courtesy of michellewellsphotography.ca
There is just something so magical about winter weddings. The crisp weather. The sparkly icicles. The slow falling snow. The dazzling night skies. It’s a perfect setting for romance, snuggling up and dancing the night away with the one you love the most.
And after looking through several of these Frosty the Snowman inspired designs – featuring intricate lighting, crystallized ice sculptures and baby’s breath centerpieces – it’s super hard for me to believe that Old Man Winter remains the least popular season to say ‘I do.’
Below are some of my favorite wintry wonders. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
A dash of twinkling baby’s breath can make all the difference.
courtesy of myweddecorations.blogspot.com
Sprinkle in snowflake lighting to really make ‘em ooh and ahh.
courtesy of eyedialogue.com
Drizzle your decor with draped crystals and create the look of poshly lit icicles.
courtesy of foreverphotographystudio.com
Sculpt an impeccable setting with ice, mini floras and fur (yes fur!!)
courtesy of bellzandwhistlezblog.blogspot
Cover up with a chic cardigan and take your gown to celebrity status.
courtesy of dressestutor.com
Or for the super sassy, try a frisky fur wrap!
courtesy of ungovernableungraceful0211.blogspot.com and Oscar de la Renta via weddinginspirasi.com
Make your cake top pop with Old Man Winter’s prettiest creations.
courtesy of thecakeblog.com
Surround your guest with chilling-inspired love from floor to ceiling — this is by FAR my fave!!!
courtesy of myweddecorations.blogspot.com (top and bottom) and brendasweddingblog.com (center)
December 13, 2011
The gorgeous bride and her handsome groom. (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Recently I had the distinct pleasure of not only attending but also rockin’ it out as a bridesmaid at my cousin Kimberly Lynn’s wedding. Marrying the man of her dreams, the former Ms. Kidwell wed Brian Mitchell during a b.e.a.uuuutiful fall fiesta ceremony in the heartland of the Midwest. Surrounded by their closest 450 - give or take – family and friends, the duo said “I do” at Kim’s childhood parish, St. Barnabus Catholic Church on October 15, 2011.
It was a celebration for the ages, sprinkled with all things fabulous, and to say it was a joy to be a part of it all would merely be the tip of the excitement iceberg! As many weddings as I’ve attended (Kim and Brian’s marking the 50th the Mister and I have attended together alone!), it never ceases to amaze me at how original each one is… how the individuality of the bride, her groom and their families seem to take the same occasion and mark it with something genuinely unique, something uniquely them… I’m telling you, it’s something nothing short of amazeballs.
And because it’s always such an honor to be included in a celebration, I like to glorify the creativity of each by sharing it with the masses (you’re welcome, haha!) and posting it for all to see! Below are some of my favorite parts… feel free to be inspired:
Post Rehearsal / Pre-Wedding Slumber Party. Kim had all the girls over for a final Girl’s Night In after the rehearsal, and in a word, it was fantastic. Giving one of the best attendant gifts ever, we celebrated the evening by watching one part of the gift, Bridesmaids and secretly “ooh’ing and aww’ing” the other… unique bridesmaids’ jewelry – picked out by the bride herself – for us to where on the occasion. Love love love!
How much do you la-Louvre those colors together? (courtesy of Google Images)
Killer Color Combo. As sampled above with the bracelets, the colors were purple, orange and green. The mother of the bride, my fabulous Aunt Gail, is a DIVA when it comes to decor; so, there was no doubt that the wedding would be nothing short of F.I.E.R.C.E. when it came to its overall layout… and I have to admit, just looking at the floral arrangements alone, you can see just how fierce it was… Tyra Banks, eat your heart out!
And yes, that would be my bouquet barely peaking in on the right and me totally cut out. Yep, haha! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
The Bride wore Purple Pumps. Keeping in theme with the wedding day and the trendy modern bride, Kimmi sported her best plum pumps for the occasion, and showed off her boogie shoes in style!
I wanna put on, my my my my my Boogie Shoes, and boogie with you! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Crowd Pleasing Priest, personalized by friendship. Being graduates of the local Catholic high school (Roncalli, what?), Kim and I had the pleasure of seeing one of our former classmates (and prom kings!), Dustin Boehm, reach the high honor of joining the priesthood. Kimmi decided no other priest would do, and Dustin, errr, cough cough, Father Boehm was the one chosen to oversee the whole newlywed nuptials! He did such a Tony the Tiger GRRREEEAAAT job!
Father Boehm in person and in action! (courtesy of yours truly and photosbyjennifer.com)
Father of the Bride Speech, marked with Love. So, being a complete sentimental nut, one of my favorite parts of a wedding day is always the time honored father of the bride speech, and my Uncle Rich did not disappoint! One of the best parts was when he totaled to the years of marriage Kim and Brian had backing them between the families, and because the Kidwell side is such a force to be reckoned with… he had all of us stand up and officially welcome Brian to the fam… all 900 and couting. Haha!
Kim giving her Papa a hug after his speech, so sweet! (courtesy of yours truly!)
