Featured Wedding ~ Emily & John

What an adorable, sweet couple Emily and John are!  I had the great pleasure of working with Emily and her mother last year.  As I said in the "Sneak Peek", the couple were both students at Wake Forest but did not meet until they studied abroad, some years later, in Sicily.

After leaving Sicily, John wrote to Emily in his journal every day for a month and later sent this journal to her.  He also sent her a journal on their wedding day, as well as a watercolor of the breathtaking Mediterranean view they had as students in Erice, Sicily.  How romantic is that?

I love Emily's dress, which was designed by Monique Lhullier.  The tulle skirt is detachable, making it appear that she wore an entirely different dress at the reception.  So gorgeous!

Rings by Tiffany & Co.

Breathtaking bouquets by The Bloom Room

John and Emily were married at the Basilica of St. Lawrence.The Catholic church has the largest freestanding elliptical dome in North America.  The stunning stained glass windows were made in Munich, Germany.
Wedding programs by me ~ A Fine Line Studio

Asheville Historic Trolley transported the wedding party from the Basilica to the Biltmore Forest Country Club for the reception.

With Sicily being so dear to the couple, each table was named after different regions they visited in Sicily, which I calligraphed onto each hand-painted table number I created.  I also calligraphed guests names on tiny cards, which were tied to little vases or pinned to pears. I also designed the couple's married monogram and used it at the top of each menu.

Tara Jordan, the amazing event designer with Wedding with Tara, sprinkled more touches of Sicily throughout the wedding reception with an assortment of gelato, served along with the wedding cake...

...and Limoncellos given as favors.

Emily dancing with her dad as her sweet mother watches on.  I have to say, Emily's mother is truly one of the sweetest mothers I have ever, ever worked with!  She was so appreciate and complimentary of everything I did for them. I have the kindest notes from her, which I saved and will always treasure.
I love what Emily's mother told me - she said they were "thrilled Emily and John found one another and this is coming from her parents who married later in life and told Emily she could not even date until she was 30!"

The couple honeymooned in the Turks and Caicos and now live in an old candy factory, converted to loft apartments where she is working on her Ph.D. in psychology (she is also a ballet dancer) and he is in law school.
I have no doubt, they will live happily ever after!

I hope you have enjoyed this spectacular photography by Abigail Seymour. Click on each image to better see her work.  I really had a difficult time narrowing my choices to only these!

~Have a beautiful weekend.~

Real Wedding Weekend: Dianne & Peter

This is my last post about this fabulous wedding I had the privilege to be a part of.  Dianne and Pete's photographer, Mike Steelman, so generously shared these gorgeous photos with me, how can I NOT share them all with you ... well there were actually more, but I chose some of my favorites ~ love the one above of the happy bride! Mike really is one of the kindest photographers I have ever worked with. He even took the invitation suite I designed and shot it in various locations for me. I loved them all, as you can see, since I included them in my last three posts!  I especially like these with the misson in the background.

Thank you, Mike!!!

Dianne and Pete chose to have a destination wedding in beautiful Monterey, California. They wanted a small intimate wedding of only 65 of their closest friends and family members and thought this would be the perfect location. Their ceremony was held at this historic Carmel Mission in Carmel. Dianne's cousin was married in the Basilica the year before and Dianne has visited the mission during family trips since she was a little girl.
 

Dianne’s wedding gown was designed by Lazaro. She met him the day she picked up her gown. After taking pictures with the designer, Lazaro drew a sketch of her gown as a special wedding keepsake.

  

 ~so sweet! 

The Knudsens wedding reception was held at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Pebble Beach. Dianne and Pete knew the picturesque surroundings would create a fairytale setting for their friends and family to enjoy and remember.

 

The couple took eight family members and friends with them on a portion of their honeymoon in Napa Valley. After a few days touring through wine country they took off by themselves to San Fransisco, Big Sur, and back to Carmel.

I have no doubt these two love birds walked off into the sunset...

 

...and will live happily ever after.

~xoxo~

 

invitations and programs ~ a fine line

photography ~ mike steelman

Real Wedding: Blair & Joseph

As I was cleaning out some files, I found these gorgeous photographs from a client's wedding I designed invitations for a few years back.  Since winter is almost over and I cannot post current invitations I am working on for the spring, as they have not all been sent out to their guests yet, I thought I would post this beautiful winter wedding today.

I am not sure who designed her wedding gown and veil, but it has to be one of my most favorite ever! I just love the exquisite detail and style.

The bride's mother wanted a very traditional, classic calligraphic script, engraved in black ink with the family crest embossed at the top of the invitation.

Blair's sister got married six months later and wanted the same style and design.

It was a pleasure to work with such lovely sisters, and their mother, again.

I have been working with some really fun scripts and designs that I will soon be able to post.  Spring is just around the corner now ... I hope!

invitations ~ a fine line

photography ~ missy mclamb photographers

Real Wedding Weekend: Amy & Marshall

As long as Amy had dreamed of getting married, she envisioned an outdoor, autumn wedding at her family’s second home on Lake Toxaway, NC. Since she was fifteen years old, her family spent summers, holidays and random weekends making memories at the lake with family and friends. She thought it would be the perfect place to show her guests why Lake Toxaway held such a special place in her heart.

The ceremony was held on the tee box at the Country Club with a reception following at her parents’ home. In both settings the event was designed to enhance the natural beauty of the surroundings as opposed to trying to create something different.

The family’s eight year old dog, Ally, was a greeter at the ceremony. She also loves being at the family lake home and was decked out in festive attire to greet their guests. After the wedding, Ally was taken to the reception where she was able to join the party for a little bit of fun. She was a huge hit and the wedding would not have been the same without her presence!

I worked closely with the bride to design a script for her invitations that would reflect her simple, yet elegant style. We then engraved the calligraphy, in chocolate, on handmade Belgian stationery. The paper is so gorgeous and one of my favorites. It has a rich, yet rustic flair with its texture and deckled edges and complemented the engraving beautifully. The suite set the stage for the beautiful event to come.

Amy’s couture wedding gown was designed by Justina McCaffrey. Two veils were created using the same lace used in the dress, one as a train for the ceremony and a shorter version for the reception. McCaffrey also designed a short jacket made of the same lace that the bride wore during the reception, as it turned out to be a chilly, fall evening.

The wedding party was transported from the ceremony to the reception via the Miss Lucy, a boat belonging to the Lake Toxaway Greystone Inn. It was a great, fun time for a champagne toast with the wedding party and a wonderful way to really incorporate the “lake” into the wedding. Definitely a highlight!

The cake was five layers with alternating round and petal shaped tiers. It was covered with white vanilla buttercream icing with a choice of three cake flavors - vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache filling, brown sugar pound cake with hazelnut praline filling and spice cake with cream cheese filling. One of my most favorite parts of the cake was the stand – it was made from the trunk of a tree that was once stood the family’s yard at the lake. The table was covered with moss and the caked placed on the tree trunk. Yet another simple touch that was very natural and blended in with the surroundings.

This was one of my favorite weddings of those I have worked on as I love juxtaposing rustic with elegance. This event was the perfect union of both from beginning to end. ...and the bride and her mother were an absolute joy to work with!

Invitations - A Fine Line

Photography - Charles Bordner

and various photos from the bride's friends

Flowers and design - Karen Purvis