Nicole + Danny’s coastal wedding was so good we had to do a third image board, thanks to Rachel at Millie Holloman Photography!  The fun-loving newlyweds toasted their marriage at the Wrightsville Surf Club with an evening of dancing and cakes galore!  (Take a peek at the fabulous cake + candy bar the couple served alongside their frilly wedding cake from Nicki MacRae… I feel a sugar rush coming on.)  The bride, who paired custom-made bloomers with her flirty frock for discrete dancing, and groom ended the night with a traditional horrah dance.

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Check out these fun post-ceremony shots at Wrightsville Beach, complete with a surf board, blue-clad bridal party (in frocks of their choosing) and a bicycle built for two!  They look almost too cute to be from a real wedding.  Be sure to see the rest of Rachel’s blog post here.

Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted really clean colors and lots of texture and wanted to use simple glass vases that would almost fade away and let the flowers stand on their own. The flowers and candles, varied in height and shape lined the center of the long tables.
Describe your wedding cake: Again, I wanted something clean with texture. I loved the ruffle effect our cake baker, Nicki, was able to make. It was really fun and girly and looked nothing like anything I had ever seen before. We put the cake on a stand made from a piece of a log. It was rustic and masculine, and the balance to our girly cake. It was a true representation of both me (the cake) and Danny (the log cake stand).
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I asked my bridesmaids to choose their own dresses. I purchased a specific style shoe for them online, but had such a difficult time ordering the sizes. Many of the sizes didn’t fit and some sizes were unavailable. We ended up mixing the style of the shoes, with two girls wearing one style, and three another. They were the same make and it blended nicely, but I really struggled trying to get the right shoes in the right size for them. I can’t tell you how many orders and returns went back and forth from Zappos.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? We had a Jewish wedding, so it was filled with lots of tradition. One of my favorite parts was when Danny broke the glass and when we danced to the Horrah while being thrown up in a chair. (Lillian made matching bloomers for my dress so no one would get a surprise peep show!)
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The ceremony. I had been so excited about the reception and dancing, but when the ceremony started Danny and I just stared at each other the entire time.  We both felt so connected.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We came back to our house after the wedding and started a kitchen renovation. Crazy move: it really tests your communication as a couple, but we were up for the challenge. We are in the process of planning our honeymoon – a little delayed – but we are really looking forward to it! 

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Every now and then we get a wedding where the couple really looks truly, madly and deeply in love, and, after a quick look through Nicole + Danny’s wedding pictures, there’s no question this couple was ecstatic on their wedding day.  (Kudos to Rachel from Millie Holloman Photography for so expertly capturing the heartfelt emotion of the day and Courtney Arnold of Stellar Events for executing the North Carolina affair.)  Stunning in a short, pleated frock from Lillian Banderas, Nicole reminds us that it isn’t the long white gown that makes your wedding day… but the hot aqua patent stilettos from Valentino!  As a fan of all-white blooms, I especially love the sophisticated floral arrangements from Salt Harbor Designs.

