After three years of dating, Kellen decided to pop the question. He took Claire to her favorite destination in the world, Paris, France. As the Eiffel Tower sparkled at dusk, he got on one knee in front of hundreds and asked Claire’s hand in marriage. It was the perfect way for us to start our lives together. We came home from Paris, completely inspired and awestruck by the beauty. We felt we needed to incorporate the atmosphere and romance of our special engagement into our wedding.

Claire visited Pasadena frequently as a child. She always remembered a beautiful brick building in a courtyard and she would say, “I’m gonna get married there!” After visiting and researching Old Town Pasadena, we learned that this restaurant was a venue for weddings.

As most couples say, cherish every moment of the wedding. The wedding process is stressful, so make sure you don’t take it out on each other. It is important in our marriage to never go to bed, never hang up the phone, or never leave the house mad at each other. More importantly, never go a day without saying, “I love you.”

Ceremony: First United Methodist Church / Reception: The Rococo Room / Photographer: Alders Photography / Cinematography: Greg Ross / Floral Designer: Gloria’s Flowers / Entertainment: D.J. Sam House / Hair: Melody Rachunok / Make-Up: Amy Clarke / Invitation Designer: Libby Cron, Bob Moodey, Claire Barnett / Cake & Desserts: Pasadena Baking Company / Gown Designer: Casa Blanca / Bride’s Maids Attire: Anthropologie

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Post tags: Alders Photography, Amy Clarke, Anthropologie, Argyle, Bob Moodey, California, Capiz Chandelier, Casa Blanca, Claire Barnett, Color Palette Green, contemporary, D.J. Sam House, First United Methhodist Church, Floria's Flowers, Greg Ross, Libby Cron, Melody Rachunok, Modern, Pasadena, Pasadena Baking Company, Rock Candy, The Rococo Room, Urban, Vintage Cake Topper
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Alders Photography…

Ross and Aymee’s wedding at Temescal Gateway Park was so much fun. These two really knew how to throw a party. Their three piece band played the most fitting music for the venue, before the DJ took over for the dancing at the end of the night. Aymee and Ross perfectly blended their Cuban and Jewish cultures in the most sophisticated way. Their ceremony and reception venue in the park were hidden gems, I would love to shoot there again! All in all, a great way to celebrate the beginning of marriage.

Photographer: Alders Photography / Caterer: Out Back Catering / Music: Chris Murphy Music / Reception Venue: Temescal Gateway Park / Cake Designer: Rosebud Cakes

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Post tags: Alders Photography, California, Chris Murphy Music, LA, Los Angeles, Out Back Catering, Rosebud Cakes, Temescal Gateway Park
Post categories: The Blog

Click here to see the full image gallery!

From Jenny of Alders Photography … Lisa and Shawn’s wedding was so picture perfect. The Stone House at Temecula Creek Inn was so rustic, quaint, and removed that you had to take a shuttle to get there.  The bride got ready with just her mom in the room, for some quality time together and for some calm before the storm.  Shawn, meanwhile, was surrounded by family, friends, groom’s men, and guest before the wedding ceremony.  And when Lisa finally saw Shawn for the first time that day, although it was from afar as she crossed the bridge with her brother, you could tell that both Shawn and Lisa gave a sigh of relief to be seeing their future spouse.  And they were inseparable the rest of the day.  As the couple swayed back and forth together during their first dance, it almost seemed like a bubble formed around them, a moment no one else could touch.

Venue: The Stone House at Temecula Creek Inn / Photography: Alders Photography / Planner: Alison de Jong / Florist: The Enchanted Florist / Catering: Temecula Creek Inn / Entertainment: Mike Robbins / Hair & Makeup: Amanda McCarthy / Dress: La Sposa, Denia

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Post tags: Alders Photography, Alison de Jong, Amanda McCarthy, California, Color Palette Green White, Denia La Sposa, Flower girls, La Sposa, Mike Robbins, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Weddings, Pashminas, Ring Bearers, Temecula, Temecula Creek Inn, The Enchanted Florist, The Stone House at Temecula Creek Inn, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

See entire image gallery here!

From Alder’s Photography: Table Décor: Mai of Bunch Studio created the tablescape for the shower. The chocolate linens were covered in a paper runner that was comprised of graph and ruled paper.  Not only was the runner full of chemistry notations, but personalized with little encouragements for the bride to be. The table was lined with floral gatherings of various blues, yellows, and creams in keeping with the turquoise and metallic color scheme.  Test tube stands and books completed the look and were scattered throughout the arrangements.  Metallic gold pipe cleaners made to look like atoms and metallic gold Styrofoam balls adorned the table for the finishing touch.

