One of our very favorite vendors, Bella Figura, just launched a brand spanking new website! It’s filled with the most beautiful designs you have ever seen…perfectly letterpressed, on perfectly gorgeous papers, using the most perfectly fabulous artistry you can imagine.

But, perhaps my favorite thing about the new site…is that they are featuring all new “favorite picks”by bloggers like myself, Oh Joy!, {frolic!} and Junebug Weddings!

We chose our favorites from some of the most innovative, the most creative designers out there…Amy Graham Stigler of Snow and Graham, Ian Koenig, Tara Hogan and so many others. If your on the fence about ordering, you can buy a sample pack for $10 where all proceeds go towards The Conservation Fund.

From their gorgeous new letterpress gallery to a pretty incredible online ordering system, Bella Figura’s new website is about as fabulous as you can get. Definitely spend some time checking out all of their new designs and gorgeous letterpress!

Here is a last look at today’s oh-so-pretty real wedding…

Thank you so much to Jon Gangwer of Well Spun Weddings for introducing us to his gorgeous work and to this lovely wedding. And thanks to MK Photography for sharing the ridiculously beautiful images!

We have more to come, so check back soon!

I think that today’s featured wedding, shot by MK Photo, is all about the pretty. All about those perfect little touches that make it a perfect day!

Isn’t the sorbet shot pretty great? And the napkins…I swear people, it’s ALL in the details! More to come!

Our featured wedding, today, was sent to us by Lyndsey Hamilton Events and applauds several very talented Little Black Book members! Lyndsey has some super-sensational weddings posted on her blog. Over the holidays, you need to set aside time to take a serious look.  She has offices in California, New England and New York and produces absolutely brilliant weddings!

Take a look at Ashley & Rob’s …

Ashley and Rob’s wedding, at the beautiful Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara, was orchestrated by Lyndsey Hamilton Events. Their wedding represents another gold mine of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book members:  Aaron Delesie (photography), Mindy Rice (floral design), Riley Towne Productions (videography), and Lyndsey Hamilton Events.

Floral Design by Mindy Rice.

from Mindy … I just LOVED Ashley and her mother, Cam. Ashley was into “details” and “texture”.  Working in Santa Barbara ,and near the coast, she wanted to incorporate local textures and foliage, yet keep it simple with the subtle shifts of white and cream. We made her table cloths in a graphite color that Ashley loved from the beginning! She loved the simple silhouette of the manzanita, yet wanted to add the feminine touch of fresh, garden roses, Hydrangea, Freesia, tulips, succulents, and various steel colored grasses. Platinum vessels in a variety of sizes and shapes held the floral on a variety of square, round and rectangular tables.

from Lyndsey …  We loved producing this wedding! Bacara is such a breathtaking venue and everyone there is so amazing to work with.  The bride lives in New York and wanted a “Hamptons-themed wedding in Santa Barbara.”   So, having planned many weddings in the Hamptons, we knew exactly what she meant.  As the bride works for Martha Stewart Living Magazine, she had a clear and distinct style for the wedding and it was wonderful incorporating her vision.  The ceremony overlooked the ocean and was breathtaking.  Working with the fabulous Mindy Rice, we flanked two tall block arrangements with branches and hydrangea to serve as the stage for the ceremony, with a blanket of white flower petals.  Guests then enjoyed cocktails outdoors, where we placed tall tables scattered with candles and succulents.  For the decor in the ballroom, we used a combination of white and green flowers, and chose tables with various sizes and shapes.  We selected multiple shades of grey linens to create a distinct aesthetic at each table.  Hydrangea and tulips were the prominent flowers, again incorporating the Hamptons theme.

After the reception, we  converted a portion of the ballroom into a lounge where we brought in furniture, lighting, and a DJ for an after-party, to create an entirely different vibe from the reception, while guests danced and snacked on mini-burgers, fries, and other small plates.

Here are a few more photos of the stunning couple from the oh-so-talented Mr. Delesie …

If you’re a long-time Style Me Pretty fan, you know we LOVE Aaron’s work: Way back in November 2007 … we featured a Maui wedding with vibrant orchids and a brilliant orange, pink and green color palette.

