Wedding Ceremony

Real Wedding – Teodora and Nick

elegant coral and ivory wedding at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, Images by Claire Morgan Photography

What a fascinating Real Wedding we have today! Teodora and Nick were married in Sofia, Bulgaria in a celebration with serious international flair, and Vienna based wedding photographer Claire Morgan Photography was on hand to capture it all so beautifully!

elegant coral and ivory wedding at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, Images by Claire Morgan Photography

The Goals: Teodora and Nick simply wanted their Sofia, Bulgaria wedding to be stylish and elegant, and to include both modern and traditional Bulgarian details to reflect their international backgrounds. To achieve this they decided on the luxurious Kempinski Hotel as the wedding venue for their incredible food and local wine selention, and most of all for their stunning Japanese Gardens.

elegant coral and ivory wedding at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, Images by Claire Morgan Photography

The Design: Using a warm, summery coral and ivory wedding color palette, the design of the decor was inspired by Teodora and Nick's wedding invitations, which were made by a local Sofia invitation artist. Coral and ivory floral arrangements from Agency Diamanti decorated the hotel's lobby (where their traditional Orthodox wedding ceremony was relocated from the gardens because of bad weather) as well as the ballroom where the reception took place.

The Look: Teodora's gorgeous wedding gown, which she adored every moment of wearing, was an ivory Pagoda dress from San Patrick. Her look was elegant, natural and timeless, and as she explained, "I just wanted to be myself on my wedding day. I didn't want to change my hair style or my makeup to a level where I would look totally different." I love the simplicity and soft modern look she created by wearing her long hair down!

Teodora's bridesmaids wore coral colored dresses and accessories from H&M that they looked radiant in; another reason Teodora chose that color palette for the wedding! The flower girls wore little ivory dresses and floral headbands, and Nick and his groomsmen wore traditional tuxedos from Anthony Blay Menswear in England.

elegant coral and ivory wedding at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, Images by Claire Morgan Photography

The Moments: After a meaningful and sentimental ceremony, and beautiful photos taken with Claire in the Japanese Gardens, the day became even more memorable when Teodora's father surprised everyone by bringing in a troupe of traditional Bulgarian dancers from Teodora's hometown. "The majority of the dancers were children and they were so beautiful and talented. All of our guests were truly surprised and fascinated!" Amazing!

The night went on with music and dancing and the cutting of their towering mascarpone and wild berry filled wedding cake, which was decorated with fresh flowers in coral and ivory.

The Pros: To learn more about the wedding
professionals who
helped create this wedding, please visit our Real Weddings section.

elegant coral and ivory wedding at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, Images by Claire Morgan Photography

Thank
you so much Teodora and Nick ! Our very best wishes to you!

To find your dream
wedding photographer for weddings anywhere in the world, don't miss our World's Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!

Source: christy

Wedding Dessert Tables

I don’t know about you, but around here, we love desserts. Why just have one little cake for your wedding when you could have a whole tray, nay, a whole table full of luscious desserts! Just for a little inspiration, we’ve gathered together a little collection of some pretty fine looking dessert tables for you to “ooh” and “ahh” over – and possibly inspire you to have your own at your upcoming wedding!

Source: sdweddingstaff

Making things a no brainer

“Roy, you think too much.” I have heard that over and over again in my life, as I tried to figure out things that were problematic for me. I remember playing golf as a little kid (when my dad had dreams of me being a pro golfer)- I was at the range and I could hit the ball super straight and long- except it was only on the range. When I got on the course, my swing disappeared. I tried to control it by controlling my swing to try to make to ball go where I wanted it to go.

Of course it never did what I wanted it to. But then I was only fourteen, give a kid a break.

That’s what I kept saying to myself, but as time as gone on, the issue has kept coming up- from girlfriends to sports to acting. I would step on my own foot, any time it mattered to me. It finally came time to admit that my best asset, my brain, was getting in the way of the flow of things.

I had a meeting yesterday and (watch my words!!) I was trying to figure out if the person sitting across from me was a good fit for me. My mind started to make pros and cons and I was pushing and pulling, grappling with his objective strengths and weaknesses.

Later after speaking about the meeting to my confidantes, and expressing my not-sure-edness, one of them asked, “Why do you have to decide right now?” I said, “Because…” and stopped. She was right, I didn’t.

