Real Wedding: Wendy & Sean

Thirteen people were present at Wendy and Sean's June wedding, and that's including the bride and groom! Their intimate and charming ceremony is a great example of how to include children from previous marriages in a second wedding. Says Wendy:

We have three boys between us, from our first marriages, and we both felt very strongly that this wedding wasn't just about Sean and myself, but about our new family. It was a chance for our children to heal from the divorces and to feel safe and secure in our new family. Everything we did was geared towards making it a happy, special day for them.








The day before the ceremony, Wendy and her sons decorated the church inside and out with magnolia leaves taken from trees she had planted when they were born.









A few details from Wendy: For our first "family date," we visited a little church in Amelia where a small battle had been fought during the Civil War. We took Frisbees and had a really fun picnic, plus we got to share a little of Virginia's Civil War history with my sons. It was a magical day and the real start of our family. When we were trying to figure out where we wanted to get married, that little church, Namozine (maintained by the Amelia Historical Society), seemed like the perfect place.

For the wedding, we did a sand ceremony with our boys. Each of us had our own jars of sand, which we poured into a larger jar to symbolize that we are individuals, but joining together into one family. The children took the sand ceremony very seriously and I think that it meant a lot to them. I hope that every time they look at that jar of sand, they will know how much we love them and want to make a happy, secure family for them.

Wishing all the best to this new family! And thank you to Susan Bolling for sharing these charming photos with us.

Real Wedding: Lilly & John

It's always so fun to learn about a wedding venue that I didn't know about before, like the Penthouse at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel. Lilly and John were joined by 90 guests for their wedding at the historic venue. The couple wanted their wedding to feel like a chic cocktail party in a fabulous apartment, with amazing food, an amazing location and amazing views. The ceremony took place on the balcony overlooking San Francisco, after which guests were able to explore the penthouse, playing pool in the billiards room, nibbling on hors d'oeuvres in the living room, and dancing in the dining room.

Says Lilly, "We pretended that we were throwing a party at our apartment which was super helpful with focusing our attention on what we really wanted, instead of the many wedding things that everyone says you must have. We decided there would be no walking down the aisle, no first dance and no sit-down dinner. And that we definitely wanted black tie, amazing food and definitely Russian vodka!"










How amazing is this Persian-inspired billiards room?










Framed photos of Lilly, John and their families were placed around the penthouse to give it a lived-in feel. Pink peonies were arranged in vases throughout.






To honor her Russian heritage, Lilly and her family made flavored vodka which was served from an ice bar, which featured iced shot glasses and a selection of caviar. Pink cocktail napkins which were personalized with celebratory Russian sayings.









Photography: Kate Harrison

Planning: Lauren Geissler at Downey Street Events

Venue: Penthouse at The Fairmont San Francisco

Bride's dress / shoes: La Sposa / Valentino

Bridesmaid dress / clutch: J.Crew / Eclu

Hair / makeup: Julie Morgan

Flowers: Not Just Flowers

Officiant: Rabbi Gershon from A Sacred Event

Catering: Adriana McKee-Abbe for Barbara Llewellyn

Congratulations Lilly and John! And thanks so much to Lauren Geissler and Kate Harrison who shared details and photos from this gorgeous wedding.

(Photos submitted via Two Bright Lights.)

Eclu is a sponsor of Snippet & Ink.

Real Wedding: Kelly & David

Today's pretty backyard barbecue wedding comes to us from photographer Kate Osborne. The bride, Kelly, stopped by to tell us a bit about the day:

Most of the decisions we made for our wedding were based on what was least expensive and what I thought would be the easiest and most fun. We wanted people to be able to have a good time. As far as location goes, I love, love, love, my mom and step-dad's backyard in West Bountiful, Utah and I wanted people to come out and see how pretty it was. I had a suspicion that my step-dad (who loves parties) wanted to utilize their nice space by one day having a wedding there and also I thought it would be cheaper and easier than renting a venue. Our reception was on Thursday, July 9th and I'm not positive, but I think we had 200-250 guests show up.

