Straight from something I fell for on Grey Likes Weddings, who found it at Martha Stewart Weddings… and let me just say, I have never seen anything SO worthy of gracing the pages of Martha! Wow, wow, wow. These are beyond gorgeous!

The bride, Cheree is such an INCREDIBLE paper designer- please do click that link and visit her site. You won’t regret it. My favorite from her portfolio is definitely this black-and-white wonder:

Thanks Summer for always hunting down inspiration!! These photos are truly a Friday LOVELY!

xoxo,

A.

i am LOVING this idea i stumbled upon a few weeks ago when looking into alternatives to fresh flowers at my wedding. I know, why wouldn’t you want fresh flowers, Shannon? Well our decisions aren’t exactly made just yet, but isn’t this such a creative and budget friendly DIY idea?

[sparklepant's etsy shop via sumthingblue by emilee]

you could use any type of book, printed item, or just plain tissue paper to match perfectly with whatever color scheme. here’s a neat DIY tutorial for you to try out [Flower Week: Tissue Paper Carnations]. the simplicity of these flowers is especially nice since they can be created before an event and saved for years to come!

here are some more inspiration for paper flowers for all sorts of fun uses!

[mylittlebirdie's etsy shop]

[my diy wedding day]

totally in love with these boutonnieres! [projectwedding]

i hope your friday has been and continues to be lovely! make it even lovely-er with some paper diy goodness and flower-like kisses.
xoxo, shannon

It has been literally for. ev. er. Since I posted one of my tabletops. Shame on Manda. Bad, bad Manda. Sorry about that guys! It’s not for lack of photos or lack of trying… it’s just the time! But, you can only love me now because here come two [well, one kinda two] tables right atcha!

I became obsessed with the cool, modern pallet of poppy pink, yummy warm orange against a stale, slate grey backdrop. The 3 together became absolutely drool-worthy! I knew I wanted to use poppies “sprouting” from grass for the centerpieces and the idea of a dual centerpiece became equally appealing to me. Two trays, the same size, shape and color. Filled with grass, then poppies bursting out towards each place setting. Fabulous. Of course, what’s better than having a bud and budlet tucked into each napkin! I chose to do a modern style long plate [which I love], with a modern take on the classic “menu fold” napkin that we all see these days- wrapping the plate. I did a salad plate above each place setting and to the right, leave the glasses lined on the left. So modern, simple and chic. That’s what I’m all about. LOOK at those classy flutes! Ugh, it’s love!

I chose a different colored flower for each napkin. That may be THEEE best part about buying poppies: it’s a mixed bag of color. SO organic, natural, and wild!

As a favor [on that salad plate we mentioned] we opted for a fresh, ready-to-gobble option: a trio of mini cupcakes. Not only are they modern and gorgeous, but they’re deliciously one-bite satisfying!

The whole table. What a DREAM, right? It turned out so well!! By the way- this was one of my first times taking care of a centerpiece by myself… I wasn’t thrilled with my droopy poppies at first but the more I look at them, the more I love them. It’s like they were meant to be that way!

Love this angle:

And LOVE the sun hitting the blooms:

And now… [are you ready??] for table #2!! For this specific look, I opted to add in the idea of a “kid’s table”. Kid’s-only tables are great because you can vary your decor to suit them, and really have fun with the look. It exploded into it’s own little world of table and I love it ever-so-much!!

Same linen. Same colors. Pizza for dinner!! I came up with the idea of using mini pizza boxes and turning dinner into a craft time full of fun. Provided that your catering company will be flexible with it, I basically filled this mini box with cut outs like the toppings they could put onto their own pizza: veggies, pepperoni, extra cheese, sausage, pineapple. I know that kids love a good activity! We also switched their plates to white square plastic ones to be more kid-friendly.

I loved the idea of giving each kid a balloon, tied to the chair. The more you can do to make them feel special, wonderful, and loved.. the less they’ll care if they’re in the corner or even in another room! The pink trays that you see on each seat are lap trays- coloring books and crafts provided for them are easy to use since they have a place for everything!

Switch out those mini cupcakes for a box-o-goodies, kid style! From bubbles to candy to slimey sludge, it’s a good time all in one place! And don’t forget the centerpiece…

Creating a smaller centerpiece will give the kids more room on the table to make a mess [and isn't that what all kids love doing??]. I swapped the poppies for large round suckers in cotton candy flavor- a crowd pleaser [... especially for my husband!].

I gave each place setting a sparkling fruit juice so that when the toast arrives, they’ll feel just as special with their bubbly… and of course, the straw attached is the easiest way to dress up ANY cute bottle/can! Behind the plate is the plastic craft box that we filled with goodies- easy to move and then take home at the end of the night!

My favorite thought/aspect of the kids table has got to be the bedtime basket. Since most weddings these days have just a handfull of kids, and most of those kids end up by 9pm sprawled across 3 chairs out like a light… why not make it a bit more comfy for them? Ribboned together is a small pillow and blanket for them to grab when they get that sugar coma we all know they love. Plopped in the corner near the kids table, it’s the perfect ending to a great evening for the kiddos!

