I could NOT be more thrilled with the way the ideas were captured by fave photog Chenin Boutwell. She turns everything she snaps right into gold- so I’ve been giddy since moment one about this!

The stylish workshop was broken up into a couple of posts- so be sure to visit ALL of them and leave love for your fave event stylists over there!!

Wedding Chicks Part 1

Wedding Chicks Part 2

Definitely there are MORE images, descriptions and fun to come regarding this workshop so stay tuned for more! Thanks so much Amy, Jocey, and Chenin for allowing me to turn a portion of a San Clemente Golf Course into a dreamy, Nantucket wonderland!!

xoxo,

A.

This delightful sweets table that I’m sure you remember has seemed to get my blog and twitter friends clamoring with excitement! And rightfully so! Thanks to Cyd at The Sweetest Occasion for the wonderful little write up and feature of our perfectly placed desserts!

It’s an honor to be featured anywhere, but when blogs come out of the woodworks to love on something you’ve had your hand it… it’s truly a new level of humbling! Thanks to all my readers, friends, family and fans from my deepest heart… in ways you’ll never know, you are the ones that have kept me in this industry, creative and brimming with excitement! Jump on over to The Sweetest Occasion to see more of us and so so SO much more weddings!

Happy sunny day, y’all!

xoxo,

A.

And the infamous TISSUE POM POMS that [if you follow me on twitter, you heard me moan about a couple of days last week] my team and I made in the wee hours of the morning!!

Visit Nicole’s post for more images and leave her pretty pretty comments about her pretty pretty pictures! I cannot wait for y’all to see the ridiculously perfect vintage furniture that Jeni from FOUND supplied. You will flip. Like for serious.

Until then, hang on and enjoy the ride!!

xoxo,

A.

And one not-so-great from my phone:

If you like what you see, visit the Craigslist Ad for more info… or you can just email me directly and I’ll give you the sweet deets!

They’re drool-worthy… am I right??

xoxo,

A.

Think rocky-sand east coast beaches meets white shingled houses and uppercrust people. I want the design to exude style and grace, and embody the cool wealthy beach vibe as it used to be in past times. Hamptons. Cape Cod. Nantucket. Grab a Tom Collins or a Long Island Iced Tea [garnished with a fresh slice of orange], put on a long flowing dress, and join me on the deck to soak in the sound of the sea.

Keep your eyes peeled for more.

xoxo!

A.

I’ve kinda gotten into the bad habit of forgetting to blog things that have been published online elsewhere. I will stop this- I promise. It’s important to me that you guys can come HERE to see my work and not have to track us down all over the old dubbeya dubbeya dubbeya for fantastic images of wedding inspiration.

Since my commitment to designing a new fresh tabletop each month is in total full effect, you’ll be bombarded almost constantly with images and features and inspiration boards and the like here on the blog. Which, I kinda have a crush on the thought of. Love it. The tabletop sessions for this year will actually focus more on party-style get togethers than actual weddings, but I like to think of my wedding style as more of an elegant, laid back design aesthetic whether or not it’s a party, wedding, or family get-together. So, it works. Here’s where the “+ Events” comes into play from the In The Now Weddings + Events. Ya see??

That being said, if you didn’t click over to the feature on Style Me Pretty, and if you didn’t see the ridiculously delicious teaser image that I posted last week, here are some of my faves! These images are all compliments of Two Auer Photo:

You had me at “cat-shaped-wine-bottle”!

My favorite, of course!

Love. Is. Forever.

Lace table cuff?? SO easy to do and such a big impact!

Ariel shots are totally my fave…

Texture of bengaline linens make me smile! Above, that’s my favorite detail shot. SO fun!

To see more description, pictures, goodness… click here and revel in the glory of Valentine’s Day all over again!!

xoxo,

A.

I’m indebted to Abby for posting our images on her blog! I adore this Valentine’s table 100% and cannot think of a better place than Style Me Pretty to have it posted! There are tons more photos coming from this shoot but honestly- Abby posted them all over there!

So head on over to check it out and be SURE to leave a comment telling the world how much you love me! :D

Happy hearts and stuff!

xoxo,

A.

Until then, how can you resist the sheer fabulousness of this bouquet?? Thanks to Jen @ Green Wedding Shoes for providing as always, the cutting edge inspiration that I adore!

A great modern twist on the iconic and sweet daisy bouquet! Mini daisy flowers with a center of billy balls goodness!

xoxo,

A.

Boy are you all in for a treat today! I have been DYING to share these images with you guys. They are drop dead, hold on to your nickers Ga-orgeous! I knew when I saw the work of Amy & Maurice, aka The Theorie, on their website that they did amazing work, but it’s still always a “hold your breath” kind of moment until you finally see the finished product of all the pictures that they shot on your day. And wow, were these so much better than I was ever expecting! Simply amazing! A perfect capture of Shelley & Tony and all of their special little details on their wedding day.

The wedding was held at a private estate in Trabuco Canyon, compliments of the bride’s Uncle.
He built this bridge just for them, since the prvious one had been washed away by a storm.

The flowers were all provided by the amazing Carissa of JL Designs.

I mean come on, anyone who can make a box of boutonnieres look THAT good, has got to be a great florist, right??

A few pics of the bride & groom, and their wedding party.

The ceremony featured hanging vases filled with pink roses & peonies, and pink petals covering the aisle floor.

We added yellow ties around each chair, for a nice big POP of color!

The grounds of this home had an endless supply of amazing photo opportunities. It was such a perfect setting.

