Weddingbee Blog

We had a vision of our wedding right from the start. We wanted a laid-back atmosphere that invited our guests to have fun, but we also didn’t want to lose sight of the meaning of the day.

We included many personal touches to share our story. I started the DIY projects to save money, but these little projects ended up shaping the entire feel of our wedding day; from the very first DIY, our save the dates, all the way to the thank you notes we sent weeks after the wedding was over.

personal photos

The Starfish motif was on almost everything. It kind of came about by accident. When I was designing our wedding website, I liked the option with a starfish design best, then I just kind of continued to use it on everything else. I like that we had one element that tied everything together.

The starfish motif was included on all of our paper products including save the dates, invitations, thank yous, escort cards, cocktail napkins and out of town bags. I chose to DIY almost all of the paper products of our wedding. I’ve always been into crafts and the wedding was a fun way to show this side to our guests. I had fun coming up with cohesive elements, but adding a different twist to each one.

Top 4 photos, personal photos

We tried to include our love for our alma mater (the place we met) in details throughout the day. We took photos on campus, Mr. Starfish wore a tie with the school’s insignia, the processional at the ceremony was to “Salve Regina,” we included a sign that says “There’s no place like Salve,” and we held our reception at the ABC, which overlooks the Salve campus.

Along with the “There’s no place like Salve” sign, we also purchased a “Just Married in Newport” sign, and we displayed another sign Mr. S had purchased for me as a birthday present a year back stating, “The rest of your life begins today.”

Instead of having a traditional guestbook, we made postcards. Some included engagement photos from our photographer, David Bibeault.

We had different layouts on the back, some asked for advice, others asked specific questions, and some left room for general well wishes.

My mother has been mailing the postcards to us sporadically and will continue to do so throughout our first year of marriage.

It’s so fun to receive these and relive our wedding long after it is over.

We left a postcard at each guest’s place setting with a note on the back of the table number asking them to “drop us a line,” with the image of an anchor on a string. Mr. Starfish loves fishing and boating, so it was a fun way to include his hobby.

We continued with the nautical feel in the favors by purchasing “Shuckies” (a N.E. produced shell shaped fortune cookie) and personalized them with a thank you to our guests on one side and on the back we wrote “Your lucky numbers: 10.2.10,” which was our wedding date.

When it came to flowers, I wanted to go classic.

We went with all white flowers. I just love the way the white popped against the navy!

Little Starfish got a mini version of my bouquet.

Flowers by Broadway Florists

We had similar thoughts with the cake; we wanted simple and classic.

cake by Konditor Meister

It was fun finding little ways to represent ourselves and our relationship throughout the day. I loved that part of the planning process. It sometimes stressed me out during planning, but I do miss the many creative opportunities a wedding brings.

What’s the vibe of your wedding? Do you have one element tying everything together?

*Unless notes, all photos by David Bibeault