McCormick Home Ranch Wedding by Sandra Pan
This wedding is SO Style Me Pretty. It’s simple, subtle, totally elegant. The color palette is soft and muted, the flowers are off the charts gorgeous and the bride and groom, well…probably should be models. Sandra Pan snapped the lovely photographs and you can tell that she put her heart and soul into each image. It’s pretty obvious that she fell madly in love with this couple and wanted to really show the pure joy behind the day.
Kristin and Joe tied the knot this past September at McCormick Ranch in Southern California. Here is a cute little note from the Sandra, the photographer, that gives you a window into this couple’s life…
Kristin and Joe hold strong values and have close knit family and friends and it showed throughout the wedding.. I love this wedding particularly because Kristin and Joe wanted to make every guest feel extra special by using vintage plates purchased through ebay, swap meets, flee markets.. Kristin and her mom and aunt took 2 montths trying to find these plates..they bought over 200 + plates! Click here to see Sandra’s Blog posts and the gorgeous vintage plates.
The Vendors: Venue at McCormick Ranch / Photography by Sandra Pan / Band by Stellar Band / Cake by Melissa Boothe / Flowers by Yamaguchi Flowers, 805) 525-9268 / Coordination by Star Quality Events / Catering by Epicure Catering / Bridesmaid’s Dresses by Jenny Yoo / Hair by Hair Grove Salon / Make-up by Hair Grove Salon / Dress by Vera Wang / Shoes by Liz Claiborne
From Inspiration to Reality Winner!
It’s time to announce our fourth From Inspiration to Reality Challenge winner and I am SO. STINKING. EXCITED. I am completely and totally obsessed with the idea of transforming your gorgeous boards into a real life photo shoot and I am even more excited to see this one brought to life. Designed by Becky, this board is all about that picture perfect, Farm inspired wedding that is full of super chic details.
Credits: Rochelle Mort, Blooms by Martha Andrews, Twin Lens (3), Back Bay Flower Co. (2), Karen Wise, Jen Huang, Andrea Polito Photography, Inc., Carla Ten Eyck
So…our super talented vendors are going to be hard at work, making this a little piece of inspiration that you can take with you during your wedding planning. I can’t wait to see what they come up with! Here are the vendors that are heading up the shoot…
Vendors: Meagan Gilpatrick of Maine Seasons Event Planning, Sara Fitzgerald O’Brien of Griffin-vites, photography by Brea McDonald Photography, Videography by Meg Simone and Flowers by Dawn Kelly of Soiree Floral.
Farm Inspired Wedding Shoot
You are going to fall hard for this next feature. Guaranteed. Especially if you love the farm inspired weddings that we’ve featured on SMP in the past (this one and this one are my two favs). It was sent to us by the incredible pair at Henry & Masci Photography and is a complete study in all things gorgeous. From the fashion to the detailing, every little bit of this shoot is Fall perfection.
So. The reason I love photo shoots like this is simply because of the insane inspiration that can be found within. From the adorable plaid dress, which would look so cute at a laid back rehearsal dinner, to the table settings, the color palette, the textures, the details. The photographers behind the affair wanted to capture that warm, cozy, rustic vibe that sets in right as Fall comes with an outdoor affair that is as homegrown as it is completely elegant.
And although not all photo shoots are scalable for a huge wedding, there are little tokens of gorgeousness that anyone can steal. The lace overlays (which would add texture and charm on top of standard white linens) the flea market style, mismatched glassware. The baby’s breath, the homemade pies, the glamorous wedding gown. You get the drift. Okay, so there was an incredible team of vendors that took part in this shoot. Here’s the run down…
Vendors: Photography by Henry & Masci Photography / Makeup by Jessica Taylor / Veils by Brenda’s Bridal Veils / Wedding Dress by BCBG / Dessert Plates and glassware by Anthropologie / Pie was Homemade (yum!)
To see the entire shoot, including some absolutely incredible details, click right here! Thank you so much to Henry & Masci Photography for sharing this incredible spread with us. We are in love!
Southern Wedding by Simply Bloom Photography
I always really love when the duo at Simply Bloom Photography sends me their latest and greatest. Their vintage inspired photography always blows me away and they generally score some pretty amazing affairs…so you kind of just KNOW it’s going to be good. Well, this one. Is better than good. Aside from the incredible details and gorgeous color palette, the bride is actually rocking out a purple wedding dress. And it looks beyond gorgeous. So, although I could blab on an on about this one, I’ll just get right to the pictures.
