Mallory + Zach::Chicago Wedding::Part 1::J.Crew And Nature Preserves
One of the things that we’ve learned over the years is that although our clients are all very different, they are all amazingly cool. Seriously – we marvel time after time about how we could not pick better clients if we had the pick of everyone in the whole wide world. In addition to being super cool, we do think there are two things that we do hear from our clients time and time again that they love: J.Crew and nature. Seriously – so many of our brides really dig the natural, relaxed J.Crew wedding style, and we hear time and time again that our clients really want beautiful photos that capture all of the natural beauty of their surroundings and their venues.
Whelp, folks. Today’s wedding is a perfect combo of precisely those two things. Our incredibly talented Roya shot Mal + Zach’s wedding outside of Chicago, and if this wedding looks familiar, it’s because it is currently featured on the J.Crew website (Mal’s dress was one of theirs!) Super cool, huh?! They also got married and had their reception at venues that are also nature preserves, which gave Roya TONS of amazing opportunity for some really beautiful, organic, nature-y kind of shots. 
If you read our post yesterday, you heard about the “first glance”. Mallory and Zach took advantage, and as you’ll see – the result was tons of time for these amazing couples portraits. Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow – it’s up to your eyeballs in DIY wedding inspiration and creative details. You’ll love! PS – Amazing vendor links at the bottom!
Photog: Roya; Ceremony Venue: Fullersburg Woods Nature Center; Florist: Fifty Flowers (online); Dress: J.Crew; Accessories: BHLDN
Jessica + Jon::Augusta, GA Wedding::Part 2::A Little Swapping Around
Happy Monday little (once like a spark) chickadees! We hope you all enjoyed your weekend (and that our East Coast friends didn’t get snowed in!) I know that you all remember Part 1 of Jessica + Jon’s absolutely breathtaking Augusta, GA wedding that was posted on Friday – we included some great tips, tricks, and ideas for ALL brides, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already…
But for now…on to Part 2! Here in the OLAS offices, we all spend many hours of our day swooning and ooooohing and aaaahhing over the beautiful, beautiful photos we work with all day. When I showed our team the photos below, everyone commented on how stunning the couples photos are, and how Jessica + Jon look so peaceful, calm, and relaxed. They do, don’t they?
Well, I played a little trick on you all (but don’t be mad!) In Part 1, we saw beautiful individual photos of Jessica, Jon, and their ceremony, and you’re about to see some GORGEOUS couples photos below. The truth is that this post isn’t totally chronological – Jessica + Jon took these AMAZING couples photos before their ceremony! Our OLAS clients will often times hear us talk about a “first glance,” which allows the couple some time together BEFORE the ceremony with their photographer. We find it often results in some really sweet intimate time between our couples, and our brides and grooms are able to relax and enjoy the photography process, without worrying about running to their reception! We totally think it shows in these photos….
We love you Jessica + Jon! xoxo (Don’t forget to see a list of all of their vendors at the bottom of the post!)
Photographers: Carla and Jen; Ceremony Location: First Christian Church of Augusta; Reception: The Richmond on Greene; Wedding Director: Once Upon A Wedding; Florist: Garden Cottage Florist; Headpiece: Mayra’s Veils; Cake: Dianna Tornow Cakes; Invitations and Monogram: Papercake Designs; Shoes by: Christian Louboutin; Dress by: Alvina Valenta purchased at The House of the Bride; Hair By: Fringe Hair Salon; Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale purchased at The House of the Bride; Caterer: Roux’s; Band: Reunion
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(once like a spark) Featured On District Weddings!
Big thanks to District Weddings for featuring Courtney + Patrick’s epic DC wedding shot by Michael at the DAR building. Loved this one!
OLAS LOVES :: *love day*
Hello OLAS lovelies!
You didn’t think we were going to let Valentines Day come and go without a special edition OLAS LOVES blog post did you?! Not a chance! We olas-ers work in a company whose whole purpose is to celebrate love and do our very best to capture it for lifetimes to come. Thus, since we absolutely love, “love day” (obvi!) –> we’ve decided to give you a little gallery of some our favorite/sweetest olas moments this year. Get ready for some seriously amazing couples shots and soak in the love.
Happy Valentines Day OLAS family!! We heart you.
Mara + Michael – Part 2::How To Create Rustic Elegance On Your Wedding Day
If you’ve been able to peel your eyes away from Mara + Michael’s insanely gorgeous wedding featured in Part 1 last week, come on over for Part 2 and plan to be glued to your screen for another day or two :) We decided do something a little different with Part 2.
