Category Archives: Lar’s Wedding Stuffs

We’re In Atlanta Weddings Magazine!

I hope you guys don’t mind some personal horn-tooting, but remember that teeny weeny wedding we had last year? Well it’s in the Spring/Summer issue of Atlanta Wedding Magazine! Woohoo! Yippeee! Huzzah!

I feel like I hit the jack-pot in Atlanta wedding vendors: they all listened to the vision I had and helped make it happen in three months. And the queen of all the vendors was without a doubt my lovely wedding photographer, and now wonderful friend, Aharon Hill (all these photos in this post are swiped from Aharon’s blog). I stumbled on her  just googling Atlanta Wedding Photographers, and feel so incredibly lucky!

It’s kind of ironic to have our teeny wedding mentioned anywhere because I still kind of feel like The Anti-Bride. Matt and my mom had to convince me not to elope. I’ve just never been a big wedding person. Getting to be with this wonderful human being (hi, Matteo) for as long as I’m here . words can’t express that euphoria! The hype of a super big party with a super expensive dress . eh.

Once I was convinced I should at least have a mini-ceremony for immediate family, I thought “okay, I’ll treat this like a styling job.” And I knew that if I was going to put the creative effort in, I wanted it captured on film. I spent the majority of my budget on photography and flowers, and the rest was three months of DIY blood, sweat and tears (wrapping all those books in white paper!). I had major help from my family and friends, Candler Park Flowers, Red Queen Tarts, Tinsel and Twine and of course Aharon Hill. Et voila, dream mini-wedding!

If you guys want to read more about all my wedding stuffs: click here (or under Categories, Lar’s Wedding Stuffs).
Engagement photos: click here.
Wedding photos: click here.

The wedding was also mentioned on Style Me Pretty here and here and the engagement was mentioned on Wedding Chicks here.

Okay, done with the horn-tooting, I promise!

P.S. Local Atlantans, definitely pick up a copy of Atlanta Weddings Magazine if you can (Barnes and Noble carries it). The cover shoot was styled by the uber-talented Ginny Branch. And if you are Top Chef fans, Kevin Gillespie’s wedding is shown on the pages right after mine. You go, peachy city!

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Dear Cath,

Sorry if you feel bludgeoned over the head with all this wedding stuffs again. Thank you for searching hi and low for a copy of the mag for us!

Good luck on your midterm today!

Muchos LOVES,

Lar

Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady

Hi Guys!!!!

So good to “see”  you again! Apologies for leaving you for so long, but my goodness, I’m still not sure what happened these last few weeks. Let’s see. I got for-real married at the courthouse in a 30 second ceremony (really, 30 seconds); ran-around like a chicken with her head cut off sewing barbecue bibs, making napkin rings, getting my hair done; then we had our prettified wedding at my parents’ house; then off on the honeymoon! Oh, and now I’m packing/moving. My boyfriend fiance husband Matt lives in the West End of Atlanta. So I’ve been knee-deep in packing tape and mumbled cuss words (I hate moving- even if it means being with the man I love).

And through it all, Cath has kept you well informed. Thanks so much, Kittycath! You the bestest! P.S. Now Cath is away in Chicago on business, so I haven’t seen much of her since I’ve officially become Lauren Lee-Crane (I haven’t actually officially changed my name at the courthouse, but I have on facebook, and that counts more, right?).

Above is a little mini outfit-post. Sorry the image quality is so crappy. My cameras are all packed up and so I had to use my mac. We still haven’t taken the decor down in the library/ceremony room, and I think it makes a luverly backdrop. My sweater and boots are thrifted (DKNY and Charolette Ronson respectively), and my dress (worn as a skirt) is by Jovovich-Hawk for Target.

Isn’t this bedroom dreamy? It was one of two gorgeous rooms in our cottage at Persimmon Creek Vineyards (our honeymoon destination). There was no cell service for about 10 miles, no wifi, no cable – it was heavenly. It also rained the whole time, but I loved that too. We just curled up in front of the fire and sipped our wine. Man, we should all have honeymoons at least once every six three months.