From the gorgeous bride…
True New Yorkers at heart, Jonathan and I still grew up in small towns, which means for us that family and tradition are highly prevalent in our lives. He’s a Yankee from upstate New York and I’m a Southern Belle from the Deep South. Our lives crossed paths one day at Starbucks and since then we’ve been inseparable. Being Southern is a huge part of who I am and also played a huge role in what made Jonathan fall in love with me, so I wanted to make sure this heritage was spread throughout the Wedding. From the cuisine all the way down to the boutonnières we made sure this theme was in the details. The ceremony and reception were held in the Huntsville Roundhouse, which is an old converted train depot. The building was perfectly Southern and vintage all in one.
One of the very most important details of the day was my dress, as it is with most Brides, however being a Fashion Designer and co-owner of my own line it was of the utmost importance. I’ve always loved to place my own spin on tradition and so a white wedding dress just wouldn’t do. I choose to go with mine and my Grandmother’s favorite color of dark purple. My business partner and I then added all our touches using silk taffeta and organza as the main fabrics, and the lining was a pale pink to match the lining we use in all our clothing. The buttons were vintage antique and all the zippers used inside the dress were blue to symbolize the something blue.
I wanted more than just my dress to be special and felt that my Bridesmaids and dearest friends should have the same. Kiley, my maid of honor, was head designer of evening wear at Kay Unger and went to work designing some of the most beautiful Bridesmaid dresses I’ve ever scene. The girls held wooden fans with bows attached to match the Wedding dress, which was a true Southern detail.
We couldn’t leave the men out of being “dressed for the occasion” and so my company had ties made in the same fabric as the Bridesmaid dresses, which was also a gift to the groomsmen. Stacey, the groomswoman, wore a Sara Claire & Esther (my company) dress created specially for her to match the tuxes. The boutonnières and corsages were made by hand using feathers my Father, a hunter, had saved for me.
During the ceremony friends and family enjoyed looking through the vintage books that were recreated into the programs by using a book cover and pages I designed and pasted inside. Near the end of the ceremony one of my close friends stood up to recite a poem for the special moment that she’d written just for us. Very few flowers were used, but hydrangea and willow branches were incorporated into the alter where we stood.
The food itself was all Southern fair with the Grits station being the most important, especially for all the Yankees whom were visiting. The Wedding cake was made from my Great Grandmother’s special Charlotte cake recipe and topped with blackberries and homemade whipped cream. The groom’s cake was 3 tiers of glazed a doughnuts – a true favorite of his. A special addition to the food was the coffee lounge that was a surprise created by our Wedding Planners. Since we’d met at Starbucks this was one of the evening’s highlights. The lounge included homemade biscotti, coffee, and mint julep sweet tea.
Thank you so very much to Vania and Christine of Simply Bloom Photography for sharing this GORGEOUS wedding with you. It’s such a fun departure from your standard wedding and yet it’s still filled to the brim with such beauty. Definitely spend some time on Simply Bloom’s blog as it’s a candy store of wedding inspirations.
OH! And the amazing purple gown…it’s for sale. It’s $3900 and you can email mail{at}saraclaireandesther{dot}com for more info.
Wine Country Wedding by Amy Nichols
Today is a day of Napa inspired goodness. There are so many styles and ideas that you can take from a Napa wedding and apply to just about any style…the laid back elegance, the warm color palettes, the intimate ambiance. Flowers that are a little bit tailored, a little bit fresh from the garden. Food that is organic and seasonal. Styling that isn’t stuffy or overdesigned. The Napa Valley vibe is all about effortless elegance. Creating a warm and totally personal environment.
And this wedding, that Amy Nichols (who we love here at SMP) sent us…is all of that, and so much more. The photographer, Andy Berry of PurkinjeBlue did an incredible job at really capturing the spirit of the day…telling the story to perfection.
The wedding was held at the Miraval in Glen Ellen and was actually only the second wedding to have taken place at this gorgeous venue. Miraval is a destination home that is available for things like weddings and events…and on a clear day you can actually see all the way to San Francisco. Kind of stunning actually.
There are two things that I love about this day. The color palette…and the RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous flowers. Table after table after table of the most beautiful flowers I’ve every seen. Designed by Taste Catering, the style is romantic and utterly delicious. Add to that a color palette of warm pinks, greens and yellows along with homemade charm in the chalk boards and you basically have perfection in my book.
Thank you so much to Amy Nichols and to PurkinjeBlue for sharing this incredible wedding with us. It’s completely ideal for all of our Spring and Summer 2010 brides. And it’s kind of perfect for me too.
