Lemonade Stand Engagement Shoot

Wow, do I have a swoon-worthy engagement to share with y'all today! Captured By Belinda photos took my breath away the moment I set eyes on this lemonade stand inspired shoot. Aside from the beautiful couple clearly so in love, the sentimental value of the shoot - "turning lemons into lemonade" is so closely connected to a marriage! Life is sure to throw you some lemons throughout your years together but in the end, it's all about making the most of them!

Compliments:
Photography: Captured By Belinda
Venue: Shingle Creek Regional Park

A Vintage Inspired California Engagement Session

I have an ever so sweet engagement session to share today! Inspired by all things vintage, the beautiful bride incorporated some fabulous antique furniture and props into the session that I am doing some serious swooning over! A big thanks to Lovely You Photography by Stacey Marsh for sharing and of course, congrats to the happy couple!

From the photographer, Lovely You: Mehgan wanted a beautiful vintage engagement shoot, and she shared with me that at her wedding next month, they will be setting up areas with vintage couches and furniture for guests to sit on and enjoy. She wanted to incorporate one of the couches into their engagement session. I found the perfect location for their session, in a gorgeous field with golden grasses and beautiful trees surrounding us. I love collecting vintage items myself, and I had the wooden crate and old books. I even had a beautiful vase of vintage flowers (centerpieces) that a bride, the day before, asked me to take home after her wedding. I also had the gorgeous fabric pennant that we hung in a tree behind them. I loved this session so much, they were natural in front of the camera and we had a really great time.

Compliments:
Photography: Lovely You Photography by Stacey Marsh

{Guest Blogger} Let's Talk Maid of Honor

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As much as I love talking about all things weddings, inspiration, and styled shoots - there is only so much this girl can share with you all! That is why I am BEYOND ecstatic to announce that my Sister, and Maid of Honor, will be gracing Life of a Vintage Lover with occasional guest blog posts that specifically focus on the oh-so-important role of Maid of Honor! As a newbie to the whole wedding world, she was sure thrown a huge task with assisting my crazy wedding obsessed-self! Not alone, many Maid of Honors out there have felt the same overwhelming feeling she was faced with upon taking such a task! That is why I want to provide advice, insight, and inspiration for all you MOH's out there from none other than my own MOH!

So enough from me, take it away Lauren!

This is for the ladies that get the HONOR be the Bride’s number one, right hand woman, and fulfill all the duties that come along with the fully loaded title of Maid of Honor… 

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I am Lauren, younger sister of Caitlin and Maid of Honor for her October 2012 wedding. Currently, I am a student at the University of North Dakota and I will be graduating in 2013 with an Elementary Education Degree with an emphasis in ELL. Clearly, Caitlin’s path is quite different than my own and our passions differ but I utterly respect and cherish her love of “junk” and in that I knew planning her wedding would be different than anything I have ever seen before.

Growing up, my Parents always told my Sister and I that despite how many friends we may have or given the status of our relationship at the time of our own proposals, we would be given the title of Maid of Honor for each others weddings. Therefore, roughly two years ago when my older Sister called with the opening line, “Will you be my Maid of Honor?!” of course I was thrilled because I knew our childhood dream had come true and that she was going to marry her Prince Charming. However, soon after that came questions, wonder, anxiety, and nerves as to what is expected from me? Given that my Sister’s wedding is the first wedding I will be attending in over two years and the very first wedding I have ever been a part of despite being my Aunt's flower girl many, many years ago - I had no idea what was expected of me or where to go for answers! As you all know there are plenty of websites, books, and advice that people will give but I have found that sometimes it will point you in the wrong direction. That being said, Caitlin is giving me the opportunity to share my insight thus far in my personal experience as being a Maid of Honor and advice I have gained throughout the experience… Over the next few posts, I plan to give you advice as I experience all the details first hand!

That being said, today I will start by giving three simple pieces of advice:

1. You should know and respect what the Bride is looking for in her wedding and stick to that image.

2. Try to not overwhelm yourself and shut-down. You need to be organized and stick to one task at a time.

3. You need to do what you feel comfortable with! Also, do what you want to see in your Maid of Honor one day.

 

{Real Wedding} Rustic-Chic Oral Lake Wedding

When this real wedding from Chellise Michael Photography  popped up in my inbox - I just about did cart wheels and back flips in excitement. Seriously, wait until you see this incredible wedding!

With a stunning West Virginia lakeside setting, perfectly rustic and vintage details, to the oh-so-pretty color palette this couple's big day provides endless inspiration to swoon over! Enjoy!

From Chellise Michael Photography: Kaitlin & Andrew wanted a "home-cookin' southern" theme to their wedding. They got married in W.Virginia on a lakeside private property. All of the beautiful sweets were baked by Kaitlins grandmother. The guests lazily played games and sipped on homemade lemonade and sweet tea. There was a lot of detail that went into this wedding.

A BIG thanks to Chellise Michael Photography for sharing Kaitlin and Andrews beautiful wedding with us! 

Compliments:
Bridal Gown: Daria Gown by Wtoo
Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew - Taryn in Dusty Shale
Cake Design: Cakes by Amy Lockhart
Catering: Gourmet Catering, Mary Kay Lindsay – Clarksburg, West Virginia
Floral Design: Blooms Florist
Paper Goods: Designed by the Bride & Groom/Developed & produced by Milk & Ice Cream (Amy Kirby)
Photography: Chellise Michael Photography
Venue: Oral Lake, Bridgeport, West Virginia

A Whimsical Yellow Bridesmaid Inspiration

From engagement shoots to real weddings, there is plenty of great inspiration out there! But wait, what about the bridesmaids?! Well, this amazing styled shoot from Kreatid Photography and Design focuses strictly on the maids - about time right?! Be ready to do some major swooning over the shoots brilliant yellow color palette and stunning floral head pieces!

From Kreatid Photography and Design:

For this styled session, my dream was to produce a session that was exclusively for bridesmaids. When it comes to choosing the attire of many a bridesmaid, too often I’ve heard statements like: “Oh, you could totally (emphasis on the ‘totally’) wear that again!” and “If you just shortened it, it could be a ‘cocktail dress’!” This session is hopefully inspiration to brides who are choosing attire for their maids…showing them a more non-traditional approach to picking their “ladies in waiting” attire. :) Vintage hues of yellow set in an outdoor nature setting were the original inspiration for these maids…mixing in floral headdresses, brilliant white pomaders, shortened vintage cocktail dresses + coordinating authentic vintage jewelry added to the modern vintage spin for today’s bridesmaids. Whereas adding touches of vintage mason jars, an antique velvet couch, vintage reading material and vintage fabric draping added to the vintage flavor of this session.

Compliments:
Bridesmaid Dresses: Butter Toast Boutique
Florals & Decor: Bliss Banners
Florals & Design: Everybody Loves Flowers
Photography: Kreatid Photography and Design
Photography: Elizabeth Ann Photography
Source: Every Last Detail Blog
Vintage Rentals: Linny Jane Vintage