Friendly Inspiration: Grace

Welcome back to Friendly Inspirations! If you missed the ideas behind this wedding, be sure to take a look at the introduction here.

Grace's Friendly Inspiration:

The Colour Palette: Shades of soft purples and coral will be intermixed with white elements throughout the wedding.

The Invitations: This invitation suite features both the colour scheme and a hint of beach-inspiration with its sandy elements.

The Venue:

The Ceremony: The ceremony will take place on the Stinson State Beach, with its sunny atmosphere and views of the ocean.

The Reception: A short drive away is the Cypress Ridge Pavilion, a venue with a beautiful reception space full of high ceilings and hardwood details. The location also has exceptional photography opportunities, including backgrounds with cypress tress and a small lake. 

The Bride:

The Dress: This Ti Adora gown features a lace bodice with a flowy skirt and jewelled belt, perfect for a beach ceremony and an inside reception. 

The Look: The bride will hold a bouquet full of white, lavender, and coral flowers. To accessorize the dress, she will wear diamond earrings and a simple tennis bracelet. Her hair will be done in a half-up, half-down style with slight waves and a beaded veil.

The Bridesmaids: The bridesmaids will wear a coral ombre sweetheart gown, while holding a white and coral bouquet similar to the bride's.

The Groom & Groomsmen: To match the beach-ceremony, the men will wear dark pants and crisp white shirts. To stand out, the groom will wear a lavender tie to match the bride's bouquet, while the groomsmen will match the bridesmaids with coral ties. Each of the men will also wear a coral boutonniere.

The Ceremony: The ceremony will take place on the beach in front of two large decorated trees. At the base of the trees will be large lanterns with coral and lavender candles. The guests will sit on both white and coral benches, giving the ceremony some added colour. There will also be a unique "beach" sign for the couple. 

The Cocktail Hour: The cocktail hour will take place on the beach under a white tent. Set up under the tent will be cocktail tables with lavender tablecloths and white centrepieces. Drinks will be served, including custom lavender lemonade and grapefruit cocktails. 

The Escort Cards: Leading the guests to their seats will be a seating display with a lavender quatrefoil background. Holding the escort cards to the background will be lavender and coral pearl push pins.

The Reception: Inside the hall will be circular tables with white tablecloths and custom coral and lavender runners. The centrepieces will consist of clear vases filled with colourful flowers, accented with white candles in hurricane vases to add warmth. The place settings will consist of white plates and chargers, decorated with soft purple menus and a sprig of lavender.

The Cake: The cake will be frosted with white and lavender icing, decorated with coral flowers. It will sit atop a white china cake stand accented with coral ribbon.

The Guestbook: Guests will be encouraged to sign the guestbook with their "hopes for the couple...". Their responses will be hung from the same push pins as the escort cards, displayed in between lavender and coral flowers.

The Favours: To thank the guests for sharing in their special day, the couple will send them home with lavender sachets filled with fresh lavender that can be used for aroma or cooking. 

Next week, a warm summer night's wedding.

Coral of the Story

Colour Wheel: Coral

Coral flower crown.

Coral suspenders.

Coral reception lounge.

Glittered centrepiece.

Accented ceremony arch.

Coral candles in lanterns.

Painted table numbers.

Twine ribbon invitation suite.

Cascading flower cake.

Bright boutonniere.

Coral cocktail hour decor.

Bracelet bridesmaids gifts.

Coordinating bridesmaids dresses.

Escort cards and favours.

Ribbon background in coral shades.

Coral cocktails.

A chevron tie.

Colourful engagement photo.

Coral bridal pumps.

Floral aisle decor.

Will this colour be the coral of your story?

An Apricot Mint Cocktail

Colour Palette: Apricot & Mint

Mint bridesmaids' necklaces.

Apricot drapes and aisle decor.

An apricot cake and mint cake stand.

Apricot and mint macaroons.

Apricot watercolour invitations.

Mint centrepieces with hints of apricot.

A mint tablecloth with apricot candles.

A mint runner and apricot flowers.

An apricot boutonniere.

Light apricot tablecloths.

Mint bridesmaids dresses and apricot bouquets.

A vibrant bouquet of apricot and mint.

A nontraditional mint bridal gown.

An apricot-flavoured cocktail.

Will you serve an apricot mint cocktail of decor on your special day?

Friendly Inspiration: Chloe

On Friday, I introduced Chloe's Friendly Inspiration with an inspiration board full of rustic and fun-loving touches. Today, I show you her wedding plans!

