You California brides really do enjoy the best of the best. Take for example, The Kirstie Kelly Showroom. Not only is it nestled next to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, it houses some of the most gorgeous gowns we’ve ever seen here at SMP. The atmosphere is intimate and elegant yet high end and relaxed all at once. We’re talking wedding dress shopping heaven ladies. You’ll be welcomed by some seriously experienced Bridal and Eveningwear stylists who will guide you as you find the perfect gown or dress. Kirstie herself is often on hand for many of the fittings and even hand drapes to your body ensuring the perfect fit.
The Showroom houses all of Kirstie Kelly’s collections–Bridal, Bridesmaids, Flower Girls, Eveningwear, Essentials and Accessories–that reflect the designer’s desire to bring high fashion, classic styles and beautiful accessories to every woman. They even have an Atelier onsite so your dress can be customized to maximize your shape and represent your true, personal style.
If you’re outside of the Los Angeles area, make sure to check out their Borrow Me program and they’ll ship you dresses to try on right in your very own home! Talk about a great service! And if you mention that you saw this ad on SMP they’ll give you 10% off your first purchase! Offer is valid until December 31, 2012. Happy dress shopping! xoxo
We L.O.V.E a fabulous traditional soiree here at SMP and this darling Monterey Plaza Hotel wedding is EXACTLY what we needed to kick off the week. With gorgeous florals and event design by Therese Jacinto Design, a pair of stunning Badgley Mischka heels and a breathtaking seaside setting, you’ll spend every last second of your Monday falling head over heels in love. Yep, it doesn’t get any better than a day of pretty, pretty inspiration and with an entire gallery overflowing with brilliant images captured by Michael L’Heureux Photography, you can mark that a guarantee. Click here for more.
Click here for the FULL wedding!
From the Bride… When James and I began planning our wedding, we both agreed that we wanted to keep things fairly simple and stress-free. And we were really fortunate in that the vendors we worked with — from our jeweler to our seamstress to Michael at the tux rental store — were just the nicest people! But three in particular stand out above all the rest: our venue, photographer and florist were like the Triforce of wedding vendors. Having a fancy wedding, much less one nice enough to submit to a wedding blog, was just about the furthest thing from our minds during the planning process, and I think it’s really a credit to these three in particular that our wedding turned out as nicely as it did. James and I chose to get married in Monterey because we love the beach (we are honeymooning in the Tahitian islands!), and we chose the Monterey Plaza Hotel in particular because it had such a romantic and elegant beach resort atmosphere, as well as an incredibly helpful and courteous catering manager, Alexis Davis. I think we chose well because, in the end, both of these factors contributed heavily towards our achieving not only a lovely wedding, but an incredibly stress-free one as well! I was fortunate enough to be referred to Therese Jacinto for my wedding flowers. An event/interior designer by trade, Therese had impeccable taste and a flair for floral design. For example, after I mentioned how I’d wanted to incorporate some subtle oceanic elements into our décor but was worried about it being campy or touristy, she put together a romantic driftwood/pearl/seashell design piece for our guestbook table that was so elegant and beautiful, it just took your breath away! Her centerpiece arrangements were classic and timeless, but at the same time modern and fun. She convinced me to consider carnations as a more economical option for the pomander balls I so badly wanted — even though carnations were the one type of flower I was dead-set against — and they turned out absolutely adorable!
One of my favorite parts of the wedding was right after the ceremony when the wedding party took our photos on the beach against the backdrop of an old abandoned cannery building. We waited until after the ceremony for this shoot because we knew there was a good chance my dress would get dirty on the beach, and it’s lucky we did because we ended up getting caught in a pretty big wave at one point! Our photographer, Michael of Michael L’Heureux Photography, was so awesome about it, and I didn’t even realize he probably spent the rest of the evening walking around with soaking wet shoes/socks until much later when one of my bridesmaids mentioned it. It really made our wedding that much better having a photographer who was not only talented and skilled professionally, but someone we all genuinely liked as a person as well. Another highlight was during our dinner reception… James and I love playing games, so we had prepared a pub trivia game where the questions pertained to our lives together, including a music and picture round that got a lot of laughs. Our DJ had never even heard of pub trivia, but he played his role as Quizmaster Joe with relish, and the game ended up being a blast!
