Grey Likes Weddings

Lady Grey believes that one of the greatest byproducts of weddings is time spent with loved ones. Which is why this wedding–where a London couple escapes to Virginia to say their vows–is one of our favorite ways to wed: destination style! There’s nothing like a vacation wedding to give you plenty of time to enjoy the events!

Cynthia and Connor chose a location that combined the tradition of the south with some of the city of their hometown London! The bride’s bouquet is a combination of the same elements–vintage brooches from a family friend’s collection, arranged in a modern unexpected way! With a perfect match of city chic and southern charm, we just can’t get enough of Cynthia and Connor’s beautiful day!

Very very special thanks to Amelia Johnson Photography, for all the gorgeous images!

Vendors for this beautiful wedding: Photography - Amelia Johnson Photography // Event Designer Name- Cynthia and her mother-in-law Mary-Ann // Cake- Pearls Cupcake shoppe // Makeup- MAC Nordstrom // Hair- Brigid Carfery from Rituals Spa & Salon  // Caterer- Mosaic Caterers (Myra Watkins) // Rentals- Classic Party Rentals // DJ- Party Time Entertainment (Mark Abernathy) // Dress Designer- Melissa Sweet // Flowers- Flora Culture (Al Brockwell) // Groom’s Attire- Hugo Boss suit, shoes and belt // Jewelry- Ann Taylor // Officiant- B. Meredith Winn, Jr. // Shoe Designer- J. Renee // Stationery store- The Cordial Cricket // Veil – Bridal Veil Falls (NYC)

I don’t know what it is about southern weddings…but they are always so charming. It must be the combination of meaningful traditions and a classic aesthetic that never goes out of style. Photographer Ali Harper, who’s joining the Grey Collective, captured all Natalie and Conar’s beautiful wedding images on film (have we mentioned we love film? We have. Oh, okay. So you know, then?). This is our absolute favorite type of wedding: timeless and elegant. Want to see more of this wedding? You can head here to Ali’s blog!

And, my sweet Tennessee brides, were you wondering how this wedding got so pretty? You ought to call of the lovely Mary Alice of A Delightful Day. Her event design savvy helped put all of this together!

I love what photographer Ali shared about her bride and groom: Natalie and Conar were married in the town Natalie grew up in — Gallatin, Tennesse — and it had the best small town charm, just like you’d expect. They had quite honestly one of the most gorgeous fall days you could ask for, and filled the tiny downtown chapel at dusk with their dearest friends and family. One of my favorite moments of the day was getting to witness Conar open up the gift his bride gave him moments before their first look… a set of embroidered handkerchiefs. That sweet token, along with a handwritten note made all of us stop and simply take it all all in. After all the “big” things have been planned on a wedding day, I always find that it’s usually about the love in the little things that become so very meaningful…

Lovely resources and vendors for this wedding: Venue: Fairvue Plantation // Photographer: Ali Harper Photography // Event Planner: Mary Alice Sublett, A Delightful Day Event Planning // Florist: Gallatin Flower Shoppe // Ceremony Music: Innocenti String Quartet // Reception Music: Pat Patrick Band // Linens: La Tavola Linens // Rentals: Liberty Party Rentals and The Premiere Event // Wedding Cakes: Parry Bartlett and Allison Clifton // Calligraphy: Samantha Martin Curlicue Designs // Invitations: Rohner Letterpress // MonogramDesign: Number Four Eleven // Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang // Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo // Groom’s Tuxedo: Gucci // Groom’s Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo // Cuff Links: Robin Rotenier // Makeup: Bridget Pilkinton for MAC // Earrings: antique, gift from the groom // Hairpiece: custom by Jennifer Behr // Wedding Clutch: Judith Leiber // Rehearsal Dinner clutch: Judith Leiber // Rehearsal Dinner Dress: Monique Lhuillier / custom skirt by Kerried Away Couture // Rehearsal Dinner Shoes: Valentino

Merry Monday! Today we are feature one of our favorite types of weddings–one where the couple comes up with creative ways to express their personalities. Devon and Ryan thought up wonderfully brilliant ideas to incorporate their hometown roots, favorite foods, and even Ryan’s job! If you’ve ever wondered how a twitter employee might make a nod to his company, check out their place cards, which feature Twitter handles instead of names. They even included the hash tag #LOVE on their dessert table!

