Ahh. That’s better, right? Now since you’re nuzzled in, let’s get it going! The idea was presented to us by Amanda @ Ruffled Blog, to style a shoot for her that was anything we wanted, with a vintage twist. Since my personal aesthetic is to push the box and add a modern twist to everything I design… I knew it had to be special. Enter Retro Vintage Outdoor Cafe. Serving souls all night long. The concept easily flowed from my mind to my fingers in a frenzy-typed email out to photographer Adrienne Gunde and from there, the details just fell perfectly into place. I’ll splice our ridiculous amount of pictures with the write-up that I sent over to Ruffled, just so you kinda know what’s going on. I hope your heart feels full and warmed [via pictures and coffee/cocoa] when browsing the images below. I know mine does. Truly, there is nothing better than love.

Okay so everyone lately has been focusing on bringing the indoors to the outdoors, and I love that about photography right now. I knew that if I wanted to do something like this for a shoot, I really wanted to challenge myself and take it a step further.

I immediately concepted the idea of building a cafe out in the wilderness. We found the perfect clearing with trees flanking the area and my ideas were set into motion.

As for the shoot itself, I imagined a couple deeply in love, newly-weded, who got distracted with the idea of a cup of coffee and some dessert on the walk home from their wedding. After the grand send off, after the dancing and drinks, after the party…. THIS is where the end up. At a quaint cafe, open late, laughing and loving the night away until dawn strikes and they mosey on towards home.

I love the idea of these two lovebirds reveling in the memories of their wedding day. Their feet ache, her head hurts from being pinned up, they’re exhausted… but they’re elated. Full of joy. Full of newness, hope, and love. Full of lemon crumble cake!

[sun slowly rising on them.... DYING!!]

The idea is that these two order a slice of cake, a tea, and a coffee, and chat the night away until the cafe closes and as they walk down a quiet side road in the breaking dawn… they give a whole new meaning to the term “walk of shame”. I adore the idea of a wedding “walk of shame”- like you spent the WHOLE night out and you’re walking down the road now barefoot, shoes in hand, veil off and hair let loose, ready to head to sleep finally.

I created a “wedding style” for our models- magenta, purple tones, gold and browns accented by the groom’s grey suit. Then I created our “cafe style” to be complimentary, simple and stand out on it’s own in buttery yellows, blue hues and warm ivory/wood tones. The light posts we brought in set the perfect stage and feel for our “open late” cafe scene.

The whole idea was this humble cafe that sets up their services in the middle of a clearing- just because they can. It’s their “thing”, and they’ve been doing it for years. Quite feasible that a young, in love couple would see it walking by and stop in for a couple of warm drinks on their way home and then splurge on a piece of cake. Of course, the sitting time creeps longer and longer once you realize how bad your feet ache and how tired you are- the night of the wedding is a perfect excuse to just take your time.

Phew! Don’t you just love that last photo? I think that’s how all newly-weds feel on their way home from their wedding! Glad to see you stuck it out through this whole post! But, hey- imagine having to pick which images to share?? It was a tough job that I took on, all for the love of you my readers!

One last run-down again of the vendors in an easy-to-find paragraph for you:

Adrienne Gunde Photography for the genius photos
Carlie B Hair and Makeup for our “danced-all-night” bride look
Found Vintage Rentals for everything cool you see pictured, essentially ;)
Classic Party Rentals for the rest [lamp posts, chairs and such]
In The Now Weddings + Event Styling behind concept, flowers, design…
Ruffled Blog for the opportunity, the feature, and the prompt!
The Vintage Bride for the gorgeous wedding gown
Posh Paperie for the ever-important paper and branding details
Nick and Yanessa Bowser for making everything look GOOD with the use of their physical persons [God-given, don't let it go to your heads! ;)]

Have a newly-wed moment today… whether you’re a nearly, a newly, or a seasoned pro at marriage… soak in the moments that make you flutter and flit all at once!

xoxo,

A.

Shell’s Petals, don’t give up the good work!!

Happy Friday- brimming with promise and all things super lovely. Embrace the wild textures in your life today! Help them meld together to become something uniquely you, overflowing and spilling forth into this lovely world. :)

xoxo,

A.

So when our fabulous shoot photographer Jasmine Star told me she’d sent the photos from our cute-tastic Vintage Parisian Chanel Inspired Photo Shoot their way, I was in full-swoon for it! We got accepted, placed, and raved about so quickly it felt like a true whirlwind experience. I adored being a part of the shoot [and the head designer after the initial concept was presented to me] and these photos just remind me of such a fun, lovely experience. More on the shoot later, but for now… go leave love HERE and enjoy some great photos!

