Mountain Elegance
Where to begin on this love story?
Eric and Britney were such a beautiful couple with such a unique story. Both coming from a past of broken relationships, they were not expecting to find one another. According to the both of them, sparks were flying in their first conversation.... and it was so unexpected.
Britney giggled as she explained to me how strange it was this sudden connection that she seem to have with a near stranger.
Things quickly progressed for this beautiful couple and within six months they were engaged ready to tie the knot.
After 43 day engagement the two became one. Their wedding was so beautiful and it captured who they were so well.When Britney talked about getting married she had first wanted to get married on the beach but that changed when she met Eric. When they got engaged and began the hunt for a wedding they fell in love with a mountain setting- returning to their roots they wanted their special day to reflect a strong mountain heritage.They chose to get married at Memory Mountain. A beautiful mountain venue that reflected them as a couple. However, despite Brittany's mountain upbringing she loved all thing elegant, classy and bohemian. So when she approached me about creating a mountain/elegant/bohemian wedding...I knew that my work was cut out for me, and I enjoyed the challenge- so that's what we set out to accomplish, and yes we did!
Britney didn't really want to much color instead she wanted a lot of greenery and garlands mixed with elegant candlelight. Yes, all things romantic for this mountain wedding. So her for her pallet it was neutral tones with mostly greenery. On the entrance of the Memory Mountain Chapel Brittany wanted greenery and candles wrapping the staircase.
Britney was a gorgeous bride all things classic, elegant and romantic. Her hair was pulled back she had a beautiful veil, dangling earrings and a lace dress with a very low back .I am seeing more of this look. Simple jewelry and make up and low backed dresses. Often brides forgo the overdone make up and hair and opt for simple hair, minimal make up and simple jewelry. Britney did the same.
For the ceremony, they had chosen to get married at memory mountain chapel. The chapel was made by hand, wooden logs and very mountain appeal.At the altar there was a cross accompanied by two different pianos. Britney wanted to add an element of elegance. To do this, it's very important that you stay true to the essence of the venue. And that is exactly what I wanted to do. The challenge with the specific wedding is somehow bringing an elegant town to an otherwise very mountain/rustic setting. I was able to accomplish this by adding elegant pieces such as candelabras, garland and tulle. The flowers that she chose was a lot of eucalyptus, roses, ranunculus and of course a variety of greenery that really brought the elegance and bohemian feel to this very mountain setting. For the chapel, I kept the altar deck are fairly simple. There was a wooden cross where I added a floral bouquet and on either side of them there were trees stumps of different sizes and heights with candlelight, candle holders and Garland. I also decorated the piano and organ that or on either side with candelabras and bouquets of flowers. I also had an account and the camera holder each window pain as well as elegant greenery .The goal was to add touches of elegance but to stay true to this mountain, rustic wooded feel. The result was stunning!
The reception was my favorite. We are back at the table trying to create elegant factors to the mountain space. Britney wanted a Garland made of eucalyptus, roses and ranunculus to embellish the fireplace backdrop behind them. I added a Mr. and Mrs. letters to the backdrop behind them. They decided to save a table joined by their family.
So we created a feasting table embellished with tulle, Garland, candelabras in a variety of different many lanterns and candles I am resting, handmade farm table. Britney decided to go with a mixed pattern for her dishware. We added gold chargers underneath. Is a perfect score this mountain elegant bohemian wedding.The atmosphere was relaxed romantic with a lot of laughter and soft music.
The cake table was again A mixture of styles. I had a lace tablecloth with crystal beads in the background, eucalyptus and a rustic cake.
They had such a lovely wedding. A dreamy atmosphere, romance in the air and friends and family brought together for this special moment and special couple.
Congratulations to the Bride & Groom!
To see their wedding on video please click the link below.
Wedding Planner: Elena Events
Florist: Elena Events
Photography: W4 Photography
Wedding Film: Fesiuk Films
Hair: Hair Design By Galina
Venue: Memory Mountain
For more planning tips, read a previous blog:
Anyone can get married, have a wedding and even plan.
However, planning a successful wedding, where you stay within budget, limit your stress and enjoy the actual day takes a great deal of planning, purposeful actions and knowing exactly what to do.
In this blog I really want to address some key 'how to' points that will help you in the planning process.
The goal is that every bride has a successful day, a successful planning process and try to get as much joy and excitement during this special time.
1. Don't procrastinate!
I always say, it's never too early to begin getting ideas, putting concepts together and begin initial planning.
If you know that a wedding is on the horizon, then you should start planning. You can never begin too early. If you are going to have a very long engagement, then you will have plenty of time to plan but if you want to shorten things along, it's never too early to get started. (On a side-note: if you're ready to say yes to the ring, then you're ready to say yes to the wedding, to the man, to the marriage.Don't use your engagement season to make sure that you are ready, and you're certain about the person that you were wanting to spend the rest of your life with. There is nothing that will take the joy out of this process then a bride who is uncertain. Make sure you're ready before you ever say yes. If you move forward in this way then the planning will be an enjoyable process, hopefully drawing you two closer together as you're prepared to commit yourself to one another.)
Depending on the time-frame that you have to work with, begin planning as soon as possible. If you are two years out, then you have plenty of time.
