{Fab*Bride} A Bridal Spotlight on Natasha!

This week's Fab*Bride exudes all of the qualities in a person that I wanted to showcase when I started this series of features.  I do not know Natasha personally, but throughout our e-mail correspondence and in answering all of this week's questions, she has proved herself to be truthful and a woman full of grace. Natasha was nominated by Lindsey Thorne of Lindsey Thorne Photography and The Jason Groupp.  Last week's contributor Sarah Rhoads Photography told me about Lindsey. I instantly loved her aesthetic and she happily nominated Natasha. The summer wedding took place at a beautiful park in Manhattan, with stunning views, beautiful gardens, and trees for days. When I asked Lindsey what made Natasha stand out enough to nominate, she had nothing but wonderful things to say; the story behind how she came to be Natasha's photographer is so interesting:

'My photography was a gift to Natasha from her friends; I had never met or spoken with her until the morning of her wedding. I walked in and saw the dress, the shoes, the bride -- amazing! Natasha is timeless, more graceful than I ever have been. I noticed how she carries herself, how she looks people in the eyes when she's speaking with them. Her friends and family love her very much, as was apparent in the first five minutes of my time there. As the day unfolded and I realized where her ceremony was taking place I was speechless. This wedding possessed so many qualities I would like to have at my own some day. I appreciated that Natasha is artistic and real, and it challenged me to photograph her in a way that would reflect that. Congrats you guys! I wish you all the best. xoxo."

Let's take a peek at the gorgeousness that is Natasha photographed by Lindsey Thorne!

And now for the grueling (aka fun!) ten questions:

The moment I saw your wedding photos, I instantly felt the love between you and Jeremy, and the happiness of everyone surrounding you both.  What does Jeremy inspire in you?  Jeremy and I are both artists. He is a painter and I am an actress. He understands the difficulties that come with a life where there is no day to day security. There sometimes are weeks where I don't have a single audition, or haven't booked a job and it's easy to feel listless, uninspired, and down on ones self. I often fall into that place, but Jeremy has a way of getting me out of those dark periods. He is the most disciplined person I have ever met. He wakes up every morning at 8 a.m. and paints no matter what his mood, no matter how tired he is. I've often said that that quality "turns me on" but all kidding aside it inspires me to get up every morning and pursue my dream.

Describe one of your happiest moments with Jeremy before your wedding day.  Now that you’ve tied the knot, share a happy moment you’ve had as newlyweds.  I'm going to cheat a little on this question and tell you about a moment that happened in a blurry area-- on our wedding day in between our ceremony and our reception. After our ceremony, Jeremy and I checked into our hotel room. We were both in complete shock to say the least and neither of us had eaten a thing all day because of nerves. So, still dressed in our wedding gear, we ordered room service: 2 cheeseburgers with fries and a bottle of champagne! It was the best meal I have ever had! We both ate our plates in record time and toasted our day. We were so happy to be married and having that hour alone with just the two of us after all the commotion was like heaven.

Your vintage wedding dress is so lovely – tell us about your search for the perfect piece and why you decided on ‘something old’ instead of ‘something new.’ How did you go about accessorizing to finalize your look?  I love the idea that things that I own have had a previous life and have seen other things. I wanted my dress to have a history so choosing a vintage dress was a no-brainer to me. You hear all these horror stories from brides about the quest to find their dress so I was anticipating a long and treacherous journey. I found my dress at the third store I went to! I made some alterations to it with the help of a tailor and my mom, which turned the already beautiful dress into something even my wildest dreams couldn't have conjured up. The dress is entirely made of lace thus making it completely sheer and the alterations had given it a unique shape making it impossible to find a slip. So my amazing mom fashioned me a custom one by deconstructing a store bought slip. As far as jewelry I too wanted it to be "something old and borrowed." I wore my grandmother’s wedding ring, my mother's pearl necklace and bracelet, and my good friend’s gold bangles. My friend who designed and made our wedding bands let me borrow a pair of earrings (which i eventually bought from her because I couldn't live without them and because I wanted something from my wedding that i could pass along to my kids). I opted not to go get my hair and make up done and chose to get ready at home with the help of some close friends, my sister, and mom. I knew I wanted fresh flowers in my hair-- but the final hair-do was a spur of the moment creation by my mom. In fact my whole look at the wedding was quite spur of the moment — I hadn't really planned the look; it just sort of came together as I was getting ready.

