Eyes on the Bride: Michelle T.

I first learned a bit about today's bride-to-be and her wedding plans when we met over a year ago during a day full of tree planting and weed trimming in Fairmount Park. As if there were any doubt before that little green thumbed adventure, there's definitely a reason this is a wedding blog and not a gardening one. (Is there even a chance any of those trees are still standing?) So to get back to weddings now...

Michelle agreed to give us a peek at the details for her and Kevin's upcoming May wedding, so read on to find out just what they have planned.

photo by Hoffer Photography

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation -- Michelle Thurstlic, 31, Attorney

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation -- Kevin O'Neill, 26, Law Student

City of Residence -- Glen Mills, PA

Wedding Location -- The Yellow House of Willowdale (ceremony & reception), Kennett Square, PA

How you met -- Kevin and I initially met during the summer of 2007 while I was working for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office and Kevin was interning for one of the county's criminal judges. At the end of the summer, the judge's staff told me that I was all Kevin would talk about when court was not in session. Kevin says that he had a huge crush on me and tried to talk to me a few times, but that I was all business.

A couple of months after his internship was over, we ended up in the same bar one night in West Chester. Apparently I embarassed him in front of all of his friends by coming right out and saying "I heard you had a crush on me last summer." He got my number that night and we started dating within the month.

How long you've dated -- Together 4 years (engaged for 2)

How he proposed -- Kevin and I had plans to go out and celebrate the end of finals of his first year of law school. When he came to pick me up, however, Kevin presented me with a photo album filled with pictures from our time together. He had written little notes along with each photo saying different things he loves about me. When I got to the last photo, the caption was "will you marry me?" and when I looked up, Kevin was down on one knee with the ring. I was overwhelmed, but of course I said yes. Kevin then suprised me again by telling me that our families and friends were waiting at the bar/restaurant that we had planned to go out to. It was extra special to be able to share our happiness with everyone right away.

Wedding colors/theme -- Navy blue, kelly green, and white

Bridesmaids' dresses info -- J. Crew silk taffeta in Pacific Blue (they're wearing individual styles)

Best part of planning -- Laughing with Kevin over the ridiculousness of it all.

Worst part of planning -- Trying to get everyone on the same page.

Most surprising part of planning -- That Kevin's better at it than I am. Everytime I ask him to take something on, he's gotten it done on the first shot. I've agonized over every vendor and decision.

Favorite vendor so far -- Tie between our venue (The Yellow House of Willowdale--the wedding coordinator is just so great) and photographer (Hoffer Photography).

Places you registered -- Bed, Bath & Beyond and Pottery Barn

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans -- A lot of the decorations. The ceremony and reception are outdoors underneath a tent, which we're planning to decorate with bistro lights. We're also planning to use chalkboards to display seating arrangements and the menu for the buffet.

Honeymoon Location -- Undecided. Kevin is graduating law school a week before our wedding, and right afterwards will have to jump into intensive studying for the bar exam, which is at the end of July. We're planning to take our honeymoon in the fall, when he's finished, and are weighing France (all over), Argentina, or a road trip up the California coast.

Michelle's color scheme is one of my all-time favorites, and the venue sounds perfect for a May wedding, so I can't wait to see photos of how it all comes together. And those honeymoon options? None of them is a bad choice, right? Thanks again, Michelle, for stopping by TWB. Best of luck with the final months of planning ahead!

Eyes on the Bride: Julia A.

I'm very excited to have Julia here to talk about her Labor Day weekend wedding and all the planning that's going into the day. I am a frequent visitor to Julia's blog, Lemons & Loafers, so it's alot of fun to have her hop on over to TWB for the day. So Julia...take it away!

(photo credit: Kate McElwee Photography)

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation – Julia, 26. I work in marketing at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am also a Health Coach and Fashion Consultant at Lemons & Loafers.

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation – Anel, 25. Anel is an incredible photographer (Adz Photos) and personal trainer. He is also a volunteer firefighter in his spare time.

City of Residence – New York City.

Wedding Location – Portsmouth, RI at a gorgeous and romantic estate and grounds on the water. It’s incredible. I cried when I first saw it!

How you met – At work. We both worked at Integrative Nutrition, a holistic health school where I still work. Anel saw me during an interview and walked past 6 or 7 times in the hour so he could look at me again. We became fast friends and that bloomed into a relationship. I had to tell our boss we were dating, so I waited for the staff holiday party 2 years ago and made sure he had a few glasses of wine first!

How long you've dated – We have been dating for 2.5 years.

How he proposed – This is quite a story. Anel proposed on my birthday at midnight on a quiet bench on the Seine river overlooking the sparking Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was too good to be true! You can read the whole story here.