All in all, the table came out beautifully and was captured even MORE beautifully!! Here’s the list of people who I now owe at least a kidney to, for their time, energy, efforts, and love!

Rentals provided by Signature Party Rentals
100% CUSTOM linens by Dress My Chair [yep, she made 'em to match my vision!]
Venue setting was at Rancho Capistrano
Adorable mini cuppies provided by Once Upon A Cupcake
Suckers for the kids from Ju-C Suckers
And last but CERTAINLY not least… for the visual stimulation: Hazelnut Photography and KimLe Photography

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful… right? Now- leave me comments on this seriously. Because if I don’t get any, I’ll assume you hate it. And if you hate IT, then you may as well just say you don’t like me. SO yucky. And I know [well, I think we all know] that you love me. :)

Have an ab fab Thursday!

xoxo!!

A.

I couldn’t help myself. It seems like everyone in the “industry” is talking about it. That’s right, Utterly Engaged. The newest wedding e-zine to hit the web. And it’s fabulous.

This shot is pulled from Summer, the author of Grey Likes Weddings, who did the floral arrangements and styling for it. And it’s fabulous. Just like her blog. Just like her. If this isn’t a LOVELY way to end a work week, I don’t know what is.

The e-zine is FREE to all, so go check it out for much, much more LOVELY. I’ll bet that you won’t even remember like pre-e-zine. That’s just how delicious it is. I was flipping through it last night and literally said out loud “geez…. STUPID gorgeous”. Yep.

Hope you’re all ready for this weekend! I’ve packed mine with meetings and design projects and fun fun FUN stuff. Remember to love the life you’re living today! And if you don’t, MAKE it loveable.

xoxo,

A.

I couldn’t pick just ONE this week. I know I’m so so terrible but I’ve been gathering inspiration for packets for two very very different styles of weddings. And thus, I ended up collecting these. For the fan of purple:

Sweet Pea + Orchids + Funky/Fun/Curvy Vase = Swoon-tastic floral arrangement!

And for those looking for a modern twist on an 80’s throw back:

Photo courtesy of the ever-so-ridiculously-fabulously-over-the-top-and-filled-to-the-brim-with-talent Chrissy Farah!

GUH-orgeous! I’d like to say that this color scheme is peaches. But, isn’t peach such a strangely ugly word? If you told me peach + teal [5 years ago] was anyone’s color scheme I’d probably melt in fear. But THIS is absolute divinity. It’s coral, really. It’s pushing the limits and the teal wall these lovelies are being photographed on…. wow, perfect! Such a wonderful compliment to the fluffy peonies, ranunculus, astible…. gardeny and gorge. Love it. All of my faves in one place!

Hope that you’ve enjoyed this shortened week! FLEW by! I have a lovely couple this weekend who made me tear up just at the rehearsal! Definitely excited for my Temecula wedding tomorrow.

Take time for kissing tonight!

xoxo,

A.

So since I just put this together, I had to put it out. And YES, I have weddings to post from this past weekend and we’ll get to that- promise!

But, in the past few months I’ve been moving more and more into full-time event design [first in my heart, now into reality], so in response to this new chapter [which is really just a bigger page of the same chapter], I’ve made a new custom package for event design only. It’s not on my website yet, but it WILL be! Promise! I’m SO excited, I thought I’d share it with ya:

If anyone is having trouble narrowing their vision down to ONE theme/feel/vibe, if you’re overwhelmed with misguided inspiration, or if the look you want simply doesn’t seem to match up right with your venue- give me a call! This is what I love doing. I LOVE a challenge, and I love an event! I think my favorite part about the idea of this package is that it can really be tailored to fit any venue, any event, any WHERE! I’d love to get to help people all over the world put together their events and make them a smash hit, for any budget.

I love you all. You’ll hear from me in the next day or two, promise!

xoxo,

A.

A day early this time- I’m on a roll!!

Yep. You guessed it. All of these similar boxed invites are REAL inspiration for a pair of funsies I’m working with this summer. Just WAIT to see what we’ve got up our sleeves. Have I mentioned out loud yet today how much I love my job and my people? By the way, if you’re wondering what “funsies” means… it means clients. :D

Make kindness your jam.

xoxo,

A.

I think I’ll make this a weekly thing because… why NOT? You know? I know, right? Amazing.

I pulled this off of the fabulous, fun, and fantastic Luna Photo Blog and I am soooo inspired by that picture on the left. Hello gorgeous colors plus modern design!! This equals a combo I could dream about nightly. And if that’s not enough, those tall centerpieces are to die for and the bride’s gorgeous. Must be ROUGH, Paula Luna! Really!!

I’m off to see Wolverine. I realized today that it’s been a LONG year already for me. So much is changing in my business this year and I think I’m experiencing a bit of “growing pains”- not all bad, but a means to an end for sure. As I sat here about twenty minutes ago, pulling pictures from all over the interwebs, I realized how happy I truly am, despite the awkward pangs of growth. I love you all for so many different reasons. I have such joy filling my heart and life. I hope I give a tenth of what I get. A tenth.

Kiss lots tonight. Hug lots tomorrow. Look into each other’s eyes on Sunday… and do it intentionally.

xoxo,

A.