ELEGANT WEDDING INSPIRATION WITH HEIRLOOM DETAILS
Beauty is found in the details, or so we at Once Wed like to think. Meaningful, creative details differentiate each wedding from the next, and oftentimes, when a couple opts for an intimate affair, they are able to spend more time and attention on the elements that matter most.
For this editorial, the creative team drew inspiration from a simple invitation idea. They included a handcrafted collection of family love letters in the wedding invitation suite, as well as a love letter from the groom to the bride. The classical architecture of the location, paired with the elegant blush gown and rich berry-toned florals, beautifully reflect the sense of history created by the custom family heirloom.
“When working with a bride to design a wedding I am always asking myself ‘how can we make this wedding more special and unique to you?’ Being in the wedding industry, I see a lot of the same stuff over and over and what I find more important than re-creating an image is thinking creatively to design details that are deeply personal and in turn provide a powerful & meaningful experience. Weddings are a time to let love inspire us, probe us to ask questions about it, and move us to look deeper at our relationship to it.
This shoot inspiration started with an invitation idea. Many of my clients are having really small but special destination weddings with just their close family and a few friends. Since a gathering like this is so truly intimate for everyone, I started to imagine an invitation that invited the guests through a conversation of love that they were all familiar with.”
ROSE DRENCHED WEDDING AT ANNADEL ESTATE WINERY
Amanda and Bryan were married inside the beautiful stone wall ruins at Annadel Eastate Winery in Napa California in the fall of 2017. These centerpieces were all about ROSES. We had thousands of stems of full, fragrant garden roses for this event, all of them coming from local farms.
We kept the design here classic and feminine, inspired by the venue and the delicate lace of the bride’s gown and veil. The groom is a chef, so food was an important piece of this wedding. To incorporate some of this into the décor, Little herb, berry, and acorn bundles were tied to cards with each guests name and seating assignment. It was such a beautiful golden October day for them, congrats Amanda and Bryan! Published on Oncewed here.
We kept the design here classic and feminine, inspired by the venue and the delicate lace of the bride’s gown and veil. The groom is a chef, so food was an important piece of this wedding. To incorporate some of this into the décor, Little herb, berry, and acorn bundles were tied to cards with each guests name and seating assignment. It was such a beautiful golden October day for them, congrats Amanda and Bryan! Published on Oncewed here.
The brides who came across the sea to marry into Windsor
After a frenzy of excitement about a possible royal engagement on Friday, it's back to the waiting game this weekend. Any upcoming royal nuptials are still top secret but that doesn't change the fact that just about all of us have decided Prince Harry is going to marry Meghan Markle. And
The Duchess of Windsor
Bride Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson
Born Pennsylvania, United States of America on June 19th 1896
Married Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India
When June 3rd 1937
Where Chateau de Cande, south of Tours in France
Before the wedding Twice married Mrs Simpson caused a sensation when news of her relationship with the then King Edward VIII broke. When her lover demanded she become his wife, the Abdication Crisis ensued and Edward gave up his throne to ensure their marriage in December 1936.
After the wedding Wallis became the Duchess of Windsor but was never given the HRH title both she and her husband wanted. The couple lived in exile for their whole married life. Edward died in Paris in 1972 and Wallis passed away in the same city in 1986.
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
Bride Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
Born Athens, Greece on December 13th 1906
Married George, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George V and Queen Mary
When November 29th 1934
Where Westminster Abbey, London
Before the marriage Marina's grandparents included King George I of Greece and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Along with her parents, Prince Nichoas of Greece and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, she was forced into exile. Marina was just 11 and she spent the rest of her youth in Paris before meeting the handsome if rather racy fourth son of George V and Queen Mary in London in 1932.
After the marriage Marina became HRH The Duchess of Kent and took on a wide range of engagements for her new royal household as well as filling her regal nursery with two sons and a daughter. Marina was widowed on August 25th 1942 when the Duke of Kent was killed in a plane accident while on active service with the RAF. She continued to be a high profile member of the House of Windsor and died on August 27th 1968 at Kensington Palace, London.
The Duchess of Gloucester
Bride Birgitte Eva van Deurs, born Birgitte Eva Henrikson
Born Odense, Denmark on June 20th 1946
Married Prince Richard of Gloucester, second son of Henry, Duke of Gloucester and a grandson of King Georeg V and Queen Mary
When July 8th 1972
Where St Andrew's Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire
Before the marriage Birgitte van Deurs met Richard of Gloucester at Cambridge in the 1960s when they were both students there. She worked at the Danish Embassy in London in the years before her marriage.
After the marriage Six weeks after their wedding, Richard and Birgitte's lives changed forever when the groom's older brother, William, was killed in a plane accident. Richard was now heir to the Dukedom of Gloucester and inherited when his father, Henry, died in 1974. The new Duke and Duchess of Gloucester quickly took on a wide range of royal engagements as well as building a family of two daughters and a son. They continue to be active working royals today.
