It's All in the Wedding Details
Updated: Nov 3, 2021
I truly cannot believe that this Friday marks 10 weeks since the most beautiful day of my life, my wedding.
It is no secret that I waited a very long time for this day to arrive and now that it has come and gone, I’ve honestly been taking time to process it all. A wedding is nothing short of a whirlwind. It comes with so many emotions, decisions, and details. Couple that with years of sleepless nights wondering, and for me worrying, it's safe to say the transition post-wedding has been an interesting one for myself.
There is a part of me that thrives taking on a beautiful project and misses all the meetings, prep and planning. But then there is a part of me that looks at the photos, has had time to take it all in and is truly proud of what I created...and frankly happy it's behind me finally lol.
This day was truly the culmination of 29 years of dreaming. I constantly thought about this moment my entire life. I would save pages from magazines (since I was 6), create Pinterest boards, and had albums full of screenshots on my phone. For my first wedding meeting I came with a mood board I made myself and the vendors were in shock how much thought I already put into my plans. I would think of ideas, research the hell out of them, scrap it all and think again. I kept reworking my vision over and over and over and over again until it was exactly what I wanted.
Today isn’t about photos of me or my loving husband – but I promise that post will come soon because our portraits are too beautiful to keep hidden. I share so much of my face on this blog and social media, that I wanted to start this wedding blog series with the things you haven't seen. This post is going to be about all the wedding details I spent years perfecting. The items I kept secret. The creativity I quietly crafted. The vision finally brought to life and preserved in these images.
What was created was truly a labor of love. While the vision was mine, the reality was built by an incredible team of industry pros, my dream team of wedding vendors. I truly cannot thank or recommend them enough. At the end of this post, I have listed them all and highly encourage anyone planning a wedding or special event to explore their services.
I hope you love and appreciate these details as much as I enjoyed planning them.
Bridal Details
The most special details of the day, for me personally, were the keepsakes - the things I would want to save forever. Our wedding rings, the little box Andrew proposed to me with, my wedding shoes, the scents we wore, and our stationary suite.
When I began working with my wedding planner/designer, Danielle from Your Sweetest Day Events, she asked me to describe my ideal wedding aesthetic in a few words. I kept describing what I wanted as romantic and timeless, and that is exactly what we created together!
I spent the years of my engagement looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of detail shots from weddings and styled shoots. What I loved most about these types of photos was that they told a story about the day without needing to say a word. When done thoughtfully, the detail shots should encapsulate your entire design in one photo. Danielle specializes in styling and truly created the most dreamy details shots I could have asked for.
Ring boxes were made by The Mrs. Box. Custom wax stamper made by Artisaire.
My Bella Belle Candice D'Orsay Ivory Vintage Lace heels perfectly complemented my lace gown.
Vow books were made by Rebecca Green Design. Rings were custom made by L Priori Jewelry.
So the search began! I looked high and low for each and every item I included. I wanted each piece to not only be beautiful, but to stand the test of time. I went through hundreds of trends, but realized that romantic and classic was my style. Ultimately I wanted someone to be able to look at my album and not know if it was 1921 or 2021.
But I won't lie, pulling these details together was no easy task, especially when it came to the stationary suite! I went through SO many samples. At one point I even hired a designer to custom create invites, wasn't a fan, scrapped the whole idea and completely started over.
Where I finally landed was the simply stunning Beautiful Bouquet suite from Minted Weddings in the shade Barely Blush and Bodega Script font. We used this stationary suite for invitations, table numbers, and small signage. It was beautifully classic with an ultra feminine and romantic twist.
Fun Fact: the floral design on the stationary suite matched the floral lace on my gown.
A Warm Welcome
When it came to guest experience, the details were very important to me. From the Save the Dates to Invitations to Welcome Bags to the details when they entered the venue, everything was intentionally planned and coordinated. I wanted each element of the wedding to fit into each other. The word my husband, Andrew, heard me say for years was 'cohesive'.
Just like the details above, so much thought went into the items that were used to welcome our guests. As much as this was Andrew and I's dream wedding day, we also wanted it to be a dream experience for our loved ones. So much of life is mundane and simple, but for one night we wanted to create something magical for everyone in the room.
