Looking for a soft yet totally glam wedding color combination? This gold, silver and cream wedding inspiration photo shoot planned by Florida wedding designer Kristen Johnson of An Affair to Remember has just the right balance of glitz and sparkle, paired with some fabulous chic and contemporary decor. Featuring a gorgeous wedding cake by The Sugar Suite adorned with delicate embellishments cascading down three delicious tiers, this beautiful photo shoot was captured by Kristen Weaver Photography.
Having grown up in Washington state, I have an affinity, scratch that, an all-out love affair, with lush green pines, quiet blue waters and glints of golden sunshine. Needless to say, I was right at home with and completely entranced by Brittany and Illiyah’s wedding at The Wainwright Hotel at Heritage Park Historical Village in Alberta, Canada. The bride’s gorgeous 1920’s inspired Johanna Johnson dress and headpiece were the perfect accent to the beautiful landscape. I’m so thankful that Gabe McClintock was there to capture these lovely photos!
The Goals: We love to entertain friends and family, so our first priority was for our guests to have fun and feel taken care of. The food had to be delicious, the drinks to be flowing and the day to be well planned. We wanted our guests to have a truly memorable day that reflected us as a couple. As an additional aspect, we currently live in Australia and planned the entire wedding long distance. We needed vendors and venues that could work seamlessly with us and not require a lot of hands on management, yet be able to execute our specific vision.
The Design: Our vision for the day was “Gatsby Goes West”. We love 1920’s glamour and jazz music, but we grew up in a part of Canada known for its rustic country and mountain lifestyle. It felt right to combine our style sensibility with our roots. I created a style guide based on the vision and all decisions flowed from there.
Based on the above, we chose Heritage Park Historical Village for our reception. It had the perfect balance of vintage glamour with western flavor. We loved the space as it didn’t require a lot of extra decor to feel really special. Our guests especially loved the cocktail cruise on the old paddlewheeler, the S.S Moyie. For dinner at the Wainwright Hotel, we rented vintage bottles and vessels made of pewter, crystal and bronze to feature the florals and used gilded mirrors as signage. We placed loose blooms, plums and grapes on the tables in groupings for eclectic centerpieces.
My dress was the key Australian contribution to the day. It was one of the first I tried on and I felt it was perfect for me and the look and feel we were going for. I received amazing service from the Sydney designer and the dress was so comfortable to wear all day!
The Moments: Our favorite part of the day was the cocktail cruise on the S.S. Moyie. The weather was unseasonably calm and warm with a few clouds, and just as everyone was gathering on the dock, a few rays of sun shone through the clouds directly over the boat. We made our entrance shortly afterwards and we enjoyed a relaxing time accompanied by a jazz trio. It was a great chance to visit with our guests before dinner.
We also loved our time taking photos with Gabe McClintock after the ceremony, as we unwinded with our wedding party and enjoyed some quiet time together.
The Photographer: We were looking for a photographer that had a special eye for candid moments and artistic composition. We wanted to see real emotion in our photos and have beautiful images we could appreciate forever. Many photographers these days seem to use trendy filters or gimmicks, but to us they wouldn’t stand the test of time.
Gabe McClintock’s photos speak for themselves. Each image is carefully considered yet spontaneous – we loved the uncensored emotion and interesting textures. They have a special quiet mood. On top of that, he is an incredibly nice guy who is clearly passionate about what he does. We interviewed him over Skype and were sold after feeling so comfortable chatting with him.
The best thing about working with Gabe is that he has a very calm presence. He encouraged us to enjoy the quiet time together during our wedding photos and feel our connection. We felt very comfortable and that Gabe was genuinely excited about our photos. Can’t recommend him enough!
The Advice: If you’re clear on your vision and comfortable with planning, but don’t want to worry about anything on the day, a “day of” coordinator is amazing! We absolutely loved the creative process of planning our wedding, but needed “on the ground” support when planning from afar. Boom Goes The Drum helped us source decor based on our vision, built our schedule, managed all vendors on the wedding day and set up/took down the decor. It was nice to allow all of our family to relax and enjoy while the coordinators took care of everything.
Creating a styleguide (a document with fonts, vision board, colour palette) was a very helpful tool for us when planning abroad. We shared with all of our vendors to ensure a consistent look and feel, and they all really came through for us. Take the time upfront to develop a clear vision and style and all of your decisions will become easier!
