Welcome to Fall everyone! Around here, the air is definitely cooling down. To celebrate, we’ve launched four new design templates for our wedding websites and email wedding invitations. You can find them all in our Design Boutique. We hope these help make your wedding planning easier and fun!
As with all of our templates, you are welcome to customize font type, colors and images to make the design your own.
Photos by Amanda Summerlin
The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Karen, Homeless Education, just learning about animated movies (find Karen on twitter) and
Michelle, Veterinary Technician, reptile lover
Celebration Date & Location:
April 12, 2014
Greensboro, NC
Our church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro
Tell us how you got engaged:
No specific engagement story, we just knew over time we would be together. We initially exchanged rings in February 2012, while we were still living apart but committed to being together. By the fall we were finally able to live together, by the next spring we decided to go ahead and plan our wedding. We really wanted our friends and family to be there and didn’t want to keep waiting!
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
The overall feeling of the day was guided by the invitation from e.m. papers “Love Joy Happiness.” Everything was filtered through this lens: does it bring us love joy happiness? If yes, it’s in, if no it’s out. We had food that we loved and we knew our guests would love, we wore clothes we loved and looked smashing in, we hosted an open house the night before so our out of towners could meet our Wedding Team and already have friends at the wedding. Our choir was a big part of the wedding, both at the beginning and at the end. We included both a serious and silly reading. The whole event was incredibly joyous. Many people told us it was the most joyful wedding they’ve ever attended.
Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
Instead of a bridal party we had a Wedding Team. We asked a couple friend of ours to be the captains about six months out then had a Wedding Team lunch two months out so people could understand the logistics and flow of the wedding. Instead of a ring bearer, we asked a child that my partner teaches in the Religious Education program to bring us the rings at the appropriate time. This way he could sit with his family and go sit back down with them.
What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.
The design was definitely the theme of the wedding. We picked out the invitation design probably two years before we started planning. It was always our focus: Love Joy Happiness. E.m. papers designed a poster for us for people to sign and we had it hanging in our kitchen long before our wedding. On our glosite wedding website we worked to make everything as simple and user friendly as possible. We worked to make sure everyone felt welcome, beginning with our website.
Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
Plan in advance as much as possible. Create a timeline and stick to deadlines. You will have much less stress in the time leading up to your wedding. Get as much done in advance as you can! I am a HUGE fan of A Practical Wedding and OffBeat Bride. Both have great spreadsheets that I highly recommend. Yes, spreadsheets. Use them! The only thing I wish I had done differently was tell a couple of groups of folks that I wanted pictures with them. Some people left before we could do this. Don’t make this mistake! Most of all have fun!
What’s the biggest “say what?” moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
Our wedding clothes were custom made. To create the design for my now wife’s vest, we went all over town trying to find something that fit her right so we could tell our seamstress about it. Then we bought the reflective vest from IKEA for her to use when she goes out running in the morning. She came back from her run and said “This is the right design! Use this!” So we took the measurements from the reflective vest and sent it off to our seamstress. It was perfect.
There were the moments of frustration with people not rsvp’ing correctly or saying insensitive things like “I just can’t commit that far (two months!) out.” Whatever. Everything will work out.
Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?
Paperless Invitation design, printed invitations, guest signature sign and other printables: e.m. papers
Photographer: Amanda Summerlin
Outfits: Miss Brache custom clothes
A wedding should be a day that every couple about to say “I do” anticipates with hope and happiness, and remembers fondly forever.
As anyone with experience will tell you, though, planning the perfect celebration for this special day is hardly a piece of fondant cake. Even thinking about the preparation, logistics, and yes—finances of hosting a dream wedding has been known to make even the most savvy party hosts reach for a glass of wine.
Glöbies will agree that one of the best ways to beat stress and still have the wedding of your dreams is to cut snail mail out of the picture. Honoring tradition is fine, but why else would anyone spend countless hours (and hundreds of dollars) creating, addressing, mailing, and waiting for 300 postal correspondences when equally elegant paperless alternatives are available?
If you are new to wedding planning and are not yet familiar with the range of possibilities for managing logistics, here are a few ways that you can de-stress your planning process by going paperless:
We hope that you’re feeling inspired!