Dessert Table: Kayla of Nummie! took the science theme and ran with it, creating custom made desserts perfectly suited to the chemistry theme.  She created Sugar Cookies in the shape of beakers, flasks, test tubes, and atoms. There were “Pretzel Test Tubes” covered in white or dark chocolate with almonds and dusted in silver powder and turquoise drizzle.  She purchased beakers to house her “Mini Beaker Cakes” in two flavors: vanilla bean with white chocolate amaretto buttercream or chocolate with salted caramel buttercream.  And she included “Cake Molecules” which were lemon cake with meyer lemon buttercream and white chocolate ganache center dipped in white chocolate and brushed with metallic dust.

Cake and Individual Cakes: Kristal of Sweet Love Co. created the 3-tiered cake as well as an individual exposed cake for each guest.  The creations were a vanilla/chocolate medley filled with raspberry ganache wrapped in Italian cream frosting.

Stationaey: Angelique from Seafoam SAFARI on Etsy created the stationary for the shower.  She custom designed the invitation, place cards, menu, Meghan’s chair sign, favor instructions, guest book instructions, and descriptions of the cake, desserts, bath salt scents (made to look like periodic elements), and cocktail.  Using a custom logo as well as a signature font throughout, Angelique tied all the stationary together with turquoise and metallic gold coloring.  She topped it all off with gocco press printing.

Menu: The menu was comprised of different categories of chemistry: analytical chemistry was the spirits, bio chemistry (soup), physical chemistry (sandwiches), organic chemistry (salad), environmental chemistry (sorbet), pharmaceutical chemistry (sips), and inorganic chemistry (sweets).  The guests were invited to mix and mingle for the first hour of the shower, and were offered the shower’s signature cocktail (spirit): Blue Curacao and Blue Raspberry Cocktail infusion with Champagne.  The other non-alcoholic drinks (sips) were lemonade, iced tea, or fruit infused water and were served in 3 ### flasks.  Once seated, the guests enjoyed a four-course lunch that started with the soup: a delightful chilled gazpacho garnished with celery fronds.  The second course was the sandwiches: breads layered with savory cream cheese, chicken salad, and egg salad fillings and garnished with rosemary.  Third was the salad: mixed greens nestled in cucumber rounds, gorgonzola, spiced pecans, and garnished with a strawberry.  The lunch was completed with the sorbet to cleanse the palette: a trio of lemon, lime, and raspberry scoops garnished with a raspberry and mint leaf.

Games: After Libations and Lunch, guests were invited to join the Bride in a time for Games and Gifts.  Games were printed on graph paper as science experiments.  Match the Bride’s Phrase, Name That Wedding Cake, and The Match Game brought on many laughs from the attendees.  In Match the Bride’s Phrase, guests were give a sheet with a word and a blank.  The correct answers were Meghan’s answers and whoever matched the Bride the most won.  In Name That Wedding Cake guests were given clues and different cakes and had to match them up.  For instance, “a cake you would enjoy in bed” was sheet cake. Whoever matched the cakes first won.  And in The Match Game, the mad scientists lead the guests through matching phrases on two boards.  Each phrase’s prize was an associated candy.  For instance, the prize for “wedding coordinator” was Lifesavers and for “first dance” was Fun Dip.

Waiters: No chemistry bridal shower would be complete without two mad scientists to serve you!  Bow ties purchased from Divine Domestication on Etsy in yellow and lab coats from a local costume shop created the look for the waiters.

Guest Book: I purchased a vintage 1894 chemistry lab book, complete with handwritten notes on each experiment for the guests to write their well wishes, advice, prayers, and support for Meghan and Josh in as the perfect keepsake from the shower.  The book and a pencil in an adjacent beaker were laid out on a table along with the favors for the guests.

Favors: In keeping with the “perfect chemistry” theme, I wanted a favor that not only incorporated science materials, but also was a science experiment.  So I purchased 3 scents of bath salts from ahavaus.com and displayed them in 1000 ml beakers with descriptions made to look like periodic table elements.  The guests were invited to take a test tube and experiment with their favorite scent (or a mixture of all 3) to take home along with a natural sponge (purchased on eBay) for a relaxing bath.

