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Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Jana and Jason’s celebration of love, life, and joy at Pomona

Jana and Jason - V Photography

All Photos by V Project Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Jana, Real Estate Investment Analyst, (first thing I do on Sunday morning is check the Target Ad sales) &
Jason, Higher Education Administrator (I love a Nutella and strawberry jam sandwich on Hawaiian bread)

Time of Year & Location:

October
Pomona College: Bridges Auditorium
Claremont, CA, USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Jason got me to go to the campus of our college alma mater under the false pretense of seeing a play in the area. Little did I know he had planned for a group of students to stage a flash mob to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and he proposed right afterwards.

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We were going for a feeling of carefree, simple, elegance. We wanted our guest to be comfortable, happy, and engaged. We wanted our wedding to be lovely without being over the top. So we had a delicious menu, open bar, indoor & outdoor gathering spaces, and music on at all times. The venue choice was key to establishing a feeling of elegance. We chose a venue that didn’t need much decor because the architectural elements created the intended atmosphere.

Pamona college wedding

Bridal Party - V Project Photography

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Instead of doing a unity candle or sand ceremony we planted a fruit tree sapling which we then transferred to our backyard.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We are very simple people so we stuck with a simple design that matched our wedding colors of navy, burnt orange, and charcoal grey

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

Glovite Wedding invitation

Glosite Welcome Page

Glosite Wedding Website Bridal Party

Glo wedding website events page

Glo group thank you email

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Packaged deals make life so much easier. I paid one per person fee that covered the venue, food, wait staff, bar and alcohol, furniture rentals, center pieces, cake, etc. Having a package really narrowed things down and made it a lot easier for me to make choices. Also, all the details are taken care of by the event company so I didn’t have to worry about little details like cake delivery and rental returns.

What’s your favorite memory?

One of my favorite moments was the group dancing and being out on the dance floor with everyone I love doing “The Cupid Shuffle”.

the cupid shuffle

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

At my rehearsal dinner, my mother was speaking about how great Jason has been to our family. She listed several occasions in which Jason stepped in when there was a need, and she ended her speech by saying “when Jana needed a husband, Jason was there!” I was a bit thrown off by her choice in words, but I knew her heart was in the right place.

Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

Caterer/Venue/Planning: Gourmet Gourmet Catering
Videographer: Sole Fire Films
Photographer: V Project Photography
Cake Bakery: Some Crust Bakery
DJ: Ignite Entertainment
Centerpieces: Iron Heart Imports

 

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Sara and Steve’s National Arts Centre wedding

photo | sara and stevePhotos by Melissa Welsh Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Sara, TV Producer, lover of lists &
Steve, PR, movie buff

Celebration Date & Location:

October 2012
National Arts Centre,
Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Tell us how you got engaged:

After being together for over 10 years, Steve surprised me last Christmas with a totally perfect engagement ring. We were both happy as we were, but were ready to “finalize” things… and throw a big party!

photo | sara aisle

What was the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:

Our goal was to host a party for our favourite people in the whole world, putting most of our resources towards what we thought matters the most to guests: food and booze.

Most of our guests were from out of town, so it was important to have a downtown location to make it as easy as possible for them to enjoy and appreciate our beautiful city. We organized a Friday family dinner, a Friday bar night and a Sunday open house, so we could spend as much time with our guests as possible.

We had our ceremony at the same location with minimal fuss, then moved on to a cocktail hour, then right into our reception.

I used the talents of my friends in order to cut costs – one friend was our DJ, another made our beautiful wedding cake, another helped me create centerpieces from flowers that I bought in bulk. I bought all of my decor off Kijiji and because our venue had stunning views and bright red carpets, I kept the look as simple and clean as possible – all black and white.

I put my time and energy into planning a logical flow of events and not worrying about the things that you “must” have. Says who?? Pick what matters to you and focus on that. For example, I wanted beautiful bouquets but bought flowers for the centerpieces in bulk and did those with a friend on the Thursday before.

photo | cake

Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

Our focus was on entertaining our guests – we were our own MCs and everyone loved hearing from us. Someone described it as a “stand up comedy routine.”