Then there was a wedding with SO many fun details we wouldn’t even know where to begin (color palette: browns and pink and olive greens) … Post I, Post II, Post III

Most recently, in October’s celebration of PINK WEEK we showed you a seriously-pink wedding from Aaron’s stash of totally amazing weddings! Post I, Post II, Post III

There’s just one final piece missing from today’s post, and that is the video clip from Riley-Towne Productions. I saw a brief snippet of it a few days ago, but due to the holiday rush, we’ll have to wait just a bit to bring it to you. Believe me, it’s worth the wait!!

A huge thanks to Lyndsey for sending us Ashley & Rob’s wedding. Sooooo beautiful. (Here’s another Martha-worthy wedding from Lyndsey Hamilton Events.)

After we saw the beautiful wedding film, shot by Well Spun Weddings, we enlisted the help of MK Photography to share the still shots from this very wedding.

So so pretty…the couple seems so in love, so beautiful. We have more from this wedding on the way!

I spotted this ridiculously cute cake when I was playing around on the Vogue (Australia) site. It reminded me so much of a Roger La Borde card, completely brought to life. Made by Planet Cake in Sydney, this cake is all charm…as are all of their fun cakes. For a little treat, spend some time checking out Planet Cake!!

The countdown is beginning! Four days until Christmas and at the Larson house, we are busy shopping, decorating and eating WAY too many cookies. But, we are loving it nonetheless.

Today, I wanted to feature a cinematographer that I completely and totally fell in love with a few weeks ago. Jon Gangwer of Well Spun Weddings crafts the most beautiful, vintage inspired wedding films that will literally make your heart skip a beat. His work is so utterly romantic, so completely intimate and artistic…

Well Spun Wedding Films from Jon Gangwer on Vimeo

The best part about Jon is that he is totally aware of the incredible uniqueness of each couple. He approaches each wedding as if it’s the first he’s seen…quietly looking to the couple to set the tone of the film.

And, it gets even better. Whether you have a big budget or a small budget, Well Spun Weddings has a little something for everyone. From his coverage options (standard definition to high definition and everything in between) to his incredibly creative editing options, you can definitely make this work. He even offers a program where you can have a friend video your wedding, then send the tape to him for editing work. Hello love.  

Today’s wedding is for all of you that are still stuck at work, with the icy cold weather and the grey sky…perhaps it will brighten your day a bit!

Thanks so much to Rebecca at Custom Event Group! This gorgeous wedding is JUST what we needed! Here is a last bit from Rebecca…

LOVELY BRIDE PURVA sent out the neatest ‘thank – you’s’ – perfectly packaged and delivered one-of-a-kind New York cheesecake. The yummy cake and sweet note meant more than cash. Take note brides and grooms, it’s ok to get creative when thanking vendors. We give from our heart and a heartfelt thanks means the world.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

A few more absolutely beautiful from today’s Indian inspired wedding…

Photography: Sylvia’s Photography

A FEW NEAT TID BITS from Rebecca at Custom Event Group…
Hmm, what a huge property BEAULIEU is…bet you would be surprised to hear that I clock an average of 7 miles on the wedding day. Wow, nothing like a being a wedding planner for the best leg workout.

KATHY HOFFMAN FLOWERS – she brings floral design to a different level. She sees flowers just as Thomas Keller of the French Laundry sees food. You can figure out the end of that simile. It makes sense; her parents opened the French Laundry years ago in the then-quaint and relatively unknown town of Yountville. They sold it to Keller 12 years ago. Chef Keller has kept her on do to all the floral design work for Ad Hoc,
Bouchon Bakery, Bouchon Restaurant and the French Laundry. Am I lucky to work with her or what?

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

Everyone likes great wedding shoe-shots … right? Well, I feel that way about Wedding RING-SHOTS.

Maybe it’s because I love gorgeous rings … or maybe it’s because of the unbelievable creativity of wedding photographers. I just think ring-shots are so artistic.

So … when we posted yesterday’s LBB Blog with the cute-cute little man RING bearers … it just seemed natural to follow-up with our first Little Black Book Ring-Shot Gallery.

