Emily and Matt are one of the boldest couples, style wise, that we have photographed. Emily is currently studying fashion design and it is very clear that her sense of style and vision for fashion are unlike any other! As a bride, Emily most definitely wanted every detail of her wedding to not only look perfect, but also give her guests a total experience. She wanted everyone to be whisked away to a new space and leave her wedding feeling charmed. One thing I love, in particular, about the Trevor's wedding was their attire. Matt chose a very slim cut navy suit and Emily chose a simple dress, accompanied by a big, bold necklace and red lip to add in her style. After the ceremony, Emily put on a custom, sheer coat that was soooooo stunning in person, it was absolutely gorgeous! I love it when brides not only take risks on their style for their wedding day, but also understand the balance between making a statement and keeping a timeless look to their attire. Personally, I think Emily and Matt achieved this perfectly, so we interviewed the Trevor's to see what their thought process was like when planning their wedding!
Q. You have incredible style. Hands down. What kind of resources did you use to gather inspiration for your wedding?
A. When I first got engaged I looked at a ton of blogs, one of my favorites was oncewed.com. I loved the idea of my wedding being so much more of mine and Matt's personal style than a typical traditional wedding. I searched Etsy all the time as well for cute little things I liked, or got ideas from. Once I got one idea stuck in my head it sort of blew up into a bigger idea. The doily chandeliers for example - I found a cute DIY how-to in Martha Stewart magazine, took that, made them five feet long, super wide and made three of them. 2500 paper doilies...ha ha ha, my parents (both retired, sweet deal for me) were folding doilies for weeks. As a clothing design student, I am pretty anal about design details and went a bit crazy with my ideas...I honestly didn't think I'd be that bride. I learned to trust my instincts. I was driving to yoga about a year ago and saw a free desk on the side of the street. Matt and his best friend, Chris, picked it up for me. I painted the whole piece white and put my place settings on it.
Q. What were the first steps you took in designing your big day?
A. Booking YOU! Seriously. I then found my wedding dress. I believe we bought Matt's suit next. I knew I wanted an outdoor wedding, but for me, those two items, our clothing, were number one. I wanted them to make sense together. I couldn't completely visualize my day or start designing the details until I knew the general feeling I got from our clothes.
Q. How did you choose your vendors?
A. You were EASY. I grew up with you and you have been my rock in some pretty heartbreaking times for me. Not to mention, you are the most KICK ASS photographer in the Twin Cities, maybe the world? Do I dare? But seriously, you were always my number one vendor priority. If I remember accurately I planned my wedding date around your schedule. My best friends cousin, Alex Lehr owns Thistle Floral Design. We have been friends for a few years and I am in love with her floral aesthetic. We had very similar ideas for my flowers during the whole planning process. She is incredibly creative and is able to get her hands on some amazing flowers. When she said she could get me my King Proteas, I peed a little. (Is that legal to say?) Honestly, I chose Common Roots because they were delicious. We looked at a few caterers and they were all pretty scary. Bonnie from Common Roots was the biggest blessing to work with. I felt so taken care of and she got my humor, which was a delight. Lime Canary Vintage Rental was my vendor for those sweet vintage chairs. I really wanted to mix a vintage and modern aesthetic throughout the whole day as that is pretty true to my personal style. With the vintage chairs during the ceremony I wanted to keep the decor for the ceremony clean, hence, just the chairs and the chandelier. I have never been happier with a decision. Those vintage chairs made my heart swoon. And honestly, they are around the same price as fancy white chairs. I found that vendor through a Facebook page and got really excited. The only other things I rented were the tables, white chairs and some of the dessert table plates. All the decorations were either handmade or bought from IKEA.
Q. Matt's suit was ordered online from ASOS. How did you two choose his attire?
A. RUSSEL BRAND. We were watching the Oscars in 2011 and he showed up wearing this ridiculous outfit- all navy and black and so delicious. We both were like "whoa, that's it." I went on the hunt for it, a navy skinny suit with black details. I die for navy and black together. Since I had already been obsessed with ASOS, I dove into their site every day and finally found the perfect suit. Luckily, it fit Matt perfectly. His tie was eight dollars or something too from ASOS. Ridiculous. The night of our wedding, we were giggling in our room and discussing the day. We decided his outfit was one of the best purchases for the big day. Matt has never looked so good. He has made a new mission to add 16 pieces of clothing to his wardrobe- one piece, every week for sixteen weeks. His suit inspired him. I'm cool with that :)
Q.All of your bridesmaids dresses were custom made. Why did you choose this? How was that process?
A. First off, I knew I really wanted the dresses to be able to be WORN again. So custom made or something super casual and modern was always a hope of mine.
