My great friend and pro photographer Jered Scott just sent me a few detail shots from the shower Sunday! I wish I would have asked him for more, but, I am SO greatful for what he came up with! Enjoy!!!

Also, enjoy some of Jered’s amazing other photos [like music and catalogue photography... and don't doubt that he's available for weddings, too!] at his site and blog:
www.jeredscott.com
www.jeredscott.blogspot.com

The lovely and talented Renee Broughton ever-so-graciously mentioned me in her last blog [about Christine and Mike]. A special thank you to her and to her stunning photos! I don’t know how to post links in my blogs [apparently I'm behind the times...] but her website is at www.reneebroughton.com and be SURE to check out her blog!

Yes, yes yes. I had a busy weekend. I’m taking today to sit on my butt and not move. Seriously. I woke up this morning and flexed both my feet in bed, and my muscles were just aching with that good stretch-ache. Know what I mean? Anyway, my feet deserve the break today! Now, Jesse and Renae [the Craigs] are personal friends of ours and I opted to throw them an Orange County families baby shower [it was co-ed]. Jesse and my husband have known one another for many, many, many years. They were roommates, best men in each others weddings, and toured in a band together for about 8 years. They have a history. Renae is from Bakersfield and they have been married 2 years, so her formal baby shower was up in Bakersfield, but we HAD to throw them a shin dig down here. A while back I posted the invite making process [cowboy theme, remember?] and from then on, I think I went a little detail crazy… what can I say? I’m an event person! Here are my FEW pictures that I have from the event [hopefully my photographer friend will come through with some pro shots to post in a few days!]

Centerpieces:

Straw bails for extra seating [And in the background the early guests, including my hub and the dad-to-be, are enjoying the horse shoe pit]:

The tables:

I made these signs for the food, and color coordinated all of the serving dishes, etc:

The watering hole…

This was the guest book table which I also put the “kids boxes” on. These were their little entertainment boxes for the shower!

Didn’t get a picture of the inside of them, but the box contents were a cowboy notepad, a sherrif star, a horse puzzle, gold nugget candy, a cowboy boot keychain, plastic handcuffs….. where do I find the time?

These cupcakes were “dessert”. I put them out on the gift table after we’d moved the gifts over to be opened. This was my huge vision from the begining and I actually IRONED these napkins so that they’d lay like this. I know, I know. But, seriously, how cute and worth it??

My BIGGET problem with this whole thing is the “melted” rootbeer barrel on top of these. Once they loose their shape, even a little bit, out of the wrapper…. they’re questionable at best. BUT- still delicious!

Also after the shower was underway, I removed the leftover kids boxes and put out our favors! The suckers were my only “it’s a boy” item of the day! Other than that, my favor idea I got from a Martha Stewart magazine from YEARS ago and have been dying to see through in real life. It came out so perfect and cute:

Sugar cookies in a CD sleeve with CUTE sticker monogram detail…

And here’s the maw and paw to be [with their custom made hats, of course!]:

Yes, I know. Ridiculously cute!!

Boots!!

To go with the cupcakes and cookies, I decorated mini sparkling cider bottles [and there's my sister in the background] and passed them out to the guests:

And, that’s all she wrote! No more pictures. None of me. I was a busy, busy bee. It was a heck of a day! It was raining around 12pm and then it got so windy that we had to lay over the tablecloths so they didn’t blow off for about 15 minutes straight, all while it was 80 degrees outside. Tropical storm! But, the park was gorgeous and the weather was perfect by the time the shower started! Thank goodness! I love that we got to be a part of such a big event for Jesse and Renae. They are some of our very good friends and although adulthood and life and careers make us so busy and grow us apart, I know they always have such a close place in our hearts! After all, Jesse was the one that encouraged Josh and I to date [again- well, the second time around!!]. We love both of you! Good luck with little Braeden!

Saturday I had the honor of working with the lovely Jennifer and talented Billy on their wedding day! They got married on the sand outside of Hotel Laguna and moved the party indoors for their reception. Their colors were Tiffany Blue and Brown- and the event turned out GORGEOUS with their satin linens, candle centerpieces, and great design decor!

When I arrived at the Hotel, Jen had just gotten her hair done and was looking gorgeous!

And she took a few minutes to show me their personal flowers:

The bridesmaid bouquets were all roses and the bridal bouquet was strictly tulips. Gorgeous!