Chloe's Friendly Inspiration:

The Invitations: Featuring her cerulean, peach, and coral colour scheme, these invitations are both adorable and thematically great! (Plus, there are little owls hidden in the wreath, which is perfect for a Chi Omega).

The Venue: Little Venice Island

The Property: This gorgeous venue is a private island that backs right onto the Delta in Northern California. It's spacious, filled with natural beauty, and the perfect location for Chloe's wedding.

Ceremony Location: Since the island backs onto the Delta, it only makes sense to have it as the backdrop for the ceremony.

Reception Location: In the heart of the island is a huge piece of land that is just waiting for a tented reception to be held.

The Bride:

The Dress: Stephanie Allin's "Scarlett" features a tulle skirt perfect for twirling and dancing in, plus has the dainty cap-sleeves that Chloe loves.

The Accessories: Chloe has short hair, so a half-up, half-down look is perfect. With some added curls and a unique pearl hairpin, it will work with the dress beautifully. Add in dainty pearl earrings, bracelet, and necklace, along with lace bow heels, and the look is complete. As the bride, Chloe also gets a special bouquet to help her stand out even more.

The Bridesmaids: To match the bride's capped sleeves, we decided on these beautiful dresses for the bridesmaids. A navy dress is the perfect backdrop for standout bouquets!

The Groom and Groomsmen: As a way for the groom to stand out, he is the only one wearing a jacket with his suit. The men will tie the look together with a peach tie and boutonniere, which will look great against the navy suit!

The Decorations:

The Flowers: Throughout the ceremony and reception, flowers in peach, cerulean, coral, cream, and purple will help decorate the spaces.

The Ceremony: Lining the aisle will be wooden slabs with tin vases filled with colourful flowers. The ceremony arch will have matching flowers and sheer curtains to create the perfect backdrop for the "I Dos."

The Reception:

The Table: Atop the wooden tables will be peach and lace runners with wooden crates filled with flowers. The crates will have words on them like, "Love" and "Happiness" along with the table number. In between the crates, tealight candles will help add ambiance. The individual place settings will be layered: a lace-rimmed cream charger, peach and cream napkin, purple plate, and to top it off, the favours and place card (a teal flower with the guests' name on the leaf).

The Tent: To add fun lights to the space, the tent will be lined with cerulean, white, and peach lanterns.

Extra Decorations: Little extras will help make the space come together. Featured will be a "LOVE" ladder, "Better Together" signs on the bride and groom's chairs, twinkly lights covering the surrounding trees, and a "This way to love, laughter, and happily ever after" sign. The last bit of decor will be the escort cards: thumbprints creating a heart with the guests' names and tables.

The Dessert Bar & Cake: A great alternative to having a large cake is creating a dessert bar. With a variety of desserts in the colour scheme, along with a "Love is Sweet" sign (in a rustic cerulean frame), the guests are sure to be pleased! For the cake, a matching "Love is Sweet" cake stand will hold the peach and cream cake (with a cerulean flower to add some colour). The cake topper is two owls and "We Do" to bring that Chi Omega spirit to the cake.

The Guestbook: One way that I decided to incorporate Chi Omega into Chloe's wedding was by choosing a line from their symphony to help decorate the guestbook table. The line I chose was: "to be loyal under any and all circumstances" as it seemed so fitting for a marriage. The guestbook will be an "Advice Box" where guests can write their well wishes and advice to the couple. There will also be a decorated mailbox for cards and frames filled with pictures of the couple.

The Favours: Chloe loves candy, so what better than candy favours for her guests!? A mason jar will be filled with purple, peach, and cerulean salt water taffy! To decorate the jar, a polka dot cerulean fabric will line the top of the jar, and finally, a cerulean fabric flower to not only add beauty, but to act as the place card for the table.

Chi Omega, Yours Forever: A tradition when a Chi Omega gets married is to have all of her sorority sisters link hands and sing their song "Shades" to the bride. Along with this tradition, Chloe could also have her pin with her, attached to her bridal bouquet.

The Sendoff: A colourful and fun sendoff is a must! Ribbons in all the colours of Chloe's wedding will help send the couple off in style!

Extras: For a dog-lover like Chloe, a picture with her pup is a must!

Next week's Friendly Inspiration will begin a Springtime series, beginning with a yellow, teal, and grey affair!

