We’re thrilled to bring you Katie and Jeremy’s mountain engagement session today. Shot by Miranda Coe, this e-session is sweet and spectacular–just like Katie and Jeremy. Surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina’s high country, Katie gives us a glimpse into their wedding style and playful demeanor. Enjoy.

Wedding colors: Shades of purples and grays
E-session locale: the historical Moses Cone House off the Blue Ridge Parkway
Photographer: Miranda Coe Photography
Saving the Date {November 10, 2012}: MagnetStreet Weddings

About your engagement session:

It honestly came to together very quickly for us. Miranda, our photographer, is one of Jeremy’s good friends from college and she took our photos off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Boone, NC one afternoon.  My fiance went to grad school at Appalachian State and fell in love with the history, scenery and the cold weather up in the NC mountains!

We took a lot of our pictures at the historical Moses Cone house off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was absolutely freezing and actually started to SNOW during our photo shoot. We also took pictures on top of Thunder Mountain. The picture with the sunset is at the top of Thunder Mountain.

How would you describe your wedding style?

We’re getting married in the Catholic Church and we are both Southerners so our style is pretty conservative and traditional. However, we do like to have fun and dance. There will be a lot of fun to be had at the reception!

I’m never sure how to accurately describe my wedding style. I usually send people to my pinterest inspiration board when I’m asked this question. Feel free to draw your own conclusions after looking.

You and Jeremy seem to be having a lot of fun here:

This was also the same day UNC was completely crushed by Florida State in basketball. I am a HUGE UNC basketball fan and Jeremy has been a fan of Florida State since he was little. Needless to say, we ended up yelling and screaming (in a playful way) at each other once we found out the score of the game. The pictures where I’m tackling Jeremy from behind is when he was teasing me about the game.

“After about 50 kissing shots …”

We had a few other funny moments during our shoot. Every time I got close to Jeremy he would lean in for a kiss. Miranda would go with it and take a picture. After about 50 kissing pictures Jeremy looked at me and said, “I think we have too many kissing pictures!” Miranda and I just started laughing hysterically at this point since he finally realized what he was doing. He said he just couldn’t help himself!

Ice on ice …

At one point during the shoot I was too cold to smile so I went and sat in the car for 20 minutes to defrost. Jeremy and Miranda took my engagement ring for a few pictures. It felt so weird not to be wearing my ring even for 20 minutes! I wear it everywhere–shower, bed, gym–I just can’t take it off!

What are you most looking forward to on your wedding day?

Walking out of the church and into our reception hand-in-hand with my wonderful husband. It’s that moment I’m looking forward to the most–the moment of actually becoming husband and wife. I keep imagining myself thinking, “finally” and smiling ear-to-ear knowing I have just married the best man in the world.

Any advice you’d like to offer other planning brides?

Give your fiance a few things to be COMPLETELY in charge of. It will relieve some of your stress and also give your fiance a chance to truly feel involved. My fiance is in charge of our cake and honeymoon and he is enjoying every second of it! We actually decided that the cake would be a complete surprise for me on our wedding day and I can’t wait to see what he picked!

Vendor Shout-outs!

Miranda Coe Photography
Thank you so much for capturing our love in photos. You made an otherwise stressful day into a carefree, fun experience that we will never forget.

MagnetStreet Weddings
After toying with multiple wedding websites, I kept coming back to MagnetStreet to play with our Save the Dates. Their personalization tool really made everything so much easier. I even asked for the font to be enlarged more than the editor would allow and the design team made it happen. The magnets turned out great. We are extremely pleased with the quality of the images, the magnet itself and the way everything was packaged.

{Katie & Jeremy personalized Enchanted Encounter- large Save the Date Magnet}

Jeremy and Katie–thank you so much for sharing your mountainous engagement-escape with all of us! And, we can’t wait to hear about the cake and honeymoon plans Jeremy is dreaming up! You two are amazing.

Best of everything to you both!

xo

I think we’re featuring the most adorable couple on the planet today–or really close to it. Meet highly creative & super-romantic Prentice and his very lovely bride-to-be Trisha. Not only will their gorgeous, rustic-country engagement session pics make you smile–but Prentice’s *Chris Brown* music video proposal {below} is so romantic and shows just how far Prentice would go, to show Trisha how much he loves her! Enjoy both.

