Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wedding Momentos (the video III)

Monday I shared a beautifully shot, beautifully edited masterpiece of a wedding video. Yesterday I shared a lower cost, raw footage, but beautifully edited video with a completely different perspective. Today I am going to share a FREE option! You never ever hear that word when you're planning a wedding. Well, I am pretty sure the videographer downloaded a 99 cent ap for her iPhone. The videographer by the way, is the bride's sister and bridesmaid and shot the entire wedding on her iPhone!!! I have showed this video to everyone around me, now I need to share it with my readers. Seriously questioning spending $3500+ on a videographer, then again not sure if I have any friends as talented as this lucky bride.

Untitled from Brooke Hoehne on Vimeo. (Grey Likes Weddings)

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Wedding Momentos (the video II)

Yesterday I shared one of my favorite, perfectly shot, perfectly edited, perfectly out of my budget videos. Today I want to share a whole completely different video option. Wedit is a company that offers an affordable wedding videography alternative. They send you 5 digital cameras to pass out to your friends and family to capture the day. After the wedding you collect the cameras and send them back and they edit the footage and send you the finished product.

I think the concept is really cool and I have been considering this option for a while. The pros are, obviously the price and the fact that it's your friends and family capturing the day and will show an interesting perspective from your guests. The cons are that you have no idea what you will get and often the audio is not very good.

Never the less, I like the idea and the end product can be really beautiful.

Wedit Trailer Bahamas from Brett deMarrais on Vimeo.



Click here to see more.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Wedding Momentos (the video)

I have been thinking a lot about wedding videos, and I mean a LOT. Is it worth it? Isn't it? They are expensive, the same as a good photographer and if you haven't planned a wedding, be ready for some sticker-shock on that expense. At first we thought we didn't need one, then my bother confessed that his biggest regret about his wedding is that he didn't hire a videographer and it really got me thinking about it.

This week I thought I would share a few of my very favorite wedding videos I've come across in my blog browsing. I'm pretty sure after the week is over I will have convinced myself, and hopefully my fiance that this something we will cherish forever.

The video is from a wedding I've already shared and been drooling over the photos for a few weeks, Nick and Maria's English Countryside affair.

nick+maria • england wedding from Paperback Weddings on Vimeo.

(Via Apartment #34)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fabulous Details (Ceremony Backdrop)

As you know, our wedding will be at Camp Blodgett, that's both the ceremony and the reception. Since we won't be getting married in a church, in front of an alter, I've been putting a lot of thought into what we will actually be standing in front of, or under when we say "I do." Here are some really really beautiful options.

All I can say about this one is "wow."


This is one of my favorites.


Love these fun and whimsical options.





simple and lovely






Or we can opt for nothing and just let gorgeous Lake Michigan be the stunning back drop.

(Wedding Chicks, Sitting in a Tree Events, Kathrine O'Brien, ?, Kyle Hale, Project Wedding 8, Style Me Pretty 9, Green Wedding Shoes 6, 7, 10, 11, 12)

What do you think? Which is your favorite?

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Rehearsal Dinner Inspiration?

I am in love with this flower child inspiration board I came across today.

Back when we first choose our venue, the beautiful Camp Blodgett on picturesque Lake Michigan, Kyle's mom shared an article she had been saving for years. The article was about a hippie wedding that took place on the grassy dunes of Lake Michigan. Not too sure why she had the article, but I ate it up, being the hippie-lover that I am. A few months later, Kyle's mom came across a large family photo from another Lake Michigan, flower-child wedding. She brought it home and it coincidentally it was the same couple from the article! There must be a reason why she was so drawn to this wedding, maybe it could serve as inspiration for our rehearsal dinner which is also taking place on the lake-front at the camp.


(Forget Me Knot Weddings)

Can't wait to catch a glimpse of the shoot inspired by this groovy board.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

To Letterpress or not to Letterpress

I am a self proclaimed paper snob. I love pretty paper and pretty fonts. I love sending birthday cards and spend an abnormal amount of time choosing the perfect one. It's no surprise that in my opinion, invitations are one of the most important details of the my wedding. They set the tone for the whole event. I plan to work very closely with a graphic design friend to create mine and Kyle's own unique way to ask all of our family and friends to join in our special day.