Misc Décor: An M and a J were purchased from Paper Source and covered with a “vintage laboratory experiment” paper from Dancing Bird Arts on Etsy.  The downloadable image was customized with a turquoise hue before being printed to cover the letters.

Bride to Be: Meghan Witzke / Photography: Alders Photography / Designer and Florist: Bunch Studio /
Cake and Individual Cakes: Sweet Love Co. / Dessert Table: Nummie! / Stationary: Seafoam / Rentals: Orchid Party Rental /
Venue: Private Residence / Catering: Friend of the Bride / Bath Salts: Ahava / Bow Ties: Divine Domestication /
Test Tubes, Holders, Beakers, and Flasks: Ebay and salvage stores / M & J letters: Paper Source /  Paper: Dancing Bird Arts

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Post tags: Ahava, Alders Photography, Bridal Shower, Bunch Studio, Dancing Bird Arts, Divine Domestication, Ebay, Nummie!, Orchid Party Rental, Paper Source, Sweet Love Co.
Post categories: Real Parties

The vision for our wedding was a garden on a perfect summer, sunny day. Lots of trees and shade, so obviously, McCormick Home Ranch was just perfect! There were so many DIY details, from the personalized picture invitation booklet, right down to the centerpieces.

Our table numbers were named after Monopoly properties, a favorite game of ours, and included a little bit of trivia about our relationship. The place cards were named after Monopoly pieces. Our friend Daniel Urrutia, personally designed all our wedding stationery.

Our colors were orange and lime green, which looked absolutely fabulous on a summer day. My bridesmaids wore orange dresses with lime green peep toe wedges, while the groomsmen wore khaki colored suits with orange ties. The ring bearers carried our ring on little hay bales.

Photographer: Alders Photography / Bride’s Dress: David’s Bridal / Groom’s & Groomsmen’s Attire: Galleria Wedding / Bridesmaid’s Dresses: The Dessy Group / Flowers: Raquel Fuentes / Cake: Skiff’s Cakes / Entertainment: Geoffrey Leigh Tozer / Invitations: Daniel Urrutia / Ceremony & Reception Location: McCormick Home Ranch

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Post tags: Alders Photography, California, Color Palette Green Orange, David's Bridal, Dessy Group, Geoffrey Leigh Tozer, McCormic Home Ranch, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Wedding, Skiff's Cakes
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

Luckily for us, there’s more in the gallery!

From Jenny with Alders Photography … The couple planned a perfect rustic and woodsy wedding, complete with a trail mix station, lemonade and iced tea, mason jars, and signage. Their table numbers were all varied numbers, each telling a story about the couple. For instance table 3058 for the number of days the couple dated, or table 5 for the 5 seasons of roller hockey the couple has played together. They even used hockey pucks and engagement photos of their face off as the cake toppers!

From the bride … We were high school sweethearts. One December night, 8 years after we started dating, Jerry took me to Disneyland. He had arranged for us to have a private boat ride on the Jungle Cruise. When we were under the waterfall, the attendant said, “And here is the part you have all been waiting for!” Jerry got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! When we got back to the dock our family was there to meet us. It was a very special night.

We were looking for a wedding venue with lots of trees and beautiful nature. Once we chose the Oak Canyon Nature Center, the style of the wedding quickly evolved. Black and white with accents of dark plum was the palette to fuel our Rustic Chic look. For inspiration, I spent time on many wedding blogs (including Style Me Pretty) and magazines. We wanted something very simple, very clean, very organized – just who we are.

There were so many special features to our wedding. We used wood letters and painted them dark purple, those are now used in our house. My mom wrote a special poem that was put on the bags that held the favors. We had a trail mix bar for appetizers. Every table had a number of significance; for example table 100- 100 months together. Jerry and I love hockey so we used an engagement photo and glued it on hockey pucks for the cake topper. We were very blessed to have lots of help from lots of friends.

The wedding day flew by. The part of the wedding day that meant the most to me was having both my dad and my grandpa give me away. It was very special for everyone involved and it was very emotional. Since we took our wedding photos before the wedding, I really enjoyed the moment when Jerry saw me for the first time. He was all smiles.

The photography was my biggest priority. I love every photo that Jenny Alders took of us. She captured every moment, which helped me notice all the details that I missed on the day because I was so caught up in the moment. It was my dream wedding and everything turned out just how I wanted it!