Oh and I promise to do a wrap-up wedding post once I get my final photos. Thank you to my wonderful photographers Aharon and Jackelyn from Aharon Hill Photography. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous job! Seriously, ladies and gents, if you need photographers, I can not recommend these ladies high enough. Flowers and photographer were my big spendy items for my very teeny wedding, and  every single penny (and more) was sooo worth it.


Last two photos by Aharon Hill Photography.

I’ve had a few questions about my wedding/engagement rings. I got them via Etsy from the designer Kristen Coffin. I had never heard of her before, but I stumbled onto her Etsy page and just fell in love. I’m not a big stone girl (sigh of relief from the fiance/hubs), and I wanted to make sure any stone I got was conflict-free. This baby cognac diamond is conflict free and the gold is recycled! Plus the bands are made from molds of actual twigs which I just love love love.

I hope you guys have been well! Once I settle down into my new home I’ll be sure to catch up on all your blogs and comments with Cath. Also, I’ll take photos of my new digs once I’ve gotten them somewhat styled.

Thanks for all the beautiful comments on my wedding!!! They brought me so much joy when I returned to the land of wifi post-honey moon!

xoxo,

Lar

Best Wedding Photos Ever!

Ok, not the most eloquent title and I’ll admit that I am a little biased, but I think these wedding photos are amazing.

Aharon and her assistant Jackelyn were a great team and captured Lar and Matt’s wedding perfectly. Check out the rest of the first batch of photos on Aharon’s blog – they make me so happy!

Going to the Courthouse

The big day has arrived!! As promised, I wanted to do a quick post before all the craziness starts. There’s still so much that needs to be done.

I forgot to mention this in the last post, but Lar and Matt became legally married on Wednesday. They got their marriage license at the oh-so-romantic DeKalb County Courthouse. Look, the courthouse is also a fallout shelter!

I don’t think the marriage will really feel official until the ceremony today. Matt and Lauren are still saying things like “This is my fiancé, I mean wife/husband.” I think it’s so sweet. Gah. Listen to me getting all sentimental!

Here’s where they officially became married – in a hallway of the courthouse, by a judge with a stack of marriage license in his hands. It happened so fast that I had to run over and snap a quick pic in less that 5 seconds. Did I mention how romantic the whole thing was?

To celebrate the trip to the courthouse, we had a few drinks afterwards at Leon’s. There was a rake by the bocce ball court so I made Lar and Matt recreate American Gothic. Their version is a little bit happier and slightly more indie – I think Grant Wood should have used them as models for his original painting.

Lar’s dress is from Squash Blossom Boutique in Decatur, shoes are Nine West and the cardi is vintage. My mom made the beautiful flower arrangement and boutineer.

I promise this will be the last wedding post with amateur photos. The talented Aharon Hill will be taking photos from here on out.

By the time I post again, Lar and Matt will be on their honeymoon!

Bridesmaid Dress #4

Almost two months ago you all helped me choose my bridesmaid dress for Lar’s wedding. This one won out and I love it, but then I found this one (pictured below) last month on J.Crew’s sale site. It’s the perfect color and super flouncy (I’ll steam it before the big day).

I’ll be wearing it with the Manolos I found for $30 and this gorgeous necklace I got at Vivid Boutique in Decatur. At first I was worried that the gold necklace and silver shoes wouldn’t work well together, but somehow it does. What do you lovelies think?

I’m keeping the first dress to wear to the rehearsal because it was so close to almost perfect and so many of you liked it. And of course there will be lots of pictures of both.

Wedding decor update: Lar and I are almost done with hanging all of the tissue paper flowers we’ve made and my mom has made party hats for all of the busts in the house.

And just to add to the sweetness of the whole wedding decorating fun, Erica from Tinsel & Twine sent over some wonderful decor goodies. Here’s a preview:

Lar will show you guys the rest of the goodies in the next post.

Less than a week before the wedding! Matt’s parents have just flown in from Africa and we still have a huge to do list. Gah!

Glasses and a New Purse

A quick outfit post for the middle of the week. It was depressingly chilly and rainy today. I blame the weather for making Lar and me unmotivated to workout. Not working out is usually not a big deal, but we’ve both decided that it might be a good time to start getting in shape for her wedding – which is in 11 days! Never too late to start, right? Eep!

