Pasadena Wedding at The Cravens Estate by Kevin Wynn Photography

May 16th. 2012 by Emilia Jane | 0 comments

The Cravens Estate is one of the most beautiful venues I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.  The grand, historic house captures an elegant, old world charm that you just don’t find at many other spaces in Southern California.  Any wedding would look spectacular with the estate as its backdrop but this romantic celebration, captured by Kevin Wynn Photography, with its classic beauty and touch of shabby chic, is just divine!  There are so many little details that this stunning bride incorporated into her day with the help of some amazing vendors so make sure you check each one out in the full gallery!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the Bride & Groom… Michael and I are high school sweethearts and dated nearly 11 years before he popped the question. We had been to countless weddings together, so we had tons of ideas and wanted ours to stand out. We looked at numerous venues before stumbling upon the perfect venue in our own hometown. Although we had never heard of it, The Cravens Estate was exactly what we were looking for. The French-style estate was built in the 1920s in what was known as Millionaires’ Row in Pasadena, California. It was donated to the American Red Cross in 1962 and is frequently used as a venue for weddings and movies. We loved its uniqueness and old world charm. I don’t consider myself to be creative, but I had a vivid picture of what I desired. I wanted our wedding to be elegant with a touch of shabby chic and envisioned a rosy-peach and gray scheme. I loved the idea of lace, which I was able to incorporate in our invites and cake. Michael and I made our escort cards from trinkets we found at a local flea market, and we were able to find several items fitting specific guests. My grandmother made our ring pillow from lace and burlap, and my father made our table numbers from our engagement photos.  

As our guests arrived, they were offered pre-ceremony champagne and enjoyed a string trio that played classical music. Michael and I wrote our vows together to make our wedding ceremony a bit different. This allowed us to personalize our ceremony by saying exactly what we wanted to promise one another, without the associated fear of having your significant other hear your vows for the first time at the altar. Michael’s childhood pastor married us, and we had each of our grandmothers read a meaningful Bible passage. After our ceremony, our guests had their choice of cocktails and were free to explore the estate and appreciate all it had to offer. We also had a caricaturist during cocktail hour and gift bags for the kids. After eating, drinking, and dancing, we ended the night with a sparkler send off in a get-away car built by Michael’s dad. After the wedding, Michael and I honeymooned in France and Italy for three weeks, and we were able to visit the chateau after which the estate was modeled. Our wedding went off without a hitch and was more beautiful than I had ever had imagined.

Wedding Photography: Kevin Wynn Photography / Wedding Venue: The Cravens Estate in Pasadena, California (626-799-0841) / Event Planning: Theresa Shlimanoff of Hustle & Bustle / Floral Design: City of Commerce Flowers / Wedding Cinematography: Cloudbreak Films / Wedding Dress: Jim Hjelm / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Badgley Mischka is a member of our Look Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
 
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Napa Wedding at The Carneros Inn by Larissa Cleveland Photography + Help Me Get Hitched

May 16th. 2012 by A. Blaire | 3 comments

Goodness gracious, this next little numbers is darling with a capital D. It’s as though Help Me Get Hitched brought all this pretty together just to make me giddy with wedding glee. The cute personal details, the bountiful florals from Julie Stevens Design, the pretty paper details from The Aerialist Press and all the smiles in between is enough to make this blogger smitten. Larissa Cleveland Photography snapped up every little moment for us all to gush over, and we can do so in the full gallery of images!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Help Me Get Hitched… Christine and Matt Cox dated for 10 years before they decided to get hitched, and I think it’s safe to say the bride started planning this wedding even before Matt popped the question. They were married at The Carneros Inn, located in the wine country of California. Christine, being a creative bride, thought of everything, from the candy apple favors to their send-off at the end of the night (on a tandem bike the groom bought as a wedding gift). The couple decided to play off their last name and since Cox is a type of apple, they went with an apple theme. The bride had the right idea by keeping it simple and classy at their modern, barn-like venue. The wedding party got prepared for the day in their country chic cottages at the inn. They stood in front of two wine barrels and crates full of green apples to say their “I do’s.” The cake had four layers of wainscoting, just like the walls at the dinner reception. The floral arrangements were in a mix of modern metal and warn wood boxes to keep with that modern barn feel. All the perfected detailed planning paid off with the perfect wedding day.