Wedding Style: vintage, country-chic
Wedding Colors: blush, minty green and tans
Photographer: Lindsey Cotton {See entire Abilene, TX e-session here.}
Save the Date: MagnetStreet Weddings
“Chris Brown” Video Proposal

What was it like to work with Lindsey Cotton–your photographer?
We would like to thank Lindsey for all she has done so far and still to come. She is a great person to work with and likes to have fun.

What did you think of MagnetStreet’s designs and website? 
We loved the user-friendly layout. There were so many options to choose from that we could see ourselves using. The prices were great as well. They were well within our budget and would fit into anyone’s budget. Trisha & Prentice used Devoted Save the Date Magnet design.

Ok, let’s talk about this crazy-cool, super-creative *Chris Brown* video proposal of yours, Prentice …

How did you come up with such a creative, elaborate proposal plan?
Ever since Trisha and I became serious about getting married, I told her that when I proposed it was going to be huge. Trisha and I are not the typical couple. So, when I proposed I had to do something unusual. Trisha’s favorite artist is Chris Brown. So me and a friend got together to brainstorm how I could give her the best proposal. I finally decided to do a Chris Brown lip-syncing video to propose. I knew Trisha would get a kick out of this. Me acting crazy in the video would also express the ends at which I would go to show Trisha how much I loved her.

Are you always this creative?
I would like to say I’m always this creative. Every time I give Trisha a gift I like to put a creative twist on it. The proposal is by far the most over the top I have gotten though. I try to do the little things with each gift to make it my own style.

What was the most important part of the proposal? {besides the final Q&A of course}
The most important part of the proposal was making sure the Christmas party went according to plan. I had to make sure her family snuck in through the back door without giving it away. I had to make sure Trisha was in the right spot so she could be in front of the TV when the video came on. I also had to make sure I did not give it away throughout the night while I was at the party. Lastly, the toughest part of the proposal was getting Trisha to actually wear what was in the video. I thought it would be simple for her to wear what I gave her, but it took some heavy convincing from her friends to get her to actually wear the outfit.

How many friends helped you?
In all, I had a total of 6 friends help me. Kim Osborne was the friend who helped me come with the Chris Brown idea. James Graham was the friend who recorded me and helped edit the video. Ken Hurd and Chris Goffney were my friends in the opening scene. And D’Angelo and Janelle Sands were my friends who let me do the whole proposal at their house.

How long were you in the planning?
The total project took a solid month and a half of solid work. I was doing something every day working towards the video.

And, how much fun did you have—planning, executing?
This was probably one of the most fun times I have had. It took a lot of work, but it was worth it. I had fun thinking about all the little things I could hide throughout the video that are special to us. Trying to dance was pretty funny too. Considering I NEVER dance for anyone.

Trisha–what were you thinking the moment Prentice gave you the clothes to wear?
Prentice surprises me with little things every once in a while, so it wasn’t really anything new. I was kind of shocked that he gave it to me at my work though because he will usually do things like that when it is just us two together. I thought it was so sweet though–I almost started crying. I was grinning all day because it was just such a sweet thing he had done.

How did you feel as the proposal video unfolded?
I have never felt so special in my entire life as I did at that moment. I was in total shock that someone would do something like that just for me. I felt so loved and he truly made me believe that I was the only one for him. I love him so much for sacrificing his time and making that night so memorable! I couldn’t stop smiling afterwards. I was blessed to have such a beautiful night.

And to have your family there too …
It really meant a lot to have my family there. It felt special that Prentice knew me well enough to know that would be important for my family to be there during that time. I am thankful that they love Prentice, so just seeing the happiness on their faces and their excitement made me cry.

What are you both most looking forward to on wedding day?

Prentice: I’m just ready for the day to get here. I’m excited about getting both of our families together to celebrate with us. I’m excited to become the “Ashfords” officially.
Trisha: I’m most excited about Prentice and I becoming our own family. I also can’t wait to see the excitement of our friends and families faces that day. Everyone in our lives cannot wait. I just can’t wait to see Prentice as I walk down the aisle to marry him … he is my best friend.