Pretty much everything about our wedding was do-it-yourself. I designed and printed our announcements; my mom and I designed and made my dress; my sister got a crew of us to make the pinwheel decorations, which cost a total of about $48, including ribbons, and which we hung them ourselves; my cousin made the beautiful flower arrangements; we made a couple of play lists and our friend managed the sound system.














Guests enjoyed lawn games such as badminton, horseshoes, and bocce ball.







Happy wishes to you, Kelly and David! See more of their lovely wedding celebration over on Kate Osborne's blog.

Real Wedding: Natalie & Matthew

Natalie and Matthew's beautiful Australian wedding is a perfect example of how a classic wedding look can still be unique and totally reflective of your personalities. 60 guests joined them at their June wedding at the Longworth House in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Says Natalie, "The venue was kind of a hidden gem in the city - if you didn't know it was there you could walk straight past it. We didn't need to go far for photos and the different levels of the building allowed us to have the ceremony in one room which had a baroque feel to it, and then we all moved to the front lounge for drinks and canapes. For dinner we moved upstairs to a simple, light-filled room with amazing chandeliers from the ceiling.

"The look of our wedding was something a bit vintage Hollywood, but modern at the same time. There was no theme, just all the things we love - we had old Jazz playing during canapes and the wedding rings and invitations had a French feel, to them."














From Natalie: The whole day was divine, but the ceremony was my favorite part of the whole day. Our readings, 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' by Edward Lear and lyrics from 'Dance Me to the End of Love' by Leonard Cohen were just perfect, and the candlelit room created a wonderful ambiance. It was a very special moment and I couldn't take my eyes off my man!




Natalie suggests choose a venue that has the look you want, and avoid having to do lots of extra decorating. "Keep it simple," she says. "Always step back and think, Do I really need this? We barely added anything to the dinner room other than fresh flowers to the tables."




Guests went home with boxes of Hunter Valley chocolates.



Photography: Zoe Lonergan

Venue: Longworth House in Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Bride's dress / shoes: Melanie Ford / Panache

Groom's suit: Rundle Tailoring

Chocolates: Hunter Valley Chocolate Co.

Many happy wishes, Natalie and Matthew! Thank you to San Francisco based photographer Zoe Lonergan for sharing these lovely photos of the day.

(Photos submitted via Two Bright Lights.)

Real Wedding: Vannessa & Cayman

Today's wedding is such perfect summer inspiration - a ranch wedding with a fun and relaxed vibe. Vannessa and Cayman found the Holman Ranch in Carmel on the first day they went to look at venues: "We knew right away it was the perfect place. We loved the all-American, California ranch feel, and the views were incredible! We knew it would be a unique place for us and our guests."




Vannessa's favorite part of the day: "I loved saying our vows to one another. I was so focused on Cayman that I completely forgot we had an audience! And the kiss... the kiss was like slow motion. I had been looking forward to that moment since we got engaged, and it was absolutely perfect!"




Cayman loves games and trivia and wanted to incorporate this into the wedding, so planner Shannon Leahy came up with the idea of writing clues that would lead guests to find their tables and Hello Lucky created the adorable escort cards (guests slid their cards out of the envelopes to reveal the clues to their table). Guests got into the spirit of the game, and spent the first 15 minutes of dinner visiting every table to see all of the clues.






Dinner reflected the laid back atmosphere of the wedding, complete with cornbread and biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and fried chicken.




In keeping with the sense of fun and games, guests took home personalized decks of playing cards.



Photographer: Emily Merrill, EmmyJeanne Photography

Venue: Holman Ranch in Carmel, California

Planner: Shannon Leahy

Stationery / printed items: Hello!Lucky

Bride's dress / shoes: Amy Kuschel / Manolo Blahnik

Bridesmaid dresses: J.Crew

Groom's suit: Ermenegildo Zegna

Flowers: Erica Rose Design

Catering: Paradise Catering

Funk band: The Joint Chiefs

Furniture / linen rentals: Classic Party Rentals / La Tavola

Don't you just love this wedding, from the beautiful venue in Carmel down to the lucky horseshoe motif? So fun! A big thanks to Vannessa and Cayman, as well as to planner Shannon Leahy and photographer Emily Merrill for sharing this beautiful wedding with us.

Hello!Lucky is a sponsor of Snippet & Ink.