Held right here in Connecticut, below are a few of my favorite elements from the wedding of Lisa Bartlett and Brett Mitchell, as featured on Brides.com.

At their lake-side ceremony, Brett’s parents escorted him down the aisle to a wrought-iron trellis where Lisa and her father met him soon after. “We scouted the land to find the best view,” says the bride of the trellis’s location on a grassy field overlooking the lake and forest.

Ceremony programs, crafted by Lisa with help from her sister, were made of brown recycled paper and ivory ribbon. By adorning their ceremony programs, cocktail napkins and wedding cake with a simple “M” (for Mitchell), the bride and groom tied together the elements without going overboard.

Pink cookie favors had a special message attached, letting guests know that a donation was made in each of their names to the American Cancer Society, an organization that’s meaningful to the couple.

[Images courtesy of Brides.com/Dasha Wright]

This image is from a different wedding on Brides.com, but I love the sign that the bride & groom made to describe/explain their non-assigned seating plan (which I want to do; Lisa and Brett also did this, but there was no good photo example).

[Image courtesy of Brides.com/Kiernan Conroy Klosek]

Fellow elementary school classmates (just like my fiance and I), below are a few of my favorite elements from the wedding of Minhee Park and Truman Cho, as featured on Martha Stewart Weddings.

“In fourth grade, most boys are more interested in teasing girls than being friends with them. But even at age 9, Truman Cho knew there was something he liked about Minhee Park, his classmate at Laguna Road Elementary School in Fullerton, California. The two stayed friends throughout high school and college but it was not until 1997 (14 years after they first met) that Truman asked Minhee out on a date.”

“In keeping with the school theme, letterpress invitations, maps and reply cards were printed on vintage notebook paper by Minhee’s company, Paper + Cup. Attendance reports asked guests to indicate who was coming. All the components slipped inside a small manila folder printed with the couple’s names and address label peek through the outer envelope.”

“A desk on loan from a nearby school had apples for the teacher (actually seating cards). The placard on the table paid homage to Mrs. Cogan, Minhee and Truman’s fourth-grade teacher.”

“Each guest looked for his or her name, handwritten in perfect penmanship on vintage graph paper. The table number was indicated on a numbered sticker (made by running the paper through a sticker machine from a craft store) on each apple.”

“Vintage lunch trays were for guest to collect their dinner cafeteria-style. The wooden utensils were hot-stamped with the couple’s names, and paper napkins were rubber stamped with the date.”

“Each guest’s place was outlined in chalk on a roll of black paper. Red artist’s tape secured the corners to the tablecloth and single-flower arrangements rested in milk bottles, lattes bowls and ceramic tumblers. Votive candles illuminated paper bags trimmed with scalloping shears.”

“On the tables were pop quizzes about the couple for guests to fill out and deposit in drop boxes covered in paper. Minhee and Truman mailed the graded quizzes after the wedding with their thank-you notes.”

“No one could resist the blackboard guest-book station. Guests stepped up to doodle and write notes for the bride and groom. The blackboard was a backdrop for instant Polaroid photos that got placed in the guest book.”

“Self-adhesive photo corners were attached to the pages of a vintage accounting book in advance so guests could easily slip pictures into place.”

“Ice cream was one of the sweets served at the reception. The wood spoons were hot stamped with the couple’s names.”

[Images courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings]

Already widely shown on the web, there is no denying how great this wedding is. Below are a few of my favorite elements from the wedding of Lena Corwin and Joshua Dreier, as featured on Martha Stewart Weddings. I’ve been a big fan of Lena’s artistic works for nearly 2 years, so it comes as so surprise that he wedding is such an inspiration as well.

Lena and Joshua are posing against a backdrop of Marimekko fabric reproduced from an early-1960s pattern. Lena is wearing a dress she found years ago at a thrift store — a girlish 1960s prom dress dotted with bright flowers. Josh is wearing a suit from Barney’s New York and a vintage patterned tie.”

“The letterpress invitation, map, reply card, and envelopes were done in retro hues and reflect the rustic feel of the wedding site. They were mailed with vintage stamps depicting woodland themes.”

“The bride’s own collection of old fabrics helped inspire the day’s details. Lena made Josh’s lighthearted tie; his boutonniere of oak leaves and acorns is tied with a jaunty bow.”

“A feather headpiece adorns Lena’s hair.”

“Family friend Jane Yen officiates at the ceremony under a canopy of oak branches topped with an oversize bird’s nest, which was crafted by another friend.”

“Lena illustrated cards listing the ingredients of each drink, and hung them next to the bar.”

“Guests dined off of cheerfully patterned plates.”

[Images courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings]

There is no denying that looking at pictures from actual weddings can be immensely inspirational. As with the major wedding blogs, I’ll be featuring pictures from wedding ceremonies and receptions that give me warm fuzzies and nifty ideas for my own upcoming nuptials.

First up is the wedding of Lexi Methvin and Ray McNutt in Colorado, as featured on Brides.com.

“During the bride and groom’s Native American ceremony, their mothers held a woven blanket around them, representing the new family they were starting together.”

“Hamburgers, pigs-in-blankets and other miniature picnic foods catered by The Little Nell in Aspen were served during the cocktail hour.”

“Aspen leaf table cards by All Aflutter in Boulder hung next to rustic centerpieces of sunflowers, bittersweet berries, delphiniums, geraniums, roses and foliage.”

“Fondant frosting and fall leaves covered the couple’s cake, which had chocolate cake and chocolate ganache filling in the bottom layer and yellow cake and butter almond cream filling in the top. Cake by The Little Nell.”

[Images courtesy of Brides.com/Robin Proctor]