How to Design a Big Fat Southern/Military/Baptist/Glamorous/Old Hollywood/Country Club Wedding

Yeah, it's a long theme, but it describes the decor and feel of the wedding to a "T." If you think I'm creative, stop right there. I basically took 3 weddings I saw in a magazine and edited/meshed them together. If you are engaged you MUST buy Inside Weddings magazine, or at least go on their website. They feature very glam (and expensive) real weddings perfect for inspiration. I think real weddings are most inspiring, and I also think that you can recreate the feel of an expensive wedding by using the most impactful ideas.

Invitations/Programs:

My beautiful invites were from Inviting Smiles, and I saved $$$ by getting them unassembled. That was alot of ribbon to tie...

Platinum Elegance

I copied a program from Inside Weddings and designed them myself, bought square paper, and printed them at Kinko's. We then added rhinestones to all of them, as well as the print your own placecards from Target, and our homemade menu cards.

Decor:

I completely copied Marissa and Matthew's wedding for my decor. It was chic, glowy, and glam. For colors I did shades of whites and cream and champagne. I wanted glowy/glam elements like pearls, crystal, and diamonds. Since my color palette was so muted, I needed lots of textures, and shapes (hence square vases, rounds flowers, etc.). I also did lots of monograms (I AM a good southern girl) and FEATHERS!!!!!!!

For the church I kept it white and simple, but still different than other weddings.

I wish I had gotten these in silk to keep :(

Just a little something for the aisle candles

Centerpiece Inspiration

Over all look inspiration

Real place card table

Real table

Real overall look (sorry there's people eating...awkward)

Bridal Flowers:

Inspiration for bridesmaid dresses and bouquets, and flower girl pomander

Yeah, yeah, My name is Emily and I'm a copycat

Up close bouquets

Bridal bouquet inspiration (I nixed the expensive phaeleonopsis orchids to save $$$)

Not as bold feathers as I wanted, but still fabulous

Can't forget the feather getaway. Did not tell the club I was doing this:)

You've Got Mail

My Ebay Bathroom sconces came today!!! AND a box from my mum with an anniversary card and really, really soft yummy towels!!! My mom is always on top of birthday, anniversaries, and holidays.

So this is what a $300 light fixture looks like...Gotta love Ebay!!! These are moving with me when we move one day.

Softest towels I've EVER felt (Chaps for Kohl's if you wanna get a feel)

Location, Location, Location

There were two things I knew when I planned my wedding:

1. I wanted it to be FABULOUS

2. I wanted it to be different that anyone elses that I'd been to

We looked at many hotels, country clubs, churches and these were the only two that felt right:

Ceremony:

The church we picked was First United Methodist Church of Winter Park . It really had that grand, old (in the good way), European look that I longed for. And that aisle was heck-a-long to make my grand entrance (it felt even longer when the pre-recorded organ music for the entrance ended when my maid of honor was only 1/4 way down the aisle). It also had great stained glass, and a great courtyard. The only downside was no pics during the ceremony so all our ceremony pics are from the balcony :(

Reception:

We fell in love with the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club for our reception. Even though it was a solid 1/2 hours drive from our ceremony. It was worth it. It brought the Scarlett O'Hara out in me! You gotta love the perfection that is golf course grass. And BEST wedding food EVER.

Can you believe this is the back???

Craigslist Stalking FINALLY Paid Off!!!

I go on Craigslist multiple times a week looking for vintage finds and never seem to have the kind of luck other bloggers seem to have (so jealous). Well, I finally hit the jackpot! I great vintage french provincial chair in perfect condition that doesn't have to be recovered or fixed up in any way!!! It will be perfect in the bedroom!

Only one minor set back. It's in...Alabama 1 1/2 hours away. First of all, when I've ever gone through Alabama I don't even want to stop, much less go shopping. But considering we have been driving 40 minutes to eat bagels at BagelHeads in Pensacola every Saturday, what's another few minutes???

I schlepped Stephan around last Saturday because I've been dying to hit up some antique shops in Pensacola! So fun!!! And get this, he actually got into it when he discovered antique knives/swords/military uniforms, etc. In fact, I had to drag him out of the first place because he wanted to play with every single weapon they had.

No lucky finds on this trip, but the chase is part of the fun! I can honestly say it was one of the funnest Saturday mornings I've had in a long time (mostly because we weren't painting the house)!!!

I'm going to maybe mix it with something super shiny and modern to keep it fresh, and add a few things in the pale blue throughout the room to bring it together.

1950's French Provincial perfection

Here are some things that might cool it up:

Maybe a little reading nook???

Z Gallerie Alu Accent Table

Z Gallerie Zoe Table Lamp on the Hollywood Redency new dresser???

Where I Bathe

I had a big win on Ebay last night! I got 2 builder's overstock Vienna Full Spectrum crystal bathroom light for a steal. They are worth $285 EACH but I got 'em for $60 each. SO excited. So here's the bathroom I'm building around it. We bought a similar jute shade from Walmart already, and all the towels are on sale and on there way from West Elm (I've been hitting their sale section HARD). The rest are all wishlist items. Those mirrors with mirror trim are impossible to find on the cheap! Z Gallerie needs an accessory sale STAT. I swear that their accessories were always on sale UNTIL I moved into the new house and wanted to actually buy.
Of course...

Do you design a room around one great find or have a concept that you find things to fit into???


Glam Master Bath by Em Pink on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Z Gallerie - Arno Mirror, $130
Blue Cloud Vase Z Gallerie, $17
A7-405/1 Chain / Rod Pendants CHANDELIER Chandeliers, Crystal...
Wall Decor - Panels & Placques Z Gallerie, $70
Sparkle Chrome 23 1/4" Wide Crystal Bathroom Light Fixture ..., $190

Whose Blog Is It, Anyway?

In the countdown to our 2 year wedding anniversary on March 1, I'm doing a few recaps on our Big Fat Southern/Military/Baptist/Glamorous/Old Hollywood/Country Club Wedding. Why, you may ask???

Well, for 3 reasons:
1. Because I can
2. It was timelessly fabulous
3. Either the wedding blog thing wasn't as big in the two years I was planning or I just was oblivious to it (I like to think the first since I was all consumed in the wedding industry for 2 years)

I'm just going to show some fave pics and inspirations. I really loved planning my wedding, and would be happy doing it professionally if I knew how the heck to get started! It was the most creatively fulfilling experience I've ever heard (house scheming is a close second).

Let the wedding posts begin!

Love Always Wins

Remember my mushy post about Valentine's Day a few days ago? Well, I entered it into a Love Story contest for a complimentary photo session with an AWESOME photographer that my BFF and I know, Jaime, of Sweet Serendipity Photography out of G-Ville.

Well, guess what? WE ARE ONE OF THE WINNERS!!! So we get to plan a G-Ville trip to see the bestie AND get a photo shoot. We have been wanting new photos for like a year.

Jaime and I are already scheming about something vintage-y or glamorous (she knows me too well). SO excited... now what to wear!!! I don't know when we are doing the shoot but I will keep you updated!

Maybe vintage-y "Officer and a Gentleman" military theme???

Adorable

Here's some pics from one of Jaime's recent Engagement photos:

I love a good ring shot!

You know we need to hit up this location