We had a photobooth that was a big hit. We set it up near the dance floor and it created a really fun, dynamic experience for those people who weren’t really dancers.

photo | table

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

I wanted the site to match our decor – black and white, clean and simple. My husband helped with the text to create a personal and funny tone. Our goal was to keep it personal, but informative. We got lots of compliments on the site. Even my parents, who were very skeptical of an online invite and RSVP system, came around.

photo | eating cake

I loved weddingchicks.com! I used their template for the save the dates, and their retro style suite for the invitations and everything else – seating chart, thank you cards, favour cards. Both were easy to print out on white card stock and mail to those older relatives who don’t have email (I had to mail 4 cards – yes, just 4)

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

vites

site | welcome

site | printables

site | events

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

As a lover of lists, my best find was the customizable wedding to do lists at Google Docs: http://www.google.ca/weddings/

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

As I was having my final dress fitting, the song that I was going to walk down the aisle to came on the radio. What are the chances?

photos | sara and steve end

Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

photographer: Melissa Welsh Photography,
venue: National Arts Centre,
photo booth: Shutterbug
bouquets: Flowers Talk


Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Jenny and Alan’s casual brewpub wedding

pics | main2Photos by Ethan Killian Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Jenny, an epidemiologist (I like to put pepper on my pancakes) &
Alan, a video game designer (He’s also an artist and he gets together with buddies every week for a “Draw Night.”) check out Alan’s virtual sketchbook

Celebration Date & Location:

Sept 30th
Squatters Pubs and Beers Squatters Pubs and Beers
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

pics | reception

Tell us how you got engaged:

Alan surprised me with a book that he’d designed, written and illustrated. It described our four years together and at the end was a paper ring.

Jenny_Alan_engaged with paper ring

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:

We had a casual, intimate and fun celebration with close family and friends. Above all else, it was important that we enjoyed ourselves without getting bogged down with details. We poked a little bit of fun at tradition while still highlighting the importance of our celebration.

pics | rings

Any fun twists on tradition:

I wore a pink dress. Our ceremony included a) a gushing PowerPoint presentation by the groom, b) an exchange of wooden rings, c) a magic wand and d) a participatory chant from the audience to pronounce us married (“mecca lecca hi mecca hiney ho!” – Jambi the genie from Pee-wee’s Playhouse).

pics | slideshow

My mom made a three-tiered Rice Krispie treat wedding cake, we had video and board games instead of dancing and we gave out boxes of Nerds candy as favors.

pics | cake

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

In Alan’s proposal book, I was a bug (his nickname for me) and Alan was a bean (he sketches lots of bean-like characters). We carried this theme over to the Glovites and Glosite and Alan sketched every guest as a bug or bean.

Alan grabbed one of the free website design templates, adjusted the colors and overlaid it with an image of bug and bean characters/guests.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

invite

site | pics copy

site 0 | events copy

site 1| gifts copy

thankssite 1 | post thanks copy

site 2 | photos copy

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Remember that, whether you go small and casual or big and traditional, the only thing that matters is that you show up and enjoy yourselves.

We’re nerds so we used Excel to track our budget and to-do list. And, of course, the Glosite and Glovites were super helpful.

What was your favorite moment?

My favorite moment was when everyone chanted “mecca lecca hi mecca hiney ho!” three times over to pronounce us married. It was wonderful (and hilarious) to involve our loved ones this way, rather than have them watch quietly.

pics | bride

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

There was quite a bit of eye-rolling from some family members when they realized they wouldn’t get to eat traditional wedding cake and that a magic wand might make an appearance in the ceremony. In the end they absolutely loved it and they couldn’t have seen us doing it any other way.

pics | book


Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Becky and Andrew’s intimate, rustic wedding celebration

BeckyAndrew-wed-569Photos by Christy Tyler Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Becky, a teacher (and occasional bellydancer) &
Andrew, a scientist (and video game enthusiast)

Celebration Date & Location:

October 2012
Madison, WI, USA at Badger Farms

Tell us how you got engaged:

We were at a Christmas tree farm looking for our first tree, and Andrew pulled out the ring in the field and asked me to marry him. At that moment it started gently snowing all around us.

BeckyAndrew-wed-165

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

The first thing we did was decide what we didn’t want. That saved a lot of stress and money, and helped us realize that we valued a relaxed and casual location/vibe, good food, and fun things to keep people entertained. We didn’t waste time on all the extra paper goods and trappings that you’re expected to have (menus, place cards, aisle runner, attendants, etc.) because it didn’t directly contribute to fun. Instead, we focused on lawn games, good music, and letting people relax and hang out. We didn’t want to micromanage everyone’s time with a heavily structured wedding.