Read Part 1 of this miniseries, which covers Save the Dates.
Read Part 2 of this miniseries, which covers RSVP wording.
Read Part 3 of this miniseries, which covers wedding invitation wording.
Read Part 4 of this miniseries, which covers addressing wedding invitation envelopes.
Read Part 5 of this miniseries, which covers wedding invitation wording for the host line.
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)
Celebration 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.
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!
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!
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.
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
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!
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.
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!
I had so much fun dancing at the reception! I had no idea we had so many dancers in our families!
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
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:
07/29/2012
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).
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.
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
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.
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.
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
The Glö-Couple:
Michelle, a teacher + Anders, a pastor
Celebration Date & Location:
September, 2011
The Southern Theater, Reception-Gallery 13
Minneapolis, MN USA
Tell us how you got engaged:
On the evening of Friday, April 1st (yes April fool’s day) Anders told me, Michelle, he was going out with the guys for a drink (I was fooled!). I was at home with their roommate and friend, Jill. Around 9:30pm, just as Jill and I were making plans for our weekend night, my phone rang. Anders asked me to meet him at a favorite local spot of ours–a lake in a regional park near our house. My initial reaction is “No! It’s dark and cold.” Then I realized what was happening.
Jill and I got really nervous and excited and then I got in the car to leave. When I arrive at the lake it is dark, but then I saw Anders with a lantern and he led us down a path to the lake-shore. We came to a canoe with more lanterns attached to the ends of the canoe. We got in and Anders paddled us across the lake. Anders recapped some of the wonderful memories we have had together and then we came into view of a huge circle of hundreds of tea-lights. There was also music playing that was coming from the beach. We pulled the canoe ashore and get out to find a picnic that had been prepared with several of my favorite things: Spanish wine, sushi, ice cream and a bouquet of lilies. After we ate, Anders played on the guitar and sang a song he had written for this very moment. The end of the song said, “Marry me.” Then he got down on his knee, and opened the box of the ring that my grandmother wore for 57 years. I said yes and we eventually went home to celebrate with friends.
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
The intention behind our planning is to have a beautiful celebration while using our resources wisely. We specifically went looking for venues whose mission we wanted to support, which ended up being a unique old theater and an art gallery that focuses on local and regional art. Our goal is to have a celebration that truly represents who we are and what we care about. For example, we love living in and being part of city life so all of our events will be taking place in Minneapolis. We also strongly value our friends and family so we have found creative ways to get a very large number of people involved in our wedding day.
Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
Even though we are having our ceremony in a theater, we will still have a pastor facilitate the ceremony. We want to share our belief that spirituality can happen in many places. Additionally, we decided to have a very large wedding party (10 guys and 12 girls). We decided that we didn’t want to feel like we had to cut people out so we included all of our close friends and rather than have them line up in the traditional fashion, we will have each of them doing something during the ceremony. And lastly, we are very excited about the ice cream cake we will have in place of a wedding cake. It’s something we both love so this was an easy selection.
What was the inspiration for you Glövite and Glösite design? (If you uploaded your own design – how did you make it?)
We wanted something artistic, refreshing and that represented us. We both grew up in Minneapolis and love the urban setting. When Michelle couldn’t find the perfect background, she picked up a pencil and paper and started sketching what she was looking for. We both realized that having an original drawing would be really neat so it stuck!
I had looked through dozens of images on the internet of sketches of cities and particularly Minneapolis. I finally found one that showed the specific landmarks with the perspectives I wanted to capture. I used that for my inspiration for my drawing while giving it my own twist. We knew it had to be somewhat simple because we wanted to add a background for some color.
Now show us your Glövite and Glösite!
Glösite set to:
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
I would suggest to other couples: discuss your vision of your wedding and what is important to you before you start looking at options. When you start looking stick to your instinct about whether something feels like a good fit. When it comes to the big things (i.e. venues), it is worth the time and effort to find something that really represents you. Don’t just pick something that’s easy. One thing that has really helped us to stay organized is using electronic invites. We can update guests and they can contact us very easily.
