Style Me Pretty

Wrap It Up Pretty Little Black Book!

I’ve been waiting all week to show you lovelies this engagement session. It’s bordering on embarrassing how much I’m crushing on this couple. And not just because they are amazingly adorable and fantastic photographers. But also because of this stinkin’ cute proposal. You see, they hired some of our faves, bobbi+mike, to take a few promotional photos for their website. Little did Mae know Bryan had a little something up his sleeve. And I think it’s the perfect ending to this perfect week of pretty, pretty weddings. I might just have the perfect beginning (their wedding!) to next week stewing, so make sure you pop in nice and early… xoxo

Click here for the full image gallery!

A spot for all our lovely weddings of the week right here:

a stunning and so sweet wedding film in Australia
a Texas wedding where everything is bigger and more purple
a French inspired, and drool worthy menu at this Portland affair
a casual and beautiful soiree in Virginia
an Atlanta couple’s Mad Men inspired engagement sesh
a pretty in pink fête in Virginia, covered in gorg flowers
a roundup of the prettiest jewelry in this vendor spotlight, just in time for V-Day
a fantastically whimsical Pennsylvania wedding complete with an ice cream truck
an oodle or two of inspiration in this Vermont barn shoot
a New York, new take on nautical soiree to die for
a Midsummer Night’s Dream in California to warm your winter blues away

Some links we’re digging from around the WWW:

a crepe paper flower DIY perfect for an eternal Valentine’s bouquet via Martha Stewart Weddings
a wedding with the most perfect red backdrop via Grey Likes Weddings
a super sweet candy bowl escort card DIY via One Lovely Day

San Jose Wedding from Charmed Events Group, LLC + Gladys Jem

Though we are in the middle of winter, this California affair has come just in time to brighten up your day. A Midsummers Night Dream it truly was, thanks to the planning of Charmed Events Group, LLC and the passion of this stunning couple. Gladys Jem was on hand to capture the day, and she did so magnificently! Click here for the full image gallery.

From Charmed Events Group, LLC … Milton and Annikke have the classic “love at first sight” story that we all dream about. It all started when Milton was craving a cup of milk tea on a hot summer day and walked into one of his favorite stores and when he went to place his order, he saw Annikke and was instantly attracted. From that day on, he went back everyday to buy a cup of milk tea until Annikke finally agreed to go on a date with him, and the rest is history!

Milton and Annikke really wanted to have a romantic and modern theme based on a Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. With their personal favorite colors of Navy Blue and lavender, we brought in light pink and metallic silvers and golds to accent their favorite colors to create a dreamy color palette that would shape their day. In addition to bringing in the romance of a Midsummer’s Night Dream, they really wanted to incorporate stars into the design so we began by bringing in some stars into their printed items and soon figured that stars would be a great physical accent to the actual details of their day. Wallpaper patterns were also a huge love of Annikke’s so we also brought in an immense amount of patterns into their printed and stationary items.

Milton and Annikke were married at the First Unitarian Church in downtown San Jose. Upon entry to the church, guests were greeted by custom wreaths adorned with butterflies that hung on the large church doors. Butterflies were a huge motif that Poppy’s Petalworks used to bring out the Midsummer’s Night Dream, and the butterflies sat perfectly on the wreaths and purple pomander balls that lined the aisle. Guests were invited to pick up programs as they entered and the programs that we created for them all had a cover of different patterned papers that would later be seen in the reception.

Their reception was held at the gorgeous San Jose Rotunda at City Hall. The entire venue sits inside a glass dome and certainly gave the guests a wow factor as they entered for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Guests were ushered up the romantic stairway, lined with silver star luminary bags, that led them to the Mezzanine floor overlooking the actual reception space. For the sign in, we wanted to do something different that has never been seen before so we decided to have their sign in become an art piece that they could take home after the wedding and display. We had stars cut in their color palette and invited guests to leave their name or a small note on the stars that were then placed on a metallic silver board to create an ombre design of a beautiful wave of stars. For the escort display, we also wanted to do something dreamy and whimsical and had created a custom “curtain of stars” in which each guest name was written on stars and gave a little more interaction for guests in finding their names. Each table was distinguished by different patterns of paper so the star curtain turned out to be a big hit with the different patterned stars.

When it came time for guests to formally enter into the reception area, a seating chart was created for guests to “spot their star” for easy directions in making way to their assigned tables. Each table had a silver star luminary bag with the assigned pattern paper at the base for guests to find their table. These luminary bags also added to the magic and “dreaminess” of the venue later on in the evening when the sun went down. Custom napkin wraps were created for each guest and romantic centerpieces of pomander balls and pink roses with crystals filled the tables to add to the dreamy atmosphere that we wanted to create for guests. The big statement of entering the reception space was the gorgeous dessert bar that we had sitting against a backdrop of hanging ribbons and crystals. Jens Cakes created a fabulous ombre display of miniature cupcakes in our color palette and we put together a candy bar that consisted of all chocolates in the color palette that we wanted for guests to have as favors. Custom treat bags were created with star ties to finish off the theme.

A wonderful evening was had by all as guests literally danced underneath the stars that were projected onto the dance floor. Congratulations to Milton and Annikke for having a star-studded, romantic and dreamy wedding inspired by a Midsummer’s Night’s Dream!