Shelley’s Uncle has a collection of classic cars that he has donated to Auto Museums over the years. Lucky for us, they are all so grateful for the donations, that they let him take them out whenever he wants for his person use. Score for us!! These bad boys make for great pictures!

The cocktail hour featured small square vases wrapped in a funky mod fabric that we found in the L.A. Fabric District, and single pink peonies in each one.

We made use of the beautiful oak tree in the middle of our cocktail hour space, by hanging varying sizes of white paper lanterns throughout the entire tree.

A couple more shots of Carissa’s beautiful creations…

I absolutely adored these vases that Carissa provided for the place card table.

Big puffy peonies just make me swoon…

And on to the reception details!

I loved how Carissa made it seem like these tulips were growing out of the cake stand. So amazing.

The guest tables featured small groups of pink tulips, arranged in lot of different funky white vases provided by Carissa.

I couldn’t decide which ring shot I liked the most, so I just included them both. ;)

Shelley hand crafted these super cute cootie-catchers that served as their menus. They were absolutely adorable.

And last, but not least, the scrumptious cookie buffet that replaced the cake later that night.

Thank you once again to the fabulous vendor line-up that made this event such a success. I couldn’t have done it without you:

Photography: The Theorie
Videography: Studio West Video
Florist: JL Designs
DJ/Lighting: Brady of Props FX
Catering: 24 Carrots
Cake: Sweet Gems
Rentals: Signature Party Rentals
Linens & Chairs: Dress My Chair
Hair & Makeup: i-style Salon, Los Angeles
String Quartet: Andromeda String Quartet

~ Alicia

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.

Okay so everyone… I have been anxiously, ANXIOUSLY awaiting to share these pictures with you guys. Not only because Cyn and Ron are totally beyond words fabulous to the tenth power [math style, y'all!], but because I had the honor and privilege of being not only their coordinator, but acting as their florist. Yep. You heard it. I did it. All 6 bouquets. All 10 boutonnieres. All 27 centerpieces. That just happened.

When Cynthia approached me about having problems finding a florist who got her “vision”, she literally included this picture on her email:

Yep. You guessed it. It was one of mine. Something I whipped up after having a hair-brained idea that it would be “oh-so-cute” to create a hedge from leaves, and have flowers poking out of it. Cynthia loved this simple idea and from there, it stemmed on to become a vision that complimented her long banquet tables in such a way that neither of us could turn back. How was it, doing flowers AND running the show, you ask? Terrifying. Stressful. Exhilarating. Confidence Boosting- no doubt. I think I’m more comfortable now than ever in my own skin- and I cannot thank the Ronthia enough for that! To trust me the way they did… Cynthia’s kind and loving emails to me never got old, and I hope they never will [as I KNOW we'll be pen pals for yearsandyearsandyearsandyears]. But back to their day. Their day was beyond words. And to say that I’m personally counting down the MINUTES until I see everything that Sarah K. Chen has to offer.. uggh, understatement! Okay, I’ll shut up now! PICTURES!

A snap of their centerpieces, and here’s the sweetheart arrangements, below:

Cyn’s color scheme was classic and simple: black, white, and an emerald green SO detailed and perfect that the bridesmaid dresses were hand made [and inspired by the exact color seen on Kiera Knightly in Atonement]! Because of that, we kept nearly all of the decor black and white, and let this deep, warm red in for just a few pops of color and spice!

Their event took place at the gorgeously historical Craven’s Estate in Pasadena. Could it get ANY better?? Seriously? The ceremony was out front, with the elegant, stately front door setting the backdrop, white the reception was hosted on the back patio and backyard area. With the lower level hosting our cocktail hour and dance floor… this event was dripping with history and originality!

Props to me. I’m a perfectionist and I took about 5 solid minutes tying that bow and cutting the tails at the top of the aisle. I’m intense. And it’ SO worth it. Also, here you can see that we re-used 10 of her centerpieces down the side of the aisle. It was SO perf. We trickled petals in between and voila! Amazingness squared [math joke AGAIN- were you not prepared this time either??]!!

A preface: I get really into bouquet wraps. This one was my favorite so far. Heart shaped buttons are no laughing matter!!

OH how I love bridal bouquets. I made little minis for the moms! Here are their nosegays:

I told C&R that they just HAD to jump into their photobooth PRE vows. Such cute pictures and even better memories!!

Thanks to Cheesy Photobooths for being consistently fun! Now, some post-vow photos:

My favorite moment of nearly every wedding is right after the ceremony. When the bride and groom are delirious and in disbelief and have that split second to themselves to share in the enormity of the entire occasion. That is where the love happens, people. That is this moment. And C&R shared it beautifully. Perfectly!

“Did we just….?” “Yep. We did!”

Some reception shots, before the chairs were moved back around:

And some details by nightfall:

[These are the lanterns that inspired it all!!]

So, C&R are not the traditionalists. There was no cake. There was no bouquet toss, no garter. And they tried- OH how they tried- to get out of their first dance. But the crowds would not have it, and revolted. So, for the few moments that Cynthia and Ron agreed to step out onto the dance floor and share their moments with the world… I had the honor of snapping as best I could.

And of course, my favorite pictures of the whole event. The post-party:

Me and my girl!!

We SO get each other. Meant to be. :)

Newlyweds!!! Cannot cannot CANNOT believe it! To be quite frank: I’m thrilled. Honored. Sad. Changed.