BeckyAndrew-wed-198

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We wrote our ceremony with our good friend who was our officiant. We included marriage equality statements, audience participation, and ribbon wands for the guests. We had a call-and-response section where our guests pledged to support us as our community and help us fulfill our vows to each other. It was a great way to get everyone involved and create an intimate, community feeling that lasted the whole day. Everyone waved their ribbon wands enthusiastically! It was so much fun.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We chose the Bluebell design from E.M. Papers because we used a lot of blue in our decorating, and the flowers look a lot like the prairie flowers and grasses in Wisconsin. It made the website and invitations seem local and specific to our celebration.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

STD

vites

0 welcome

2 things to do3 FAQs
4 contact usthanks

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Utilize the hell out of the Glovite text messages and RSVP management page. I sent reminders to RSVP using text emails from Glo, and looked at the RSVP page for numbers and to make changes almost every day leading up to the wedding. I don’t know how I would have stayed organized without those features. As far as planning goes, make sure you hire vendors you trust! We hired our favorite local restaurant to cater, found an awesome photographer who loves her work, a day-of planner just building her business, and a venue that is run by a fantastic couple. All of these people cared about our celebration, and did whatever needed to be done to make it happen. They were more like friends than people we hired to do a job.

BeckyAndrew-wed-356

What is your favorite moment or memory?

There were so many. I loved dancing the night away with my family and friends, and it’s true that the people who show up are the people you need to celebrate with. Most of all, I’m really glad we made our own wedding day playlist instead of hiring a DJ because I have memories associated with every song. I can listen to it and re-live the day over again.

BeckyAndrew-wed-635

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

Even though it was listed on the website and I told people multiple times, I was still asked repeatedly what guests should wear. It clearly states that we don’t care. You’re adults! We trust you to dress yourselves! I was surprised how concerned people were about attire.

Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

Christy Tyler Photography
Badger Farms (venue)
Amanda Wilkinson (day-of coordinator extraordinaire)
Kabul Restaurant (caterer)
Abundance Acres (flowers)

 

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Heather and John’s backyard celebration with tons of kids, smores and a booze canoe

portrait

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Heather, a student &
John, a non-profit executive

Celebration Date & Location:
Ceremony: location (linked if possible)
Medford, NJ USA

couple
Tell us how you got engaged:

We decided to get married over a weekend camping and canoe trip where we realized we could row a boat together through punishing heat and muscle aches and then a two week long Facebook chat while John was far away adventuring. We bought engagement kayaks instead of rings.

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We wanted to be able to celebrate with as many people as possible. We both work with the Scouts so our friends have kids. The ability to have a lot of kids and a canoe full of beer was central to the planning. We wanted a really fun party that wasn’t stuffy, where people could relax, feel included in the day and know they were valued.

kids
games

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Heather is Buddhist so the ceremony including a sake ceremony and our vows had a Buddhist bent to them. We greeted all our guests before the ceremony as they came off the trolley from the parking area so that we could make sure we really saw everyone, in a nod to our camping background we had 50 or so kids making s’mores at one time in a fire pit and we had a dozen pinatas full of Ring Pops and Hershey Kisses for the kids to bash at night.

bride tea

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We downloaded EM Paper’s Garden Party theme and it was just lovely.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

savethedatevites

site | rspv

site | catholic and buddhistsite | liability

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Lists and spreadsheets and Ask For Help from your friends and family. Everyone will want to help and give vague “anything you need” offers. If you can break what needs to be done into individual tasks you can delegate to those who want to help you and keep things manageable. This means that you have to be very organized up front so that you can let go of control on the back end. Also – get someone to run your wedding on the actual day! I had a binder of lists and instructions that was very clear and I handed it off the night before and worried about absolutely nothing for the rest of the wedding.

tables

cake
What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

The wedding was in the backyard and we were greeting guests in the front yard. The officiant gathered people in the back and gave them their instructions and when they were ready for us they let up a cheer so we would know it was time to start. The cheering was one of the best parts of the day but as we rounded the house to the backyard, I swallowed a bug. I was trying to keep smiling and enjoying all the love being thrust on us while swallowing in unknown insect.
dancing


 

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Rachel and Scott’s gathering of awesome people on top of a mountain on a beautiful day

bride and groom in shades
Photos by Handlebar Studios

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Rachel, registered dietitian, (I LOVE READING) and
Scott, aerospace engineer (awesome ice hockey player)

mountain top viewCelebration Date & Location:

08/10/2012
Northstar California Resort
Truckee, CA, USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

We dated for 5.5 years before getting engaged. We met while finishing up our last quarter of college. We had both already secured jobs before meeting, one job in northern CA, one in southern CA. So, after a couple years of long distance dating, we moved in together. Scott proposed to me in the town where we met, after recreating our first 3 dates (Starbucks, frozen yogurt, pizza and wine at a beautiful lookout). And I said yes!