Flower girl basket

I went downstairs then, to the reception room and started helping with the set up! So, here’s a few pictures of the joint efforts [the groomsmen were actually quite a help! Of course, all of the items were in their changing room, so they may not had too much of a choice!]:

[Billy, our groom, is a graphic designer, and made up these great table name cards. They're GORGEOUS and each table name, which were beaches, had a different icon on the top! He also made the invitations himself as well as the large seating chart they used, which you'll see later...]

Favors, which were gel candles with mini beaches in them, even had their little monogram logo on them!

Here’s their gorgeous flowers on their sweetheart table!!!

Her toss bouquet:

The cake!!!

[Here's one of the cake by candle-light, from a bit later in the evening]:

On a more serious note: Billy’s father passed away just before he and Jennifer met. They really found an honoring way to keep him as a part of their special day. First, their homage to him at his family table:

All of these elements were a total surprise to Billy. They also had a small picture on their sweetheart table by his plate of his father. It was really touching.

Here’s some shots of the whole room [or, most of it anyway] during it’s makeover:

And here’s some decor in the lobby right outside of the reception room:

Onto the cocktail area… Here’s their guestbook table:

The florist, Mia, went to highschool with Jennifer and had such GREAT touches. I loved her flowers and her personality, and the best part is that she worked her butt off in order to change and be there for the ceremony and reception as a guest! These baskets with the mini boxes are full of rose petals to toss during the ceremony’s recessional. We handed them out to guests prior to the ceremony. So cute!:

Here is the previously mentioned seating chart:

Their card box was actually a gift from a family member who had already gotten married and made it for her own wedding. Change the picture, and voila! Gorgeous card box!:

They kept the cocktail area set up simple, just by providing large shells as centerpieces for the tables:

The ceremony, as I said, took place on the sand! Jen and Billy really wanted to keep it simple and so they opted to just decorate with two large bamboo pillars and some tiki torches on the aisle. It really turned out gorgeous [just wait until you see the guests all crowded in!]:

Their table for the rose presentation and the sand ceremony:

Here’s a few shots of the staircase rail and the floral decor:

Some pre-ceremony awkward shots of our handsome groom:

The guy’s flowers [loved them!!]:

Billy was SO committed to not seeing his bride before she walked down the aisle! This is a picture of him, standing alone, halfway to the ceremony site, without any of his guys, because he heard that she was coming down the elevator, which was inside the building around the corner! It was too cute!!

Getting pinned and striking a pose for me:

And here is my gorgeous Jennifer on her way out to get married!

Note the detail on her bouquet, also a surprise for Billy:

The guests finding a good spot at the ceremony site:

The begining of the processional:

And, the girls:

Flower girl and ring bearer [set #1]:

And set #2:

The bride!!!

The best part about this whole beach ceremony is that I got to sneak many different shots because I could walk behind the whole party and not be noticed!

The rose presentation [to both of their mothers]:

At the begining of the ceremony, the priest asked the crowd to gather in close around the bride and groom. I got some photos from the staircase overlooking the site and it was truly gorgeous:

Vows, rings, sand ceremony:

[That would be the maid of honor, Jen's sister Sheyanne, getting emotional during the ceremony]…

LOVE the way they ended up holding hands during the ceremony:

This cute little couple in the background you may recognize! That’s Amber and Trevor, who I worked with in April! Trevor is Jennifer’s cousin and that’s how Jen heard about me. Amber is making cute little lovey eyes with her husband during the ceremony. I loved getting to see them!

Yep, you’re right. The ceremony musician was none other than my loving HUSBAND! He and his friend, Jesse, stepped in for Jennifer last minute when her guitarist [who was a family friend] backed out!:

Recessing to “You and Me” by Lifehouse, sang by the adorable Josh Auer [and Jen taking a slow, slow walk to soak it in and listen, as she begged Billy to have this song!]:

And here they are in the after-moments [with her sister fixing her hair, as the amazing maid of honor that she was!]:

Her parents:

After the ceremony, the bride and groom went off to take pictures and I headed back into the reception room- which had an enormous view of the beach! So, here’s a terrible shot of me sneaking a pic of them taking pictures [wow, did that sentance even make sense??]:

And here’s how the room looked when I got back in [special thanks to my MOM who came in to assist for me in a pinch!]:

Here’s the table name for the sweetheart table! Too cute!!:

Baskets of dancing shoes on the dance floor [baskets and idea supplied by Amber!]:

After pictures, wasting some time while the DJ got the party ready for the grand entrance:

The grand entrance!:

Speeches [apologies for the atrocious pictures!]:

Jennifer, just being beautiful:

And my two lovely couples greeting one another!:

First dance time!

