Glamorous Seaside Wedding with Vintage Touches

Glamorous Seaside Wedding with Vintage Touches

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Ashton & Eben's vintage-inspired wedding is oh-so-glamorous (we love a bride who rocks a red lip, complete with a jewelled gown!) but still relaxed and effortless. Their seaside venue The Heitman House isn't only gorgeous, it's also meaningful - it's right next door to where the bride grew up! This celebration will make you want to get married by the sea and dance the night away under palm trees, check out the rest of it below!

Photography by Shannon Griffin.

Did you include any traditions in your wedding? Something old: Family heirloom ring. // Something new: Shoes. // Something borrowed : Family Heirloom earrings. // Something blue: We sewed a blue heart in the inside of my dress from one of my grandpa's old shirts.

Gold imprinting wedding invitations from Minted.

Is there anything that you'd like to share about your wedding day? We chose to do a first look and all of our photography before the ceremony so we were able to mingle and say hello to everyone during cocktail hour. This allowed us to be able to celebrate for the entire reception!

Are there any DIY details you'd like to tell us about? My bouquet was made by my mother. We bought hundreds of roses and hand made all the bouquets ourselves but my mom (who was also my Matron of Honor) handmade mine and it's one of my favorite details.

The Ceremony

Why did you choose this location for your ceremony? I grew up next door to The Heitman House and was always able to see weddings there from my parents' back yard. I have always loved the venue ever since I was young and also love the history of the house. It was like getting married right where I grew up!

Your ceremony in three words. Non-traditional, classic, sophisticated.

Who officiated your ceremony? How did you choose him/her? It's sort of a tradition in our family to have a family member perform the ceremony. When it came to choosing our officiant my cousin Matt was the first person we thought of. He has always been supportive of our family and we knew he would do a great job.

What were your vows like? I wanted vows that were non-traditional and something short but sweet so I researched online and came across these vows (***ADD LINK) at The Offbeat Bride and fell in love. They describe Eben and my relationship so well and when I read them to him he felt the same. I mixed them with a few pieces from other ceremonies to make it our own.

"Our recessional was Glenn Miller's In the Mood. We were going for a classy 20s feel for the cocktail hour and thought that would be a fun way to get everyone 'in the mood'!"

The Reception

What inspired you when you were planning your wedding? Our wedding was such a mix of different ideas. If I had to put a name to it I would say romantic 1920s old Florida. I wanted a vintage feel without feeling like a themed wedding. I would look at old photos of weddings from the 20s and try to find ways to replicate the feel but combining it with more modern décor.

How would you describe your reception?
Fun, elegant and funky! We wanted our ceremony and cocktail hour to be formal and sophisticated but not stuffy and wanted to make sure our reception was full of good food, good drinks and great music. Those things were very important to us.

How did you go about planning your reception? Of course I had help from Pinterest! I had been collecting Pins before our engagement so putting the plan into action was easy when Eben popped the question. We would go to thrift stores every couple of weekends to collect brass candle sticks, oil lamps, crystal and whatever vintage-inspired décor we could find. I also found a lot of decor on Etsy.

What advice do you have for other couples in the midst of planning a wedding? Organization is key! Know what you want before you start trying to implement anything and if you have trouble making your vision a reality invest in someone you trust to help you that has the ability. It will save you from stress and being down to the wire and still have no clue what you want for your big day. Also shoot ideas for your wedding to different people. Outside opinions can really help you when you're stuck on details.

What type of cake or dessert did you serve? I initially wanted to do pies but the groom was set on cake. We chose a "naked cake" which was yellow cake with buttercream icing, decorated with beautiful fresh flowers in peach and pink.

What was your favorite moment or part of the reception? Just being able to celebrate our new life with our closest friends and family.

Is there anything else that helps tell the story of your wedding? Eben and I had been dating for 8 years and living together for almost 7 before we got engaged. Our relationship was strong and in a sense we already felt married but on our wedding day the bond between us became instantly stronger and our love, although always full, has been greater ever since.

Do you have any budget tips for other brides? You are going to spend more than you think. No matter what your budget is there is always something that creeps up that increases cost. We chose to pay extra to make sure we were able to provide the experience we wanted for ourselves and our guests.

If you had it to do over again, is there anything you would do differently? No, we are so happy with the way everything turned out and are constantly joking that we wish we could relive the night over and over!

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