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We just wanted the people we love and who love us most to be there for the wedding. We tried very hard to only invite people we both know. We ended up inviting a few people who only one of us knew and giving a “plus one” to a single friend, but it was so wonderful to look out at our guests during the ceremony and see so many people we love gathered in one place.

dinner settings

We knew we wanted to get married outside, and once we picked Northstar. Scott was obsessed with the idea of getting married up on the mountain. So we and our guests took two gondolas up to the ceremony site! It was really fun and different and the view was amazing!

groomsmen on gondola

Other than those two things, we really didn’t have any “must haves.” I just wanted pretty flowers, so I told our florist the bridesmaids would be in navy blue and let her do her thing. Having a traditional wedding cake wasn’t a big priority, so we bought several cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes and Scott’s aunt and uncle picked them up for us. They were so good, the guests were raving about the cake!

flower and cake

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We skipped both the bouquet toss and garter toss (although I did wear my grandma’s garter!).
I had my brother walk me to the end of the aisle and Scott met me there. I walked the rest of the way down the aisle with Scott.
My aunt made Scott’s tie out of a dress shirt!
We made s’mores at the fire pit at the reception site! YUM.

feet

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

I just thought the design was cute! Simple, pretty colors. It didn’t “match” our wedding, but I didn’t care about that!

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

STD

vites

Rehearsal invite

0 Welcome

6 Things to Do 1 How we met

3 Event Info

4 Meet Our Wedding Party

5 Travel and Lodging

6 Things to Do

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

I loved Glosite! It was really fun to see that people had opened the invitations five minutes after we sent them! And super easy to use, too.
I love the blog A Practical Wedding, and recommend it to anyone I know who is engaged! Helps keep the sanity :)

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

You may be wondering why we are all wearing sunglasses during the ceremony. It’s not (only) because we are super cool people. It’s because when Scott and I were taking pictures an hour before the ceremony, a big gust of wind blew something into my eye. It would not come out! We called the mountain patrol guys in to help and my aunt, a nurse, tried to help too. But whatever was in my eye, was IN MY EYE like a splinter. I couldn’t open my eye at all for awhile! I think my aunt got a piece of it to break off with a q-tip, because eventually I was able to open my eye as long as I kept my gaze down. The wind and sun outside were going to be too much for my poor eye but I figured I could just wear my sunglasses. I told the wedding party to get their sunglasses on (so I wouldn’t be the only one wearing them) and we powered through the ceremony. Even our ring bearer sported shades!

ring bearer

My eye splinter came out on its own after the ceremony and I had a blast at the reception, even though my eye was a little wonky. During the whole eye splinter debacle everyone kept commenting on how great it was that I was so calm. I wish I had been more upset because crying would have probably flushed my eye out!

This was the ONLY crazy thing that happened the entire wedding/planning process. No family drama, no bridesmaid drama, nothing. So I think we were due for some sort of mishap!

What is your favorite memory from your celebration?

Favorite memories:

My family made a tunnel for us to run through as we entered the reception! That was really fun.

tunnel
I just remember feeling really emotional as I walked down the aisle with Scott, knowing how important this moment was going to be for us. I was so worried I would cry through the ceremony, but after a couple minutes I was fine!

ceremony

I had so much fun dancing at the reception! I had no idea we had so many dancers in our families!

wedding party

wedding party2

Who helped to bring your celebration to life?

Photographers – Handlebar Studios
Hair/Makeup – The Decorated Bride
Cakes – Nothing Bundt Cakes
Bridesmaids dresses – Bill Levkoff
Groomsmen’s shirts – J Crew
Flowers – B & B Flower Designs
Cake Topper -ReadyGo on Etsy
Ring Bearer’s hat from FourTinyCousins on Etsy, bow tie &  suspenders from ListenToThisButton on Etsy

first dance



Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Angela and Alex’s organic farm wedding for Oregon locavores

bride and groom
Photos by Lucille VonTron

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Angela, resource conservation manager (I’m an emergency preparedness geek) and
Alex, recycling program manager (surfer)

Celebration Date & Location:

Mt Hood Organic Farms07/29/2012
Mt. Hood Organic Farms
Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Alex and I met in 2005 during our graduate school internships for our county’s solid waste division. Our love flourished over a large-scale worm compost system, and adjacent cubicles. We got married after we both settled into our current environmental jobs, and after we had the money!

