Ashley + Asif
August 26, 2023 in Sandpoint, ID
Welcome back to the Ivory Bride Blog, where we celebrate the unique visions of our real brides! Today, we're thrilled to share the story of a wedding that epitomized simplicity and elegance with a striking black and gold theme. The bride's vision was straightforward yet stunning, creating a memorable day that unfolded perfectly atop a mountain. Despite the threat of wildfires the week before, the skies cleared just in time, providing a breathtaking backdrop for their special day. From an early morning start to a beautifully executed first look, the day flowed seamlessly, allowing the couple to enjoy precious moments with their 52 guests. Dive into their story to discover how simplicity and thoughtful planning led to an unforgettable celebration, and pick up some valuable tips for your own big day!
By our real bride, Ashley:
What was the vision for your wedding?
The vision was for as much black and gold as possible - other than that I wanted it simple!
How did it go the day-of?
The day went perfectly! Our wedding was on top of the mountain, and the weekend before our wedding was the awful fires that our our air quality in the red. We were terrified that we paid for a view we wouldn’t get to enjoy. But the smoke cleared, and we had beautiful skies and no rain either! We kept things as simple as possible, nothing overly complicated that could mess things up too much.
The biggest “oops” was that I didn’t give the coordinator my seating chart, so she had no idea which table was supposed to be. This of course was not a big deal and people were able to move chairs around to make sure each table had enough chairs. So with that being the worst thing that happened, I’d say it was a success!
We started very early - hair and makeup at 6 am! Had a very early first look - 12:15 am. This gave us a lot of time for pictures before the ceremony, and then after the ceremony, we could enjoy a ton of time with our guests. We had a small wedding - 52 guests. And I couldn’t have imagined a bigger wedding because I wouldn’t have gotten the quality time that I got with everyone.
What is your #1 tip to future brides?
I know money is a factor, but hire a day coordinator if you can. If you can’t, then enlist your maid of honor to be your “question monitor”. It is so overwhelming to be asked a million questions, so designate someone to be able to answer questions on your behalf & only permit them to come to you if it is a “make or break” scenario.
For example, my coordinator came to me asking if we wanted to extend the venue (we were on the fence before the day) and this was a valid question for her to ask because it would have cost money. Smaller things than this (such as order of dances, order of speeches) honestly don’t matter at the end of the day, so I let her decide the small things and only let he come to me with the big things. This takes things off your plate and allows you to enjoy the day you spend so much time (and money) planning!