I use to work at a local St. Paul boutique called Picky Girl. One of the local lines we sold was Calpurnia Peach. Luci Kandler and her friend owned the line. Luci has since began her own line. What I love about her clothes are her prints and really simple silhouettes. I knew I wanted Luci to make my dresses from the first time I saw her garments at Picky. I love mixing different prints and I knew I wanted my bridesmaids dresses to have a print as I was already utilizing numerous prints at my wedding. Working with Luci was amazing. Her talent for screen printing makes me jealous and she totally mixed the modern and vintage styles that I love not only within the silhouettes but within the print itself. The process of working with her was super easy. We met, I showed her stuff I had already planned for my wedding, she fed off my ideas and designed dresses I loved. We emailed frequently and I went to her studio to check out print ideas and mock dresses. Her pricing was incredibly reasonable for all the work she put into my girls dresses. Custom made was really sweet as my lady friends met with Luci a couple times for fittings as well as decisions about their own dresses- pockets, length of belt... My favorite was the halter one with the slight cowl. :) I want it.
Q. What was your philosophy in investing in the details of your day (money wise)? What were the priorities for you?
A. Heh heh...to be honest. I did that all wrong. I planned my wedding much like I have lived my life thus far. Just sort of buying things as I go and hoping I have the money for everything I need. Matt just graduated from the U of M and I am in school at St. Kate's...so being students and trying to save up for a wedding was pretty frightening. I am happy that that part of the wedding is over. My priorities: photography, clothes, location and food. I am pretty grateful for some great in-laws and my parents to help us with some of the financial aspects of the wedding. Matt and I had an envelope in his underwear drawer (yeah, we're old school) that we would cram cash in- watch it accumulate and try not to stress out. One thing that we did do, was spend throughout the process. That was helpful, we were engaged for almost two years, so I really started buying stuff right away and tried to spread it out. That way, I didn't need to have a ridiculous amount of money at a certain point- it made it feel a little less intense. (and by a little, I mean a little)
Q. Why did you choose the Round Barn?
A. We really wanted an outdoor wedding. I searched the internet for a couple weeks nonstop browsing all the local outdoor locations. For some reason I didn't come across the Round Barn for a couple weeks- it was really hard to find online if you didn't know the place existed, which I didn't. When I saw the website I freaked out. It was exactly what we wanted. When we visited the location we knew it was the spot. The yard was gorgeous and I saw a very large tree that I ached to be wed under. Not to mention- you rent out the entire b & b for the whole weekend and get a three course breakfast both mornings you are there. Seriously. It was also WAY less expensive than any other outdoor location I found that I liked. Red Wing is beautiful. The barn was bad ass. The rooms in the b & b were super cute. We booked it immediately.
Q. When it came to your actual wedding dress, how did you choose 'the one'? You also made the perfect sheer coat to go over your dress. How did that come about?
A. Yes. Okay. So I could have gone two ways with my dress. Super over the top OR simple and clean. When I tried on my dress, I just knew. It felt right. Everyone I was with was freaking out. It just felt like me. With choosing a simpler dress I was able to wear tons of accessories which I love. I don't think I would have worn a huge necklace with a more highly detailed dress and I would never have collaborated with my friend Heather on that sweet jacket (which I get to see in my closet every day and smile at the memory of my wedding.) So, that being said, I went the simple and clean route. However! As it was simple, I really wanted a statement piece to wear during my reception. I searched so many stores and websites for the perfect chiffon jacket and alas, couldn't find anything. So I asked my good friend Heather King to sew me one. We gave each other sketches during work one day and kept adding on and slightly changing details until we felt really good about it. Fabric shopping was a breeze, we both are drawn to similar textiles and colors and I found my pretty hand dyed ribbon at a flower shop :) I 'm obsessed with my jacket. I want to do a photo shoot with it, a body suit and my boots from my wedding. Yum.
Q. Aside from your vendors, who did you collaborate with to bring your ideas to life?
A. I knocked a lot of ideas around with the great minds of my husband, my best friend Mary, my sisters Anne and Liz and my mom. Not only that, but my entire family seriously helped out with the DIY stuff. My mom was my own personal sweatshop. She sewed all the grey and white tablecloths, photobooth back drop and my dessert tablecloths. During my winter break from school me and my MOH Mary spray painted all those books and frames (after I primed them all twice) while my dad watched us, incredibly weirded out that I was doing this for my wedding :) Six months later, that man was busy helping me with crafts. I am so grateful for my family and their willingness to be of service and help me with all the projects. They really helped me bring my wedding to fruition.
Q. What advice do you have for brides who are planning a stylish wedding that incorporates so many DIY details?
A. Be yourself!! Try and spread out all your projects- they are way more time consuming than you think they will be. Don't be afraid to ask for help- people seriously want to help. Make lists- they relieve stress. Try and buy/make things that you can use in your house after the wedding. Bulk wholesale fabric sites are a good thing. Paint primer is your best friend.
Also make sure to check out Emily and Matt's Engagement and Couples session posts!