Ceremony Shoes + Reception Runners. Kim’s nephews, Jackson and Austin, rocked it out as ring bearers and were both equipped with wedding shoes for the ceremony and running shoes for the reception. Genius. I also like how they took it upon themselves to ditch their jackets, ties and tuxedo shirts as well. Ahhh, boys :)
Work it out, Jackson! (courtesy of yours truly)
Glorious Groom’s Cake. Vastly becoming one of my favorite parts of the reception, their Groom’s Cake was one of the best I’ve ever seen! Courtesy of Cheryl Blessing of thecakestandindy.com, K+B’s groom’s cake was representative of their hometown pride and their fanatical love for the NFL. Kim, being a born and raised Indy girl, loves the Colts, and go figure, she falls in love with a Illinois native / Chicago Bear extremist. Yep. I can hope their kids are smart enough to make the right choice ;)
Touchdown perfection! (courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Epically assembled with dance circles, laughter and all kinds of greatness, I could go on and on (and ON!) about Kim and Brian’s wedding, but sadly, like all good things, this post has to have an ending. So, here’s to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell…
As you sit side by side on the roller coaster of life, remember to scream at the peaks, hold hands through the dips, laugh through the loops and enjoy every twist and turn! We love love love you and cheers to many years of happiness!
October 27, 2011
My unmistakable friend, Kimmi, on her wedding day! (photos courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
This past weekend, the Mister and I had the distinct privilege of witnessing one of my favorite people in the whole world say ”I do” to the man of her dreams, and if it’s alright with all of you, I’d like to share their fairytale now…
I first met my dear friend, Kimberly Marie Kessel (now Mrs. Witchger!), freshman year of college during our four year stint at the greatest place on earth… IU Bloomington (siiiiighhhh). And after nearly nine years of friendship, I can honestly say, she was and still is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been granted on my journey.
An endearingly quirky and sincerely loyal friend to the core, Kimmi has been my greatest teacher in the meaning of unconditional friendship. She has an innate way of making everyone around her feel appreciated and needed without the lull of motive or expectation. Her giving nature knows no limits, and her selfless demeanor and unbound caring, have provided some of my life’s truest blessings.
There wasn’t a single other person on the planet that I would’ve rather spent my “No Class Fridays” with – be it on a hung-over trip to the Wendy’s drive thru, an inevitably regretful trip to the tanning bed or a simple trip to our living room couches to watch Lifetime Movies (yeah, I said it) and anxiously await the return of our other roommates from class.
Kimmi’s the kind of girl everyone could use in their life, which is why I couldn’t have been happier when I first met her match, Billiam (pronounced Bill-lum because Kimmi already had a William and Liam in her life – haha!). It was two Halloweens ago, and if seeing them paired as Harry and Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber didn’t scream “meant to be,” I don’t know what could! **That would be them on the outside, surrounding Kim’s sister, brother-in-law and nephew. (story cont’d below)
hahahaha!
Now, my dear Kimmi has always been a creature of habit and doesn’t necessarily stray far from her comfort zone or unorthodox guidelines created, written and followed by hers truly. While some may regard the reckless abandonment of proper etiquette and rules as discomforting, I should make it perfectly clear, Kimmi and her infectious personality are the ideal exceptions that prove this very rule… she’s simply too lovable to be considered anything less. So, you can imagine all our surprise – after Billiam had been sent half way across the world to start a branch of his company in the South of China – that Kimmi was still willing to give it a go.
We all knew after Billiam popped the Q, that there was a possibility for her to move; so, as time neared their December 18th wedding, the writing became clearer and clearer and was even spotlighted during the traditional Father of the Bride speech. Mike Kessel – the ahhhmazing papa of Kimmi – laid claim to the fact that his family of four – he, his wife, Sandi and their two daughters, Dani and Kimmi – were pioneers.
While they had family all across the US, they were the first four to venture into Indiana, which transitioned beautifully into the news that Kimmi and Billiam would be using the same pioneering skills for their move to South China… China… I just keep saying it, but it still seems unreal that our little Kimmi will be 7,200 miles away!!
I mean, heck, this is the girl who would never let us say “goodbye,” because she didn’t like the permanent tone of it. Instead, we had to replace all of our goodbyes with “just one second please’s;” as to soften the blow of the time we’d spend apart. And now that our darling girl has married her Prince Charming, we’ll be provided with our lengthiest “just one second please” ever! But funnily enough, I’m not worried in the least, because after seeing the two of them grow in love, there’s not a shadow of doubt in my mind that Kimmi and Billiam would be the best, most lovesick pioneers for journeying so far away!
Their day was marked by epic moments of firework displays, confetti explosions, influential nods to their Asian Sensation future, regally assembled peacock accents and an insanely popular photo booth (propped by me!), and if it’s any premise to their future, we can all look forward to a truly beautiful love story! See what I mean… how freakin’ cute are those killer kimono bridesmaid gifts?? (story cont’d below)
All the pretty ladies getting ready! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Getting ready for their official entrance as Mr. & Mrs.! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Caught in the act heading up the elevator! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Such a happy couple - makes me smile! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Confetti explosion during the First Dance - GARG! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Warmed up with love! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Ha! Cutest! (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Photo booths are genius :) (photo courtesy of photosbyjennifer.com)
Good luck to the wonderful Witchgers! May your journey be filled with more smiles, few tears and all the love and happiness you can handle! Billiam, I know there’s no man who could possibly love our Kimmi better than you, and as Dani – Kimmi’s sister and Maid of Honor – said when she ended her toast:
As you sit side by side through the roller coaster of life, remember to scream at the peaks, hold hands through the dips, laugh through the loops and enjoy every twist and turn… We love you, and cheers to many, MANY years of happiness :)
December 22, 2010
