Today's real wedding is one that I love to feature - not only because it's beautiful and filled with lovely DIY creations, but because the bride herself emailed to share her wedding with me. The wedding of Kelly and Wayne {high school sweethearts} took place just a few weeks ago on July 6th in New Jersey. Their vintage Americana wedding was inspired by the Fourth of July and Kelly's grandfather {who had worked for Coca Cola for nearly 40 years}. Even though her grandfather is passed, Coca Cola remains a huge part of Kelly's family so it seems only fitting to incorporate that into their wedding. Continue reading for much more on the wedding itself and even more gorgeous photos from Rebecca Watkins Photography.

Kelly and Wayne's entire outdoor wedding used the color scheme of ivory, navy, burgundy and baby blue. It also included, of course, lots of the old time coke a cola glass bottles. As, Rebecca the photographer wrote: "Kelly and her bridesmaids had spend months creating all of the details, but left it to the boys to put them in place that morning. With a little guidance, Wayne and the guys did it perfectly. Who said boys were bad at arts and crafts?!" Don't you love that?

All of Kelly's jewelry along with the jewelry for her bridesmaids were handmade from artists on Etsy.com and her hairpiece was even made from her Mom's wedding dress. To wrap up the reception, Kelly, Wayne, and the entire bridal party had a surprise for the wedding guests . . . a fun choreographed dance {I will see if I can get a clip of the dance}.

you can see even more photos in the gallery below . . .  {click on each for a larger version}

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Wedding Vendors:
Flowers - ShopRite of Chews Landing, NJ
Bride's dress - David's Bridal
Bridesmaid dresses + Shoes {hello darling wedge in navy} - Mod Cloth
Wayne's suit - Banana Republic 
Cake - Diane's LaPatissere in West Berlin, NJ
Video - 23 Circles by Kevin and Danielle Malone 
Invitations - PaperSnaps 
Program Fans - Simply Inviting in Collingswood, NJ 
Necklace - Zafiriena on etsy
Bracelet - borrowed from grandmother
Earrings - Modern Designs by VKG on etsy
Hairpiece - Brass Boheme on etsy {made from Mother's old wedding dress sleeve}

I'm loving the brand new Aquamaids line of swimsuits from Shabby Apple. The collection features ruffled necklines and wraparound bows to accent the waistline. This vintage-inspired line of swimsuits come in classic polka dots, stripes, pastels, retro ginghams and there's even black and white zebra print. Bright colors, fun prints and vintage flair will be the hot trend this summer for swim wear, and maybe your honeymoon too.

Shabby Apple is a proud affiliate of Brenda's Wedding Blog. Thank you for supporting my affiliates and for your help in keeping the inspirational ideas coming your way each day of the week.

When I came across these two totally separate photos on pinterest I immediately knew they were meant to go together {well, at least that's what my mind told me}. Why not go against all traditional holiday colors and have a vintage pastel holiday party? Of course, this theme would even work for a holiday or winter wedding too. This dress couldn't be more perfect to coordinate with the color palette in the flowers and sweet treats. Have you spied any other vintage pastel ideas on pinterest? If yes, please leave a comment to share and build on the ideas below.

desserts from cupcake pictures, dress from modcloth

Update: just found a few more items that coordinate beautifully with the vintage pastel holiday party theme.

DIY printable holiday invitation from U Print Cards {available as 4x6 or 5x7 jpeg}

Vintage Bracelets from The Magpie Society

Vintage Polish Ornaments from Sugar Plum Sweet

I always get excited when a photographer emails me directly to introduce themselves and share with me a lovely wedding that I then get to share with you. Jasmine Lee Photography submitted this super sweet handmade wedding of Laurel and Stephen and the bride is here to share her perspective on the wedding.

The brides writes . . . "The theme I had envisioned for our wedding was classic, yet vintage; elegant, yet rustic; and infused with tradition. I fell in love with the town of Clarksburg (where our venues were located) upon my first visit. Stephen’s family of Dutch dairy farmers helped found the town after arriving here in the 1800s. Grapes turned out to be a better option for the location, so they switched to the wine industry."

The Mass was filled with the love of family and friends . . .
• a dear friend was their officiant
• the bride's brothers served the Mass
• a group of the bride's friends from her college choir came to sing
• the bride's mother created all the floral arrangements for the church

With Laurel being a food blogger for Chewy Morsels and both herself and Stephen loving good food and drink, they served their guests a delicious Italian dinner with a great wine selection. Laurel's friend flew all the way from Texas to bake and create their wedding cake which was carrot cake with chocolate strawberry toppers.