What’s the biggest “say what?” 
moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
A funny moment we have had together so far was with a good friend during our “Pre-wedding preparation.” This friend of ours that offered to facilitate our sessions is a retired professor in his seventies and we know him through Anders’ graduate school work. On this particular occasion we had already had a few really wonderful conversations about how we viewed our upcoming wedding and life together. On this day, however, a certain conversation struck an emotional chord with me. On any other day this wouldn’t have been a big deal, just a simple discussion and we would have moved on. However, it was that time-of-the-month and though I wasn’t actually that upset about anything, I couldn’t stop crying! I didn’t want our friend to feel too uncomfortable so I eventually felt the need to explain that I was fine–I just had PMS. After what felt like an embarrassingly long amount of time (but in reality was just a few minutes), we moved on and had a normal conversation for the remaining time. Anders and I laugh about this situation now! If its something you are open to, I definitely recommend some sort of pre-wedding conversation that can be facilitated by someone you trust…just don’t forget the tissues!
It dawned on me today that you might not know about our Glö YouTube Channel. Here you’ll find several helpful how to’s, including:
How to add a picture to your Glösite (wedding website) pages
and more advanced (but still not difficult) features like:
How To add an image that links to another webpage (this is great for registry pages…)
The Glö-Couple:
Liz, media coordinator for San Francisco Symphony &
Tom, photographer & freelance sound engineer
Want to meet them?? Liz can be seen vicariously through the San Francisco Symphony’s website and interactive educational site Keeping Score. Tom is alive and well on www.tombalazs.com.
Celebration Date & Location:
October 2011
Liz’s parents’ home
Northport, Leelanau County, Michigan USA
Tell us how you got engaged:
Hate to burst your bubble and sound lame, but we don’t have a big story. (Editors note: Pretty much NOTHING about this sounds lame to me. It all sounds rather fabulous!) It was just “time”. One day we found a ring we liked on Etsy. Two weeks later we placed an order for it and a custom wedding band. Four weeks after that we told our families because we thought the rings would show up about soon. Turns out US Customs had another idea (goldsmith is in Ireland) and the rings finally arrived 3 weeks later. We then celebrated by having a half-baked flash-frozen deep dish pizza flown in from our fave Chicago pizza place, Lou Malnati’s, and cracking open a bottle of 1999 Dom Perignon we’d been saving. Oh, and some french macaroons.
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
We’re laid back & (mostly) casual people, so we hope our celebration reflects us. We love the outdoors and plan to have the ceremony on a little deck overlooking Lake Michigan followed by a reception in a tent in the front yard. We’re looking at the woods as our inspiration – they’re full of birch trees, cedar, and many, many woodland critters.
About our venue… My parents’ started bringing me up to Leelanau County when I was 5 months old to camp. When I was three, they bought property. When I was 9 they built a house on it. And when I was 25 they retired to it full time. Needless to say this is a place ingrained in my soul, and it was the only place Tom and I wanted to have our wedding at. Otherwise, we would have eloped! True story.
Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
We’re looking forward to a laid-back day that includes our beloved dog as our ring bearer (sporting a bow tie to match his “dad’s”, of course), both of us wearing monogrammed Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes, and after-dinner merriment in the form of a bonfire on the beach and star gazing once it gets dark enough. We even included a “Can you bring a telescope” question on our RSVP!
We’ll also be having pies instead of cake. My mom makes THE BEST cherry pie in the world (Northern Michigan is considered the “Cherry Capital”), and an apple. There may be cupcakes too since I’m a sucker for those. Also, the guests will be standing on our beach below us during the ceremony. The deck we’ll be married on will only fit the two of us plus the officiant. Our attendants (two total) will be on the 5 steps leading down to the beach, and the guests below them looking up at us.
What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?
We received a framed silkscreen from family for Christmas this past year that is the tree with our initials featured on the site. It was silkscreened onto burlap (something else that will be prominent in our decor) with the heart stitched and the names hand lettered. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted it on our website. Interestingly, this family member wasn’t aware of our plan to feature trees and initials in hearts in our decor… she apparently knows us well! We’re doing paper invitations of a somewhat similar design.