Planning: Charmed Events Group, LLC / Photography: Gladys Jem / Brides Dress: Lazaro / Bridesmaids dresses: ML Monique Lhuillier / Groom’s Suit: Ralph Lauren Black Label / Brides Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Floral Design: Poppys Petalworks / Invitations & Paper Goods: Post Etiquette / Makeup & Hair: Vanity Pham / DJ: Brian Lu / Officiant: Jon Olsen / Lighting: Fantasy Sound Events / Caterer: Catered Too / Rentals: Catered Too & San Jose Rotunda / Ceremony Venue: First Unitarian Church / Ceremony Organist: Libby Codd / Reception Venue: San Jose City Hall Rotunda / Cupcakes: Jen’s Cakes / Videography: Shakewell Studios / Transportation: El Paseo Limousine

Upper Westside Manhattan Wedding from Readyluck

We have all gone BANANAS over this new take on a nautical wedding. Seen through the lens of Jonathan Hanson for Readyluck, we’re loving the classic wedding mixed with the perfect blend of seafaring deets to make it more than worthy of it’s waterside locale. Something totally new for this water-loving blogger to obsess over. Join me in the gallery and help me obsess, will you?

After eleven months of bliss Marc and I decided to go on vacation to my favorite vacation spot growing up – Hawaii. On the second day of our trip Marc told me he had booked a photographer to take professional photos to satisfy my mom who was always complaining that she didn’t have any (I hate taking pictures!). We went down to the beach to meet with the photographer and had a blast being silly and posing for forty five minutes. When we were done the photographer said goodbye and Marc escorted me to a private hut on the beach. There were yellow rose petals on the sand leading to the dinner table set for two. There were menus with our names on them with all of my favorite foods listed. As soon as we were fully in the hut Marc got down on one knee and tried to recite something he had written earlier but ended up getting out the words “will you marry me.” We both were crying with joy and embraced for what felt like a few hours but in reality was only a few minutes. The photographer returned to our watery faces for some shots after the monumental moment. We then enjoyed a delicious private feast on the beach in Kauai! At the end of the evening we returned to our hotel room covered in roses and on the bed roses in the shape of a huge heart.

Marc and I immediately bonded over our love of food. Marc graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and owns and runs his own catering company. Marc spends his time planning and executing other people’s parties. He was so excited to finally be able to plan his own!

We had a vision of getting married by the water – we find the water to have a very calming and romantic presence. I have lived on the upper west side of Manhattan for the last five years and loved sunny days eating and drinking at the boat basin on 79th Street. After ruling out a few places due to number constraints and overall feel I walked Marc over to the Boat Basin thinking it could be a great venue for us if his company would be allowed to cater there. As luck would have it they allowed him to cater and the date they had available was perfect for us!

In five months we were able to put it all together and our reality wedding was better than all of my dreams. It was an amazingly sunny, 62 degree day in the midst of fall in NYC. Marc and I didn’t do the big wedding party – as it was too much of a hassle and we didn’t want to tell our most loved ones what they could and couldn’t wear. His brother was his best man and my best friend was by my side all day and night. Our attire on the invitations read “Cocktail wear with a nautical flare” Our vision was since this was a boat basin it should have a nautical feel. My maid of honor wore red, while my mother wore navy. We had a life ring made with our names and the date for people to pose with as they entered the ceremony to give it a feel of a forced cruise entrance photo.

The food was really at the heart of the party. We were very focused on having fun delicious food that everyone could enjoy. Our cocktail hour included a raw bar as well as passed micro lobster rolls, kobe beef sliders, mini fish tacos, tuna ceviche, pecking duck crepes, Panko chicken frites, and Vietnamese summer rolls. We had two signature drinks passed which were the drinks we enjoyed on our first date – dark and stormy and mojitos. Our meal at dinner was served family style since we really wanted everyone to be able to try everything and experience an interactive dining experience. Each table was served two different salads as an appetizer. For the main course we chose braised beef short ribs with macaroni and cheese and glazed heirloom carrots as well as seared ahi tuna with Himalayan red rice over a roasted wild mushrooms and endamame.

Dessert was very important to me – as my sweet tooth is very well known by everyone who has ever met me! My favorite cookies were layered rainbow cookies. I asked Marc if we could make a cake out of these cookies and before I knew it we had ordered two sheet trays of the cake, then cut them into cookie bites, layered them to resemble a cake and vwhala! Our cake cutting was so fun! Marc took a cookie off the pile and we shared our first one. Immediately following was a free for all of everyone just taking a cookie off the pile that resembled a cake. They were so moist and delicious – the best rainbow cookies I have ever tasted! We had a dessert table filled with all of my other favorites: micro ice cream sandwiches, banana pudding, lemon glazed cake doughnuts, peanut butter mouse pretzel cups, pistachio, chocolate orange, and almond biscotti’s, and assorted fruit.

The ceremony took place under a Chuppah that has been in Marc’s family for over 100 years. It was from Marc’s Great, Great Grandmother who started her own temple in Montreal. Music was very important to us as well. The song we exited the ceremony to was hakuna matata from the lion king. Our first dance was to our favorite song “give into me” sung as a duet.

The wedding day as a whole was point blank the best day of our lives. A very vivid memory is Marc and I getting ready. We both got ready in our apartment with Dori, the maid of honor. Dori had the job of keeping us separated so that we would not see each other before the grand reveal for the cameras. While Dori was helping Marc with his bowtie in the other room I was standing nervously alone in the dining room. All of a sudden Marc screamed “Erica” to which I replied “Yes?” – then he said “I love you.” In that moment my anxiety and fear disappeared and I became overwhelmed with joy with the reminder of what this day was about; committing to spend the rest of our lives as best friends together forever.

Photographer: Jonathan Hanson, ReadyLuck / Videographer: Bruce Cullen / Floral Designer: Banchet Jaigla of Banchet Flowers / Event Design & Planning: On The Marc Events & The Spark Group / Makeup: Jackie Gomez / Caterer: On The Marc Events / Cake & Desserts: On The Marc Events / Wedding Gown Designer: Monique Lhuillier / Band: Marianne Bennett / Venue: The West 79th Street Boat Basin Café