Long Beach Bride in the City: Knieya Richardson

Style Unveiled, as hard as we try, knows that sometimes it takes a woman who's walking in your same 'heels' to help with something like planning a day as big as a wedding.  And while we will always be here to help with inspirational photos, real weddings, vendor suggestions, venue ideas, engagement photo ideas, and more ... we want to bring you something priceless ... Advice from brides who are doing the same as you (right now!!) ... PLANNING THEIR WEDDING :)  Our blog addition, Bride in the City will give you inside info from other brides to help you along the way and make you feel like you're not the only one :)  So ... get ready to bond with Bride in the City guest:  Knieya Richardson

When did you become engaged?

August 24, 2011

When is the big day?

September 22, 2012

What was your engagement shoot like?  What was it like working with your photographer?

Our photographer Malyssa of M Heart Photography is amazing. We have been admirers of her work for as long as we have been together. She is actually responsible for Wes and I meeting each other. We were both invited to a party in her honor by mutual friends, immediately hit it off and have been together ever since. So it only made sense to hire her as our photographer. With all of our history together, working with her made everything come naturally. Also, Malyssa’s conceptual photography style complemented the ideas we had for the shoot. We wanted to do something other than the typical kind of engagement shoot. Our vision was to take photos that were creative, artistic, edgy, dramatic and poetic. This is exactly what her style is. We wanted our pictures to tell our story and she was awesome at capturing it.

Who are the wedding vendors that you have already decided to hire?

Malyssa Harelson of M Heart Photography is our photographer, our caterer is Jay’s Catering, our coordinator and designer is Jeannie Ward of Wedding Jeannie, and our florist is Sue Peterson.

 What is your venue and why did you choose it?

We have chosen The Ebell Club of Long Beach as our wedding ceremony and reception venue. We fell in love with this place the moment we walked in the door. It is a historic venue in heart of downtown Long Beach, the city that I grew up in. It’s intimate setting and vintage style fits our theme perfectly.

What are you most excited about for your wedding day?

To marry my best friend and the love of my life, while celebrating with our family and friends. Also, I am very excited to get all glammed up! One of my favorite things to do!

Is there anything you are nervous about for your wedding day?

Wes and I are very shy, so being the center of attention makes us a little nervous.  We have a few months to prepare ourselves, so I think when the day comes we will be too excited to be nervous.

What is your wedding theme or concept going to be?  What inspired it?

I love retro vintage fashion of the 1960’s and 1970‘s. Elements of this era will be incorporated into our wedding, but with a modern twist.

Did you decide to hire a wedding coordinator?  Why did you decide this?

Yes! Our wedding coordinator is Jeannie Ward of Wedding Jeannie. We hired her not only because of her amazing portfolio, but because she has also worked at The Ebell Club of Long Beach in the past. We have so many ideas for the wedding and Jeannie is excited and confident that she can help us bring them all together.

Where are you planning to go for your honeymoon?

We are going to be staying on the amazing Big Island of Hawaii.

Is your husband-to-be helping with the planning?  What are his jobs?

Wes has been helpful with everything. More than I could have ever asked for. He is great at helping me make decisions and even comes up with some ideas of his own.

What is your best advice to brides who are currently planning their wedding?

Relax and do not sweat the small stuff. Not everything will be perfect and you can not make everyone happy. Have fun and appreciate everyone who is helping you to make your wedding the day the best day of your life!

Are you planning to see each other before the ceremony for photos?  Why or why not?

We are currently undecided on this.

What are 3 words that describe how you feel right now?

Loved, Excited and Happy!

{DARLING} Eye-Candy Submitted to us by M Heart Photography

Rhode Island Bride in the City: Melissa Zito

Style Unveiled, as hard as we try, knows that sometimes it takes a woman who's walking in your same 'heels' to help with something like planning a day as big as a wedding.  And while we will always be here to help with inspirational photos, real weddings, vendor suggestions, venue ideas, engagement photo ideas, and more ... we want to bring you something priceless ... Advice from brides who are doing the same as you (right now!!) ... PLANNING THEIR WEDDING :)  Our blog addition, Bride in the City will give you inside info from other brides to help you along the way and make you feel like you're not the only one :)  So ... get ready to bond with Bride in the City guest:  Melissa Zito

When did you become engaged?

