How to Flea Market for your Wedding, p.1: The Groundwork

I grew up tagging alongside my Mom to every single antique shop and market in Charleston, SC, and later, when we moved to Germany, we traipsed through market after market all over Europe. That childhood instilled an admiration of vintage items and I had a ball antiquing and flea marketing with my Mom and friends during the months leading up to my own wedding. We sourced dozens of milk glass vases, silver platters and trays, rhinestone baubles, cuff links and more. After the wedding, my husband & I moved back to Germany and I found myself in a brocanting paradise. My friends and I would daytrip into France, Belgium and Germany to discover antique treasures at pop-up markets and little dusty antique shops every week. Without a doubt, those were the best years of my life {so far!}. ;)

Because I consider myself pretty well-versed in the international flea marketing world, I thought I'd share a series devoted to tips and tricks of the trade to help you navigate this sometimes intimidating world of bargaining and bantering ... because there's no doubt that gorgeous antiques and vintage pretties can elevate the aesthetics of a wedding by leaps and bounds!

From my wedding - I sourced the silver cake stand at an antique shop in South Carolina.
The pitcher is a family heirloom and the milk glass vase was found flea marketing in Mississippi

TIP NO. 1 | First, get over any fear you may have associated with the word 'antique.' I've met so many people who hear 'antique' and immediately think big dollar signs and start shuddering. While some antiques certainly are pricey, you can still find gorgeous pieces at affordable prices. So shed that fear and look forward to the hunt ahead of you.

From my wedding - a glimpse at a few of the milk glass vases + compotes I collected from flea markets,
shops and antique malls. Some of them had to be cleaned heavily but the end results were pretty lovely,
if I do say so myself. ;)

TIP NO. 2 | Get ready to embrace some dust + dirt. While you'll sometimes find great deals at upscale shops, you're most likely to hit treasure at those grimy street markets, garage sales, or my absolute favorite - vide greniers - in France {vide grenier literally means 'empty the attic'}. I have found so many amazing treasures at markets and while I have invested many hours using clorox wipes and polishing scrubs to clean up my finds, I've never once minded because I'd just keep reminding myself of the awesome deal I got! Dust + dirt can be your friend - learn to be okay with them and trust in the power of soap!

From my wedding - I found that chic rhinestone pin at an antique mall in Alabama.
The blue sapphire is a family heirloom.

TIP NO. 3 | Don't forget about the antique shops. Just because you're more likely to find bargains at the markets, don't forget about boutiques and shops. Every once in a blue moon, you'll strike gold and find an amazing deal. I once found a sterling silver mint julep cup in a high-end antique shop in Louisiana for an absolute steal. And while you may not always make a purchase at antique shops, they will inspire you to no end - these shopkeepers and vendors have taken the time to clean up their gorgeous pieces and stage and style them so they'll be appealing to you - which will give you great ideas on how to incorporate different pieces in different ways. Whether for your wedding or your home, inspiration abounds at antique malls and shops. Visit them frequently!

One more glimpse at those pretty milk glass arrangements from my wedding!

TIP NO. 4 | Be educated. You wouldn't walk into Target and plop down $50 for a pack of frappuccinos just because that's what the price tag said - would you? Of course not! And the same goes for antiques - you never want to walk into a shop or market blindly. So do your research and know the going price for the piece(s) you like. My favorite way of educating myself is to shop around. Let's say I'm on the hunt for a milkglass cake stand ... I'd begin my hunt online and check eBay, Etsy and a few online boutiques to see what sort of price range exists. Armed with that knowledge, I'd then visit a few local antique malls/shops/markets and keep my eye peeled for those elusive milkglass cake stands. I personally feel that this is the best way to earn an education on the going price as you're actually able to see the piece in person and compare more accurately. After you've shopped around online and in person, you will start to see a pattern in pricing and you'll know if a price is sky high, right on the mark or if it's a true bargain. This is the time that you should start searching for the best price and leap on it when you find it. Bottom line: Know the competition and you'll know a good deal when you see it!

COMING UP | Next week, I'll share tips on bargaining - whether you're shopping on Royal Street in NOLA or the regular ol' local market, there's a special language to use and you should know it. I'll later share a special European edition highlighting some key phrases and techniques to score some serious booty.

ps. Click on the label 'flea marketing for your wedding' to access all the posts in this series!

Photos by Look Photography.

Timeless {Legacy} Elopement in New England by Erin McGinn

I love the simplicity, intimacy and romance that go along with eloping. Bailey and Garrett were originally planning a big country club wedding but decided to change gears and opted for a private elopement. You may remember this cute couple from their darling engagement shoot that I shared in the fall. / Photos by Erin McGinn.

Says Bailey, "Garrett and I had started to plan the big to-do - at the country club, upwards of 200 guests, etc. And then one day we had a serious conversation about whether or not this is really what we wanted to do. Did we want to spend a year of our lives dealing with the stresses that inherently come with planning a wedding? Did we want to spend all of this money? We were honest with ourselves and each other and decided that the big wedding was not for us. The only detail we really cared about was saying "I do". So, after receiving some great advice from [our photographer], we found an officiant and a location and all of the other details just fell into place.

