Real Wedding Saturday: Catherine & Andrew
I couldn't resist sharing this beautiful lake wedding with you - it seemed so appropriate for the last unofficial weekend of summer. Jessica and Nate of Jessica Johnston Photography took these gorgeous photos of Catherine and Andrew's wedding and was kind enough to share them with us. The wedding took place at Catherine's parents' home, and was full of lake-front, summer-house charm and plenty of thoughtful details.
The invitations featured calligraphy and an illustration of her parents' home and sailboats by Pier Gustafson. They were printed by Aardvark Letterpress, and mailed out in envelopes addressed by Pier and stamped with three vintage LOVE stamps and one old 3-cent Michigan stamp.
Catherine grew up spending summers at this home on Torch Lake in Northern Michigan, which her parents now call their year-round home. It seemed like the perfect place to host 150 guests for a fun wedding weekend. Catherine and Andrew now live in Los Angeles, so for most of their guests, it was a destination wedding.
Local legend says that National Geographic once named Torch Lake the third most beautiful lake in the world. There are even license plates that declare this, but no one has ever been able to track down the original article, and National Geographic claims never to have printed it.
The barbecue rehearsal dinner took place at a friend's house down the lake. Along with ribs and chicken, they served beer from Short's Brewing Co., a local microbrewery.
The tables were scattered with old-fashioned candy, and decorated with birch vases from Small Stump filled with cedar branches and daisies from Catherine's mom's garden, as well as with Ball jars filled with sand and votive candles.
The night ended with a bonfire and s'mores.
Catherine splurged on Christian Louboutin wedges. Her dress, from J.Crew, was a last minute purchase (after the dress she was having custom-made turned out to be a disaster!).
Andrew wore a suit by Tom Ford, and a tie from Brooks Brothers inspired by one posted on Yellow Brick Blog.
The ring pillow, depicting the state of Michigan and four doves, was needlepointed by Catherine's mother, who gave it to her as a bridal shower gift.
Instead of a large bridal party, Andrew's only attendant was his sister, and Catherine's only attendants were her brother and sister.
Because the outdoor ceremony space was naturally so beautiful, not many decorations were needed. Catherine and Andrew wrote the ceremony themselves and were married by two friends. Despite choosing to have a secular ceremony, they were married under a chuppah (built by Catherine's dad and his friend out of birch logs they found in the woods) because its symbolism - representing the home the couple will build together, with four open sides to represent hospitality - meant so much to them.
Inspired by Erika of Thoughtful Day, Catherine changed into gold Dior sandals for the reception, which she has worn over and over again since the wedding.
Cocktail napkins were printed with the recurring sailboat illustration by Pier Gustafson.
For about a year before the wedding, Catherine began collecting milk glass vases off eBay for her centerpieces. She wanted the arrangements to look as though they had come straight from the garden. Luckily, her local Los Angeles florist - Gilly Flowers - happened to be Michigan the weekend of the wedding. So they hired him to choose flowers from the flower market in Detroit, and then a friend arranged them beautifully.
The "photobooth" set up by Jessica and Nate was not only fun for guests, but also made sure that Catherine and Andrew had plenty of great photos of everyone.
Congratulations to Catherine and Andrew, and thank you so much for taking the time to share all of the beautiful details of your day with us. And of course thank you to Jessica and Nate of Jessica Johnston Photography for all of your gorgeous photos, as usual - Catherine couldn't say enough good things about you!
{to submit a real wedding, email me at kathryn@snippetandink.com}
The invitations featured calligraphy and an illustration of her parents' home and sailboats by Pier Gustafson. They were printed by Aardvark Letterpress, and mailed out in envelopes addressed by Pier and stamped with three vintage LOVE stamps and one old 3-cent Michigan stamp.
Catherine grew up spending summers at this home on Torch Lake in Northern Michigan, which her parents now call their year-round home. It seemed like the perfect place to host 150 guests for a fun wedding weekend. Catherine and Andrew now live in Los Angeles, so for most of their guests, it was a destination wedding.
Local legend says that National Geographic once named Torch Lake the third most beautiful lake in the world. There are even license plates that declare this, but no one has ever been able to track down the original article, and National Geographic claims never to have printed it.
The barbecue rehearsal dinner took place at a friend's house down the lake. Along with ribs and chicken, they served beer from Short's Brewing Co., a local microbrewery.
The tables were scattered with old-fashioned candy, and decorated with birch vases from Small Stump filled with cedar branches and daisies from Catherine's mom's garden, as well as with Ball jars filled with sand and votive candles.
The night ended with a bonfire and s'mores.
Catherine splurged on Christian Louboutin wedges. Her dress, from J.Crew, was a last minute purchase (after the dress she was having custom-made turned out to be a disaster!).
Andrew wore a suit by Tom Ford, and a tie from Brooks Brothers inspired by one posted on Yellow Brick Blog.
The ring pillow, depicting the state of Michigan and four doves, was needlepointed by Catherine's mother, who gave it to her as a bridal shower gift.
Instead of a large bridal party, Andrew's only attendant was his sister, and Catherine's only attendants were her brother and sister.
Because the outdoor ceremony space was naturally so beautiful, not many decorations were needed. Catherine and Andrew wrote the ceremony themselves and were married by two friends. Despite choosing to have a secular ceremony, they were married under a chuppah (built by Catherine's dad and his friend out of birch logs they found in the woods) because its symbolism - representing the home the couple will build together, with four open sides to represent hospitality - meant so much to them.
Inspired by Erika of Thoughtful Day, Catherine changed into gold Dior sandals for the reception, which she has worn over and over again since the wedding.
Cocktail napkins were printed with the recurring sailboat illustration by Pier Gustafson.
For about a year before the wedding, Catherine began collecting milk glass vases off eBay for her centerpieces. She wanted the arrangements to look as though they had come straight from the garden. Luckily, her local Los Angeles florist - Gilly Flowers - happened to be Michigan the weekend of the wedding. So they hired him to choose flowers from the flower market in Detroit, and then a friend arranged them beautifully.
The "photobooth" set up by Jessica and Nate was not only fun for guests, but also made sure that Catherine and Andrew had plenty of great photos of everyone.
Congratulations to Catherine and Andrew, and thank you so much for taking the time to share all of the beautiful details of your day with us. And of course thank you to Jessica and Nate of Jessica Johnston Photography for all of your gorgeous photos, as usual - Catherine couldn't say enough good things about you!
{to submit a real wedding, email me at kathryn@snippetandink.com}
Labels: Real Weddings
posted by Kathryn at
5:30 AM
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