1. Real Weddings

A Chic Oceanside Wedding at a Private Residence in Bethany Beach, Delaware

We love this glamorous waterfront wedding! Although they had their wedding at a beach house, Katie Hoehn (29 and a graphic designer) and Sean Mentus (

We love this glamorous waterfront wedding! Although they had their wedding at a beach house, Katie Hoehn (29 and a graphic designer) and Sean Mentus (40 and a director of trade compliance) went a different route from your usual beach weddings. "The theme was the beach, but for me it was about how to dress it up and not be too literal with it," Katie says. Katie and Sean's color palette was inspired by the bridesmaid dresses that Katie chose. Instead of having her bridesmaids buy their dresses from a bridal store, Katie picked out their dresses from a store she would regularly shop at. She chose sheer aqua dresses with mini-dress underlays that were perfect for the summer event. From there, the couple accented aqua with sand, white and silver for their wedding colors. The tented reception had so many inspiring decorative details that Katie's family helped out with, from the hanging seashells and starfish to the mercury-glass and aqua vases with white flower arrangements to the pretty driftwood signs. Katie created all the paper goods at the wedding, including the watercolor invitation suite and the sea-salt-caramel wedding favor tags. We could go on forever about the awesomely beachy lounge chairs for cocktail hour furniture or the themed tapas-style food stations. Not to mention Katie's amazing Maggie Sottero wedding dress. See all the gorgeous details, captured by CJK Visuals, below.

Katie designed all the paper goods at the wedding, including the watercolor invitation suite and hand-drawn save-the-dates. "Because graphic design is my job, I had fun creating a cohesive look and feel for all the printed items," she says.
Daisy Flower Crowns and Tulle Flower-Girl Dresses
"Because my dress had so much detail, I wanted to keep everything else minimal," Katie says. She wore her hair in a half-up style with lose curls and added a silver headband for a boho touch.
"I wanted to have a fashion moment on my wedding day," Katie says. "I wanted something that was glamorous but also evoked the beach. I originally saw my dress in The Knot magazine and knew I had to find it. The champagne beading and embellishments felt like something a mermaid would wear on her wedding day." She purchased her gorgeous gown from Mary's Designer Bridal Boutique in Annapolis, Maryland.
"I don’t think people should feel like they have to walk into a bridal boutique to find bridesmaid dresses," Katie says. "I knew I wanted to order something off the rack, something from a place where I would normally buy a dress." She chose long sheer dresses in aqua with mini-dress underlays by Rory Beca for her bridesmaids.
DIY Wedding Direction Sign
Hanging Starfish Wedding Decor
Mirror Cocktail-Hour Sign
Katie and Sean had two signature drinks that they named after their pets: Sancho's Sweet Lime Margarita and Simon's Strawberry Mojito.
Beachy Cocktail-Hour Lounge Chairs
White and Aqua Escort-Card Display
Tented Reception in Bethany Beach, Delaware
Silver Seashell Wedding Decor
Centerpieces at the reception included white lilies, baby's breath and greens arranged in turquoise glass vases. Similar flower arrangements filled mercury-glass vases that also decorated the dining tables. Every centerpiece was different. They coordinated with the table numbers, which were written in turquoise on white driftwood blocks.
Katie and Sean had three themed food stations with different small plates: "Eastern Shore," "Mexican Fiesta" and "Surf and Turf." "We decided on the menu after watching an episode of 'Top Chef' and liking the idea of having small plates," Katie says. "We didn’t want the formality of a sit-down dinner [especially since it was the middle of the day] and we didn’t want a buffet, so this worked perfectly."
DIY Fish Sweetheart Table Sign
As wedding favors, Katie and Sean gave their guests sea-salt caramels made by a neighbor who started her own baking business. "This was subtle way to tie in the beach theme without being too literal," Katie says. She designed the tags attached to the favors.
Katie and Sean's wedding cake was inspired by the desserts they saw on a visit to Mexico during the Day of the Dead. "The cakes had white organic rose petals that were individually coated with sugar," Katie says. "They were like candy and created a really cool texture."
For the reception, Sean changed out of his gray tuxedo into a cubavera shirt.