A Beach, A Tent, and Fuchsia Peonies Vol 2

Did you enjoy the video? Audrey and Mike shared some more of the wedding and I thought after seeing the video you might want to see more! Enjoy these great photos:

The bridesmaids bouquets

A pre ceremony toast

I'm still dying over this bouquet by Signature Floral. Have you ever seen such stunning colors of peonies, roses, ranunculus?

Who doesn't love a petal dressed aisle?

See- THIS is great use of flowers at a beach wedding!

I love calligraphy. ALOT. Thank you Samira for these!

And no, you most certainly do not have to go overboard with the "beach" or "shell" theme...its quite possible to keep it elegant and simple!

A lined tent (draped poles too) with great lighting and pretty linens to match. All the details are what make this look so perfectly sophisticated.

The cigar roller was a surprise from Andrea to Will.  He was a huge hit of course.  The tent-patio we placed just outside the tent was the perfect compliment.

The fireworks show was a surprise for all the wedding guests and marked the start of the after party!

Audrey & Mike, thank you so much for sharing the photos.

Elegant, Sophisticated Stylish Beach Wedding found Vol. 2

Yesterday I opened my mailbox and found a dvd inside from Alys dad. He actually took the time to compile a slideshow format movie of the wedding weekend with all the pictures they collected from their guests. What a great idea and I can not wait to watch it tonight. In the meantime, here are more pictures from Concept and a few bits of insight into what was truly one of the best weekends I've ever had the pleasure of planning.

Color goes a very long way at beach weddings because your environments are usually every "un-color" imaginable. If you don't infuse some color; go heavy on texture.

Aly & Mike had a Beatles inspired ceremony.  I can't wait to see the video because the toast the Aly's dear friend made was hands down the best tie into a ceremony I have ever heard.

 Got 5 more minutes of light before you head into cocktail hour? Practice your 1st dance!

 I will forever love market lighting and clear tents.

 I still have visions of this engagement ring running through my head. STUNNING.

Yes, she forgot the bouquet.  But really, do you think she could have been any happier?  I have to admit, I kind of love the excited hand wave!

We could have removed all the seats after dinner because nobody sat down again once the band got going.

 Brown eyed girl with the best lashes ever.

How sweet are the petals on this dress? I adore Monique Lhuillier

 I will forever love long tables at weddings. Why?

1. Because people love to sit at them so much more than round tables. You can easily talk to multiple people, not just the person to your left or right.

2. Because the centerpieces fill the entire table (I kind of love flowers and so does Floral Artistry).

3. They take up less space.

Get hair & makeup. You will not regret it so long as you hire REAL professionals who use quality products. Doing this will ensure that you look great pre-ceremony until the band unplugs.

Pad your wedding day prep time so that there is time to just sit and enjoy the people around you.  It's such a nice part of the experience of your wedding day.  Drink some champagne, plug in the ipod and giggle.

 The fun photos are the ones you'll cherish the most.  Key reason to LOVE your photographers so that you are totally comfortable being yourself.  When I say love, I mean like you want to have lunch with them and then drink martini's and friend them on facebook love.

A good officiant means everything.  He's the guy who will guide you through the most powerful words you'll ever speak to someone.  I kind of wish this picture was in color, the vow book I designed for Aly & Mike was so pretty.

 Details! From top left:
White Hydrangea, white roses and phalaenopsis orchids
Custom wine bottle table numbers I designed blended right into the table (I'm not a big fan of table numbers)
The blue runners and napkins allowed the flowers take center stage during the day when there was so much light.  In the evening the candlelight took on this duty.
The rock candy was Aly's super cute idea.  The tags said' "You Rock!" Thanks for coming.  This was a small hint to the blue candy bar we had later in the evening.

I wanted to keep the tables less cluttered so we made these framed chalkboards for the menu and table assignments.
The cake. YUM and gorgeous.  Who doesn't love a bunch of pretty ruffles? 

 Rush matting aisle runner. Keep it natural on the beach folks.

 Look really close...the champagne glass says Mr. (Aly's says Mrs a few photos up)

 This dress was made for this twirl.

The end. {insert giggle}
Vol 1 is here
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A Sophisticated Garden Beach Wedding on Captiva Island: Vol 3

A Kakes by Karen original design.  I love the three dimensional orchids.  As you can see from all the photos, we were trying to keep with an almost color-less concept throughout the wedding.  Not quite white, ivory or champagne. Emily referred to it as "half color" which I still love.

Music plays a big part in Emily and Calebs life.  Which is why you'll see the music clef every now and again in the paper details.  For their dinner party style reception, we brought in a baby grand piano and the amazing Bob Mosci from the Carlisle in New York.

Four words: Exquisite, elegant, sophisticated, stunning. Strands of crystals amongst the Phalenopsis orchids surrounded the dance floor.

Tiny little details like this drink stirrer just add that touch of special, don't you think?

One of 3 desserts that night; chocolate creme brulee.

Emily surprised Caleb with a cigar roller.  I confess, I love surprises - alot.

A sparkler grand exit to their getaway boat.  Truly, a great end to a stylish and intimate destination wedding on Captiva.
Be sure to read all the posts related to this garden beach wedding. There will be one more volume, and its all about the kids. Any kid would have begged to come to this wedding!
All photos by Impressions Photography

A summer mini wedding

This is the mini of all mini's. I'm pretty sure I could fit all the guests into my car and bring them to the Bubble Room for the wedding dinner in 2 trips. This also happened to be the hottest wedding of the year as well. It was 634 degrees on Captiva that day. My flip flops melted in the sand. {slight exaggeration}

Julie Goodacre shot these images. Something that she did, not sure what, just makes me want to look over and over.
Anyway, I just wanted to share these pictures with you because the images are wonderful and I love them.
I also think mini weddings get a bad wrap. I love the intimacy of them. So I wanted to post of these minis.

Believe it or not, this is 20 minutes after the ceremony was to start.
And everyone always wants to blame the bride for a late wedding...

This is everyone. Yes, everyone. Mini.

Another gorgeous piece by Laura Hooper Calligraphy.

Married.