Not too long ago, Unique Designs asked me to be a part of a high fashion wedding photo shoot centered around a Twilight theme. He wanted me to create special, unique accessories just for the shoot because I am starting to design bridal accessories. With the release of Twilight's sequel {New Moon} just on the horizon, it's the perfect time to show off all of these hot photos!

Here's the story of how the shoot came to be:
Due to a slight obsession, {Unique Designs} wanted to create a Twilight wedding invitation, an idea which blossomed into a full concept design and shoot. The intent was not to replicate Bella & Edward's wedding, which was actually an Anne of Green Gables dress and was filled with white flowers, but to make another wedding style based on the mood and concept of Twilight. To acknowledge Edward's personality, we chose a dramatic look with bold flowers, strong reds, and splashes of black feathers. To incorporate Bella, we wanted to take a vintage twist which can be seen in the creams, vintage brooches, and antique lace.





 

The belt and necklace I made for the shoot:

I love the belt in this picture:

 And lastly, my favorite from the shoot:

Now for the best part...

Who were these amazing Florida wedding vendors?!?

 Concept & Event Stationery - Unique Designs
Photography - Pure: Photography by Lindsey Tropf
Concept Designer: Flowers & Tablescape - Event Divas
Cake - Posh Pastry
Hair - Stephanie & Lonie Carpenter from Mode Salon
Makeup - Sarah Hunter from Mode Salon
Accessories - Kari Roy Kari. {That's me!}
Female Model - Chanel Bird
Male Model - Bobby Swan
Wedding Dress - Solution's Bridal
Tux - Tuxedo Junction
Linen Rentals - Celebration's Catering 

Do you remember that Janet Jackson song that came out in 2001 called "Someone to Call My Lover?"

If not here's a little refresher...



It's not that I was ever that crazy about the song, but it's funny that I remember this particular conversation 8 years ago that was sparked by its lyrics:

"Maybe we'll meet at a bar
He'll drive a funky car
Maybe we'll meet at a club
And fall so deeply in love"

I was sixteen years old and riding in my sister's car. We were headed to the beachside of our hometown, New Smyrna Beach, FL. The song came on, and after the chorus, she looked at me and said, "You know it never happens like that. You can't meet the man of your dreams in a bar."

I believed her. I mean really... how legit can a meeting be when you spot each other across an almost pitch black room that smells like an ashtray? Add in buckets of beer and liquor and music played so loud you could swear your eardrums just popped, and then you definitely have the recipe for romance, right?

Well, we met in a bar.

Anyone who has ever been to Gainesville, FL knows about the Grog House. Grog is the epitome of disgusting bar. However, the moment I laid eyes on him, no one else existed in the world. It's crazy to say, but we knew immediately that we were meant to be together. We didn't exchange phone numbers because I was involved with someone else, so all we took home that evening was a memory. Somehow that was enough.

To Be Continued...

I've had a ton of questions regarding my gown, and I will be addressing those in a few daysin a little while with a post about my dress. Today, however, I wanted to take the time to share some of my favorite getting ready moments.

Throughout the entire recap process, I will try to leave pieces of advice and answer questions along the way, but please don't hesitate to comment if there is something in particular you would like to see me recap. :O)

Tip: Remember to eat! I hear girls forget to eat on their wedding day, but I actually had no problem scarfing down a bunch of food preceremony.

I I loved my bridesmaids' hair!! Scissors salon did an awesome job, and I think the hair flowers turned out great too. :O)

Thanks Carla for the Victoria's Secret bride robe!! I still wear it ALL of the time, and it was perfect for getting ready in!

My makeup artist Laura Meffen was amazing to work with, and there is absolutely NOTHING I would change about my makeup.

Tip: I highly recommend fake eyelashes on your wedding day! It's the one day when you should feel the most fabulous!

**All photos copyright by Kara Pennington Photography. If you repost any photos, give Kara Pennington & myself proper credit.**

Exciting news, exciting news!!! We got our disc of images from our wedding, so now I can start posting all about it!

Andrew and I were married on August 1st in Gainesville, FL. Our wedding was more beautiful and more perfect than we ever imagined! Over a series of posts, I will show you exactly what I mean...

Today I wanted to take the time to thank our officiant, bridesmaids and groomsmen. You all mean SO much to us, and we will forever be grateful for all of your love and generosity during this special time in our lives.

