Inspired by their beautiful venue and love of antiques, Alex & Ian planned a timeless vintage wedding surrounded by loved ones; and to say their day was perfect would be an understatement. From the stylish couples attire, to the palette of greens and pastel florals, they considered every detail creating a welcoming and unforgettable celebration. It was a perfect Summer day filled with so many memorable moments and the happiest of tears!

Bride Alex shares….. “I have always loved collecting vintage and antiques, so planning a style for our wedding was easy. I’m a photographer so the first thing I did the day after Ian proposed was send an email to Kristen Marie Parker whose career I had followed for years. It only took  us a couple of days to agree that we did not want to have a long engagement, so we started planning right away. The next week we toured Salisbury House & Gardens which is this incredible family estate turned museum in Des Moines. It was built in the 1920’s by a cosmetics magnate and modelled after the King’s House in Salisbury, England. It was the perfect setting for our wedding. We wanted an intimate wedding with our close family and friends, so we got married in the common room, had a dinner on the east lawn, and danced on the south terrace. We didn’t choose a specific color palette to follow but ended up choosing a lot of shades of green, blue, and soft pinks.”

“Initially I had dreamt of wearing a simple lace dress with long sleeves, but we decided to get married in June. Summers in Iowa can be hot and humid though. I only tried on 5 or 6 gowns until I found ‘the one’, by Mikaella. I wore that with a custom juliet cap veil made by Agnes Hart, a pair of green velvet heels from ASOS, vintage earrings, and a vintage rolex watch that had been my grandmother’s.”

“I reached out to Shelly Sarver Designs for our florals. She’s the best in Iowa. She made my bouquet with garden and David Austin roses, peonies, king protea, blue delphinium, pink amaranthus, burgundy ranunculus, blue hydrangeas, and eucalyptus. I told Shelly the kinds of flowers I liked, the kind I did not like, colors I liked, and she created beautiful, vintage floral arrangements. When I saw them for the first time I cried.”

“We thrifted over 100 brass candlesticks, collected antique oil lamps. and a few other vintage items for decorations. The biggest labor of love was a crescent moon photobooth that Ian and his brother made. All of our friends helped us paint a giant black backdrop with white stars for two days leading up to the wedding. I collected wedding photos from all of our family members and made some art and framed it all in thrifted brass picture frames.”

“Our wedding cake, and other desserts, were made by my close friend Meg who owns Dust Bowl Bakery. It was a dark chocolate stout and pumpkin layer cake with a cardamom cream cheese frosting, topped with cherries and pistachios. Our topper was a set of taxidermy mice dressed in wedding clothes that were a gift from my maid of honor.”

What were your favorite memories of the day?

“There are so many. Buying coffee and pastries the morning of and driving away with the pastries on top of the car. Running out of gas. Getting stuck behind a funeral procession. Feeling nervous and shaky, then calm as we arrived at the venue. Seeing each other for the first time. Writing my vows an hour before the ceremony. Seeing my only living grandparent there with us. Our entire ceremony which was done by our friend. Hearing Ian’s vows. The weather was absolutely perfect, weirdly perfect. The sound of 1920’s jazz during dinner. Stopping and saying hello to everyone. Dancing with Ian to songs we loved. The speeches from my dad, our wedding party, and a surprise speech from our nephew that had us in tears. Looking around at one point and crying because everyone we love was there in the same place.”

Pearls of wedding wisdom from the bride….

“Delegate tasks to people that want to help. Ask your catering company to handle furniture and linen rentals. Make a Pinterest board. Be true to your relationship and do what’s right for the two of you. Make spreadsheets! I would have lost my mind if we didn’t have spreadsheets with addresses, phone numbers, who gifted what, etc. Have your photographer make the schedule. We followed Kristen’s schedule almost to a T. It gave us time for all the photos we wanted and made the whole day run smoothly. Don’t try to DIY things that are brand new to you, you’ll end up getting frustrated. Make time for the things that are important to you.”

Tell us a little about your photographer….

“I had followed Kristen’s work for years and I knew she had the ability to capture people’s emotions and gorgeous candid moments. She was the first person I contacted the day after we got engaged. She was incredible to work with. She asked a lot of questions, had me fill out a questionnaire so she knew what was important to us, and she made us laugh. We look at our photos almost every day and she truly captured the memories from that day so perfectly.”

VIEW THE GALLERY

See what I mean about perfection? Many many congratulations to beautiful bride Alex and her dapper groom Ian. And a big thankyou to them and of course to their wonderful photographer Kristen Marie Parker who didn’t miss a moment and captured every detail so beautifully. If you love her photography and would like to see more of her work head over to her website www.kristenmarieparker.com and be sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Or if you love this super romantic vintage wedding, and are looking for more inspiration for your own big day, then you might want to see Lucy & Andrew’s festive wedding (that’s not too Christmassy!) , or Imogen & Matt’s wedding in a 16th Century French Chateau no less! And Samantha & Steven’s honey themed wedding is super sweet!

Amy

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Credits & Contributors

Photography – Kristen Marie Parker || Venue – Salisbury House & Gardens, Des Moines, Iowa, USA || Floral Design – Shelly Sarver Designs || Wedding Dress – Mikaella Bridal Style #2016 || Wedding Dress Boutique – Schaffer’s Bridal || Hairpiece – Agnes Hart || Bridal Shoes – ASOS || Bridesmaid Dresses – ASOS || Groom’s Attire – Top Man and Brackish Bowties || Groom’s Ring – Joseph’s Jewelers || Stationery –  Mercedes Blomberg || Calligraphy – Brittany Long || Catering – Taste To Go || Rentals – Taste To Go || Wedding Cake – Dust Bowl Bakery || Desserts – Dust Bowl Bakery || Officiant – Jacob Blomberg