Until I started mapping out the budget, I pictured our invites to be beautifully letterpressed and addressed with hand calligraphy. Our reality is probably not that. 100 Layer Cake did a great post on this very issue.

I adore the charm of letterpress. It is an age-old art that looks sophisticated and elegant no matter the message.



It's not the printed invites look bad, in fact in most cases they are equally as beautiful as their letterpress counterparts and you can do so much more because you are not limited by the number of colors you can use.


(Hello! Lucky, Gus & Ruby, Minted, Riffle Paper Co.)

In the end I don't think we will end up letterpress printing our invites. I think there are only a handful of guests that will notice the detail, instead we will put our energy into making them very special in other creative, cost efficient ways.

I look forward to sharing the invitation inspiration in the coming months.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Sitting in a Tree

I'm a firm believer that it's all in the details and nobody does it better than the girls of Sitting in a Tree Events. I spent the last two evenings going through their entire blog and it is Fabulous with a capital F!

The girls decided to start their event company because they had so much fun planning their own weddings. If that's how it works, I may have a new career in my future. See Tori and her husband Austin's Mexican wedding here and Myka and Georges' wedding here. Swoon!





I am head-over-heels!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

A Tale of a Bridesmaid Dress (The Dress)

I wasn't really looking when I ended up finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses. I just happened to be shopping around downtown, popped into Rebecca Taylor and came across it, 60% off! I actually liked the lighter grey better, but we thought this would be little more wearable and a little more after-Labor Day.

Without further ado, here's a tiny sneak preview!


Only 400 days until my beautiful maids get to wear them :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Tale of a Bridesmaid Dress (Part II)

To continue my post from yesterday...

I began my search in all the traditional places, J. Crew, Jenny Yoo, WeddingtonWay and Dressy Group.

I thought about letting the girls choose their own dresses, but it's always scary to think how that might turn out, especially with us spread across the country (and Canada). Below were my picks from WeddingtonWay. These dresses are beautiful, but a little uptight for my wedding and are pretty pricey.

I knew I didn't want my girls to spend a lot and I also had a few additional requirements. I wanted a short, non-stuffy dress, not made out of taffeta and appropriate for a beach wedding in early September. I also wanted some sort of feminine detail, either a bow, a ruffle or flower to make it a little less serious. Here are a few dresses that made my "save files."


These were beautiful options, but still quite pricey. I continued my search and some of my favorite dresses I found in some unexpected places, including Ruche, Mod Cloth, BCBGeneration and even H&M.

Come back tomorrow for a sneak peak of the dresses!

Stunning Photos

I never really had a favorite photographer before, but I think I might after seeing this stunning little English Countryside wedding. Definitely sending to my photographer for inspiration. Speaking of, we chose our photographer!!! The talented Lynell Shooks of Lizzie Photo will be behind the camera on our big day!







Click here to see more from this dreamy wedding.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A Tale of A Bridesmaid Dress (Part I)

So, in an off-the-cuff decision, I choose bridesmaid dresses a couple of weeks ago and I could not be happier with the choice!

Once upon a time I saw the movie, "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days." I love love loved! Kate Hudson's dress in the scene below and from that day forward I decided it would be the color of my bridesmaid dresses if and when I got married.


I started saving images in my wedding files like the one below.


Then I actually got engaged. I was a lot older than I was when I saw Kate Hudson's slinky yellow number. I also had a few friends who got married and many who had been bridesmaids, so I heard a little about the dress dilemmas they faced. I knew not all my girls would want to wear a yellow dress or if all my girls would even look good in yellow dresses, so I settled on grey. Though I do plan on accessorizing with yellow.

Stay tuned for more of how I narrowed the sea of dresses tomorrow...

Monday, August 1, 2011

Why Don't I Own this?

I have a binder, but it's not much of a keepsake. I wouldn't mind beautifying my format a little.

Do you have a Keepsake Wedding Binder?