{Real Wedding Round Up} Something Old In Italy Rustic DIY in Australia | Colorific in Mexico

Dang, I have serious wedding envy! This wedding season is simply exploding with some of the most gorgeous, unique, personal celebrations I have seen in a long time. Brides are putting their DIY skills to the test, taking on the vintage, rustic, shabby chic wedding challenge with ease. In today's Real Wedding Round Up, we are going international, Italy, Australia, Mexico, to see what deliciousness brides are conjuring up...I hope these Oh la la, bellisimo and muy bonita Real Weddings provide you with the perfect inspiration for your big day.  On top of that, hello awesome blogs, The Frosted Petticoat, Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes - remember a Round Up is profiling the Best of the Best!

Michelle and Spencer's Italian Wedding

First stop, something very old from The Frosted Petticoat who brings us the vintage, old country wedding of Michelle and Spencer. Complete with an ancient church and 1920's inspired wedding dress, I'm not sure how much more perfect and personal you can get. You have GOT to see her stunning dress.  This intimate celebration was captured by wedding photographer Rosapaola Lucibelli.

For the rest of the story and photo gallery, head over to The Frosted Petticoat and remember to give her some blog love! I seriously LOVE this blog, from its chocolaty whimsy right down to its Unlikely Pairings wedding boards! A must check out!  

Caitlin and Steve, Rustic Wedding in Australia

Pretty perfect pinwheels were the decor of the day at the rustic Australian wedding of Caitlin and Steve, featured over on Green Wedding Shoes. The bride went DIY with Mom and maids in tow adding just the right amount of color, personality and fun! I adore the burlap reception decor, the cheery color choices and flower petal cones for a memorable exit. Their tablescapes were simple, clean and green, with recycled bottles as centerpiece vases, while their branded pinwheel theme can be seen throughout the entire celebration.  You will love all the little details, captured perfectly by wedding photographer Louisa Bailey! 

To see the rest of Caitlin and Steve's adorable wedding details, head over to the gallery at Green Wedding Shoes. BUT not before you peep this last stunning international wedding...you'll be happy you did!

Destination: Sunny Mexico with Elizabeth Lloyd Photography

Bright, bold color choices make this wedding stand out from the rest for me. You take seemingly opposite colors, purple, teal and lime green, add sand, surf and the gorgeous destination wedding location that is Puerto Vallarta and you have the perfect modern, chic, DIY wedding, featured on Style Me Pretty. It's full of small touches paying homage to Mexico, as well as snippets of home. Family and friends were treated to a tropical outdoor ceremony and reception, complete with comfy lounge areas, family style tables draped in luxurious teal silk, and Corona as far as the eye can see! This destination wedding makes you feel as if you have been whisked away on a fabulous Mexican vacation.

I think this last photo is probably my favorite, possibly because I just spent 3 months down in Mexico and Central America and this image is so iconic and familiar! For more of the story around this visually pleasing, swoon worthy wedding captured by Kiersten Rowland of Elizabeth LLoyd Photography, head over to Style Me Pretty.  BUT FIRST...

What are your wedding suggestions for our next Real Wedding Round Up? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think. These may be pretty hard to beat but with the creative crop of brides out there, I am sure something equally stunning is right around the corner.

May you always be inspired,

 PS: Would you please take a minute to LIKE our FACEBOOK page and FOLLOW us on TWITTER? You really don't want to miss out on the rest of the great stuff we have to offer you!

{Real Engagement} Jamie & Eamon - Carnival Love + Bubbles

You know when an image just stands up and SLAPS you - the colors pop, the love jumps off the page, the pose is spontaneous and perfect....yeah that kind of slap! Well, welcome to today's Real Engagement session with Jamie and Eamon, coming to us from Joe Elario Photography out of Albany, NY. Talk about unique - I simply adore the carnival setting for this super cute couple who happen to be grade school sweethearts!  This shoot transports me back to junior high when the county fair was THE place for young love to blossom. Carnies, cotton candy, and holding hands on the ferris wheel. Sigh.

Photographer JP Elario says, "I loved working with this couple! Jamie and Eamon have been dating for 10 years, these guys got together back in the eighth grade! A true love story right? And with all the fairs going on, I thought I must do an engagement session at one. I just knew all the colors and scenes would not disappoint and boy, was I right. Sure we had to deal with the carnies and wow, they’re a unique breed to say the least but all in all, it was a kick ass session."

These colors make the whole shoot. What a great location! I think this picture is my favorite.

Or maybe this one! It is so hard to choose!

JP: "What's a fair without a carousel? Jamie & Eamon let me buy them a round. Although standing backwards and shooting did make me a little dizzy, the shot was totally worth it."