Guys- I am CHANGED by your love. Your kindness. Your genuity. Your patience and humbleness. Words can’t describe how it was for me to be able to be a part of your lives. You are so apparently in love. So apparently going to be able to ‘go the distance’. It’s with marriages like yours that, one by one, the world is changed. Thanks for being you- and SO SO SO much for letting me be me. I love the way you love one another in a way that allows me to love my babe more. I hope that through your video and pictures, you remember and cherish each and every moment of this day for the rest of your lives. I know, beyond a doubt, that I will.

xoxo,

A.

I feel like such a proud mama bird right now. And if birds could lay eggs that hatched into the most breath taking wedding you ever saw…that would be my egg. You should remember Shelley & Tony from the In The Mix posting I did a few weeks back Here. They are a couple from Chicago, who enlisted my help a few months back, to plan a wedding at Shelley’s Uncle’s private residence in Trabuco Canyon. You should also remember from the post that I told you there was still plenty more fabulouness to be revealed about their wedding.

So….let the fabulouness begin!!!

The ceremony featured Shepherd’s hooks with hanging bud vases filled with pink roses & peonies. And we hung one of these hand made, uber-cute programs from the back of every chair.

Speaking of florals…check out this bridesmaid’s bouquet, featuring peonies, garden roses, tulips, & ranunculas. All of the flowers were provided by my new favorite florist, Carissa, of JL Designs. She is BEYOND fabulous and had so many great ideas that contributed to this day. It wouldn’t have been the same without her.

The place card table was another one of my favorite areas. So simple, yet such an impact at the same time.

The ceremony was officiated by Tony’s Uncle, who flew in all the way from Korea.
It had a beautifully intimate feel to it, and had yours truly sniffling away in the background again.

You may now kiss the bride!!

The family dog decided to sneak out and make an appearance during Shelley and Tony’s walk back down the aisle. Which was totally predictable if you knew this dog at all. I swear he was an escape artist. While we were on the property the day before for the rehearsal, every time someone said he was put away in the back, he would somehow manage to magically reappear within the next 10 minutes or so. So it made me laugh out loud when he just happened to appeared again, right at the moment that they were pronounced husband and wife. I guess you can’t fault a dog for wanting to see them get married right?

Now this picture makes me laugh out loud, but for a totally different reason. It is SO Tony. He knows exactly when to ham it up. So this couldn’t be a more perfect picture of the two of them.

The cocktail tables featured simple, small vases, wrapped in our mod fabric, with a single pale pink peonie.

We held the cocktail hour under this beautiful oak tree, filled it with pretty white lanterns of varying sizes, and tied the swing with some pretty ribbon.

The reception was held on what normally serves as Shelley’s Uncle’s driveway, but we transformed the space into a beautiful oasis. I apologize in advance for how many table shots there are to come, but it was just so beautiful that I seriously couldn’t stop taking pictures of the space.

For table numbers, Shelley & Tony decided to do a photo shoot around the city of Chicago, taking pictures at some of their favorite places that featured numbers.

This one was my favorite. The caption underneath says “it cost us $2.25 each to take this picture. thanks, mayor daley.”

Shelley also made these adorable Cootie Catcher menus that we placed at each persons place setting.

The beautiful cake provided by Sweet Gems. Carissa did a FABULOUS job creating a garden of tulips that appeared to be “growing” out of the cake stand.

Grand entrance time!

Which went straight into the first dance.

A speech by Shelley’s Dad.

Who wants some cake?!?

A beautiful father daughter dance as the sun officially set.

Which quickly turned from the Beatles “Michelle, My Belle” to Rick James’ “Super Freak”. As you can tell from the picture, I was not expecting this. So as Shelley’s dad started bustin his moves, my lens could barely keep up!

Shelley is a BIG baker, and is known in her family and circle of friends for making the most amazing cookies. So it was a no-brainer that she wanted to do cookies for favors. As good as hers are, she certainly didn’t want to have to deal with the stress of making all these cookies in the last few days before the wedding, so they went with these delectable choices from Bristol Farms.

I wish I knew how to take better pictures in the dark….take a photography class (must add this to my list).

To Shelley & Tony, I wish you both so much love and joy in your future. I know you are both going to make the most wonderful parents someday (and by someday, I mean you better start makin babies asap!). ;)
Shelley, I am going to miss our daily emails. Which almost makes me sad that your wedding is over.
Tony, please continue to make Shelley smile from ear to ear, every day, as I know you can.
Take the time to love and appreciate each other every chance that you get, and you’ll lead a long and happy life together.

MUCH, MUCH LOVE!!!

~ Alicia

The Fabulous Vendor Lineup:
Photography: Theorie
Videography: Studio West Video
Florist: JL Designs
Catering: 24 Carrots
DJ: Brady of Props FX
Cake:Sweet Gems
String Quartet: Andromeda String Quartet
Hair & Makeup: i-style Salon, Los Angeles
Rentals: Signature Rentals
Linens & Chairs: Dress My Chair

Shelley & Tony came into my life just a little over a month ago. We got an inquiry from Shelley who said she was planning her wedding from all the way out in Chicago and she needed help. And what better place to turn to for a wedding planner extraordinaire then here right?!?

I have to be honest, when I first heard that the wedding was only two months away and Shelley and Tony had ZERO vendors booked, it made my heart race. The wedding was to be held at her Uncle’s private residence in Trabuco Canyon, but other than the venue and me, there was zero set in stone.

Happily though, I am amazed at all we have accomplished in just this short month. Every vendor is booked and so many decisions have been made, it makes me giddy with butterflies in my stomach to think of how amazing this wedding is going to be!

