relaxed outdoor wedding, with a sophisticated, intimate reception.
More lovely images coming up next!
Photography by Bret Cole
I am thrilled about the opportunity to share Myriah and Christopher’s wedding today on Once Wed. Bret Cole was kind enough to send over so many gorgeous images for me to share, and I had such a fun time last night picking through my favorites to feature today. The lovely bride, Myriah, generously agreed to put together a little guest blog feature to accompany the post. More from Myriah…
My husband, Christopher, is an environmental lawyer and I am a fashion designer (I’ve worked for Lela Rose, Ralph Lauren, and have recently started my own children’s wear line). We met almost three years ago in line at a pizza place in San Francisco, and knew immediately that we had met “the one”.
We went with a somewhat muted color palette that would blend with the natural wild flowers of the vineyard. The boys were in Navy blue J.Crew suits, with gray embroidered pocket squares (which I made). For my bridesmaid’s I designed and custom-made slate gray satin-faced organza gowns, with a ruffle collar, accented by a blush pink belt. I also made the flower girls dress, a cream colored tissue-weight linen, with a gray floral belt.
P.S. – Myriah’s beautiful wedding dress is made by Vera Wang. If you are interested in this specific style, we have a few for sale in the used wedding dresses section of Once Wed. So much more coming up next!
Photography by Bret Cole