JP "took care" of a bubble guy early on in the shoot and was bound and determined not to let those bubbles go to waste! I think they work so perfectly in this setting, soft and delicate, throwing off small soapy rainbows of light. LOVE it!

Can you imagine how hard it would be hard to choose a favorite group of pictures from this session? According to JP, this one is his favorite! I love the out of focus colors and lights in the background; Jamie and Eamon just pop right out of the image! 

JP: "The blue light is always the good stuff." I would have to agree on this one in particular. Amid the colorful flashing lights, carny calls, rollercoaster screams, and impossible to win games, Jamie and Eamon are almost like the eye in a hurricane, the energy is around them is frenetic and lively but their love is peaceful and steady.

This has to be one of the most enjoyable engagement shoots I have seen in a long time, and I get to see a lot! Amazing composition, color and just plain fun! I can't WAIT to bring your their wedding photos next week!

Thanks so much to JP for letting us share this light up your heart Real Engagement session. Joe Elario Photography is a fabulous father and son wedding photography team known for their style, stellar reputation and reliability. The duo is available to shoot weddings & events in Albany, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, & NY.  Personally, I am super smitten with them already, quick to respond, easy to work with and awesome sense of humor.

What are some other unique and visually interesting engagements session locations? Leave us a comment below! You can also join the conversation on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. We'd LOVE to hear from you.


Have a deLightful day - Go with the good stuff,

P.S. If you have a Real Engagement or Real Wedding you would like to be featured, take a look at our photo submission page for all the important deets!

{Guest Post} Planning a Unique Vintage Wedding

Art Deco Gal’s Guide to Planning Your Unique Vintage Wedding 

Once upon a time, the ‘something old’ in that familiar wedding adage may have meant an inherited brooch sparkling on a shoe teamed up with a brand spanking new, budget-busting, blingtastic dress. More recently, a global trend has taken place with more stylish brides choosing to reject the shiny new and instead rediscover the charms of the past with a full-blown Vintage wedding theme. Vintage, it would seem, has become the new black, evoking the beauty and glamour of days gone by.

Photo by Simon Clubb

For me, styles of yesteryear offer a timeless elegance that some modern weddings would find hard to beat, so I decided to go vintage and opt out of a big fat white wedding.  I also felt hypocritical going traditional with my wedding; the virginal white dress, a veil covered face just weren’t me. Once we meet “the one”, are we suddenly expected to change our personalities and care about a big expensive ring, an even bigger white dress and spend a fortune because it’s our ‘big day’? 

Well, it would seem that we sistas are increasingly doing it for ourselves and turning towards alternatives – vintage weddings, arty, thrifty, personalized affairs,  DIY weddings, or a small service somewhere obscure, all seem to be exploding back into fashion. And going vintage could range anywhere from Rockabilly 50's to the Roaring 20's, Art Nouveau to Art Deco and everything in between!

Photo via One Wed

Whilst researching for my wedding, I did find myself combing through far too many cute, froufrou sites urging brides to spend the equivalent of a mortgage that seemed to dominate the wedding blogosphere. Thankfully, vintage wedding blogs are now appearing in droves, offering women a real alternative to the traditional budget busting white wedding. This can only be a positive move away from the traditional glossy magazine shoots, with the perfect decorations and reception, piling even more pressure on the bride. 

Here are some top tips for organizing your own budget vintage wedding that I discovered while planning my own celebration! Imperfections and all.

• Decide on a general theme and colours: Art Deco focuses on bold colours, strong outlines and geometric designs for example. This lends itself well to a striking motif for a wedding. The Fifties/Rockabilly styles call for lovely bright candy cane colours and cherry reds.

I love the Rockabilly boldness, the red pops and the hairstyles ROCK!

Photo via Sad Man's Tongue Rockabilly Bar & Bistro

• Pick your Location: Try to find a building from your time period, as it will act as a perfect backdrop for your wedding/reception. You could start by researching historical cinemas, cafes, restaurants, hotels or bars. It doesn’t have to be an expensive hotel or castle; sometimes there are little gems right under your nose! The right place will most likely still have internal architectural details from the period including designs on the walls and floors.

Union Train Station in Santa Monica, CA 

Photos via Ruffled Blog

• Design your Wedding Stationery: The wedding invitation sets the tone for your celebration, so you want it to be overtly linked to your vintage theme to prepare guests for the style of the actual event. You could select a simple invitation portraying signature designs of the era, or a single image of a person or people dressed glamorously in the clothes of the time.

A perfect example of classic an Art Nouveau wedding invitation suite.

Photo via Invitation Crush

• Be creative with decor- For my Art Deco wedding, I opted for a few relatively cheap decorations such as peacock feathers, mirrored vases, faux pearls, calla lilies, vintage handheld fans, paper parasols, old photographs of past family weddings in black and white supermarket frames and some retro champagne posters to name the tables, printed and laminated myself. Try vintage postcards or luggage labels as name tags.

