Let's keep the countdown to 2015 going strong, shall we?! I know I've said it many, many times already - but 2014 was an amazing year for The Graceful Host! We had the honor of celebrating so many gorgeous couples with sweet ceremonies and fabulous receptions! As we prepare for 2015, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites from 2014. Today we celebrate some beautiful bouquets, stunning bridal looks, gorgeous bridesmaid & dapper groomsmen attire, creative seating displays and escort cards, sweet details, and fabulous exits. Tomorrow, I'll share part two with my favorite stylish bridal shoes, adorable flower girls, beautiful couple portraits, delicious cakes, pretty invitations, incredible centerpieces, and sweet wedding ceremonies
Just a tiny side note: I truly believe in crafting each wedding to fit the bride and groom we'll be celebrating - you won't find cookie cutter weddings at The Graceful Host, and I take great pride in that fact. We have a wide variety of styles throughout our wedding and design portfolio. Narrowing down to a few of my favorite photos to share with you was definitely not easy! I felt a personal connection to each of the weddings we had the pleasure to be a part of, and I love each one of our 2014 weddings for the sweet couples they represent. Please know that I am missing a handful of photos from our fall weddings because they're not ready to share yet. And while that definitely makes me sad (because I simply I cannot WAIT to share each of those with you!), we had so many amazing weddings from spring, summer early fall that I just couldn't put off this post til next year!
Without further adieu, here is part one of the best of 2014...
Bridal Bouquets
From organic garden to formal and structured, we've seen so many incredible bouquets all year long! These are just a few of my personal favorites. // 1. Created by Springvine Design for this styled shoot; 2. Created by New Creations Flower Company for this wedding; 3. Created by New Creations Flower Company for this wedding; 4. Created by New Creations Flower Company for this wedding; 5. Created by New Creations Flower Company for a styled shoot; 6. Created by New Creations Flower Company for this wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Crystal Stokes Photography; 2. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 3. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 4. Lauren Friday Photography; 5. Crystal Stokes Photography; 6. Lauren Rosenau Photography.
Bridal Fashion
Each one of our brides is so beautiful! I'm always in awe as brides put on the finishing touches before they see their sweet grooms. I loved how every single one of our bride's had a unique wedding day style, that was truly all their own. // 1. Lauren in a gorgeous Hayley Page gown from Hayden Olivia Bridal; 2. Whitley in a stunning Victor Harper Couture gown from Nitsa's Bridal from this wedding; 3. Adriana in an incredible custom designed gown by Brooke of Ship to Shore from this wedding; 4. Veronica in a beautiful Vera Wang gown from Nitsa's Bridal from this wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 2. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 3. Richard Israel Photography; 4. Jeremy Igo Photography.
Bridesmaids Attire
Let's hear it for the bridesmaids! These ladies are the brides closest friends and family, security blankets and best dance partners. We had the pleasure of meeting some amazing groups of women over the past year.... these are just a few of our favorite bridesmaids looks. I loved the variety we saw in bridal party attire! // 1. Mixed and matched bridesmaids dresses in blush pink for this wedding; 2. Mint J.Crew dresses for this summer wedding; 3. Classic navy blue for this spring wedding; 4. Elegant navy blue for this summer wedding; 5. Formal charcoal for this spring wedding; 6. Beautiful blush pink dresses for this summer wedding; 7. Gorgeous black lace dresses for this fall wedding; 8. Rich cranberry red for this fall wedding; 9. Elegant lavender dresses for this summer wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Richard Israel Photography; 2. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 3. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 4. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 5. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 6. Lauren Friday Photography; 7. Indigo Photography; 8. Lauren Friday Photography; 9. Rachel Fesko Photography.
Grooms and Groomsmen
This was the year of the fashionable groom, y'all! We had many custom tuxedos created for some handsome grooms. Can't get enough of these stylish guys! // 1. Special cufflinks given to the groom from the bride for this wedding; 2. Classic tuxedo for the groom from this wedding; 3. Elegant and southern white dinner coat tuxedo for this styled shoot; 4. Custom charcoal and black tuxedo for this groom from this wedding; 5. Custom navy and black tuxedo for this groom from this wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 2. Richard Israel Photography; 3. Old South Studios; 4. Smitten and Hooked; 5. Jeremy Igo Photography.
Seating Displays and Escort Cards
I really, really love creating things for my brides! I'm pretty lucky that so many of my brides let me handle the displays however I see fit and give me creative license. It's always a highlight for me to create something truly special for my couples - and here are a few of my favorite seating displays and escort cards from this year. // 1. Vintage keys attached to tags for this seating chart from this wedding; 2. Travel themed seating display with luggage tags with the airport code from where the guest had traveled from for this wedding; 3. A magnolia leaf escort card for this styled shoot; 4. Citrus color-inspired wedding with citrus escort cards for this wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Richard Israel Photography; 2. Jeremy Igo Photography; 3. Crystal Stokes Photography; 4. Lauren Rosenau Photography.
Details, Details, Details
I love to place extra emphasis on the little details. From sentimental touches to fun accents that feed into the design story, there was no shortage of details with our 2014 weddings! Here are just a few of the details that were captured over the past year. // 1. Given to the bride from her mother-in-law from this summer wedding; 2. Table numbers made just for this summer wedding; 3. A memorial to the bride's grandfather that sat in the front pew, saving his place, for this summer wedding; 4. Gold frames and a pattern drum lamp shades that scream Kate Spade for this spring wedding; 5. New initial ring dish that held the rings before the ceremony for this wedding; 6. Traditional Chinese tea set for this spring wedding; 7. Custom made directional signs for this summer wedding; 8. A piece of the brides father's tie sewn into her dress to honor his memory at this summer wedding; 9. A custom monogram created for this wedding that we applied to a number of details including pillows from this wedding.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 2. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 3. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 4. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 5. Beauty For Ashes; 6. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 7. Lauren Friday Photography; 8. Lauren Friday Photography; 9. Lauren Friday Photography.
Grand Exits
The reception exit can be so much fun! There's all sorts of excitement and anticipation that surrounds the final send off for the bride and groom as they truly begin their lives together. We've had a lot of different types of send-offs this year - from sparklers to bubbles to streamers to confetti. These are are few of my favorite parting shots! // 1. Classic sparkler exit for this wedding; 2. Love the face of the bride from this wedding during her bubble exit; 3. Nothing like a kiss among the sparklers for this fall wedding; 4. This sweet pair from this wedding left in style with popsicles in hand from King of Pops.
Photo credit (starting top L): 1. Lauren Rosenau Photography; 2. Jeremy Igo Photography; 3. Lauren Friday Photography; 4. Lauren Rosenau Photography.
Be sure to come back tomorrow morning as we recap our favorite beautiful portraits, delicious cakes, pretty invitations, stylish bridal shoes, adorable flower girls, incredible centerpieces, and sweet wedding ceremonies from 2014!
XO,
A.