Your hair and makeup are done. You put on your dress and look at yourself in the mirror. You look gorgeous, you’re the most excited you’ve ever been before, and all you want to do is see your future husband’s face when he sees you as his bride.
Now imagine the first time he sees you is in a quiet little corner that you have all to yourselves. You walk up behind him and gently tap his shoulder. He turns around and sees you. His expression is priceless. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for and you get to hug and kiss and enjoy every second of it. And of course, your photographer captures all of it. Though ‘first looks’ are a bit unorthodox, they create such amazing, one-of-a-kind moments for couples on their wedding day:
As a unique alternative to the traditional fresh flower bouquet, handmade bouquets from the artisan community at Etsy are exquisite, charming and everlasting. These imaginative and custom made creations make for remarkable keepsakes that can be handed down as heirlooms.
Delightful and contemporary, these arrangements present a variety of designs, colors and sizes. Many vendors offer the option of crafting coordinating bridal party bouquets, boutonnieres, or even hair accessories for a pick that truly suits your personality and wedding!
Here are some of my favorites:
Left to right, top to bottom
This button bouquet arrangement by Letters4Lilly adorned with sparkling flower diamante buttons, silk flowers and rosebuds, wedding themed buttons with hearts, bells, wedding rings and the phrase “I do.” Stems are bound and wrapped with satin ribbon, complete with bow and sparkling brooch.
A LLillard Designs arrangement, this beautiful and creative bouquet of origami flowers is made from 3×3 inch squares of paper.
No, those are not real flowers! This hand painted paper arrangement is a creation of Weddings by Becca-Mari is truly a piece of art.
Hey there! We wanted to let all our readers know about a super fun giveaway Night Owl Paper Goods has offered to us and our readers. They are giving us FREE SHIPPING on all orders now through May 10! Simply enter the coupon code “bridepop” during check-out and you are good to go. If you missed our previous post about who Night Owl is and what they do, we’ve included a quick “about us” from them here:
With a passion for fine craftsmanship detail & the environment, Alan Henderson and Jennifer Tatham went out on a limb to start Night Owl paper Gods, a stationery company devoted to creating handmade letterpress cards and eco-chic wooden goodies. –Night Owl Paper Goods
When Dana & Tracey Hanna got married they wanted all their friends and family that couldn’t be there to know about it right when it happened. Just prior to officially becoming husband and wife, Dana whips out his BlackBerry to update his Facebook status and to send it out on Twitter.
His Tweet was, “Standing at the altar with Tracy where just a second ago, she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss my bride. #weddingday”
I have a lot of family scattered around the country and we all use Facebook a lot to keep in touch. So when Tracy and I were engaged, most of my family found out via Facebook because we updated our statuses. I surprised not only my guests, but also Tracy by pulling out my phone and posting on Facebook and Twitter from the altar during out wedding. I had her phone ready in my pocket, so when she asked for it I could hand it to her. No one knew about this except the minister, and myself.
Eric and Kim had a truly gorgeous wedding and Polka Dot Bride has a full host of pictures to prove it. Held in New Zealand and complete with BMX bikers and graffiti, how could you have a more fun time?
I think there is one photo where Kim isn’t smiling, in every other shot she has this smile that is so wide you just can’t help but smile along with her! The rich royal purple tones, the backdrop of graffiti and Kim’s over sized hair flower all add to that really funky vibe of the day.
