{Behind the Veil} Lauren from Southern Aisle

I've got another installment of Behind the Veil for you today, and I think you're gonna L-O-V-E it!  I'm obsessed with the details of Lauren of Southern Aisle's wedding!  Grab some coffee, or a mimosa - no judgement, and enjoy!

As a wedding blogger, what is your favorite part of other people's weddings?

I honestly love the variety.  As a blogger I get to see many different types of couples with many different styles.  The ideas and creativity that go into weddings these days constantly blows my mind.

What was your favorite part of your wedding?

Saying our vows and being announced for the first time as husband and wife was unforgettable.  We decided not to wire the front porch with a microphone. So, even though our ceremony was witnessed by 250 people, it honestly felt like an extremely private moment between the two of us and our closest family (who had VIP seats on the porch).

What was the first piece of wedding planning you did (booked venue, bought dress, etc.)?

My first official wedding planning duty was to book our venue; Marlsgate Plantation. We both love history and immediately knew we wanted to get married in a classic outdoor location.  The moment I stepped on the gorgeous grounds I was sold.

In your opinion, what is one vendor no wedding can be without?

A great photographer. These are photos you will have for the rest of your life, definitely make them count.

In your opinion, what is one thing or vendor that you think brides can do without (or at least do sparingly)?

Every bride is different.  You really have to prioritize which elements are the most important to you.  These days it’s very easy for brides, grooms and guests alike to get caught up in the theatrics of it all. And, many times those ideas may not fit the budget.  Always, always remember that at the end of the aisle, it will not matter what cocktail napkins you used, or how large the centerpieces were, it will matter that you took a vow to love, honor and cherish. 

What was your favorite source of inspiration for your own wedding?

We really let our venue do the talking.  A lot of our wedding details just fell into place once we had decided on a plantation home setting for our ceremony and reception.  If you think about it, the venue typically sets the tone of any event.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a glitz and glamour wedding set in a barn, or a shabby chic wedding that took place in a ballroom.  We decided to play up the history and the traditional Southern-ness of our venue choice.  Therefore, bow ties, a string quartet, mason jar cocktails and a home cooked Arkansas meal just made perfect sense.

Do you do an inspiration board?  

I kept a running document where I saved inspirational images.  I had one page for every category (invitations, flowers, tables, etc).  It was my basic foundation and I referred to it often.

Your favorite wedding memory?

I distinctly remember a moment during dinner where I just took it all in – the gorgeous setting in our reception tent, the fact that all those people were there just to love and support us and that I had said ‘I do’ to my favorite man ever.  I definitely had a Jim & Pam camera moment…

Your favorite wedding detail?

I would have to say our bow tie details.  To pay homage to Bryant’s Southern style, the napkins were tied in the shape of bows and we reminded our guests in our wedding invitation suite that it was a “bow ties welcome” event.

Were you a DIY bride?  If so, what did you DIY?  

I didn’t want to load myself down with projects, so I picked a few key details to DIY.  They were mostly items that I really wanted at the wedding but wasn’t willing to dip far into my budget for.  I decided to make my own welcome bags, table signs, seating cards and ribbon wands. 

Table Signs: http://www.southernaisle.com/2011/04/diy-details.html

Ribbon Wands: http://www.southernaisle.com/2011/02/diy-details_16.html

Describe your wedding style.

Bryant and I were both born and raised in Arkansas, yet we met and fell in love in Washington, DC.   Since I also went to college out of state, many of our guests were going to be traveling and had never dreamed of visiting Arkansas before.  We immediately decided to show off the best our state had to offer in every aspect of our wedding.  From save the dates, to the breathtaking plantation home, to the food and the table decor – Arkansas and classic Southern details was our main focus.

If you could offer one piece of advice to planning brides, what would it be?

Definitely make time to do other activities you love during the planning process.  It’s easy to sit there and stress over linens and flowers.  When that happens, take a big step back from the wedding planning; go for a walk, see a movie or get some ice cream.  Ironically for me, my activity of choice was to work on Southern Aisle.  Anytime I got stressed or frustrated, I’d funnel that into a blog post.  I give it full credit for keeping me sane.

How did you make your wedding YOU?

Southern weddings are just different.  Not better, just different.  After living for a time in the Midwest and on the East Coast, I have gained a deeper appreciation for my Southern roots. We really wanted to hone in on that at our wedding. There’s something special that distinguishes weddings in our region from others around the country.  Often times it is the obvious things; classic details, historic venues and country cooking.  But you can always find those subtle hints of tradition, hospitality and charm.

{all photos by Katie Day}

Ah, I love the bowtie details!  And the florals. And the monogrammed mens shirts Lauren and her bridesmaids wore as they got ready (a gift from Lauren - such a fab idea!).  And that welcome sign!  

What is your favorite detail or piece of advice that Lauren shared?  I'd love to hear!  And a big thanks to Lauren for sharing her lovely wedding with us today :)

{Real Engagement} Darcy & Nick: Love on the Lake + Weekly Wrap-up

I've been really behind on posting real engagement features (I'm not even accepting new ones anymore because I have so many to post and no time to do it).  I clearly need to post more than once a day, but until I'm able to bring on some help here at Oh Lovely Day that isn't going to happen.  I'll try my best to keep up!  So today, in addition to the usual weekly wrap-up, you're getting a fab e-session too.  I just love the gorgeous light in these photos by Katie Schoepflin.