From the Bride… Matt and I based our wedding around two main themes: green apples and the tandem bicycle. We chose the green apple because the ceremony took place in The Carneros Inn’s apple orchard, and we chose the tandem bicycle because Matt is an avid cyclist. We wanted our wedding to feel warm and inviting for all of our guests. From the handmade table numbers to the “Christine & Matt” wedding labels, we wanted it to feel special and unlike any other. In the end it was by far the best day of our lives, and we love to look back at all the fabulous photos and reminiscence! 

Wedding Photography: Larissa Cleveland Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: The Carneros Inn in Napa, California / Wedding Planning: Help Me Get Hitched / Floral Design: Julie Stevens Design / Wedding Cinematography: Thomas Hughes Films / Wedding Cake: Branching Out Cakes / Wedding Stationery: The Aerialist Press / Quartet: Starlite Strings / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston (Now Closed) / Hair + Makeup: David Magna Workshop

Julie Stevens Designs, Starlite Strings and The Aerialist Press are members of our Little Black Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
 
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Paper Heart DIY Tutorial

May
16
Illinois
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How fabulous was that Holi Festival wedding inspiration?  Every detail would be gorgeous at any wedding celebration so make sure you check out the full gallery to see them all.  One of my favorite details was the painted paper heart behind the dessert table.  You won't want to miss this DIY project to create an adorable heart of your very own! [MORE]


 
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South African DIY Wedding by Blue Bottle Photography

May 16th. 2012 by Erin | 4 comments

This bride is what it’s all about. She’s happy, she’s spunky, her soulful style literally jumps right off the screen. And she’s adorable. The kind of bride that I not only want to gush over, but that I wish lived closer to so we could be very best friends. She even sewed her own freaking gown. I know. I love her too. Anyway, this wedding is just about as good as it gets and with photography by Blue Bottle, well…it’s hopeless. Love that is. Oh and there is SO much more goodness in the gallery.








From the Bride… I totally started planning my wedding before I was even engaged. My husband and I dated long distance for a year and a half before we were finally in the same city. I am Canadian and he is South African; we decided to get married in South Africa because that’s where we met. My family was so supportive throughout that process. They didn’t bat an eye to come thousands of kilometers to be there for me on my day. Even though we didn’t have a very big budget, they overwhelmed me with their support through the entire process. I have always wanted to have a “fabulous DIY wedding with an eclectic, whimsical and a little bit hippie theme.” I’m so happy with what I got. My wedding dress was $100 from a one day closeout sale that I stumbled upon completely by accident with my mom one day. It was magical. Maureen Patricia of Queen Couture in Victoria made some alterations so that the dress fit my vision and my body like a glove! I also decided to make a second dress to wear at the reception. My dream dress has been the Vera Wang from Bride Wars but in case anyone hadn’t noticed, Vera is a bit steep for my pocket, so instead, she was my inspiration and I started sewing. I bought $10 shoes from Costa Blanca and made a killer necklace from a 1920′s vintage belt buckle and some ’60s costume pearls. Double score. Two outfits: $400.

The flowers were an amazing score as well, we picked arum lilies from a farm two days before the wedding through a friend, free of charge. I also asked a few other friends and family members if they could donate some white flowers, greenery and lavender for the reception decor and my bouquet. I kept a crocheted doily that my great-grandmother made for me when I was eight and used it to wrap my bouquet — it was my little piece of home that I took with me when I got married. My bridesmaids and I also spent hours scraping labels off of wine bottles to put flowers and candles in at the reception. My parents, grandparents, fiance, my aunt and some dear friends made it a group effort to cut and sew the long table runners for the reception. This wedding was truly a community effort!

I designed and sewed my junior bridesmaids’ dresses (one was repurposed; it was originally my own dress), and they looked completely fabulous. My bridesmaids wore whatever they wanted (within a color palette — my inspiration was the colors of a peacock feather) so I could rest assured they would be comfortable in whatever they wore. Our wedding cake was a Rice Krispie cake. I love the stuff and am not really such a fan of cake. Plus, it was cheap. My mom made it the day before the wedding. The cake toppers were a favor from another wedding that I reused. Because some people could only make the ceremony, we split up the speeches into two parts. Reece said his speech to me directly following the ceremony along with Mitch, his brother and best man. My dad and I, as well as my maid of honor, made speeches after dinner. I loved it because I knew Reece was so relieved to have his speech out of the way for the rest of the wedding! Our wedding was a continuous affair throughout the day. There wasn’t really a lull where people didn’t know what to do between the ceremony and reception. By the time the tea and treats had wrapped up at the chapel, the guests were invited to have drinks, cheese and hors d’oeuvres at our reception venue. We had some amazing friends who also provided live music and even wrote us a song that everyone joined in singing. By the time we arrived, everyone was already completely wound up, excited and ready to party. 