March 22, 2011

When is the big day?

June 23, 2012

What did you do for your engagement session?  What was it like to work with your photographers?

We would like to start with, we absolutely LOVED our photographer! Alicia Williams of Cordele Photography was one of our first choices in planning our wedding and we couldn't be happier. She not only took the time to sit down (in several phone conversations) with us and personalize a package to fit our needs but she also traveled out to us to take the engagement photos. We decided to use a location on Long Island that would give the best depiction of who we are as a couple. Greenport, Long Island is right on the water and also has gorgeous vineyards. During the engagement session she took the time to make us both feel comfortable and allowed us the space to be ourselves while giving us direction at the same time. We wound up with beautiful photos in many different locations and all felt like they captured our personalities.

Who are the wedding vendors that you have already decided to hire?

We have decided to host the wedding at The Atlantic Inn on Block Island. This location will serve as both the ceremony and reception location as well as the Inn where most of our guests will be staying for the weekend. They will also be catering our wedding.  And of course, Alicia Williams of Cordele Photography will be our photographer for the event. Our favors will be fudge made on the island by Blocks of Fudge in the flavors of our choosing.

 What is your venue and why did you choose it?

We have chosen The Atlantic Inn on Block Island as our venue. It is such a romantic location with stunning views of the water and the Rose Farm (with live animals). It really captures everything I ever pictured for my wedding. The Atlantic in is filled with beautiful old antiques and has a very rustic, vintage charm to it. The wraparound porch will serve as a sitting area for cocktail hour and the front lawn (the call it the croquet court) will be the location of our ceremony. I wouldn't want to be married anywhere else.

What are you most excited about for your wedding day?

I'm excited to be marrying the most wonderful man I could ever dream up. He is not only my best friend but also handsome and honest and solid, he is truly my rock and I can not wait to be his wife.

Is there anything you are nervous about for your wedding day?

Seeing him for the first time in my wedding dress and reading our vows. I think I might just end up bawling through them.

What is your wedding theme or concept going to be?  What inspired it?

Vintage charm, shabby-chic.  It's our style, and the style of the island, so it just fit so perfectly!

Did you decide to hire a wedding coordinator?  Why did you decide this?

No we did not. We were lucky enough that Brad and Ann who run the Inn are so helpful with the planning and putting together lists of approved vendors (people they are willing to stand behind) really put our stress at ease. I also love planning parties myself and wouldn't be happy with someone else taking the lead.

Where are you planning to go for your honeymoon?

We will be Cruising through the Riviera from Rome, Italy to Barcelona, Spain aboard Oceania Cruiseline. The stops will include: Rome, Amalfi/Positano, Florence/Tuscany/Pisa, Portofino, Monte Carlo, Marseille, Ibiza & Barcelona.  We are very excited to be taking this adventure together and can not wait to go!

Is your husband-to-be helping with the planning?  What are his jobs?

Brian has been amazing with helping me through the planning stages. He is very open to my ideas (and believe me there are many) and he will always give his opinion when I need it. We are really doing this together and its making our bond so much stronger.

What is your best advice to brides who are currently planning their wedding?

Take a deep breath and do it in stages. If you try to do too much at once it tends to get very overwhelming!

Are you planning to see each other before the ceremony for photos?  Why or why not?

Absolutely! We would rather spend the morning taking pictures together and spend our actual wedding enjoying our time with our guests. I also like the idea of his seeing me for the first time being a private moment, it makes it very special and I really am looking forward to that part the most. It doesn't work for everyone but for us it just makes sense.

What are 3 words that describe how you feel right now?

Excited beyond words!