Photo via WeddingBee

• Make a statement with your wedding cake: Use the cake to reflect your theme in an unmistakeable way. To save money, I would avoid going to an official wedding cake shop and go it alone;  t can be so much fun! You could simply buy or bake some lovely cupcakes and then add a fabulous unique topper.  My husband and I love cheese and opted for a black and white tiered wedding cake made entirely of fine cheeses from Somerset in England. We decorated it with peacock feathers and pearls and it was a real talking point, costing a fraction of the price of other cakes that had we had seen. Also look for period textiles or unique patterns of the times when choosing cake decoration.

An Art Deco Cheese Wedding Cake - classic!

Photo via Art Deco Gal

• Dress up! For a 20s style, look for drop waist wedding gowns with vibrant patterns or geometric designs. Designs can be sleeveless, have capped sleeves or long sleeves narrowing to the wrist for a slim fit. For that 30s look, at the end of the art deco period – women’s dresses were a bit more figure hugging, with a narrower waist but wider sleeves.

If your man wants to get into the spirit, he can wear a double-breasted suit with suspenders underneath! Also, a hat of some description is a must. If going for a 1950s style wedding, which is very popular – wear a short wedding dress (much cheaper too ☺) and groovy bright shoes – the possibilities are endless and your unique style can really shine through. Head pieces were very popular in the past, so go with a bird-cage veil, flowers in your hair or peacock feathers- a nice alternative to a princess tiara.  

Itching to get started? Why not create a wedding mood board? They can be a super useful thing to send to florists, photographers, the bridal party and you can make your own online at the Dessy Group website or on Pinterest. This is after all, your wedding, and not a fancy dress party. Make sure to include little touches that only you and your partner hold dear for this is what will make your special day unique. 

When planning our wedding, we decided to make it all about us, incorporating some old and new traditions that fit our Celtic heritage but also embraced my love of Art Deco. I wore a gold satin dress and a peacock feather headpiece. We drank whisky out of a Quaich during the ceremony and had a cake made entirely out of cheese. We served up bacon rolls at the evening Ceilidh dance, where the men looked great in kilts. I did not agree to obey my husband, we didn’t have traditional pretty candy favours – instead we donated money to a cancer charity. No top table; just lots of small, round, sociable tables. A small rebellion, but it was our rebellion nonetheless.

Photo via Art Deco Gal

My final thoughts; when planning your vintage wedding - stay true to your ideals, don’t worry about mixing elements of the past with modern things you love. Just remember your strength as an individual, your love as a couple and your priorities; it is your life and your choice after all.

Happy Planning!

Art Deco Gal

PS. You can find out more about Art Deco Gal on our Guest Blogger page. Also remember to Like us on FACEBOOK and follow us on TWITTER for all the latest good stuff!

Wedding DIY Round Up: Pinwheels, Flowers and Favors, oh MY!

Thrifty Thursday - Wedding DIY Round Up

One of my de Lovely brides has pinwheels, paper flowers and unique favors on the brain...a great concept for her late summer wedding. Her super small budget means LOTS of handmade goodness! For today's DIY Round Up, I've searched the wedding web for some of best do it yourself projects to get her creative juices flowing!  DIY is smart, fun, practical planning at its best and think about the green you can save just by doing two or three wedding projects!

DIY Wedding Pinwheels

There are a number of different types of pinwheels, the traditional style as seen below being the most popular because they are super easy and quick to create. I found this inexpensive and whimsical project over at Once Wed that combines pinwheels and ribbon wands, perfect for a newlywed send off or even beach wedding aisle decor - imagine twirling pinwheels and flowing ribbons...de LOVELY! 

Photo Credit: via Once Wed

To get your started, here is what you'll need:

Several sheets of 12″ x 12″ double sided scrapbook or decorative paper (a lighter weight paper, not stiff, heavy card stock) | Round-headed pins | 12″ wooden dowels | Hot glue gun and glue sticks | A push pin | Flower shaped craft punch | A pair of scissors | A ruler

Project instructions at the end of this post.

DIY Paper Flowers: Centerpieces, Bouquet, Decor

This paper flower DIY project we found over at Ruffled Blog may seem a smidge more complicated but if you take each piece, make it your own - go bigger, go smaller, slightly different construction and design, make a wedding bouquet or a centerpiece, you can with little effort create stunning floral visuals for your budget conscious wedding.  This is one of our FAVS!

To get you started, here is what you will need:
Roll of Chicken Wire (your local hardward store) | Box of Powdered Dye (Rit is best) | Coffee Filters (Beached and Unbleached) | Florist Wire | Washi Tape or Floral Tape

Project instructions at the end of this post.