Photography: Katrina of Blue Bottle Photography / Ceremony: Crab Apple Chapel in Dargle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa / Reception: Hillhouse in Dargle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa / Flowers: DIY from Friends’ Gardens / Wedding Cake: DIY by the Bride’s Mother / Table Runners: DIY by the Bride’s Friends & Family / Wedding Dress #1: Bought on Closeout in Victoria / Alterations to Dress #1: Maureen Patricia Couture / Wedding Dress #2: DIY by the Bride / Bride’s Necklace: DIY with Costume Pearls + 1920′s Vintage Belt Buckle / Junior Bridesmaids’ Dresses: DIY by the Bride

 
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Winnie Couture

May
16
California
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Now's your chance to score gorgeous, hot-off-the-runway gowns by renowned designer Winnie Chlomin at 25% off! From May 25th-28th every single dress in the collection is on sale, even the new 2012's fresh off the runway from New York. It's Winnie Couture's biggest sale of the year and trust us, you don't want to miss out! With classic styles to contemporary silhouettes and prices to fit every brides budget, we know you'll find the... [MORE]


 
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Portland Fairytale Wedding Inspiration by Bridal Bliss

May 16th. 2012 by A. Blaire | 6 comments

Let’s throw a little inspiration into today’s lineup of lovely, shall we? Because this pretty little Portland shoot is just filled with too much fabulous not to share. A lovely modern fairytale with details galore, Bridal Bliss covered every corner with steal-worthy ideas – and that, we love.  Every image of this pretty party is completely pin-worthy thanks to Emily G Photography, making for a gallery of images that is just be-yond.

Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Bridal Bliss… This photo shoot took place at the natural light filled Imago Ballroom, a new event venue in Portland. The goal of this project was to create a look that would appeal to a modern couple seeking a fairytale wedding. Using metallic elements, crystal accents, textures and rich colors, we created a setting that Cinderella and her prince would feel right at home in. The table was draped in a soft golden-champagne satin cloth with a custom, textured, blush overlay. The florals were designed to introduce bold, opulent colors to our otherwise neutral palette. Silver succulents, rhinestone-studded chargers, classic silver filigree china, mercury glass and crystal accents brought the sparkle and shine to the shoot. A whimsical dessert table, signature cocktail and custom ring bearer pillow and flower girl purse added to the layers of detail. Our modern day Cinderella bride wore a Martina Liana gown with a bead-encrusted bodice and a feathery, layered tulle skirt. She was also dolled up with custom, hand-crafted jewelry and rhinestone-covered pumps — our modern version of the traditional glass slipper. The invitations, menus and signage featured the words, “happily ever after…” to convey our fairytale theme.

When planning your own Cinderella wedding, first, choose a neutral background. Neutrals have come a long way from the typical black, white, brown of the past. Modern neutrals like our blush, champagne, and metallics really allowed our rich purple palette to stand out. Second, add some sparkle. We love the way that the crystals and mercury glass pieces reflected light and caught the eye. And lastly, showcase your theme throughout. From the invitations that give your guests a first impression of your wedding before it’s even happened, to the dress, the desserts, drinks and décor. Each piece to the puzzle should speak to each other, having a common thread that helps convey your fairytale theme.

Photography: Emily G Photography / Venue: Imago Theatre Ballroom in Portland, Oregon / Event Coordination: Bridal Bliss / Floral Design: Bella Bloom Florals / Cinematography: Black Label Event Films / Stationery: Paper Bloom / Officiant: A Beautiful Ceremony NW / Catering: Vibrant Table / Dessert Styling: One Divine Party / Rentals: West Coast Event Productions / Wedding Dress + Accessories: Martina Liana (Style 377 in Silk Ivory with Dove Sash) via Charlotte’s Weddings and More / Shoes: Benjamin Adams (Charlize) / Jewelry: Mandalena / Hair + Makeup: Face Body Beauty / Menswear: Duchess Clothier

Bridal Bliss, Paper Bloom and Vibrant Table Catering & Events are members of our Little Black Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
 
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One Fine Day Wedding Boutique & Fair

May
16
Australia
0 comments

To say we are totally loving the concept behind the first ever One Fine Day would be a huge understatement! Unlike any other in all of Australia, it will feature Sydney's most talented and innovative wedding professionals in a fun, super pretty, and relaxed atmosphere. You'll be sipping champagne and thinking outside the wedding box in no time! Yup. That's right, they'll have beer and champagne, food tastings, chocolate... [MORE]


 
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