So let me share with you guys, just a few tid bits of what’s to come…

Their color scheme is a base of Black & White with accents of Pink, Yellow, & Orange. Shelley and Tony have such an awesome sense of style, so it was no surprise when they picked these adorably funky invites from the Etsy seller ellothere.

We also got to do one of my favorite things during the one weekend that Shelley and Tony came out to California. We took a trip down to the wonderful Dress My Chair showroom in Costa Mesa and tried out soooo many combinations of table setups. We literally pulled practically every linen from the hangers until we finally came up with something Shelley and Tony loved!

It was originally one of the color combinations that Shelley was opposed to when we started, but when she finally gave in and took a look at it on the table, it was perfection! Which is one of the reasons I love taking brides down there so much. Things can look so different in your head than when you actually see them in person, so Dress My Chair’s showroom allows you to find out just what that vision in your head really looks like. :)

And while Shelley and Tony loved this color combination, they definitely wanted to do something different than a damask for their base runner. Some of you might remember the trip to the L.A. Fabric district that Amanda posted about here earlier this month? Well that was for these two!

And after searching through hundreds of options, we had a winner!! This super funky, mod fabric, that incorporates the black, white, and yellow all in at once!

What do you guys think? So amazing right??

We also decided that we’ll use the fabric to wrap the vases of the cocktail table arrangements in, like this. [I make a killer stick figure cocktail table right?] ;)

And last, but not least….the caterers! Shelley & Tony tried a few different caterers while they were out here, but weren’t as impressed as they would have liked to be. So they put their trust into my hands and sent me and her parents (who live in California) off to 24 Carrots for a tasting.

Ahhh the sacrifices a wedding coordinator has to make! ;)

Needless to say, the food was all AMAZING! And the staff at 24 Carrots is JUST as AMAZING!

So stay tuned for more to come. Their wedding is just 3 and a half weeks away! And I promise that there is more fabulouness that has yet to be revealed!!!

~~ Alicia

Erin and Adam have got to be one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever met, and their wedding was probably also one of the smoothest events I’ve ever worked! This may be due to the fact that Erin is probably THE most organized bride I’ve ever met. I arrived at the event to find that Erin had provided Miriam and I both with folders (in her wedding color of red of course) filled with contract copies, layout instructions, timelines, and a contact list you wouldn’t believe! Every item was tucked neatly into a large plastic storage container, and of course contained a list of every item in it, and where each item should go. Now that’s my kinda bride!!! Talk about making a coordinator’s job easy!

Unfortunately this was one of the days that our team had to be seperated, since Amanda was busy working a different wedding this day, but Miriam was there to head up this event, with me by her side. The ceremony was held at the United University Church on the USC campus. They had these gorgeous drapes going down both sides of the church, and were able to change them out to red to match Erin’s colors!

All of the amazing florals for this event were provided by the talented Shirvan Design. Check out those Manzanita trees!!

All of Erin’s paper products were so stinking cute! Here’s her programs for the ceremony.

The reception was held at the City Club on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles. The Club is on the top (54th) floor of the building, so the views were to die for! We’re talking so high, it literally made your ears pop taking the elevator ride up there! You can see the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, & even Dodger Stadium out it’s floor to ceiling windows!

Erin and Adam provided several photos for a heritage table that were all placed in stunningly vibrant red frames .

Their place card setup.

Erin had us hang the cutest little red mini lanterns from the Manzanita branches.

The couple’s initials and the cutest little suitcase (which served as their card holder), were setup on the gift table.

The cocktail hour was held inside the room, and featured these simple table arrangements that were so perfect.

Here’s more of Erin’s cute paper products, and stunning floral arrangements.

So cute!!

Those gu-gu-gourgeous Manzanita trees were re-used next to Erin & Adam’s sweetheart table at the reception. I couldn’t believe that Art from Shirvan Design was able to transport these Giant things in one piece, and all on his Own! He literally carried these things in on his back like he was He-Man! Art, I am in awe of you. Anyone in the market for a florist with super human strength?

I didn’t get the best picture of Erin’s bouquet, but if you can’t tell, it had these beautiful red crystals in the center of each red rose. It was beyond perfection!

Grand entrance Time!!

Adam was being a good new husband and helped his wife look her best.

What the guests didn’t know was that Adam & Erin had hired the USC marching band to spice up the night! Adam is a graduate of USC and many of his family and friends shared his love for the school.

It was such a great surprise! You could literally hear the guests gasp in excitement as the band made it’s way around the corner.

Look at how happy Adam is. I believe this is what they call “Pleased as punch!”.

Now Erin & Adam did their order of events a little differently. The cake cutting came directly after dinner.

Cake provided by Hansen’s Cakes, decorated by Shervan Design.

They played nice.

And Then they had their first dance. I know, I know, cake cutting before the first dance?? What were we thinking? But surprisingly, I enjoyed the cake cutting being done so early. Since most people use this as a signal to their guests that it’s ok to go home, doing it as early as we did, actually took the focus off of that, and allowed people to just relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Erin’s simple, but beautiful toss bouquet.

It’s that time ladies, are you ready?!?

And straight into the garter toss. I love her face here.

And last but not least,a picture of Miriam with Erin at the end of the night.