Big props to Jaclyne our amazing florist and of course my design partner-in-crime, Rachelkins!! Everyone deserves a sanity-keeper… am I right? Glad that I have mine!

xoxo,

A.

Hmmm…maybe that isn’t the best mental picture. Well, I’m new at this blogging thing so you can excuse it, right?…..(Please come back, because if you don’t Amanda might revoke my blogging privileges and then the world wouldn’t be the better place it is now because I talked about drool bowls). Anyhoo, I L.O.V.E. this table. I really do. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile. Maybe it’s because it’s the first design I really worked on (all the way down to the knitting of the silverware cozies)….

Maybe it’s this tasty pop of teal….

Maybe it’s the slammin’ brick placemats….

or maybe the square marshmallows (which we ALMOST ordered from Oregon. Because we are THAT committed to our design….or maybe just because we’re crazy…)

Any which way you slice it, this design was a zany caper from start to finish. Once we were given the rules for the Utterly Engaged Design Challenge (the centerpiece had to be mainly constructed of industrial materials) Amanda told me her idea of having a plexiglass fireplace. I thought, “It’s okay. Once her crazy pills wear off we’ll talk real design.” I just couldn’t envision the flames she was talking about. But once I saw the graphic from Cathy Olson at Love At First Invite, I knew we were on the right track. I don’t know how we got paired up with such perfect vendors, but we did! They just “got” the design without needing to be told exactly what to do. Plexiglass menu’s and placecards?? Yes please!!

And Lauryl Lane’s florals from Lauryl Lane Floral Artistry were spot on. The variety of berries and leafy goodness added just the right amount of warmth while still keeping it modern. And last but not least, all the additional details that completed our whole look.

Mmmmm. A whole bowl-full of delicious num nums, with our hot-teal-tastic accent color pumpin’ it up. ::sidenote:: Isn’t that chunk of brick missing on the right under the menu just fantastic? Love the semi-grunge feeling it gives.

I’m not much of a milk fan, but I want to guzzle it down JUST because it’s in those killer-cute mini carafes. I have a major weakness for anything mini or oversized.
And for the guests to take the modern warmth home, Amanda made up little boxes wrapped in faux bois wrapping paper that held tea bags (Yup. Sewed by the Mands herself with teal thread) and rock candy swizzle sticks to plunge them deeper into the depths of the sugar induced coma they’re already in due to the all dessert menu. Sounds like my kind-o party!

And finally, my crafty contribution, the silverware cozies.

Just a reminder for those of you who have already forgotten what the whole thing looked like together because of glorious image overload…

And there you have it! Until we meet again sweet readers.

List of Fantasticity
Photos: Two Auer Photo
Florals: Lauryl Lane Floral Artistry
“Paper” Products: Love at First Invite
Linen: La Tavola
**and a special thanks to my amazing husband who didn’t murder me while I took over his shop to put the plexiglass stuff together**

Thank you, House To Home, for bringing this vision into my life! I shalt never forget you, deliciously colorful bentwood chair. Can we have a party now or what??

Fill your weekend like a crayon box stuffed with colors!

xoxo,

A.

But this lovely was totally easy to chose now, wasn’t it? I’ll bet you can see it right now, under these words, so distracting that you may even be looking and THEN reading. Because that’s the type of readers I’ve got, huh? Impatient and brimming with curious thoughts and wandering eyes. I love that about you all. Hope you know that. It’s a trait of my own!!

Without further adieu, compliments of Jasmine Star, your Friday Lovely…

Word on the street… that’s the head table decor y’all. Like, wow. Style. Yep! Floral designer Lauryl Lane truly outdid herself when it came to the texture-heavy, interesting and unique elements involved in the wedding of [also wedding photographer] Brandon Kidd to the lovely Kristin [now Kidd, too]. I am dying over the cotton. Dying for it. It’s delicious times ten! And because lovelies are always better in threes, here’s a few more drool-worthy deets:

It’s okay. You can say it. Everyone is thinking it… that bouquet is RIDICULOUS! Out. Of. This. World.

….aaaaand it’s a wrap on my search for my most favorite ever in the world ever cake topper to top a cute little two-tier cake. Ever. Oh Melody, you are so Sweet and Saucy with your confections!

Now that I’m hungry, inspired and beautified [from the inside out], it’s time for the weekend!! Allowing the beauty above to seep down into the very core of my being… enjoy the ride, lovelies!

xoxo,

A.