Princess Michael of Kent
Born January 15th 1945, Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic (then called Carlsbad and part of the Sudetenland)
Married Prince Michael of Kent, grandson of King George V and Queen Mary
When June 30th 1978
Where Vienna, Austria
Before the wedding Marie Christine von Reibnitz was a rather controversial royal bride. She was divorced when she wed Prince Michael and for that reason their marriage took place overseas. Marie Christine had lived part of her early life in Australia following her own parents' divorce. She married Thomas Troubridge in London in 1971 but they separated in 1973 and were divorced in 1977. The marriage was annulled by the Pope in 1978.
After the wedding The couple set home in England and have carried out public engagements since. Marie Christine is also an author and has an interest in conservation work. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have a son and daughter and two granddaughters.
The Countess of Snowdon
Bride Serena Alleyne Stanhope
Born County Limerick, Republic of Ireland on March 1st 1970
Married David, Viscount Linley, only son of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon and grandson of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
When October 8th 1993
Where St. Margaret's Church, Westminster
Before the wedding Serena Stanhope is the daughter of the Earl of Harrington and spent the early part of her life in Ireland.
After the wedding David and Serena have two children together, Charles and Margarita. They became Earl and Countess of Snowdon in January 2017 on the death of Antony, Earl of Snowdon.
Mrs. Peter Phillips
Bride Autumn Patricia Kelly
Born Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 3rd 1978
Married Peter Phillips, only son of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, and eldest grandson of Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
When May 17th 2008
Where St. George's Chapel, Windsor
Before the wedding Autumn Kelly grew up in Canada and went on to work as a model and actress before getting a job with a technology firm in England. Before then she had already met Peter Phillips, eldest grandchild of the Queen and Prince Philip. Ahead of her marriage, Autumn converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism - without that decision, the couple's children would not have been eligible to succeed to the throne.
After the wedding The first of the Queen's grandchildren to marry, Peter Phillips attracted controversy when he and his new bride agreed a deal with Hello magazine for some of their wedding photos. Following their marriage, the couple lived briefly in Hong Kong before settling again in England. Autumn is the mother of the Queen's eldest great grandchild, Savannah Phillips, who was born in December 2010. She and her husband welcomed a second daughter, Isla, in March 2012.
Photo credit: Wiki Commons
Kate, the bump and another new dress: back to royal normality
After a frenzied 24 hours in which speculation was ramped up over just about every royal scenario you can imagine, we end in a rather normal situation. The regal week comes to an end with an appearance from the Duchess of Cambridge and a return to the far less fevered world of bump spotting, gender guessing and new evening gowns. Welcome to royal reality.
At one point today, whispers about a potential royal engagement being announced were so loud you couldn't shut them out if you tried. Reports in the Evening Standard that the BBC was on stand by for a major royal story on November 24th combined with bookies stopping taking bets on a betrothal between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Thursday led to orders for souvenir tea towels being finalised across the land. Make that world. No matter. The crucial moment that is 11am on the nose when royal engagements are made public came and went without so much as a hint of a diamond.
Never worry, in the absence of a royal wedding let's get back to royal baby number three. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were always scheduled to attend the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium so Harry doing the marry thing would always have been slightly awkward as it would have led to photos of the future king attending a royal staple being bounced by his brother.
William and Kate arrived for a slightly delayed performance - the Palladium in Argyll Street in central London was briefly out of bounds after the Metropolitan Police responded to reports of gunshots being fired around nearby Oxford Circus. The Met later confirmed they had found no trace of ''any suspects, evidence of shots fired, or casualties''.
The royal guests are following a very regal tradition. The Royal Variety Performance began in 1912 when King George V and Queen Mary attended the Royal Command Performance. The king had said he would attend an event provided all the proceeds went to the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund. Now well over 100 years old, the show is run by the Royal Variety Charity of which the Queen is patron. It will raise money that will help hundreds of entertainers throughout the UK in need of support.
It really was back down to earth. This event is a regular in the royal calendar and really marks the final regal turn towards Christmas. It's attended by different members of the Royal Family every year and this was the Cambridges' second appearance at the event - the first was in 2014. So after hours of wondering which big royal story was next, it all ended very predictably. A royal staple, Kate in Jenny Packham (new, too) and lots of photos of her bump which is truly making its presence felt. The speculation was left to whether Baby Cambridge Number Three is a boy or girl (she's in baby blue and that bump is all out front right now so let's go with boy for the next hour or so) and everyone in Kensington Palace can settle down to a proper giggle about how excited everyone got about something that didn't happen at all. This is the royal reality. As you were - until Monday, at least.
Photo Kensington Royal Twitter.