A Night Under the Stars Wedding

One year ago today, our dear friends Jade and Julia tied the knot. Since Julia and I were planning our weddings around the same time, a lot of the details were discussed over and over and are now ingrained in my memory for all of eternity. So because I can recall the smallest things with great accuracy, I thought I would share a recap of the fabulous event with you party animals. Let’s celebrate the first anniversary of Jade & Julia’s themed wedding “A night under the stars!”

The event took place at a venue called Villa Christina’s which is right outside of Atlanta. The facility boasted of a restaurant in the lower level and a patio with a fire pit that opened up to a well-manicured garden. Since Julia asked me to be her ‘wedding planner’ I was lucky enough to attend a tasting with her & let me tell ya, it was fantastic! I normally don’t eat fish – but I would go back there for their salmon…yum!

Upon entering the restaurant, a small table with a photo book acted as the guest book. It was a great way for them to add a personalized touch to the wedding and Jade & Julia actually still look at their guestbook (something a lot of brides tend NOT to do after their nuptials are over).

As you walk through the restaurant, ushers escorted you outside to the patio. The best looking one was this man named Jeremy something. I would take him home any day 🙂 The large gazebo in the back was the scene of the crime – and the weather was perfect! Since they only had about 80-100 guests, each person got an up close and personal seat to view as the bride and groom become one.

Jade has two kids that are the definition of “little whipper-snappers”! And this was going to be a huge step for them as they got a new step-mom. However, the biggest difference was in Julia’s lifestyle. Raised an only child, living alone and now getting for a ready-made family at the ripe old age of 24! Wow, right?!

The kids were great sports – beautiful Campbell was a wonderful flower girl (and she even wore a dress! gasp!) and Doss was the ideal Best Man. And boy did he look the part! Doss and his dad donned matching black suits, with matching green and ivory ties and I must say, they looked dashing! And speaking of duds…

Julia looked gorgeous in her gown! The dress’ beaded bodice accentuated her tiny waist and the delicate shimmery jacket added modesty and classic elegance to her whole ensemble. Seeing it on the rack at David’s Bridal, we would have never known that it would look this fantastic and flattering on. And the color selection of the flowers set off her skin tone perfectly.

This girl had not one but two dresses for her big day! After the dinner was served and the dancing began, Jules did a quick change into a beautiful White House Black Market dress complete with comfy flops. I love how she kept the veil on while she cut a rug! We wouldn’t mistake her for a guest with that still screwed into her head (that’s how they attach them, you know).

Carlyn, the maid of honor, wore a simple green dress from David’s Bridal that fit perfectly into their ‘garden’ wedding color scheme. The fact that the MOH dress and the flower girl dress both came from the same store really took the guess work out of matching colors.

Flowers were from a big-box store and were super fab when they arrived. All they needed were some pearl accents and they were ready to go. I will always recommend flowers from Sam’s Club or Costco after seeing what beautiful results are available. (plus they were WAY more affordable than a florist who charges an arm and a leg and a first born)

The hosting facility did her cake and it was so delicious! This was definitely my first time with ‘flowering’ a cake but since Jules gave me a picture of what she wanted it to look like, pluggin the stems into the icing seemed almost fun (fun when I didn’t think about one wrong move ruining her confection masterpiece!)

My personal favorite touch was her ‘stars’ that were everywhere. She had us hang metal stars over the dance floor, the favors were star-shaped tealight candle and nametag holders, and the patio was glowing with the star punched luminaries that screamed “cute!” Even the guest book had clip art of stars next to photos of the couple in love.

Just to prove that I was there. This was the only picture I could find that I wasn’t playing air guitar or making a confused face…or that didn’t have my boyfriend in the background as he played air guitar. What can I say? We like air guitar 🙂