It’s been nearly four months since Ryan and I got married, and I am so excited to finally share our wedding with you! There are so many things I want to share, about planning and the day and the details, but I couldn’t think of a better place to start than with my inspiration board…

Mood: classic, playful
Palette: Golden Gate red, charcoal gray, winter white

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: vintage framed chalkboard from Blue Bell Bazaar via This is Glamorous, Golden Gate Bridge photo (can someone please help with a credit for this beautiful photo?!), Grace Kelly, Presidio Social Club
Row 2: letterpress menus with tree motif by The Lettered Olive, classic wedding cake from Martha Stewart Weddings, photo of Mindy Rice bouquet by Jose Villa via Jill LaFleur, gray chiffon bridesmaid dress by Amsale
Row 3: topiaries from Martha Stewart Weddings, Presidio Social Club logo, photo of gray suits and ties by Jose Villa, eggnog cocktails with letterpress coasters from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 4: red and white striped cupcake liners from Fancy Flours, photo of vintage photo booth by Jonathan Canlas, paper cracker from Present & Correct, vintage postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge

A couple things about my inspiration board. Our ceremony and reception were at two separate locations, and the church really needed such little decoration, so my inspiration board focused mostly on the reception site and details, as well as the overall style we wanted for our wedding. Also, this is probably the third or fourth version of my inspiration board, which I played around with and tweaked until it felt right. Once we chose a venue and a date, the colors and feeling stayed pretty much the same, but I refined details over time. And a confession: I never actually shared my inspiration board with my vendors. (I know!) But I did use it as a way to focus my own vision, and from there narrowed down the zillions of tear sheets and stationery samples and things, and brought my (very fat) binder of saved inspiration to vendor meetings.

Charcoal and red were the perfect accents for our December wedding – not only were they seasonal without being Christmas-y, they were also colors that appeared in our venue. The buildings in the San Francisco Presidio, where our reception took place, are this wonderful combination of cream and brick red, and the walls inside the Presidio Social Club are charcoal gray. We wanted our wedding to be timeless and elegant (Grace Kelly, a traditional wedding cake, stationery with edge painting), as well as festive and playful (eggnog cocktails, a vintage photo booth, Christmas crackers). And of course, it was only appropriate to include the Golden Gate Bridge.

So how did it all turn out? Thanks to our amazing vendors, and our incredible friends and family, our wedding day was a huge success – as I said after returning from our honeymoon, I’ve never felt more present, more loved, more beautiful or more joyful in my life than I did on our wedding day. I’ll be sharing lots more this week and next, so make sure to check back in!