Ummmm…. key to my heart, much??

I love how it even wraps the chain around the back. It’s really speaking to me. I’m diggin it today. Thanks to one of my amazing clients for pointing me to Toybreaker’s shop on Etsy!

Find this tie here and buy it immediately. Keep this guy in business!!

As for me- I have a fun filled weekend with an incredible wedding at a modern art museum in San Diego. SO excited. Really. Seriously. And I’ve still got tons to blog!

Drive with the windows down and let the wind mess up your hair at least once this weekend!!

xoxo,

A.

I absolutely am SO into the banquet table idea right now. I love it for a group of 50 or so, in an intimate setting. But more than that, these fresh, simple ketchup-colored buckets with large white pouffy dahlias are the best thing I’ve seen all week! I’ve been cleaning out my photo program on the old laptop and stumbled across it and threw it into my “inspiration” folder [we all need one, right]- but I have NO clue where I found it! Anyone happen to know??

Hope that your weekend is fresh, simple, and full of blooming love!

xoxo,

A.

1. These pictures of Josh that were taken by the oh-so-fabulous-it-actually-physically-hurts Trever Hoehne [and yep, he does weddings]. I can’t stop looking at my gorgeous man!

And yes, he has a mohawk. This photo shoot was so, SO last minute. So glad that it came together and that the babe is so happy about his photos and impending album artwork!

[That's right! Show off that ring and tattooed A! Hell yeah!] Moving on…

2 This cake is KILLING ME:

It’s not the top as much as the tiers. I LOVE the folds. A big bunch of peonies on top and I’d be just as happy!!

3. Lisa’s invitation supplies came in and they are BETTER than either of us could have imagined. Just wow.

The ombre ribbon is perfection with this grassy green and metallic teal combo. Ugh!

So peacock-inspired and fun! All we have to do now is print…

4. This picture from Brian Khang is changing my life [or at least affirming it]:

This picture from my niece [via MiPhone] is, too:

5. Popped into Z Gallerie yesterday and this is the first thing that made my jaw drop [my personal style, if I had to pick ONE store, would be the Z]:

These little dessert stand/cup/glass thingies with covers, I am 100% in LOVE with. Do not be surprised if you see them featured in the next round of tabletops I do.

CUTE!!!!!

6. My weekly Wedvice column over at Elizabeth Anne Designs [every Wednesday]!! Talk about a growing experience for me. An expert?? Really??!!

Plus I get to display fabulous pictures of tabletops and real weddings! So fun. And so thankful that the ladies there believed in me and gave me a chance!

7. My comment from Keyla yesterday on my birthday post. Holy goodness. It was hands-down the most incredible thing I’ve heard about my business. And Spain! That means I’ve been featured in Spain AND Brazil. Who knew!!

8. My husband’s EP being featured in the “Pop” section of New/Noteworthy on iTunes. Hollar!! I can’t even believe it!

It’s been a great week. And 2009, you’ve got me smitten like a kitten so far!

xoxo!

A.

[which apparently- and not shockingly- I just found out was the work of favorite OC florist Flower Allie]

And this:

are forcing me to re-think my entire understanding of the small “filler flower”. They are dainty, delicate, soft, subtle, and most of all… gorgeous! I’m urging you to re-think it as well!! Have a fabulous Monday night. Great inspiration to start a great week! xoxo!

Now, here I sit, about two months later, bombarded with the beauty and array of different mercury glass items available! I must admit… if mercury glass is a trendy train, I’m ON BOARD! I love it! The way candles light up a hurricane or votive holder made from the unique mixture is simply gorgeous. It’s unique, it’s vintage, but most of all… it’s NOW!

Check out some of the items Pottery Barn has to offer:

I loooove the large urn and bowl, with the “x” pattern. Squeal!

And a colorful set of votives:

And for more, Target is chocked full of mercury glass as well! Just a few of their many offerings:

They offer a large selection of hurricanes, bowls, and accents in gold and silver.

Lastly, and these very well may be the winner in my book, Jamali Garden, a FAVE website of mine, made me almost pass out with these puppies:

Ugggh someone have a 7pm January wedding and hang these from their arch!!!! I can just see it! And some more:

I even found this, ornate votive holder at The Present Past in pink!!!

Swoon!!

Trendy or not, mercury glass is unique and CHIC! Don’t forget it. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg… one I’m happy to be sailing on. :) I HEART mercury glass!!!