Real wedding: Amy and Jay's Indian/American wedding, part one - Dairy Foods

As I mentioned in the sneak peek post last Friday, I am excited to feature my best friend Amy's wedding.  Her wedding took place last October in Washington DC.  It was a multicultural affair, a whirlwind of a weekend filled with tons of delicious Indian food, bright, gorgeous colors, cocktails and more cocktails and lots of dancing.  Oh, and an elephant ice luge.  But you'll have to come back tomorow to see that.

I am posting Amy and Jay's wedding in a two-parter, there is way too much to fit into just one post.  Today is the traditional American ceremony and luncheon and then the Sangeet. 

Did I mention I performed an Indian dance? Nothing like a few drinks to calm some nerves.

Photo credits to Love Life Images.

Amy and Jay's wedding began on a Friday at noon at beautiful All Souls Unitarian church.  She was stunning in her La Sposa wedding gown from Brides of France, contrasted with our black bridesmaid dresses and hot pink bouquets (Amy told us to wear any short, black cocktail dress we already owned, loved that).


Gorgeous Kristin walking down the aisle.


How happy does she look?!
The bridemaids consisted of five of her closest friends and her younger sister. That's me to the left of the bride.
The reception was a luncheon in the church, which was actually a bright, open ballroom.  Amy's vision for her luncheon was pink and green details with some touches from home (including the birch tree table numbers, made by her father) and homemade pies her grandmother and aunt baked.




Amy's wedding planner, Trish Cannor of Working Brides was awesome and the weekend couldn't have happened without her.  She went to the farmers' market the morning of the wedding and arranged all the centerpieces.

After the luncheon we headed back to the hotel for some down time, then the bridesmaid met to rehearse our dance that we performed later that night at the Sangeet.  The Sangeet was basically another reception, with about 150 people, Indian food and dancers.  Many of Jay's family members and friends performed a dance for Amy and Jay.  The event was so festive, fun, filled with happiness and excitement for the Hindu ceremony and reception following the next day.
The Sangeet had gorgeous fabrics and decor.
Professional Indian dancers performed throughout the evening.  The bridesmaids and I made sure to perform before the professionals!
We pulled this dance off and Amy loved it.  Melanie (left) learned the dance off of YouTube and taught it to the rest of us the weeks preceeding the wedding.








I'm in the pink on the right...like I said, I had a few cocktails prior to this dance! All those gorgeous Indian outfits that we were wearing are Amy's. Melanie (in green) was a dance major in college so she was the most graceful of all of us, though I thought everyone did an awesome job.

All the dancing took place before dinner was served!  We didn't eat until 11ish and I think most people had plenty to drink prior to that!  It was an incredible day!

Real wedding sneak peek: a multicultural fete - Dairy Foods

{Photo credits: Love Life Images}

I am so excited to post (in a two-parter!) my best friend Amy's wedding, this is a sneak peek with the real deal on Monday and Tuesday.

Do you remember when I headed out east for Amy and Jay's Indian/American wedding last fall? It was a weekend filled with endless celebration...in fact there were four separate occassions within one wedding; a rehearsal dinner, a traditional American wedding, a Sangeet and a Hindu wedding. During the Sangeet the bridesmaids and I performed an Indian dance. I'll have a video of that to share with you as well. Amy says that was one of her favorite parts about her wedding.

With that many celebrations tied into one weekend there were many outfits, all beautiful! Don't miss it.

Have a great weekend.

Real wedding: Kristin and Tim, September 2010 - Dairy Foods

Last fall my two best friends and my sister got married. I was the matron of honor in Kristin's wedding and a bridesmaid in the other two. It was an amazing, but whirlwind of a fall, to say the least.

Kristin and Tim's wedding took place on September 11, 2010. They couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day with a sunny, cloudless sky, 70 degrees...just gorgeous. The entire day was filled with a sense of calm...the morning was not rushed, as they often are. We drank mimosas, relaxed and hung out with the bridal party.

The ceremony was perfectly timed and lovely. The reception was a blast. Of course, because I was the MOH I gave a speech and was somewhat of a nervous wreck (even a few glasses of wine didn't calm my nerves). Luckily, it went well.  After the best man and I were finished with our speeches we ran to the bar and took a shot of tequila. That's when the party got started (for me at least).

Kristin's vision for her wedding day was a blend of traditional and modern with a red and Tiffany blue color scheme.  Click here to view Kristin's inspiration board.

Photo credits to Gruman Photography.
Kristin wore a beautiful lace dress with cap sleeves and a low back. 
Kristin rocked cute, red shoes.  This clutch has now been used in three weddings, my sister, Kristin's and mine.  Kristin found this clutch at Target a few years ago for only $10.

Kristin had a pretty ivory sash tied around her lace dress. 




We made simple ceremony decor using baby's breath, ribbon and mason jars.






I love the texture and colors in Kristin's bouquet.






We stopped and took photos at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis.  Kristin and Tim snuck some photos on an ice cream truck. This has really got me dreaming of summer.












Be sure to check out this wedding highlight video.  I think it perfectly captures Kristin and Tim's day and you really get a sense of how fun and goofy of a couple they are.  Check out the dance moves toward the end.

Kristin + Tim from Life's Highlights on Vimeo.