Photoshop and I spent many hours together, scanning, clone stamping, and stitching. Taryn also was a huge help in helping figure out how to anchor the tree in place so it won’t drift off the page depending on the viewer’s browser.
Now show us your Glövites and Glösite
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
Keep calm. My mother has a saying, “Be cool. Trust the Universe. It’ll all work out in the end.” I tell myself this frequently. Go with your gut too. It usually knows you very well. And read A Practical Wedding. I’ve been a fan of this site since October 2008 (that’s 2 years prior to actually being engaged.) The amount of resources and information on tricky planning/sticky situations is truly awe-inspiring, as are the folks who write it, and those who read it.
What’s the biggest “say what?” moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
I had had my eye on a particular JCrew gown for months, ever since I’d seen it in a featured wedding on 100LayerCake. When it came time to go dress hunting I was STOKED to be able to finally try it on! Then I went to the website and couldn’t find it. Then a misinformed JCrew customer service rep said it was discontinued.
*Commence surprised sadness/insane search for a used gown at 11pm on a Friday while my fiance was asleep on the couch next to me, watching some inane movie like Anchorman or whatever.*
Two weeks later I was flying to LA to try on a used gown I’d found on OnceWed that appeared to be my size. The night before I flew down I found out from JCrew that no, they weren’t discontinuing it and they were actually fully stocked. And, it was 30% off with free shipping. SAY WHAT?! I went to LA anyway. Tried on the used dress and even though I ended up not taking that particular one (hadn’t been dry cleaned and didn’t want to budge on price), I knew it was THE one. My MOH and I went straight to the local JCrew and ordered a new gown.
Photo by Katie Vaughn
The Glö-Couple:
Alyssa, a Software Engineer &
Evan, a Technical Support Specialist
Celebration Date & Location:
Courtesy of Bybee Farms
August 2011
Bybee-Nims Blueberry Farm
North Bend, Washington, USA
Tell us how you got engaged:
We had been dating for a little under four years when Evan proposed. He proposed on Valentine’s Day, which provided a good cover for the elaborate plans. Here is how it went down:
Evan had a whole day planned for “Valentine’s Day” full of various activities. I untied a ribbon on the schedule to reveal a special thing that we enjoyed about our relationship, and then we did that thing. For example, I untied “running together” before we ran a Valentine’s day race. While we were eating dinner (another thing we like doing together), I unwrapped the saying, “We can do anything together.” He gave me a photo-frame with two pictures: on the left was a picture of us taken while I was undergoing chemotherapy for a rare type of ovarian cancer, and on the right was a picture of us running in a race a couple months after the treatment. I started bawling. Then, he told me to turn around to see my family walking down to where we were sitting, and when I turned back around he proposed. More bawling from me. And an emphatic, “YES!” of course.
Photo by Katie Vaughan
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
Photo courtesy of Bybee BlueBerry Farm
We’re going for a very relaxed feeling (it’s on a farm!), and we’re trying to make decisions that make the wedding very personal for us (the farm is at the base of the first mountain we hiked together). We’re definitely using the skills and talents of our family and friends to pull it off. From pie-baking, to flower arranging, to singing and playing instruments during the ceremony, to simply moving tables and chairs around, our guests will be very much a part of the wedding.
Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
We plan to serve and toast with smoothies from our most favorite smoothie place instead of serving alcohol (we figure, it’s at lunch, and we’re not big drinkers anyway). We’re also going to play some fun lawn games that are loved by our (rather competitive) families, bake pies instead of serving a traditional wedding cake, and use my dad’s collection of antique jars as part of the centerpieces.
What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?
We designed the invitation before the save-the-date or site. We wanted to incorporate the blueberries that reflect the blueberry farm location. We also incorporated our aforementioned love of running (which also hints at the walk/run we’re planning to have the day before the wedding). Finally, we wanted to learn Photoshop, so we used the invites as our first practice project.
How did you make ‘em?
We made everything in Photoshop. We used the “photocopy” filter to create the effect on the blueberries and shoes. We put a texture over the whole thing to make it look kind of like paper.
