Tip of the Day #76: Real Wedding Spotlight - Bonnie and Matt
We recently had the wonderful pleasure of working with Bonnie and her now husband Matt on planning their New Jersey nuptials held on May 2, 2014. Bonnie grew up the daughter of an avid fisherman and granddaughter of a United States Navy seaman. Clearly, it was the natural choice for her to settle on planning a wedding with a nod to her nautical upbringing. As she has proudly declared, the sea is just in her blood!
Bonnie's groom, Matt, hails from Staffordshire, England, where a knot icon is the symbol of the town. Bonnie made a conscious effort to make sure her decor choices reflected tasteful nautical elements and did not stray into the realm of a "beach" theme. Her meticulous research on Etsy and Pinterest helped her to source decor elements featuring nautical knots and compasses that gave off an authentic, classy and timeless nautical vibe. The couple also paid homage to Matt's upbringing with fabulous British flag umbrellas used to stage pre-wedding photos.
Bonnie's save-the-dates played on the classic Americana tattoo featuring an anchor and lovebirds to set the nautical theme. Her invitations featured a classic navy nautical knot which was also used on other design elements including the menu and table numbers.
Bonnie worked with Flowers by Maggie to develop her floral palette, which included ranunculus, peonies, white roses and hydrangeas supplemented by ferns and small accents of white and blue flowers. Her floral vessels included clear glass cylinders with belly bows featuring tiny sailor knots and larger galvanized buckets that lined the ceremony aisle. The galvanized buckets were flanked with large lanterns from Pottery Barn.
Bonnie's reception tables featured monkey fist knot table holders from Etsy. Yes I Do printed Bonnie and Matt's save-the-dates, invitations, table numbers and menus to ensure the design aesthetic of printed goods was kept consistent in the same navy font color and print style.
Bonnie and Matt's escort card table featured hand-held compasses with red ribbons tied in boat knots typically used for docklines. The guests' names and seating assignments were printed on sticky labels and inserted into the inner casing of each compass. Bonnie added a little flash to her escort card table with a navy sequin linen which helped to bring in texture and dimension to the table. The thought of a compass "Guiding us into our new life together" became Bonnie's focus when selecting decor items.
The gift card table featured a vintage compass and custom lobster trap gift card box created by a coastal artisan in Maine. Now that is some serious nautical chic design!
The beautiful couple had the New York City skyline as the perfect backdrop to set the nautical vibe in motion. Congrats to Bonnie and Matt, we wish you all of the best as newlyweds!
Vendors We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of Bonnie's amazing vendors who helped to make Bonnie's wedding day, as she has described, "The perfect day."
Ceremony & Reception Venue Maritime Parc Jersey City, NJ
DJ Elite Entertainment Tinton Falls, NJ
Flowers Flowers by Maggie Cranford, NJ
Hair Mad One Jacks Hoboken, NJ
Makeup Dina’s Kiss and Makeup Hoboken, NJ
Officiant Captain Bill of Nautical Star Weddings Monroe Township, NJ
Photography Fede Photography Jersey City, NJ
Wedding Planning Square Mile Events Hoboken, NJ
Printed Materials Yes I Do Hoboken, NJ
Transportation Broadway Elite East Hanover, NJ