A Gorgeous Friend Turned Gorgeous Bride: Part 2

Jessica & Steve's wedding was the perfect mix of rustic meets beach. Therefore, the gave the bride and the groom had the perfect excuse to go barefoot for most of the day.
The groom and groomsmen wore dapper tweed vests. The groom's boutonniere opened throughout the day and coordinated perfectly with the overall rustic feel of the day.
The bridesmaids bouquets looked like they were plucked from a wild garden and formed into the most lovely arrangement.
Steve and Jessica were united in marriage next to the ebb and flow of the waves. I don't think that there could be a more fitting setting to marry in than on that mirrors the ups and downs of a marriage that you have to forge through together.
Remember this post?! Let me remind you that its a little nerve wracking to be standing up there in front of all of your guests during your ceremony. Instead of standing up there clutching your {gorgeous} bouquet, remember to reach for your fiance's hands. Not only will your nerves settle down, but it makes for a quite the lovely picture.These next two pictures are my favorites. I feel as though they truly convey why you and your new husband should take a moment at the end of the aisle to relish in the fact that you are finally married. For keeps, as they say.

Yet another favorite. I adore her bouquet.

I just cannot imagine a more charming venue to have a wedding reception. Picture perfect.

Now this, my friends is what a couple looks like when they are totally in the moment during their first dance.

I'm not sure on the exact back story on this truck, but I love the photos ben williams was able to capture as the couple was using it for their getaway vehicle. If you can't tell, this picture reflects the true spirit of Jessica and Steve.

Dearest Jessica, you're just as pretty as you were in high school. Figures! I hope that your wedding day was as beautiful as it appears in the pictures. More so, I hope that you have found your best friend and life long partner in Steve. Wishing you years and years of happiness!!!

Jessica and Steve's wedding day was captured by ben williams weddings. Pictures used with expressed permission.

Get Away

It's Monday morning and don't we all just want to get away? I'll go ahead and slide into this cute little car packed to the brim with wedding gifts and head somewhere warm for the rest of this week, if you don't mind.

jonathan canlas photography

Getting One Just to Get One

Just a follow-up on yesterday's post on getting away. Diana from Another Beginning made the comment "you could rent a sweet convertible for the entire day for much less than a limo! And you still get the photo op!" adorable picture found at life love lipstick
So true. Please, friends don't be the bride that gets a limo just to get a limo! Look into getting a convertible or antique car to rent for the two of you to share the whole day. Have a family friend with a pretty ride drive you around (it can be their wedding present to you) on your wedding day. At the end of the day, you'll find yourself saving, just like we did, "I'm so glad that we didn't spend all that money on a limo!"

photo by lisa lefkowitz found via ritzy bee
Another bonus to a convertible car (or a car you can roll down the windows): When we left the church and rode around town for a while with the top down, so many people waived and honked after seeing that we were a newly married bride and groom. It left me smiling from ear to ear. If you're in a limo, no one can see you! Just a thought.

Side note 1: I am totally supportive of limo's/party buses if they serve the purpose of getting the bridal party to and from the pictures in between the ceremony and the reception or if you have quite the distance between venues.

Side note 2: My friends Jenn and Stephen rented a party bus for 2ish hours in between the ceremony and the reception. It transported the wedding party AND their dates/significant others from the church to downtown Cincinnati for pictures and then to the reception hall. It was beyond amazing because there was plenty of room for everyone (and coolers) and the bridal party's significant. others/dates didn't have to sit around for a miserable and lonely 3 hours in between the venue change.

Side note 3: If transporting your whole bridal party is a must and you are a fan of thinking outside the box, why not rent a school bus for your travels!? The idea has been featured on plenty of photographers blogs, and the resulting pictures are quite adorable. You can rent a school bus for the day (in Indianapolis) for around $300. So I think that this idea would work on any one's wedding budget.

photo found at whitebox weddings

A School Bus, Perhaps

The fiance and I are currently searching high and low for wedding day transportation that won't leave us with only a penny or two in our wallet. Long story short, a "party bus" or a large stretch limo big enough to fit our 16 person bridal party would cost us more than we bargained for.


