Guest Blogger Melissa: My Wedding

Okay, I feel funny assuming you want to hear about my wedding, but Chelsea remembered it from an old issue of Martha Stewart Weddings and wanted me to tell you about it.  ;)

To back track a bit...I had a friend who was an editor at Martha Stewart Weddings and when she heard I was dating a guy that I knew was "the one", she kept asking me to let her know the MINUTE we got engaged.  (She wanted to cover our wedding in the magazine.)  Well, when we did get engaged (like 10 minutes after he popped the question), it was funny- I immediately thought, "Oh, I've got to call Lynn!".  Not so romantic, I know.

To make a long story short, the editors at the magazine asked me to keep them up to date on all the fun details of the wedding, and to send images of all of the elements.  (The location, my dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids dresses, etc.)  About a month before the wedding they confirmed that they did indeed want to cover it for a 6 to 8 page feature.  When they do this type of feature, they send their stylists out to help with the last details of the wedding.  It was really a dream come true- they whisked into town and really kind of took over.  (In the best possible way!)  They added more flowers, hired a calligrapher, assembled the candy goody boxes we were planning, created the seating cards from scratch, etc.  And the two stylists could not have been more sweet or easier to work with.  They ran everything by me for approval, and quite honestly, without evening seeing some of the elements they were talking about, I wholeheartedly agreed to anything they suggested.  After all, I had never seen anything in the magazine that wasn't impeccably executed.

I didn't hire a wedding planner (I admit, I'm a control freak and wanted to do it all myself), so it was really wonderful to have the two stylists there the day of the wedding making sure everything went off without a hitch.

And a big bonus: they sent their own photographer to shoot the wedding (in addition to ours), which was a lifesaver because he got shots that our photographer forgot to get! 

It was October 2003, and in a way it seems like yesterday and forever ago at the same time.  Sam and I had an amazing day that we'll never forget.  Here are some of my favorite photos:

{Our first dance!}

{The menu card was tied atop the box of sweets...}

{I'm a candy freak!}

{The flowers were garden roses and the sweet Sharla Flock was our florist.}

{Guest sign in- with John Derian paperweights and antique turquoise vessel.}

{We got married at Ralston Hall in Belmont, CA, which is about 30 minutes south of San Francisco.  It was built in the late 1800's as a summer home for William Ralston, the founder of Bank of California, and is absolutely gorgeous!}

{My lovely bridesmaids!}

{I wore a Wearkstatt gown, vintage rhinestone earrings and alternated between two pairs of shoes- rhinestoned Vera Wangs and my favorite pink Prada peep toe pumps!}

{The vintage Rolls Royce we left the reception in used to belong to Desi Arnaz!  I went bananas over the turquoise leather interior...}

You can see the feature in Martha Stewart Weddings by clicking to our website here.

Comments

[joanna goddard]

that is so cool! you look so pretty and happy! xo

[Kathryn]

So beautiful! I love the box of sweets!

[bronwyn]

Beautiful wedding! I love the bridesmaid's dresses. The cardigan is a cute touch. I grew up about 5 minutes away from Ralston Hall. Yes, it is stunning. It's funny for me to think of MS stylists in Belmont!

[melissa]

Thanks so much!! I loved pulling out the photos to write the post- I sometimes forget what a special day it was! :)

[Allison]

What a lovely wedding! Do you remember where you purchased the guest sign-in paper scroll? Or did you have it custom designed? Thank you so much, it is exactly what I am looking for!

[lynn]

oh my goodness, it's gorgoeous! your colors are what I want exactly! Can you tell me where and what color your bridemaid dresses are from? Thanks!

[melissa]

Hi Lynn!
Glad you like! The dresses were from Aria- and I think this was the style: http://www.ariadress.com/Desciptions/Desc109KA.htm
I'm so sorry but I forgot the color! They can send you swatches though...may have been aqua or mist.

[melissa]

Hi Allison-

Glad you liked the scroll! Unfortunately, it was hand made.

Good luck with your wedding planning!

[SC]

I totally remember your wedding. It was one of the reasons I started planting garden roses. Someday I hope that my sons' wives and all the future brides in my family carry roses from my garden.

[katelyn]

You must be so proud when you look back at your wedding, it's so incredibly beautiful! I love the location you had, the banquet looks so beautiful. Lucky you to be featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

[Rachel]

Beautiful... beautiful day.

[unique wedding ideas]

this is so beautiful. i just love the car how fancy is this. the invitations are very nice also.