After I left and got home, I sat down in stillness. I was very aware of my brain “trying to figure it out.” The phrase “I want it to be a no-brainer” popped into my consciousness. I thought to myself, WOW. It struck me how perfect that phrase is. A no-brainer. We often THINK we made a decision with our minds, but in reality, it comes from a deep intuitive place, well BEYOND the mind- in our gut, in our intuitive intelligence.

We make it a no-brainer by using something other than our brains to NOT “make a decision” but rather have the truth be revealed. And thus the dilemma has become a no-brainer. Albert Einstein said, “The mind that created a problem cannot solve it.” I know that to be true.

We need to go beyond that mind place and tap into that stillness. The clarity of that stillness will give us the truth.

On that note, a second realization came to me: my need to MAKE A DECISION RIGHT NOW was my mind playing tricks on me. After all, the important events that require a decision take time. If it’s important, let patience prevail. This is if you are painting the Mona Lisa. If you are deciding on wall paint, then not as much patience is required. Although even that takes more time than we like to give ourselves.

Trust more, obsess less.

“After periods during which one as actively tried to solve a problem, but has not succeeded, the sudden right orientation of the situation, and with it the solution, tend to occur at moments of extreme mental passivity…A well known physicist in Scotland once told me that this kind of thing is generally recognized by physicists in Britain. We often talk about the three B’s- the Bus, the Bath, and the Bed. That’s where the great discoveries are made in our science.“

-Wolfgang Kohler

Source: Roy Vongtama

Silk Bridal Bouquets from Emici Bridal

silk handmade flower bouquets and bridal accessories from Emici Bridal

Gasp, gorgeous! These aren't your grandmother's silk flowers. Designer Marie Conrad of Emici Bridal is the artist behind these stunning handmade bridal accessories and I am a huge admirer of her work! Each piece is carefully made from silk dupioni, satin, rhinestones, crystals, pearls and ribbon and range from bouquets to floral sashes to ring bearer pillows and more. What a show-stopping addition to any wedding! Check out her website, blog and Etsy shop to see even more.

silk handmade flower bouquets and bridal accessories from Emici Bridal

Source: christy

Wedding Style – Alana and Nate

pink, black and white funky and fun vintage wedding style, images by Solar Photographers

The couple: Alana and Nate (owners of the stylish LA boutique Number A)

The Wedding: 6.19.2010 - Evan Williams House, Lawrence, Kansas

What three adjectives that best describe your wedding? Fun, unique, memorable

What inspired your personal wedding style, and how were your personalities incorporated into your big day? We we're inspired by The Great Gatsby and the roaring 20s. We chose a vintage gown, ring, and headwear to involve the 20s, and as for our style and personalities, we tried to customize as much as we could to show our creativity and unique tastes.

pink, black and white funky and fun vintage wedding style, images by Solar Photographers

Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? The photo booth pictures everyone left us, the food, our signature drink, laughing through our vows, our cake and cake topper, the color palette we chose, basically all of it!

Color Palette: Black, pink and white

pink, black and white funky and fun vintage wedding style, images by Solar Photographers

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Solar Photographers
Event Planner: Red Door Event & Design
Ceremony Venue: Evan Williams House
Reception Venue: Evan Williams House
Officiant: Benjamin Winters

Invitation Designer: Wedding Paper Divas
Catering: Evan Williams
Florist: Red Door Event & Design

Cake: Helen's Cakes & Cookies

Wedding dress: Y & Kei
Bridal accessories: Headpiece – Liason by Kat Swank, Diamond heart earrings – vintage, Diamond tennis bracelet and sapphire ring – bride’s mother’s

Bridesmaid’s apparel and accessories: Dress, hats, and shoes – private label from our store Number A, Necklaces from Tiffany

Groom's apparel and accessories: Self designed suit, shoes by Esquivel
Groomsmen's apparel and accessories: Aneita’s Alterations, shoes by Vans

Hair and make-up: Bridesmaids Hair – Headmaster’s Salon

DJ: Miles Bonny

Live music: RetroActive
Favors: Picture Perfect Photo Booths
Rings: Groom – father’s ring, Bride – vintage

Thank you Alana and Nate!

To find more inspiration for your our personal wedding style, don't miss our new wedding image gallery!

All images above by Solar Photographers

Source: christy