Emily’s note: Can I just say — I don’t know much about what my eventual wedding will look like, but I sure hope I have as big of a smile on my face as I walk down the aisle as Nicole did.  She is beaming!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. We meet just over three years ago.  I was working as a Fashion Editor at Ocean Drive Magazine in Miami, Florida and Danny was working as a rep for WESC, a Swedish clothing company.  WESC was launching the brand in Miami and came into the magazine for a meeting to promote their brand. Danny, along with his associates, invited us to the launch party later that evening.  My best friend, Meagan, and I decided to go to the party and had the best night!  Danny and I were in touch the next day and started dating.
Describe the proposal. Danny proposed to me in Buenos Aires, Argentina just two days after my sister’s wedding. My sister was married on my father’s estancia in Salta, Argentina in April 2009.  Danny and I had been talking about getting married and engaged for months. I had no idea when he would actually pop the question.  His plan was to wait until after my sister’s wedding to propose.  After the wedding, Danny and I had planned to spend a few days in Buenos Aires for fun. The second night we were there, I wanted to make dinner plans with friends of ours who were visiting for my sister’s wedding, but Danny really wanted to go to dinner by ourselves after spending so much time with family and friends during the wedding.  I agreed, not giving it a second thought. We went to a really cool restaurant in an old city mansion and were having a great evening. On the walk back to the apartment in Buenos Aires, Danny suggested that we take a walk around the square located directly in front of the apartment: a little city plaza with a monument and fountain. I had no idea why he would want to walk through there. As we were turning the corner around the monument, Danny stopped and said, “Look at that on the wall.” There was graffiti and I was baffled at what he was trying to get at. He looked at me and said, “Don’t you remember in high school, when you would text that?” That’s when I realized that the “143” scrawled on the wall was code for “I love you.”  By the time I turned around to look at him, he was down on one knee with a ring in his hand. I was in total shock. I had known he was the one I was going to be with forever, but I had no idea when he was going to propose and certainly did not think it would happen on that trip. The graffiti was a total coincidence!  He claims he had no idea how we was going to lead into the proposal and that he was really nervous, but when he looked up and saw the numbers it clicked ! The location of the proposal was very special to me because the balcony at our family apartment in Buenos Aires looks over the plaza. We have not been back since the proposal in April, but I know it will be such a beautiful reminder every time we visit.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Exciting, comforting and CRAZY fun!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Simple and sophisticated. We wanted everything to be very clean and elegant. We both love and appreciate design and wanted to incorporate nice details without over doing it.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? I have to say the dining room (and especially the dinning room tables!) was my favorite design element!  We were able to create a sort of u- shape with the tables that lined the dance floor. It made for the most intimate setting, and it was just as we had imagined our wedding: a large dinner party with all of our closest friends and family. We did not use linens on the tables, as they already had such a rich color and texture.  Instead, we decorated with lots of glass, candlelight and flowers for a really clean and crisp feel.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: At weddings in Argentina at midnight, guests always pass out crazy has, noise-makers and party favor, so we decided to incorporate this tradition into our wedding. After a couple of hours of dancing, all the fun supplies were passed out and it took the party to another level!  We had masks, boas, hats, crazy glasses and even glow sticks.  I also loved the Macaroon tower that was part of our candy bar.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I love wearing shorts and short dresses, so I assumed I would wear a short dress for my wedding. I went to try on dresses with my mother-in-law and found a dress I loved.  To my surprise, it was a long beautiful wedding gown, and I just didn’t feel quite myself so decided not to buy it.  At that moment, I knew I had to go with a dress that was really a reflection of me and my personality. I called my friend Lillian, who is a stylist and designer and who had designed my dress for my sister’s wedding, and asked if she would make a dress for mine. We had so much fun working on a design together. We looked loads of inspiration images and went to all types of fabric stores. And, step-by-step, I would go for fittings and she would keep tweaking the dress slightly. I am obsessed with bows- I wear a bow charm necklace everyday – and she managed to incorporate it on to the back of the belt she made to go around my waist. The best surprise of the dress was she had sewn in a blue lining with white polka dots. This was my “something blue.” She nailed the dress! If I were a dress, I would look like the one she made for me.

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I just spent two hours reading through every contest entry and all I can say is that I am overwhelmed by the adorable stories our readers sent in. We asked our readers to tell us about how they met their significant others and it is awe-inspiring to hear how many couples met in preschool or were high school sweethearts. The entries varied from super sweet to hilarious and a few posts even had me close to tears.

I had such a blast reading all of the entries and it would take me a year to pick a single winner. To solve this dilemma, we randomly selected the winner with a random number generator.

Congratulations to Christina S whose response made me laugh out loud:

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 Christina will be receiving a beautiful custom sign from Chocolate Butterbean. Enjoy!