If you could label one song as the theme to your wedding, what would it be?  We asked our good friend Tania to officiate our wedding. As part of her ceremony she got the whole crowd to serenade us with the Bangles' "Eternal Flame" a classic 80's love ballad. It was amazing and I instantly burst into tears while simultaneously laughing my head off. That song and moment was the perfect theme to our wedding.

 
How did your wedding invitations tie into your overall wedding concept?  I'll be honest — I had no wedding concept! I'm just not that kind of bride. What I did have was an intense desire to involve all of our friends and family, and to make the wedding a collaborative expression. The invitation was a Polaroid that our amazing friend Susan took of us at a party. Susan has been a mentor of sorts to both Jeremy and I, and I knew she'd be thrilled if we used the image. Jeremy and I then designed the invitation, bought some card stock, and took them to the copy shop. So I guess that was my concept — make it yourself.

You seem to have that artistic flair about you; how did creativity play a role throughout the planning process and your wedding?  This ties into the last question. We had a limited budget so we knew that we would have to get creative. That being said I think even if we had had a million dollars I would have wanted our wedding to be exactly the same. From making our invitations to making my own bouquet and flower arrangements for the reception. My dear friend Danni baked 130 of her famous coconut cupcakes to act as our wedding cake, a group of our friends got together and formed a band and played for us, another friend made an amazing play list on her IPod for everyone to dance to, and my best friend Dan composed and played the music I walked down the isle to. This is just to mention a few people that helped. I knew that I wanted everything to organically come from us; us being a collective us.

New York is considered one of the most romantic places to live in & travel to and your ceremony in the park is breathtaking.  Tell us about choosing Manhattan as the backdrop for your service.  We both love, love, love New York. I know this sounds corny, but I often feel like the city is part of our relationship. We had some very New York moments while we were dating — from 3 a.m. cab rides to see each other, to Jeremy buying me daisies from the 24-hr corner deli, to getting engaged while riding a taxi over the Williamsburg Bridge. It's the city where we fell in love, the city that allowed a guy from Wisconsin and a girl from Germany to meet, and the city that has become our home. It felt unnatural to get married anywhere else.

What surprised you most on your special day?  Ha. That we actually managed to pull this thing off!

What is the most solid piece of advice you’ve been given about marriage?  That things change, people change. The important part is seeing that other person through the change.

Describe a Fab*Bride (you!) in three words.  Spontaneous. Crafty. Daring.

...And if Natasha's answers weren't great enough, she had a few more thoughts to share: Thanks for letting me do this! I really hope that other brides take something away from this. Weddings shouldn't be about going into debt and buying some crazy dress that you can't pay for. It really should be a day about family and friends, and as long as you get all your loved ones together and put on an IPod everyone will have fun! I promise. 

Big thanks to Natasha for participating and Lindsey Thorne for nominating this inspiring Fab*Bride!

If you would like to make a nomination, please contact me at antoinette@invitationconsultants.com, or DM me on Twitter @atelierantoinet. Feel free to leave a comment, as well. The rest of the crew would love to hear from you too!

Until the next post, stay Fab*ulous!

All images courtesy of Lindsey Thorne's Photography Blog.  Also check out The Jason Groupp, where Lindsey also contributes fabulous photography.

Please note, Natasha's headshot (above with tree photograph) was artistically edited by yours truly.

Comments

[Shawn]

Great piece! What an awesome photography spread.

[Gilleon Smith]

What a lovely couple!! The photos are beautiful!!

[catherine]

Wow. Amazing photo's, what a classy couple..

[Hyeseung Marriage-Song]

I was at Natasha and Jeremy's wedding. It was one of the most moving and emotionally honest weddings I have ever been too-- so full of feeling, creativity and connection. Of course, it was also an AWESOME party.

[Jenny V.]

Wow, what a gorgeous couple. They seem to be glowing. How romantic to get engaged on the Williamsburg Bridge...and I love the cheeseburger story! I admire the way Natasha values her friends and family and husband more than the big $ way that many people create their weddings. She is right- with love and creativity (and an Ipod) you will have a beautiful wedding. It helps that she is so gorgeous!!

[ML Ryan]

What a fabulous bride. I love those pictures!! And, she's really hot too!

[Yael]

Natasha! This piece had me in tears!!! I love you so much and you are totally a fab bride hahahahah

[Alma]

Gorgeous photos of a gorgeous couple. I love the idea of a down-to earth, organic, home-grown wedding in the middle of Manhattan's glitz and glamour. Good luck to the happy couple!

[Joanna]

totally cute, love them

[ariadna]

Gorgeous bride. Her style, her love and grace are artisticly captured by the photographer.

[whitney]

Love it! Pics are gorgeous and the interview is great! good job net!

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