The spirit behind our wedding could be summed up in one word: FUN! We both really wanted a wedding that felt “like us,” which in our case meant lots of personal touches and a joyous, light-hearted, not-too-formal vibe. Some of the elements convey “fun” to me because they set a totally classic party vibe, like balloons, tissue paper pom poms, and cupcakes. And a few other elements, like the photobooth, fun old-time typography, and the popcorn machine, were a bit reminiscent of a carnival or midway. And the birds? Well, I just think birds are fun! The idea of “fun” helped us just as much with figuring out what we didn’t want in the wedding as what we did–if it didn’t seem like it would be fun, we didn’t do it. The day was awesome! And it was captured to perfection by my awesome photographer Brooke Schwab.

Visually, the invitations were the springboard and inspiration for the rest of the wedding. One of my best friends and bridesmaids, Naomi, is a very talented graphic designer. She offered to design the invitations and other paper elements for the wedding and I knew they’d be fabulous. I knew that I wanted something fun in red and aqua, and I was hoping to incorporate birds in the design. Naomi came up with a few ideas and I love the one we chose. Zak and I printed the invitations ourselves on my Gocco.

Thank you again to Brooke for sending in this lovely wedding. And to Kim and Zac for letting us share in your whimsical celebration! It always so fun to see how people take ideas and inspiration found in the blog world and make them their own.

Vendor List:
Invitation/Programs: Eleventy
Flowers: The Blooming Bride
Shoe Embellishments: Oh My Deer
Bridesmaid Dresses: Unique Vintage
Venue: Space Studio
Caterer: A Fiore Catering
Photography: Brooke Schwab Photography

I’m going to take a little break from blogging today to catch up on emails and begin coding posts for all next week. Stay tuned for the whimsical wedding above which I plan to feature tomorrow. Have a great day!

To see more of Wiley Valentine’s work, check out their website and equally amazing blog!

Photography by Rebecca Rosconi

Another wonderful blogger, Emilia Jane, baked all the cupcakes and was the day of coordinator…

Corbin, thank you for always sending us the most wonderful weddings to feature on Once Wed. And to Erin and Chuck for thinking of Once Wed to feature their gorgeous celebration! We wish you two lots of love and happiness for many years to come.

Vendors

Wedding Coordinator: Emilia Jane

Event Design: Erin Ever After

Venue: The Dana Powers Barn

Wedding Dress: The Vineyard Collection – Drew

Shoes: J Crew

Wedding Hair: Megan Wayt

Wedding Makeup: Kayla Weaton

Bridesmaid Dress: Anthropologie

Menswear: J Crew

Caterer: McGee’s Catering

Wedding Cupcakes: Sweet Emilia Jane

Invitations: Haute off the Press

Florist: Amy Osaba

Entertainement: Stepping Feet

Driftwood Arch: Adornments Flowers

Bridal Veil: Lo Boheme

Photography: Corbin Gurkin

Some of the details from Erin and Chuck’s cocktail hour included mason jars with straws filled with “love bucket brew” for their guests to enjoy, parasols to provide shade from the sun, and most importantly being surrounded by the people you love most in the world…

I have so many gorgeous images from their reception coming up next!

Photography by Corbin Gurkin

Don’t you absolutely love her gorgeous flowers from Amy Osaba? Erin found Amy through Once Wed(yay!) and I am so glad she found a way for Amy to design the flowers for their wedding at the Dana Powers House.

Stay tuned for so much more coming up next!

Photography by Corbin Gurkin

Photography by He & She Photography

I am so excited about today on Once Wed. Not only is it Friday(yay!), but my first column is now up on Design Sponge. I was so excited to partner up with Gloria Wong Design and Jen Curtis on this inspiration shoot in San Francisco. Gloria is an incredible event designer and brought together an amazing team of vendors including Good on Paper, Nancy Liu Chin, and Mira Aster to create this wonderful table inspired by Spirograph’s. To see the rest of this gorgeous table and more photos from Jen Curtis, click here…

A version of this spirograph-inspired tablescape will also be featured at The Wedding University on January 31, 2010 at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley. The Wedding University is an afternoon of elegance, education, and inspiration for engaged couples, providing personalized classes, taught by experienced wedding professionals in an atmosphere of welcome, relaxation and fun. For more information, please visit the Wedding 360.

Click here to purchase the Vera Wang and click here to purchase the Alice Temperley.