Category: DIY Wedding Blog

I’ve been a big fan of Nicolette Camille’s work for quite some time now, so I was thrilled when I opened up my inbox to see this gorgeous fall inspired bouquet she created just for Once Wed. The arrangement is dusty, textural & luscious while still feeling autumnal. Silvery greens, dusty pink, blush, soft browns, creamy ivory & touches of burgundy. Loose, romantic and abundant…Yum!

P.S. – Nicolette has joined forces with Sarah of Saipua to launch a Flower School in Brooklyn. To learn more info about the class and times, check out their blog here.

I am heading back to Atlanta today, so instead of rushing putting together a post before my flight leaves I thought I would introduce one of our wonderful sponsors who make Once Wed possible. My Simply Perfect Weddings and Events is an event planning company  based in Atlanta offering every level of service from day of coordination to from assisting with all the details from start to finish. I am always amazed at how lightening fast Summer responds to my emails, so I can only imagine the care and attention she offers her couples.

If you’re in the Atlanta area and currently looking for a planner, I would definitely check out My Simply Perfect Weddings and Events to learn more about their services and packages.

I am so so so excited about today’s real wedding on Once Wed from the always amazing, Jose Villa. I actually had a chance to talk to the bride, Michelle, a while back about her wedding and knew from our initial conversation the entire day was going to be absolutely beautiful. Below are a few details from the lovely bride, Michelle…

We chose Labor Day weekend in Carmel Valley because the weather is great that time of year, and got married outside at an old hacienda-style ranch nestled in the hills. We wanted something romantic, vintage, and clean but with some rustic charm, since we were after all getting married at a ranch. We had to watch our spending so we ended up doing a lot of things ourselves. My very talented little brother built the arbor we got married under in just a few weeks. It was really beautifully done and he even carved our initials in a heart on the front of it. My uncle and his friend decorated the arbor as well as the ceremony chairs with flowers from the San Francisco flower market and lace he got at a fabric store. We wanted a very simple rustic feel for the ceremony space so not to take away from the beautiful craftsmanship of the arbor.

For the tables, we mixed and matched vintage glass and used really funky blooms and also special ordered table numbers that were hand painted from an etsy store we found. My mom found about 20 bird cage like lanterns that were amazing when illuminated at night. She also arranged a bunch of hay bales and sewed covers for extra seating in the barn. . All in all, it turned out to be a pretty epic day

Jose, it is always a wonderful day when we have the opportunity to feature any of your work on Once Wed, so thank you again for always sending over the most incredible weddings. And to Michelle and Peter for letting us take a peek into their beautiful wedding! Michelle wanted me to let everyone know she is selling the lanterns you see above in the images(20 total) plus a GORGEOUS Claire Pettibone wedding dress which she did not end up wearing to the wedding. You can contact her about either right here.

Vendors

Photography: Jose Villa
Wedding Coordinator: Amy Nichols Special Events
Florist: La Fleuriste
Catering: Classic Catering
My dress: Carolina Herrera
Venue: Holman Ranch
Table numbers: Funkifolkart from etsy.com

We were absolutely thrilled with our poster-size invitations, and thought they really set the tone for the day. We designed them with the historic letterpress print shop in downtown Nashville, Hatch Show Print, and they were so fun and different. I made all the “paper wheel” place cards by hand, and repeated that motif throughout- the same wheels (with buttons in the center) covered the big C’s on the Carriage House doors, were on the bar menus, and in the aisle decorations, which were random arrangements of the wheels attached to and hanging by strips of tulle. Let’s just say I used a LOT of hot glue! My mom and I also made all the napkins and table toppers ourselves from fabrics we found, a mix of yellow gingham, teal floral, aqua stripe, and purple polka dots. Many people took napkins home for themselves after the wedding! The leftover strips of fabric made great bows on the favors, which were homemade chocolates from Chris’s cousin Sue Ford and her candy company, Candy for All Occasions.

Thank you again to Kate for sending over these gorgeous images for us to swoon over all day. And to Cory and Chris for letting us take a peek into their wedding. We wish you two many years of love and happiness!

We featured Cory and Chris’ engagement session a couple months ago on Once Wed, so when Kate Murphy sent over images from their wedding I was so excited about the opportunity to feature more of this lovely couple on the site. The story behind Cory’s wedding dress is probably my favorite to date, and with the bride and groom both being in the design field you can imagine how stylish and fun the entire celebration was. The beautiful bride, Cory, sent over some more details behind their day…

We made the decision to have our wedding in Nashville because we knew Chris’s family and all our northern friends would really enjoy the city, and we loved the idea of a southern, laid-back, and low-key affair. Our inspiration for the wedding came first and foremost from the venue…the Belle Meade Plantation is such a beautiful location and really speaks for itself. It has a very rustic, vintage, old South feel, which we thought would be quite a treat for all the Philadelphians and New Yorkers attending the wedding. Being an interior designer, the color scheme was very important to me as I know color can set the mood for any occasion. Our colors actually came about after I found the fun bridesmaid dresses at Anthropologie; I was also working on a project at the time where the client wanted a different iteration of purple in each room of their apartment…so I guess I was in a purple mood! I think weddings should be festive and joyful, which for me is accomplished through color, and luckily we could really go there with the neutral grey backdrop of the Carriage House.

Stay tuned for Part II coming up next!