landlocked bride® | midwest + mountain west wedding inspiration

Kerri wanted her wedding to have a modern vintage vibe, but with some flair. I’d say she nailed it. This purple and red extravaganza is classic, yet funky, traditional, yet personalized. The DIY details form the the scarves, to the centerpieces, the cake topper to the candy bar – each element is unique and adds so much personality to this wonderful affair. Throw in a hot pink jacket, tea-length dress and 2 pairs of wedding shoes in the mix, and prepare to be blown away.

From the bride:

One might ask, how do you write a short story about the best day of your life? I’m still pondering…

My vision was clear – A modern vintage vibe with flair. My wedding dress was the source, a Coffee Tulle Tea Length dress by Justin Alexander. Our favorite colors, red and purple made the vision perfectly pop. A lover of all things crafty, DIY projects were seen throughout the day. I crocheted scarves for the entire wedding party, made yarn pom pom cake topper and centerpieces, created a candy table display for the sweet tooth, wrapped ribbon head table chairs, and cupcake liner garland to show off of cupcake table display.

My favorite part of the day was the first dances, one with my husband and one with my dad. My husband, Jack, is well known for his pink jacket. It’s been around since college and makes an appearance at all major events, our wedding was no different.  Right before our first dance, I surprised him with a matching pink jacket for his wife!

Neither of us wanted to leave the dance floor, our world felt perfectly in place. On the other side, my dad, Rory, and I have spent the past few years bonding on the swing dance floor. It was only fitting that our father-daughter dance would be a swing dance. What a blast we had showing off our moves to our friends and family!

For those future brides, my advice is to slow down, relax, breathe, let it go, and enjoy….

I am a little biased, but I adore a love story that starts with Cardinals baseball. But even more than that, my favorite part of this wedding aside from all the gorgeousness-the reception space, the cake, the bride of course-is the fact that it took place on what could have been a sad day, but wasn’t. The bride’s grandmother had passed away two years ago to the day, and while they tried to pick a different date, it seemed that was the only date that their loved ones were available. The bride and groom then said they felt it was a “sign” to get married that day, and make it a joyful one. And the beautiful shawl the bride is wearing belonged to her grandmother-that definitely tugged at my heartstrings-what a lovely way to commemorate and include her.

From the Bride:

It all began April 17, 2010 at Hacienda restaurant. The Cardinals played the Mets in a 7 hour 20 inning game that did not end well for them. It sure ended well for us because that is the night we met. A year and a half later, we just cannot seem to remember what life was like without each other. We now know what it means to have found “The One” and most importantly, we share the kind of love that only comes once in a lifetime!

From the Photographer:

I am excited to share this wedding with you! A beautiful couple for sure. Kelly and Ryan’s wedding was beautifully coordinated by Simply Elegant Events, Sommer Barry. Kelly’s beautiful shawl was her grandmother’s who had passed away two years earlier that day. David Kodner Jeweler coordinated Kelly’s embellishments for her day. The earrings were particularly breathtaking! The AMAZING smash band was tremendous. The Quinn wedding was fantastic down to every last detail!

The first thing I noticed when scrolling through this album was the beautiful lighting each photo encompassed, and it made me long for the sunshine of Spring now more than ever. This wedding not only has gorgeous photos, it also includes some heartfelt DIY (my favorite) which were created by the bride and groom, with help from their family. The mix of modern, incorporated with cultural traditional elements, is what makes this wedding just so incredibly special.

Aaron Ottis Photography

From the Photographer

Beautiful wedding that involved many DIY aspects. The ceremony and reception took place on the grounds of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. The ceremony took place at Firestone Baars Chapel. The Chapel, a modern affair, was designed by Eero Saarinin, the architect of the St. Louis Arch. Almost all aspects of the wedding decor were created by the bride and groom, with the help of family. The flowers were purchased in bulk and arranged by the B+G’s mothers. A handmade lilac-scented soap was provided as gifts to the guests. The bride and groom, both (South) Korean, worked to fuse traditional elements into their wedding day. The ceremony was presented in both Korean and English. B+G’s mothers wore traditional hanboks. Members of their local church choir attended the ceremony to provide a special serenade. The guest book encouraged guests to leave a special note. The envelopes were sealed, and will be opened in the future. Very simple, beautiful and elegant decorations for the reception ballroom. Dancing followed the meal, and included a mix of western tunes and Korean Pop.

Talk about color saturation! Today’s real wedding was inspired by the sunsets of Cancun, from the punchy color palette to the ombre cake. I love when a couple just goes bold with their colors and splashes them everywhere. And as if the vivid colors weren’t enough, the Cardinals and Blues mascots coming to hang out during cocktail hour pushed this wedding over the top for me (but I might be a little biased).

This wedding is a classic fairytale wedding. You have the flawless bride, the stunning ballgown, a luxurious 5-tiered cake, impeccable flower arrangements and even a real life prince charming. With the immaculate details of Emily & Brian’s fairytale wedding, who needs a horse dawn carriage! This wedding is beautiful and truly one of those wedding’s one would dream about as a little girl. There is even a stop for frozen custard, Cinderella eat your heart out…

Under Grace Photo

Floral Designer: Wildflowers | Band: Hollywood5 | Shoes: Arbie Goodfellow | Jewelry: Nadri | Bakery: Whipt Cream | Venue: Renaissance Grand

Noah & Kylie’s real wedding feature is just that, real. Their no fuss attitude to planning, and simplistic approach truly reflects on the details of their wedding day. Kylie designed the invitations as well as sketched the design for her dress, both of which were executed impeccably. The Temple which their ceremony was held is stunning and one can only imagine the beauty that lies within the stained glass; but what’s even more beautiful are the photos of the couple that were captured outside. From cowboy boots to piñata’s, this is a wedding that is full of fun, simple details that create a huge impact and best yet, a whole lot of love.