Photography: Alders Photography / Bride’s Dress: Essense of Australia / Groom & Groomsmen’s Attire: Friar Tux / Bridesmaid’s Attire: J. Crew / Flowers: Los Angeles Flower District, arranged by Bride & Her Mother / Cake: Twinfully Sweet / Hairpieces: Etsy / Bride’s Jewelery: Nina Renee Design / Invitations: Minted / Linens: Baker Rentals / Rentals: BTB Event Productions / Venue: Oak Valley Nature Center

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Post tags: Alders Photography, Baker Rentals, BTB Event Productions, California Weddings, Essence of Australia, Etsy, Friar Tux, J. Crew, Los Angeles Flower District, Minted, Nina Renee Design, Oak Canyon NAture Center, Twinfully Sweet
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Casual Elegance, DIY Flowers, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

If you missed any, here are all of our pretty posts from the week:

a sweet, summer wedding in Montauk
a gorgeous dream of a wedding in New South Wales
a beautiful Napa Valley wedding with delicious pops of color
a photo shoot fit for a king (or a prince and soon to be princess)
a perfect autumn wedding in Brooklyn
a cliff side Malibu wedding
a day FULL of fabulous fetes
a crisp, clean and classic Laguna Niguel wedding
a meeting of photographer minds in Maui
a to die for Australian wedding

Some fabulous links from around the web:

Our very own Sweet Emilia Jane’s fab work via 100 Layer Cake
Practically perfect rustic table numbers via Eat Drink Chic
Edible cupcake flags via Hank + Hunt

We’d also like to extend a very warm welcome to our newest Little Black Book Members…

Something To Celebrate
Tigerlilly Jewelry
Bella Bridesmaid Manhattan
Bella Bridesmaid New Jersey North
Sal Lauretta for Men
Your Beautiful Face
DE ROSE DESIGNS & FLORAL BOUTIQUE
Reel Life Pictures
Fiori Flowers
The Life Styled
New Leaf flores
Simply Chic Events
Poeme
Erin McLean Events

To apply to become a member of our LBB click here. We’d love to hear from you!

Have an oh so fabulous weekend, and we’ll see you bright and early Monday morning! xoxo

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alders Photography, Chalkboard, Engagement Sessions
Post categories: The Blog

Being born and raised in Texas, I sometimes have to do a little bit of research before I can get started on a wedding feature. I’m well acquainted with Jenny at Alders Photography … we’ve seen many of her weddings get rave reviews on Style Me Pretty! But this wedding venue – Adriana & Gene’s downtown Los Angeles venue was new to me ~ Marvimon. What I learned is that it is a unique loft space defined by soaring ceilings and vintage brick. Originally built by an Italian race car driver as one of Los Angeles’ first automobile showrooms, Marvimon is that virtual oasis of delight for any couple craving a loft-style wedding space that’s modern and chic with just the right vintage ambiance!

Here’s a little bit about their day from their sweetheart of a photographer, Jenny Smith of Alders Photography … This was a fabulous wedding to photograph. Adriana & Gene spared no expense to pull together the best day ever. After getting ready at the Millenium Biltmore they chose to see each other before the ceremony to utilize the light since it was a November wedding. They took a limo to Olivera Street (the oldest street in Los Angeles) and Union Station for some romantic couple photos before joining their friends and family at the uber urban and wonderful Marvimon for their ceremony and reception. This wedding was unique in that it came a year and a half after the couple gave birth to their son, Nathan. He was a wonderful reminder of their love running around at the party.

Sweets from a couple more Little Black Book Sweethearts ~Amy & Jeremy Berman of The Vanilla Bake Shop. {See more of their creations in their online gallery!}

If you missed the first part of Adriana & Gene’s wedding feature, check back here. And ~ see more of the beautiful day on the Alders Photography Blog {here}!

Photographer: Alders Photography / Wedding Planner: Kevin Covey Weddings & Events /  Venue: Marvimon / Florist: Shirvan Design / Catering: Huntington Catering Co. / Cake: Vanilla Bake Shop / Valet: Jeffrey Valet / Photo Booth: Capital Photo Booth / Transpiration: Epic Limos / Hair & Make-up: Design Visage / Hotel: Millennium Biltmore / Linen & Rentals: Elegant Designs

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Post tags: Alders Photography, California Weddings, Capital Photo Booth, Design Visage, Elegant Designs, Epic Limos, Huntington Catering Company, Jeffrey Valet, Kevin Covey Weddings, Los Angeles, Marvimon, Millennium Biltmore, Shirvan Design, Vanilla Bake Shop
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Los Angeles Weddings, Wedding Photography