2006 Martha Stewart Weddings: Minhee & Truman's School Inspired Wedding

Hello Everyone!  My name is Sally and I am delighted to join the My Bride Story team as a "guest blogger" and assistant coordinator.  I've always admired Esther and her team for their excellent work ethic and eye for beauty.  Even after my own wedding in 2009, instead of getting rid of all the wedding blogs and replacing them with other topics pertaining to marriage, I kept all my bookmarks in my Google Reader and continued to add more.  There were so many swoon worthy posts especially from My Bride Story's blog.  I loved all the pictures, insights, and inspirations that each post contained even though I was already married!  There were many moments when I would say to myself "I wish I did that!" or "That's such a great idea!"  I hope to bring more inspirational blog posts to you and can't wait for everything that lies ahead for this year!

One of my favorite weddings of all time was my friend Minhee and Truman Cho's April 15, 2006 wedding.  They are the founders and owners of Paper+Cup Design Studio.  I'm sure many of you have seen their wedding feature in Martha Stewart Weddings, Fall 2006 edition.  Their wedding pictures from that feature are still available online. All photos are from my own personal collection, unless otherwise noted.  

The couple's engagement photo which guests saw as they entered the ceremony.

Minhee and Truman have known each other since the fourth grade.  They were also friends throughout high school and college.  They planned their wedding around this fact.  Everything about their wedding told their story-- even down to the dduk (Korean rice cakes) that were served.  This wedding was chock full of details!  So much thought was put into each intricate detail of the wedding.  It was so personal, unique, and sentimental.  Many of their guests were also friends with both the bride and groom since elementary school so it was almost like a grade school reunion. 

18"x24" open face Letter Board in black from School Outfitters

They chose a retro school theme to be played out throughout their wedding.  They came up with the idea from the sheer fact that they were grade school sweethearts and added the retro/vintage element which  they are fond of.  Instead of a traditional bride and groom sign, they used their elementary portraits in a frame.  They also used vintage lunch pails as the money box.

Their reception was held outdoors at the Fullerton Arboretum.  Minhee and Truman chose that location not only because of its beauty but also because they had once taken a field trip there when they were in school.  Normally in Southern California, the weather is gorgeous in April but this particular year, it rained the day before and the morning of the wedding!  We were praying that it would clear up in time and thankfully it did!  The ground at the arboretum dried up enough that it wasn't too much of a nuisance for guests.  

In keeping with the school theme, the reception hall was set up like a school cafeteria with rows of tables.

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The green lunch trays were used to trace the name plates for each place setting.  The bride purchased these vintage lunch trays for their cafeteria-style lunch from eBay!  The wooden utensils were hot stamped with the bride and groom's names and each napkin was rubber stamped with the wedding date. 

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The dessert table was set up like a "bake sale."  Scrumptious desserts from Beverly's Best, dduk (Korean rice cakes), and home-baked goods adorned the table.

Guests could also indulge themselves in some ice cream which were served with wooden scoops.  The scoops were hot stamped with the couple's name.
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Beverage bar of sangria and limeade set up outside for guests to quench their thirst.

Since I am an in the education field, we were able to borrow teacher desks from a local school district's warehouse which was used as the seating card table.  A nameplate with Minhee and Truman's fourth grade teacher's name, Mrs. Cogan, was placed on one of the desks to pay homage to her.  Guests picked up their seating cards which were written on vintage paper.  The table number was indicated by the sticker on the apple.

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The sister of the bride was able to get this chalkboard from another nearby school.  The chalkboard was painted with black chalkboard paint so that guests could write messages to the bride and groom for the polaroid scrapbook.

Guests placed their polaroids in the vintage accounting book from Hakkas Enterprises which served as the scrapbook.  Self-adhesive photo corners were attached to pages in advance so the photos could be placed quickly and easily.

At each table, guests could also complete a pop quiz about Minhee and Truman which were dropped off in boxes that were covered with paper.  Minhee and Truman "graded" each one and send back the results with their thank you cards!  (And yes, they really did grade all of them!!)

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Even the party favors followed the school theme.  A brown paper bag contained custom made part favors-- a vintage journal, hot stamped eraser of the wedding date, and two pencils with the couple's names. 

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The kids had their own special party favors filled with toys and candy.  These paper-mache picnic baskets were purchased at Michaels and painted with chalkboard paint.  Each child's name was written in chalk and grosgrain ribbons were glued along the rim of the top.

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Minhee and Truman's wedding was one of the most beautiful and detailed weddings!  They were able to incorporate their story into each aspect of the wedding and personalized it to who they are.  It was a pleasure and honor to help them plan their wedding and bring their plans to life.  

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I can't believe that this wedding was back in 2006!  It just seems like yesterday we were planning and dreaming up the details of the big day.  The ideas are still so inspiring and fresh that I'm sure we can use some of their inspirations in 2011! 

-Sally