Real Wedding | A Vintage Autumn Wedding

This week I’ve got a beautiful vintage wedding full of lace, feathers, and bright pink socks! I’m loving the rich color palette and all the fun details! And if you are tired of seeing tons of strapless gowns, be prepared to fall head over heels in love with Jesseca’s stunning lace number!

The gorgeous bride Jesseca shares all the details:

When my fiancé purposed in October of 2010, we originally discussed a two year engagement. I was willing to wait but I snooped at different things all day long and I was unable to make any decisions. By New Years Eve of 2010 we had found out my grandfather was ill and my soon to be father in-law was not in the best of health either; so we decided to speed up the planning and aim for a celebration around the time of our next anniversary. Realizing how badly we wanted our family there and our closest friends; it soon became apparent that our wedding day was more about our closest friends and family then it was about us. These were the people who made us who we are and because of these influences; we fell in love, we wanted to celebrate these influences; they inspired so much more of our day than they are aware.

Along with keeping the guests comfortable we had a very strict budget for our wedding. This left quite a bit for me to do. I loved every minute of it; planning and creating; maybe someday I could help other women with their day. I made my own candle holders with instructions off of Facebook “My Blessed Life”. We filled the holders from a Party Lite party thrown for me by the Maid of Honor; she donated her hostess credit to me which took care of everything. My bridal bouquet was purchased from “Croska” off of Etsy while my mother, Terri Burton, which I hope one day will share her creations with other brides, made all of the other bridal party bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. The jewelry was also made by me with the exception of a very important broach which held our grandparents close to my heart made by “Lulu Splendor” off Etsy. Between my mother, Facebook, Etsy, and Michaels; we were able to customize the day with all the personal touches.

Joe and I come from families of nature. We have the blessing of a hunter’s family which brings closeness throughout each generation. We picked the Tria in Centerville Minnesota for the ceremony and reception because of our families and Tria’s menu; venison and walleye. Although, we did not end up serving these foods, we fell in love with the patio and beautiful deer décor that filled the hallways; it felt like our homes growing up. So we kept the naturalistic feel (chocolate & champagne pallet plus branch centerpieces) with a little romance (candles and birds).

Finally, the three favorites of the wedding I must talk about; the DJ, our photographer and THE DRESSES. Starting with John Kalvig from Soundquest, I was so tempted to budget my way out of the entertainment (a.k.a an iPod) but a good friend convinced me otherwise and thank you for that. John and his wife Joyce fit right into the family crowd and helped me find every little song that we felt had to be played. Our photographer, Paige, did not come quite as easy though. It took a very bad experience with a prior photographer and engagement session for me to let go of some of those budgeting limits. From the very minute Joe and I met Paige, it was love. Love her work, love her personality, and love her unique eye. We met two other photographers on our quest which we very much liked, but there was nobody like Paige and an engagement session with our first date Nova at the drive-in created a very open communication which helped make the wedding day so comfortable that we barely noticed our professional contract. Paige was just like a very good girl-friend.

And last but definitely not least important; playing dress up with my very best friends! The girls and I went everywhere to find a dress that fit them each uniquely. The ladies at Rush’s let us play and create a look for every girl. We needed a dress that said fun loving girl for my daughter, trendy and fun for my Maid of Honor, plus elegant and modern or elegant and traditional for three very special girlfriends in my life. We got this all plus some additional details monitoring to be sure everything worked well together. And finally my dress!!!!! I could not have found it without Brides of France and Amanda. I wore a retired Lasposa dress that struck a “what the hay is this” thought when on the hanger. Amanda was another new girlfriend I made in the last few months. Her unique eye made my headpiece and she let me tell tales of planning at every visit to the dress. My colors were so different and nobody understood how things were supposed to come together, Amanda helped ease my nerves when mom told me she was concerned at many different times from my explanations.

At the end of the day, it all came together and even my mother complimented things. I felt so comfortable with things for the first time in my life, I enjoyed a wedding. There was zero nerve issues and all of the help of my photographer, the coordinator at Tria, the DJ and my best friends; I was able to let go of the reigns and let things happen.