Describe the proposal. It was July 25th 2009 …I had just come home from a trip to Ireland to see the family and it was our third year anniversary weekend. Steve decided to book a room at a local resort where we had one of our first dates.

We went back to our room after dinner and when I opened the door all I could see was wall to wall candles, roses, boxes of chocolate, Champagne, and the Beatles Love CD playing in the background. Me, being the complete oblivious person that I am, just thought it was something romantic for our anniversary.

It wasn’t until I turned around and he was down on one knee holding the same engagement ring my grandfather had given my grandmother over fifty years ago. He told me he had asked for my hand in marriage from my father and wanted to use my grandparents ring because since it brought over fifty years of love to them. It was a great symbol of love to bring to our marriage and asked if I would marry him…

You can find ring bearer pillows like this one by visiting Maihar Designs.

We wanted a vintage and simple elegant feel to our wedding and invitations.

I went with my mom, mother-in-law, sisters and one of my bridesmaids for a day of bridal gown shopping. The first store I felt like I tried on everything and didn’t see anything that stood out. We went to the next store and started picking dresses that were out of the norm for me to see if we could find a dress that way.

Once again I didn’t find anything that stood out, so I decided I was done for the day when my mom started clearing out the dressing room. She noticed a dress I didn’t try on. It didn’t look special on the hanger but my mom insisted I try one last dress on. Moms always knows best because that was the one I fell in love with and just couldn’t wait to wear on the wedding day!

Our favorite detail was the guest signing tree. Our guests stamped their thumbs with green ink and then signed their names to make a wedding tree.

Steve and I both lost grandparents and other loved ones to cancer so instead of passing out wedding favors we donated to the American Cancer Society on behalf of our guests.

The top of our wedding cake was two tiered red velvet with butter cream frosting decorated with edible pearls and the bottom tiers were a variety of individual cupcakes decorated with edible pearls and small simple flowers.

Photography: Photography by Verdi

Venue: Hassayampa Golf Club

Florist: Flowers by Request – (928)-708-9225

Dress: David’s Bridal

Cake Designer: Jennifer Sedig & Precious Simons (family friends)

Reception Music: Infinity Entertainment

Invitations: Gartner Studios

Make-Up & Hair: Kensington Make Up Artists, Phoenix, Arizona, Holli Christenson

Videographer: Wildrose Video

What a fantastic week its been! This week I celebrated 2 of my favorite things, jewelry and photography. Now, there really is no other way to end such a fantastic week other than celebrating with PAPER!

If your new to the blog, or have been following for a while, you should know I tend to talk about stationary quite a bit. So much so that I’ve even considered adding a paper category to the blog so I can have an excuse to talk about it more.

I’m so excited to share an exclusive offer for LDW readers! Our amazing Dylan List member Cloud 9 Weddings & Paper is offering 15% off all stationary in celebration of our one year anniversary.

We’ve featured Cloud 9 Weddings & Paper several times from real weddings to this amazing stationary line they carry as well as a vendor spotlight.

Cloud 9 carries some of the best letterpress stationary lines on the market. Make sure you take advantage of this one time offer for your save-the-dates, wedding invitations, and all of your stationary needs.

You can check out more of Cloud 9′s work by visiting their website, blog, and facebook fan page!

TGIF and happy shopping!

This past year brought me opportunities to showcase one of my favorite mediums… photography. I was so honored to be able to share 80+ weddings, engagement sessions, and day after sessions. Every feature was special and unique to me and I’m so thankful to have shared them with you.

Here are some of my favorites from this past year, in no particular order. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for supporting, reading, and following Lucy Dylan Weddings and for allowing me to feature your work!

You can check out all of the Real Weddings by CLICKING HERE or on the tab above!

Real New Zealand Engagement: Danielle & Nathan by St. Clair Photography

Real Montana Day After Session: Jackie & Jason by Green Door Photography

Real New Mexico Wedding: Carrie & Rick by Twin Lens

Real Wedding: Jennifer & Pat by The Last Forty Percent

The perfect engagement session by Lucida Photography

Real Wedding: Angela & David by Stephanie Williams

Real Wedding: Robert & Shantell by Adam & Imthiaz Photography

Real Engagement: Carrie & Gergely by Photobolic

Real Wedding: Megan & Jip (Part 1) and Real Wedding: Megan & Jip (Part 2) by Sarah Rhoads Photographers

Real Huntsville Engagement: Olivia & Jamie by Simply Bloom Photography

Real Engagement: Megan & Chase by in Tandem

Real Wedding: Suzanne & Simon by Jean-Pierre Uys

You might remember Denver based Bellissima Jewelry Design’s Vendor Spotlight. I’ve made it no secret how much I LOVE Bellissima’s jewelry line. So, today I’m excited to announce the Bellissima giveaway!

