Real Wedding Recap: Gwen & Mike, Acquaviva Winery

Hey Friends!

Guess what? We are starting a new series of blog posts in which we provide a full breakdown of some of the fabulous big days that we've been lucky enough to be a part of. We have seen SO MANY WONDERFUL moments, while so many lovely La Di couples tied the knot. So get excited people, because things are about to get BEAUTIFUL!

We're going to start with the absolutely stunning wedding of Gwen & Mike, which took place at Acquaviva Winery on June 8, 2013. Get ready to gasp at all of the gorgeousness in three...
two...
one...

Am I right about the gorgeousness? That really happened, and we can all thank Redwall Photography for capturing this amazing moment, and for providing all of the beautiful photos that we're about to obsess over.

Gwen & Mike's incredible ceremony took place in the midst of Acquaviva's lovely vineyard. They provided fruit infused water for their guests before the ceremony, which looked lovely and left guests happy and hydrated!

Gwen walked down the aisle to the sweet sounds of the Nerius String Quartet. They sounded incredible. If you were thinking that there is nothing more romantic than a string quartet in a vineyard, then you are absolutely right.

The weather was absolutely perfect throughout the whole ceremony, and Rev. Toni Maddi did an incredible job officiating. During one particularly memorable moment, Rev. Maddi had the couple take a moment to turn out and face the crowd, to see how much everyone there loved them. I would be lying if I told you that I didn't tear up a bit there.

The couple's dog made an adorable addition to their wedding party. She was a real class act, standing proud and tall throughout the ceremony.

Immediately following the ceremony, guests headed to the reception across the street, at Acquaviva's stunning restaurant. In keeping with the wine theme, the escort cards were made from corks from wine bottles. They were adorable.

Even more adorably themed was the guest book, which was a wine barrel that guests were invited to sign. What an incredible piece of decor that Gwen and Mike can now incorporate into their home, as a reminder of both their special day, and of the love of their family and friends! 

Gwen and Mike's centerpieces were expertly composed by Tiffany of The Petal Boutique. I loved how elegant and simple the combination of the flowers and lanterns turned out.

Tiffany also provided olive branches to lay around the gorgeous cake, to make sure that the rustic Italian villa vibe carried into the cake-display as well!

Cake cutting is not always easy. Honestly, who among us has any real experience cutting tiered cakes? The perks of having a planner: when Gwen & Mike had some trouble getting the cake on the plate, it was Amanda to the rescue!

After cutting the cake, the lovely couple hit the dance floor for their first dance. Let's take a moment to admire how absolutely gorgeous they look. Gwen's INCREDIBLE hair and makeup was the work of the super talented Jamie Herst. Her look was so classic and beautiful. And her dress was absolutely to die for! 

I'm not being cheesy, I'm just being perceptive when I say: look at how obviously in love they are. It's so sweet and wonderful to see a couple that is THIS happy to be with each other. Thanks so much to Gwen & Mike for allowing us to be a part of your incredible day. We wish you a lifetime of happiness and love!

Venue: Acquaviva Winery  www.acquavivawinery.com

Photographer: Redwall Photography www.redwallphotography.com

Florist: The Petal Boutique http://thepetalboutique.com

Dj: Music by Design http://musicbydesign.com/

Musicians: Nerius String Quartet neriusfamily@gmail.com

Hair and Makeup: Jaime Herst www.jaimeherst.com/

Officiant: Rev Toni Maddi http://www.tonimaddi.com/

Wedding Planner: La Di Events www.ladievents.com

Wedding Season Recap: Highlights and Cool Things We Loved

Hey Friends! How is everyone?  How's wedding planning going?  Fantastic?  Hooray!

So with this wedding season drawing to a close, I thought that we could recap some unique and lovely elements from a few of our fantastic weddings this season.  We've had a lot of fabulous weddings from a bunch of brilliant, creative brides, so it's only fair that we share some of their cool ideas with you!

I'll start with Joanna & Mike's fantastic Blumen Gardens wedding, which was full of personal touches from the bride. Joanna had TONS of creative ideas for her centerpieces and decor, but my favorite element was probably the head table decoration.  She had collected hundreds of glass bottles before her wedding, which we combined with candles to create a stunning and nontraditional head table. It looked absolutely AMAZING.

The next brilliant bride we'll talk about is Gwen, who married Mike in a breathtakingly beautiful ceremony at Acquaviva Winery.  Literally guys, THIS is where they got married:

That picture is just an iPhone, no filter, taken with my very limited photography skills, so even though it's gorgeous, trust me: it was even prettier live.  And Gwen and Mike's genius was not limited to venue selection! They also were very creative when it came to their guest book which (how fitting!) was a wine barrel. Guests loved signing the barrel, and BONUS!, Gwen and Mike now have an awesome piece of home decor covered in memories from their happiest day.

The final wedding that we'll touch on in this post is Amy and Jason's, which just happened this past weekend! The weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony at Burpee Natural History Museum. The couple very elegantly incorporated an artichoke theme into so many elements of their day, including the floral arrangements! The bride and bridesmaids all had artichokes in their bouquets, and centerpieces incorporated artichokes as well.  Here's the purple artichoke arrangement that hung on their ceremony arch:

Amy and Jason also made sure their guests were never hungry.  Immediately following the ceremony, guests walked out to find the good folks from Dairyhaus in Rockton ready to serve them delicious ice cream flavors selected by the couple!

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, friends! We've had so many wonderful weddings this season, full of a million little elements that made each one memorable in it's own special way.  We'll share more delightful details in posts to come, and hopefully we'll be able to touch on each and every wedding.  THEY WERE ALL SO PRETTY, YOU GUYS!

But for now, we would love to hear from you! What are some special wedding details that you've seen, or that you will be incorporating into your own wedding?  And don't hold back, because we LOVE this stuff!