So to Erin and Adam, thank you, thank you, thank you for letting us be a part of your day. It was evident from the moment that I stepped through the doors at the City Club, that you two had managed to affect every single person that you met. Every person I talked to was so completely enamored with you two that they just gushed about how great you were. They all went above and beyond to do the best job that they could for you that day. It was an honor to be a part of your world if only for a moment. May your new life together be so full of love and happiness that you don’t know what to do with yourselves!

~~ Alicia

Their wedding yesterday was a dream. In the weeks prior to the wedding, life kind of exploded for Alex’s family and I was honored to be able to help them pull this wedding together at the last minute to truly make this day as joyful, beatiful, and amazing as possible. It went off without a hitch. And Jan’s “same day slideshow”, which is always an epic part of his services, was TO. DIE. FOR. Seriously! I can’t wait to see the rest!

Now, the ceremony was held at Lake Hills Wedding Chapel and was truly and simply gorgeous. I totally spaced and forgot to bring my camera along for the fun at the church, so I snapped this mid-ceremony with MiPhone:

A couple swags of white chiffon and we were done. This chapel is such an amazing sight in person- the natural stone, the wood, the modern, sleek design. It’s amazing! Since we knew that going in, we opted for a simple ceremony focusing on the couple, and dolled up the reception site to the nines!

The reception was held at the Art Gallery in Soka University. A two-story space of uniqueness that provided us with a blank slate to play in! The white walls and hardwood floors are perfection. To top it off, the gallery was displaying a black and white photography exhibit for Alex’s black, white and aqua wedding!! An amazing and thankful coincidence! Onto the pictures.

The cocktail hour took place upstairs [and the upstairs of the gallery actually has a large cutout area that looks right down to the lower story. We placed our dance floor right in the middle with their custom designed gobo on top!!]. Our sleek all-black dance floor was SUCH a hit. I seriously cannot wait to get pro pics back because mine just don’t do justice! Okay, I’ll stop… more pictures!!

Since the linens downstairs were black with aqua runners, we reversed them for the cocktail tables. Mini arrangements were the perfect accent.

These escort card boards were my labor of love! The family gave me this task a bit last minute [Thursday afternoon!!] and I knew I couldn’t just take the easy route. Alicia and I [love you Leashy] put our heart and souls into these little cards and boards! Since the black and white damask was a huge part of our theme, I carried it into their cards!

Alex and her mom, Debby, set up a beautiful “heritage table” for their loved ones.

They decided on a “signature drink” in honor of their honeymoon and it was a HIT! People had margarita glasses all over the place! It was too cute!

[Of course I made all of the custom and ever-so-darling signs!!]
Then we headed down for some downstairs details….

The gallery was LITERALLY the perfect setting for their event!

The lighting in the gallery played a perfect roll in our dramatic impact of the event, but the rest was taken care of by the FABULOUS team at Carcano DJ [Stefani is the best!!], who also provided our gorgeous brand spanking new white chiavaris through their sister company, Chiavari Chairs 4 Rent! Their team swept into our space and transformed it in a matter of hours!

The flowers were provided by a friend of the family and they combined the traditional with the modern by using warm flowers with funky blue painted manzanita branches dawning large crystals!

Black Forest Bakery made this lil’ beauty. I looooved their blingin’ cake topper with actually was the SAME font they used for their monogram [you guys know by now how deeply in love with a monogram I am!!].

A couple more detail shots for you:

Their favors were shot glasses filled with m&ms and tied with black tulle. Perfectly simple and matched our decor, to boot!

Check out those Waterford toasting flutes!!

During dinner, our sugary sweet sweetness of a groom played and sang a song he wrote for his bride. Before starting this he told the guests all about the night they got engaged how that prompted him to write the tune. This was all a surprise to Alex and she was waving tears away with her napkin before the song even started. SO cute!!!

Straight into their first dance [this was taken from the 2nd story, looking down, and I looooove that I could get this angle. Gives it such an intimate feel]:

Great shots of their gobo, too. And now, father/daughter [and let me just say that Alex is Daddy's girl! Her father had a hard time letting her go, and their dance was SUCH a unique expression of that relationship. It was fun, upbeat, and totally "connected". I love the heart that I saw out on that dance floor!]:

Time to cut the cake!!

And just in case you hadn’t noticed- Alex is a KNOCKOUT! Just wait til you see more pictures from Jan and Tey. I’m not kidding. You’ll cry!

Fave picture of the whole night:

[... and she MEANT it!]

Tossing, tossing, tossing….

Also a great shot of Alex’s dress, which fit her like a GLOVE [despite her stress level rising and her losing 2 INCHES two weeks before the wedding... thank goodness for last-minute alterations!]!!!

Alex basically threw it purposefully RIGHT at her best friend and Maid of Honor, Megan, who has been with her boyfriend for 9 years. This is her rejoicing at getting the correct angle, right to Megan:

And this is Alex being embarrassed by her husband [already and it'd only been a few hours!]:

Alex: there’s nothing wrong with modesty! :)

She was a great sport, though, and Brad definitely had fun with it! The last shot of the evening I snapped while walking around during open dancing. When the lights in the gallery were turned down, we relied on the candles and up-lighting to set the tone. The result was truly magical. It was such a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. I totally loved it!!!

A&B: I miss you two already! I know I said this already but I’m truly happy/sad about all of this. So, so, SO happy that you two are married. So happy that it went perfectly, that the stress is over, and that this new chapter in your life is beginning. I remember how excited you two were when we first met and to see it all fallen into place and to have lived it with you two… wow- truly remarkable. I’ll have to learn how to live without our monthly laugh-fests [err, meetings] and without our daily emails! You two have a love that will last a lifetime, I just know it. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of your story. It’s something I treasure very much. I hope this week is full of so much love and happiness, and memories to last a lifetime [but hopefully none similar to your parents' honeymoon stories, A!!!]!

xoxo,

A.

