Welcome to the EAD Weddings blog! We are so excited to have you here. If you are a new visitor, we'd love for you to subscribe to our RSS feed and visit our sister site, EAD Living. Thanks for visiting and we hope you come back soon!

Congratulations to our winner Clara!

I love the dahlia set. I am having a September wedding in Seattle and we are getting all of our flowers from a local dahlia farm and our colors are yellow/green/navy. I would want the text in navy, the flowers in yellow, the mat in either wasabi or envy, and the envelope in navy. We are getting married outside in a meadow and I want to emphasize the late summer feel of our wedding.

Clara, we are so excited to see your Paperwhites Press invitation set!

And to those of you who did not win, Sarah from Paperwhites Press says:

I want to thank EVERYONE who participated in our contest. It was so fun for us to read all of your comments and color ideas! You are all such creative brides and made it very hard to choose just one winner, so with that said…as a huge “thank you” for entering, I would like to offer all of the contest brides 25% off of any invitation order from our wedding invitation collection. Simply use the coupon code “junecontest” - for 25% off of anything from the wedding invitation category. We will run this promotion through the rest of the month of June!

So really, it’s a win for everyone!

xo,
E.

If you ask me, weddings have a bit of a bad rep lately. While I can agree that sometimes weddings get blown out of proportion and the focus becomes skewed - let’s face it, we probably all know at least one bride who was more concerned about her dress or some other trivial detail than the marriage itself - but in general, I’m a huge fan of weddings and no one is going to convince me that the time, money, effort, heart and soul I’ve invested in our wedding weekend is not worth the expenditure. Does it get stressful at times? Yes. Probably unnecessarily so, but that’s when I just laugh and remember what it’s all about and the problem is solved. And in fact, I already know I’ll miss my evenings of crafting away while M is off coaching his football and baseball teams next year, so I figure I’ll just have to find other great occasions to craft for and again, problem solved.

The true meaning behind a wedding is never lost on me, although this doesn’t mean I don’t love weddings rich in personal details and infused with charm. I admit it. I’m a sucker for a good wedding, but my love for weddings extends beyond my gorgeous lace dress (that I can’t wait to see…hopefully soon!) and being the so-called center of attention for a day. My wedding is not about being Barbie for a day. It’s about the people and our connections with those people. Just as with every other wedding I’ve been a part of either as a bridesmaid or a guest or a family member, I am finding myself amazed at the way our wedding is bringing together people who would never have otherwise been at the same place at the same time. That sense of love and community is unparalleled elsewhere in life and that is the true reason why I love weddings.

Case in point - this past weekend, my first mini bachelorette party, was one of the most fun weekends in recent memory. A group of some of my favorite people in the world and I ventured back to our alma mater for cocktails, dinner, and an evening spent in a favorite corner booth with big glass mugs of mixed drinks and slices of some of the best pizza on earth. This photo was taken with a friend I haven’t seen in nearly 3 years despite having stayed in touch via phone and email. It was an incredible opportunity for us to catch up, reconnect and spend time together, something that I’ve missed dearly in recent years. Honestly, this night was one of those nights that leaves you smiling days later just like I am right now. In addition, two of my dearest friends will be traveling from Seattle to upstate NY for our wedding - again, I haven’t seen them in a few years, but we’ve remained very close. Knowing that I’ll get to reunite with them soon and at the same time marry the greatest person I know, there is no comparing that to any other feeling if you ask me.

So what about you? What makes your wedding worth it? Is anyone else more excited about the people you’ll get to see all at once than just about anything else?

Jamie and Tim’s wedding, captured by Heather at One Love Photo, is so romantic and sweet.  The lovely Sodo Park in Seattle was the venue for this event - the space is gorgeous and open and ideal for creating your own ambiance.  The surrounding area is also perfect for portraits such as these:

I am drawn to this wedding for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are these adorable flower girls.  The wreaths in their hair are beyond perfection and they are just TOO cute!

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As I said earlier today, I completely flipped for the details in Laurel and Darren’s gorgeous Seattle wedding.  Their amazing photographer, Michèle M. Waite, captured everything so beautifully, and the details were engineered by Steven Moore Designs.

The reception, held at Seattle’s Arctic Club Hotel, featured this gorgeously romantic cake buffet.  Not only do I love the small cakes themselves, but I also adore the crystal cake stands and accompanying floral arrangements.

As for the tables themselves, each one held a unique centerpiece.  The variety added so much character to the wedding!

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Today’s wedding, brought to us by the uber-talented Michèle M. Waite, is so lovely.  I fell for the details the moment I laid eyes on it!

