Friendly Inspiration: Caitlin

Week Four: Caitlin

Our Relationship: I met Caitlin in Mrs. Matthew's Grade 3 class & we've been best friends ever since!

Her Major: Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Her School: University of Arizona

Her Interests: Dance (she wishes she still did it)

Top Left: Grade 8; Top Right: Grade 10; Bottom Left: First year of college;
Bottom Right: Going into our third year of college

Caitlin's Questionnaire:

Colours: red, black, white, silver

Feeling: vintage, cozy

Season: summer

Dress: simple, maybe lace or little sparkles

Location: outdoor ceremony, indoor reception

Caitlin's Dream Wedding:

The Colours: Caitlin's colour scheme inspired me to create an old Hollywood feel to the wedding.

The Invitations: These black on black wedding invitations are elegant with an added vintage touch.

The Bride's Attire: Caitlin was hesitant about a lot of sparkle or beadwork, but when she saw this Lazaro gown, she fell in love!

The Bride's Accessories: To give her look a vintage feel, I found these pearl and diamond accessories to pair with her dress.

The Bride's Beauty: For Caitlin's hair, we chose effortless waves, partially pinned back, which work perfectly with the cut of her dress. For her makeup, we had to include the hollywood glamour of the red lip and dramatic eyes, along with the classic look of a french manicure.

The Bridesmaid's Attire: To match the cut of Caitlin's dress, these bridesmaids dresses were chosen. To incorporate the red into the bridesmaids' look, these beautiful red pumps were chosen (and the crystal heel is such a bonus!).

The Groom & Groomsmen: All black suits (including the dress shirt) are effortlessly glamourous, and paired with red ties (so the groomsmen match the bridesmaids) and a silver tie (so the groom matches his bride), the look is perfect!

The Flowers: I absolutely love the bouquet that Caitlin chose! It's so luscious and adds so much colour to the bridal party and groomsmen's looks! (Now don't quote me on this, but I believe these are garden roses.)

The Ceremony: I lived in Yorba Linda for three years (and still visit every year), and never knew that the Richard Nixon Library hosted weddings - and beautiful ones at that! The backdrop to the ceremony is the gorgeous First Lady's Rose Garden, which creates the perfect space to get married.

The Ceremony Decor: The arch featured below stood out to me for two reasons: first, because of the gorgeous chandelier, and second for the natural feel of it. Rather than the vines that cover it here, I would use twinkle lights. Lining the aisle, I would hang florals (most likely Ranunculus) and on every other, hang vintage tea-light holders with crystals. Ideally, I would like to hold to ceremony at dusk so that the lights and candles can be visible to the guests.

The Reception: The Richard Nixon Library offers a grand ballroom filled with gorgeous chandeliers and an elegant atmosphere. The feeling of the room is completely in keeping with the feel that Caitlin wants for her wedding.

The Reception Decor: I decided on two looks for the tables, each of which are described below!

When I saw this table, I knew that I wanted to recreate the look of these
plates!

I couldn't find what I was looking for online, so I made a quick sketch of
what I was thinking of with the plates. On the silver tables, I would start
with a square black plate, a red napkin on top, and then layer it with a
silver plate. For the black tables, I would do the opposite colours for
the plates.

On each table, I would include all of the above.

Black Table: black, pleated tablecloth & silver Chiavari chairs
Centerpiece: vase filled with diamond vase filler; crystal hangars around
vase; red calla lilies & red orchids in vases; red orchid & rose petals
around the centerpieces, along with crystal holders for tea-light candles

Silver Table: silver, pleated tablecloth & black Chiavari chairs
Centerpieces: mirrors to base the vases; vases filled with diamond vase
filler; crystal hangars around vase (like in bottom left photo); white
ostrich feathers in vases; red orchid & rose petals around
centerpieces, along with crystal holders for tea-light candles

The Escort Cards: This elegant way to display the escort cards, along with the beautiful calligraphy used, was exactly what this wedding called for!

The Cake: This cake was practically made for this wedding with its vintage black lace and red roses.

The Favours: This black, white, and silver candy buffet is a great way to allow the guests to create their own favours, getting exactly what they want! (Slight edit: I would want to add some red candy to the mix.)