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

Choosing a gorgeous and comfortable setting for us and our guests, and a setting that was also meaningful, were our top priorities. Gosh, actually – there are so many competing priorities when planning such a big event! Local food was also super important, as was having as close to possible a zero-waste event.
The overall feeling we created was being close to nature, and natural. We didn’t decorate (who needs to in such with such a beautiful, tasteful venue in Mt. Hood Organic Farms).

img_7356

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Photobooth! A must for weddings! It was THE single best decision we made for our big day. We used HappyMatic out of Portland, and Michelle Lucille, the owner, is fabulous.
Another big thing for us was that I would not be given away. I walked out of my cottage, and Alex met me halfway, then we completed the walk together. Family and friends got so excited that they started cheering us on our way DOWN the aisle – the applause was better on our way down than it was on the way out (well, I don’t even remember applause on the way out!) It made us feel even more excited, and it was lovely to be treated so nicely by all our loved ones.

Laughing giving the ring to Alex

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

Flowers were a natural choice because of our outdoor venue, and love of all things nature.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

cocktail

Invite Rehearsal invite

Page Welcome

Page Ceremony and Party

Page Hood River

3 Page Saturday Events

Page the Honeymoon

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

DO think very hard about your guest list; we would have made a few changes to the guest list in hindsight. When planning a wedding the stress and excitement can easily overtake sense you might otherwise have, so only invite those people who really do matter in your life; not the people who you THINK might matter more after attending your wedding.

img_6965

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

Guests canceling the day before the wedding. That was shocking to me, at least in the number that cancelled. And, no-shows, or people who attended the ceremony, but then left without even saying hello to us. That still bums me out, and I simply don’t understand the behavior.

img_6739 (1)

What is your favorite memory from your celebration?

My favorite (and sort of embarrassing) moment was a couple of cute goofs in my vows. The whole evening was perfect, but I also really loved first look photos with just me, Alex and the photographer. The session was a blast, and I had thought it might be awkward. Alex loved it, too, which surprised me so wonderfully!

Who helped bring your celebration to life?

Venue: Mt. Hood Organic Farms
Photography and Photobooth: Lucille VonTron
Catering: Orchard House Catering



Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Beverly and Brandon’s Mexican boho celebation nourished with boundless adoration & salty air

Bev and Brandon
photos by Joshua Kogan, Studio JLK

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Beverly, a Life/Movement Coach and baklava addict &
Brandon, a Visual Effects Artist, expert precision rifle shooter, and blueberry pancake baker

Celebration Date & Location:
February 2012
Jashita Hotel
Tulum, Mexico

Tell us how you got engaged:
One Day, Brandon sketched Beverly a book called “Tale of the Princess”. The first 10 pages had the beginning of their love story with blank pages to follow which represent their future. A year later, on a rainy day in Los Angeles, they checked themselves into the Ritz Carlton for a little R&R. It was there, he got down on one knee and proposed. Stunned, it took Beverly a few moments to realize that the word yes hadn’t made it’s way from her heart and out her mouth…and after a few repeated “pleases” from Brandon, she accepted. Beverly is sketching in the book where Brandon left off and is giving it to him on their 1 year anniversary…sssshhhhhh

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:
Everything had purpose.

We’re both born and raised Californian’s. We’ve been living and working in New Zealand for the past couple years and when it came to planning our wedding, we decided to have a small destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico. This way, we got to spend quality time with our closest friends and family (30 in total). A vacation for all, if you will. We rented out an incredible beach front resort for the week, so everywhere we looked, it was people we knew. Even our photographer was a friend (fortunately for us he’s a professional to the stars…)

My husband’s niece was the flower girl and had a matching mini (age appropriate) version of my dress

International influences: The resort in Tulum Mexico is owned and run by an incredible Italian family, my day of wedding coordinator was French, my dress was custom made by Wai-Ching (Cantonese for wisdom and virtue) who’s based out of Washington, the chef was flown in from Prague and I planned the entire thing from New Zealand.

Photo montage

We wanted to spoil everybody. This wasn’t just about us. It was about love and union and friendship. The Weekend included: Fire-dancing, zip lining at night, massages, all the meals were freshly caught that day, on-site chauffeurs & boats/captain anytime/where we wanted, live music and waitstaff.