Watch the video…

So Prentice, do you feel added pressure to keep everything “big” from now on? 
Actually, I don’t feel the pressure. I know if I try to put that pressure on myself I won’t be able to live up to it. This will also keep Trisha on her toes. After a couple of moments of not-as-big gifts, that’s when I can pull something amazing off. It all goes back to the creativity. If I stay creative and heart felt with the way I present, then I won’t have to go big every time.

Congratulations you two! Thanks for letting us share in your incredible proposal video and engagement photos. So fabulous. Please please, come back with your wedding photos! Love, peace and joy to you always!

xo

The joy and emotion is so evident in George & Katina’s lovely September wedding. Theirs was a classic wedding–complete with modern elements to complement their style and personalities. A gorgeous couple, Katina looks amazing in her stunning asymmetrical gown with beaded trim and hot pink platform pumps. And George–looking quite debonaire in his all white tux. Enjoy this elegant wedding–so tender and sweet and beautifully captured.

Wedding Style – Traditional
Wedding Colors – Sage green, Gold, Ivory
Ceremony St. Andrews Episcopal Church, College Park, MD
Reception Martin’s Crosswinds Greenbelt, MD
Photographer Michael Clark Photographers
Videographer: Video By Design
Wedding Thank You Cards- MagnetStreet Weddings

Highlights of the day – Seeing my husband to be standing at the altar, waiting for me with a smile on his face was priceless!
Advice you’re glad you took – Take your time planning!
Advice you’d like to give – Take your time and enjoy every moment of the day because there are no do-overs!
Best part of the day – The reception and seeing all my hard work come together…seeing how beautiful everything looked was amazing!

Perfect for their color scheme, George & Katina personalized “Eternal Roses with picture” Save the Date Mini Magnet and “Green Hue” fold over Thank You Cards. And, music to our ears, here are a few sweet words from Katina regarding her experience with MagnetStreet …

“Shopping MagnetStreet for our Save the Date magnets and Wedding Thank You cards was one of the easist tasks while planning my big day! Being able to personalize our magnets & cards was a great touch! Our shipment arrived within days and they looked fantastic! I will definitely use MagnetStreet again and encourage any Bride to shop here first! It’ll be your first and last stop! Kudos!!!”

Such a beautiful and stately wedding! Congratulations! Thanks George and Katina for sharing it with all of us. We wish you every joy and happiness … always!

xo

Michele & Jay, October 12, 2011 Queensland, Australia

With just their dear friends Kathy and Nate beside them–Michele & Jay followed their passionate hearts and adventurous spirits to say their “I Do’s” in the “Land Down Under” in an intimate wedding ceremony on tropical Angsana Beach in Palm Cove, Australia. Follow along as our stunning and thoughtful bride, Michele, shares how their wedding day vision came true–in a destination that most only dream about! But, that’s not all… Michele also shares a wealth of information–especially for planning brides-to-be … on how they planned their at-home reception, wedding stationery and insightful wedding planning advice. Exquisitely rendered by Australian wedding photographer Benn Brown, enjoy this spectacular wedding in paradise!

Wedding Style Fun! Unique! Creative! Stylish! “I do not like doing what every other bride does for their wedding. It’s an important day so I wanted the details to be noticed! I went to friends’ weddings and visited many wedding sites and blogs for ideas, then personalized them to fit our own style.”
Wedding Colors Red for the wedding & Red & Black for the reception
Ceremony Angsana Beach at Angsana Resort & Spa, Palm Cove, Australia Photography location – Angsana Beach, Chapel and Resort
Wedding package coordinated through South Pacific Bridal
Wedding Coordinator – Gina Ford- “She is absolutely amazing and I had no concerns about letting her handle the details from across the world.” Jay and I chose all the options and sent Gina all the specifics and she coordinated and arranged EVERYTHING. She and I communicated via email and everything about the wedding day turned out just as we had envisioned!”

Wedding Photographer -Benn Brown, Blue Sky Photography Cairns, Australia “Our fabulous and creative photographer!”

