Chelsea and David

It's a crazy privilege and a true treat to have incredible people in your life; bloggers are doubly lucky, because we can have such people in real life and via email and Skype and comment boxes. Chelsea came into my life when she was wedding planning, and I'm hoping she sticks around for a long time, because she's the bee's knees. I'm letting her do the talking about her gorgeous wedding day.


David and I met while at college in Switzerland eight years ago. One love story, two dogs, and three cross country moves later we got engaged. David proposed in our apartment over takeout and a weird post-apocalyptic film. It was perfect. I think the ring is a great symbol of David and I. It is gorgeous, a between the finger gold ring with daisies, but non-traditional. We just do things our way, in our own style, which is very much a mix of traditional and non-traditional. Like so many little girls, I have fantasized about my wedding for years. We knew we wanted to have our wedding in Dallas, and after I found my dress (editor's note: who could resist that amazing Monique Lhuillier gown?), everything started falling into place. We decided the style was vintage-romantic-glam. Then we decided on the Penthouse at The Stoneleigh Hotel for the reception and their grand salon for the ceremony. Our vendors were literally the dream team. Traci from Rufus Felix Flowers did our flowers. We used to work together, so it was awesome that I could say half of a garbled up nonsense sentence and she would email me a picture of exactly what I was talking about. She incorporated paper flowers into the arrangements and bouquets and it was stunning. She is also just a dream to work with. Creative, intuitive and patient. Our DJ (and lighting) was by Aaron from Uptown Sound. He was incredible. First of all, he made me feel like there were no stupid questions and I think the biggest compliment is the mass amount of emails, calls, and texts I received asking for his information and for the exact playlist. He totally got our style, I literally danced the entire night. I do have to give credit to my friend Lissy for helping me create an amazing list of must-play songs. To capture everything, we had Boston photographers Casey and Troy of Hello Love Photography and another husband and wife team, Cody and Jamie of Dulock Productions for videography. I was nervous that I would really notice all of people documenting the wedding and feel unnatural, but that was not the case at all. I love the candid moments they captured. Kristin, of Events by Kristin helped me get everything organized and really orchestrated the rehearsal and the day of the wedding like a champ. We hired her for month and day of coordination, and it was a life saver.

The most important thing I took away from the wedding is staying true to yourself as a couple. We are glam and only a little DIY. I felt pressure to DIY everything, but eventually just made my envelopes, the programs and a couple of other goodies. When I told people the reception was in a hotel I got raised eyebrows or even a response that they would never hold it in a hotel. I felt a strong need to justify the fact that it was funky, non-traditional. I would tell a bride if you love the space, it is right for you and let them eat their words when they see your spectacular day. Our wedding was exactly what we wanted and reflected us perfectly. I didn't really compromise and spent a lot of time looking for the perfect vendors. My parents also held back their opinions unless I asked for them. I think this combination of factors led to the success. The last thing I would say is enjoy the day. I felt a little guilty at the beginning of the night for dancing, not having a receiving line. But at the end of the night I had a fabulous time and I just wrote heartfelt thank you notes to compensate.



Isn't this wedding beautiful, to say nothing of the happy couple? I'd love to hear your favorite detail–I'm absolutely smitten with that spectacular cake! PS–their super amazing wedding video is right here!