Some of my favorite bridal party pictures:

To our bridal party... thank you & we love you!
*All images courtesy of Kara Pennington Photography*

***MY TOP SECRET PROJECT***

Who: The Groom
What: The Groom's Cake
Where: Our wedding, of course!
When: A very limited time frame (the wedding is so close!)
Why: This is a huge problem because Andrew wanted a groom's cake that embraced three different themes. Yes, three! And you can't imagine how different and difficult these three things are to put together in a not-scary way.

Meet my challenge...
I had to get Xbox HALO, Coldplay, and the Florida Gators all on the same cake!

Come on now, all three on a cake would be ridiculous, admit it. :O)

So, we cancelled the groom's cake altogether. Until...

One of my very favorite brides at Solutions Bridal shares a similar love of handmade things as I do. I was delighted when she informed me of an awesome sculptor in Portland, Oregon who features her customizable work on Etsy. {More on this awesome bride to come tomorrow!}

So I contacted Hilary {Bunny with a tool belt}, and told her about my dilemma. We went back and forth with ideas several times. She sketched, I sketched, and we came up with the perfect plan.... a cake topper that incorporates all three themes!! The best part, she finished the topper in about a week, and it was on my doorstep in no time! Thanks Hilary!!!

Check out the picture of my sketch:

And here's two photos of the final product:




I absolutely love how it turned out!!

Btw, this really was supposed to be a top secret surprise for Andrew, but I'm no good at keeping secrets. I got so excited about it that I showed him, and he loves them too!

Before finding the perfect wedding shoes, I had been searching for the perfect pink pink ones for several months. And then, just like that, I found them! The story is a little more exciting than that though...

Andrew and I made plans to meet up with his friend John (our officiant) at the Mall at Millenia in ,FL for lunch. We arrived a little early, so we decided to go into Neiman Marcus to look around. Naturally, I gravitated towards the shoe section, and then I saw them. The perfect pink shoes! I asked the salesman if I could try them on, and he perfectly guessed my size, and then said "you're buying these for your wedding, aren't you?" Crazy.

As I was trying them on, Andrew walked up behind me and commented on how good they looked on me. It was official, I was in love with these shoes! We had to leave quickly to make it to lunch, but they were all I could think about. After lunch, Andrew, John, and I went back to the store. When we got there, they tried to talk me out of getting them saying "they're too expensive," "wait til they go on sale" and other normal things guys say when their girlfriends want to buy shoes. And then the salesman tells me that another woman just tried them on a little bit ago, and it's the last one in my size. Shoot!

All of the sudden John remembers he's late to meet his parents, so we leave abruptly to walk him to the parking lot. (I told Andrew we were coming right back to purchase them.) When we got back, the salesman tells me the other woman had just been there and purchased them. I was devastated!

I was honestly so upset that I asked Andrew if we could leave. We go to the car, and he sees how upset I am, so he tries to comfort me. "It's okay, maybe they will get more in"..."We can find other pink shoes"..."Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

I said "The only thing that will make me feel better is if you pull 2 hot pink shoes out of your pocket." Then, he reaches behind my seat and pulls out a Kate Spade shoe box! Turns out, when he excused himself at lunch to go to the bathroom, he RAN to the store, purchased them, prepped the salesman on what to say to me, ran to the car to hide them, and then ran back to Cheesecake Factory where we were eating!

His reasoning... "It took you one day to find the dress, and you've been looking for the shoes for 7 months. And once I saw them on you, I knew I had to buy them!"

I have the most amazing, thoughtful fiance ever! :O)

Source.

And it wouldn't be complete without a picture of Andrew holding the Kate Spade shoe box in the car that day. :O)

Now this, my friends, is how you MAKE AN ENTRANCE! With a week and a half left until my wedding day, I'll now be pondering how to rock out with my bridal party! Hahaha... check this out!

So here I am, 2.5 weeks from walking down the aisle, and I am STILL having second thoughts about certain things pertaining to the wedding. For the past year, I have planned on leaving my ceremony venue completely bare and just letting guests appreciate its natural beauty.

Well, let me back up a little bit. It's not that keeping the venue undressed was my first choice. It's just that the venue has about 1,000 rules and regulations, which include no real flowers and candles on the aisle (we can carry real flowers though, thank goodness). Also, I'm not one to adorn the edge of the aisle with silk flowers that close to the scrutiny of the guests.