Why Australia?
“After we got engaged, our first discussion was where we might like to have the wedding ceremony. Jay and I both agreed on a warm tropical beach … and why not do it in a way that fits our unique style? Why not do what most people dream of doing their entire lives ..why not do something that fits our passion for fun and adventure and make our special day unforgettable in every way! Unanimously, we decided on AUSTRALIA. I spent quite a bit of time searching and reading reviews on the various locations and wedding packages in Australia. South Pacific Bridal was the company we chose to do our wedding ceremony coordination. We chose the world renowned, Angsana Beach and Chapel for the ceremony  and Gina was our wedding coordinator. This is me, a type-A, overly perfectionist bride-to-be, surprising all my friends and letting someone else handle the details.”

Highlights of the day:
for Michele - seeing Jay’s face when he saw me in my WOW dress for the first time! Priceless!
for Jay – seeing my wife-to-be walking toward me on the beach. And being able to say ‘I Do’ to her

Advice you’re glad you took “Don’t sweat the small stuff. I heard this from lots of friends including recent brides. I’ve read and seen brides having major meltdowns (very scary) because the glitter dust on the cake wasn’t shiny enough, or the DJ wasn’t playing the right music or the flowers in the bouquet were not what she ordered… you cannot let these details ruin your joyous day! Details are important for a bride especially one with perfectionist tendencies (like me) , but I didn’t let the bridezilla moments get the best of me. I’m not saying I didn’t have bridal fits on occasion, because I most certainly did. But I dealt with the situation and kept going.”

Advice you wished you’d taken “I wish I would have asked for more help from friends and family for the ‘To Do Before the I Dos’ List. My Matron of Honor during all the planning gave me this bit of advice – recruit friends and family for help! But seriously, I personally do not know of one bride who doesn’t want to be actively involved in the details of her very special day! If you are a control freak over your situation, like me, learn to let go of some of the responsibilities, have your friends over for an invitation addressing or a favor making party and watch the movie ‘Bridesmaids’ together!”

Thank You Cards “Classic Kiss” from MagnetStreet – Seriously, I’ve received THANK YOU emails and calls for the thank you cards! I customized them so that guests could have a nice wedding photo on the front and inside without having to include an additional photo in the card. The quality is amazing!

Change in attire

“So we would have different styles and a variety of photos (both casual & formal), Jay wore a linen suit for the actual ceremony {it was extremely warm that day}and after the ceremony, he changed into his Class A dress uniform for the rest of the photo session.”

About Benn Brown, Blue Sky Photography

“We didn’t meet with Benn until we arrived in Australia but had reviewed his portfolio online. To prepare him ahead of time of our expectations, I sent him a link to a photo album I created. It contained photo ideas I collected similar to what we wanted him to capture on our wedding day.  One thing I did not want was to have forced, unnatural or formal posed shots with no personality. Both Jay and I wanted unique backgrounds and fun shots that captured the different sides to our personalities and our passion for each other. Upon meeting Benn, I was immediately put at ease, and was confident that he would take a photo journalistic approach and capture not just smiling faces, but the scenery that makes for a breathtaking picture. He delivered on all accounts. The results…amazing, frame-worthy photos. My only regret; not having more time for a extended photo session.
Benn is an exceptionally talented photographer and we are very pleased with the wonderful and lasting memories he helped create. You only get to go through the wedding day but once, so be silly, have fun, smile and hire a photographer who can capture all the special moments that you will cherish forever You can see more of Blue Sky Photography’s style here.”

About their wedding stationery …

Michele & Jay personalized “Bride & Groom Caricatures” Save the Date Magnet & incorporating “Welcome to Vegas” Pocket Wedding Invitation elements. “I’ve had so many, many compliments on the save the date magnets, invitations and thank yous.”

Save the Date Magnets – I gave one to my alterations specialist – he said EVERY BRIDE that comes in notices it and comments on how adorable it is! He says you’re definitely giving other brides ideas for their wedding.