Aren't these photos so lovely?  An early congrats to the happy couple whose wedding date is only a couple weeks away!

Now for your weekly wrap-up:
{monday} thoughts on memorial day and hatfields & mccoys
{tuesday} silhouettes can make your wedding modern and vintage
{wednesday} register for experiences, not stuff, with a honeymoon registry
{thursday} this tucson wedding is full of fab DIY with a Mexican twist

On a personal note, thanks so much to all of you who tuned in to Hatfields & McCoys!  It broke records in viewership and social media chatter, and 13.1 million people watched my husband's episode on night two!  I'm so proud, and I think the miniseries owes you all a thank you :)  xx

{Real Wedding} Jennifer & Ben: Pretty DIY Tucson Wedding with Mexican Flair

It has been a while since I posted a real wedding, and I'm making up for it by sharing a beauty with you today!  This wedding is so pretty, full of DIY, but has a Mexican flair that makes it really unique.  Lots of eye candy for you today!

From Jennifer, the bride: 

As far as how we made our wedding "us" we wanted to pull in a lot of rustic, Mexican inspiration to keep the tone of our wedding mellow and comfortable (we like to think of ourselves as being the laid back types) while still keeping things sweet, delicate and pretty. We used a lot of rustic things like burlap and cacti and then juxtaposed that with more feminine materials like ribbon and lace. Our colors were peach and cactus green with some hints of champagne and ivory. I am obsessed with garlands and hanging type decorations so we did a ton of that. We had handmade papel picado garlands imported from Mexico and the rest we made. We also had a graphic designer construct papel picado wraps for the hurricane vases on each table (as well as the matching "bride" and "groom" garlands for our chairs) and tied them with burlap twine. I stole the idea for the garland around the arch where the ceremony was from an anthroplogie display. The one at anthropologie was coffee filters only, I added additional tissue paper, lace, and ribbon. The ribbon/flower garland hanging from the trees was something I just came up with accidentally while playing with ribbon and silk flowers. Actually, so much of our decor really came from me sitting at my dining room table playing with all the

pretty things I had gathered. :) And of course my family and friends helped execute all my prototypes in what I called my wedding factory.

I love the succulents mixed with the feminine color palette and lace, don't you?  I've actually been to a wedding at this venue - my cousin got married there close to ten years ago, and it was a gorgeous place! What is your favorite part of this lovely wedding?

{Vendors} Venue & Catering: Hacienda Linda B&B / Cake: Nadines Bakery / Dress: Maggie Sottero 

Photographer: Clin d'Oeil Photography / Flowers: DIY, bought from Fifty Flowers / Groom's Suit: Banana Republic

Honeymoon Registry from Wanderable

Sometimes after having a wedding, there isn't much left in the budget to pay for a honeymoon.  The days of having to save for or skip your dream honeymoon are over thanks to Wanderable.

These days so many couples already have, or don't need, the STUFF.  How many picture frames and vases do you really need?  Instead, register for experiences as part of your honeymoon registry. Wanderable makes your dream trip possible.

Did I also mention that their service is completely free without ads?  You can set up your entire honeymoon registry in less than five minutes using your photos and wedding details.  Your guests can add a personal note to your gift, and can even print matching gift cards for their gifts.  You can track your thank you cards to your guests and add a personal note as well.  All for no cost!  And if you want to make your registry even more stylish and unique, you can upgrade and choose from 28 designs and customize your colors.

My husband and I did a honeymoon registry for our trip to Paris and Italy.  Our guests loved it and really got into buying us something that we could enjoy (dinner, a gondola ride, tickets to a museum, a bottle of wine, scooter rentals, tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower).  I highly recommend a honeymoon registry.  The experiences we had on our dream trip were priceless.

{all photos are the property of Oh Lovely Day}

Get started and plan the trip of a lifetime with Wanderable now.

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Wanderable is a sponsor of Oh Lovely Day

{It's in the Details} Silhouettes in Wedding Decor for Modern AND Vintage Weddings

Silhouettes are a great wedding detail that you can use in your wedding design and style!  You can use silhouettes of yourselves, or lots of different silhouettes.  You can make them vintage or modern, depending on the design and how you use them.  And you can literally use them in every single detail if you wanted to.

Docuvite via Style Me Pretty

Personalizing your wedding with thoughtful or unique details is an important part of designing your wedding.  I love DIY projects and cohesive elements that you can weave into different aspects of your wedding.  One detail that I think works great in so many different elements is the silhouette.  Silhouettes can be modern or vintage (or both!), and are always chic whether they are on stationery, programs, decor, or on fun little details!

photography by shyla photography via style me pretty

Silhouettes make great wedding “branding.”  If you think you can only use silhouettes on stationery or paper, maybe this round up will change your mind!

Top Row:  cookies by Sarah K. Chen Photography, garland by Leigh Miller Photography, stationery by Hammerpress, cookies by Amy Squires Photography, Middle Row:  cameo by Jewelry Basket, buttons by Flowertoss Photography, cookie and portrait from Martha Stewart Weddings, Bottom Row: programs by Amy Squires Photography, cameo by Tarina Tarantino, portrait banner by Amy Squires Photography, held silhouette by Jose Villa, stationery by Bird and Banner

So, what do you think of silhouettes in wedding decor & details?  Love?  How would you use them?