M+M did an AMAZING job combining romance and elegance with a relaxed and very organic feel to their wedding, and we were majorly impressed at the way they pulled it all off. Creating a rustic/laid-back atmosphere that still feels elegant is a challenge….but M+M did all of the right things to achieve just that, along with the help of their amazing wedding planner Tara from Bluming Creativity.
Here’s a few tips from Mara + Michael’s wedding that you can use to infuse a perfect combination of rustic and elegant.
1. Choose One Venue For the Ceremony and Reception – M + M chose to get married AND have their reception at the same location – The Foundry at Puritan Mill. From what we’ve seen, this immediately sets the mood for the entire night and tends to create a bit more of a relaxed vibe from the get-go. Guests arrive settled, and aren’t worried about getting to the next stop in the night.
2. Choose A Venue With A Lot of Ambiance, Without a Lot of Work - The Foundry at Puritan Mill is full of gorgeous, old exposed brick that was the perfect backdrop for this elegant, but relaxed event. Want to add a touch more romance? Just drape some translucent white fabric up and let the warm glow of any natural light nearby do the rest.
3. Succulents, succulents, succulents! - The GREAT thing about this unique plant is that they have this really relaxed, earthy, organic vibe, and yet for some reason – they also seem really expensive! This isn’t a plant you see everyday, so you get this great combination of earthy and exotic.
4. Incorporate a combination of rustic and sophisticated into your decor and centerpieces. M+M pull this off BEAUTIFULLY. They used tree-bark wrapped containers filled with leafy green plants, mixed in with mason jars, moss, woven wooden baskets, and pine cones. We just love the way the spotless glasses offset this organic setting and infuse it with a little extra elegance. They also used the lids of wine barrels as centerpieces – nothing more rustic and elegant than wine! An alternative would be to use a cross section of a tree trunk - this also makes a cute cake stand!
5. When it comes to food, think outside the box! A break from tradition can create a more relaxed atmosphere. – In a similar fashion to holding your ceremony and reception in the same space so as to keep your guests in the greatest sense of ease, choosing foods that feel fun and relaxed can accomplish the same thing. Mara + Michael chose to forego the cake and stuck with fun mini desserts, such as cheesecake pops and little chocolate mousses. These types of desserts are reminiscent of foods we all loved as young’ins, and so don’t make anyone too worried about following all the rules of ettiquette and manners.
**M + M, your wedding was the epitome of rustic elegance and we loved each and every second of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing us to be there to capture each moment, we wish you both the very best!! x’s & o’s**
Venue: The Foundry at Puritan Mill; Wedding Planner: Bluming Creativity; Florist: Let’s Celebrate; Officiants: Rabbi Analia Bortz and Rabbi Mario Karpuj; Hair Stylist: Jen Freeman; Makeup Artist: Kelly Whitman; Invitations/Programs: Made by Mara and Michael!; Caterer: Added Touch Catering; DJ: Lethal Rhythms
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Mara + Michael :: Wedding Part 1 :: Atlanta
Hello loves!
We really couldn’t be more excited to share Mara + Michael’s beautiful wedding at the Foundry At Puritan Mill in Atlanta, GA with you today! The minute we saw the photos from this precious couple’s day, we just couldn’t wait until we could show our whole OLAS fam. Our Southeast photographers did a really, really incredible job capturing all of the special, symbolic, and beautiful moments shared between these two and their families. Aside from each and every little detail being absolutely exquisit (the flowers, the centerpieces, Mara’s head piece – *love*), Mara + Michael’s traditional Jewish wedding have all of us here at OLAS (who are total suckers for traditions btw), dying over their photos. Between the couple’s first glance, the traditions leading up to the signing of the Ketubah (talk about some seriously awesome man time), the actual signing of the Ketubah, the veiling of the bride before the ceremony, and on top of everything else you’ll see in tomorrow’s post, this is just one of those events you just wish you could have been a part of. The love and joy you see between this couple and their joining families is really something to behold. M + M, we really couldn’t be more happy for you two!
Now get ready everyone, this post is long and might be even longer tomorrow! We’ve still got to share their ceremony, the exchanging of the rings, the breaking of the glass, the Hora, and so, so much more. Trust us – this is not one to miss :)
Venue: The Foundry at Puritan Mill; Wedding Planner: Bluming Creativity; Florist: Let’s Celebrate; Officiants: Rabbi Analia Bortz and Rabbi Mario Karpuj; Hair Stylist: Jen Freeman; Makeup Artist: Kelly Whitman; Invitations/Programs: Made by Mara and Michael!;
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