Now show us your Glövites and Glösite
These two even added a timeline of their relationship…from the FIRST proposal (in high school) to the one that stuck. Below is a snippet…
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
For us, with our 1.5 year engagement, we really appreciated being able to plan in spurts and avoid becoming overwhelmed. We worked on a bunch of stuff for a week or two, then we would take a break for a while (up to 3 months) before working on stuff again. It allowed us to have some perspective about what really mattered to us, and what was just a silly detail that wasn’t worth stressing about.
Photo by Katie Vaughan
So our advice is this: think about what matters to you and have fun planning those parts; take some time off of planning when things get stressful and remember how much the details don’t matter. As far as organization, we have been using Google Docs since we can easily share them between us and our families. It’s nice that everyone can collaborate on a spreadsheet or document at the same time, and it’s much easier than emailing attachments all the time.
Photos by PearTree Pictures
You might recognize this couple from the Glö homepage and examples page. I just love their story. These two were best friends for 15 years before they fell in love, decided to get married, and then had a beautiful little girl named Ottoline.
One day, Stuart decided that there was no one else he’d rather spend his life with than Fenella. But it was quite a wooing process, complete with a Shakespearean-esque sonnet, candlelit home-cooked meals, and many late night talks about love, commitment, friendship and marriage. Finally a formal proposal came about in the most unexpected of places.
How do I know so much? Because Fenella is one of my closest friends and Stuart is right up with her in my book. To top it all off Fenella and Stuart were among the very first Glö beta-testers, so for me they’ll always hold a special place in our Glö-history and hearts.
The Glö-Couple:
Fenella, a management consultant &
Stuart, a company director
Celebration Date & Location:
August 2010, Pekes Manor, Chiddingly (near Lewes), East Sussex, UK
Courtesy of Pekes Manor
Tell us how you got engaged:
We had just been to a wedding in Texas. We had only been dating for a few months, but we had been friends for 15 years before that. After the wedding (a great weekend affair on a ranch outside Austin) we went to a shooting gallery (as you do). While holding his Magnum .44, Stuart asked me to make his day!
What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:
We wanted it to be relaxed with lots of good food and wine and plenty of opportunties for us to catch up with old friends and for them to catch up with each other. We definitely decided that one day would be too short and so tried to find a place where most people could stay on site and we could have events over several days. Instead of getting a wedding catering company, we found some great cooks who lived in the village and gave them our favourite recipes.
Did you add any fun twists on tradition:
We wrote our own ceremony and each had a best man and a best woman – which made for a lot of speeches! The twists were more with what we took out. The focus was on the people, the food, the wine, and the band. We spent little or no time (or money) on table decorations, favours, my dress or the wedding cake. The table decorations were a a candle with some scattered silver stars a friend had in her garage, the dress was a white 1920’s knee length dress from a ‘vintage’ shop (bought 3 weeks before the wedding), the cake was made by a friend (with plain white icing), and we dispensed with favours altogether.
Also, our daughter Ottoline was turning two the weekend after the wedding, so the morning after we held a “Welcome to the World” party for her – we had a child’s entertainer (which the adults absolutely loved…) and a naming ceremony conducted by her fairy god-mother and father (the closest she’ll get to having god-parents.)
What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?
We wanted a simple, clean modern design, that was not too over-wrought or ‘wedding-y’. We were hosting the wedding in the countryside so liked the leaf motif.
Now show us your Glövites and Glösite
View Fenella and Stuart’s Save the Date and Invitation
Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
1. Ask friends for help from the planning stage and on the day itself – they are delighted to be involved!
2. Nominate someone to be the key person for all the suppliers on the wedding day itself – you don’t need the stress and you won’t have time.
3. The day can go very fast. Plan some time to just be together with your partner to take it all in.
What’s the biggest “say what?” moment or funny story that happened while you were planning?
Work got very hectic a few weeks before the wedding. A friend suggested I get a wedding organiser to help with the last pieces of planning. The first one I called asked me, ‘What’s the one thing that has to be right… the dress, the car, the cake…’ – totally not the sort of wedding I wanted!