Wait, though. There’s more to the story. About two weeks ago, I saw a post on Carla Ten Eyk’s blog that made me realize I wasn’t alone. There’s an entire website devoted to amazing photographs of wedding rings. And Carla has twenty-one (*21!) featured on it. Take a look at just a few of hers …

Carla rocks the ring shots! And you should hear what her brides (& fellow-photo buffs) say about her {inspiring, generous, awesome, genuine, creative, passionate, encouraging, amazingly talented … just a few of their words}. Carla’s studio is based in Hartford CT, but she’ll travel anywhere! We can’t recommend her highly enough.

Now, back to the ring-shots. The site is ROCKTOGRAPHERS … and I seriously spent a couple of hours mesmerized by the beauty in these images. I found more of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book members featured and started ‘snipping’ photos left & right. I was on a roll! Once again, I turned back to the LBB photography blogs, and voila’ … a virtual smorgasbord of fabulous ring-shots …

Ring-shots (above) by Little Black Book photographers StudioFoto, Hollye Schumacher, Daria Bishop, Mark Garber, and another by Hollye.

Ring-shots (above) by Jeremy Hess, Justin Marantz, Orchard Cove, StudioFoto and Daria Bishop.

Ring-shots by StudioFoto, Walters and Walters, StudioFoto, and two more from Daria Bishop. I LOVE Daria’s Ring/Ant-Shot!!

This last shot from Hollye Schumacher has a great story behind it. We’ll save that for another feature!

My husband, my little girl and I all flew down to Florida last night for a nice, long Christmas vacation and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Seventy degrees and beautifully sunny. It’s actually why I chose this particular wedding, sent to us by Custom Event Group, to feature today…a wedding that is bright and colorful, that matches my mood!

Venue: Beaulieu Gardens / Catering Company: Elaine Bell Catering Company / Floral Design: Kathy Hoffman Flowers / Photography: Sylvia’s Photography / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

How ridiculously beautiful are those flowers. I love everything about this wedding! Here are a few notes from Rebecca…

The authentic Indian traditions blended well with the classic beauty of the wine country. While planning this wedding, we worked hard to stay true to the heritage, while bringing great style and savvy touches. Incredible color splashes of peach, nectarine, yellow, glistening gold and hints of pink showcased the historic winery estate beautifully. The arrangements were lush with huge peonies, overblown garden roses and luxurious thick latte colored satin ribbons – oh what fun.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

And I mean, seriously loves. The oh-so-talented Jim Smeal is crafting the wedding cakes for my design-savvy (soon-to-be) sister-in-law which I couldn’t be more excited about. He designs these perfect, one part preppy, one part totally chic wedding cakes that literally elevate your wedding style to the next level. It’s hard to find the words to say just how much I love Jim Smeal.

Today’s wedding, sent to me by Rebecca at Custom Event Group, is all about beauty. An Indian inspired affair, the colors are so incredibly vibrant, the attire so unbelievably gorgeous, the details so perfectly lovely. Prepare yourself to crave the layers upon layers of gorgeous color for your own wedding…

Photography: Sylvia’s Photography

So much more to come!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

Here is a last look at the gorgeous real wedding that we are featuring today. Getting a peek into a vendor’s wedding is perhaps one of the best ways to really understand how the details can make a wedding completely shine. Lauren brought touches of herself and her fiance into every element and the end result was nothing short of lovely…

Photography ~ Seeing as Lincoln and I are both photographers, it was also important to us that our wedding was well documented. We hired the talented Eric Cable to photograph our wedding. We also had a photo booth set up in the bar area for guests to use at their leisure. This was a hit! Not only was the photo booth fun for guests, but they were able to take home prints from the booth that night. A fabulous and unexpected favor from the evening!

Wedding Planner ~ About 4 months before the wedding I realized that I was going to need some help planning and arranging details for our wedding. I was in the middle of my wedding photography season and was feeling extremely overwhelmed with work and wedding planning. I had been referred to Carmen Bailey by another photographer who had worked with her as a photographer at a few weddings. Carmen was awesome. I wish there were photos that depicted how amazing she was throughout the planning process as well on the day of our wedding. I highly recommend hiring a planner, even if it’s just for the day-of. It really made such a huge difference for me and Lincoln, especially since our family and all of our wedding party was from out of state.

Thank you so much to Lauren and Lincoln for sharing their day with us! It has left me feeling all cozy and in love. And, if anyone needs more Lauren inspiration, check out her gorgeous blog for total eye candy.

