Etsy Weddings Event

Saturday was a beautiful Spring day, just perfect for heading into NYC with Jen of Jen Kim Made & attending To Have & To Hold, the first-ever weddings event hosted by Etsy.

Just beyond the white & cream ribbon entrance, the event promised unique items & plentiful inspiration for Brides, Grooms, wedding parties & wedding guests.

 

& the event delivered!  I was instantly enamored with the sweet lace number accented with a blush pink flower belt:

Fresh flower bouquet alternatives like fabric, silk & wood were quite cool but a stunning ranunculus paper bouquet to last forever & ever stole my heart:

Oh, sweet little vignettes were tucked in every nook & cranny, chock full of vintage & handmade items for creating a stylish wedding:

Why hello, sparke & shine tassel garland:

Wow, wow.  To Have & To Hold vintage book cut-out!!!: look closely:

It wasn't all about the Bride & Grooms!  As a pet lover, I thought the ring pillows outfitted for a furry bridal party members were fabulous:

Bravo to Etsy & its artists for supporting same sex marriages:

Once.  You're only a Bride & Groom once jetting off on your honeymoon so why not travel Bride & Groom-style:

They had me at good-bye with the too-cool-for-school pink vintage typewriter:

  

Last but certainly not least is a great quote about marriage:

This post shows only a snippet of the items available at the event & the event only showcased a fraction of the items available on Etsy.  Please visit Etsy Weddings for handmade & vintage wedding inspiration & shopping!

Photos by Koru Kate

Family Vintage Wedding

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!

40 years.  40 years!

Last weekend, RZ's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.  This lovely photo shows the day of their positive new beginning.  The day they started their baby family that would bring them two amazing sons, two fabulous daughters-in-law (if I do say so myself) & one adorable, fun granddaughter.  Just one pretty wedding day, ordinary & extraordinary.  

I have only been around for the last five years of their journey but I have witnessed something that is precious & beautiful.  They lead their family with a strength & love that is nothing shy of fierce.  

We hope to follow in their big, loving footsteps.  Of course, our story & our path will be our own.  But like them, we'd like the love & strength to be the common thread in the story of our life together.     

We are three months shy of our first anniversary & they are an inspiration to us!

Family-Style Vintage Wedding

As much as I love poring over gorgeous weddings on my favorite wedding blogs, I adore looking at our family's & friends' weddings even more.  Those wedding photos touch my heart in a way no others can.  Two weeks ago, my mother-in-law proudly showed me her Mom's wedding photo.  It was a real treat to see our dear, beautiful Nanang's wedding in the Philippines:

 
But wait, it gets better.  My mother-in-law urged me to look a little closer.  I still didn't see it.  She pointed out Nanang's calla lily bouquet.  A bridal bouquet strikingly similar to my own:

    
The story might be more of a Hallmark moment if I had specifically chosen this bridal bouquet because it was like Nanang's bouquet of long ago.  But I like stories that are my own instead of perfectly polished.  

Nanang, in a country far away, in a time very different, chose a calla lily bouquet for the day she was a Bride & became a Wife.  Many moons later, I carried a similar bouquet on the day I married her grandson & became his Wife.  On the day of our positive new beginnings, we had love in our hearts & calla lilies in our arms.  

XOXO