Lots more lovely images, ideas, vendors, and a great description from Devon below! Special thanks to onelove photography for sharing their beautiful work with us!

We wanted our wedding to showcase our personalities – we’re total tech dorks. Ryan works at Twitter and most of our friends are in the tech space as well. Our programs and menus had everything listed by Twitter handles and our name cards were also by twitter usernames. Our favors table had #love in large wooden letters. The overall look and feel was supposed to be relaxed and very New England. Nothing too fancy–simple hydrangeas and snowbells (in lieu of lily of the valleys) were our main flowers and linens were kept very natural as well as the rustic chairs. We wanted people to be comfortable but to see a rustic elegance. In order to make our guests feel welcome we did welcome boxes with Ryan’s family recipe of homemade chex mix and salt water taffy from Maine.

Ryan and I are both transplants to Northern California and we wanted our wedding to reflect where we came from, him from Michigan and myself from Maine. We flew in Lobster Bisque from our favorite restaurant in my hometown. We ended the meal with white chocolate covered cherries from Michigan. The highlight of the menu was our favors–whoopie pies–a Maine staple that were handcrafted by one of our favorite food carts in San Francisco that encompassed our two homestates. Steven, the vendor and our dear friend tells the story of the Matching Half Gobs on his blog here!

Also at the ceremony we had our french bulldog, Stella, as the best dog, who despite being very well behaved generally attempted to pull my dress off mid-vows. Our ceremony was also officiated by one of our best friends. We wrote our own vows that not only reflected our love but also our dorky sense of humor and love of tech.

Check out the place cards, which denote attendees twitter names instead of first names!

Resources and vendors — Photography: OneLove Photography // Floral Design: Pat Gibbons Floral // Designer: Weddings by Jonette // Venue: Silverado Resort // Stationery: Love vs. Design // Dress: Novella Bridal // Sweets: Kara’s Cupcakes // DJ: Ingar Brown // Makeup: Sherrie Long // Shoes: Pour La Victoire // Menswear: J. Crew

Bold color combos like cobalt, turquoise, purple and marigold are the perfect way to add unique detailing into your wedding! One of our fave florist, Primary Petals, styled gorgeous blooms to accomplish the look, and photographer Angi Welsch shot all of the lovely images.

Flowers, styling, vintage rentals: Primary Petals // Photography by Angi Welsch and Emily Blake // Catering: DJ Catering // Cake: Occasions Cakes and Cookies // DJ: Pacific Entertainment // Graphic Design/Paper Goods: Colin Snow Design (the groom!) // Venue: McCormick Home Ranch

One of my favorite wedding traditions is the rehearsal dinner–something that has blossomed into a meal with more significance and meaning than ever before. In my experience, the rehearsal dinner has always been an opportunity for family members to reconnect, bridal parties to hang out, and guests to become acquainted. It’s also a very relaxed atmosphere that I truly believe is the first chance for the families of the bride and groom to form new bonds. Without a formal agenda and tight timeline, rehearsal dinners are also the perfect stage for meaningful speeches from family members, bridal party attendants, and close guests.

For all those reasons, we love the idea of making your rehearsal dinner special–in whichever way you decide to do that. Be it a square dance and barbecue, martinis and outdoor movie screening, afternoon picnic and croquet, or whatever else you can dream up, the idea is to squeeze in as much time with your loved ones as possible, because every married couple we know says the same thing: “The wedding went by so fast!!!”

Today, we’re sharing with you a particularly gorgeous rehearsal dinner designed by the lovely Gianna of Chic Celebrations. All the flowers are by one of our fave fave fave floral stylists, Lauryl Lane with images by Brittany Rene.  Strands of Edison light bulbs and a solo guitar player provided ambiance while guests mingled over cocktails. Dinner was served at a u-shaped over-sized family style table, creating the perfect opportunity for toasts and warm interaction. We love it all!

Resources included: Planning and Design: Chic Celebrations // Floral Styling and Design: Lauryl Lane // Rentals: Town and Country // Linens: La Tavola // Catering: Contemporary Catering and Sunseri’s Beverage Catering // Venue: Hummingbird Nest Ranch // Photography: Brittany Rene