Now for the incredibly delicious details…the details that made this beautiful wedding, completely charming and oh-so-personal.

photography by Eric Cable

From Lauren…

The Cake/Cupcakes/Groom’s Cake ~ Jocelyn Barda of Bakery Bar made our adorable wedding cupcakes as well as our little ‘cutting’ cake. Nicole and Grant Simmons, our wedding photography clients, let Lincoln and I take a couple of their perfect moss-covered logs from their wedding and we used them as our cake and cupcake stands. Lincoln ordered a yule log from Beaverton Bakery (his favorite bakery) as his groom’s cake. It looked just like a log – it was adorable!

Guest Book ~ A good friend of ours is an experienced bookbinder and offered to make our beautiful guest book. She made the book out of natural materials that went along with our woodsy theme. One of our friends took 4×5 Polaroids of guests that were placed on each of the guestbook pages. It’s a precious, hand-made reminder of our day – we cherish it!

Stationery ~ I’m a fan of everything paper so our save-the-dates, invites, and reception pieces were one of my favorite things to help create. We used KBella Invitations to design our invitations and coordinating reception pieces. Using a design from our Save the Date magnet as inspiration, we created elegant yet woodsy coordinating pieces that were just perfect!

Even more to come!

I am totally smitten with Lauren and Lincoln’s wedding. Cozy, warm and so intimate, it is the epitome of what a wedding should be. And whether it was the timing of the photographs, the weather or simply the Oregon sky, this next set of images shot by Eric Cable is pure gorgeousness….

From the lovely bride, Lauren…

Fashion ~ When dress shopping, I only went to one bridal salon, AniA Bridal, in downtown Portland. I ended up buying the third dress I tried on. I didn’t know what I wanted when I went shopping but knew the minute that I tried my dress on that it was ‘the one’. It is a fluted Alvina Valenta gown made from silk shantung with Guipire lace trim. I had a bolero made out of the Guipire lace – it was lovely.  I decided not to wear a veil but instead made a hairpiece by deconstructing a necklace from Banana Republic and wiring the broach-like jewelry to a hair comb.

Choosing bridesmaids dresses was a challenge. I had 7 bridesmaids and wanted them to feel comfortable in their dress. I chose the designer, color and fabric and let each of them choose the style. The crocodile-green color looked surprisingly good on everyone and the girls said that they felt very comfortable. As a gift, I bought them all sage-colored wraps to help keep them warm. I also found wonderful jewelry designer on Etsy. She had a lovely red fern pendant necklace in her collection and I bought one for each bridesmaid as well as Lincoln’s sister, our groomswoman.

Lincoln and his groomsmen rented espresso-colored suits from Mr. Formal in Portland. We bought satin fabric that matched the bridesmaid dresses had the groom and groomsmen’s ties custom-made. Lincoln gifted each of his groomsmen hoodies – one of his favorite articles of clothing and a must-have in the Pacific Northwest.

Family and Friends ~ The most memorable part of our wedding day was, of course, the love and support or our family and friends. We wanted to include them as much as possible in our wedding celebration since they’ve had such an impact on who we are today. We really saw our wedding as not only the union of the two of us, but also the joining together of all of our friends and relatives.

Lincoln and I decided that we both wanted our parents to escort us down the aisle. We did a ring-passing ceremony, where our mothers gave our wedding rings to our wedding party members. Our wedding party then passed the rings to one another, offering a silent blessing before Lincoln and I exchanged the rings.

At the end of our ceremony, each of our parents stood and offered a blessing. My dad and stepmom read the Art of Marriage, my mom read ‘Two Happy Lovers’ by Pablo Neruda and Lincoln’s parents offered some valuable words of advice about love and marriage.

My maid of honor is a talented singer and one of Lincoln’s groomsmen is a talented guitar player. Several months before the wedding, we asked if they would be interested in singing and playing our first dance song. They agreed and, man, was it great! The best part is that a friendship between the two blossomed out of the whole thing.

Today, we are featuring one of our favorite photographer, Lauren Brooks’, recent real wedding! I always love to see how a photographer styles their own wedding…if there is anyone who has seen the most beautiful venues, photographed the most gorgeous details and fallen in love with ceremony after ceremony, it’s a photographer.

