There are some real weddings that just feel like there must have been an extra sprinkling of awesome dust on them. But a great wedding is rarely the result of fate or luck or anything in between. They’re what happens when you pair a beaming couple with love and vision, a great wedding venue, a fantastic photographer, and a super fun event planner together to create one pretty amazing day. Which is pretty much how we’re feeling about Meghan and James’s Indianapolis real wedding, captured by Kelley Jordan Photography.
With a “speakeasy” theme and lots of beautiful tones of pink flowers, Meghan and James’s real wedding captured the perfect mix of soft, romantic details and a Prohibition vibe (complete with spirits served in coffee mugs, as they used to do back then). Check out a few of our favorite photos from their day, below, along with bride Meghan’s thoughts on the wedding-planning process!
On their vision for the wedding day:
It was very important to James and I that our wedding feel like a natural extension of us. We wanted the décor to amplify the natural character of the building, not take away from it. In the same way, we wanted to wear clothing that complimented the space, but felt authentic to us. Because we were getting married at a place called The Speak Easy, we let the 1920s influence our decisions. It was fun!
Why they chose their wedding venue:
James and I chose to get married in Indianapolis, which is where we call home. We love Indy and couldn’t imagine getting married anyplace else. When we started thinking of the event space, we very quickly landed on The Speak Easy. James is a board member, so we’ve spent a lot of time there and have a lot of fond memories related to the space.
The Speak Easy is a collaborative workspace serving entrepreneurs, located in the Broadripple neighborhood. It’s a renovated warehouse, but they did an incredible job with the design. They infused the space with rustic and natural features – it’s filled with character.
What was your biggest resource?
The great thing about getting married in your early 30s is that you have a pretty solid sense of what you want and who you are. James and I had a pretty keen sense of the look and feel of what we wanted, but couldn’t have pulled it off without our wedding coordinator, Cheri McDowell of Cheri Studio.
Cheri helped us with everything from our invitations to floral selections. We would collaborate and swap ideas–and she actually told us no, Which you need! You need someone that reminds you of your vision and the design, and brings you back to that. You can get so caught up on Pinterest and other people’s weddings–it’s easy to stray from what you actually want.
On her favorite part of the wedding:
There was a moment during our ceremony where we looked out into the crowd below us–it was a room filled with all of our favorite people. It was such a blessing. Couple that moment with the father-daughter dance, which honored the memory of my late mother–and it was perfect.
On what they wanted the day to be about:
Family is very important to us, so we asked both of our fathers to participate in the ceremony. My father officiated the ceremony, and James’s father did the welcome and read a poem that we’d selected. We loved writing the ceremony with them and having them up there with us–for us, it was the perfect ceremony.
We also wanted to be able to enjoy ourselves at the wedding and reception, so when we were making decisions we always erred on the side of simplicity. We wanted to maximize the time we could spend with friends and family and not get caught up in the “stuff.” We did our photos before the ceremony, got married in the same location as the reception, and let go of a number of things that we thought we “had” to do, because everyone always did it.
What advice would you give to brides planning their wedding now?
Do what works for the two of you, what fits your personalities. Don’t worry about what everyone else has done–just do what makes you happy. Oh, and the wedding isn’t meant to be a surprise party for the groom–include his thoughts and ideas, too!
Photographer: Kelley Jordan Photography // Event Planner: Cheri Studio // Event Venue: The Speak Easy
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Hi Cheri!
Thanks so much for visiting. And absolutely! I will add your link in right now. 🙂
Hello there! I just was passed along this great blog post on Meghan and James’ wedding in the fall. I’d love if my information could be linked to the ‘Cheri Studio’ parts. This is the first time I’ve seen your blog and am excited to look through it some more!