Do you like beautiful flowers, happy people and lots of pink? Then you will LOVE the springtime wedding of Deirdre and Kevin! 

Perfectly captured by my boo Lori with Capture Me Candid, I can’t wait to take you through the wedding day of Deirdre and Kevin. (Full vendor details at the bottom of this post):

A few things to know about the happy couple: 

-They are from Long Island (and yes, that means there was tons of Billy Joel played and I loved every second of it) #pianoman4life

-They love Love LOVE the Mets.

-Deirdre knew exactly what she wanted and I loved that about her! As a planner, it can actually be really difficult if a bride doesn’t know at all what she wants. 

-Deirdre loved the planning process (not always the case!), which made her an absolute breeze to work with. She was quite knowledgeable about wedding planning and it frankly seemed more like a partnership than a planner-client relationship. One of the keys to being successful at what I do is to take the “tone” of the relationship from the client. Some clients are more hands-off, some want to be involved in every detail, etc. In this case, the bride had her vision, I helped her execute it, and everyone was happy! 

I will be supplementing this blog with some comments from my partner in crime, the bride herself, Deirdre! 

I’m starting off with these SHOES because wow. Badgley Mischka, can I just say you really know how to craft a shoe. 

Deirdre worked with a family friend who has a small invitation company, J. Elle Invitations. These invitations set the tone for her wedding with their pink accents and rustic glamour and elegance. 

THE DRESS. I can’t even with this beauty. This picture is stunning, and just know that the dress was even more stunning in person! Originally an illusion neckline, the dress was altered to create a strapless neckline. 

CJ with J Majors whipped up a custom bolero to match the dress for Deirdre to wear at the church. Dear CJ – I want to be you when I grow up. I loved the bolreo, and I love that Deirdre had two different looks for her day. 

Deirdre has 2 sisters (and note – all have been or will be married within a few years of one another- wowza), and they selected one veil to share for all three of their weddings. I love sentimental touches like that!

Deirdre had this “something blue” patch ordered from Etsy sewn into her dress. I heart Etsy.

I love this shot with their bright dresses and the blue sky! They had excellent weather for their wedding day (which always make my job a bit easier!)

Reception centerpieces were extremely important to Deirdre. We chatted about it at our very first meeting. She was confident that she wanted to use her creativity to make the vases and accent pieces for the reception flowers. Within seconds of hearing Deirdre explain her concept, I knew this would be a successful “DIY” project. Deirdre was realistic in knowing that she didn’t want to mess with doing the florals herself, but she knew she wanted to create the containers. I let the florist know this was the plan, gave them the diameter and sizing of the vases and brought the containers to them the week of the wedding.

 Deirdre had a plan to complete these over the course of her 1-year+ planning period and that’s exactly what she did! Deirdre is now my go-to example for how to do DIY right. You need someone who won’t procrastinate and will work on the projects over the course of months, not try to jam it in the last month of planning when you are already busy with your impending wedding! Another note about DIY – typically a florist will come back at the end of the reception and pack up all vases and votives the client has rented from them. If you are DIY-ing any of your centerpieces, you will need to make a plan for who will pack everything up at the end of the night and where they will go. Typically this would be your planner, a family member or friend – just make sure it’s figured out prior to the wedding day!

Here’s what Deirdre had to say about the centerpieces:

I am pretty creative, I love making things so I decided to make all my centerpieces and decorative accents. I accumulated my supplies over a 6 to 12 month period. I mostly got what I needed from Michael’s and Walmart with some bulk pieces bought online (save-on-crafts.com) as well as Etsy.

Also, if you plan on making any or all of your décor I highly recommend hiring a planner for at least for  the month of. You don’t want to worry about setting up your wedding the days leading up to the big day. The weekend before my wedding I boxed up everything I made, labeled it and our planner picked everything up and brought it where it needed to be.

Truer words were never spoken! Thanks for showing us how to do DIY the RIGHT way! And the end result was AMAZING!

More personal touches were scattered throughout the wedding like these custom Mets cornhole boards (side note – cornhole in a wedding dress? I could get down with that!) …. 

…and this personalized Mets jersey used as the guest book! I LOVE creative guest books. You’ll be much more likely to display something unique like this in your home versus a traditional guest book.

Instead of a traditional tiered wedding cake, this ice-cream loving couple opted for an Ice Cream Sundae bar and mini dessert shots. Everyone loved the adorable treats.

In a moment that had everyone wiping a tear away (including, ahem, myself), the Bride and Groom dedicated a song to the Bride’s parents. The happy couple was thrilled to share an anniversary with the parents of the Bride, and they surprised them with their very own dance to their very own wedding song. It was a really touching moment. 

At the end of the evening, they snuck out for some skyline smooching and cigar shots with the Groomsmen.

One last word of advice from our Bride: 

“Its your day, one of the few days you get to be truly selfish. Make your own traditions or bend the old ones to your own style.  You can’t make everyone happy (PREACH), just concentrate on you as a couple and decide its going to be the best day of your life and then it will be.”

Some wise words from a smart lady! Deirdre and Kevin – Thanks for being a breeze to work with and I wish you a lifetime of happiness! 

Full Vendor Listing:

Ceremony: St. Ann’s Catholic Church | Reception Venue: Byrons South End | Catering and Ice Cream Bar: Best Impressions| Florist: Place for Flowers| Band:  Empire Emerald Band| Photographer: Capture Me Candid  | Wedding Dress: WToo from J Majors | Invitations: J. Elle Invitations | Makeup/Hair: Cali Stott Artistry | Transportation: Rose Transportation| Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Sung from J Majors | Groomsmen Attire: Mens Warhorse