Real Weddings: Kaile + Jon

I'm launching this week's posts with an adorable couple: Kaile + Jon, and their amazing outdoor wedding.

Thank you so much to Kaile and Jon for sharing their big day with us, and congratulations!

From Kaile: Jon and Kaile first met when he was 10 and she was 8; she maintains she doesn’t remember the occurrence but he swears it happened. After that, his family left the church where they met and they didn’t meet again till he texted her out-of-the-blue a year after she had friended him – nearly a decade later – on facebook. They bonded over a mutual love of the films of Wes Anderson and about a year after he first asked her to be his girlfriend, they got married.

The wedding took place in La, Center WA in August, 2013. When Kaile’s finace proposed in May, 2013, she knew she only had about 3 months left to plan a wedding if it was to take place outside, which was a bit of a non-negotiable. So she got down to planning, with 3 months and a $3,000 budget, and the handmade details started to come together. She ended up designing and printing her own programs, CD’s, invitations, table placecards, and more. During the planning stage, the bride-to-be spent an inordinate amount of time skimming Goodwill’s for mason jars, in order to provide drinking glasses with chalkboard labels (ordered from Etsy) for guests to take home, inspired by a pinterest idea showing a sign reading: “Your glass for the night, for whatever tastes right!” Another handmade element of the wedding was the light-up letters “ KJ” hung on the barn door. The bride’s brother cut out cardboard letters, drilled holes, and stuck Christmas lights in them to make a marquee style heading, then provided the valuable input of arranging them as KJ instead of JK, since “just kidding” at a wedding may have sent the wrong message ;) Other handmade elemets included a triangle banner made to frame the barn door, made from discount fabric and twine found at Jo-Anne Fabric. Oh, and homemade raspberry jam was also available as a take-home treat. Another budget-friendly aspect was found in the bridesmaids dresses, all purchased at Forever 21 and coming in at under $30 each.

Food at the wedding was catered by the delectable Pizzicato, with kegs of Ten Barrel Brewing’s “Swill” providing the libations. The mother-of-the-bride made the desserts, double chocolate and “pig-licking good” cupcakes, with generous friends proving sides. The flowers were arranged by the bride and her friends the day before, with bouquet stems wrapped in burlap ribbon. Something Borrowed, a vintage wedding rental shop in Portland, OR, provided the rustic details such as a small barn door used for a table top, chalkboard labels, wine barrels, and the “petite fleurs” flower box seen on the couples table.


Portland Wholesale Florist (Flowers):www.portlandwholesaleflorist.com
Pizzicato Pizza (Food): www.pizzicatopizza.com
District 5 Boutique (Wedding Dress): www.district5boutique.com
The Party Place (Birch Benches): www.thepartyplacepdx.com
Something Borrowed (Decor): somethingborrowedpdx.com/
Natalie Jane Photography: http://instagram.com/nataliejanephotography
Event Location: La Center, WA. The event took place on a neighbor's property, an immaculate and gorgeous farm.

French Wedding Inspiration

Today I'm featuring some gorgeous French wedding inspiration from Marius & Co. featuring romance and sweet handmade ideas from pastries to flowers.

To the Marius & Co. team, thank you so much for sharing this French wedding inspiration session! It's beautiful!

From Jessica:

Marius & Co. has chose Aix en Provence in the heart of Provence to organize this smart and romantic French wedding shoot.

A poetic atmosphere, pastel colors and a bit retro, a delightfully romantic bride modeling short and long dresses, fresh flowers, some sweet cupcakes. All the ingredients were gathered for a lovely event!

With regard to other preparations, Caroline, our lovely bride, received a natural and romantic make-up combination. For the hair style, Laurent opted for an entangled loop with a rounded braid to accommodate the crown of fresh flowers, including Baby Romatica roses prepared by Lolita.

The bride wore divinely long and short dresses, signed Elsa Gary. Flowing dresses can be worn simply or be customized with a colored belt, suspending lace and other accessories (lace, satin, tulle ...).

For the decor, there is a sweet space with a wedding cake decorated with lace and flowers as well as some delicious cupcakes. We created a vintage and romantic place with the old stool and the pretty wedding table.

The menu, announcement and place cards, made ​​to measure by Mallory.

Marius & Co. is an event agency located in the heart of Provence and created in 2012 by Julien, Jessica and Maeva. Marius & Co. is a family agency which organizes events for individuals and professionals, combining the styles and trends to create unique and memorable celebrations of life.











Crédits : BleuCitronprod - Marius & Co.

Bride : Caroline Photographers : Méd - BleuCitronprod / www.anticliché.com Make-up : Mathilde Gomez Hairstyle : By K Chou - Laurent Gilly Flowers : Pure Nature - Lolita Paper : Sweet Paper Faire-Part - Mallory Dresses : Elsa Gary - Nathalie Décoration : Marius & Co. and Ambiances et Styles Manosque Cupcakes et Weding Cake : Cakes Paradise - Morgane Wedding planners : Marius & Co. - Jessica et Julien

Jolly Edition Handmade Wedding Invitations

I've been meaning to blog about this find for a while now.
I love these Jolly Edition handmade wedding invitations!

Aren't they adorable?! The Baltimore based shop owner duo created custom wedding invitations full of color, coolness and beauty.

DIY Feature: Easy Beaded Bracelet from Cutediys

Today, I'm featuring a cute bracelet DIY from Cutediys, a new DIY website run by Pooja. Thanks so much Pooja for your DIY submission! I love this project idea for your bridesmaids! Especially if they're going to be mismatched. You can easily replace the beads with rhinestone strands as well, if you're looking to bling up the tutorial. From Pooja: I started this blog because I wanted to let people know that with a little creative thinking, you can practically make anything and everything at home. Whether it be for brides on a budget or just someone looking to "get their craft on", cutediys.com is website for everyone! The unique thing about Cutediys is that I feature video tutorials on YouTube that help the reader understand the DIY project better. My main goal at Cutediys is to make the reader feel that crafting can be easy, affordable and a lot of fun!

For the Groom: Allen Edmonds Neumok shoes

My husband has been searching for months for nice brown oxfords. And I really do mean months. I've spent more time in the Nordstrom men's shoe department than some of their sales people and I am not proud of that. But I did get a chance to check out some shoes that would look amazing on a groom or his groomsmen.

Photo: AllenEdmonds.com

One of my favorites is the Allen Edmonds Neumok Wingtip Oxford. And speaking of Nordstrom, they are in the midst of their Anniversary Sale, and the Neumoks are $100 less than normal price. A steal.

If you're not familiar with Allen Edmonds, just know that you're making an investment in a pair shoes that can last a decade if treated right. They are handmade in the USA out of premium leather and sport a hot-cork sole that molds to your feet over time. Give them a few wears (seriously it takes 3-4 wears to break in), and they will fit like a glove. And as the sole or shoe wears out, you can send it back to Allen Edmonds and it'll come back like new for a fraction of the cost you paid for new shoes. Check out this video. You're not just buying a shoe for one day, you're buying one for a years to come.

A rule of thumb is shoes as ornate as the Neumoks are not formal enough to pair with a suit. But that is an old man's rule. These shoes look amazing and would look just as amazing with a suit as they would with a pair of nice jeans. The colored laces add a little pop (though they do come with neutral laces) and could be a great finishing touch to the ensembles of the men in your wedding.

Photo: AllenEdmonds.com

The Neumoks come in various colors as well, including brown, olive, navy and red. You'll surely be able to find a color to satisfy. 

Do you have any other shoe recommendations?