We hope each and every single one of you are enjoying a nice Columbus Day away from the day job but even if you are back to the grind of another Monday, we have a few treats to lift your spirits and get you in a warm and cozy Fall mood. Sent to us by the wildly talented DM Events, this photo shoot is properly titled “Fall into Love.” And that we are.  The autumnal colors are so very gorgeous paired with the intimate dinner party-esque atmosphere and how about the drool inducing dessert bar created by Nine Cakes? That deserves a double YUM. See all of the pretty fall details captured by Allan Zepeda in the gallery and if this shoot puts you in the mood to do some entertaining, we’ve added a few of the recipes from the menu right here.

Fall even more in love with this shoot here!

From DM Events…

We can not imagine a more quintessentially perfect time of year than Autumn in New York City! As designers, we are inspired by the colors, textures, and most of all the feeling of a crisp Autumn day – it is the perfect time of year to Fall In Love. Through the years we have designed many fall-themed events filled with apples, pumpkins, leaves, and all the New England goodness you can imagine. As we planned for this shoot, we wanted to capture the regal side of Fall – a season not just filled with whimsy, but also grace. We stopped into Classic Party Rentals where we discovered an unique silverware set and amazing stemware collection that was reminiscent of a “grown-up” society dinner party (think the Rockefellers circa the early 1900s) – at that moment the fate of the shoot was sealed! The next challenge was to bring in fall colors without deferring to a traditional orange and red palette – we decided to stay true to the organic aesthetic of our venue and use burgundy and a variety of browns. This time of year the flower district is full of Cockscomb flowers – and we used the uniqueness of the shape to balance out the softness of the dahlias. We wanted to incorporate dried flowers into the arrangements and bouquets to reflect the harvest aspect of fall.

Next, we were off to find the décor! Scouring antique stores and boutique shops is honestly one of our favorite tasks! We found tons of copper and oversized wooden pieces that worked together like magic! The copper played up the regal aspect of the shoot, while the wooden pieces were a warm accent, keeping us true to the Fall season. We are always looking for an excuse to use Kraft paper but needed to ensure that we could still maintain the richness of our vision. This type of detail is what Jenna of Love, Jenna is best at! She paired the Kraft paper with fabulous paper patterns and her brilliant calligraphy in metallic inks. If you have any doubts about the pairing, just look at the scroll menu she created – we literally fell in love when we saw it! (And wasn’t that the whole point of the shoot :) )

The dessert bar was divine in every way! Nine Cakes created all the sweet creations with flavors ranging from Apple Cinnamon Caramel to Pumpkin Walnut Maple. We knew the dessert bar was a perfect place to introduce our copper antique finds – we coupled them with mercury candles and the vintage fall look came to life! Gabriella New York provided the beautiful Ulla Maija dress. The question remained… where should we showcase the dress? The most obvious place was the wine rack set against an exposed brick wall of the venue, but we rarely do anything that’s typical! So we brought in a vintage Louis Vinton trunk (every girl’s dream!) and the result was, once again, magical!

Styling, Design, and Florals: DM Events / Photography: Allan Zepeda / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Calligraphy: Love, Jenna / Cake: Nine Cakes / Dress: Bianca by Ulla Maija, provided by Gabriella New York / Location: Private loft, Chelsea, NY

At SMP, we take our jobs very serious… we work round-the-clock to bring you gorgeous weddings, stylish inspiration, and lots of fabulous finds.  The same goes for our advertisers!  And we couldn’t be more excited to introduce you to a few of our newbies!

Let’s face, sometimes it’s hard to ask for what you really want for your wedding. So the geniuses behind Deposit A Gift have created a cash registry that functions like a department store registry.  It is easy on gift-givers, but allows couples to register for anything — from honeymoons to home down payments.  Pure brilliance!

Deposit A Gift is incredibly user friendly, and offers a great alternative to traditional registries.  Another huge plus…a free wedding website is included!  Yay!  Deposit A Gift is ideal for couples who already live together and have all their pots and pans, blenders and wine glasses.  Simply put, it’s super smooth way to get what you really need in your life.

There is nothing better than eating pizza (or anything) off gorgeous tableware.  For over 100 years, Noritake has been bringing beauty and quality to dinner tables around the world. They offer a fabulous selection of patterns… it’s hard not to fall in love with all of them!

Check out their newly designed website which features best-sellers Platinum Wave and the Colorwave collection.  The Colorwave collection can be used for everyday and features a variety of color and shape options for creating a customized set of dinnerware.  Are you ready to host a dinner party yet?!

According to a recent survey, almost half of all brides have committed to going “green” this year.  If you are one of those brides, look no further!  The Green Bride Guide has launched the Green Wedding Gift Shop and Registry! From non-toxic cookware and recycled wine glasses to earth-friendly fine china and organic cotton textiles, the shop features hundreds of eco-friendly home goods.  You are not only helping save the planet but you are getting some pretty fabulous gifts too!

GBG is also the first store to offer free carbon-neutral shipping with every purchase.  The Green Bride Guide registry provides detailed information about each product, including how it is made, where it is made, and what materials were used in its production.  We absolutely adore companies that are committed to environmental and social responsibility!

Have you ever been to Italy?  Now you don’t have to travel there to live life Italian-style!  VIETRI provides high-quality and handcrafted products for homes and gardens that promote the essence of the Italian lifestyle. VIVA! Plus, for the month of October, VIETRI will be donating 20% of the total sales of their Incanto and Bellezza Amore Plates to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

VIETRI means romance, love, timeless design, the care and talent of many hands to create and share beauty….. The best part of all…VIETRI offers an on-line registry.  You can even celebrate with your FREE champagne glasses that they offer with your registry as well as 10% completion discount for up to 6 months after your event date. Registering for VIETRI means bringing Italian style to every party of your home.  Now, you can live in Tuscany all-year round. Sì per favore!  (Yes, please!)

We always love finding awesome stationery companies, feeding our fetish for all things paper.  And we’re kinda obsessed with our latest find…Storkie Wedding Invitations! Storkie features incredible customization options, so you can create truly unique stationery, from bridal shower to save the dates to invitation suites.  With their dynamic designs, you can mix and match color combinations and/or design elements in real-time, as well as have complete control over the text and layout. It’s super easy, and pretty addictive.

In addition to a fabulous selection of contemporary designs, Storkie also has gorgeous classic options, featuring thermography and foil printing, as well as ribbons and bows, embossed elements, shimmer cardstock, pockets and wraps, and a lot more!  With over 20 years in business, free digital proofs, and professional typesetters reviewing every order, you can shop with confidence.  Storkie Wedding Invitations are high quality and affordable, so you are sure to find stylish stationery without breaking the wedding budget.  And lastly, the turnaround is phenomenal (most orders ship out within 1-2 days).  Go check ’em out!

By now, you know that we are all about accessories and fabulous handmade jewels.  We are psyched that we found Ken and Dana Designs from NYC. Honestly, nothing says love like hand-made jewelry.  Ken and Dana Designs are a design collective with roots based in NYC, Hong Kong and Maine with over five years in the jewelry business.

They make jewelry with meaning and find parallels between the sculptural lines of their work to the natural ebb and flow of love and relationships.  Creating unique pieces that push the envelop on design while still focusing on femininity, quality, practicality is the goal.  Custom designed jewelry can be stunning like this and not break the bank.  Ken and Dana design for every budget, and offer engagement rings starting at just a few hundred dollars.  Hand-made and affordable?!  Ah-mazing!

So a HUGE welcome to all of our newest advertising partners. We are thrilled to have you here at SMP!

First, I’m going to have to let out a little one of Abby’s squeals (eeeeeee!!!!) before I let Geneve Hoffman, today’s fab LBB photographer, take over! LoOoOoOoOVE these fabric covered initials. As you’ll see, these are just one of the many personal touches this bride brought to the gorgeous day! See their whole gallery here!