Then I saw this picture and almost called the local school bus company. Almost. It would only be worth it for the picture on the right. The fiance thinks I'm crazy and respectfully refuses to board any sort of school bus on the wedding day....or let it idle loudly in front of the church. He is no fun.
photo via: pen carlson

Need a Lift?

Chris and I are STILL looking for the perfect wedding day transportation that isn't going to cost us 1/8 of our wedding budget. How nice would this be?!

amy carroll photo

Wanted...

1. A videographer that doesn't cost a fortune. Perhaps starting out in the business or something.
2. A convertible car that Chris and I can drive from the hotel to the church and then back to the hotel for the reception. Any convertible will do. Please reference picture below as evidence of how adorable the pictures will be of us in the car.
3. Good weather on Sunday for our engagement pictures...supposedly it will be 75 and sunny. Perfect.
4. A dress (the color plum, of course!) for the rehearsal dinner and cute shoes for said engagement pictures. Attempting to make it to the mall Wednesday night.
5. Life to slow down for just a moment so that I can enjoy the final stages of planning this wedding, see my friends in Indianapolis a couple more times before I move, and just breathe.

Assuming my readers can only really help with 1 & 2...potentially 4. Any thoughts?!

(elizabeth messina)

Copy {Click} and Paste {Volume 4}

If we get a car for just two of us, I see no reason why we shouldn't grab these shots....



And I couldn't resist throwing this shot in this post...

For Just the Two of Us

Back in the day, in this post and poll, I asked for input on how we should get to and from the church and reception hall. The majority of you said we should go with a stretch hummer limo. While this would clearly be the easiest option and get everyone from point A to point B, the largest limo only fits 18 people. We already have 16 in our bridal party and we are a little unsure if it is really worth it to shell out the big bucks to have everyone cramped into the limo.
Our other option, and one that we are leaning towards, is just to get a car for the two of us for the day. We're seeing each other before the wedding which means we can drive together to the ceremony and then to the reception. Perhaps in a cute car like this one:

We would have our bridal party ride from the hotel (where we are getting ready at) to the church together (carpool anyone!?) or with their significant others. I'm not too worried that anyone would get lost going to the church or that anyone would be late, as those were the concerns with this option passed along to me before.

Have any of you gone this route for your day of transportation?! Thoughts....

(all photos via: j'adore details)

Poll: How Do We Get There!?

Most of the "major" decisions surrounding our wedding day have already been made, contracts signed, and a sigh of relief uttered. But now we're on to the more tedious tasks....some of which I didn't know would cause such a headache.
For example, trying to figure out how to get a bridal party of possibly 16 people including the bride & groom from the hotel (getting ready area) to the pre-ceremony picture location, to the church, and back to the hotel for the reception. Ugh. My head is already starting to hurt.
Here are our options:

(top 2: Jessica Strickland, bottom l: bobbi and mike, bottom r: our photog Nicole Green)

1. 18 passenger stretch hummer limo

2. 21-28 passenger sleek, black, minibus

3. 16-20 passenger trolley

4. a hot rod/antique car/sports car for the Fiance and I

I'm leaning towards just renting an amazing car for the two of us to drive around in the day of the wedding and have the rest of the bridal party get to and from the venues w/ their significant others and their own carpool arrangements. It's the most logical and cost-efficient option we have at this point. I think that we'll like the time we'll have to ourselves when we're driving together. On the other hand, we know we would have some memorable moments with our bridal party if we were all together and driving around town.

What are your thoughts?! What did you do/are you going to do about transportation on your wedding day!? Vote now on the poll on the top left side of the blog and leave a comment too, we appreciate all of your thoughtful input!

{Results: 21 votes. stretch hummer limo: 2, the minibus: 1, a trolley: 7, a classy car perfect for the bride and groom: 11}

{Update: we're leaning towards the classy car for the 2 of us!}