We just met up this week and laid the invite comp out on the table and are pleased as punch with the results! One of their groomsmen whipped them up a personalized monogram graphic that will run as a theme throughout the reception. Since the font in it was easily identifiable to me as “Scriptina”, I went for it with the invites and matched it up!

Alex’s main priority and request for the invitations was this: simple, cheap, and easy. She doesn’t “get” spending money on something people throw away! So, we kept it simple with two inclusions- the rsvp, and the map/directions card. We’re using all black ink to print, to save $$, and going with an aqua envelope and ribbon around the invite. I’ve already picked up the ribbon from the infamous Fabric Barn in Long Beach- for a steal, mind you- and we’re off and running! Thought I’d share what we’ve got, for all you D-I-Y gals out there:

The main invitation will be white cardstock with a black backing cardstock:

Page 2 will be double-sided print that we will get perforated to separate the RSVP postcard from the map/directions card:

They’ll be tied together with the aqua ribbon, as pictured in the first picture, and then we’ll be using a matching aqua “open end” #10 envelope [yep, the same size envelopes you buy at the store for your mail... the invites are about the size of 1/3 sheet of paper!].

Does this get anyone inspired for the weekend or WHAT? Have a good one, I’m off to work on more paper products, meet with more clients, walk around more sites, and have a TON of FUN! xoxo!

But, here’s the problem. And this, to me, is a biggie. I dropped the ball!! My LAST wedding of the year [well, at this point] and I forgot my camera. I haven’t done that yet this year I don’t think. This was one event that I knew I was going to be obsessed with taking photos of. Luckily, my assistants came through with their point-and-shoot cameras and I got to walk away with some pictures. But, truly, I’m am on my tippy tippy toes waiting for Gina Rangel to show me what the day looked like through her lens!! My pictures are mostly of details. They’re mostly fuzzy.

Yes, this is a flashback to a year and a half ago when I was taking pictures eerily similar to this at every event! I’ve been blessed [or, spoiled rotten] with a great camera and some lucky shots. But, that didn’t stop me from snapping away with an out-of-focus point and shoot camera in low lighting!! Onto the pictures…

When I got there, my amazing friend Christine Saunders of the Spiraled Stem was dropping off the personals. Her bouquet was to DIE for. Christine was SO amazing this day- halfway through the day she found out her house in Anaheim Hills was being evacuated, so she had to drop everything and run to pack up [seeing as her husband Darrel is her brute force for setting up on the day-of, she left him there at the nightclub with her other designer]. We are so thankful that she is okay and that her home is still in tact!! Pictures of the gorgeous bridal bouquet:

One thing I absolutely adore about Christine’s bouquets is that they are always REALLY “spiraled stemmed”, which means they’ll stand up on their own. I love nothing more than a huge fluffy bouquet that I can put on a table and take a picture of!

Those large, wide-open peonies [in November] are the death of me. I love them TOO much.
Ceremony time! The church:

Um, Kelly’s dress was flown in straight to her from Italy with a matching veil. It was to DIE for. It’s mermaid style but instead of sleekly flowing out at the bottom, it POOFED at the bottom with a gorgeous, high-end, detailed tulle that was seriously ‘tarded gorgeous. And, she wore it and WORKED it. Did I mention she is amazingly girly??

YAY!

Just after the ceremony. This is the BEST [and one of the last] shots of the couple I got. They are SO. IN. LOVE. But more than that… courteous, compassionate, and totally sane in one of life’s most stressful situations! Oh yah, told you the dress was HOTTT!

Into the club…

Kelly’s menus, escort cards, and table numbers [which followed suit with her invites] were all courtesy of White Aisle. Swoon!!

Um, this cake. This cake is unspeakable. Serious! Initially, Kelly explained to me that they wanted cupcakes because they hated that at weddings, although the cake is pretty, you don’t get to see it when it’s served to you. The concept is that everyone is getting a little piece of “art” with their cupcake. Not only were they gorgeous, they were de-lish! Rossmoor Pastries did a wonderful job collaborating with Kelly on this vision!!

White chocolate sticks with gold flecks on them. Then, the whole thing has a light drizzle of white chocolate.

[More like the key to his heart...]

Christine’s team did a fabulous job in her emergent absence finishing up the decor!

The sweetheart table was kept simple, heavy candles and floating orchids with petals around.

The guest tables were all banquets and were piled with huge cylinder vases with submerged flowers, floating candles, candle hurricanes, tea lights, shiny bead runners, TWO favors per person… all on top of white crushed satin linens. Not bad, eh??

The chiavari chairs didn’t hurt either! This place was 100% classy!! And the screen you see pictured above actually had their monogram on it for the entire evening. They had 3 screens total… Kelly and Jasson were all over the place!! I loved it!

I loved these skinny cocktail tables that we lined with stemmed votive holders. MY goodness. They are amazing!

Since it’s a club, we had the pleasure of working with their all-star lighting forces. We pin spotted the tables in pink!! And the cake was lit up in white [as you saw above]!

You can catch their two favors in the corner, there. Boxed See’s Candy truffles in one, and a mini personalized champagne split in the other!!

Menus in champagne corks. And more of the faves:

Sine I HEART Kel’s bouquet big time, I tried to take a few cool shots with the camera I had handy. They didn’t come across totally, but, hey, I still love them [and flowers].

