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Real Wedding: Phuong + Gregory

You might recognize the beaaaaautiful bride as Mrs. Perfume from Weddingbee or from her highly addictive wedding blog, Macarons and Marie: My Modern Vintage Wedding. Regardless, I got hooked long ago following along as she planned a most decadent affair, absolutely fit for a queen, and by queen I am, of course, referring to the always très-chic Marie Antoinette. ;o) Scroll down for more eye candy and some fabulous insight from the bride herself ...


Tell us about your wedding style ... :All we knew in the beginning was that we were having a garden wedding at a historic mountain resort, The Homestead. The trend or fashion when I started wedding planning was "vintage." I interpreted this as 1930s, somewhere between old Hollywood and Gatsby. Gauzy, delicate, soft, and time-worn was the look combination I was going for. It worked very well with the setting. I blended in a bit of crisp 50s retro with my getaway dress (which my mom made from a vintage pattern).
Personal touches ... :
My mother made my veil out of two different types of vintage lace: Chantilly along the sides and a more substantial beaded Alençon at the bottom. She also sewed the bridesmaids dresses. I couldn't find the color I was looking for in ready-to-wear dresses, so my mom came to the rescue. I made macarons for the favors. The jewelry I wore was antique and vintage. Gregory's mom is an antiques dealer and has a garage full of amazing pieces. She gave me the vintage 1930s Art Deco earrings (the antique locket and clip I found on eBay). She also loaned us a bunch of old sterling ice buckets, water pitchers, and candlesticks for the centerpieces on our reception tables.

Favorite moment ... :
The stand-out moment of the wedding was when our officiant mistakenly read the marriage twice. So we kissed twice and are doubly married!
Advice to fellow brides ... :
It's easy to feel overwhelmed. Be present in the moment; find a minute or two to drink in the day. You will miss it otherwise.


And now, for all the nitty, gritty details:

Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia; set in the Allegheny mountains, it's a picturesque location. We had been going there on weekends for some time, and decided it would be the perfect location. I guess now we've solidified it as our special getaway place. In terms of wedding location, it was most convenient. Everything was right there in one spot so we didn't have to worry about transportation, lodging, etc. Also, the onsite coordinator made it so easy to plan.

Florist: Mountain Laurel Creations; a tiny start-up business. They were so accomodating and incredibly reasonable in their pricing. Last minute, I changed my bouquet to Amnesia roses, which were hard to source. They came through.
Dress: Vera Wang; it was a sample from www.yourdreamdress.com; the amazing thing is that the only alteration needed was a little hemming.
Invitations and paper goods: Lindsey Ryan. She's incredible and did a great job combining my idea of vintage, Parisian flea market, Ladurée, garden, Chinoiserie/indochine into a fantastic paper suite.

Etc.: I was obsessed with Ladurée macarons. Unfortunately they don't ship to the U.S. I was also keen on making something by hand that I could give to guests. So I made macarons for our favors. For those who know the difficulties of making macarons, I found a fool proof recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing an intimate sneak peek of your wedding with us, Phuong! And congratulations to both of you - all the best wishes for a long and loving marriage! xox.
And make sure to check out Phuong's gorgeous Etsy shop, Little White Dress, filled with oh-so-chic handmade dresses and accessories for weddings & parties! I especially love the sweet heirloom ring pillow! Timeless.
{All photos by Tim and Jamie Jackson}
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Wednesday Nesting, For the Well Dressed Home

I love coming across interesting home decor shops and that's just what I found when I clicked onto The Well Dressed Home several months ago. The site is brimming with beautiful things to fill your home - some are elegant, some are fun and silly, and some would be just perfect for a wedding.

The Well Dressed Home was kind enough to send me two of their fabulous boxwood wreaths featured above and while I currently have the beauties adorning our front and back entrance doors for the holidays, I think they would add such a refined touch to a wedding by gracing the double doors of a church or side doors to a garden ... remember this beautiful getaway idea using a boxwood wreath? All you'd really need is some white satin or velvet ribbon to tie and secure the wreath and presto! ... gorgeous + simple wedding decor!

Here's a few other items that I've been admiring from the shop:

This whitewash artichoke candle is the definition of classic. Would be stunning used as centerpieces on a long table for a modern, stream-lined reception.

Soaps almost too pretty to use - wouldn't they be a special touch in the bathroom for a seaside wedding?
The Well Dressed Home also has a vintage collection which I can't help but love, love, love! How cool is this art-deco styled box?! I think it would make such a unique gift for a special bridesmaid!

Enjoy shopping!

This post is sponsored by The Well Dressed Home. 
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Feathers + Brooches = Love

Wow! I'm really liking some of the styles from ban.do's new Black Label collection. Check them out here. Wouldn't they be fun for a rehearsal dinner? What do you think?

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