Kristin married a great guy and was a gorgeous, happy bride. She had exactly the kind of day you wish your best friend will have on her wedding and I was honored to be a part of it.

Vendor credits:

Photography: Gruman Photography
Florist: A Day in Provence
Cake: Buttercream
Bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses: The Wedding Shoppe
Reception venue: Minnesota History Center
Videography: Life's Highlights

Real wedding: Katie and Drew, September 2010 - Dairy Foods

I may be biased but this is, by far, my favorite real wedding post yet.  My sister Katie and her husband got married on September 3rd in an intimate, outdoor ceremony on the banks of the Mississippi River in Hastings, MN.

A lot of people think/assume that my sister-in-law Nikki of Lovely Scribbles and I influenced the look and feel of this wedding, but in reality the vision and everything coming together was 100% my sister.  She wanted to make this wedding her own and she did exactly that.  Every detail was DIY and budget-conscious.  She did an amazing job.

My sister was going for a black and white picnic/chic wedding.   She wanted it to be small and intimate, close family and friends only.  Since Katie and Drew's day I have a special place in my heart for small weddings. There is something so sweet and...I don't know, organic-feeling than larger weddings?

Photo credits to Sarah Elizabeth Photography, unless otherwise noted.

{Photo credit: Eat Drink Pretty}

{Photo credit: Eat Drink Pretty}
Katie was a calm and happy bride the entire day.  I was impressed with how relaxed she was and how much she really just took in the day.  The ceremony was outdoors and unfortunately the weather was not the best.  In Minnesota you never know; it could be 95 in early September or cold and rainy.  Well, we got cold weather but not only that, really harsh winds.  Wind-advisory style winds.  And a very gray, cloudy sky. I'll admit, I was freaking out internally about the weather.  I wanted the day to be perfect for my sister and I wanted her dream of an outdoor ceremony to come true.

But we all know you can't control the weather so we made the best of it and everything ended up being just fine.  It was chilly but we still took tons of outdoor photos and we just succumbed to the wind as it blew my sister's hair all over the place.  The wind had no chance, my sister was one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen, hair wind-blown and all.



The ceremony and reception venue was at Schaar's Bluff in Hastings, MN.  It sits on top of the Mississippi River with open prairies, fields, woods and flowers.  It is a stunning venue and very unique.

Katie and Drew took photos in the field surrounded by lush greenery.
One of the most special things about this wedding was that Katie wore my wedding dress.  She added the black sash, which I loved.  The white flower in her hair is from Etsy seller Rustic Cowgirl.


Katie and Drew's programs were DIY.  Thinking it was going to be warm on their wedding day, they made fan programs.  The programs were made with a mason jar stamp and a heart cutout.  They were awesome and matched the invitations.
I made this heart garland to use as a prop in photos.
Light, airy baby's breath bouquets made by Nikki of Lovely Scribbles.  Katie bought baby's breath from Sam's Club for $8 per bunch.  These are very easy to make, you simply need baby's breath, floral tape and ribbon.

Nikki also was the day of coordinator and executed the details including the set-up, ceremony and tear down flawlessly.
Katie and Drew kept the wedding party small (that's me on the far left).  Katie's best friend, Dana was the Matron of Honor and her husband Dan was the Best Man.  Drew's brother was the groomsman on the far right.

{Photo credit: Eat Drink Pretty}

Katie and Drew made tons of bunting for their wedding.  One strand hung from the ceremony arch.



It was a bit chilly for lemonade and iced tea...but again, Katie and Drew were assuming their wedding day would be warm.  The drink stand was located near the ceremony.
Katie used mason jars throughout the decor.  Medium-sized jars hung from white ribbon on the ceremony chairs with baby's breath.




A very happy couple.




The cutest little flower girl, Sidney.  She is Dana and Dan's (the Matron of Honor and Best Man) daughter.  She wore a black and white dress with an adorable headband to match.
It's little Sidney's one year birthday today!!!


Katie rented black and white gingham linens from Midway Party Rental.  Centerpieces were large mason jars filled with baby's breath.  The table numbers were in a white frame from Ikea for .99 cents each.
A large chalkboard displayed the menu which was casual picnic food catered by Green Mill.  The meal was delicious.
Guests found their seat with name cards wrapped around mason jars.  The jars were used to drink from and they held a note from the couple that informed the guests of a donation made to the MS Society.
Delicious cupcakes from Rivertown Cakes located in Hastings, MN.  These cupcakes were as tasty as they were and gorgeous.
Katie asked Nikki to paint cake toppers to match her and Drew's outfits.  They are a little mini bride and groom!  So cute.

{Photo credit: Eat Drink Pretty}

Carrot cake cupcakes with a tiny red heart (the little red heart was seen throughout the decor, including the invites and programs).

Nikki did the calligraphy for the placecards and table numbers.
A s'mores table for later in the night (the venue had a bonfire pit).
Katie loved the idea of an interactive photo wall so Drew had his dad create one.  I know photobooths/walls with mustache sticks may seem overdone but guests go crazy for it.  Everyone had so much fun taking photos in this all night.
The clouds cleared up later in the evening and the sky was a lovely blue.  Isn't the venue gorgeous?
My sister and I.  I absolutely love this picture of us.
Katie changed into a short, white dress after the ceremony.
S'more time!

A perfect couple had a perfect wedding, so happy for them.  Congrats to Katie and Drew!!!