Invitations – Compliments on the unique and creative design and pocket style and the quality of the linen cardstock. I actually struggled with the invitations for a while because I was trying to incorporate our Casino theme using one of the Las Vegas designs but couldn’t quite get it to match the idea in my head. By working with the black and white blank style and adding designs from other invitations, along with help from the graphic designers at Magnet Street, the result is spectacular. We love our invitations!

Advice you’d like to give

~Do your wedding the way you BOTH want! Remember it’s not about just YOU the bride, it’s about the bride AND groom!
~Stay organized!
~Don’t let wedding talk consume every conversation you have with friends and family!
~Take sanity breaks! During the planning, take breaks from even thinking about the tiniest details (even though you may want to). Enjoy some quality downtime by yourself, with your fiance, with your friends and family!
~If you are sending out lots of invitations – invest in the envelope tape strips and the pre-addressed envelopes; most definitely worth it!
On your wedding day – soak in every single happy moment and detail of the day!
If it’s in your budget – have the ceremony video recorded! We had a videographer as part of the wedding package. At the reception we played a ‘dinner and a movie’ video. It included wedding word jumbles, wedding trivia, bride and groom trivia, then 3 trailers with funny/romantic movie clips on engagement (including clips from our skydiving engagement), marriage, and love and the feature presentation was our wedding ceremony video from Australia. At the end of the video, I added the photos from the wedding while the credits rolled to thank guests, friends & family. It was a great way for the family and friends who did not come to Australia with us to see the entire ceremony and photos! We have had countless compliments from guests on the video and the photos and have had requests for copies! Plus it’s a great keepsake in addition to photos and we can watch it each year on our anniversary!
Throughout the planning process, you have to expect that not everything will be perfect, because there will be numerous things that won’t fall into place as expected. In the end, as long as the bride and groom survive the planning and say ‘I Do’, nothing else matters.
~Remember, your friends and family love you; so they aren’t going to think ill of you because the centerpieces aren’t perfectly arranged. The things that don’t go smoothly are usually what makes for a great and funny recap of the day for years to come!
When the BIG day is over – RELAX. Our wedding day and reception party were amazing and so much fun, but the big events were both physically and mentally overwhelming. Take some special ‘you and me’ time with your husband even if it’s just pizza and a movie wrapped in a blanket on the couch!
~Afterwards, try not to play the ‘should have, would have, could have mind game. Mentally beating yourself up by reviewing all the things that didn’t go as expected, is just exhausting. DON’T DO IT!

Best Parts of the Day
~Finally after months of waiting, being able to put on my WOW dress that made me feel so elegant and demure and beautiful!
~Seeing Jay’s face when he saw me in my dress for the first time as I walked on the beach to meet him! Precious and priceless!
~Hearing Jay tell me that the dress looked beautiful, but me in it, is what made it ‘WOW’
~Spending the morning with my dearest friend that I’ve known since college because she and her husband flew to Australia to be with Jay and I for our big day!
~Having complete strangers on the beach come up to me and say ‘You look stunning!’
~Hearing the ocean waves and seeing the gorgeous seascape, just a few feet from where we stood on the beach while we exchanged vows!
~Having an entertaining celebrant to marry us – the vows are serious but he made it fun and his charisma helped us relax during the ceremony!
~Dipping my toes in the ocean for the ‘trash the dress’ photo session!

At-home Reception & Hollywood Casino Theme Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Mark Hermann (free lance photographer)

“Since we did not have the family fly with us to Australia, we decided to have an after wedding reception and invited family and friends to celebrate our marriage. With lots of family traveling for the event, we ultimately chose Hollywood Casino so that they could have more entertainment options for the weekend visit. We had a red carpet at the entrance of the ballroom to give it a celebrity feel since we were the stars of the event!  We played a “movie” while dinner was being served, that included wedding and bride and groom trivia, a collage movie trailers clips and the video of our wedding ceremony as the main feature. The video ended with a photo slideshow and credits rolling to list our family, guests and all those who helped make our wedding and reception so exciting and memorable!”

Amazing! And, so beautiful! Congratulations Michele & Jay–on your beautiful dream come true. Thank you for sharing and we wish a lifetime of joy and adventure!

See more gorgeous, hi-res images from Michele & Jay’s wedding on Benn Brown’s facebook page here.

xo