Retro 1960s Wedding in St. Augustine

If I had to pick my favorite period for style in American culture, it would undoubtedly be the late 1950s/early 1960s. There’s something so appealing about the bright pop of mod colors, the shortened hemlines, and the the bold design elements — all of which you’ll find in today’s wedding from Christina Karst Photography.

From the bride, Katie: I’ve always loved the bright colors and graphic style of the early 60s. I kept looking around for color inspiration and found most weddings stuck to 2 colors. I couldn’t pick so I went with 4. Teal, Red-Orange, Mustard Yellow, and Chartreuse, but I didn’t want restrict myself so you’ll see others in there as well. I went a little DIY crazy. The succulent holders on the tables are candle sticks from Ikea. We taped the mid section and spray painted them yellow to make them look like they were dipped in paint. The record racks were worn and rusted. We cleaned them up and spray painted them gold (I swear a can of gold spray paint is the best thing a wedding planner can have). We bought clay pots and spray painted them teal for the succulents. All of the signage holders were spray painted gold. The table runners were made by me — I’m not a sewer so I just cut them to size and used iron on hemming tape. They ended up costing me $10 a pop instead of renting the venue’s cloths for $20+ per. The garland above the cake table was mine as well.

Flower recipe: We told our florist to use whatever was available and interesting in yellow and red-orange, but the main ones were: Billy balls, blood orange ranunculus, green mini hydrangeas, white daisies, and succulents.

I just crept around Lowes for more paint swatches then anyone would need, cut them into different size squares and rectangles and used Super 77 to glue them to fishing wire. The place cards: I found vintage 45 records and recreated them in Illustrator with a special song for each table and everyone’s names. Vintage 45s are super cheap on ebay and I bought CD labels from Uline. We stuck them on and cut out the center with exacto knives. All of the signage and menus were designed by me. I used Hipster Script and found inspiration in mid-century kitchen wares. The photo booth images were vintage wedding paper dolls. We found images of the retro postcards and I redesigned the back with our branding. Also worth mentioning, I didn’t rent anything because I found I could find it for a comparable price on ebay and Etsy. Vintage swizzle sticks, cake trays, milk glass vases, champagne glasses, suitcases, bowls, mid century plates were slowly collected.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Don’t forget to think about the logistics. We made this obsessive timeline (at the advice of our amazing friend and wedding coordinator, Sarah) that outlined every minute detail and it was so helpful in the midst of the craziness that weekend. Do all the planning you possibly can so that a few days before, you can relax and let it all in. Also. Get a band. Like now.

See Also

Intimate Autumnal Wedding With Luxury Textures and Al Fresco Dining

Wedding Music:
We had to go pretty traditional with our ceremony music since it was Catholic, but since “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds is a bible verse, the priest gave us the okay to use it as the recessional.
First Dance: “This Will Be Our Year,” The Zombies