Our married guests said that it felt like they renewed their vows. Our engaged guests said it helped them break the expectations of tradition and inspired them to plan according to what THEY wanted and our single friends got to flirt with each other and bask in the comfort that they weren’t the only ones holding out for the BEST.

decoration

Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

  • Our moms married us in a circle-esque ceremony. (We did the legal paperwork at the Beverly Hills Courthouse). We just didn’t feel right about a stranger marrying us and who better to say the words.. “Do you Brandon, take my daughter Beverly” than Mom herself. There wasn’t a dry eye on the beach.
  • My friends and I made my bouquet of Something old, new, borrowed and blue. Although it broke in the airport when I helped a man who almost dropped his child and luggage. It ended up as our main dinner centerpiece instead :)
  • Our registry was a “Celebration Registry” we did right on a Glosite Page using paypal. All the money went straight into our paypal account which helped us fund the weekend. So our guests didn’t have to pay for anything specific, or get us a tangible gift, but rather they contributed to the whole experience. (snorkeling, massages, gratuities, etc…)
  • We delegated certain people to pack our favorite wines in their suitcase. One person was allowed 3 bottles into Mexico, so we bought our favorites in California, wrapped them all cute and delivered them to our friends to pack with them.
  • Our best friends two boys walked me down the isle. One was responsible for making me laugh and the other one for reminding me to breathe. You can tell by the pics who had what job :)

bride entrance

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.
Celebration + Vacation= Celecation

Our guests’ experience with Glovite/Site was like booking a vacation. Right down to the music and villa bookings….

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

invites

Welcome Page

Accommodation

Events & RSVP

What to Pack

Registry

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
For the communication, keep it consistent. When you’re communicating online with your guests, it’s easy to break off and have side convos in your personal email accounts. Chances are, if one person had a question, there are 3 other people that had the same one.. so don’t be afraid to update your site with the new info, and answer that way. On the same note though, anticipate any questions your guests might have so you don’t have to keep sending out “updates”…most likely your guests will tune out from you in their inbox. I suggest you have 2 of your closest friends receive the first ones to proof it (1 male and 1 female because we just think differently).
We sent 4 ‘Glovites’ in total
1. Save the Date
2. Invite (with an RSVP date)
3. Reminder to RSVP (1 week before the date listed on invite)
4. Thank You’s (this way when they clicked on the link, they got to experience the “After Math” of the wedding.. where we added a photo section, which was really just a link to pictage our photographer created, a lost and found page and our new address… You could even send a thank you to people who didn’t attend, but did send you a gift, that way they can see the site & pics too!

For the decor, don’t be afraid to mix DIY with professional help. i.e., we paid big bucks to rent out the resort, but when it came to table decor, we ordered clear votives and candles online (75 for $30), brought them in our suitcase and filled them with sand. WAY cheaper than renting candlelight from the decorators.

party

What is your favorite memory from your celebration?
My favorite memory was sitting at breakfast, watching my friends and family play in the environment we created for them. My husband looked at me and said.. “I didn’t know this is what I wanted.” Meaning, even he was surprised by the incredible outcome of following the vision only you guys could have made.

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
There are 2!
1. A baton of bubbles.
Sooooo, our friends in New Zealand called the resort and said they wanted to treat us to a “Bottle of Bubbles”. They interpreted this as a “Baton of Bubbles” and proudly gave it to us with a note from our friends. We looked at the incredibly sweet concierge and said, “Are you sure they didn’t mean champagne?” And he said, “No..they said bubbles”. We didn’t have the heart to push it any further because he searched high and low for bubbles that came in a baton! So we just giggled said “Muchas Gracias”! To our surprise one of our guests actually blew them as I walked down the isle. Which turned out to be a MUCH better contribution to our wedding.

2. Part of the ceremony decor was beans sprinkled out in a circle that our guest’s stood around. Jashita left the decorations there for the week and they ended up sprouting! To this day, they’ve left the greenery there (where it was once just sand) because they believe it is a sign of life/fertility… pretty sweet.

ceremony beans are sprouting!

Who helped bring your celebration to life?

Photographer: Joshua Kogan, Studio JLK
Music: DJ Fermix and Camilu Nu
Wedding Coordinator: Destination Weddings
Dress: Wai-Ching
Jewelry was family heirlooms and also Lunachia


Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Candie and Tim’s Whimsical Winery Wedding

 

All Photos by: Aubrey – The Three

The Glö-Couple:

Candie, a graphic designer & Tim, and accountant

Celebration Date & Location:

March 17, 2012
Cross Timbers Winery
Grapevine, TX USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

I knew from our first date that I had met the man of my dreams, but it wasn’t until I saw him with his daughter for the first time that I realized he was the man I was going to marry. Just as the two of us were falling head over heels in love; I fell in love all over again, as I became a part of his daughters life too. A year of laughter, love, and togetherness made us realize the three of us were meant to be. When his daughter wrote my name on her family tree in pre-school, we knew it was time. (And he let me pick out the ring, smooth move!)