Laurel is a radiant bride and this series of portraits is absolutely stunning.  The lighting is so perfectly dramatic.

Love this shot of the bridesmaids - in matching robes no less!

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If we haven’t told you lately how phenomenal all of you are, we have been remiss. This week alone, you submitted 174 links for addition into the Library! All of you new additions: we would love it if you would blog about your inclusion in the Library and direct your clients over to our new reviews page so that they can give you mad props for all of your fantastic work!

Thanks to every one of you that has contributed either by submitting a link or publishing a review. Remember, inclusion into the Library is absolutely free, and the only criteria is that you recommend them (submitting yourself is absolutely OK too!) - you can send us your links to add using the Contact page. Recent brides and grooms, please submit reviews about your vendors - all of your submissions are what will make the Library a great resource!

This week, we added a few new things you should be aware of. We added categories to the reviews page (by vendor) - this should help you as you’re searching for recommendations and help the vendors find all of their reviews in one place. We’ve also added states to the Videographers and Bakers and sorted the listings accordingly, since first and foremost we know you’re looking for local vendors. There are new sections for Lighting and DJs on the Misc page (they’re super-tiny so pretty please send us your vendors for inclusion).

Links added this week:

{BEAUTY}
Andrea Montgomery
Aria Dress
Kiss and Makeup (HI)
Dorys Foltin (HI)
Bridal Gallery by Yvonne (NY)
I Do, I Do (DC)
The Bridal Garden (NY)
Bridal Boutique (HI)

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When I first laid eyes on Yvonne and David’s incredible wedding pictures…they took my breath away. I immediately contacted her about featuring her wedding on EAD and she generously agreed. She described planning the wedding as a true “labor of love”, which clearly shows in all the personal and incredible details below.

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Alexa from Fiore Blossoms sent over these gorgeous images from a recent Seattle wedding. How gorgeous is the bride’s bouquet?

I am loving the lush feeling of this wedding. The venue, the Sunset Club in Seattle, has murals and antique chandeliers. Perfect for this vintage wedding. Check out more images (including a pic of the bride in feathers and fur) on Alexa’s blog!

A.

Heather at One Love Photo recently posted this amazing gown - perfect for pink week (continued)!

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Alexa at Fiore Blossoms filled us in on a great new product from 7Salon in Seattle. To celebrate her great find she’s giving away an entire package of great hair products. Head over there and comment before Thursday night for your chance to win all of the products you see here!

Green = going vintage and buying from independent designers.

Laura from the fab Laura Bee Designs sent over a link to her gorgeous handmade bridal bags that incorporate vintage elements.  How beautiful is this Celeste bag?  This one piece satisfied all of the bride’s ”somethings”!  The zipper pull is a charm given to the brides’ mother by the brides’ father on their wedding day, the flower was taken from the brides’ sister’s veil, and for the something blue?  A blue moire lining!

A few more of my favorite Laura Bee bags:

The fun bag in the top left was created from a 1920s silk skirt.  What a great way to recycle fabric!

Laura Bee Designs is Seattle-based and I think it’s so fantastic that she supports her local charities.  She rotates her fundraiser items and the current item is the Happy Dog Zipper Case, of which 75% of the purchase price is going to support the Seattle Pug Rescue!  It would be a perfect makeup case.

Visit Laura’s shop and blog for more goodies!

E.

This one was FUN!  Steffanie is getting married in July at the gorgeous Seattle Asian Art Museum.  She says:

Colors: vivid oranges, gray tones.  Ceremony+reception venue: Seattle Asian Art Museum (deco, urban, garden and… asian — ceremony at koi pond in front of museum, reception in tents and in the museum’s inner-courtyard. My fiance is not asian (I am) and we DON’T want to have an asian-type theme. We want: modern yet classic, garden yet luxurious… this starting to sound like an “opposites attract” theme!!

So here’s what I came up with.  I think it has the right mix for Steffanie - at first glance of the board there appears to be quite a bit of gray but it’s just in the accents and the natural decor of the building - the rest of the decor should be predominantly in her vivid orange tone.  To stick with her opposites attract theme, I think it’s important to use the orange in unexpected ways, such as in her tent lighting, but also in her floral arrangements, which should be very lush and whimsical to accomplish the “garden yet luxurious” vibe.

Clockwise from top left: Kenzie Kate Havana Invitation, Absolutely Beautiful Things, Marie Labbancz Photography via The Bride’s Cafe, Coni Art Glass, Boutwell Studio, Ariella Chezar

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