Southern Weddings

As cute as Ilona + Philip’s ceremony was, I think their reception might raise the cuteness bar just a little bit higher.  Lawn games?  Check.  Gorgeously mix-and match daisy, wheatgrass, apple, and willow decor? Check.  A nod to the couples’ love of cereal?  Check!  The Trentadue Winery turned out to be the perfect venue for this garden party, and the florals from Erin Rosenow were a lovely complement to the rest of the decor (and Ilona’s hair and makeup, put together by Cowboys & Angels!).  And don’t those cupcakes from Laurie Lucov look delicious?  Thanks again, Anna — check out her blog post from the day here!

Describe your wedding flowers: Erin Rosenow, who did our flowers, made gorgeous boutonnières for the guys that looked like birds’ nests.  She also decorated the tables with white flowers made out of paper and clear glass containers of wheatgrass.
Describe your wedding cake:  We had yummy cupcakes in several flavors and sizes, with this adorable cupcake toppers.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  We are both pretty disorganized and would have procrastinated a lot in doing all the chores that needed to be done in preparation of the wedding, if not for our amazing wedding planner, Stacy McCain.  She made the whole process bearable.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  At one point in the ceremony, our rabbi, Camille Shira Angel, had all the guests come forward and touch someone who’s touching someone who’s touching the bride and groom, while she said a blessing.  It was really lovely and meaningful.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Married life is awesome.  Even better than the wedding!

Congratulations, Ilona + Phillip!

Okay, how cute is Ilona + Philip’s wedding?   We’ve seen many different aisle treatments over the years, but never once have we seen individual daisies sprouting up beside the chairs.  Almost as delightful as the couple’s paper goods, wouldn’t you say?  And lastly, my favorite detail (before we get to the reception, of course!) is the guests’ duds.  Ilona + Philip asked their friends and family to don “garden party attire” for their soiree, and, as Ilona says, “many of our guests showed up in charmingly elegant retro outfits, like they were attending the Kentucky Derby.”  Love!  Planner Stacy McCain was on hand to make sure everything ran smoothly, and big thanks to the talented Anna Kuperberg for sending these images our way!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met on Friendster in 2005.  Philip had just moved to San Francisco from New York City and was hoping to reconnect with people from home, so he was searching the website for people who had grown up in Montgomery County, Maryland but currently lived in the Bay Area.  When he came across my profile, he was smitten, and sent me a message.  We hit it off immediately over email, and it was cemented when we went to see the movie 40-Year Old Virgin on our first date and Philip kept remarking throughout the movie how much he had in common with the main character.  It was clear right away that we shared the same quirky sense of humor and we could keep each other laughing for the rest of our lives.
Describe the proposal.  Philip proposed on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  It was perfectly romantic-slash-cheesy — just our style.  It’s unclear how much he was influenced by the fact that I had been singing the Beyonce song “Single Ladies” (complete with dance moves and hand gestures) nonstop for several weeks preceding the proposal.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Delightful, fun-filled and relaxed.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The Klezmer band, Kugelplex.  They are amazingly talented musicians and klezmer music (old-school Eastern European Jewish music) was not something most of our guests had ever experienced before.  Also, one of the first details we decided was a “must” for our wedding was lawn games: croquet, bocce ball, and horseshoes.  Also, our invitation said that the suggested attire was “garden party,” with hats encouraged, and, just as we had hoped, many guests showed up in charmingly elegant retro outfits, like they were attending the Kentucky Derby.