From the ah-mazing Geneve Hoffman ….

This bride is a photographer, and a stylish one at that, so I was flattered that she chose me to document her wedding day. I knew it was going to be a perfect day the minute I arrived…Kate had all her details laid out for me in one of the rooms of a charming Colonial period bed and breakfast called Inn by the Bandstand in Exeter, New Hampshire. We used every nook and cranny of the inn for her details and bridal portraits.

Flag Hill Winery is one of my favorite wedding sites–the scenery and location make it a very sought after venue. Heather Houle and staff are on top of every detail and allowed Denise, the brides mom and wedding planner extraordinaire, to work her magic and transform the vineyard into a scene straight out of a lush Victorian novel.

Where to start with all the fun moments and details…Kate was the curator of her own wedding and over the past year has been collecting precious little items from sources like Palomas Nest, Pomp & Plumage at Etsy to name a few. Her invites arrived to guests door boxed and nestled in petite twigs with a hint of what is to come…two corks with the Flag Hill insignia. Her vintage inspired dress and accessories played well with her soft pink, leather brown, and ivory palette. The boys wore khaki suits and looked ready to play their part in the beautiful garden party love story to come.

{click on any of the detail shots and you’ll be linked to the gallery of full size images}

Guests were greeted by sweet romantic signs all around the vineyard, handmade by Kate. Each guest found their table number and favor, an engraved wine glass with Kate & Adam’s name and the wedding date (a Flag Hill Signature), inside an antique chicken coop dressed up in vintage lace. Tables had antique gilt frames and white washed urns neatly filled with baby pink hydrangeas, twigs, and hypericum berries. The linens were a custom ordered ivory and tan damask, and reflected the hanging parasols to create a warm, inviting space for guests under the tent.

Their interfaith ceremony took place on the grassy lawn facing the vines and was decorated with pink hydrangea and copper galvanized shephard hook arrangements. Kate’s happiness burst through during her poignant and stirring vows…not a dry eye to be seen! They waltzed all around the vineyard after the wedding, and I was lucky enough to be capturing every romantic and joyous moment. Guests enjoyed the merry photo booth run by my assistant Angela Avery and literally framed themselves with ornate old frames. Kate created a little “library” on the grounds complete with a vintage typewriter, school house chalkboard, and leather bound guest book. The children (of all ages, ahem!) enjoyed the vintage spinning tops and giant alphabet blocks. The hand made date banner rocked gently in the warm Summer afternoon breeze, and made a great prop too!

Kate and Adam played with the vintage camera’s–which were fitting for bride photographer! But Kate graciously left the real photos to me, and what a true pleasure it was. Guests whiled away the hours dancing to the swinging tunes of a 12 piece band, enjoying the surprising red velvet cake, sipping wine, and strolling the extensive vines. Perfect. Wedding. Day.

Congrats, Kate and Adam! – Geneve Hoffman, photographer

And now, from Kate, today’s beautiful bride …

Adam and I met a short three and a half years ago through his sister. I had no idea he was going to be my one and only. Planning our wedding was at times stressful, but a lot of fun – and in the end, VERY rewarding. I did a lot of, “Hun, is this ok?? Do you like this color for the dresses? Are you sure I can’t show you my dress?!?!?!” His support throughout the entire wedding process has made me love him more than ever. I couldn’t have done it without him. Obviously! ;)

Our wedding weekend began at an inn built in the early 1800s where we had our rehearsal dinner and stayed the night. We booked out most of the inn with out of state family so the stay at the inn was extra special! Before I knew it, the wedding morning arrived and I was swept away to the vineyard where we would be having our ceremony and afternoon reception. Everything went by so quickly, but I was quite surprisingly composed throughout the whole thing! Even though my groom had forgotten his suit. ;)

So as for a little background – I am a full time graphic designer and part time photographer. I had a vision from the beginning of our engagement of a very soft, romantic afternoon wedding. I’m guilty of stalking Style Me Pretty for endless hours for my inspiration. In fact, I believe I spent more time with SMP than with my fiancé throughout my whole engagement! When my photographer asked what our theme was, I told her… “Style Me Pretty!!” That is a theme, right?? But alas… :) we settled for vintage glam.

Once we found the perfect venue, everything just started to fall into place. I am a huge fan of Etsy and support all of the wonderful sellers there are out there. Most of my accessories for the big day were Etsy purchases and I’ve included all of the seller links, so be sure to stop by their shops and take a peak! I received so many compliments on my hair piece, jewelry, date banner, etc. and everyone asked, “Where did you get that?!” My favorite find had to be the vintage rosette headbands I purchased from Banner Boutique on Etsy for my 18 month old flower girl and 9 month old niece. They were a huge hit!

I designed all of my stationery for the wedding starting from the save the dates all the way through table numbers and menu cards. My goal for the entire wedding was to make everything as personable as possible, and it showed. Detail is everything, and it’s a whole lot of fun. Which leads to projects! Boy, I had a lot of projects. All of the furniture props you see were purchased at an antique shop here in New Hampshire and my father worked hard to fix them up. Our most talked about piece was our chicken coop! My mother had the idea of using the old coop as a wine glass holder. Each guest received an etched wine glass as their favor and the glasses also served as seating cards. I attached a small tag and hand wrote every name and table number for each guest. There were 16 compartments in the coop and there happened to be 15 tables plus our head table! Woo! With all of my ideas and projects galore, I maintained my vision. This was so important to me and to see it all come together was quite overwhelming. My parents and my aunt were a huge help with all of my DIY projects – right down to styrofoam letters and reupholstering an antique chair!

I wouldn’t have done a thing differently, except started sooner. If I had more time, I would have fit in a million more DIY tidbits. They really contributed to the whole ambiance of the wedding and we will forever be grateful for the friends and family who joined us on such a beautiful day!

Yay for Style Me Pretty “bride-style”

Bridal Prep Location: Inn By The Bandstand, Exeter / Photography: Geneve Hoffman Photography, NewYork, Maine / Hair & Makeup: Brittany Demaine of My Reis Salon / Cake: Candice French / Entertainment: Wicked Smart Horn Band / Flowers: Creative Gardens, Lee, NH / Event Planning & Design: Bride, with help of Mom / Ceremony & Reception Location: Flag Hill Winery, Lee NH / Bride Shoes: FiFi by Filippa Scott / Dress: Milana by Maggie Sottero from Madeleine’s Daughter / Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Angelo Bridesmaids Shoes: Davids Bridal / Etsy Shops: Pomp & Plumage, Luxe Deluxe, Garter Lady, Well Wud Ja Look At That, Sushi Pot Parts, 31 Vintage Road / Lanterns: Luna Bazaar

It’s been kind of a great day on SMP. One fabulous wedding after another where you can literally pick and choose the weddings that you want to devour. Well, we just might have saved the best for last…and it’s Vegas Baby (that was bad, I know). I chose this wedding because I am obsessed with the delicate balance between timeless elegance and modern style that the bride acheived. It’s a fresh, totally smart approach to wedding design and the photographs by Chelsea Nicole have taken it to an entirely new level. Click here to see even more.

click here to see the full gallery of images!

By the time we got married, Neil and I had been together for almost 9 years. We are high school sweethearts and this wedding had been long awaited not only by us, but also by our friends and family. We knew we had to throw a big big party.

We didn’t want to start planning too early, but my Type-A and perfectionist side of my personality got the best of me and within two weeks, I couldn’t stop looking at all the prettiness on the internet. I created various folders on my computer and constantly saved pictures of ideas and details I wanted to incorporate. Every few weeks, I would go through the folders to filter out images that no longer appealed to me. This went on until a few weeks before the wedding. It was difficult to put into words what I wanted, but eventually, I found myself using the words “soft, clean, simple, romantic, and elegant, with a bit of chic modern touches” to describe my vision for the day.

