…Creating crazily beautiful weddings that leave me swinging wildly between mad envy and total admiration, of course.
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts, but today I wanted to share with you a couple of weddings from across the pond that have leapt from the pages of my blog reader directly in to my heart. And then exploded. Several times.
These two weddings couldn’t be more different; one is chic and flawless and set in a beautiful old city building, the other is an packed to the brim with colour, sparkle and whimsy. I find both completely inspiring.
First up we have… a Union Station Nebraska Wedding as seen on 100 Layer Cake and shot by Andrey Mikityuk.
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Sweet Lord Nelson, every time I look through the images of this wedding I spy something else that just floors me. And then I get confused because it’s not the kind of wedding I would usually get stupidly excited about. It’s not outside, there is no festoon lighting or colour explosion or maids with flowers in their hair… no no, this beautiful wedding is chic, elegant and city-based but fuses just the right amount of thoughtful, rustic romance to create some of the most perfect styling I have ever seen.
I mean, come on, just look at this stationery suite!
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
I am so in love with this I can barely even type. Kraft paper, vintage maps juxtaposed with quirky, modern fonts and just the right amount of gold. And embossing. Embossing! They must have spent hours and hours making those place names but the overall effect is simple, clean and actually quite androgynous. I love it.
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
And don’t even get me started on that bouquet. You’ve got succulents in there, plus ranunculus, anemones, billy balls, Queen Anne’s lace, scabiosa pods, dusty miller… and that gorgeous cascading greenery at the bottom is called amaranthus, I’ve learnt. A clean, earthy colour palette with a cacophony of texture and a dollop of whimsy. S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G.
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Inside you have more perfect curation in the form of wooden centrepieces, glass votives that have been dipped in gold, branches of pussy willow and a naked cake with a fig/kiwi twist. It almost feels a bit Scandinavian with the tones and materials used. It’s… oh jeez, I’m running out of superlatives.
And then of course, you have the bride, who is sporting the chicest of Nicole Miller gowns with a huge, bee-hived chignon. She’s kept her accessories simple but statement- some chandelier earrings, a short and quirky puffball veil, and shoes that have me biting my fist to stop myself from shrieking with jealously or delight, I can’t decide.
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
Image by Andrey Mikityuk
That is one seriously stylish wedding, and so beautifully captured too. Head over to 100 Layer Cake now to see so much more.
And breathe.
Ok! The second wedding I want to shout about takes us 1377 miles west of Nebraska, to Carlsbad, CA. Google tells me that Carlsbad is an ‘affluent seaside resort’ situated between Los Angeles and San Diego… which leaves me with such strong pangs of yearning to go back to California, it’s actually giving me heartburn.
This is the Aqua & Pink Carlsbad Wedding as seen on Ruffled and shot by Colour Me Rad.
Image by Colour Me Rad
Image by Colour Me Rad
Ok, let’s see what we’ve got here. We’ve got maids in mint and flowers in pinks, purples, ivory and yellow; we’ve got a gold BHLDN dress and sparkly ribbons; we’ve got a seriously cute bridal party and LOTS of laughter. Good grief, I love it already.
Image by Colour Me Rad
Waaaaah!!!! I thought the previous wedding’s bouquet was perfect but this truly blows my mind. SUCH sensational colours and variety! I spy peonies, astilbe, billy balls, roses…. that spiky orange thing in the back is leucospermum… all of these were in my bridal bouquet so I’m going to love them! But look at that cascading amaranthus again; this time in a deep pink. This is flower porn, people. I can barely contain myself.
Image by Colour Me Rad
Image by Colour Me Rad
Image by Colour Me Rad
Image by Colour Me Rad
A streamer backdrop, colourful table runners, gold-sprayed jars and more sparkle than you can shake a stick at. This pretty wedding is packed with details and I implore you to head over to Ruffled and gaze wistfully over them all as I have. And all caught on camera by the aptly titled Colour Me Rad. (On a side note, you seriously have to go and check out this photographer’s ‘About’ page. It’s genius and if I lived in California I would book her instantly.)
Whenever a wedding captivates me, I always study the credits. I want to know who was responsible for creating the beauty before me and in particular, whether they used a planner/stylist (in the States this is nearly always a ‘yes’). In this gorgeous wedding, the décor and design was mainly by the bride, who (after a bit of cyber stalking), I discovered has her own website and business making pretty things, called Twinkle and Toast.
She lives in California, and she makes pretty things for a living. I want her life.
So what do you think, gang? Do either of these beautiful weddings make you go gaga? Have my extreme use of superlatives made you feel slightly nauseous this morning? And can someone PLEASE tell me that they had or are going to have that fabulous trailing amaranthus in their wedding bouquets?? It’s the only thing that will get me through the day…
Sama xxx
The Utter Blog 
Aww thanks for sharing my wedding! It was a beautiful day and a labor of love.