Final blog post from Jackie & Bryan’s awesome Delaware beach wedding. Enjoy!
Now that you’re married, and you’ve been through planning a wedding together, what advice would you give to other couples who are just starting the process?
We were engaged for more than a year, and attribute that to our low stress levels. I strongly encourage people to select vendors carefully – ask questions and negotiate for things you do and don’t want. Also, picking a venue that comes with some of the vendors can help tremendously. Our location included the venue (including tables, chairs, and linens), food and drinks, flowers, and cake. It’s easy to get caught up in tiny details, and things like Pinterest or wedding Q&A boards can make things feel overwhelming. At some point you have to step back and say – here is what we want, and it doesn’t matter if other people have done it this way before. Oh, and if you’re going on a honeymoon right away, take a few days off after the wedding. You’ll be happy you did!
Tell us about your décor, flowers and details…
The wedding was at a bed & breakfast built in 1902, with the beach as the backdrop, so we left the décor simple and let the location speak for itself. The centerpieces were either terrariums with succulents and ground seashells or round glass vases with sand and candles.
The flowers were absolutely perfect – soft pinks and ivories with green succulents and velvety blue leaves (lambs ear) mixed in. I told the florist how much I loved Ranunculus, and they included some beautiful ones in the bouquets.
The morning of the wedding, I was up before everyone else, so I walked down to the beach. I took two steps onto the beach, looked down, and found a piece of deep blue sea glass right at my feet. It was beautiful! I’m not really superstitious, but I thought finding such a beautiful “something blue” like that meant we were in for a great day. And we were!
Tell us about your cakes…
We had two cakes – a three-tiered cake as the official ‘wedding’ cake, and a cake we called our ‘Grandparents’ Cake’. Both cakes were delicious, and the almond cake with buttercream frosting was the most popular flavor. For us it was the Grandparents’ Cake that was most special. We got pictures of our grandparents from their weddings or when they were younger and had them framed by the Grandparents’ Cake. On top was the cake topper from my (Jackie’s) grandparents’ wedding in 1946, 70 years before our wedding. Our grandparents are no longer with us, and Bryan’s grandmother passed last October, making it that much more important to us that they be a part of the day.
What’s next for the two of you?
We spent nine days driving around Ireland – truly the trip of a lifetime! Now we’re enjoying the summer weather and having more free time. We took a break from some of our home renovations and projects, so they’ll start up again soon.
Venue: The Addy Sea – Bethany Beach, Delaware
Dress shop: Morilee by Madeline Gardner
Suit: Perry Ellis
Hair: Valerie Clarke & Associates
Make-up: Valerie Clarke & Associates
Flowers: Blossoms Inc. – Dagsboro, Delaware
Cake: Sweet Disposition – Selbyville, Delaware
Officiants: Men in Black – Deacon Kenneth Warne, Rev Msgr. Michael K. Carroll
Band/DJ: Mike Reilly
Invitations: Vistaprint
Rehoboth Beach Delaware wedding photographer: Leslie Barbaro