Friendly Inspiration: Clara

Week Five: Clara
Our Relationship: I met Clara my freshman year of college and now we're living together for the second year!
Her Major: Bio-Psychology
Her School: University of California, Davis
Her Interests: cats, tv, eating, tumblr & YouTube

Clara's Questionnaire:
Colours: blues, greens, coral
Feeling: rustic, home-y, not too fancy, relaxed
Season: spring
Dress: not mermaid, no big ball gowns (minor is okay), simple with a little flair, nothing too beaded or ruffled
Location: outside ceremony and reception
Special Requests: would like some kind of photobooth

Clara's Dream Wedding:

The Colours: Shades of coral and aqua are the perfect combination for a spring wedding!

The Invitations: With its unique design and coral and aqua colour scheme, this invitation is the perfect choice!

The Bride's Attire: This bateau top and lace fabric bridal gown by Modeca incorporates just enough flair for Clara's low-key garden wedding.

The Bride's Beauty: Clara wishes to have her natural features enhanced without wearing too much makeup, so we chose a natural eye colour, voluminous eyelashes, and a perfect pink pout. Along with natural makeup, Clara will also have naturally coloured nails (she's not a huge fan of nail polish). Clara has beautifully thick hair, but when she's going to be dancing up a storm, she definitely wants her hair up, so we chose this unique braid-bun updo for her.

The Bridesmaids' Attire: This seafoam green dress by Social Bridesmaids is a perfect mix of colour and detail.

The Bridal Party Shoes: I love the idea of colourful shoes for a wedding, and Clara totally agrees! To offset the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses, we chose this beautiful coral pump by Thomasina. As a way for Clara to match her bridesmaids, she will be wearing Jessica Simpson pumps in the same colour as the bridesmaid dresses.

The Groom & Groomsmen Attire: In keeping with the lightness of Clara's colours, the men will wear a medium-grey suit with fun bowties to match the bridesmaids.

The Flowers: This bright coral and pink bouquet was an immediate favourite for Clara! The groom and his groomsmen will wear matching boutonnieres.

The Ceremony: Clara wanted a casual, yet elegant, outdoor venue for her ceremony. When we came across this garden location (Lake Oak Meadows) in Temecula (Southern CA), it was meant to be!

The Ceremony Decor: Lining the aisle will be hanging mason jars with coordinating flowers to Clara's bridal bouquet. To add a light-hearted feel to the ceremony, we'll create a ribbon backdrop for the couple in the wedding colours.

The Reception: Lake Oak Meadows also has a great reception space with the exact feel that Clara wants - especially with the fire pits!

The Reception Decor: Minimalistic decor is the name of the game! With these adorable wooden boxes filled with beautiful garden florals, it's the perfect mix of garden and rustic elegance. Rather than table numbers, words will be written on the boxes to add some uniqueness to the tables.

The Escort Cards: The font used on these escort cards is perfect and the little hearts give them character!

The Cake: Clara wanted a simple cake with some wow accessories!

The Guestbook: Clara loves photobooths, so this guestbook will incorporate the photos taken by her guests.

The Favours: M&Ms in the wedding colours fill a mini mason jar that will be given to the guests.

Little Extras: Some extra little details to make Clara's day unique.

Photo: Clara is beyond in love with her cat, Kitten (also known as Bootle), so this is a must-have photo!

Reception Fun: A photobooth for the guests is a must-have at this wedding! 

Drink Bar: Drinks in both aqua and coral in mason jars will be a for sure hit with the guests!

Next week, I'm going to do my bestie, Kiley's, wedding - and fun fact, she's actually getting married! :D

Sources:
Colours: Colour Lovers
Invitations: Truly Engaging
Bridal Gown: Modeca
Bridal Beauty: Jennifer Lawrence, Indulgy, Pretty_Design, Nailstah
Bridesmaids: Dessy
Shoes: Thomasina, Jessica Simpson
Groomsmen: GQ, Divine Domestication, Little Vys, CCA Design
Flowers: Style Me Pretty
Ceremony Venue: Lake Oak Meadows, Nick Corona, Hulse Photo
Ceremony Decor: Style Me Pretty, Your Wedding Keepsakes, Rebecca Shepherd, Style Me Pretty
Reception Venue: Lake Oak Meadows, Hulse Photo
Reception Decor: Wedding Bee, Inspired by This, Ruffled
Escort Cards: Emmaline Bride
Cake: see my Pinterest
Guestbook: The Knot
Favours: My M&M's
Photo: see my Pinterest
Photobooth: Stace Cadet Designs
Drinks: Breakfast with Audrey, Kitchen Treaty