About halfway through, Billy’s mom strung a garland of money around the new husband and wife as a gift. It was so cute, and really a great little gift from the family:

A close up of that cute garland of money:

Father/Daughter dance:

Mother/Son dance:

I turned the flash off for this picture before the cake got cut:

And the cutting:

[This picture will make a bit more sense when you see what happened to the cake while they were cutting it! It looked more like they clawed it out rather than used a knife! We got a great laugh from it]

Here’s the hole they put in their cake!

Yum!

Time flies by…. Bouquet toss!

Garter time!

Bringing on the manly praise:

Jen promising NOT to help him!

Enjoying his moment as “the man”:

A few shots of the money dance:

And while Jen was doing that, Billy was……

Okay, okay, Jen got her moment as well:

You can tell they are surrounded with such love in their friends and family!
Here’s two of the ‘maids getting their groove on:

A fave pic of mine: the centerpeice without my flash on my camera [actually IN focus!!]

The last dance, compliments of Marvin Gaye!

Jen’s smile was always finding my camera- and I love her for it!

All in all, this wedding was such a huge blessing to me! I loved getting to know Jen and Billy, and we’ve become great friends in the process! She promised me we’d get together and go to Disneyland for dinner one night after life calms down- I’m holding you two to it! Josh and I are already planning our evening! :)

I’ll leave you with this, which is how I felt at the end of the night as well! Our ring bearer made a gret effort and made it up until around 11:30pm- which was great for him. But, things quickly turned down hill and his dad improvised for him!

Thanks again to Amber and Trevor for singing my praises and telling Jennifer about me! I loved being a part of BOTH of your days!

Just took a look at the teaser photos from Catherine and Mike’s [8.11.07] photographer, Atrero Photography, and this one was my absolute fave! Don’t be surprised if you see it on my website in the months to come. It’s just gorgeous! I put it on my computer’s desktop. I LOVE pro pics! Had to share… to see more visit www.atrero.com

Yesterday I had the priveledge of working with Christine and Mike on their beautiful wedding day. They got married at a pretty new venue- The Eagle’s Nest at Cypress’ Navy Golf Course. The building was gorgeous and was essentially all theirs for the whole day. It was pretty unbelievable. Plus, the room itself was gorgeous and with all of the details Christine added, you just couldn’t go wrong. This was a fun one because she chose orange as her central color and TRAVEL as her theme!

To start us off, here’s a few pictures of the bride and site as we all arrived for the day:

The beautiful gazebo and the bride’s first look…

Christine!!

Her hair was to DIE for!

Details, details:

A brooch on her bouquet was Christine’s “something blue”!

Bride’s bouquet from the top [compliments of the lovely Allison of Flower Allie]:

Let them eat cake! [Which Christine doesn't even like- but hers was GORGEOUS]:

Toss Bouquet:

Christine opted to use candle centerpieces that she found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was a collection of stemmed votive holders. It was amazing! They were a great deal and looked gorgeous all evening- definately one of those events that kept looking better as the night kept on!

A few room shots:

[They had flowers in each guests' napkin. It was SUCH a cute personal touch! And it made the room so gorgeous...]

And ceremony site shots:

More details:

Remeber how I told you their theme was travel? These escort cards doubled as favors and the ribbon color signified the meals as well. They are cute little silver luggage tags! Everyone loved them!

Cocktail hour set up:

And here is my little beauty taking some pre-ceremony pics:

Now, onto the good stuff. Let’s start with the ceremony:

Communion during the ceremony

The kiss!

Mr. and Mrs!

Singed, sealed, delivered!

The after-moments:

Maid of honor, Beth, signing the marriage license:

The cocktail hour was so great! During the time that the bride and groom were taking pictures [as they didn't see one another before the ceremony], the lovely Alexa Wilkinson graced us with her presence playing accoustic guitar and singing. She is a friend of Christine’s and was a great addition to the evening. She also had a special surprise that came into play a bit later…

Here’s what the bride and groom were busy doing!

Since I didn’t get too many detail shots of the ceremony site prior to the walk down the aisle, here’s a few of the set up:

A few more shots of the room as the sun kept going down…

A sneak at the bride and groom’s pictures together as they finish up before the reception:

Now THESE are love eyes if I’ve ever seen ‘em:

And now, she’s ready for the bustle:

This is what Mike was doing…

Ready for the GRAND ENTRANCE!