It seemed like the only option left was a giant bow on the end of each aisle. Not really my style at all! So, that's when I decided to leave it bare, and now I'm trying to decide if that was the best choice...

Check out these pictures of my venue:

Source.

 Source.

Source.

And the outside:

Source.

Should I keep it bare or dress it up a little bit? It's oh-so-gorgeous the way it is... but i was thinking maybe gathered fabric at the edge of each aisle or possibly some silk rose petals sprinkled down the aisle.

So what do you think?

And for good measure, I can't help but post this next image. This will be us in less than 3 weeks!!!! :O)

 Source.

Hello blogger brides! Here is the bio I promised a few days ago! I'm also going to show you some of our rockstar engagement pictures by Kara Pennington Photography and some other pics of our wedding details!! :O)

The Bride: Me! {Kari}, 24, Bridal Consultant, I started my own wedding blog almost an entire year ago!!

The Groom: Andrew, 24, Law School Student at the University of Florida {Go Gators!}

Our Wedding Date: August 1, 2009

Wedding Location: Gainesville, Florida

Wedding Ceremony Venue: The Baughman Center at the University of Florida

Source.

Wedding Reception Venue: Steve's Cafe Americain

Our Details:

I come from a Baptist background, and Andrew comes from an Episcopalian background, so we want to keep the ceremony simple but traditional, pulling different aspects from both Christian denominations into the ceremony. We will be holding our ceremony at the Baughman Center, a meditation center at the heart of the University of Florida.

Our wedding originally had an antique, romantic theme that was completely inspired by wedding dress, which is made of lace and has a scallop-edged skirt and train. Over the course of the last year, our theme became more modern than we were originally planning. However, we were able to incorporate the same romantic feel by tying tons of hydrangea and garden roses into our décor. Our color scheme is black with hot pink and some lighter pinks as well. I have had a blast incorporating lots of details and DIY projects into our wedding decor! I can't wait to share them with all of you!!!

The Dress:

Source.

My favorite details to incorporate into our decor: Antique Skeleton keys & the Fleur de Lis

Here are two inspiration boards that I created to show everyone the theme of our wedding. The first one showcases more of the vintage theme. It actually includes our monogram from our invitations and a picture of our bridesmaids' dresses!

Sources: Toile fabric, veil, placecards, shoes, bridesmaid dress, rose, bride, parasol, monogram.

This second inspiration board definitely has a tad more of the modern feel. However, I tied in the vintage romance with the super gorgeous, fluffy peonies, and those Kate Spades are actually my wedding shoes!!

Sources:
Gown: Justina McCaffrey, Bouquet: McLellan Studio, Escort Card: Kee to your Heart blog, RSVP card: Unique Designs, Pink Cosmo Martini: The Nibbler, Shoes: Kate Spade, Candy Buffet: Budget Dream Weddings

 A little more about us...

I just received my Master's degree in Management at the University of Florida, which spanned almost our entire engagement period. Post graduation, I began working as a bridal consultant at a local Gainesville Bridal Salon called Solutions Bridal. I love my work, especially making other girls into gorgeous brides! In my spare time, I covet the moments {which is typically ALL of my spare time} I get to put everything out of my mind and flood my thoughts with nothing but stationery, photography and all things OUR wedding. Aside from arts and crafts, there are a few other things that I absolutely cannot live without... naps, ice cream, and my loving fiancé. :O)

My fiancé and I met two and a half years ago while we were attending the University of Florida as undergraduates, and we knew right away we were meant to be together. We are both incredibly silly and love to laugh. We even joke that when our friends invite us to dinner, it's because they are in need of entertainment. I could not live life any other way but loving to my fullest capacity, laughing as hard as I can, and spending as much time as possible making craft projects, of course!

This is my very first post on Get Married, and I'm hoping to bring a lot of great inspiration to everyone!

First things first... I'm Kari, and this is my fiance Andrew. You'll be seeing a lot of us over the next few months. Our wedding is just a few weeks away on August 1st, but I'm so excited that I'll be able to post wedding recaps and also pass on some wisdom from lessons I've learned over the past year+ of wedding planning. :O)

Andrew and I have been together for a little over 2 and a half years, and one of the best things about our relationship is our ability to be silly and laugh together. We are planning for our wedding reception to be one giant party with all of the people we love. More on our wedding theme to come...