Although we live in Los Angeles, Neil and I both grew up in Las Vegas, met there, and have our families there too, so there was no question that we would get married in Las Vegas. For one and a half years, we strategically planned our meetings with various vendors for various weekends we would be home.

Despite all the fun venue alternatives that are becoming ever popular today, I always imagined myself getting married and having a wedding reception at a golf course. Our golf course searches lead us to Silverstone Golf Club, which was a wonderful place to work with. Tanya, the site coordinator, was very accommodating and open to all my ideas. With the help of Eden, a floral and event coordinator and the owner of J&E Floral, the three of us worked to make my visions become reality. My florals mostly consisted of garden roses, hydrangeas, and orchids in blush pink and creams. The use of tea light candles throughout the reception space created a romantic ambiance. Simple draping, lighting, and gold chiavari chairs pulled the look I envisioned together and really transformed the space.

Our cake was done by Creations Bakery and decorated by Eden. The cake was four tiers, with small pale pink swiss dots on alternating tiers and garden roses decorated the top. It was clean and simple, exactly as I wanted. When I was told our cake was too large for a cute ceramic or glass pedestal cake stand, I almost settled for no cake stand at all, but Eden came up with the creative idea of placing the cake over several round vases. The round vases were turned upside down to enclose silk hydrangeas and LED lights. The result was beautiful.

As for all the stationery, it was all done by me! Using Adobe Illustrator, my matron of honors’ tips, and some extra help from several friends, I designed save-the-dates, the invitation suite, menus, programs, escort cards, favor tags, photo share cards, signs for our bird cage card holder, and more! Neil even got his hands dirty and made the rehearsal dinner invitations. We bought the paper (and envelopes) at Kelly Paper and had Arnold at Arnold’s Printing in Studio City do all the printing and most of the cutting for me. Some friends from Las Vegas came into town to help me with other various crafting too, including the “Mr.” and “Mrs.” chair signs we used during the reception.

For the ceremony and beginning of the reception, I wore a fit and flare, scoop neck La Sposa wedding gown in ivory. To balance out the crystals and beading, I opted to go with simple jewelry… a pair of diamond studs and a tennis bracelet. During the ceremony, I wore a simple floor-length veil for a more dramatic look. And while we were not having a traditional Chinese wedding, I knew I wanted to infuse a few Chinese traditions into the day. In the middle of the reception, I changed into a Qipao, which was made by and worn by my mom when she married my dad in Hong Kong 28 years ago. It was sentimental, traditional, beautiful, and fit me perfectly.

Up until the day of the wedding, I wasn’t sure if I had achieved my vision because I could never picture everything I had worked on all together. I didn’t have an official wedding coordinator and relied on all my emails to Tanya and Eden for them to make it all come together. Moments before I walked down the aisle, I found myself alone in the reception area with my dad and I finally looked around. Everything was perfect. It was all that I had imagined… “soft, clean, simple, romantic, and elegant, with a bit of chic modern touches”. And to make the day even more perfect, Neil and I were surrounded by everyone we loved as we (officially) made promises to love each other forever.

Photography: Chelsea Nicole Photography / Hair and Makeup: Christina Yi / Cake: Creations Bakery / Flowers and Event Design: Eden – J & E Floral / Lighting: Kevin Cordova / Getting Ready Location: Red Rock Hotel / Ceremony and Reception / Location: Silverstone Golf Course / Shoes: Caparros / Dresses: La Sposa

You gotta love a bride who bucks tradition and completely rocks a mint hued wedding dress in lieu of the standard fare. But that isn’t even what I love most about this next number. It’s that the bride and groom didn’t take themselves too seriously. Instead, they designed a wedding that reflected their own laid back elegance and was filled with details that gave guests a window into their lives. Photographed by Tory Williams, you can click here to see the full gallery.

Click here to see the full wedding gallery!

The biggest thing for us was that we wanted the weekend to be comfortable for us and our guests. I didn’t want to plan or do anything that felt to formal or too casual for us because I wanted to actually be able to have fun instead of feeling like a wreck about the details or feeling nervous or uncomfortable about being too formal. However, we didn’t want to do something too casual like a potluck or anything like that because we knew almost everyone would be flying in and we didn’t want our guests to have to work either!

In terms of location, the most important things for us was that everyone could stay in site so that it felt like a weekend and a mini-vacation for our guests. We wanted things to be as easy as possible for them while ensuring that we felt comfortable with the venue (i.e. it matched the laid back feeling we were going for). As soon as we got to SMR we knew it was perfect for us. We loved the isolated and laid back “ranch” feeling, all of the activities for the guests, the flexibility (we could bring in all of our own vendors, alcohol etc., and of course the incredible views.

I love simple classy things so everything else flowed out of that. I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a formal white wedding dress so I went with the mint dress. It still felt formal enough to me but I felt comfortable in it. Same thing with the food/decorations/ceremony etc. we were going for classy comfort so that the weekend really felt like us instead of what we thought it was supposed to feel like. We skipped the formal wedding parties but found other ways to include our family/friends (i.e. having guests speak at ceremony, speeches, getting ready etc.). Because we had so much flexibility to plan the weekend the way we wanted we were able to pick and chose from the traditions. We included the ones that resonated with us, left the others behind and made up some new ones along the way!

My brother helped me design save the dates based on a template we found online. http://www.merrimentdesign.com/giving-tree-save-the-date-wedding-announcement-for-fall.php. He sent us the PDFs and we printed, cut and sent everything out from home. They were so cheap to do and they felt really personable and us compared to a lot of the other invites we felt online.

We also did all of our centerpieces ourselves. My mom and sister helped design them and then we ordered the Manzanita and orchids and made them the week before the wedding. We used potted plants to fill in and bring some more color into the room where we didn’t have the centerpieces

Photography: Tory Williams / Ceremony + Reception Location: Snow Mt. Ranch, Winter Park, CO / Invitations: DIY based on this template Merriment Design / Food: What a Treat Catering / DJ- Rock Candy DJ / Hair & Make-Up: Bride’s Sister /

This next little number is pretty defined. It’s got the SMP stamp of approval for sure and is definitely going to be inspiration for all of you brides out there looking for sophistication and style with a bit of spunk. Think insanely beautiful flowers by Martha Andrews, a gorgeous color palette, and little bits of personality threaded into every detail. EXACTLY the kind of wedding we like to see grace our blog. Photographed by Jessica Stout, we heart this wedding in a big way. Click here to see the full gallery.

Click here to see the full wedding gallery!

Michelle and Sean did such an amazing job both planning and organizing this wedding. In addition to all the hard work that Michelle put into her DIY details that were nothing short of amazing, they also hired the best vendors and their wedding was absolute perfection.

Michelle’s inspiration for their wedding began with a simple white vase that was in the shape of a bird. When she was unable to find what she was looking for, she hit the antique stores and purchased individual milk glass vases, which Martha Andrews of Blooms used to fill with the most fabulous floral centerpieces. Everything had to have the same vintage, elegant feel so Michelle designed everything with that in mind including picking the Citizen Hotel as the venue because it had the perfect combination of vintage and elegance. With the exception of floral and cake, her details were all DIY. The invitations, the escort cards, the table numbers, the cocktail menus that were on the bar, the tags on the candy jars, the paper bags for everyone to fill up with candy, and the table seating chart that was just outside the reception room.  All of the supplies came from the Paper Garden off of Fulton in Sacramento.

The room looked incredible and it was a fabulous wedding!

Photography: Stout Photography / Venue: The Citizen Hotel / Florist: Blooms by Martha Andrews / Makeup: Christi Reynolds / Cake: Sweet Cakes By Rebecca / Lighting: Extreme Productions / Linens: Celebrations / Place cards, Menu’s, Seating Chart, Candy Bar:  DIY by Bride

Having a wedding in the countryside of Provence, France totally sounds like a fairytale, does it not? The lavender fields, the old world architecture, the charming outdoor dinner all photographed brilliantly by One and Only Paris Photography – this is a French lover’s DREAM come true. See the whole shebang and even more of those breath-taking views in the gallery.

see more of this fairytale wedding here!

From One and Only Paris Photography…

A parisian couple decided to get married in charming Provence, in the South of France. Aureli and Romain chose a traditional ceremony – the tradition in Provence is to give your bouquet to the Virgin Marie and do a mass. Aurelie gown was beautiful. Her train was actually her veil. The gift for the guest was a local organic olive oil. The colors were white and green. The venue was surrounded by lavender which made the sunset turn pink. Gorgeous! The venue was just amazing with a Michelin chef ( high distinction in France). A good French wedding = amazing food and wine ;) . You can see a cute village in the background of the reception. The wedding cake was a tasty montage of macarons. The day before a rehearsal dinner was held at the same venue by the swimming pool: every guest was in white but the bride in a peach dress.

Photographer: One and Only Paris Photography / Venue: Bonnieux, Bastide de Capelongue / Florist : Laetitia C. / Gown : Jesus Peiro (modèle Clara) / Shoes : Pura Lopez / Groom’s suit : Christian Dior / The car : Triumph TR4

We hope you are enjoying this pretty installment of mini-weddings. This just might be our favorite way to celebrate the ensuing weekend. Up next is a gorgeous Kentucky wedding held at a very unconventional place; the Newport Aquarium to be exact. It is a fun mix of bright florals and underwater seascapes and some completely drool-worthy sandals. Captured by Mike Bresnen Photography, there is even more pretty to be found in the gallery.

see the full wedding in the gallery!

And as an extra special bonus, we have the cutest film from one of our favorites, red Bicycle Media who always manages to create a bit of magic with each and every film they make. This is definitely no exception. Enjoy!

From the Bride…

Tim and I both wanted a wedding that reflected our quirky sense of fun as well as our love for each other. We chose the Newport Aquarium in Newport Kentucky because it offered something different and fun for our family and friends to experience. Tim is from northern Kentucky and I am from Columbus OH, but all of my family have moved away so the NKY area ended up being the best choice as a middle ground for all our guests. His whole family is there as well as a lot of our friends, and we also had people coming in from all over the country.

I took on a lot of DIY projects myself for 2 reasons: A. I wanted a very personal feel that truly reflected my own design sense and aesthetic and B. It could potentially save us money…. although if it really did or not is still up in the air LOL!! As a fashion designer I have a natural gravity towards beautiful graphic design so the first place to begin was my invitations and stationery suite. Designing it myself, I knew I wanted something quirky, fun, pretty, and that reflected the light-hearted spirit of our wedding. With a mix of fonts and fun colors I think I achieved that. My good friend at work did us the HUGE favor of doing all the gorgeous calligraphy! This was something I desperately wanted but it just wasn’t within the budget so I am so thankful to her for offering her talent! I bound the invitation materials with gold string and tied on a tag listing the guests names in lieu of an inner envelope. I got so many compliments and heard from many people that they didn’t want to take the invitations apart because they were so pretty! That’s when I knew all my hard work was worth it. I designed and made all the paper products: the invitations, escort cards, programs, bar menus, candy buffet labels and signs, etc. On the front of our programs was a custom portrait by Nan Lawson on Etsy. Our dog, Little Jerry, is very important to us but also very bad (lol!) so we couldn’t have him actually be in the wedding like we would have loved to do. (Who doesn’t love a doggie ring bearer??) So we represented him in the program portrait as well as the cake topper :) I also made all the jewelry for my bridesmaids as well as personalized simple clutch bags for them by adding fabric flowers I made in various shades of pink, coral, and gold.

Our photographer, Mike Bresnen, and his assistant were amazing!! They really did a fantastic job at not only taking gorgeous photos but capturing the personalities of us, our family, and our friends. He has also done a few of our friends weddings so I have seen his work many times and had him picked out years ago! As soon as we knew our date he was the first vendor I called and luckily he was available. We decided to do all the formal photos before the ceremony which was an excellent idea. Tim and I had a very sweet First Look at his parents house, where the girls and I met up with the boys to head off to a local park for photos. We had a trolley to take us around town instead of a limo and it was great! It added a fun and nostalgic touch to the afternoon. All in all the wedding had the exact vibe we wanted: it was filled with family, friends, beauty, happiness, and celebration. I want to do it all over again!

Our cinematographers, James Pizarro and crew at red Bicycle Media, were incredible and I am SO glad we made the decision to hire them!! It was sort of a last minute thing, something I thought wasn’t in the budget, but a few months before the wedding I saw my friend’s wedding video and I knew I had to have one too! She used another company who was already booked on our date, but I found RBM on the Little Black Book and I was thrilled to find they were available at such relatively short notice. These guys go above and beyond, and their work shows it 100%.All in all the wedding had the exact vibe we wanted: it was filled with family, friends, beauty, happiness, and celebration. I want to do it all over again!

Photography: Mike Bresnen Photography / Cinematography: red Bicycle Media / Flowers: Janet Dennie – family friend / Candy: Peter Minges & Son, Cincinnati OH  / Event Design and Planning: the bride / Ceremony and Reception Location: The Newport Aquarium / Invitations: the bride / Program cover: Nan Lawson, Etsy / Dress: Augusta Jones, from Fabulous Bridal in Covington KY / Veil: Romona Keveza / Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew / Event Rentals: Prime Time Party Rentals / Caterer: Chef’s Choice Catering / Cake: Bonbonerie, Cincinnati OH / Cake Topper: Red Light Studio, Etsy / Transportation: Harvey’s TLC Trolley

Next up is a pretty fete sent to us by the always spectacular Jessica Claire. She shot this beauty down in St. Thomas at the Frenchman’s Reef Marriott and it is as breezy and beautiful as they come. Sun, sand, relaxation and a wedding. How amazing does that sound? See it all in the gallery.

find more dreamy destination details here!

from Jessica Claire…

Jenn & Peter were married in a beautiful, intimate ceremony at the Frenchman’s Reef Marriott in St. Thomas. As a doctor and a lawyer respectively, Jenn and Peter wanted their wedding to scream RELAXATION! As avid snorkelers and beach lovers, St. Thomas had the perfect combination of surf, sand, and sun to be the perfect backdrop for their wedding.

One fun thing that Jenn & Pete decided to do was shoot a Day After session following their wedding. Although the phrase “trash the dress” has become popular in recent years, I prefer to think of it as “dress irreverence” rather than an actual trashing. It’s more of a time not to worry about a little dirt or water, rather than the intent to destroy a beautiful gown! It’s also a wonderful time for the bride and groom to relax and enjoy one another in a way there often isn’t time for on the wedding day.

Photographer: Jessica Claire / Location, florals, and cake: Frenchman’s Reef Marriott, St. Thomas

Happy, happy TGIF! I know on Fridays we usually display oodles of inspiration via photo shoots but today we are going to switch it up a bit and bring you a plethora of inspiration from very real, very pretty weddings. We have a whole line-up of beauties to send you off into the wilds of weekend fun. And don’t forget, this is just a sampling of each celebration. By clicking on the gallery, you can revel in every inch of gorgeous that each wedding has to offer.

We are going to start things off with the absolute cutest day held in good ol’ New Orleans. The perfect combination of historic beauty and fun-filled whimsy, this wedding is an absolute charmer and we just can’t get enough of that perfect, perfect calligraphy by Jenna Hein. See the full celebration, NOLA style, in the gallery.

see all of the details here!

From the Bride…

Dan and I live in New York City. His family is from California and mine is from New Jersey, and so for our wedding, we decided to have everyone meet somewhere in the middle: New Orleans! New Orleans is one of our favorite American cities and holds a special place for us as a couple because we got engaged there. Everything we love about the city—its casual vibe, amazing food, vibrant music, fun, energy and magic—basically described the kind of wedding we wanted to have. There was no other place to have our wedding but New Orleans. About sixty-five of our closest friends and family joined us in New Orleans for our wedding, coming from 10 different states and three countries! (Not one person was from New Orleans!) To have all of our favorite people from all over the world in one place (just for us!) made the entire wedding feel so special. We had a very traditional Catholic ceremony at the Holy Name of Jesus Church, followed by a fun-filled reception at a historic building/event space called the Board of Trade. Dan and I were both equally involved in the planning and were super into it. We have the excel spreadsheets and millions of tearsheets to prove it! But the things I remember the most about our wedding day are the things we didn’t plan for: The street performers who played “Here comes the bride” when we walked by; hopping on a street car before our ceremony and having all the strangers onboard cheer applaud, the moment before we walked down the aisle and Dan was trying to make me laugh so I wouldn’t cry, eating leftover wedding cake together, with one fork, in our hotel room when it was all over.

Here is my advice for any bride planning their wedding from afar:

I highly recommend visiting your location to choose your venue in person. Places looked A LOT different on the internet than in person, and so I am really glad that we made a trip out there to check out venues. You can do a lot of things on the phone/internet, but it’s hard to do this one without someone being there in person Go with the local customs. Where I live in the Northeast, a traditional wedding reception is about 6 hours long with a sit-down dinner. We found out in New Orleans that they tend to do 3-hour long receptions with a buffet dinner. We opted to do it how the locals do it, and I am so happy we made that decision. Not only does it make it easier for your vendors to do what they’re used to, it will actually make your wedding more memorable and different for your guests. Then again, don’t be afraid to go off the beaten path. Since our wedding reception was so short…we didn’t do any of the typical wedding stuff: Cut the cake, throw the bouquet, etc. I am glad that we didn’t because it would have felt like we just had to cross things off our to-do list rather than enjoy our day. We did do a first dance—only because we took some swing lessons and wanted to show off our skills. But even that was not super choreographed and planned. We also walked down the aisle together which felt so special to me. It felt like we were walking into this thing called marriage together. When it comes to finding vendors, do a ton of research. Don’t always rely on web sites. Sometimes they look a little cheesy, but when you speak to the people on the phone, you get a better vibe. Trust your instincts. When I found a vendor I trusted, I often ended up asking them for recommendations for other vendors. When the photographer we wanted was booked, they recommended me someone who they worked with in the past who ended up being more affordable and just as great!  If you are doing any DIY stuff you want set up beforehand, do everything before you arrive to the location. You don’t want to be tying bows the night before. Ship everything (with tracking number!) to the location or your wedding coordinator a few days ahead of time. And if you can afford it, hire a day of coordinator to set everything up. Even though it was an added expense, I am so happy I did that and didn’t have to worry about it the day of the event. (The only this is that you SHOULD bring your wedding dress on the plane with you as a carry on. Don’t ship it) • Learn to let go. Not everything is going to be perfect. It’s a destination wedding. Things are bound to go awry. Focus on the stuff that is important. You are getting married! All your family and friends are there. This is freakin awesome! If you keep this in mind, you will have the best day of your life. We did!

Ceremony Location: Holy Name of Jesus Church / Reception Location: Board of Trade / Food: Pigeon Catering / Photographer: Ooti Billeaud / Second Photographer: Brittany Mitchell/ Florist: Nola Flora / Cakes: Flour Power / Band: Some Like It Hot / Second Line Band: Jazzmen Brass Band / Hair and Make-up: Glam Therapy / Veil and Hairpiece: Bridal Veil Falls / Invitation and Save the Date: Michele Lee / Calligraphy: Jenna Hein / Cake Topper: The Small Object / Praline Favors: Southern Candymakers / Day of Coordinator: Taylor Quintini / Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet Reverie / Bridal Shoes: Stuart Weitzman (heels)/ J. Crew (flats) / Bridesmaid Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Groom’s Suit: Perlis / Groom’s Shoes: Tommy Hilfiger

This next wedding from LBB photographer, Alders Photography is simply gorgeous! Courtney & Abdul were married in an outdoor ceremony at Southern California’s Padua Hills Theatre. There isn’t one little detail about this day that wasn’t picture perfect!

According to Jenny, Courtney and Abdul wanted a day that was “a fun wedding day without stress, very casual photojournalistic coverage, and then a dance party all night long!” And it seems, that’s what they got!

See more images in the SMP photo gallery here!

To see more of this breathtaking wedding, please head on over to the Alders Photography blog for tons more gorgeous images and the story of Courtney & Abdul’s special day! Their entire SMP gallery is right here.

Our sincere congratulations to  Courtney and Abdul!

Venue: Padua Hills Theatre

Florist: Brassavolas Floral Couture

Cake & Catering: Chantrelle’s Catering

Entertainment: Max Vontaine, Crooner Extraordinaire

Entertainment: Entertainment Express

To see more of Jenny Alders Photography …

visit her SMP Vendor Portfolio Page …

and

take a peek at these weddings on her blog …

Calamigos Ranch Wedding … you’ve gotta’ see the bride’s gown!

McCormick Ranch Wedding … gorgeous gown AND love her hairpiece!

OK, wait … this is a pretty cool peacock feather hairpiece (and gown and shoes and…)!

Anyone up for an Underwater Engagement Shoot??

I know that we’ve been featuring a ton of barns lately…but honestly, it’s hard to turn down a wedding THIS gorgeous. With fresh from the garden style flowers, homemade desserts that have left me REALLY hungry and a bride whose style is both ridiculously elegant and yet totally approachable…this is one of those weddings that you just know was magic. Photographed by Tara Kneiser of Dixie Pixel Photography…we’ve definitely fallen in love. Click here to see even more.

Click here to see the full wedding gallery!

Selecting the Lily Barn in Townsend as the site of our wedding was the first decision my husband, Chris, and I made. We found it on a lark and just completely fell for it. The structure is a 19th century cantilevered barn, unique to the region, set on a three-acre property of wildflower gardens, mountain streams, and beds of day lilies. The venue, along with our love of Edwardian elegance and romance, guided us in creating the celebration’s atmosphere.

Chris made a line drawing of the barn, which he used in the design of both the save-the-date cards and the invitations. We gave our guests wildflower honey, Jack Daniels sour mash, and CD mixes Chris and I put together with liner notes that served as our ceremony programs. The paper products also showcased the specific flower varieties we used in the wedding. We wanted lush florals reminiscent of a country garden, and our florist fulfilled our vision with dahlias, blue delphinium and thistle, hypericum berries, and Tennessee’s state wildflower, coneflower, with the petals pulled off! The aluminum pitchers and cobalt blue bottles to hold the flower my mother and I found together in antique markets. Many of the books on the tables came from Chris’s grandmother’s house and incorporate our love of literature. Having just moved 60 crates of books across the country, I can tell you that is a décor element authentic to us. But the awesome deconstructed book mantel display was entirely the idea of our florist and her assistant.

Our desserts, like our flowers, were inspired by east Tennessee’s summer bounty. We requested pies with peach and blackberry, strawberry and rhubarb, which sat on family-owned cake stands. Our talented pastry makers broadened the offerings with individually sized tarts, too, brownie ice cream sandwiches, and lemon meringues. The dinner food also had a relaxed, picnic feel, but the casual party had as its counterweight the 1930s-inspired Alençon lace gown I wore and Chris’s classic suit. The cameo I wore was originally my grandmother’s brooch, given to my sister, who reset it into the pendant for me. Old, new, borrowed, blue – voilà! When it all came together, the aesthetic was part rough-hewn, part refined, and the weekend was a rockin’ good time.

The day of our wedding there was a terrific thunderstorm for the hour or two right before the start. The Smoky Mountains come by their name honestly, and the rain felt pretty appropriate to the environment. Everyone, guests and vendors, rolled with it. We moved the ceremony from the field in front of a gazebo to the dinner pavilion, with my dear friend playing the hammered dulcimer having to set up his instrument and amplifier twice (thanks, Allen!). At the last minute, the sun broke, and from that moment on, there was the most beautiful golden light filtered through the mist that remained. Everything looked and felt enchanted and also intimate. I couldn’t have asked for anything more beautiful.

The Lily Barn may have established the tone, but our photographer, Tara Kneiser of Dixie Pixel Photography, captured the moments. Eventually the rain gave way to dreamy light, but she had to go through some adverse circumstances to get there. Our couples portraits were shot outside in the rain with her under a photographer’s umbrella or else in the pavilion while everyone was setting up, and she made it all look gorgeous and seem effortless. A complete professional, I could not speak more highly of her, and any other couple would be lucky to get her. Best thing I did, hands down.

Transportation: Dancing Bear Lodge / Bamboo Fans: Favors and Flowers / Honey Jars: eBeeHoney.com / CDs + Program Inserts: DIY / Invitations: Designed by Chris / Letterpress: Hello, Lucky! / Venue and Rentals: The Lily Barn, with day-of coordination by Sarah Greenway / Floral and Decor: Whimsical Gatherings, Leah McCall / Decor including pitchers, bottles, cake stands, display books: Bride’s and Family’s / Dessert Buffet: Craft & Spoon / Catering: Luxe Catering & Events, Bettina McCann / Wine: Downtown Wine & Spirits / Beer: Downtown Grill & Brewery / Groom’s Attire: Suit and tie by Ermenegildo Zegna / Wedding Gown: Lazaro, from Mon Amie Bridal Salon in Costa Mesa, CA / Wedding Veil: Colleen Moore of White Orchid Bridal / Shoes: Stuart Weitzman, purchased on Zappo’s / Hair: Brett at Salon Azure / Jewelry: All borrowed or passed down from family members / Bridesmaids dresses: Jim Hjelm

I have to admit, it was the bride alone that took my breath away when I first laid eyes on this wedding. Aside from being crazy beautiful, she’s got this 1920’s vibe that is so utterly romantic, so insanely lovely. But when I looked a little further and read the story that she sent me, it was the way that this pair approached their wedding that really left the lasting impression. I don’t want to spoil the fun so I’ll just tell you that Sean Flanigan’s photography only elevated the already beautiful, vintage inspired wedding style that the couple infused into each and every detail. And there is so much more, right here.

click here to see so many more lovely details!

PJ and I are two old souls. Whether it looks old, smells old or is old–we’re totally into it. For us, our wedding was about creating a celebration which was a unique blend of our love for each other, and our love for the past. Every detail, every decoration, and every doily were collected from antique stores, thrift shops, and garage sales throughout the Northwest. (I also might have raided my four grandma’s closets, jewelry boxes, photo albums, etc. for research purposes of course.) I like to think we were attempting to create the beginning of our story by melding together the short stories of others pasts.

This melding, however, was less of a quaint vision, and more of a family affair. Thanks to my brilliant wedding planning guru at Plume (oh right, my mom), my step father’s innovative graphic design work, my grandmother’s floral business, Shades of Green, and the assortment of friends and family who spent their late evenings gluing books shut, stamping tags and tying up 45 batches of homemade Mama Donna Roca (yes that’s my other grandma)–this day came to pass in an effortless, beautiful fashion.

What I found truly memorable about that day wasn’t the nervous song PJ played for me after we saw each other for the first time, or even the gentle first kiss he laid on my hand when I reached him at the end of aisle. Rather, it was the smile that ceased to leave my lips; knowing that the love PJ and I had for each other was reciprocated by each and every person in attendance; knowing that this day happened because of their help, love and support; and knowing that I had the love of the man of my dreams. The rest was just icing on the cake. Really extraordinary icing mind you, but just icing.

Design Concept and Creation: Plume – Wedding Concepts / Photographer: Sean Flanigan / Florist: Shades of Green / Hair: Lindsey Moceri (Owner, Salon Bellisima) / Make-Up: Kerri Efendi / Wedding Dress: Selia Yang (Couture Piece) / Headpiece: Unique Bridal Boutique (Burien) / Jewelry: Vintage heirlooms (bracelet, ring) and earrings from Zizia (Burien) / Dessert: Top Pot Donuts / Ceremony Location: University of Washington Botanic Gardens (Goodfellow Grove) / Reception Location: Sodo Park by Herban Feast / Invitation: Stephen Whipple Designs / Letterpress: Bjorn Press / Calligraphy: Ephemera (Tara Bliven) / Tuxes: The Tuxedo Club (Kirkland) / Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom

When you are invited to a wedding at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara, you know it’s going to be spectacular. When you hear that Imagine…Weddings and Special Eventshas designed & coordinated it … Camilla Svensson Burns is doing the florals … enLuce is snapping the pics … AND Russel Fowler is filming … yikes!  You will, no doubt, get down on your knees and beg to be invited!

images courtesy of enLuce photography

From Talani, Robert’s  b e a u t i f u l bride … “Ours is a story of a deep friendship turned into a greater love!”

When Robert met Talani, he said, “There is a certain sparkle in her eyes!” And he knew she was ever-so special!

Their wedding was an elaborate and loving affair planned and designed with the expertise of many amazing vendors!

The vibrancy and the passion between Talani & Robert was evident in every moment of this day!

We snagged a trailer from their video from Russell Fowler Studios for more of the love ….

Our congratulations to Talani and Robert on a divine celebration of love!

Event Design & Coordination: Imagine…Weddings & Special Events, LLC

Floral Design: Camilla Svensson Burns Couture Floral Event Design

Photography: Dana Haritay, enLuce Photography

Videography: Russell Fowler Studios

Venue: Four Seasons Resort, Santa Barbara

Music Services: Ian Gotler Red Shoe Productions

Wedding Gown: Eve of Milady ~ Amalia Carrara

I’m always on the lookout for cool, new approaches to traditionally themed styles. Take the beach wedding for example. I totally heart how this couple took a style that has been done and done and done again…infusing it with a modern style and clean, simple details. The effect is still very beachy and yet the whole day has this insanely chic vibe threaded throughout every moment. Love, love, love that. Photographed by Marianne Wilson, you beach inspired girls are going to obsess over this one. Click here to see even more!

click here to see the pretty, pretty gallery!

When Kevin and I first started planning our wedding, we both knew we wanted a beachy theme. After trekking up and down the California coastline for weeks in search of a venue, we ironically found our place—the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach—which is about a 10 minute walk from our house. Everything about the tiny boutique beachy-meets-modern hotel “screamed” us.

Getting married in the same town where we met four years prior held more meaning to us than having the ceremony in one of our respective hometowns (me, from Connecticut, Kevin from Oregon). Plus, having more than eighty people fly to Manhattan Beach from all over the country was a dream to us, and a sweet vacation for them.

We soon realized our wedding was starting to become not only a one-day affair, but a full-on event. Before we knew it, friends and family were collaborating cross-country on emails for house rentals and hotel bookings for the whole week. The week was kicked off with a 50-person bar crawl, followed by a fiesta welcome party we held in our backyard.

The entire planning process was DIY—right down to the invitations and the chuppah we got married under. Beginning with the save-the-dates, we had a good friend take pics of us on the beach with our date 7-17-10 written in the sand. My brother Quinn fabulously photoshopped it into a postcard, and off they went. Next were the invites. Lucky for us, LA is full off wholesale stores. So I bought everything I needed at Kelly Paper, hired the fabulous Sarah Guse Brown off Etsy to design my invites, and randomly lucked out with a printer who made them look better than Crane!

My dress by Allure Bridals was the one thing I never hesitated on. I brought along two of my best friends to buy it, and the looks on their faces when I put it on said it all. Of course I put my own spin on it, changing the neckline to sweetheart, adding buttons down the back, and—my favorite—the most stunning diamond sash made by Amanda of Untamed Petals.

Our centerpieces were done completely by us, and our amazing wedding coordinator Kelsie Hopkins of Bride & Bloom Designs. Vases, seaglass and curly willow were bought at Michaels, Kels took care of all the flowers at the downtown LA flower mart, and my lovely husband made several early morning trips to the beach to retrieve the coolest shells and sand dollars for our tables. My mother-in-law Bruna also donated all 150 Oregon sand dollars from her beach house that were collected through the years, and those became our aisle runners.

I’d always wanted to be married under a chuppah, not because I’m Jewish (Kev and I are actually both Catholic, go figure) but they’re so pretty! So our handyman friend Drew built the entire thing—plus a podium on the wedding day itself—from bamboo stalks. It couldn’t have looked better. As for our minister, Kev and I asked our dear friend Amanda, who is one of the most gorgeous, non-judging, open-hearted people we know. The poor girl sliced 3 fingers open two hours before our ceremony and had to be rushed to urgent care, and still made it there with a huge smile on her face…and caught the bouquet I might add…

Our cocktail reception was held on the roofdeck over looking the Pacific, as our talented friends Justin Hopkins and Scott Fisher serenaded our guests, who munched on apps like mini sliders and ahi tartar cones. Once the sun setted, our DJ Kris Bunya led everyone to the courtyard for dinner, lit by turquoise and white mood lighting and a giant monogram of our names on the far wall.

Guests popped in and out of the photobooth we rented from PhotoBox LA, complete with outrageous costume options like a Darth Vader mask, or a pimp hat my dad seemed to like the best. We set up a scrapbook with pens and stickers for the guests, and the messages we got were so hysterical, we know we’ll have that thing forever.

After dinner, we all went back upstairs and cranked the music up, singing family favorites like “Country Roads” (for Kev’s dad who passed away and was from West Virginia) so loud that we got a little warning from the po-po. After delicious red velvet cupcakes made by a friend and a few more dances that started rivaling Dancing With the Stars, we skipped through sparkers, and were off.

The party was far from over, though. 50 of our guests joined us at our local hangout (and first date) Sharks Cove in Manhattan Beach. I changed from my Louboutins into flip flops, and finally let Kev take his tie off so we could hang til the wee hours with our favorite people. The bottom of my dress is black as night from the bar floor. But as we look at it, the sign of a really great party. It may be unwearable for my daughter, but I vowed to my mother to save a swatch to sew inside her wedding dress!

The week was the best one of our lives—filled with laughter, family, friends and a new beginning. Our guests are already asking if we’re interested in hosting a vow renewal party every year…

Photography: Marianne Wilson Photography / Venue: Shade Hotel / Paper Elements and Design: Brightly Designed / Florals: The Blooming Bride / Wedding Coordinator: Kelsie Hopkins / Videographer: Dan Ferraro / Band & DJ: Kris Bunya DJFX / Limo service: Simply Elegant Limousine Service / Bridal Party Makeup: Erika Lynn / Bridal Party Hair: Hush Hush Hair Salon / Bride’s gown: La Soie Bridal / Bride’s shoes: Louboutin / Groomsmen attire: Mens Wearhouse, ties by Express Men, tie clips by The Tie Bar, Shoes by Ben Sherman / Bridesmaids attire: French Connection UK

Well, we’re back in Boston after four awesome days in Palm Beach. And, I’m kind of re-thinking this whole “we should move to Boston” thing because of the four seasons. Which basically translates to really cold, pretty wet days. It’s probably just a Palm Beach hangover but still. Leaving the sun was a tad challenging. Anyway, I’m padding the blow with this absolutely darling wedding sent our way by the beautiful bride, Jasmin, and her groom, Steve…who were all about the sweet but totally elegant DIY details. Love, love, love this little gem and I know you will too. Click here to see even more!

click here to see the gallery and all of the super cute DIY details!

To wed or to elope? As self described scrooges…Steve and I wrestled with this question for a few months! In the end, we decided that it was important that we celebrate the day with our family and close friends. Once we went down this path, well, I went from “Monique Lhuillier who?” to owning a Monique Lhuillier dress! I obsessed about every detail of our wedding and spent my nights lurking on websites such as SMP looking for inspiration. Now that the planning is over, I’d like to contribute back to future brides!

There were several DIY components to our wedding; the most notable were all our paper items, our flowers, and our origami name cardholders. We DIY’ed as much as we could, not only because it was budget friendly but also because I had a lot of fun doing it. We knew we wanted to play with color and decided on green, yellow, and gray as our color palette. Our event ended up more yellow and gray with a touch of green but it definitely helped to have a color palette from the get-go so as not to be led astray by all the beautiful color choices out there!

The paper products were one area where we decided to save (splurging instead on our venue, caterer, and photographer). Three invaluable items which I used over and over again: my Xyron machine, paper cutter, and Fiskar corner punch. With an architect and a marketing professional as two of my three bridesmaids, I did not lack for creative talent and they helped create our bird logo. This was one of the best decisions to nail down early in the process because we were able to “brand” our wedding from start to finish in a consistent manner, from our website to our programs and menus.

My favorite component of the invitations was the envelopes! I had a crazy idea of sewing glassine inner envelopes with green thread around the borders. I purchased a $40 sewing machine on Amazon to test my project. The effect was pretty but I discovered that I couldn’t sew a straight line if my life depended on it. Using a pencil to lightly outline where to sew seemed to do the trick! I also fell in love with envelope liners; they were so easy to do and did not require a template or kit. If there’s only one DIY project that you do, this is it because it gave our invites extra oomph without taking up a lot of time.

Flowers…yes, logistically you CAN do your own flowers! And no formal training is required (I am a geeky number cruncher by profession)! I knew I wanted to have tons of flowers without breaking the bank but I was on the fence about this, worrying it would take away from time with friends and family. But with careful planning, I banged out table arrangements for 13 tables, 4 bouquets, 11 boutonnieres, and 4 corsages while still spending quality time with our wedding party. The trick is to have your flowers delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday assuming you have a Saturday wedding. You can then prepare your arrangements on Wednesday and Thursday (although corsages are best done on the day of). My other secret ingredients were the use of corsage picks to provide the bouts with a water source, a flower sealant spray to lock in moisture, and Oasis flower adhesive for the corsages. Make sure to do a couple of practice runs a few months or weeks before your wedding.

Our actual wedding day was so much fun and we felt so grateful that we could spend it with our closest friends and family. We chose to take pictures before our ceremony so that we could max out time with our guests. Our first look was just so precious; I’ll remember it always!Seeing each other before the ceremony had the added benefit of calming my nerves so that I was able to remember actually walking down the aisle! We drafted our own vows and we were able to inject some meaningful readings and humor into our ceremony. And the speeches during dinner…well, they were one of my favorite moments that day. We were touched by all the speeches (best man, matron of honor, my brother, Steve, and Steve’s mom), words cannot even describe.

For the Philly and NYC brides, I totally have to give a shout out to some of my vendors who made a big difference during the wedding planning process. Our photographers Margaret and Max from Unusually Fine, located in NYC, took amazing pictures and made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera. Stephanie at Robert Ryan Catering rocked! She took care of so many details and was always a step ahead. Tasha and Christina at cHill Weddings were our day-of coordinators; it was the best money I spent to make sure all went well during our wedding. Ann Hamilton, also in NYC was absolutely wonderful to work with and transformed my $250 dress (that’s right, you didn’t misread, I bought a Monique Lhuillier dress for $250 on sale!) into the vision I had in my head.

I had a lot of fun planning my wedding and I wish you ladies the same as you plan your special day!

Photography: Unusually Fine / Coordinator: cHill Weddings / Catering: Robert Ryan Catering / Alterations: Ann Hamilton / Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo / Groom & Groomsmen Tuxes: Mens Wearhouse / Online Flowers: 2GRoses / Cupcakes: Brown Bettys / Makeup: Aleksandra Ambrozy / Hair: Calista Brides / String Quartet: Anamaria Achitei, Musicali Strings / DJ: Kim Walsh / Custom Hand Lettering: GalaFont / Custom Table Numbers: Blue Mountain Crafts / Hair flower: Twigs & Honey / Cupcake Toppers: Naked Peggies

These Vendors are members of our Little Black Book.
For membership information, click here

Bridesmaid

Jenny Yoo

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If you were to ask anyone that knows me, they would unquestionably confirm that I am a girly girl through and through. Hence why I was squealing with sheer delight as soon as I laid my eyes on this pretty wedding photographed by Lori Paladino. The blush pink details are so feminine and gorgeous and the gaggle of cute ballerinas just might be the cutest thing ever. But aside from ALL of that, I am completely mesmerized by Villa Montalvo, whose grounds look like they were plucked right from the Italian countryside and nestled in the Silicon Valley. It lends such a sophisticated and timeless backdrop to this soiree. Oh be still my heart. See the rest of this gorgeous day filled to the brim with pretty pinks in the gallery.

find the FULL gorgeous wedding in the gallery!

From Lori Paladino…

Nicole & John’s wedding at Villa Montalvo was full of timeless beauty – which is a perfect way to describe the sweet love these two have for one another. From the stunning vintage-inspired dress Nicole wore, to the framed family portraits on display of generations of marriages within Nicole & John’s families (400 years of marriage were displayed on that table – wow!), to a lovely soft pink palette of gorgeous floral arrangements, to inspired place cards designed by Nicole’s talented sister, so many personal touches that made their day so easy to connect to, and so much fun to photograph. Monarch butterflies were released as Nicole & John shared their first kiss as husband & wife! Nicole & John, and their families, not only created an atmosphere that was beautiful to behold, they carefully thought out ways to make the evening incredibly fun for their guests: delicious food, an amazing band, even a super fun photo booth to encourage lots of great pictures with their guests. But as usual, words fail to capture the sweetness of this day: instead we invite you to view some highlights of the day.

Photography: Lori Paladino / Wedding Planner: Kristina Taheri Special Events / Ceremony and Reception Site: Villa Montalvo, Kathleen Kirkpatrick / Caterer and Rentals: Cafe Primavera / Officiant: Father John Talesfore / Flowers: Jose Ibarra Floral Design / Ceremony Music, Sound and Cocktail Music: Italian Accordion, Reno DiBono Trio / Reception Music: California Honeydrops / Cake & Desserts: Miette Bakery / Rolls Royce: Pete Stylianos / Rentals: Williams, La Tavola, Cafe Primavera

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this next featured wedding! Sent to us by the sensational wedding coordinators at Joy de Vivre, with photography by Ian Grant … it is such a wonderful departure from the norm!

Sara and Ross were married at the county courthouse. We LOVE all the courthouse weddings that are shared with us … but this one? omg … Don’t you wish YOUR county courthouse looked like this!?!

from Joy de Vivre …

Sara and Ross fell in love with Santa Barbara and chose to adopt the city’s quintessential Spanish look for their wedding. They were married at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and had their ceremony at the beautiful Granada Theatre. Sara chose a beautiful champagne pintuck linen for her guest tables, highlighting with a romantic deep red satin napkin wrapped around a gold charger. Centerpieces by Florette Designs alternated between tall manzanita trees with white phalaenopsis orchids, and short full centerpieces filled with ivory peonies.

You can’t help but LOVE this wedding!

Our congrats to Sara & Ross …

and thanks to Joy de Vivre Wedding Coordination and Ian Grant Photography!

Coordination: Joy de Vivre Wedding Coordination
Photography: Ian Grant Photography
Florist: Florette Designs
Caterer: Ariel Catering
Ceremony Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse
Reception Venue: Granada Theatre
DJ: Alex Rubalcava
Rentals: Event Rents
Chuppah: I love Chuppahs
Officiant: Rabbi Jayne Simon
Cake: Robyn Loves Cake

Joy has a really terrific blog with LOTS of interesting finds! Here are a couple of our own personal faves …

William Sonoma Tablescape

Diamond In The Rough

Preserving Wedding Flowers

Joy de Vivre was recently feature on Style Me Pretty ~ here!

The next wedding, shot by Windy Dougall in the always gorgeous Palm Springs, is simple, sweet and full to the brim with style.  The light pink astilbe bouquet by The Floral Lab is what first stole my heart but it was the love that radiates from all the photos that was the hook, line and sinker.  The wedding vendor envy continues with coordination by the talented girls that are Carter & Cook and sweet paper details by Dear Darling.  And those gooey goodies by the Sweet & Saucy Shop?  I am drooling all over the keyboard.  Go get your mushy gushy love on in the full gallery!  xoxo, Emilia Jane

Check out the full gallery!

From Carter & Cook …

Molly & Donovan tied the knot this past June in the beautiful, and very warm Palm Springs. They chose theO’Donnell Golf Club for the lovely outdoor setting against the San Jacinto Mountain range. The summer wedding went beautifully – a ceremony filled with meaningful vows paired with a rockin’ fun reception under the stars. Their guests ate, drank and danced the night away with the newlyweds. The Floral Lab produced THE coolest terrarium’s inside large mason jars. Pair that with a few billy balls and astilbe and you’ve got a party! Dear Darling created hand made table numbers that made a sweet touch to each table. Very natural, simple and perfect. Donovan’s family owns the most amazing pizza and Italian restaurant in the desert, which catered the most delicious dinner that night. The party never stopped, and the amount of love and friends these two have is certainly incredible. The best part of their wedding was that it was truly about them, and their commitment to marriage. Simple, sweet and loads of fun.

Vendor Credits: Photography: Windy Dougall; Planning and Coordination: Carter & Cook; Florist: The Floral Lab; Invitations and Paper: Dear Darling; Desserts: Sweet & Saucy Shop; Venue: O’Donnell Golf Club; Caterer: Giuseppe’s Pizza and Pasta

Let’s face it, when it comes to all things wedding, we like need lots of choices. Sometimes it can take a bit of searching to find the just right style, the just right color, at the just right price. We totally get it. You’ll be relieved to know that we have tons of fabulous new dresses for you to browse through in your quest for the perfect gown for your girls. So without further ado, we’d like to give a great big SMP welcome to After Six, Lela Rose, and Cynthia Rowley. The first newbie to the Look Book line up is After Six and they have more than just a few adorable little numbers to choose from…

If your style is romantic and feminine, the very lovely Lela Rose has a whole new collection of flirty frocks to the Look Book…

And what would the cake be without the icing?? Enter, the always chic, Cynthia Rowley…

We’ve added all of these pretty darling little dresses to our Fashion Look Book so you don’t even need to leave SMP to start your search.