One Tree Photo+Cinema

From the Bride:

While planning the details of our wedding, we wanted to keep things as simple as possible. We decided to be married in the newly built Kansas City, Missouri Temple, which is pretty close to where we live and also centrally located for most of our family.  It was a beautiful experience; the weather was great, and the spring flowers were in bloom. Our color choice was never really declared initially, but as we made decisions the color trend turned out to be yellow, which worked out well.

 The same day as our wedding, we all ate at Jack Stack BBQ Freight House in KC. This was the perfect meal since we didn’t want it to be too formal or too casual, so it was just right and delicious.

The venue for our reception was held at a friend’s house in Lawrence the day after our wedding. Their house is elegant in itself, so it didn’t require a ton of decorations. We hired a caterer (who completely handled the food), and ordered donuts and ice-cream locally for deserts. We didn’t have a cake, since neither of us is real crazy about cake, but we did have a mega donut made to sub for the cake. We didn’t really have speeches or dances, but we did have piñatas set up in the backyard that my mother filled with cool stuff for us and stuff for kids. We just wanted it to be fun.

Our invitations were also pretty simple, yet fun. As an illustration student, I was pretty excited to design them, complete with little painted portraits of us. We included inserts with information and an engagement photo of us.

 I had my dress made by a seamstress in the Kansas City area from a design I had sketched that hinted Jackie Onassis. I switched from boots to heels depending on how my feet felt. Noah chose a blue suit and whore his boots as well. Our flowers were designed locally with really interesting flowers and plants, including an artichoke!

Overall, it was a lovely wedding. The aim for everything we decided on was to be real and have fun. We just wanted to enjoy ourselves and for everyone else to have a good time. We appreciate our friends, family, and hired professionals so much for their help and support to make it a great weekend.

If you’re reading this, the world didn’t end (those damn, Mayans). Which is a good thing, because I love this engagement session from Lisa Dolan.

From the Bride-to-Be:
All through college, I worked at a little restaurant in St. Louis. It was a great place to work, but pretty much the same scene everyday. Then one day, in the summer of 2006, everything changed. Sam moved into an apartment above the place, and had come down to the bar to hang out one day. I’ll never forget the first time I saw him – I literally did a double take and (very loudly) said to myself, “Wow, he is really cute!” and proceeded to stare at him until the bartender finished making my drinks. Every time I worked I hoped he would come in to hang out, and would point him out to my coworkers and we’d talk about how cute he was. Turns out, he had been watching me as well, and had even pointed me out to his mom and brother while they were there visiting him. Finally, after a few weeks, we talked. And it was all over from there. We have been together for over 6 years now, and have never been happier. I have since finished my degree in Interior Design, and Sam received his Paramedic Certification and then went through the Fire Academy. Since then we have been busy establishing our careers and working extra jobs – we like to stay busy! In addition to my interior design position, I am a contributor for the blog, Design for Mankind, where I author the column Artistic Apparel. Last January, Sam and I took a spontaneous weekend trip to Chicago to get a way for a few days. Sam proposed, and it was one of the sweetest moments I have ever experienced. Our wedding is in March of 2013, and we have been having a blast planning all of the details for the day. We are also planning on taking a month-long honeymoon traveling around Asia. Although I hate to wish these next few months away, 2013 just can’t get here fast enough.

I love a black and white palette with a pop of color! The black and white keeps things classy and streamlined, while the color adds a whole other dimension. In this case, hot pink is splashed over the bride’s shoes, little details like pocket squares, and namely, her gorgeous ranunculus bouquet (I am obsessed with it). Lastly, how great is Mallory’s smile? I’m loving her joy and Troy’s sweet demeanor.

From the Bride:
Mallory and Troy met as first year grad students at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in the
Fall of 2007. They dated for the two years of school before graduating in 2009. Since graduation,
life has taken them from Orlando to St. Louis (and her parents’ spare bedroom) to Atlanta
before, finally, settling back in St. Louis in 2011. After buying a home in the St. Louis area, Troy
proposed on the doorstep of their new home as they prepared to build a life together.

Mallory and Troy were married on September 22, 2012 in a truly St. Louis affair. Out of town
guests were greeted in their hotel rooms with fleur de lis emblazoned totes filled with goodies
to welcome them to the Gateway to the West including Sauce and Feast magazines, Cardinals
silly straws, Schlafly’s beer, Gus’s Pretzels, homemade gooey butter cake and for those that
really enjoyed themselves, bottled water, Tylenol and a custom “Do Not Disturb” door hanger.
The ceremony took place at the Jewel Box in Forest Park where Mallory’s parents had been
married 32 years prior followed by photos at Mallory’s high school Villa Duchesne, with
its towers, turrets, spiral staircases, marble arches and white stone facade fit for a fairy tale.
Guests then enjoyed cocktails, dinner and dancing (with the mother of the bride chanting “one
more song” at the end of the night) at former Cardinals’ outfielder Jim Edmonds’ Fifteen
Steakhouse, in a room lit only by lanterns and candlelight. Mallory and her mother planned every
last detail of the wedding day and hand-made many of the unique touches such as the guest list
seating chart, hanging lanterns, wine glass place card charms and even the napkin rings. This was
definitely a labor of love.

Mallory and Troy’s wedding was a classic, elegant and sophisticated yet personal and intimate
affair and the memories will last for their lifetime together.