Hello dear Real Weddings Magazine Brides!

You’ve told us over and over and over again, how very much you are inspired by the real weddings that we feature in the print magazine and on our Web site: www.realweddingsmag.com/.

In our quest to constantly inspire you, and to help you plan the wedding of your dreams, we’re so excited to announce our Real Weddings Magazine Inspiration Boards!

Each week, we hope to present you with a new set of Inspiration Boards — with photos, details and fun from each couple’s wedding!

So without further ado, may we present…Sara & Steven Schelk, Real Weddings Magazine Inspiration Boards!

The Couple: Sara and Steven Schelk

Wedding Date: April 25, 2009

Photography by: Justin Buettner Photography

What was the most amazing part of your day?
Everything was so amazing it’s too hard to choose!

Of course I would have to start with the ceremony first, the part where we became husband and wife in front of our closest friends and family. But, along with that I would say seeing everything come together. It was important to me to plan my own wedding and have everything look exactly the way I imagined. So much so that I woke up very early the day of the wedding to be there and to decorate (with the help of my friends and family) prior to getting ready. I had so much fun planning the wedding and could not have hoped for better results. It was beautiful :)

What else would you like to share about your big day?
I spent a long time thinking about what I should use as a wedding favor. There are so many wonderful things out there, but I really wanted to choose something I knew people would actually use.

I had been to several weddings where I witnessed the wedding favors literally being thrown away, which is heart breaking when you consider all the money and thought that goes into the favors.

So after months of thinking about it, I decided to order champagne glasses, have them engraved with our names and wedding date, and tie a ribbon around each one that read “thank you.”

I realized later that this choice of favor killed two birds with one stone as I didn’t then have to supply champagne glasses for the toast.

I received a lot of compliments on these favors, and our guests tell me all the time they use them!

In 2000 he became the Head of Graphics for Jewelry.com. Justin started their digital studio photographing and creating a digital catalogue of over 10,000 unique images before the company was sold in 2001. He then went on to serve as a motion capture editor at House of Moves working on special effects for film and video games.

After relocating to the Sacramento area, Justin started his own business and has specialized in portraiture and wedding photography. Over the last five years Justin Buettner has photographed over 130 weddings and numerous other events. Although his professional experience began in Los Angeles, Justin grew up in Grass Valley located just north of Sacramento.

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