To celebrate our year anniversary Bellissima is giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner!

The contest is simple… all you have to do is comment. We will choose one lucky winner at random. They will receive a $50 gift certificate to Bellissima Jewelry Design. This is the perfect chance to get you bridal jewelry!

The winner will be announced on Feb. 2, 2010, so make sure you get your comment in and good luck!

Photos courtesy of Adam & Imthiaz Photography and Bellissima Jewelry Design.

One year ago today I launched Lucy Dylan Weddings. I wanted to have fun with it, showing the different parts of planning, that might go unnoticed. From advice to DIY products to the introduction of a food category, LDW evolved into something so much more then I ever thought it would. This past year was a whirlwind and I couldn’t have done it without the many photographers and vendors that were so kind to provide real weddings and content for me to share.

In the past year my little regional wedding blog has had over 100,000 visits. I featured weddings from as far as South Africa to beautiful weddings from all over the Rocky Mountains and United States. Thank you to all of the vendors, photographers, couples, and my fellow wedding bloggers who allowed me to feature you, talk about you, and share your amazing wedding ideas. And a special thank you goes out to everyone who reads, follows, and visits my blog regularly.

This year is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to share some of the things I’ve already been working on. Here we have, in no particular order, some of the most popular blog posts from LDW’s first year! Thank you for making it one FABOULUS year!

Stay tuned this week for some great giveaways, discounts, and my list of my favorite posts from the first year.

Lucy Dylan

Photo Booth Fun

Real Engagement: Jessica & Jeremy

Postwedding Brunch 101

Winter Wedding Food Ideas

Thinking Outside the Box: Wedding Cake

DIY: Sugar Cookie Wedding Cakes

Be Merry Dessert Table

Real Vancouver Wedding: Liza & Greg

Real Wedding: Emily & Jay

Real Edmonton Wedding: Angel & Chad

Real Park City Wedding: Deveree & Lucas

Name: Brent Foster

Location: Ontario, Canada

Company Name: Brent Foster Photography

Tell us a little about what you do.

I’m an international award winning wedding photojournalist and cinematographer. I focus on weddings in Canada, and am available internationally.

How long have you been in business?

I’ve worked professionally in 15+ countries as a photojournalist for the last 12 years for publications such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Canadian Geographic. I’ve always shot weddings for friends and colleagues along the way, but have decided to concentrate the bulk of my time on storytelling wedding photojournalism and cinematography.

What inspired you to start your business/studio?

I came home from India a while back for an assignment for Canadian Geographic. The assignment was to document my hometown in Southwestern, Ontario. When home on assignment I met Tammy, fell in love, and we were married in October, 2010. Tammy and I opened up an amazing studio in an old bank building, and I’ve shifted my focus to storytelling wedding photography. We live in Southwestern Ontario with my 3 year-old stepdaughter Daylia.

What is your favorite thing about your business/studio?

I get to do what I love. Every. Single. Day.

Was there a defining moment when you knew you picked the right career path?

I found my passion when I was 14. My parents had our weekly newspaper on the kitchen table. The front page image was this documentary style, storytelling photograph. I was hooked, and the rest is history.

When you built your business what style would you say you built it around? (i.e. classic, modern, vintage)

No question the business is built around high quality editorial style photojournalism. I treat all my weddings with as much passion as I do any magazine or newspaper assignment.

When working with people how do you help bring the vision for the event to life?

By letting them live their day, and being a fly on the wall. I focus on capturing the moments , details, colors, textures, and light that together, create powerful, and unforgettable images.

Where do you go for inspiration? (i.e. blogs, magazines)

I study my favorite photojournalism collectives, photographers, and constantly look at all kinds of magazines, and books.

Is there anything else you want people to know about you and your business/studio?

I do this because it’s my passion, and lifestyle. It’s much more than a business to me. It’s what I love.