Lar’s outfit: secondhand shirt, Blank cords, Frye boots and secondhand purse.

As you know, Lar and I are twins, so that means we have quite a bit in common. One of our similarities (apart from the obvious)? We’re both blind as bats, both have glasses so thick our ears start to ache after wearing them for an hour and because of that, we both wear contacts.

One of our differences? Lar’s eye are much more sensitive than mine so she can’t always wear her contacts. And as much as I think she looks great in her glasses, she always takes them off for outfit pictures (evidence above).

Outfit details: Target blazer, Michael Stars t-shirt, H&M jeans and Payless shoes AND. . . my new Kate Spade purse – woot woot!

I’ve been looking for a work appropriate bag for a while and finally found this beauty online during the Kate Spade sample sale. It’s the first time I’ve invested in a bag and I’m so happy with it!

And because no post would be complete without some wedding info, I’ll leave you with with these decor details: some tissue paper flowers, a sweet sign, the library shelves and a thrifted candled stick.

One more thing. You know this post about choosing a bridesmaids dress? Well, the ModCloth Exhibit B won out and I returned the others. However, I’ve found another dress that I love even more. Stay tuned!

I’m Marrying a Doc-tah

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my one and only smoochywoochy (I know I’m going to hell for the baby talk) and future Mr. Lauren Lee, Dr. Matthew M. Crane. A newly minted doctor as of today!!! So the next time someone says “Is there a doctor in the house?!!” He can confidently announce “Yes!” And then gently let them down explaining that his doctorate is in bio-engineering with a focus in microfluidics and he can’t in fact stop the hemorrhaging. Huh? Exactly. I am so proud of you, Matteo!

We celebrated post-defense with some bubbly and then a stop by Superpan. What is Superpan? Well, my friends, all I can say is you have not had a sandwich until you have eaten here. In fact, locals, if you are still reading this instead of arranging your next lunch schedule around Superpan, I don’t think we can be friends. No! I don’t mean that- I’m extremely fond of you, but seriously, these sandwiches will make your toes curl with each blissful bite. Please go as soon as you can, and feel free to invite me. I don’t care if I look like a stuffed sausage in my wedding dress. These sandwiches are worth that.

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About that wedding countdown. so there are 16 days left. 16. Gulp.

Remember that bride-zilla request of mine to have all the books in the library/ceremony room white? Done. Done because my amazing mom and fiance dutifully watched “Pushing Daisies” and “South Park” reruns while covering hundreds of books over the course of three weekends.

Some new do-dads I just got came in the mail this week (I love packages!):

1) This gorgeous flower head thingy from Mignonne Handmade via Etsy
2) My “wedding” earrings by Darleen Meier also via Etsy
3) And this faincy cuff from Kenneth Jay Lane via Shopbop

And I’ll leave you with two more photos from our engagement shoot with the amazing photographer Aharon Hill. (pst- so that last photo, I reallly wanted to order the funnel cake and not the cotton candy, but I look way less cute with powdered sugar and grease all over my face. The spun sugar isn’t my best look either but it beats me shoveling down fried dough I guess- yummmm).

Happy Friday, lovelies! Tell us what you’re up too (you too, Cath, since I’m sure everyone would like some non-wedding news ;)). xoxox, Lar

 

I Love Atlanta But Not Wedding Count Downs

And it’s probably fairer to say “melt-down” rather than “count down.” Have I mentioned that I’m getting married at the end of this month? This teeny wedding is causing me more heartburn than I care to relate here. I’m also a little nervous about, you know, getting married. To be clear, I’m not nervous about my man or being legally tied to another human being, but the fact that I’ll be A Wife this time next month freaks me out a little. A lot-tle, actually.

So, I hope you don’t mind that this post will be wedding-talk free. In fact, you should enjoy it because it is probably the last post in the next three weeks free of wedding updates. By the end of March you’ll all just be like “get married already, Lar, and shut your pie hole about it! Sheesh!!”