Photo Credits: via Ruffled Blog

DIY Pie in a Jar Wedding Favors

The best part of DIY weddings is that they touch on exactly who you are as a couple, personalized down to the smallest detail. My inspiration bride for this post comes from the South and nothing says southern hospitality more than pie....ok maybe sweet tea, but for now we are going with pie. Green Wedding Shoes has a great DIY Pie in a Jar recipe that they used for a holiday post but I think it will work equally well here. Simply substitute your chosen flavor and in this case, I say peach would be perfect!

Here's what you'll need to get you started:
Ingredients:Pie Crust Dough (fave recipe or pre-made)
2 12 oz. cans of cherry, apple or your favorite pie filling
2 Tb of sugar
1 large egg beaten

Supplies:6 4 oz. mason jars, cleaned with lids and labels removed
Heart shaped cookie cutter
1 Cookie sheet

Photo Credit: via Green Wedding Shoes

The instructions are super simple and have a seriously cute, delicious outcome. This project is perfect for getting family members and the wedding party involved in the wedding prep.  Pie in a jar may cost a bit more than the rest of our budget conscious projects but if you plan well, start collecting jars and grabbing up sales items, it most definitely won't break the bank. Check your local dollar stores, yard sales and trinket shops for the best options.  And remember, people TOTALLY love pie so this is worth it.

Here is the rest of the good stuff for today's projects:
DIY Wedding Pinwheel Instructions
DIY Paper Flower Instructions
DIY Pie in a Jar Instructions

 Thanks for the Ruffled Blog, Once Wed and Green Wedding Shoes for their awesome projects!

Hope you have enjoyed this DIY Round Up inspired by a real, budget conscious, handmade driven bride. In fact, I hope SHE enjoys it too cause we are all about helping REAL brides in real situations. Handmade is awesome and makes a real difference in weddings, for guests who love the personalization and couples, who benefit from the fun and the decreased cost.

Go with the good stuff and happy DIYing,

Mellissa

{Real Wedding Round Up} Epic Themes: Mad Hatter | Vintage Carnival | 1940's Safari

One thing we really push here at de Lovely Affair is the idea that YOUR wedding should be completely yours; a total reflection of your personality as a couple, your likes, passions, inspirations  This is one day out of thousands that will be all yours....so take it by the horns. I like to say, Be Epic. With this is mind, here are my top choices for this Real Wedding Out of the Box Round Up.

Bich & Justin's Culture-Mixing Mad Hatter wedding
Original post found on Offbeat Bride  - Thank yous all around for letting us share this wedding!

Take mini tops hats, a traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony, an Australian backyard, a Mad Hatterish theme and a Yoda pinata and you have a fabulously unique and incredibly personal wedding day, designed specifically and solely for the pleasure of this bride and groom....and maybe a little bit for the guests too. My favorite piece of advice from Bich: Take a chill pill and remember that NOTHING is important other than you and your life partner getting married on your wedding day.

Vietnamese Tea Ceremony

Photo Credit: Kwintowski Photography

You really don't wanna miss the rest of Bich and Justin's story and their photo gallery! Hats off to our first Real Wedding - a perfect choice to be featured on dLA, a little culture, a little international, a little bit a...a whole lota personality!

Lauren and Joe’s Vintage Carnival Wedding
Original post found on Green Wedding Shoes

Absolutely ADORE this super fun, well designed, recycled/vintage wedding that is so full of personality,  it is bursting at the seams. Captured by Paige Newton, bride Lauren is a handcrafting and thrift store maven. She says, "I’ve always loved making things by hand so my mom and I (with the help of a few others) took on the laborious task of making nearly 1,000 feet of bunting from vintage fabric that I collected from various estate and yard sales.” A marriage celebration with eco-friendly intention, the couple gathered as many recycled/vintage items as possible to avoid buying anything new. In the end, their goal to just be FUN made all the difference in a day they lovingly designed just for them.

Check out the rest of their photo gallery and DIY story. I love the originality and passion of pursuing a unique vision...I guess there is a reason they are in the dLA Round Up!

Laura & Parker's Safari Themed Forest Wedding
Original post found on 100 Layer Cake

"I Married Adventure" is the 1940's book that served as the primary inspiration for this super sweet safari themed wedding.  The couple was honeymooning in an exotic location and wanted to incorporate that into their actual wedding...the book covering the African adventures of Martin and Osa Johnson seemed a great place to start. Captured by onelove photography, this wedding has all the making of originality, personality and well...an epic wedding adventure.

You can check out the rest of their story and all their online photos over at 100 Layer Cake. Sometimes the best inspiration can be found in the paper pages of a book...yes a real book! :)

Hope you enjoyed this Real Wedding Round Up, Epic Style. Do you have a suggestion for our Round Up installments? We'd love to hear your suggestions!

Good with the good stuff!