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:

We wanted our ceremony and celebration to be an extension of the way we live our lives; so we focused on the simple pleasures that make us happiest. Good food, Good wine, Good music; and of course our dearest family and friends. We kept the guest list to 50 (much harder than it sounds!) and we are SO glad we did. Because I’m a graphic designer, also I wanted the wedding to reflect my work – so we mixed old fashioned elements with pops of bright color everywhere.

I did all of the invitations, website, programs, decorations, signs, and flowers myself. In addition to their amazing support throughout our planning process, our entire family went above and beyond; each creating something for us using their talents. Tim’s mom sewed the tablecloths and made the flower girl dress. My mom made the cake and did the candy table. Tim’s dad constructed the photo booth wall and made the wooden arrow signs. And my brother spent an entire year home brewing 5 different kinds of beer, and apple wine for our toast. The wedding day was a culmination of a solid year of hard work and creativity from our whole family; which brought us together in a way we couldn’t have imagined!


Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

Well, due to scheduling we ended up getting married on Saint Patrick’s Day. At first I was averse to acknowledging this at all since I didn’t really see it as going along with our theme. But the closer we got to the wedding, the more I started embracing it. I ended up finding some wonderful traditional Irish quotes about happiness and marriage, and some cool line drawings of four leaf clovers that I used in different places. I also decided that everyone needed to wear at least something green, so I made tiny felt four leaf clovers for everyone to wear, pinned to a small card that read “A bit of green for you to wear, on our wedding day. Good health, good luck, and happiness, Today and every day!”

Saint Patrick’s Day never meant much to us before, but now it will always be special to us and our family! I also ended up designing a poster to use as our guest book at the last minute. This ended up being one of my favorite things – because now its hanging on our living room wall and we can look at the beautiful things our family and friends wrote every day! Also, my brother walked me down the aisle – and it was perfect.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

Since our theme was all about love and family, I decided to use vintage valentines day cards as an inspiration for the website. I also used the floral elements from our invitations on the side to bring everything together. Turquoise and Red were our main colors, which worked perfectly with the antique cards. They brought such a sense of whimsy and charm to the website, and really made it feel warm – even though it was on screen and not on paper.

Since paper is my favorite medium, I just couldn’t live without the paper invitations. I created those first, and then used the design as a springboard for the website (and the entire wedding, for that matter). But the website gave me the ability to do so much more, and it really took on a life of it’s own once I got started. Most of the design work was just creative placement of images for the background, header, and photos. I really had fun when I was able to design the glovites to my bridal shower and bachelorette party; because I used vintage pin-up girl images and they turned out so adorable! I also gave people the option to RSVP online to the wedding if they wanted, and set up a dedicated URL which I then forwarded straight to our website. We printed the URL onto the paper invitations so everyone had the choice to send it back or reply online. I kept all the RSVP info for everyone on the glosite; even those who replied via post.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

DONT try to do everything yourself. Even if you are a perfectionist (like me) you have to let some things go or you will go insane. Make a priority list early on, and decide what you can and can’t live without. This will help you prioritize your time AND your budget. We knew we wanted amazing photographs, so a big portion of our budget went toward our photographer. But that meant we had to let some other things go (a videographer, a rented get a way car). We were okay with this because we knew starting out what was most important. A wise person once told me “To make something happen, you either have to spend time or money. Use your resources wisely.” So true! If you can’t afford something, realize that doing it yourself will take up ALOT of your time, which is not a disposable resource! Even if doing it yourself is “free” you’re still paying for it in your own manual labor. Decide what you can live without, and cross it off your list. On your worst days, as cliche as it sounds, remind yourself that the most important thing is marrying the person you love. All you really need is you, your partner, an officiant, a witness, and some rings. Everything else is just frosting :)

What is your favorite moment or memory from the celebration?