This tube in the picture below is headed from the Bamboo Lounge to where the reception was. This is where they had their Grand Entrance! If you squint, you can see them back in there! It’s also the private room we had later into the evening, after the club opened. It was nice that our guests had a place to go and still be a part of the wedding!!

After their delightful Grand Entrance, we opened the dinner area and invited guests in for the toasts! Heartfelt and sweet [and totally blurry]. After dinner, it was time for dancing! Their sweet FIRST:

Which was followed by parent dances and then some FUN open dancing for the remainder of the evening! It was low-key, laid-back, and soo stylish. I truly loved this day!! Since their cake was such a work of art, I grabbed their rings for a few cute pictures, again, trying to pull it off with the camera I had. Still cute!! Oh yah, and Kelly is BLINGIN’ big time! Her ring finger must be a serious like size 4! Soo tiny!

Her ring is so perfectly her! Just like the wedding!

For dancing late into the evening, Kelly changed from the fluffy wonder that IS her wedding dress into this short, pink and gold dancing dress. I love that the club guests would never even know she was the bride!!

All in all, the evening was beyond wonderful! Of course, with the fires ranging so near to us, it was a bit of a tense morning. But, you would never know! As the sky was a-glow with orange and ash, Kelly was radiant, calm and collected. Jason was kind and courteous. And they were SO READY! Truly, an honor and a blessing. As I woke up this morning, I received this:

Hi Amanda,

Kelly and I wanted to thank you immensely for the amazing work you did on our wedding. I truly was impressed with your diligence, attention to detail, multitasking and all-around solid performance. I cannot imagine how we would have made it without you. Running an event like this is a huge endeavor and having you there made it a piece of cake. Thank you for the outstanding job you did. I would recommend you to anyone and everyone who asked. Of all the costs we incurred doing this, yours was EASILY the most worthwhile.

Very Best,

Jasson & Kelly Gilmore

Remember how I’m always saying that my clients are picked FOR me? Yeah. Seriously. I couldn’t have done a better job than if I was picking them myself! I love you two! Thank you for inspiring ME, just by being who you are!!!

The black and white, thick striped extra-durable-and-washable satin was found and made into a table topper by moi! It’s truly incredible to the touch. The brown “new damask” runner was also found and made by me, including the matching napkins, which I loooove the look of! I bought the white vase collection at Ikea and they didn’t need a thing to dress them up to fit this look. Kristin stuffed them full of creamy white flowers including these funky heart-shaped brown pods that I provided her with. I really wanted something textural for the florals in these. We included a mini little bud vase with a single stem and incorporated the table number right onto it! We wrapped the napkin between the two square plates and resting on top was a folded black and white napkin with their licorice skewer as a mini favor! For the real favors [pictured below] modern shaped Chinese To-Go boxes were filled with carmel waffle cookies and spreadable chocolate for dipping, all packaged with a monogram and a plastic knife! Here’s some detail shots for you all:

To see more, and there are definitely more details to see, visit the Tabletop Gallery on my site! Hope you love it as much as I do!!

Court and James are one of the most fun couples I’ve had. They met over in England where Courtney was in school for Interior Design and where James lived! Once they met, they were inseparable! I love their infectious style of love, and their style for their big day rooted in their creative careers [James is a graphic designer] was a chic soiree! I was honored to be on board for the ride!!

They opted for a late, 8pm ceremony time spot at the historic and gorgeous Mission Inn in Riverside. Their chapel is seriously breath-taking. My apologies in advance that my pictures feel sub-par. But I had to give you a taste of their day as best I could!!

With the late evening sky, the outside of the chapel was incredible!!

I heart the pin spot light! And now, my blushing bride…

Ready for the ceremony!!

Yes, her dress has an over-the-top-awesome side bow. I loooove the asymmetry!!

The glowy reflected from the church’s gold altar area made the most scrumptious vibe lighting ever!!

And onto some reception details [sorry, I took these with my flash off and had to lighten them quite a bit... the quality is... meh]:

C&J had an intimate affair for about 75 of their closests friends and family, so they opted for 3 long banquet-style tables to fill the courtyard. It was amazing and totally a perfect way to compliment their stylish wedding!

Our courtyard [near the Ho-O-Kan room in the Mission] had two levels. The top level was our lounge area, and this was taken from up there, down to the dining area:

John Suarez and his wife at After Dark Entertainment not only rocked this vibe-y couples very specific music selections but they provided up-lighting in the upper lounge area that was to DIE for!!

Alternating purple and golden tones…

The cake was incredible! White and orange marbled chocolate wrapped around buttercream. It was simple, it was artsy. It was delicious. All that you can ask from a cake. And these urns full of oranges were everywhere! Accented with stephanotis and gardena, they smelled delicious, too!!

Serving Set:

More of the vibe-y lounge area details [did I mention the entire event was DRIPPING in candles and candle light??]:

A large gold clam held oranges on the punch table:

One more cake pic before heading back down stairs…

C&J opted for place cards at each guest’s seat. This worked out great! Because we provided the guests with a pen, and on the back, we created an instant guest book! The cards were collected by my team prior to the meal being served, and placed into their guest book which contained pages of glued mini envelopes that we slipped the cards right in to! I loved it!!

A quick snap of the very quick portrait session that the bridal party had:

Their photographer, Chip Shaffer, was great! I can’t wait to see images! And onto the GRAND ENTRANCE!