Handmade wedding touches included . . .
• the drying out of 15 dozen roses to make the table decorations with wine bottle vases
• with the bride and groom both having a great love for literature, book "pedestals" were used to display the floral arrangements
• in the center of each napkin was the favors for the guests - lavender sprigs with a tasting square of dark chocolate from Scharffen-Berger to accompany their toast of port

And, lastly, here are some memorable moments from the bride and groom:
Laurel: The most memorable moments of the day were twofold for me: saying our vows to each other — it was such a heartfelt and intense moment — I couldn’t have been happier to make those promises to Stephen, and when we were dancing to our first song together. It felt like we were the only ones in the room, spinning and twirling together, looking each other deeply in the eyes, for the first time as a married couple.

Stephen: When Laurel came down the aisle of the old mission style church along the Sacramento Delta, she looked like an angel, and the only one in the room. The local priest afforded us the opportunity of being married there, when typically it’s only parishioners, was truly an honor.

Wedding Vendors:

Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

Reception Venue: Old Sugar Mill

Photographer: Jasmine Lee Photography

Wedding Coordinator: Laurel Muff (day-of: Kayleigh Lembke)

Florist: Laurel Muff, bridesmaids, and Greta Munsill

Cake Artist: a friend, Emma Kenney

Makeup Artist: a friend, Diana Freeman

Hair Stylist: a friend, Maria Kalberg

Wedding dress designer: Alfred Angelo

Bridesmaids dress designer: Alfred Angelo

Tuxedo designer: Jos. A. Banks

DJ: a friend, Anthony Smitha

Caterer: TLC Catering

Yay, it's Friday and I have an amazing photo shoot to wrap up this month's Wedding Vendor Challenges. Today's shoot comes to us from DBY Events and Red Letter Event Planning with stunning photography from Angela Swan. Wait until you see what the desserts are presented on and you are going to go CRAZY for the colors in the floral arrangement. It's so lush and completely GORGEOUS!!!!! Kasey of DBY Events writes the following . . .

Our Havana Night was inspired by the classic comedy “I Love Lucy” and its iconic heart emblem and the retro polka dot motif. We imagined that a popular local music club was converted from its regular hip dance environment to the hot and spicy ‘Club Babaloo’ for an intimate Valentine's Supper Club.

The retro color scheme played well into the oversized invitation with the left polka dotted border and the prominently featured heart inviting all couples to come celebrate the lover’s holiday at one of two seatings for dinner. Lucy and Desi would be right at home, where we captured their spirit and essence in the representation of a fun and flirty evening.

The décor and paper goods for the evening, both influenced by our vintage lounge venue and our Havana night theme, incorporate elements tropical and garden-inspired, luxurious and natural; perfectly befitting a night of retro romance.

We love the balance of the whimsical with the elegant in our table linens and florals. Using sequin overlays with soft satin underlayers, the Black ostrich plumes add softness, while the florals include silver succulents and bold protea bring out a wonderful texture and depth to our look.  Dark feathers pull in the "club" feel, and our polka-dots are reflected in both the fun shapes of the hot pink anemone and the handcrafted wire work.

Mirrored mosaic chargers on the high boy tables with hand beaded napkin rings give each guest setting a touch of glamour, and beautifully reflect the candlelit dinner. The low booth settings incorporated the need for ice in the hot Havana nights and featured charger plates with large acrylic stone borders. All table settings include a place card for the couple, with a ‘his’ and ‘hers’ waiting to welcome the intimate couples to their seats.

The sweets table buffet was centered around the most romantic musical instrument, the piano at the club.  Bringing in the whimsical polka dots design, the name cards bring the design elements full circle, and the amazing chocolates and decadent cakes were placed on vintage platters atop the baby grand so that guests could tickle their taste buds while tickling the ivories before dancing the night away…

Vendor Credits:
Planning: DBY Events
Photography: Angela Swan
Coordination: Red Letter Event Planning
Venue: Sara at Chord On Blues 630-513-0074
Paper Goods: DBY Invitations
Florals: The Elegant Petal
Linens: Windy City Linen
Chameleon Chairs : Classic Party Rental and Chameleon Chair Collection
Sweets Buffet: Cocoa Bean and All Chocolate Kitchen