I guess you could say eloping in itself is a family tradition. My parents eloped and my mother's parents eloped. My grandparents eloped in the 1940s while my grandmother was in nursing school at Newport Hospital. At the time, if the school had found out about her marriage, she would have been kicked out of the program. They were able to keep the secret until she graduated and my grandmother had a long career in nursing. I'm actually following in her footsteps again, as I will be finishing nursing school in May.

We chose to get married at the Providence Court House out of convenience, honestly. It was centrally located, the officiant was right there and there was a beautiful park right across the street for pictures. Once we arrived, I was so happy we had chosen the court house. The marble floors, big beautiful windows, old elevators and other little details were perfect for us. The only way it could have felt more like "eloping" is if we had gone to Vegas :)

Bailey + Garrett's Love Story:

Garrett and I met on Match.com! We both had only been using the site for a short time but we knew this was it. We were pretty much inseparable from the beginning... We truly enjoyed spending time together, laughing together and dreaming about the future. Garrett is everything I wanted in a man, and more. Our relationship is based on open communication, honesty, valuing each other as person, genuinely caring for and supporting each other and committing to working through every bump in the road that will come our way. We met in January, were engaged in May and eloped in October, one year to the day prior to our original wedding date. It's been a crazy, whirlwind year and neither one of us would change a moment of it.

Finding the right dress was the hardest part! I knew I didn't want a typical wedding dress. I wanted something knee-length and champagne colored. I purchased and returned probably six different dresses. I found one I liked, had it altered and one week before the wedding, decided I actually hated it. I did some last-minute online shopping and found the perfect dress from J.Crew with all of the details I wanted. It was simple, elegant and it fit me like a glove, right out of the box. If it hadn't been the one, I was getting married in jeans and a t-shirt... Thankfully that didn't happen!

I was happy that we made the day special by including a photographer, a limo, getting my hair and makeup done and spending the night at the Biltmore. We celebrated our love for each other the way we wanted to. And because we included Erin on our day, we were able to share it with family and friends who weren't with us."

Thanks so much to Bailey and Garrett for sharing their sweet day and to Erin McGinn for sharing those lovely photos. xx

Bailey leaves us with some parting advice: "Don't worry so much about what other people are going to think. It is impossible to make every person happy or to live up to what they think you should do. You can only do what is right for yourself and your significant other - what makes the two of you happy. At the end of the day, the people who matter are going to support your choices and your love for each other unconditionally."

Credits: Erin McGinn Photography / Hair and Makeup: Jennie Kay Beauty / Dress: J.Crew / Getting ready location - Biltmore Hotel

Timeless Fall Elopement in Paris {in the rain!} by Juliane Berry

I'm a sucker for most anything French but when I hear the words 'elope' and 'Paris' in the same sentence, my heart tends to flutter at warp speed. And Jaime and Charlie eloped in the most perfectly Parisian way possible ... I'm dying over the prettiest vintage Citroen, layers and layers of gorgeous tulle, champs at the St Regis, and the cutest pair of heels you ever did see. ... Get ready to feast your eyes, my loves. / Gorgeously timeless photos by Juliane Berry.

Says Jaime, "Charlie (Irish) and I (Australian) met in a pub (of course) in Brisbane, Australia, in September 2009 and have been together ever since. After over three of the best-ever years, the question was popped and I could not have been happier. Eight months later, we were jet-setting off on the long haul to Paris. Paris for me had always been a place in the world I had dreamed of visiting so to think of the possibility of eloping there was amazing. So we made it happen. 

The reason for eloping for us is we wanted a low key, no fuss, no stress day about exactly how we envisaged our wedding day which was a day about us and our love and no one else. It was just that and it was perfect. There is not a single thing I regret or would change about that perfect day.

Planning our day could not have been more simple as we only prearranged our photographer (Juliane Berry) and makeup artist (Charles Gillman) - both found online - and driver and car (Didier, referred by our photographer). Could not recommend them all enough. It could not have worked out better. Flowers were sourced the evening before at a florist found around the corner from our hotel."

The emerald necklace wrapped around Jaime's ankle was her grandmother's. They were very close and Jaime always imagined wearing the necklace on her wedding day. {And those pretty shoes are from Tony Bianco - love the bows!}

Congrats, Jaime + Charlie! Such a beautifully magical day - I think I'm in love! ;) And thanks so much to photographer Juliane Berry for sharing her {always} insanely beautiful photos with us. xx

Want more Paris? {who doesn't?!}

- See another pretty Paris elopement.

- A proposal in Paris followed by a surprise engagement shoot {so darling!}

- Travel guide to Par-eee in case you're suffering from wanderlust.

- And a super romantic love shoot in the city of light.