{DARLING} Eye-Candy Submitted to us by Cordele Photography

Sedona Bride in the City: Patricia Larkin

Style Unveiled, as hard as we try, knows that sometimes it takes a woman who's walking in your same 'heels' to help with something like planning a day as big as a wedding.  And while we will always be here to help with inspirational photos, real weddings, vendor suggestions, venue ideas, engagement photo ideas, and more ... we want to bring you something priceless ... Advice from brides who are doing the same as you (right now!!) ... PLANNING THEIR WEDDING :)  Our blog addition, Bride in the City will give you inside info from other brides to help you along the way and make you feel like you're not the only one :)  So ... get ready to bond with Bride in the City guest:  Patricia Larkin

When did you become engaged?

February 18, 2011

When is the big day?

April 27, 2012

Who are the wedding vendors that you have already decided to hire?

We're still in the early-ish stages of planning, but so far we've hired our caterer, Rosalie's of Sedona. We've also booked our wedding photographer, Kate Monroe, a good friend (and also a dear friend of our engagement session photographer, Nina) who is flying across the country for us to shoot our wedding!

Our cake is going to be made by Sedona Sweet Arts  and I've purchased my Watters gown through an amazing consignment shop in Scottsdale called Almond Tree. We're going to have our invitations and other reception stationery custom-designed by a graphic designer I work with.

That's about all we have that's firmed up at the moment, though we have a good idea our flowers will be done by Bliss Floral Designs.

 What is your venue and why did you choose it?

Our ceremony & reception will be held in the courtyards of Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village in Sedona, Arizona. We chose this location because we took our first trip together as a couple to Sedona and fell in love with Tlaquepaque, exploring the tiled courtyards and all the little nooks & crannies. After dinner one night on that trip, we were walking around the darkened courtyards and noticed a beautifully lit wedding reception going on in the next courtyard. I think that image was imprinted on both of our minds and we never forgot it.

What are you most excited about for your wedding day?

I'm of course most excited to become DJ's wife and to be able to call him my husband. We're also both excited to see a years worth of planning come to fruition and have a great party with our family and closest friends.

Is there anything you are nervous about for your wedding day?

I can't say I'm nervous about anything yet. Ask me again in April 2012!

What is your wedding theme or concept going to be?  What inspired it?

We hope to develop a sophisticated Spanish-inspired look for our wedding. The inspiration for this came from the groom's love for Spain, our honeymoon destination (Spain & Portugal), and of course the architecture of our wedding venue. Colors will be deep purples, dark grays, black, with splashes of crimson, with Alencon lace incorporated here & there.

Did you decide to hire a wedding coordinator?  Why did you decide this?

We have not hired a wedding coordinator. So far planning has been fun and I've had a lot of help from my mom. We're considering hiring a day of coordinator, but haven't decided on that yet.

Where are you planning to go for your honeymoon?

We're taking a slightly delayed honeymoon in late June-early July 2012 to Spain & Portugal. Running with the bulls in Pamplona is on DJ's bucket list, so we hope to make that happen on our honeymoon! With me watching in safety from a balcony above.

What are some of your favorite wedding planning blogs and tools?

Style Unveiled & Style Me Pretty have been favorites, along with a website called Pinterest.com. I've been keeping various inspiring photos I find online in my account's wedding albums & boards on Pinterest.

Is your husband-to-be helping with the planning?  What are his jobs?

DJ has been awesome at reminding me that I want to keep the whole process low-stress. He helps me to keep things in perspective as we plan. While he's not big on planning himself, he's great at giving his opinion and helps make decisions when presented with different options. He's a great sounding board.

What is your best advice to brides who are currently planning their wedding?

Remember that the wedding is just one day, one party. The planning process is not worth stress or arguments or tears. Keep it fun, keep it light, and don't try to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Are you planning to see each other before the ceremony for photos?  Why or why not?

Absolutely. We both want to be able to enjoy our cocktail hour & reception, not spend that time away from our guests and the party we so carefully planned. Our photographer will set up a "first look" for us that I think will be more private and meaningful than having to wait to see each other for the first time in front of our 60 guests.

What are 3 words that describe how you feel right now?

Breathless, excited, anxious

{DARLING} Eye-Candy Submitted to us by Love and Lemonade Photography