And Lauren Brooks took everything that she had seen, and made it completely her own…

photography by Eric Cable

From Lauren…

The Ceremony ~ We chose to get married in November because we both love the Fall in Oregon. The season really set the tone for our big day. We wanted our wedding to feel romantic, woodsy and cozy. The view at the Inn is amazing so, naturally, we wanted to do the ceremony outside with the view of the Columbia River Gorge as our backdrop. The day of the wedding, the weather was cool and windy and looked like it would rain. We had rented umbrellas (just in case) and handed out fleece blankets to our guests. Rather than have everyone sit, we decided that our guests might be more comfortable gathering around us in a semi-circle as we said our vows. It gave our ceremony a very intimate and cozy feel. Our officiant, Lisa Kristen Scott, was so wonderful. She worked with us to help make a ceremony that was very personal to us. The ceremony was my favorite part of the whole day.

Florist ~ The Inn is very pretty on it’s own and didn’t need a lot of decoration. Knowing that flowers would be the shining star of our décor, choosing a florist was important. Upon meeting with Francoise Weeks, we knew she was a good fit for us. We wanted our arrangements, bouquets, and boutonnieres to be made using flowers and greenery that were mostly ‘found’ items, meaning that they were local and seasonal. Francoise worked very closely with us to create natural, woodsy flower arrangements that really fit our theme and our budget. Her attention to detail was incredible – I’ll let the photos do the talking!

So many more gorgeous details of Lauren and Lincoln’s wedding are on their way!

Have you ever seen anything cuter than a serious little ring bearer walking down the aisle? Or a little guy who, you’re sure had a perfect tux to begin with, but now has a crooked bow tie and un-tucked shirt? Neither have we!

Row 1: Left: Justin Marantz Photography, Right: Submitted by First Class Weddings

Row 2: Justin Marantz of Justin Marantz Photography

Row 3: Michele Devries of IN Photography

Row 4: Left: Submitted by Events by Evonne-Photography by Tad Craig Photography, Right: Submitted by Anne and Bill Holland of Holland Photo Arts

Row One: Submitted by Our Labor of Love Photography

Row Two: Left: Michele DeVries of IN Photography, Right: Submitted by Events by Evonne

Row Three: Submitted by Elegant Engagments-Photographer Christopher Dumas Photography

Row Four: Submitted by Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore-Photograper  Julie Harris

This adorable wedding (spotted on Oh Joy a few days back) just warms my heart. The charm that seems to be spilling out of every corner…from the floating origami cranes to the s’mores to the fabulously chic bride and groom…is just too much for words. And Robert Sukrachand captured the wedding to perfection. Head over to Robert’s blog to see all of the gorgeous photographs!

The other day, you guys fell in love with Nicole and Grant’s rustic chic affair. Well, if there is one thing that I know Nicole was thrilled about, it was Lauren Brooks…her photographer extraordinaire. When I found out that Lauren was also recently married, I asked if I could feature HER wedding too! And I am so glad that I asked…

photography by Eric Cable

From the ridiculously gorgeous bride…

About Us ~ Lincoln and I are both photographers. In fact, photography is how we met. He hired me to assist him on a photo shoot in June 2003.  Several months later we went on our first date. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lincoln and I moved to Portland, Oregon in June of 2005. At first, we thought we would get married in Charlottesville, Virginia, the town where we met. However, after some consideration, we thought it would be right for us to be married in Oregon, since it was our new beloved home state. Many of our friends and family members had never visited Oregon, so we thought our wedding would be a good opportunity to show them the place that we now call home.

The Venue ~ Since we work in the wedding industry, we’ve had the opportunity to see many of the wonderful wedding venues in Oregon. We photographed a wedding at the View Point Inn in September of 2007 and fell in love with the place. Not only is the Inn beautiful, it has an incredible view of the Columbia River Gorge that takes your breath away.

The Inn is also is a fine dining restaurant that focuses on serving local fare and provides all of the catering for your wedding. Lincoln and I are self-proclaimed foodies, so the food at our wedding was very important to us. We wanted our guests to feel welcome, pampered, and relaxed at our wedding and the Inn truly embodies casual elegance. There is a cool bar/lounge area that is located in the Inn’s former carriage house. The people at the Inn were willing to bring in local beers and let us bring in regional wines so we could offer our guests some of our favorite local libations.

So much more to come from Lauren’s wedding!