We couldn’t resist this sweet and simple Alys Beach wedding.  Inspired by the crisp, white Bermuda architecture and bright pops of color of the Florida beach town, Monica + Aaron’s combined the best of modern + oceanfront wedding with their seaside nuptials.  The husband and wife duo, Paul and Mechael Johnson, captured the couple’s intimate oceanfront ceremony, which included the groom’s son, Mason.  Monica’s bride wore a grey B2 frock from Jasmine Bridal while the bride donned a loose Watters gown.  I love the unexpected splash of yellow in the bride’s simple bouquet from Noveau Flowers and, after seeing the couple’s adorable black-and-white umbrella, think a little rain on one’s wedding day can’t be all bad if it means you get to carry such a cute accessory!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We first met in high school when I was a senior and Aaron was a junior.  I saw a drawing he had done for an art class on display in the hall and liked it so much that I wanted to meet him.  We definitely hit it off, but the timing wasn’t right for a relationship, so we were just casual acquaintances.  Four years later, however, we happened to run into each other while back in our hometown.  At the time, Aaron was in a band and he invited me to come to see him play at a local venue.  When the date came around, a friend reminded me about the show and we decided on a whim to go.  We had a great time and Aaron and I had an instant chemistry that quickly turned into a romance that lasted for six years!  We have truly grown so much together over the years and have become each other’s support and family even before getting married.  Mason, Aaron’s nine-year-old son, was only 2 when we started dating so I have also had the opportunity to be a part of his life from a young age and to build a special bond with him, too.  Sometimes wonderful things in life are worth the wait! 
Describe the proposal.  Aaron and I had just built a house together in Ft. Worth, Texas and we were so excited about the new chapter in our lives.  As the house was going up, we would drive by and daydream about how great it would be when we could just relax on the back porch with a glass of wine at the end of the day.  Very soon after we had moved in, Aaron woke me up to a gourmet breakfast he had prepared himself.  After, he grabbed two cups of coffee and casually asked me to come outside with him.  We went out and sat on the back porch, just enjoying our lazy morning.  He started talking about how nice it was to be at home together and to finally be able to do all the things we hoped and planned.  Then, he reached into the chair cushion, pulled out a beautiful ring, got down on one knee and proposed!  It was perfect!  (And he truly surprised me by doing it in the morning when I completely wasn’t expecting it!)
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  My inspiration was definitely the gorgeous architecture of Alys Beach where we were married.  I loved the crisp, white Bermuda-inspired buildings and the pop of color on the shutters and doors. From planning my dress to designing the flowers, I always kept the unique design elements of the area in mind.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  Our favorite “design element” was actually the house that we stayed at in Alys Beach.  Because the wedding was so small and intimate, the house played a big role in our big day.  After the, we hosted a candlelight champagne toast and cut the cake on the house’s rooftop veranda overlooking the beach where we were just married. 
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our sand ceremony, which included Aaron’s son, Mason.  We wanted him to feel special and celebrated on our big day, too, and it was a nice way to symbolize our new bond and to let him have a moment to shine.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  I was very lucky to find the perfect Watters wedding dress hanging on the sample rack at the first bridal boutique I visited! My mom actually found the dress while scouting the day before and, when I saw it, I knew it was the one!  Amazingly, I was able to get it altered and to take it home within a week.  I added a custom-made yellow silk dupioni sash for a pop of color and unique style.
Describe your wedding flowers: Nouveau Flowers designed yellow calla lilies and white freesia for my bouquet.
Describe your wedding cake: Simply delicious!  Vanilla cream cheese cake with raspberry filling and butter cream frosting by Fatty Patty’s Bakery & Café in Panama City, Florida.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Finding the time to plan a destination wedding was certainly a challenge.  Luckily, my mom was a HUGE help in the planning and was somehow able to book all of our first choice vendors.  We are so grateful – we never would have been able to pull it off without her help! THANK YOU, MOM!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Definitely when it started to rain on us in the middle of our outdoor ceremony!  Or when I accidentally mixed up the rings and gave my maid of honor my mom’s gold ring instead of Aaron’s.  Or when the officiate held up the rings to bless them during the ceremony, and we all realized it was the wrong one!  Luckily, I was able to casually slip it on Aaron’s pinky finger and go on as if nothing had happened.  These may seem like wedding day disasters, but we honestly enjoyed every minute despite any little mishaps.  In the end, they added to the unique memories of our day.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are excited to get settled and move on to our next project: decorating our house!  We would love to plan a trip to a new place each year, but we are definitely looking forward to coming back to Alys Beach for a special anniversary sometime in the future.

Congratulations Monica and Aaron!  Thank you for sharing your special day with us!