The rings- before and after

I did of course receive a beautiful ring from my husband when he proposed. However, being an aspiring metal smith/jeweler I wanted to use this opportunity to make rings for both of us that were unique to our even more unique relationship. After finally solidifying a design and went on to take apart my original ring which was an odd process at first. I used the gold from my rings as accents on my new design and also as the setting around the 3 stones in the center. I used my original diamond from my husband but also added my grandmothers diamond and a yellow sapphire.

Ceremony touches

photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

  











Our ceremony being right outside of our reception space we definitely had to tie the two together and the best way to do that is with the flowers and special touches for your guests. We had flower petals down the whole runway, along with flowers in mason jars tied to the end chairs with lace/ribbon to tie into the mason jars and vintage bottles on the tables inside.
  
   There are cheaper ways to decorate a gazebo rather than doing the typical wrapping of tool up and down the posts. Our florist (Suzannes Flowers) added this special touch keeping it simple and not distracting.

Marrying a Brazilian native I wanted to bring our two cultures together and symbolize the joining of two lives from two different places. He brought sand from the beaches near his home in Fortaleza and mine from Rye beach NH. After mixing them it was nice to actually see the different colors of sand layered together. (NH sand was much darker and coarser than the beautiful beaches of Brazil)!

hand painted seating cards and table cards

DIY seating cards and table cards. I took a large sheet of Bristol Board which is pretty sturdy and painted the large heart with water colors so its still light enough to write the names and tables on. After the watercolor dried I cut the sheet into 2x2 inch squares. With this type of seating cards you have to be careful when you write the names on. If you mess up you can't just write a new one because each peice is part of the backround picture! Also make sure to write them in alphabetical order!!

To tie the seating cards into the tables we had the table cards handpainted as well. These are just on watercolor paper 8.5x11 painted as a flat sweep of color with a little variation in color. We had our tables named after cities in Brazil  (seeing as I've now married into the Brazilian world!)

Nana's vintage bottles on all the tables too!

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

handmade clutches vs. bridesmaid flowers!

Instead of having all my bridesmaids carry flowers that will be put down right after the ceremony and forgotton for the rest of night, I decided to make them clutches! They looked great next to my flowers and with the flowers in their hair as well. The lace doilies,pearl and touch of ribbon and fabric peice on top also match the boutineers for the guys!

I picked out the fabrics to match the color scheme of my flowers all in
different patterns. Each Clutch has a clasp sewn into the inside as well as
message to my bridesmaids written on the inside.

I also added a few little goodies to the inside including, mints,
chapstick, hairties, and deodorant!

 

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography!