Little Black Book Blog

Summer Wedding At Breckenridge From Julie Afflerbaugh Photography

November 6th. 2009 by Eddye | 2 comments

Earlier today we gave you a quick peek at Kelly & Michael’s August wedding at the Agape Outpost in Breckenridge, Colorado. Now we’ll show you the rest!

The colors ~ all those daisies~ absolutely amazing!

I can’t imagine a more perfect spot …

…or a more perfect couple!

Thanks SO much to Julie Afflerbaugh Photography for sharing these and all the previous engagement photos we brought to you today!

More images from Kelly & Michael’s wedding on Julie’s blog!

---

Engagement Shoots From Julie Afflerbaugh Photography

November 6th. 2009 by Eddye | 6 comments

If you read a little bit about Julie Afflerbaugh, you’ll know that she describes her style as artistic and spontaneous. She goes on to say, “The energy in my photographs comes from the relationship I build with my clients. Because we have fun and grow comfortable with each other, the photographs are more natural and real.” And as we’ve preached before, here at SMP, what better way to begin that relationship than with your engagement shoot?

Angel and Patrick are just beginning that journey! They ‘found’ Julie through Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book. Yay! And Angel has shared a little bit about their own wedding plans with us … “Our wedding is about our guests. We want them to enjoy themselves as much as possible and so that plays a big part in the decisions we make to create our day. Trying to find the right balance between what’s best for our family and friends, and doing so in a way that expresses who we are at the same time has been a lot of fun. For example, I’m a HUGE foodie (and now Patrick is too, lol) so it was really vital that our guests enjoy engaging, memorable food. I’ve been to plenty of weddings where most of the adults ended up making their way through the kids buffet. So with that in mind we created an extremely light-hearted menu with a stylish flair including Miniature Grilled Brie Sandwiches on Brioche Served with Smoked Tomato Coulis, Petite Cheddar Cheese Sliders and Condiment Station, Homemade Penne & Three Cheeses Served Individually in Ramekins and Topped with Crunchy Herb Panko, Build Your Own Sundae Dessert Bar with Vanilla Gelato and Toppings to Include Bing Cherry Port Reduction, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Orange Caramel.

And when it came to bridesmaid attire, the same concept applied in making it about them first. People have more fun and look best in photographs when they’re comfortable so I simply picked a designer I liked and a palette of 7 or 8 shades of green ranging from spring green to moss and more in between. My bridesmaids are then able to pick whichever color they would like and whatever dress style they feel most comfortable in. The only other stipulation is that the dresses all have pockets because I have a deeply rooted love affair with pockets and since I couldn’t add them to my wedding dress (yup, that’s right, I tried lol) at least they can all enjoy the splendor of a pocketed dress. It’s details like those that are woven throughout the day that people will notice and say, yup, that’s so Angel.”

Angel is the author of her very own wedding blog, DIY Unveiled. She has lots of great DIY projects and wedding planning tips! To see more of their e*shoot, she has them posted on her  blog here!

We saw lots more great engagement shots on Julie’s blog ~

Erin and Scott were just married in Boulder Colorado. Here are a few of their gorgeous engagement photos …

Corina & Amos’s E*session is one of the ones that really caught my eye on Julie’s blog. Seems like everything we see from Colorado is amazing!

Corina & Amos’ wedding is next September.

And Kelly & Michael …

Kelly and Michael just got married and we have a couple of images to share with you from that!

That color combination of grey and yellow is really sensational! We’ll have more images from Kelly & Michael’s wedding up this afternoon. In the meantime, if you’d like to see more, you can take a look at them Julie Afflerbaugh’s blog right here!

Thanks SO much, Julie … for sharing!

---

Jekyl Island Wedding From Agnes Lopez Photography

November 5th. 2009 by Eddye | 18 comments

We always like to ask our brides to give us some insight into how they approached planning their wedding ~ their inspiration, their vision. Here’s what Ashaki had to say ~

The main inspiration for our wedding came from my two favorite movies, Gone With The Wind and Marie Antoinette. I made Embry watch these movies countless times while we were dating, and when he barely objected, I knew he was the man for me!!! I really wanted to have a traditional wedding, but I also wanted to make sure that our day was young, fun, and bright. So we combined traditional accents (inspired by the two movies) ~ the antique gold candelabras, candlesticks, and bowls from the outdoor dining scene in Marie Antoinette … and a very traditional ceremony wedding gown with all the fixings – corset, lace, tiered layers  (like in Gone with the Wind!).

Our wedding coordinator, Terrica, was amazing at helping us combine everything!

I wanted the bridesmaids to wear lemon-yellow because I thought it would look absolutely gorgeous on them and also because yellow looks amazing under the sun. The hostesses wore beautiful cocktail dresses in plumeria. Both the bridesmaids and hostess dresses were designed by Watters & Watters and were made in dupioni silk. The girls looked absolutely stunning.

Ashaki and Embry were married in a gorgeous outdoor ceremony on the lawn of Crane Cottage at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.  LBB photographer, Agnes Lopez, was there to capture their special day!

More from Ashaki ~

As for me, I knew I wanted a big white dress. When I went wedding dress shopping with my mother, I did not expect to find two dresses that I absolutely loved. For the ceremony, I chose a gown with tiered layers, a corset, and lace everywhere. For the reception, I changed into a strapless gown with a completely beaded bodice and beaded accents on the tulle skirt. And for a pop of color, I wore fuchsia Kate Spade peep toe pumps with both dresses. My earrings were designed by the fabulous wedding jewelry designer, Tejani.

What a beautiful wedding! Our thanks and congratulations to Ashaki and Embry for sharing their day with us!

* * *

More of Agnes’ stunning photography can be seen on her website and blog! Of particular interest ~ a recent bridal fashion shoot with some killer gowns (by Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta & Romona Keveza): Fashion Shoot (1); Fashion Shoot (2);  Fashion Shoot (3)

* * *

Credits: Wedding Planner- Terrica Skaggs with Cocktails & Details, Video- Christina Grimsley of In Motion Video Productions, Make up Artist- Daren Lee of Glamour Face Makeup, Florist- Gay Whatley Floral Design, Linens- BBJ Linen, Lighting- P.O. Lighting and Sound, String Music- Ambiance Trio, Reception Band- EXCITE!, After Party DJ- Dance Jammers

---

A Wedding Planner’s Wedding ~ Valarie & James

November 4th. 2009 by Eddye | 16 comments

One thing we really enjoy doing on the LBB blog is showing off our own LBB members’ weddings! And that’s just what we’re going to do today! As a prominent wedding planner and designer in Ohio, Valarie Kirkbride, had all the contacts, all the tools to create her dream wedding! She is sharing a bunch of information that went into planning her own recent wedding …

I had been planning weddings for 6 years when I got engaged to Jimmy. I pretty much already knew all of the vendors I would choose for my own wedding day, due to my existing relationships and friendships with them. Jimmy gave me free reign for planning the wedding, so I was off and running with the details.

We selected Kirtland Country Club because it is an old mansion built in the 1920’s that was renovated into a country club a few decades later. We felt it was the most beautiful location in the area that had ample space for an indoor and outdoor feel. Jimmy’s idea was to have guests in the gorgeous West Porch Room for the cocktail hour, then to the ballroom for dinner, then back to the transformed West Porch Room for dancing and cocktails. I was leery about that idea at first, and guests moving so much, but it worked out really well and guests told us how much fun they had roaming about all of the different rooms and activities!

Inspiration

My favorite place to go in the summer is Cedar Point, the best amusement park in the world! I’ve gone every summer since I can remember. Every time I go, I feel like I’m transformed into a kid again, and Jimmy loves going too! So I wanted that carnival/summer/love feel for our wedding. With the colors, it soon morphed into a Moulin Rouge feel as well. The details included colors of red, magenta and gold, which I had never seen before for a wedding.

Food and Drinks

Our cocktail hour was serenaded by a lively and vintage recorded playlist including songs from Cirque de Soleil’s “O” soundtrack, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Edith Piaff and Pink Martini. We offered guests our signature drink, “Yellow Cake Martinis”! All of the food was summer themed, with a tortilla chip station and homemade chips and salsas, chicken quesdillas and crabcakes.

Guests found their seating arrangements on mini envelopes addressed in hand calligraphy with their names, sealed with a gold heart sticker and displayed in mini-rhinestones. Inside was a card that indicated their table name. Tables were named after emotion verbs: love, dream, hope, believe, laugh, imagine, dance, etc., and were displayed on homemade caramel apples.  The guests found their assigned seat by finding their name written on a paper-made piece of candy. The color of the candy coordinated to each guest’s dinner choice. The double matted red menus complete with a red heart rhinestone, read at the bottom: “All you Need is Love”!

After dinner, the Carnival Dessert Stand opened with a decadent display of caramel apples, chocolate covered pretzels, a popcorn machine, caramel popcorn, rock candy, salt water taffy, etc. Guests could fill up their bag (monogrammed with “All you Need is Love”) and take all the sweets home!

Guests also enjoyed a second favor. Gold painted baskets with assorted color dancing slippers were available for all of the women to take. Most women ended up taking off their uncomfortable heels at this point anyway, so why not let them enjoy some pretty slippers too? They all raved about it!!

The video booth from Moonstruck Productions was also running all night, where guests could go in and leave a message for us that will show up on our wedding video in its own section later! The wedding cake (from LBB member, Flour Girl) was absolutely breathtaking and of course it included red velvet cake, what else??! The party went until 12:30am with the band and DJ switching on and off every 30 minutes, sure to please everyone’s musical tastes.

* * *

Wow, Valarie! I think you covered all the bases! Every little detail … all the little extras! We, at SMP, wish you and Jimmy all the best! Thanks so much for sharing your day!

* * *

Credits ~ Coordination: Rachel at Kirkbrides, Cake: Flour Girl, Music: Tony Quarles & The Discovery Band and (DJ) Scott Jones, Floral Décor: Grande Designs, Hair: Barb Banko, Lighting: Vincent Lighting, Linens: L’Nique, Makeup: Ramona Dauksiene, Photography: Easywind Studio, Videographer: Moonstruck Productions, Brides Gown: Paloma Blanca, Bridesmaids: Badgley Mischka, Men’s Attire: Calvin Klein, Men’s Wearhouse.

---

Backyard Elegance From Red Ribbon Studio

November 3rd. 2009 by Eddye | 7 comments

And now, the second of Red Ribbon Studio’s elegant weddings …

Jessie and Chris were married in her parents backyard ~ at the local polo fields in Cummings, Iowa. A little bit country (as in a big red barn) and beaucoups of charm!

Love, love, love the mixture of flowers in the bouquets and centerpieces!!

This table setting may be one of my all time favorites. I LOVE the gentle and warm color palette of the flowers mixed with the whimsy of the pickled okra!

From Maribeth’s blog …

There were many homespun elements. Tables named for seasonal vegetables, pickled beans & beets that Jessie and her mom canned, homemade strawberry and pepper jelly … all for guests who dined under a white tent on a perfect autumn night.

So, you see, elegance is defined in many ways ~ casual or classic, inside or out ~ it’s simply ALL in the details!

Wedding coordination and florals by Saley at DiVine Flowers. Congratulations, Jessie & Chris on a lovely, lovely wedding!

* * *

For more of Maribeth’s fantastic photography, be sure to take some time over on her website and look thru her portfolio … not just weddings … but inspirations and travel too. You’ll see the spirit behind her talents come alive!  We absolutely LOVE the vibrancy of her style!  Thanks so much, Maribeth and Red Ribbon Studio for being a part of SMP’s Little Black Book of Very Important Vendors!!

---

---

---

	Visit us on Facebook
	Follow us on Twitter

---