Find Your Wedding Style

I knew my whole life that I wanted a fall wedding. A wedding with pumpkins, mums, deep warm browns, terracotta and deep reds. I knew I wanted the leaves to be turning, to need a sweater in the morning and the smell of a bonfire in the air. I didn't get to have that wedding until I was over 50, so I had 5 decades to plan and dream. I knew all the things I wanted. I had BIG plans. 

My then fiance proposed on valentines day and we started planning right away for fall of the following year. The problem? Fall weddings are VERY popular and everyone else wanted one too. The venues were already booked.

I  was devastated. Waiting another year was not a good option for us. We had older family members that we wanted included and felt that was priority. So, I cried. A lot. Then I pulled up my big girl pants and pulled myself together and started looking at all the possibilities. So many options. So much beauty. So many colors. So many textures. It was overwhelming. I thought about why I wanted the fall wedding so badly and I started realizing it was connected with feelings. Childhood memories, baking with my grandmother, riding horses in the fall, cozy sweaters, high school football, hayrides and bonfires with friends. The happiest times.

That got me thinking about other times, other seasons, other memories and I realized that while fall encompassed some of my favorite memories it wasn't those memories I was trying to convey to my guests but the feelings connected with those memories. Joy, the excitement of change, hope for the future, love for each other and for our favorite people. I was able to dive into who we are as individuals, as a couple. Who we are with our friends, with our families. What style represents us? What are our favorite colors? Favorite things? Favorite Flowers? Favorite foods?

We were struggling with cake vs cupcakes vs dessert table. We wanted all of our guests to enjoy every part of our day. Not an easy task with 150 people! I thought back to those memories again and baking with my grandmother. Sadly, she is no longer here but that memory sparked an idea. We reached out to all the ladies in our family that had a "signature" dessert. We asked them to make those and bring them to the wedding. They were truly so excited to bring those desserts to our wedding. That ask that I was worried to ask, brought them joy.  That is when it started to make sense, when I saw how I wanted it to feel, for us and for our guests.   We arranged those on two dessert tables and labeled them with the names of the ladies that made them. Needless to say, it was a huge hit.

About the time I had fully embraced the idea of a summer wedding there was a cancelation at my favorite venue and they offered us the date. I was able to have my dream wedding in October, on my birthday no less! That time though that I believed I was having a June wedding was an amazing time of discovery for me. I had to lean in to new ideas, new vision, different styles and colors. 

. There are so many beautiful themes out there and so many ways to carry out those themes. Ultimately though, your wedding day is a a statement of you, your partner and your life together. Find ideas that tell about each one of you and of your life together. Then find the style that you can see those in. 

Now, let's talk about some amazing aesthetics! There are so many beautiful styles, we can't possible cover them all. I hope this gives you some inspiration.