Outside the Ballroom: Postcard Inn

Looking for a destination wedding close to home? Look no further than the pristine beaches of Saint Pete and the elegant but interesting atmosphere at the Postcard Inn. Located on St. Pete Beach, this boutique hotel boasts vintage lamps, surf photos, and old school desks and couches, modernized with WiFi and flat screen TVs.

This seaside escape would make an excellent venue for smaller, more relaxed weddings, giving you an island feel that's a lot closer than key west.

This vintage inn also boasts a critically acclaimed Wildwood BBQ & Burger joint from New York City, as(Wildwood BBQ & Burger, hailing from New York City, as) well as PCI Beach Bar and PCI Snack Shack, serving exceptional barbeque, burgers and ice-cold beers all day.

What you need to know about this venue:
Location: 6300 Gulf Blvd. St. Pete Beach Fl, 33706 Phone: (727)-367-2711

Price range: Packages and Special Rates starting at $79 a night

Ceremony site: Yes
Reception site: Yes (Beach-front property)
Outside caterer's allowed: No
Parking available: Yes
Valet: No
Outdoor space: Yes
Capacity (without a dance floor): Styles: Retro/Vintage Beach

Outside the Ballroom: This is a series about discovering other amazing venues that exist for weddings and other events, ranging from castles, to traditional antique ballrooms, to bed and breakfasts, to anything that cannot be classified as a modern ballroom or meeting room. We also want to hear from you about the venues you've discovered, so please submit them in the comments or email them to info@pilsterphotography.net with Outside the Ballroom in the subject. For more info you can find it at the Introduction.

Thinking Different: Wedding Hair 101

How do you find the perfect hair style for your big day? Anyone can have traditional wedding hair but you're one of those brides, or grooms, that want something unique! Maybe it's something a bit more on the natural side or maybe you want to wear a fabulous birdcage veil. Here are some ideas our past couples have come up with.





Jessica had an awesome up-do the day of her wedding. The hairpiece she wore was made by her mother which made it a very personal and sentimental item.



During a midday break Jessica switched it up by donning a super cool bridal top hat and birdcage veil. Wade, the groom, also wore a grey top hat. Their hair style choices totally fit their Alice in Wonderland theme! Then for the reception Jessica brought out not only another dress but another fabulous hair piece!



Here are some do's and don'ts when it comes to wedding hair from the Wedding Channel.

And here are some tips of my own =)

• Up-dos tend to look better with a dress that has some sort of strap. You don't want to hide any part of that perfect dress =) It's recommended that you wear a longer hair style with a strapless dress. But then again if you've got a strapless dress and a fabulous necklace on then by all means wear your hair up! You want to show off that jewelry!
  
  
• Don't over do it on the hair products. Ladies, this means don't use so much hairspray that your hair doesn't move. For you guys out there don't over do it on the gel. It can look greasy and you definitely don't want that. Too much hair product of any kind can also make your hair look dull. We all want to look our best in our wedding photos and dull hair is not something you want in photos you'll have forever.
  
  
• Keep in mind the weather! I personally have pretty thick hair and if it's hot and humid outside my hair won't hold curl at all. If it's really cold out my hair gets dry and very static-y. In this case I'll take a dryer sheet and run it quickly through my hair. Not so much that it leaves any residue but just enough so that may hair will lie flat. The Knot has an awesome article about what you should treat your hair with to prepare for different types of weather.
  

The Wedding Channel and The Knot have so much info about wedding day hair! You can check out photos and tons of articles on their websites.

Memories: Jess and Blake

After the wedding is long over, one of the few thing to help you remember the day is the pictures. We love to see how everyone displays Pilster Photography photos from their special day. "Memories" will be an occasional post with our clients showing off how they have displayed their photos.



If you are looking for more, here is Jess and Blake's wedding, e-session or trash the dress here.

Outside the Ballroom: Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens

As a venue for events this site is far from ordinary; Albin Polasek, a retired sculptor, opened his foundation and his gallery to the public and it has remained a standing monument to the sculptor.

The Polasek is a liv­ing museum, containing out­door gar­dens dat­ing to 1949. The garden boasts three-acres within the city of Win­ter Park. It also boasts a historic landscape on Lake Oceola.

The museum’s gar­dens are a delight­ful retreat any time of the year with their labeled trees and shrubs, beau­ti­ful flow­ers and sweep­ing lawns. Dur­ing each season the gardens are filled with seasonal flowers and plants, making this spot ideal for a venue for any type of event.

What you need to know about this venue:
Location: 633 Osceola Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789

Phone: (407) 647 - 6294

Price range: $$$

Ceremony site: Yes
Reception site: Yes
Outside caterer's allowed: No
Parking available: Yes
Valet: No
Outdoor space: Yes
Capacity (without a dance floor): 250

Styles: Museum/Art Gallery, Mansion/Historic Site

Outside the Ballroom: This is a series about discovering other amazing venues that exist for weddings and other events, ranging from castles, to traditional antique ballrooms, to bed and breakfasts, to anything that cannot be classified as a modern ballroom or meeting room. We also want to hear from you about the venues you've discovered, so please submit them in the comments or email them to info@pilsterphotography.net with Outside the Ballroom in the subject. For more info you can find it at the Introduction.

Carriage Greens Country Club, Darien, Illinois wedding of Ali and Jeff

I have to make a disclaimer right off the back. Ali is my cousin. There are not a lot of cousins in the Pilster family, so when someone get's married it's a big deal. I'm so happy to have been a part of her and Jeff's special day. It's been a while since I have been to visit and this was the first time that I had a chance to meet her new husband. The wedding was simple but little touches made it so much more meaningful.













Still waiting for this cousin to get married ;)





















This was setup for their sand pouring ceremony









Wow she had some great shoes!





The dress decided to hang out at the tailor a little longer than planned, but it made it to the wedding!

















I love that red in this dress!





































I think the highlight of the day was my other cousin and her brother serenading her with a song that he wrote.













The amazing Cast!
Ceremony - Living Water Community Church
Reception - Carriage Greens Country Club
Hair - Rocco and Rocco Day Spa
Nails - Nail Shine in Westmont
Flowers: Phillips Flowers
Cupcakes: Joyfulls Café
DJ:
Tailor: Willowbrook Shoe Repair & Tailoring
Dress: Davids Bridal
Tuxes: Mens Warehouse
Limo: Hinsdale United Limousine Service
Misc items(jewelry, bride and maid of honors bag, flower girl baskets etc..): The Wedding Etc.
Flower Girl’s Dresses: Flower Girl Princess
Lunch - PF Changs



Congrats Ali, Jeff and Gracie!