Under the Spell...

Well here it is my friends. A true & sincere as can be DIY wedding ceremony not traditional in the least and everything I could ever hope for: love, loved ones, close ones, kindred ones, nature, feathers, basket cakes, rivers, v.v., castles, full moon, forest, birds & frogs, boats, floating lanterns, mobiles, dancing, laughing, singing, doves, warm summer nights, sweetheart parades, candle light, craft circles, wildflowers, rosé, croquembouches, smiles, hearts afloat, fields, poetry, radiance & light, and lots and lots of smiling and laughter.

A flutter of the heart: Ceremony Part I
Ceremony Part II

All photos from the talented and lovely-as-can-be Jamie Russom (soon to have her site up and I will definitely make sure you know it when it does go up)*

(Some photos sprinkled here and there from the talented David Rager, Rachel Fleischer & Maryse Cuzor)**

An immense and heartfelt thank you to all my dear ones who came together to make this happen for us. This was a group effort and only turned out the way it so lovingly did because of everyone's hard work (and lots of rosé)! And lastly, to my dear and kindred uncle Michel, to whom Elijah & I owe so much gratitude, admiration and deep love for.

Ceremony of Love Part I

OK, so this is the very beginning of our Ceremony of Love entry. Remember way back at the beginning of summer, Elijah & I had the most magical of moments and I finally have put it all together to start sharing. I emphasize finally because it was so much work; the whole 8-10 months before our big day was all work and very little play. It takes a lot to plan such an occasion, especially if you're bringing 20 of your closest friends along with you to the French countryside! Elijah and I had to check out some farmhouses to make sure we could all sleep under one roof + organize airplane schedules, trains + pickups. We ended up also having to use my dear uncle Michel's house in Gien (merci encore, cher Michel).

All that said and done, we still had save-the-dates + invitations and pre-wedding props to make, a vegetarian menu to create, and finding the dress + suit! Haha! It was so much fun and felt very much like an art installation in the works! I had so much help from close friends + family, and it really became a commune-for-the-ceremony. Looking back, that is pretty priceless. Everyone really pulled through in the most major of ways. I had little teams of workers here and there, and
thanks to everyone's hard work we pulled off quite the event. It was like the best summer camp + magical wedding held in a whimsical forest + European trip full of adventures rolled into one. And the best part was that Elijah and I were able to share our dearest and closest from here with all of my French family members in a very nostalgic part of France where my brothers and I grew up and spent many a summers together. Sigh, it all came full circle in such a delicate and incomparable manner. Really and truly.

All that to say that is has taken me since then to re-enter the earth's atmosphere and get my feet back on the ground (this took waaay longer than I expected, and I didn't expect the little post depression I felt once it was all over), plus to go through all the pictures and I still have my thank-you's to make...oh dear...

So I hope that you enjoy the following entries this week and excuse my overabundance of pictures & words, but there is just too much goodness to share! If you'd like to see a sneak-peek before I post, have a look here. Thanks so much and I look forward to your thoughts!

(The above were the 3 postcards I made to be included with the invitations. The first is a picture of a car with tulle in the backseat that I took while researching and scouting for our ceremony in France. The second is the RSVP that I created using old illustrated flowers from old books found at the library. And the third postcard is a map that I watercolored so that guests wold know where to go and in what order).

Look at where I got to spend my Labor Day Weekend...ahhh, just kidding! I'm totally butting into Little Winter Bride's wishes! No, I got to spend this long weekend working away in my studio which to tell you the truth, was really great. I have some really nice posts coming up this week and I'm preparing for Green Feast too! Fun! How was your weekend? I can't wait to share what I've been working on...stay tuned!

I forgot to include this really beautiful picture by Debi Treloar in my last post of hers...so delicate, feminine and altogether awe-inspiring. I hope that you're having a really inspiring and wonderful long weekend too.

Flower Girl

Sometimes I feel like it takes me a bit longer than others to find out about inspiring/lovely/fresh things/people/designs. Take for instance Flower Girl, Denise Porcaro. She seems like the coolest girl, has not only an impressive but rather cool roster of clients, and opened shop in the super nice denim shop in the Lower East Side, Earnest Sewn! And what's even cooler is the fact that she just loved working with flowers, started doing some freelance floral styling, and then through word of mouth got really busy! I love stories like this because it reminds me that anything is possible. And all this because I was drooling over Garance Doré's magnificent blog. I'm so glad I did because now I can share Flower Girl with you, but you probably already know about her...

(I really love her 2-fingered ring; it's so delicate and feminine, no)?

Debi Treloar

I really love these interior shots photographed by Debi Treloar. She captures a delicate light and if you pay attention there are always little flower arrangements sprinkled here and there or whimsical plants growing up and out of her frames. I have a lot to learn from shots like hers, and this keeps me wanting to grow with photography.