Just after the grand entrance Christine and Mike decided to have their first dance. Alexa actually WROTE them a special song that they’d never heard for their first dance. The words were so personal and touching. It was a really great wedding detail. Here’s a few shots of their dance. [Of course, she said a few words first as well!]:

After this we went straight into a welcome by each of the sets of parents. It was truly heartfelt and filled the room with love and support for the union of Christine and Mike. It was such a blessing to be a part of the evening with them! BUT- directly following this touching, heart felt moment, was a German tradition insisted upon by Christine’s mom concerning the “key to the house”. Basically what happens is that the bride and groom both chug a glass of champagne as quickly as possible, and whoever finishes first gets the key to the house, which means that they rule the marriage! It was so fun and quirky and great to bring in her German heritage [quite a few guests, including the "here come the bride" sign holders, flew in from Germany!]:

This one is them talking smack to one another about who will win…

And this is them turned around, facing the wall with their hands on the wall so that the competition can start fair:

This is Christine, handing over the key to her groom… after giving a heck of an effort [what you didn't see is that when Mike slammed the glass on the table, the stem broke off. There was quite an uproar of cheers!]

And, the celebration.

Onto speeches… Beth, the maid of honor, gave a touching speech and finished it by reading a poem that Christine had given to her [and framed for her] for her 16th birthday. It was about love and seasons of life and being a friend. Christine was crying, I was tearing up… it did the trick!

A little fix, a little veil removal, a little boogie…

Oh, P.S. that’s the mother of the bride dancing to Thriller with the groom…

Here’s the father/daughter and mother/son dance:

During most of dinner, my assistant and I were breaking down the cocktail area and prepping for the rest of the evening. Here’s a few shots of my last-minute idea for the sparklers. We displayed them early because they ended up pretty cute. I didn’t get a picture of the whole table… but there were 4 sparkler vases and 3 rows of matches. It was awesome!

Onto the cake:

This is Christine’s “What do I do now?” face:

Bouquet and garter…

Last dance of the evening… [which, of course, was Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye]

And these are my terrible pictures of their grand exit! The sparklers were amazing! Everything was so beautiful and there were quite a few people still around to send them off:

A special THANK YOU to Christine and Mike for letting me be a part of their day! They were such a happy and relaxed couple! Even though Christine was exhausted and not feeling great, she totally rocked her day! We packed up her meal and a box of rolls to go, to settle her stomach, and the guests never knew the difference. She is definately a trooper, and she married a man that LOVES her and you could see in his eyes how much he longed to sweep her off of her feet and take care of her forever. Luckily, they have another day or two before leaving for Maui… I know it’ll be a much needed and appreciated vacation!

I loved, loved, LOVE being a part of this wedding! Catherine was such a great calm and relaxed bride to work with! I think she even surprised herself! And Mike is so loving and compassionate towards his wife- their relationship truly was showcased throughout the day. Now, Catherine and Mike decided to have their ceremony in Mike’s back yard [well, the backyard of what I'd like to call the "Dude house", seeing as Mike has two roommates]. It was such a perfect setting- manicured, beautiful and the flexibility that came with having no rules for set up and tear down was perfect! Catherine had some great personal touches as well, and her job at a home builder really came in handy! That added little things like this balloon collumn:

[There was one at the reception site as well]. And these signs:

Directing guests through the side gate [with the signage] was such a perfect idea! It really allowed us to set the scene for the wedding. At the front gate, baskets of parasols and fans awaited the guests for the warm day:

Reserved signs on the back of the parent’s chairs [both bride and groom]:

The aisle!!

Mini paper lanterns!

Catherine also had bought these great pink lanterns for the patio area of the backyard! Putting those up must have been some kind of work and I think all in all, she put them up two different times! The effect was so beautiful- it had to be worth it [and she knew it!]:

There was a bit of a gap between the ceremony and reception, so Catherine had a few refreshments and snacks at the ceremony site as well, just to tide over the guests for 45 minutes or so. She also provided tables to sit at. Very laid back and casual, and perfect for what this day needed!

Guests with the parasols… so cute:

Ceremony time!!

She’s breath-taking [just ask Mike!!]

Catherine’s mom taking some pictures:

Parasols all over!

Vows, Rings, Kisses…

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”

Best Man [Mike's brother] and Maid of Honor [Catherine's Sister]:

Signing the marriage license:

Sneak peak of her bouquet:

Onto the reception! The reception was held at The Villa at Lifetime Weddings and Events. I think one of their huge selling points is their gorgeous room [with gold chivari chairs provided] and the HUGE windows in the corners. Also, it offers a traditional 7-course Vietnamese meal for dinner! Outside and in the lobby, the cocktail hour took place. Catherine and Mike had some GREAT details here as well.

These seating cards were SO great! Catherine provided me with the umbrellas, the name cards and a picture of how she wanted it, and I got to make it happen! I loved the way it came out and hope the guests were wowed as well. Unique and gorgeous- always a great idea.