At the onset of our planning, James and I agreed that aside from our venue, florist and photographer, we’d be more economical in our budgeting. For example, I bought a gorgeous used Monique Lhuillier dress from Preownedweddingdresses.com for more than 50% off the retail price. As an added bonus, the previous owner of the dress had been the same size as me, so alteration costs were minimal. As another example, James and I made our invitations and programs using resume paper from Target and card stock from Kinko’s. We saved a bundle and got compliments! Hopefully, our wedding gives hope to other brides out there, who perhaps don’t want to spend a fortune or dedicate a stressful year of their life micromanaging every detail, that a lovely wedding can be had without either of the aforementioned issues.
Wedding Photography: Michael L’Heureux Photography / Wedding Venue: Monterey Plaza Hotel / Floral + Event Design: Therese Jacinto Design / Catering + Cake: Monterey Plaza Hotel / DJ + MC: Joe Cannizzaro of Kelly Productions / Officiant: Ken Robins / Engagement Ring: Custom design by Chabo’s Jewelry / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier via Preownedweddingdresses.com / Alterations: Studio Trousseau / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Makeup: Narimi Baek / Hair: Maureen Takano + Nina Wu / Groom’s Attire: Black Tie Tuxedos / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Angelo / Bridesmaid Bracelets: Rachel Leigh
This wedding is seriously straight out of the pages of a vintage chic fairy tale romance. I’m seriously dying over how sweet it is that the bride had her bouquet made to look just like the one her grand-grandmother carried down the aisle, based on an old photograph. And no fairytale would be complete without gorgeous images and we’ve got Evynn LeValley Photography to thank for these beauties! Click here for even more.
Click here for the FULL wedding!
From the bride… When Alex and I began planning our wedding, we wanted to have a party that would be worth the travel time. Alex is from Surrey, UK, and I am from Carmel Valley, CA, so we had people flying in from all over the place. We wanted a quick but personalized civil ceremony, lots of food, lots of beer and wine, and great music. We chose the venue, Los Laureles Lodge, a historic stagecoach stop and “rusticating” spot for two reasons: the ceremony site (under an enormous oak tree with church pews), and the on-site bar. Very. Important.
Alex and I wrote the ceremony with excerpts from Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Philip Larkin, and Catullus. My dad and I walked down the aisle to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” covered by the Yale cello group Low Strung. For the flowers, we wanted a “just picked” feel with lisianthus, sweet pea, maiden hair fern, and garden roses. The bouquets were based on a photo of my great-grandmother’s wedding bouquet. Alex and I collected all the assorted vessels and bottles for the centerpieces over a period of about 18 months. At the tables, we had a different picture frame with a cut-out number pasted onto scrapbook paper in vintage prints. Alex created all of the table numbers, which took hours using an X-ACTO knife and cutting board! For the reception, we let the natural landscape and surrounding views do all the decorating for us. My mom, aunt, mother-in-law, and I created all the name tags for the seating and all the escort cards. We pilfered my grandmother’s garage for old picture frames, which served as the escort card displays. The bridesmaids wore B2 by Jasmine Bridal in misty pink, which we had shortened to just above knee-length. My mom and I designed the necklaces and bracelets they wore and my mom made them herself.
We had a big party in the Los Laureles Saloon the night before the wedding. Mainly, it was another excuse to spend time with all the people who had traveled so far to join us. The people who attended the wedding really made the day feel exquisitely intimate. Alex’s best man, Mark, and his wife Jen came with their five-month-old baby Noah, and were tremendous troopers, traveling from England to spend four days with us. My maid of honor, Hayley, traveled from Missoula, MT, and immediately jumped into the spirit of the occasion — we are proud that on our wedding license we have signatures from such disparate locations as Bristol, UK and Montana, USA. After meeting completely randomly in a pub in Inverness, Scotland, and after four years of international courtship, Alex and I are pleased that the wedding day confirmed our commitment to each other and to our families and friends.
Photographer: Evynn LeValley Photography / Celebrant: Denise Adkins / Wedding Dress: Watters via Epiphany Bridal Boutique / Shoes: Stuart Weitzman / Florist: Rose Hip Floral Design (831-293-8045) / Hair: Shannon Crow of Artisans Salon / Makeup: Ashley Krotje, bride’s friend / Venue: Los Laureles Lodge / Bridesmaid Dresses: B2 by Jasmine Bridal / Table Numbers + Escort Card Displays: DIY by bride and groom / Bridesmaid Jewelry: DIY by bride and her mother
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