There is nothing more that will add stress to the planning process then procrastinating and having a mindset of 'I'll do this later' because before you know it, 'later' will be here.
Most of the time, brides underestimate how long it takes to do little side projects. Try to knock most of that out as much as possible. The reality is, two weeks before your wedding you are going to be done with the entire process! There is a reason why most people don't ever want to do a big wedding again, it takes it out of you! So get as much work done. Do all of your mini projects, all the different plans that you want to do, get it done well in advance.
The sooner you get these things done, you will feel peaceful about all the other things that you will need to do. If you eliminate all the side project/small projects, believe me, you will have plenty more things to do in the final days.
2. First things first.
Make sure to prioritize what you do first. If you're on a time crunch, take care of things that are time sensitive so that you can add less stress to your already full plate. If you aren't on a time crunch then the main things that will need your attention is your date, place and dress. Those are the three big factors to most brides that make them feel stressed.
Once you get those things out of the way, begin building the look and feel of your wedding.
Make a decision on theme, style and then get realistic about what will actually work for your budget, your venue, and the workload. So often brides don't have a direction, and they go to the store and buy this trinket, buy that item, buy that decoration piece and before you know what you've spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on stuff that you aren't 100% sure that you will use. Rookie mistake!
If you are very budget conscious, then spend wisely. Spend where it counts, spend were your guests will see. Such as Decor/flowers/overall atmosphere of the evening. And buy ONLY what you need!
I highly recommend that you put together a theme prior to purchasing anything. So often, Bride's have so many ideas, so many themes, so many styles and they end up purchasing a little bit from each category and just have a smorgasbord of decorations, supplies and are unsure what to do with it. When you don't have a place for your decorations, wedding items and supplies it can easily overwhelm any Bride and it can add a great deal of unnecessary stress.
3. Be realistic.
Please. Be. Realistic.
The likelihood of your wedding day being absolutely perfect, getting everything that you want, for the prices that you want and all the details exact, is unlikely. Unless you have a very large budget and a ton of staff to take care of it.
If you are on a limited budget, then spend where it's most important to you. And be OK with the fact that things may not go perfectly. You may have to downsize on certain things, and compromising a little bit. (Side-note; please don't compromise too much. Be certain, to purchase the things that are most important to you. If it's your wedding dress, your venue, your floral, the atmosphere – whatever it is. Invest in it or you will have regrets after everything is said and done). Another thing to be realistic about, is time frames. Give yourself enough time, enough tools to get the jobs done that you need to get done. Often people have great expectations, don't have a realistic idea the work it's going to take and how much it's going to cost. Especially, if you are trying to DIY, it's so important that you are realistic. So be reasonable, realistic and set yourself up for a win!
4. Plan. Plan. Plan.
Planning, is never a bad idea. Planning for different situations, different budget options, worst case scenario's is always a great thing to do.
Planning your ceremony & reception so that things go the way you want them to, it's always a great idea. Most of the things that go well are planned. Organizing the days events, when and where everyone should be at what time to make things go well is a must! I certainly recommend hiring a planner, at least for the day. If you have a friend, who is very organized and can help keep everyone in check and on time, ask them for help! If you are not going to have an official planner, create a wedding day timeline beginning with hair and make up, give yourself plenty of time to get these things done and just have someone execute this timeline.
Plan when you're going to do something and where. For example, if you can bring your decor and wedding supplies the day before to the venue and have them keep it in a room, that will help you. Chances are that you will have plenty of things to gather together and bring as you head to the venue. Getting your items together ahead of time so it's all together, ready to go will save you both time and stress. You don't want to forget things, and if you put them off you most likely will!
5. Be Smart about the actual day!
Try to outsource as much as you can for the day of. The last thing you want is to stress and to be running around like a headless chicken trying to tweak the final touches!
I highly recommend having somebody to oversee the day of. The stress of making sure everything goes well, is not work it. Hand it over to someone else. Not your friends, not your family and definitely not yourself.
The same goes with decorations, if you can get stuff done the day before, that's wonderful but on the day make sure there is someone who can help you with this, or hire out the help. Try to prep and make things easier for whoever is going to be helping with this.
Make sure that your prep is done, and you have done everything that you could for the day, so you can as the bride, relax, enjoy getting your hair done and your make up done and just take some time before you get married.
Closing thoughts
Try to enjoy this process as much as possible. For the things that stress you out the most, hire someone. You can't put a dollar amount on stress, well rather, no stress. Try to get things done ahead of time.
If you have the budget, hire out as much as possible. Especially a planner, who can help you get everything situated, booked and organized.
If you plan to do it yourself, then make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Try to do as much as you can as soon as you can and pace yourself. When you are doing things ahead of time, it will minimize stress leading up to the day and it will help you feel more organized and eliminate forgetfulness with having too much on your plate.
Do what you can, and what you can't do, get help. Whether you hire someone or have a friend do it.
Be realistic with yourself, know that stress will come, frustrations at times, but just roll with it. After all, once the planning is said and done what happens on the day it's just memories, so make sure you are spending your mind and thoughts on the beautiful things happening around you. The love you're celebrating, and the joy you are experiencing with close friends and family and people who love you. Happy Planning!
Love & Bliss
Elena