This is what Cath and I did this weekend when I was pretending that I didn’t have other more pressing things to attend to:

Took a tour of some gorgeous historic apartments right in the heart of Atlanta:

Danced outside the apartment building on Peachtree St.:

(Thanks for the photos Troy and Lena!)

Ate cookies at (a replica of) Robert Burns cottage:

Long-time readers know that Cath and I are nuts about anything Scotland. What are the chances that our “home” town of Atlanta would have the only replica of Burns’ home?! A bit of Scotland just 20 minutes south of our front door(s). It has been the home of the Burns Club of Atlanta since 1910! Sadly, we weren’t inducted into said club even though we tried to explain our Scotophile enthusiasm, but they did take us for a tour inside (usually visits are for club members only).

How did we make it inside this tartan-festooned club and the swanky apartments of yore? Phoenix Flies of course! Presented by the Atlanta Preservation Center every year, they offer free (FREE! – my favorite word) tours around the city every day through March 20. Cath and I hope to hit a few more tours before my wedding.

So how was that for a wedding breather?

Thank you so much for all the sweet comments about my engagement photos! You guys made my week!

We apologize if we are slow with commenting and emails in the forthcoming weeks. Apart from my self-centered wedding brain, Cath is applying to grad school and slammed with work, and my bf fiance is defending his dissertation this week (woohoo- go, Matteo!!!). Do keep in touch though! We love reading your comments even if we can’t get back to you as soon as we would like.

Hope you had a gorgeous weekend, readers!!!

Engagement Photos: Round Two

So not only do I have two wedding dresses, I also have two sets of engagement photos. For a girl who claims to be scared of big weddings and spending lots of money on one day, I sure do sound like a hypocrite, don’t I?! (If you missed the first set of engagement shots, Cath posted a few here. They were done by Matt’s uber talented sister on Tybee Island a day after we got engaged.)

These gorgeous photos were shot by my wedding photographer Aharon (pronounced like “Erin”) Hill. And boy am I glad I found her! Not only are Aharon’s prices uber reasonable, she also happens to be an absolute genius. She makes a teeny parking lot carnival in the burbs of Atlanta and a grassy patch behind a Checkers drive-through look like heaven. I don’t think I could photograph heaven to look like heaven.

Oh and the other serendipitous bit of this shoot? I had my favorite make-up artist Amy Weissenberg of Smink do my make-up. I was planning on doing my own and having Amy  show up for my wedding day, but she will be out of town (ahhh boohoooo!!!) on the day-of, so she offered to do my make-up for this shoot. I’m so glad she offered because 1) I have learned all my make-up skills from growing up putting on stage make-up for Nutcracker perfomances and YouTube tutorials (that combination is probably not ideal) and 2) she is amazing!!!

About the clothes:
On Moi: I took my Rodarte for Target dress and tied a red ribbon around it. The shoes- ahhh the shoes. I’ve always wanted a pair of ruby slippers (“The Wizard of Oz” has been my favorite movie since I was 1.5 years old), and I finally found them for $13 at Burlington Coat Factory. So the brand name is “Bumper” (yikes) and not “Louboutin.” I think they’ll still take me to the wizard either way.
On Matt: I think I spent much more time thinking of what Matt could wear because I get tired of looking at my worn-out closet duds. He ended up in a H&M blazer and jeans, Frye boots, and a shirt by some company I’m totally forgetting, anddd the piece de resistance, a ribbon bow-tie! I love the ribbon bow tie on a man. I haven’t seen this done too much, but when it’s done right it makes me swoon. It takes all the stiff, overly-pert-ness out of the regular bow-tie. What do you guys think?

So after this shoot, you know what happened? Cath threw me a surprise engagement party! I’ve never had a surprise party before (it makes it difficult when your best-friend shares your birthday and, you know, your DNA). It was the PERFECT end to an already wonderful day. Kitcath, thank you soooo much. Sharing that evening with you and all of our wonderful friends made all the stresses of the wedding melt away. XOXOXOX

Okay, I’ll stop babbling and just let you guys look at the photos. You can see all of them on Aharon’s blog here. Let us know what you think!