A beautiful welcome table, a chilled beverage waiting for them at arrival, an ambience that they were about to take part in something special.
All the beautiful rental pieces and décor were provided by Treasured Events.
For all the large format signage, we used the Scripted Union stationary suite from Minted Weddings in the shade Blush. Frames were collected from various stores over several years of engagement.
Fun Fact: Welcome bags for hotel guests included local Lancaster favorites such as Stroopies, pretzels and gift cards to local coffee shop in town!
Some will say wedding programs are unnecessary, but for me it was an opportunity to create a mini magazine of our engagement photos that perfectly fit into our event design! Within the booklets we included a welcome message, a remembrance for loved ones we've lost, ceremony details, a STUNNING centerfold, our wedding timeline, and fun facts about our relationship.
Sip and be Seated
Cocktail hour is one of the most beloved parts of a wedding for guests. The formal ceremony is complete and it's finally time to let loose a little. While Andrew and I spent a majority of our cocktail hour in pictures, we made sure to make this time special for our guests! Details included a live jazz trio, an absolutely fabulous seafood display, hand crafted cocktail recipes (curtesy of 'Sipping with Samantha') and a magical seating chart.
These custom napkins illustrating both our dogs, Rosie & Lacey, were designed by The Emerald Hound.
Fun Fact: this specific mirror used to hang in my late grandparents home and helped me feel their presence on my wedding day.
Set to Perfection
I plan on doing an entire post on how we flipped this room from ceremony to dinner, but these are a few details worth sharing sooner!
Who here remembers the IKEA vase saga? In the end, I'd say it was worth the 12 hours it took to get these cloche jars.
Laura of Lauxmont and Special Occasion Linens created the most beautiful sweetheart table. The florals & linens paired had so much depth, color and texture. It paired together perfectly!
Fun Fact: we drank this Glenora champagne the night we got engaged, purchased a bottle that same weekend in 2018, and opened it on our wedding day...and you might recognize those champagne flutes from our engagement photos.
The Sweetest Ending
Andrew and I love a sweet treat, and after I spent 8 years working at a candy store, it went without saying that our wedding would have ample sweets to go around!
Fun Fact: Andrew wanted cake and I wanted cupcakes, so we had BOTH! Provided by our favorite bakery, Lancaster Cupcake!
After having worked with Penny's Ice Cream on a styled shoot a few years back, I was so excited to have them at our wedding! And despite some rain, the truck was very beloved by guests... and the bride & groom.
Last was a sweet treat from Michael Mootz Candies, the chocolate shop that gave me my first job, more than half of my bridesmaids, and a lifetime of memories.
Vendors
Venue: @excelsiorlancaster
Planning & design: @yoursweetestdayevents | yoursweetestdayevents.com
Photography: @briannawilburphoto | briannawilbur.com
Videography: @cinemacapturefilms | cinemacapture.com
Officiant: @rev_kelly | revkellyjosingleton.com
Florals: @lauraoflauxmont | lauraoflauxmont.com
Rentals: @treasured.events | treasured-events.com
Lighting: @shumakerpdt | shumakerpdt.com
Linens: @specialoqueenst | specialo.com
Makeup: @mkupthebeautystudio | mkupbeautystudio.com
Hair: @wb_upstyles | wbupstyles.com
Gown: @poshbridallanc | poshbridal.com
Bridesmaids: @azazieofficial | azazie.com
Tuxedos: @generationtux | generationtux.com
Rings: @lpriorijewelry | lpriorijewelry.com
Catering: @signaturecateringonking
Beverage: @thetravelingtap | tratap.com
Cupcakes: @lancastercupcake | lancastercupcake.com
Ice Cream: @pennysicecream | pennysicecreamtruck.com
Band: @bachelorboysband | bachelorboysband.com
Photobooth: @shiningstarphotobooth | shiningstarphotobooth.com
Calligraphy: @chitchatdesign
Stationary: @mintedweddings | minted.com
Wax Sealing: @artisaire | artisaire.com
Thank you to all the individuals who brought these details to life and thank you to my husband, Andrew, for supporting my dream and being the reason it came to life.
-Samantha