Engagement Anniversary & Wedding Details
One year ago today, No. 14 was celebrating our first year in business. In the middle of the anniversary party, Eric got on bended knee and asked me to be his wife. It was one of the best nights of my life surrounded by so many people we love
In honor of the 1 year engagement anniversary, I wanted to share the first series of wedding photos, and our wedding video, along with some backstory to our planning process. All photos are by Tiffany, from Hot Metal Studios, who also shot our engagement shoot back in April. She is so talented and knows exactly how to capture a moment, we loved having her around!
The girls and I spent the morning of the wedding getting ready at my parents' house. My mom is an amazing decorator and she didn't have any detail go unnoticed when it came to doing up her home for the big day. She made sure each corner had balloons, and that the mantle looked just like the flowers in our bouquets. We had such a blast getting ready, it was one of the best parts of the day because I got to spend it with my favorite girls.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a love affair with flowers, especially peonies. We wanted the florals to counteract the interior space. The Pittsburgh Opera House is very raw and industrial. We chose to glam it up with the black and white dance floor and the plush chairs. We wanted the flowers to be light and airy and bring that flirty and romantic element to the evening. I knew that Lauren from The Farmers Daughter would be the perfect fit for us before I even met her. Her work is truly one of a kind and when I met her at our first consultation, I knew she was the girl for us. I mean...look at that flower runner!?
The Pittsburgh Opera house is a blank canvas. When you rent it, you are quite literally just getting a box. The great thing is that every wedding that is held there looks completely different. It is also very cool because you get to pick every single detail of your event, down to the flatware and lighting. My mom and I had so much fun thinking of fresh new ideas for it with our planner, and friend, Shayla from {SHE} Shayla Hawkins Events.
Our cocktail hour was all white and plush. We had white sofas and high top tables with white seating. We wanted our guests to walk into a bright space. Inside the 'ballroom' we had a black and white checkered dance floor and a custom DJ stand (by the way, Pittsburgh brides: if you are looking for a DJ- ours was by far the best I have ever heard, I would recommend him 19283 times over! You can find DJ Digital Dave here)
E and I loved the idea of the long farm table idea to keep everyone close together. Each table was a bit different. Two of the guest tables had linens and white Louis chairs. Two of them had stainless farm tables with white tops and a giant flower runner down the middle lined with lucite Chiavari chairs. The head table (a whopping 47 people) was a high top with bar height Louis chairs. The table elements and the chandeliers along with the string of lights brought a homey feeling to a space that can sometimes be cavernous.
Grand Finale: our wedding video, that I have watched an unhealthy amount of times. Our videographer Evermark Studios was absolutely incredible and this video does not disappoint. The funny backstory behind this video is that we kept forgetting to book a videographer. We knew we wanted one from the start, but it kept getting lost in translation with other tasks we had to do. Ten days before the wedding my mom and I texted Shayla to ask if any were still available and she put us in touch with Todd, the owner of Evermark. So to preface, I never met Todd before he walked into my parents' home the morning of my wedding. Yet, he still captured our day better than I could have ever imagined.
In the next few weeks I will upload a second wedding series with the ceremony, party, couple, and group photos. So many people have been asking so many sweet questions about the details of the wedding, so I wanted to post these first along with the video!
Hope you enjoy!
Brianne Conley