Also, as everyone says, the day itself goes so unbelievably quickly, so let yourself enjoy it! Know that all of the beautiful details you plan will be appreciated by your guests even if the day flies by.
Today’s Luanda, Angola, Africa wedding is the perfect example of modern meets romance, all brilliantly captured by Melissa Jill Photography. Berta, who grew up in Portugal and Luanda, and Christian, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, incorporated traditions from both the bride’s and groom’s cultural backgrounds. Read on to hear from the bride about how they executed their wedding day vision!
The Couple: Berta and Christian
The Wedding: 9.16.12 – Complexo Hoteleiro da Endiama, Luanda, Angola, Africa
The Goals: Our top three priorities were stunning decor, hiring an amazing photographer and choosing the perfect location.
The Process: I loved every step of the planning experience, from the conception to the execution. However, it was not easy at all, due to the fact that Christian and I had different ideas on how we wanted our wedding to be. In the beginning, I wanted a romantic outdoor wedding and Christian wanted a more modern laid-back style. Because of this, we approached the design process by creating something that combined our two ideas, an environment which included the romantic atmosphere I wanted, incorporated African wedding traditions, a bit of the modern atmosphere Christian wanted, a playground for the kids so that our two daughters and their friends could also participate, and a white background to bring a more relaxed spirit. Having my wedding at the Complexo Hoteleiro da Endiama had always been a dream of mine since I was young, as it is located in my childhood neighborhood. I remember growing up, and my sisters and I would go outside the venue and admire all those beautiful brides on their wedding day and watch the guests entering the reception.
The Design: In terms of atmosphere, everything was thought of. We wanted a romantic atmosphere, so we decided to decorate the entire venue in white. We flew in the white orchids and roses from Lisbon, Portugal and mixed those with local white flowers. We also had white heart napkins holders and white tablecloths. The groom and bride table turned out to be exceptional, and the dessert table was one of the guests’ main topics of the evening. It was decorated with white M&M’s and brigadeiros (a dessert from Brazil) put in mini decoration chairs and buckets. During the evening we added violet light and candles and white sofas to create a lounge atmosphere so that our guests can have a relaxed “non formal” feeling. My husband wanted his friends to feel that they were also in a club. Also, because we wanted our daughters to be part of the wedding, a space for their friends and cousins was prepared with great care with small white chairs and tables plus wedding related kid’s toys. Clarissa Rezende, our wedding designer, made our guests feel special by leaving “with love” messages on the tables and bars. In addition, because Christian is from The Democratic Republic of Congo and his whole family speaks French their chairs and ours were covered with French poems as a surprise to us.
The Moments: There were so many memorable moments during the day but the most memorable was my husband’s speech: “Why do I love you? You are a very beautiful and intelligent woman. But there are lots of women out there who are beautiful and intelligent. Why is it that I don’t love them but I love you? It’s because of your grace. You know that I am a believer. Grace is an unmerited favor. Although I don’t deserve the love of a woman as incredible as you, I am blessed with it, I am beyond blessed. And I love you for your grace.”
I decided to incorporate an Angolan tradition at our reception entry, a moment where weddings of the past are recollected, when companionship, loyalty and harmony in the couple are brought up by remembering that both men and women worked in the fields together day by day. This ritual also alludes to the necessity of couples working hard at the relationship that starts with the wedding and needs to be constantly cultivated.
The Advice: Delegate, and remember you can’t do everything. First of all, here in Angola we don’t have wedding planners, so we are left doing everything ourselves so it is very important to count on our relatives and friends. And that is what made our wedding a special one, because everyone was involved in the process.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Melissa Jill Photography
Ceremony Venue: São Joaquim Church
Reception Venue: Complexo Hoteleiro da Endiama
Invitation Designer: Judy Paulen Designs
Catering: Complexo Hoteleiro da Endiama
Florist: Clarissa Rezende and Yolanda Carneiro
Cake: Complexo Hoteleiro da Endiama
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang
Bridesmaids’ Apparel & Accessories: Coast London
Groom’s Apparel & Accessories: Pal Zileri
Groomsmen’s Apparel & Accessories: Next
Makeup: Alexandra Ramalho
Hair: Vanda
DJ: Helder Silva
Favors: Confetti UK
Event Planner Assistant: Leo Carrascoza
Thank you Berta and Christian for sharing your wedding day with us!
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