Glamourous Glittery Geek Wedding | Shannon + Mike

Sunday, July 31, 2016 Zoe 0 Comments




Originally, Shannon and Mike were planning to elope to Ireland and have a tiny, low-key wedding. As you can see from just glancing at this post, that didn't happen! Instead, with the help of Jonnaysa at Planned Perfection, they made their wedding in Pennsylvania a beautifully glittering celebration with perfect, personal and geeky touches. With a colour scheme of gold, black and mint and a design style of Art Deco with Harry Potter and Star Wars touches, Shannon and Mike's wedding turned out to be just gorgeous!



All of the stunning details were captured perfectly by photographer Barbara Shoop who was like a wedding ninja, appearing from nowhere to get the best shot before disappearing again to capture another moment across the room. The result are a collection of simply gorgeous pictures that capture just how vibrant and sparkling the wedding was! (You can see Barbara's own post about the wedding here)

The wedding was held at the Booking House in Manheim, PA, a former cigar factory that is now exclusively an events space. With lots of gorgeous exposed brick and wooden floors, it provided a blank canvas while still offering enough character of its own to be memorable. The Booking House's use of space is second to none. The whole wedding party was able to get ready there with the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception all held on-site with no waiting around in awkward areas and following beautifully. It truly is an absolutely perfect spot for a wedding.

Shannon wore a gorgeous dress by Mori Lee in carmel with an overlay of ivory lace that had the most stunning lace pattern I think I've ever seen! The look was finished with a scalloped-edge veil, glittering hair piece and earrings and a pair of black suede shoes from Anthropologie to match the bride's black manicure. The bridesmaids wore mixmatched black dresses with co-ordinating black and gold jewellery from Aldo while the groom, best man and ushers were in black tuxes with gold pocket squares and buttonholes featuring Star Wars lego pieces. The flower girls stole the show though in adorably-pouffy mint dresses and baby's breath crowns!


For the reception, the tables were laid with black tablecloths, mint napkins and gold chargers with the same flowers as the bouquets set atop stacks of books. Along with black and gold candles, Harry Potter and Star Wars items filled in any empty spaces and made interesting points of conversation for guests! For table numbers Shannon and her Mom spray-painted house numbers gold and tied them to books with the same mint tulle that decorated the ceremony and top table chairs. The top table itself literally glittered with a gold sequin tablecloth and glittering votives and candelabras nestled in a garland of minty foliage and flowers.

Paying homage to the bride and groom's love of reading, for favours guests were invited to select a book from the selection tucked away in a pretty armoire alongside a personalised bookmark that matched the couple's stationery. It was the perfect finishing detail to a perfect wedding!

THE BRIDE'S SAY
How did you and Mike meet?
Mike and I actually first met when I was in 10th grade and he was in 9th, and we were in the same Geometry class. However Mike's the only one who remembers that meeting. The first meeting that I (Shannon) remembers, was at a winter formal during my senior year of high school. We ended up both going to the dance, along with some mutual friends and chatted briefly during the night but nothing else really came from it. Fast forward to the spring, after prom, Mike and I went to a mutual friend's house for a bonfire and sleepover. He bought me applesauce at a diner at like one in the morning, and we stayed up the whole night talking while everyone else watched Glee and fell asleep. We didn't stop talking since, and about a week later, Mike asked me out on a date.

Tell us about the proposal!
Mike worked Christmas Eve night, into Christmas morning. I had just had a dream in which I was Hermione Granger (Harry Potter ftw!) and woke up as Mike was coming into our room. He said he wanted to give me my Christmas gift, and assumed it was because it was something frivolous. Seeing that we lived with my parents at the time, I assumed he didn't want my parents to lecture us on wasting money on something silly. He gave me a long, rectangular box, and inside was Hermione Granger's wand. I was so excited by the wand ,that I didn't notice the engagement ring that was around it. Mike pointed out the ring, I then asked what kind of ring it was, and then Mike informed me it was a 'will you marry me type ring'. Obviously I said yes.

Describe your wedding!
Geeky, glamorous with touches of art deco.


What was your best memory from the day?
As cliche as it sounds, I have too many to count! I was just happy to not feel nervous or anxious the whole day. I felt relaxed and just ready to enjoy the day and see the wedding i had been working on for almost two years, finally come together. I loved having an impromptu first dance with my maid of honour (that's me!), dancing with my friends and co-workers,  surprising my uncle with a very special uncle/niece dance, and just seeing everything look so pretty and my vision coming to life.

What were your favourite details from the wedding?
I loved all the geeky touches. The wands, miniature Star Wars ship models, and other nerdy artifacts were mixed in with the books and flowers we used for centerpieces. It was just the right touch; the perfect nod towards Mike and I's geeky sides.

Any tips for brides planning their wedding?
Don't be afraid to hold out for just the right things! I feel like so many bride's end up sacrificing quality or not ending up with exactly what they want because they just go out and buy or pick the first thing that comes along. My parents were nice enough to pay for our wedding, but I still had a budget I had to work within. Instead of just settling for second rate things that were in my budget, I took my time to scour the internet and shop around and get exactly what I had envisioned for my wedding, even if it sometimes was the longer and more frustrating path. In the end I ended up with everything that was important to me, without going (too) over budget. Also if you can afford it, get yourself an amazing wedding planner! My mother and I would of strangled each other during the planning process if it wasn't for my amazing planner, Jonnaysa of Planned Perfection. She was worth every penny, and found 99% of the vendors that I ended up using, some of which that I would of never found by just googling around.

VENDORS
Photos: Barbara Shoop Photography | Event Coordination: Planned Perfection
Venue: The Booking House | Florist: Petals with Style
Cake: Rettew's Catering | Furniture & Signage: Treasured Rentals
Wedding Dress: Mori Lee at In White Bridal | Bridesmaids Dresses: In White Bridal
Groom & Ushers Attire: Men's Warehouse | Flower Girl Dresses: Little Dreamers Inc.
Make-Up: Maggie King | Hair: Kelly's Hair Design
Stationery: Renee Connors