I have a gorgeous rustic vineyard wedding to share with you all today. From the amazing vineyard in Georgia, to the stunning peony bouquets, this wedding is not only gorgeous, but you can tell it was super fun! Oh, they also had the amazingly talented duo of W Scott Chester photograph their day – just wait until you see some of the photos in the vineyard! Melissa, the bride, is also a big fan of Green Wedding Shoes, so thanks so much Melissa for sharing your day – and some great advice! I’ll let her take it away!
My dress is by Romona Keveza and my shoes were Valentino. Wearing ballet flats was one of the smartest fashion-relateddecisions I made. After standing in heels as the bridesmaid in other weddings, I decided fancy flats was my only wedding shoe option. When I bought them, I imagined Rachel Zoe saying that they were “bananas” and that they would absolutely work with a wedding dress or jeans. It is kind of nice, hundreds of dollars later, that they weren’t a purchase that can only be worn once.
Bridesmaids Dresses are from White House Black Market. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to find a dress for the bridesmaids off the rack. I wanted my bridesmaids to feel comfortable, look hot and not spend a fortune on the dress. My savvy shopping maid of honor, Fara, even managed to find an online coupon to use when the girls went to purchase it.
Groom’s Tux is by Joseph Feiss. Thanks to my little brother Matthew, who is almost 25 years-old but still little to me, we convinced AJ that bow ties were cool. He was leaning towards a solid black tie, but after Matthew said he was going to rock the bow tie, AJ decided he was going to do the same.
Most memorable moment of your wedding day? There are two moments that stand out. We had a traditional Jewish ceremony, which really means there is very little talking that either the bride or groom have to do. AJ spoke first and in the middle of reciting his part, he got choked up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and I smiled and said, “Cry baby!!” All the guests started laughing, AJ grinned and despite my sarcasm, he thankfully still wanted to continue the ceremony.
A couple hours into the reception, Scott Chester asked if we could step away to take some pictures because the light was the dreamy kind that all photographers love to shoot in. To our surprise, Scott, being the talented and kind photographer that he is, purchased these amazing paper lanterns for us to use. This was a magical moment that we will always remember. Even with Scott and his amazing team standing there photographing us, it felt like it was just the two of us and that the entire experience was a dream – just the new Mr. and Mrs. and our “hot air balloons.”
While we’ve lived in Georgia for over a year now and had our wedding in Georgia, we wanted to make sure to incorporate Southern elements including our Moon Pie and RC Cola favors. Since AJ and I were born and raised in Florida, we wanted to incorporate something that reminded us of home. Besides the custom Gator and Seminole cake toppers, created by Hilary of Bunny with a Toolbelt, to represent our rival Florida colleges, the Universityof Florida and Florida State University, I brainstormed to come up with the perfect icon to represent the Sunshine State. It didn’t take too much longer to realize pink plastic flamingos would be the perfect “Florida” prop and a way to bring a little bit of home to our Georgia wedding. They also ended up being one of the top props our guests used in the photobooth.
The incredible, creative and lovely Amy Osaba did all the floers. After inquiring with Montaluce who did the arrangements that were pictured on their website, they provided us with Amy’s contact information and the rest is history. She was theonly florist we met with and the vision, execution and hard work she put into our day was more than we could have ever hoped for.
How awesome is their photo booth?!!
Vendors:
Photography: W Scott Chester
Venue: Montaluce Winery and Estates
Catering: Le Vigne Restaurant at Montaluce Winery and Estates
Make-up: Rachael Hoch
Invitations: Talie Shove
Flowers: Amy Osaba
Music: Drivetrain Band
Cake: Publix – It’s a grocery store in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. We always get our birthday cakes from there and they are hands down the most delicious cakes you’ve ever tasted!!
Cake Topper: Bunny with a Toolbelt
Photobooth: W Scott Chester
So many laughs and pretty things :) I’m particularly smitten with the floral arrangements and the little milk cartons – so cute!
Ha ha, I nearly fell of my chair laughing at the RC cola and Moon Pies, so cute! THis wedding is beautiful and playful!
Absolutely beautiful and I love the flamingoes and flowers! The photo of you next to your memorial tree is so sweet!
I love dresses like this, satin and plain but with a modern top. Can you tell me the name of this style from the deisgner? I love.
pink flamingos! too cute and that photobooth is rad.
i LOVE the bridesmaid dresses…I went on the website & can’t find them! Anyone know the style number or any of the info? i NEED THEM!!!!
Oh, Melissa’s shoes are just so fabulous. But the thing that really makes it for me is the flamingos. I would just *love* to do this idea with a field of penguins!
thank you so much for the sweet post. i am beyond thrilled to be featured today. and yes i adore the flamingos too!!
melissa and aj were a dream to work with. i am blessed
thanks jen for the lovely feature today! we just adore melissa + aj and amy osaba always amazes us with her floral + event design magic! xo
Not only is this wedding gorgeous, it has so many personal touches. I love the bride’s hair too!
Reading everyone’s comments brings such a smile to my face! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your kind thoughts about our wedding!! xxx
Here are the answers to the two questions above:
Sinead – My dress was part of the Romona Keveza Legends collection. I don’t recall that the dress had a name, but the material is shantung silk and was part of the Fall 2009 collection. I think if you describe it as the crumb catcher dress, you should be able to find it.
Katherine – The bridesmaid’s dresses were purchased in October 2009. I know it was sold out online sometime last year, but if you want to try calling around and see if maybe there are a few left, it is called the Satin Rosette Dress, Style: 300113966. On the White House Black Market website there is a similar dress with the same rosettes, but it’s strapless. It’s also called the Satin Rosette Dress, Style: 560000834. Best of luck on your hunt!!
I love the photograph tree. What a fantastic personal touch. Such a lovely photo.
Loving too all the personal details. The flamingoes crack me up especially.
Everything is so lovely!
My wedding will be in a vineyard too, but in the south of Brazil. I just love the rustic atmosphere of that kind of place.
Your pictures are really beautiful!
Thanks for the mention Melissa, you were so beautiful and fun to work with. What a great day, the pictures capture it beautifully!
These are so great! I love the little photos on the tree!
What a stunning bride! I’m in love with her veil. The bridemaids dresses are very pretty. I would love to be a bridesmaid in that dress. I can honestly say I would wear that dress again. :)
WOW her hair is just G O R G E O U S ! I LOVE it!
I love the bride’s dress! And the cake, I love the simplicity of it and how it tied perfectly into the theme.
You are a true artist.
your photos are very creative!
I love rustic weddings!
I am looking to get engaged this year and I will definitely use some of the information from this post!