Taking place on the property of a breathtaking mansion and incorporating lots of DIY details, this vintage inspired wedding combines the best of both worlds. With it’s strolling grounds, lush gardens, and castle-style dwelling The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres provided an opulent background to Shannon and Ryan’s nuptials. But thanks to some family heirlooms, the couple was able to put an antique spin on the details. Ryan’s grandmother’s books served as centerpieces, Shannon’s grandma’s lace curtains decorated the escort card table, and several pieces of vintage jewelry belonging to family and friends were used as decor. Lending to the homespun theme, Shannon indulged in many DIY projects, including mirror and chalkboard signs and even their own invitations and calligraphy! All of this was made even more vibrant by the chosen color scheme – navy blue, gold, and bright pinks! This unique wedding was a mix of yesterday’s treasures and today’s trends – and it was all beautifully captured by Lauren Renee Designs. The details are stellar but just wait until you see those bridal portraits!
From the bride…
Tell me about yourselves! When and how did you meet? How long have you been together? How did you get engaged? All the juicy details!
Ryan and I met in our sophomore year while attending Duquesne University. The relationship began as a friendship and eventually, in our senior year, we started to date!
We got engaged while on a cruise celebrating my nursing school graduation! Ryan completely surprised me by waking me up super early for the sunrise as we were pulling into Key West and he popped the question!
Describe the wedding and what inspired it. What was unique about it?
Ryan actually picked our wedding colors. On the plane ride home from our cruise, I had asked him what colors he saw for our wedding and he threw out “brown or maybe blue and pink”….which then evolved into gold, navy, and pink! We were going for a vintage/romantic theme which involved several DIY projects to redesign mirrors and chalkboards to use as signs. I took a calligraphy class so that we could save costs by writing our own signs, place cards, and envelope addresses. We even did our own invitations with the help of Pinterest, Etsy, Cards & Pockets, and many Michaels coupons!
I think the thing that made our wedding so unique was all the personal elements we were able to incorporate. We used old hardback books that were Ryan’s grandma’s in our centerpieces. My mom and I found beautiful old lace curtains that were my grandma’s that we were able to use as an accent on our escort table. Some of the gold and pearl jewelry that was used as decorations were my mom’s, aunts’, and friends’. There were several little details like this throughout our entire wedding!
What was your favorite moment of the day?
I think we can both agree that the first look was one of our favorite parts of the day. We really debated whether or not this was something we wanted to do. It just felt so private to be able to see each other before we were in front of all our guests! Seeing each other beforehand also allowed us to get tons of amazing photos and to hang out with our family and bridal party before all the guests got there!
Is there any advice you would give to other couples planning their big day?
If you have enough time in your planning process, we totally recommend trying some DIY projects! We had no idea all that we were capable of doing and somewhere along the way we found our inner craftiness. Not only did we save literally hundreds by doing so, but it made the day that much more special. We were able to look around and see all the little things we did and we had a lot of fun doing some of the projects with our family and friends!
Vendors
Bouquets & Boutonnieres: Posies by Patti | Bride’s Dress: Alfred Angelo | Bride’s Shoes: Nina from Macy’s | Centerpieces: The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres | Desserts: Ice cream sundaes from Page Dairy Mart | Caterer: Garda’s Restaurant | Ceremony Location: The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres | DJ: Red Hot Chameleon | Hair: Hannah Conard | Makeup: Hannah Conard | Menswear: Macy’s | Photography: Lauren Renee Designs | Reception Venue: The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres | Stationery: Etsy and Cards & Pockets
Ceremony Location: The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres | Photography: Lauren Renee Designs | Reception Venue: The Grand Estate at Hidden Acres
We loved having Ryan and Shannon for their wedding. We will never forget when they played “Renegade” by the “Styx” for their grand entrance and the reception tent exploded like it was a Steeler game! Such a great couple and beautiful in and out.
hahahaha that’s awesome!!! i love a couple who isn’t afraid to have a little fun on their wedding day!