The cake!! If you don’t know by now… I love cakes. I love that they’re all different and gorgeous and reflect the couple’s personality. This cake was no different! The detailing on it was killing me! So, I have a ton of pictures.

Okay, now onto some shots of the ROOM as a whole [and the centerpieces, which were perfect- bamboo shoots and orchids in a tall cylinder vase- which worked because they had to be located in the middle of the lazy susan for the meal, which was "family style"]:

[That was the front of the sweetheart table- 3 rows of candles!!!]

Favors and menus:

Floral centerpiece in the lobby [The Villa is pretty much inclusive, so this was made by them]:

Their “Bridal Pictures” [not to be confused with their engagement shots] were blown up and displayed in front of the venue. They kept one open with a matte to sign around for their guestbook, and I loved every single one of them!!

A few pictures of the room with all of the candles lit:

Everyone lined up for the Grand Entrance! [This was actually orchestrated a lot by Nikki, The Villa's on site coordinator- she was so great to work with!!]:

Straight into a welcome by Catherine’s father and then by Mike and Catherine! [This reception was such a beautiful blend of culture and tradition, and the modern touches that Catherine and Mike wanted- it really expressed who they truly are!]

The servers did a food presentation to the theme of Mission Impossible! It was so amazing to watch them all:

During dinner, her mother and father got up and sang for the crowd. It was truly touching. First her mother sang alone, and the second song was a duet from both of them.

Catherine and Mike watching

Speeches were next:

Accompanied by hugs after speeches:

And then it was a mad dash for Mike and Catherine upstairs to change into their DANCING outfits! My jaw truly dropped when I saw Catherine come out in that hot little pink number. Here’s their first dance:

Then, they had a little “surprise entertainment” for the guests- which was their dance instructor and other professional dancers doing some classic and ballroom dancing. It was pretty amazing! They did 5 different dances.

Onto another outfit change for Catherine- this time was a traditional outfit for table visits with the family. And she was so stunning!

With her mother…

At the tables:

Another toast ["raise your glasses one more time for the bride and groom"]

And a few words from the groom to his bride:

Catherine again jetted upstairs to change [this time for the last time- back into her beautiful wedding dress] and her uncle got ahold of the mic for two songs! [Keep in mind... she had WARNED me about this!!]Boy, was he a crowd favorite!

By this time we were MORE than ready for the cake, and so… the cake!

And, Mike trying his hand at opening the champagne [which he purposefuly shook and got EVERYWHERE!]:

Father-Daughter dance [which her dad dedicated "Butterfly Kisses" to her- their singer, Michelle, who was so great and acted as MC throughout the evening, translating everything in English and Vietnamese, sang this song for them beautifully]

And then lastly, her parents kicked off an anniversary dance to their song “Blue Bayou” [Michelle, singer, actually explained the story of their song just before they danced to it- something about the DJ/music at THEIR own wedding not working out and so they found this song to dance to- on the radio or something? It was truly so cute!]:

And, for the last picture of the evening, I wanted to show you how “glowy” and warm it felt on the pathway outside where the guests left! My assistant and I took the large candles from the cake table and moved them down to the outside walk way. It was so beautiful! Not sure if anyone noticed or not, but I loved it!:

All in all, it was a GREAT event! I still don’t know how Catherine did it! Before their actual ceremony they had been all around tound taking part in their tea ceremony and pictures. I actually saw on Catherine’s schedule that her make up artist was supposed to show up at 6am! Now that is ONE long day! I am anxiously awaiting her professional pictures, because I know that her and Mike are so in love it will just shine right through their faces and smiles and out onto me as I’m looking at them!

So, I think I’ve told a few of my precious brides this, but not sure how many. My husband and I run a small local music venue down in southern Orange County and I typically make the posters for the shows. My husband is in a band, so it works out nice that we both get to use our talents in life and we get to do something that we both love together! In recent times, I’ve really backed away from running the venue and designing but, Josh [hub] has a show coming up at a Guitar Center in San Bernardino and I got a chance to make a flier for the show. So, I figured I’d post it. While I was at it, I figure I’d post a few others that I’ve done earlier this year as well. If any of you want to come [although it's free and you definately don't need my permission], feel free to call me! I’ll likely be there, cheering on my man!

And some from the past:

Special thanks to my sister, who is wholeheartedly my design consultant and my brain’s other half! I always know that when she loves it, I’m in the clear. She’s a great designer and constantly sees things that I don’t. Hope you enjoyed!