My first favorite moment of the day was when my mom handed me a small box while I was getting ready. Inside I found 2 heirloom pins; one that had belonged to my grandmother, and one that had belonged to my great great grandmother. I had never seen either of these before, because my grandfather had tucked them away in a safe deposit box years ago. When my mom asked if she could go through it to find something for me to wear as my “something old” she couldn’t believe what she found. I was shocked- the first pin was an old Saint Patrick’s Day elf that my grandmother pinned to her dress when she was a little girl. It was like the universe meant for it to happen; what were the chances we would still have something like that, and it would be so appropriate for the day of my wedding? The second pin was in the shape of a very small metal pin; which looks very much like the tattoo I have of a vintage key on my back. Of course I started crying immediately (the first of many tears that day). I pinned the little elf on my new daughter for her flower girl dress, and my mom pinned the key onto my wedding gown. It was such a special moment between the three of us; I will never forget it. It was like 5 generations of women in my family (including my brand new daughter) were there together with me.

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

While my dear bridesmaids and Mom were trying to get me into my lace-up gown, none of us noticed the panel that was supposed to go behind the lacing to hide my whole backside from being exposed. They laced up the entire dress (I’m pretty sure they were all scared I had grown 6 inches across since the last time I put the dress on) and when I turned around you could see everything! We unlaced it, after my insisting that “it didn’t look like that at my fitting!” and we discovered the missing panel. We were already late, so it was definitely an ‘oh sh*t moment! NOT funny at the time, but pretty hilarious now! My guests would have gotten to see more of me than they had bargained for!

Who helped to bring your celebration to life?

Photographer, Aubrey – The Three
Musician, Joseph Veazie
Minister, Reverend Aaron White – First Unitarian Church of Dallas
Hair & Make-up, Katie Beggs & Sheri Davis – Ingenue Hair Artsitry


Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Christina and Dean’s mountain weekend celebration of family, community, and music

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Christina, Executive Director of Quaker Voluntary Service and
Dean, Founder and Principal of the Kindezi School, an Atlanta Public Charter School, banjo player extraordinaire

(a fun fact is that we are both founders and directors of new organizations)

Celebration Date & Location:

10/06/2012
Asheville, North Carolina at the Swannanoa 4H Center

Tell us how you got engaged:

The short version is that I woke up to a note telling me to meet Dean at a certain state park at 1pm. When I got there, the woman at the gate handed me an envelope that had inside it a map telling me where to start my journey. It was all Wizard of Oz themed (I love the WofO). From there, I proceeded to follow a path full of notes, roses, and people along the way (the yellow brick road). At a certain point I was supposed to cross the river where the bridge had washed out, and suddenly his dad appeared with a canoe and took me to the other side. I kept going and then my dad was there (complete surprise, I had no idea he had enlisted my family) playing the role of the scarecrow, offering me sage advice about truth and wisdom. I kept going and there was my brother and his family and a couple friends, playing music and singing, playing the role of the tin man, and talked about love and joy. A little further, my mom, Dean’s mom, and two of my best women friends were in the path and offered a ritual of blessing from the women in my life and the women who have come before me. They talked about courage and were the Lion station. Eventually I came up a witch’s hat, with a note explaining how fear has been Dean’s wicked witch, but that he has finally conquered it. Finally my path ended at a beautiful rock overlooking the river–a spot we came to on one of our first dates. Dean emerged from the woods wearing a suit and holding a big bouquet of roses. We had our proposal moment, and then eventually headed back down the trail where everyone had gathered together and was singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and toasting us with champagne. It was truly magical. I have never felt so sure that Dean is the one for me!

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

The most important thing is that our wide and wonderful community of family and friends can all be together for a weekend of laid back fun. My family lives in Asheville, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially in the Fall. So, we decided to do it at a summer camp where folks can stay in cabins or camp, or stay in nearby hotels. We hope for lots of music to be played (he plays the banjo, I play the guitar and we both sing), good food, good fun. Simple.

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

A good family friend is our caterer and she is doing a combination of Southern (we both grew up in the South) and Italian (my dad’s family is Italian).

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

I imagined the blue ridge mountains in the background with a banjo and a guitar–this pretty much sums up what we envision for our wedding setting. I asked my brother if he could work on something, and he created something even more beautiful than I had imagined!

My brother, Willie Repoley, did the design for us. He did an amazing job!

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Google docs, the Glosite guest list, and Pinterest are all tools I am using a lot!

What are you look forward to the most about your celebration?

I’m looking forward to having all of these wonderful people in the same place at the same time for a weekend of joy.
Who are the magical vendors bringing your celebration to life?

Our friend Stephanie Wilder, runs a catering company in Asheville called Eat Your Greens NC. They work with at risk young people in the area to help them develop an appreciation of food and job skills for the future

Our friend Kara Johnson is a budding photographer, and she’ll do the photos. We’re still working out the other details, but it will all be a big group effort with our friends and family helping with lots of the details.