A wedding symphony in navy and mint - perfect inspiration for anyone planning a summer wedding

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Today we're heading to sunny California to celebrate the real wedding of Shannon and Jon. After a chance meeting online and a very cute proposal, that left Shannon guessing, the pair began planning a handmade wedding at the beautiful Falkirk Cultural Center. With a lot of help from their nearest and dearest their dream wedding became a reality. Elise of Inkspot Photography was behind the lens for the day and we're delighted to share such a pretty and sweet story with you this morning...

Craigslist has many uses: finding an apartment, selling your car, getting a new job. But I never thought it's where you could find your future husband... Jon had written an ad looking for a date to a concert, and I just happened to be perusing the singles section and came across his ad. He had provided a link to his myspace page. Of course I clicked the link, and found a profile of a handsome guy who lived in San Francisco and had gone to the same college that I had just graduated from. So I sent him an email saying that while I could not go to the concert with him (I already had plans for that day) I thought he was cute, and since we had at least one thing in common (Lewis & Clark College) I thought we should meet. So about a week later, we went on our first date, a rockabilly burlesque show at Thee Parkside in San Francisco. And we have been together ever since!

Shannon choose a beautiful lace gown with embellished jewel detail on the waist. She accessorized with navy shoes (a colour that you're going to see a lot in today's wedding) and a birdcage she borrowed from a friend - her something borrowed and something blue!

Even though their initial meeting was a little on the unusual side, their proposal story is incredibly romantic, hats off to you Jon... In June of 2012, just weeks before our sixth anniversary, Jon and I took a vacation to the UK. At pretty much every castle we went to (and we went to a lot of castles) I could not help but think “This would be a great place for Jon to propose.” But alas, there was no castle-based proposal. But I did not have to wait much longer. Unbeknownst to me, Jon had been sculpting and designing my engagement ring for months, and had hoped to have it ready to take with him on our trip to the UK. But that plan fell through, so he proposed on a regular Thursday afternoon...

His company was having a barbecue, and on the way to the barbecue he told me he needed to stop by his art studio. So we went into his studio, and there was a box, on top of one of his sculpture stands. He asked me to guess what was under the box, and I started to feel a little flustered and said I could not guess. So he took the box off, and underneath was the original sculpture that my ring was made from – but the full size sculpture is about a foot wide, so not ring sized at all. He asked me again if I knew what it was. I was feeling even more flustered and wondering if what I thought was going to happen was happening, and then Jon got down on one knee and pulled a beautiful ring box out of his pocket, opened the box to reveal
the amazing ring he had made for me, and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes, and cried, and put the ring on. Then we went to his company barbecue, where everyone had known about the ring for months and months and was excited for us, and to see the ring in person. It was the best Thursday ever!

Shannon headed off to meet her hubby-to-be for the sweetest 'First look' snaps...

Nearly every real wedding lately has had a 'First look' and we can see why, these photographs are so cute and it looks like all the nerves have fallen away...

Inkspot Photography-Classic Californian Celebration-35

Jon’s mother put together two spreadsheets full of wedding venue ideas. Since their wedding Jon and Shannon have passed it along to other friends who have gotten engaged. When it came to picking the venue for them the pair choose Falkirk Cultural Center, a historical mansion in San Rafael, California... It was the first place we saw that really had a great feel to it, where we could instantly imagine getting married. With a beautiful, intimate wedding garden out back for the ceremony, a big deck for dinner, and a great parlor or dancing, Falkirk really had it all.

Not everyone can be there to celebrate your big day, having sentimental items included can remind you of the people who are missing...I loved having my father’s wedding ring bound around the handle of my bouquet, so that he could be with me as I walked down the aisle.

After the ceremony, Shannon and Jon stole a few minutes alone to take it all in, something they would definitely recommend as the rest of the day really flies by.

You're not meant to upstage the bride on her wedding day, but this little lady came close. She is such a stylista, we just have let her away with it.

When Shannon got to planning a theme for the wedding day, herself and Jon wanted a classic, vintage vibe...I loved the combination of our navy blue linens with mercury glass and silver, and the pops of mint green to lighten things up. And the balloons - who doesn't like balloons?

I consider myself to be crafty, and I had a great time doing multiple projects for the wedding. I made our favors, which were jars of homemade jam in various flavors. I made our table numbers and place cards, the chair decorations for the ceremony, and I re-upholstered a vintage suitcase for our guests to leave cards in. I also took a silversmithing class where I made Jon’s wedding ring. Blimey, well done girl!

Jon, being the talented designer he is, designed the save-the-dates and our invitations. While one of the bridesmaids made the guest book.

So what advice did Shannon and Jon have? Try to stick to your guns as much as possible. You will give in and do things that you either don’t want to do, or don’t care to do, just because someone important to you wants it. But really, it is about what you and your fiancé want to do in the end. That being said, don’t be afraid to change your mind. At first, I did not want to have a bridal party, but now I am glad I changed my mind and had my two best girlfriends with me. Find out what is important to your fiancé – the wedding is their day too!He might insist on fabric napkins, and dining under string lights on the deck, as mine did. So we made it happen!

Congratulations Shannon and Jon on your beautiful wedding day! A big Thank You goes to the talented Elise of Inkspot Photography , to see more of Elise's work pop over to www.inkspotphotography.com

The Wedding Details