Wedding colors/theme – Our colors are bright pink, peach, and bright yellow. The bridesmaids are wearing beautifully bright yellow and the groomsmen will be wearing navy blazers, khakis, and Vineyard Vines ties in true Rhode Island form. We want the whole wedding to be preppy and classic with a little bit of whimsical thrown in.

Bridesmaids' dresses info – They are wearing yellow Alfred Sung dresses that have pockets. All of my bridesmaids are different heights and shapes and somehow it looks good on all of them. I’ll definitely be borrowing my sister’s after the wedding!

Best part of planning – Buying a wedding dress. I tried on over 20 dresses and when I found the right one, I just knew! There were lots of tears and it made me finally feel like a real bride. I could actually picture walking down the aisle with Anel at the other end.

Worst part of planning – Trying to stay within our budget. I had these grandiose ideas of what I wanted our wedding to look like but then I realized that everything has a price, and for weddings, the price is generally pretty high. It’s been quite a challenge but I’m very happy with all of our decisions so far.

Most surprising part of planning – That Anel wants to be so involved! I love that he cares about the décor, invitations, and what colors are featured so much. It’s nice to know that this wedding is just as important to him as it is to me.

Favorite vendor so far – I absolutely adore all of my vendors but I think that my favorite people to work with so far have been my friend Erin who designed our save-the-dates and is also on board to design our invitations, table cards, menus, and all other printed material for the big day, and Kate, our adorable photographer. Erin is always so positively up beat and comes up with the most gorgeous designs. Kate is funny and sweet the most talented wedding photographers that I have ever seen. You can see some of her photos here.

Places you registered – Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Sur La Table. We went for classic pieces that will never go out of style. I cannot wait for all of our red Le Creuset pieces to arrive!

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans – I don’t have any patience or talent for DIY so not yet. I’m turning to many talented Etsy artists to do this for me!

Honeymoon Location – We are honeymooning on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. We can hardly wait for a week of the beach, Italian food, good wine, and lots of relaxation. Then we’re off to Bosnia to have another celebration with Anel’s family there.

Doesn't Julia's wedding sound like one that you'd definitely have a blast at? I can't wait to see photos after her and Anel's big day. Thanks for stopping by TWB, Julia!

Spotted: Brittany Ostrov Photography {Part Two}

Did you have a chance yesterday to see the ceremony and details of this wedding from Brittany Ostrov? Well today I have the second part of this wedding extravaganza for you, and the couple definitely put together a reception that was jam packed with fun activities and entertainment. Here again is Brittany to give us the lowdown!

Guests arrived the day of the wedding ready to celebrate, and the bride and groom were sure to not disappoint! There was a pool for the kids (and kids at heart) to swim in, a stage to showcase the multiple performers of the night (bands, singers, and belly dancers, oh my!), and a dance floor just waiting to be filled. A hay-bail couch was within perfect viewing distance of the stage, placed beautifully under a vintage chandelier hanging from a large tree. Large photo props and cutouts were placed around the grounds, and there was even a camp grove outlined with Christmas lights so people could stay the night and continue the celebration the next morning. The night ended for most of the guests with a performance from two fire dancers, but we heard the party raged on into the early hours of the morning and beyond.

Spotted: Brittany Ostrov Photography {Part One}

Today I'm kicking off a two day infiltration of wedding explosiveness here on TWB. Brittany Ostrov Photography sent over so many incredible images of a wedding from this past July that I just had to split it into two posts. Today, we're taking a peek at the ceremony and details, and tomorrow we'll be back with a truly unique reception that you will not want to miss. Enough chit-chatting...take it away Brittany!


I'm thrilled to present the wedding of Chloe and Jason, a one-of-a-kind wedding festival held at the bride's family's home in Harleysville, Pennsylvania!

It all started with the invites designed by the design-half of Cloudfish Studios. The bride and groom wanted to explore something different, so together we came up with an unique self-mailing foldout invitation with detachable RSVP postcard. The invite featured vintage tattoo designs - the ship on the inside is the same one that's on the groom's arm! - and set the stage for a truly different wedding experience.

We were thrilled to be a part of this amazing wedding and are just as excited to share these photos with you! Enjoy!

Spotted: A Cape May Wedding by Onada Photography

This wedding, sent over to TWB by the lovely Bola of Onada Photography, has all the best of what a seaside wedding can be. The quaint inn, the intimate ceremony, the stroll on the sand...love it all.

The dress is looking light as a feather and just overall dreamy.

Just a casual walk to the aisle. So sweet.

Lots of quirky, historical details throughout the space.

Tough call on which looks more scrumptious - the cake or that floral topper.

Big thanks to Bola for sharing these lovely images with TWB!