Southern Weddings

Ohhhh boy have we got a treat for you today!  As a Maine girl at heart, I am in love with Chelsey + David’s nautical nuptials.  Their wedding was a true DIY affair, with everything from the rope boutonnieres to the amazing cake to the gorgeous invitations made in-house.  Of course, we would expect nothing less from a Bee.  Recognize a familiar face?  Chelsey is better known in the blogosphere as Miss (now Mrs.!) Gloss of Weddingbee.  Her and David’s ceremony took place on the S.S. Katahdin, a tugboat anchored off the Maine coast.   One exception to the DIY rule?  The ladies’ personal flowers, which were put together by The Cottage (207-695-0777).  Huge thanks to Meredith of & Unlimited and Erica Lyn for sending this wedding our way!

P.S. You know you’re curious about those invitations now.  Check them out here and here!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We started ‘going out’ my sophomore year of high school and have been together ever since!  I would say our relationship started on the tennis courts, but we kept each other close by teaching ski lessons together and even working at a State Park for a few summers.  When we finally tied the knot, we had been together for almost a decade.
Describe the proposal.  We had been house hunting for a little while, so each day at work he would send me links to properties he liked to see what I thought.  At about 3:00 on ’E-Day’ (which was a Friday), I got an email with a link to a property. I clicked on it and while scrolling through the pictures, I recognized a few of them as ones we had taken together at the park we used to work at. The last image had directions to meet him at the end of Long Wharf in Boston.  I walked to the wharf to find David waiting for me.  All I can really remember after that was this:

Me: “Hi”
David: “Hi… do you want to be embarrassed?”
 Me: “Um… no, not really”
 
At this point he pulled me behind one of the brick pillars so we were hidden from the view of everyone hanging out on the wharf, and proposed and, of course, I cried.  He had made dinner plans at Mare, an Italian restaurant in the North End.  So we ate good food, drank good wine and obviously followed the meal with gelato.  When we arrived back at our apartment, he had a bottle of wine that he had been saving since he had come to visit me when I lived in Italy.  So we relaxed with more delicious wine and called our parents to tell them the good news!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, classic and charming.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted a classic New England wedding that was a true reflection of us.  Since we decided our ceremony was going to be on a boat, we threw in a little dash of nautical.  
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  I loved all of our paper goods, especially our invitations.  I hand printed them on 220# Crane Lettra which gave weight and importance to an otherwise casual invitation design.  I painted the edges a bright yellow, to add an unexpected splash of color.
Your favorite detail of the wedding was: Can I say everything?  I loved every detail, from the jars of homemade jam with the strawberries my mom handpicked, to the laser-etched escort cards with knots as table names.  Most of all, I loved how all my family and friends came together to make the day perfect for us.  So many people offered their time to help out and that is something I will never forget.

Who knew carnations could be so glam?!  We love what the bride (with the help of her mother and sisters), did with these fluffy blooms, really working the wide range of hues they’re available in.  The pink-tinged reception was held on the gorgeous outdoor deck of the Calmigos Ranch in Malibu, California.  The talented bride was responsible for pulling many of the details together all by herself.  (Amazing, right?)  We especially love the pink wine bottles on each table!  A huge thanks to Kim Le Photography for sending these lovely images our way!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  I had my dress made in Manila in the Philippines, by my aunt, Malou Castro-Leonio. I told her what style I wanted and to keep it simple. It turned out perfect!  The beading was all done by hand and the fabric was Mikado silk. It was beautiful!
Describe your wedding flowers:  This was a challenge!  We went to the LA Flower District on Friday morning and purchased the flowers. We had one day (Saturday) to let all the flowers bloom.  My sisters and mom helped me create the all the bouquets together.  We were still tying up a few bouquets the morning of!
Describe your wedding cake: We wanted a simple but delicious wedding cake.  No cake topper, no intricate design, just clean and simple.  We opted for a red velvet cake from Big Sugar Bakeshop in Studio City.  We also ordered two different kinds of cupcakes and used them as “stands” for place cards. 
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  During the ceremony, we offered bouquets to our mothers as a way of thanking them for their support and everything else they’ve done for us.  We also did a candle ceremony where our mothers lit a tapered candle and we, in turn, lit our unity candle. 
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Walking down the aisle towards my groom to Peter Cetera’s “After All.”  That was a very emotional moment for me.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are now expectant parents!

 Congratulations on your wedding and new baby, Katrina + Ryan!  We can’t wait to see pictures of the little one!

Poms are a huge trend in weddings right now, and we are more than happy to hop on the bandwagon!  We love the way Katrina + Ryan interpreted the look, though, with their fun and innovative ceremony decor and round balls of bridesmaid bouquets.  Katrina’s dress was made by her aunt, Malou Castro-Leonio, in the Philippines and her veil from Something Bold, and we just love her too-cute blue shoes — so chic! More lovely images of Katrina + Ryan’s reception from Kim Le Photograpy coming up soon!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  I worked as a Tax Auditor for the State of CA based in New York City. When I moved to a different department based in Los Angeles, I reconnected with Ryan, who also was living in L.A.  We’ve known of each other since the 1^st grade but really didn’t start hanging out till a few years ago. One thing led to another, and here we are!
Describe the proposal.  I am a mother of a then five-year-old. The holidays are really busy for me so we started to put up our Christmas tree pretty late (December 20^th).  Ryan was handing ornaments to my son, Sebastian, who then would hand them to me to hang on the tree.  When we were on our last two or three ornaments, I opened my hand out for the next ornament with my back turned and my son dropped the ring into the palm of my hand. I thought that it was one of those silver balls or a tiny shoe ornament, but when I opened my hand and saw the ring I started crying!  Ryan went down on his knee and proposed!  The funny thing was the entire time my now-husband was trying to propose, my son was asking me if I was okay because I was crying!

Three adjectives that describe the day are: Happy, relaxing and fun!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding invitation?  The outdoors.  Our venue was outside where there were lots of trees and plants.  Our invitation had a vine and a few branches of leaves.  We wanted the invite to show the relaxed theme of our wedding and didn’t want to set the tone with something too formal since we’re not like that at all.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  I loved how we incorporated a lot of pinks and gray throughout the whole wedding.  My mother brought in shawls/pashminas from New York in different shades of pink and gray.  It was prefect since it became pretty chilly by 6:30 pm.  In lieu of traditional ceremony decorations for the aisle, we used tissue balls in various sizes and in white and two shades of pink for contrast.  It turned out to be really pretty!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The dedication video that my sister had made for us!  It made us realize how far we’ve come and reminded us that our friends and family all took time out of their busy schedule to contribute a little bit of themselves to help create the video!