Real men carry trains! :)

We enjoyed our dinner and it was onto speeches…

And James himself:

A close up shot of some of the table’s decor:

I looooved that they used palm trees everywhere! And I mean, EVERYWHERE. In the church, outside of the church, all around the courtyard, ON the table tops [3 per table, actually], in the entry, in the lounge area… palms. Palms! Here’s a cute shot I grabbed of their guest book:

And another… love TRUMPS all!!

Being that we are the hip socialites that we are… no real formal “traditional” elements, and no dancing. It was really a nice that fostered relationships and love- kept the focus on the people who came out to be with them, and on James and Courtney’s love for everyone there [especially each other] as well! So, onto cake cutting we go!!

Sooo in love. Soooo cute!

A last picture to leave you with… during pack up, I grabbed a shot of some of the centerpiece vases that Courtney [yes, her and her mother] put together:

Basically, just orchid heads jammed into clean, slim vases. I love it!!

Honestly, the night was SO full of love and wonder. It was like being a part of something magical. Is that totally overboard sounding?? Court and James “international love” will surely continue for years and years to come!!

C&J: I truly love and admire your love for one another! It’s tender, it’s strong, it’s willing to go the distance. Seeing two people so connected and so real is remarkable! I really treasure your wedding as a fond memory of mine, and I treasure our friendship in the future as well! My absolute BEST to you two, beaming newlyweds!! xoxo!

First thing’s first: Craig and Laura. Your ceremony was filled with SO much love and emotion that I found myself crying right along side of Craig as he told Laura “I tell you ‘I love you’ every day because you deserve to hear it” [through big, tear-filled eyes]. Holy moly. Your love, rooted so deeply in friendship and a true understanding of one another, is what they make movies from! It’s what real LIFE is about!!!

Now, onto the day:

Posh Productions catered our event and took care of all our rentals, which was FAB. A shout out to Kim… you are amazing!!! Oh, did I mention that this whole event took place at the top-notch Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado [shout out to Julie... haaay!]. Anyhow, Posh took care of so much and was able to free up me and my team to do what we do best- serve the bride and groom! Here are some fab details from our day:

Cocktail table cuteness!

Prim and Pixie supplied all of Laura’s printed paper goods and I LOVED them! I’m a sucker for all-matching printed paper materials! You’ll see much, much more later…

Becky Sykes provided our florals!

And that arch is NO easy task!!

Onto the ceremony!!

This is Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the daughter of my darling bride and groom. She’s amazing. She was definitely not in the mood for her dress [or really, walking for that matter]. So, here she is, being walked in with her flower girl basket by our MAN of honor. Yep, that’s right. Man of honor!

Here’s Laura!

Eli, our Man of Honor, is SUCH a sport- holding her bouquet and fixing her train- and doing it all with pride! I love that he embraced it so whole-heartedly!!

Their own personal vows:

Renee Broughton is so super duper fab. I heart her big time!

You know when like you work with people all the time and then you don’t work with them and then you suddenly work with them again….?? Yeah, that’s what it’s like for Renee and I. The BEST easy-going photographer!!

Things about the above picture that Amanda thinks is sexy:

1. Craig is totally ALL the way over to Laura [like in Hitch "you go 90, I come 10!"]… Craig’s at 120% for sure!

2. The way he’s holding the back of her head

3. That THIS came next…

Kiss on the lips, kiss on the forehead. Nothing says I love, honor, and cherish you more than that!!!

This picture, below, reminds me so much of Josh and I…

and THAT makes me happy!!

Okay, MORE details!!

Since Craig and Laura have had quite a few people of importance pass away, they set up this honorary table for them to be remembered. I thought the quote was so touching and poignant! They had a candle and place card for each person, which you’ll see later…

When your colors are cornflower blue and orange, you just HAVE to rock a blue cake. I mean, really!

L & C had an intimate wedding of less than 100 guests, and in order to fill a room of that size, we focused on spacing the tables well. It helped that our SUPER cool square tables seated 8!

Oh how I love the hustle and bustle of the pre-event hour!!

Their engagement photos kicked some serious tail!!

That’s probably my favorite engagement pic turned guestbook cover I’ve seen yet!!
Sneaking back down to steal some portraits…

And now, for the MAIN EVENT! Grand Entrance!!

I caught this quick moment as the pastor gave his blessing of the meal. I loved that Laura picked up Brooklyn and Craig embraced them for this moment…

One more dinner time shot of the cake…

And here are the honoring candles that I spoke of earlier:

The toasts by the Best Man and… Man of Honor!

Then, her Dad gave an embarrassing speech… LOVE dads!

Loved this mother/daughter moment!

But all was forgiven come dancing time…

Laura and her dad are like… BFF

And Craig is definitely Momma’s little boy!

Our precious, sweet little Brooklyn kept sticking her fingers into the cake! Frosting on the sides of her mouth confirms it!

But, it’s ok… it was time for the cut anyway!!

And then, THIS happened, in the blink of an eye…

Wow, guys. WOW!

And I snuck this as they went to clean off… too cute!!

The bouquet toss [soo super vibe-y indie]!

Garter:

And of course, Laura’s brother caught the garter!!

NOT stoked!

All in all- the night was off the HOOK! Fly By Night gave us a karaoke set up and provided some killer background tunes for the guests! It was a total party and everyone had a GREAT time!

L & C: Josh and I loved being a part of your big day! Your love for one another is so apparent. I’m truly honored that you two came into my life [well, ok, Brooklyn makes 3]!! I wish you the best forever and ever and ever! xoxo!