I’ve got a sweet engagement party and real wedding lined up for today, but first wanted to introduce another sponsor we’re fortunate to have here on Once Wed, Razvan Photography. Here’s a little bit from Razvan about why he loves wedding photography…

I love to travel and I will go anywhere in the world to document the love between two people. I love it when someone looks at my pictures and empathizes with the subjects. My goal is to offer my clients beautiful memories. I do full day of the wedding coverage because I believe that there’s a beautiful story to be told with every wedding. And I like to tell full stories.

I love being able to start the week off on Once Wed with a gorgeous real wedding! Jennifer and Bill were married in Idaho and it was all captured by the talented Jesse Leake. You can tell it was one of those days filled with laughter, love and family. All the sweet details only added to the charm. Everything from the paper goods to the creative flower-filled arrows from Chestnut & Vine came together to create such a lovely rustic wedding.

Photography by Jesse Leake Photography

I get so happy when I see sweet and simple weddings that come together with such elegance. That’s one of the many reasons why I love this gorgeous Australian wedding from the talented Glen Allsop. Oh, and how lovely is the charming headpiece that the bride helped design for her big day?

I wore an incredible silk gown encrusted with glass beading by Australian designer Collette Dinnigan, it was the first dress I tried on! My head piece was made by a local milliner and we designed it together to compliment my dress. Bradley wore a classic black Zambesi suit with RM Williams boots and my beautiful bridesmaids wore gorgeous green frilly frocks by Aussie designer Lee Matthews.

For the wedding cars we borrowed a vintage EH Holden from a good friend of mine as I have a real soft spot for classic Aussie cars however we were still in need of a second car. One afternoon Bradley came across the perfect EJ Holden in a supermarket carpark and left the owner a note to see if they would be interested in hiring it out, they owner was stoked and her boyfriend was our driver on the big day!

Bradley and I were searching for the perfect outdoor location for our wedding ceremony and living by the beach this was the obvious choice. However, we chanced upon an amazing fig tree on a silky green lawn beside a creek in Pittwater – we were married there and the wooded forest made for the perfect green cathedral. I was quite fussy about the type of flowers we all carried, as I wanted them to feel like fresh picked garden bouquets. My friend’s mum did the flowers and she really captured the feel I was after and the huge Australian native arrangements at the reception venue were just stunning. I collected all sorts of vessels for the flowers from op shops around Sydney to enhance the eclectic feel of our wedding.

Our photographer Glen Allsop truly captured the spirit of our wedding day – the photos are amazing! We trusted Glen to deliver a unique and beautiful repertoire of photographs and the enchanted images of our special day will ensure the memories remain alive forever.

Photography by Glen Allsop

I’m so excited to share this charming London wedding sent over by the very talented Chloe from Caught of Light. The detailing on the bride’s dress is gorgeous and I love the groom’s floral dress shirt accented with his gingham bow-tie. The bride, Ella, was sweet enough to share some of the details of her wedding day…

I feel very lucky as I guess, not many couples get to say ‘we did it our way’, but that is exactly what Sam and I were able to do, thanks to non interfering parents and lots of imagination. The theme for our winter wedding was ‘Fun and Surprises for all’ and there was plenty of them!

We chose Rangers House, a beautiful English Heritage house in Greenwich Park London, as the location for the nuptials as Sam proposed in the same park only 6 months prior to the big day. Although the house was grand and a little bit posh, the ceremony itself was full of laughter and tears and was far from traditional. I chose my dad’s favourite song to walk down the isle to, You Bring the Sun out by Randy Crawford, and felt like a princess in my Benjamin Roberts gown.

We kept our readings as a surprise from each other; I wrote Sam a poem, but Sam pulled out all the stops and arranged for my favorite pop song, Ummmm Bop by Hanson (yes really!), to be read by his sister and the chorus performed by 3 of our singing friends and his usher, Tom, on guitar, by the final chorus the whole congregation were singing! This was the best bit of the day for me, I was so nervous and teary on walking down the isle, I couldn’t believe the day had finally come. However, when the 3 singers stood up in the middle of the service and started to sing, I was so taken back and surprised that I couldn’t stop laughing. I loved turning and looking at my mum, dad and sisters all crying with laughter too! From that moment, all nerves kind of disappeared and I couldn’t stop smiling.

After an emotional and fun ceremony the guests enjoyed champagne and canapés, by Hand Made Food in Blackheath, in the house gardens, then made their way to the reception venue on a vintage Red Double Decker Bus, whilst we travelled in a wolf whistling Karma Kab with our lovely and brilliant photographer following, Chloe of Caught the Light photography, to capture some portraits over looking London from the top of the park. My bridesmaids went for a funky party look with crazy tights and big hair-they all looked so cool and pretty.

I really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day, the weather was a crisp winter day, the flowers were so amazing I just kept looking at them and all the guests seemed to have a wonderful fun time. Most of all, I got to marry my best friend – which alone is pretty darn great.

Vendors

Photography: Caught the Light

Flowers: Violets and Velvet

Venue: Rangers House

Bride’s gown: Benjamin Roberts

Catering: Hand Made Food

Kat from Rock ‘n Roll Bride is also featuring images from Ella & Sam’s beautiful wedding. Click here to see more from their charming reception…

I’ve got a lovely London wedding to share with you today, but first I wanted to introduce one of our sponsors, Oh Darling! Photography. This very talented husband and wife team, Whitney and Dustin, have a certain eye for finding the true moments that unfold on the wedding day. Their love and dedication for photography is evident in each photograph they take…

Whitney and Dustin just moved to New York and are offering a 15% discount to anyone getting married between February and April of 2010 in New York. Make sure to visit their blog for all the information and to see more of their charming photographs.