This wedding was a true labor of love for Rene & Niki Delacueva, owners of R. Jack Balthazar. Longtime friends of the groom, John, we had imagined and re-imagined his wedding for many years…long before he found Ann!

The overall design was inspired by John & Ann’s love of the outdoors, their modern style, a bold color palette inspired by the sunset, and nods to their Chinese ancestry… The feeling was warm, inviting, and gracious as if they were entertaining guests in their home …

What an awesome reflection of love! Our warmest wishes to Ann & John! See the whole SMP wedding gallery here.

We’ll be back in a few with another of R. Jack Balthazar’s fantastic weddings!  While you wait, take a look at some of the “tranformations” that they’ve done ~ some incredible before and after photos on their website. Seriously incredible.

Photography: Akiko Photography
Flowers & Event Design: R. Jack Balthazar
Reception Location: The Brazilian Room, Berkeley, CA
Catering: Melons Catering
Cake: Satura Cakes

We’ll be back in a few with another of R. Jack Balthazar’s fantastic weddings!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Akiko Photography, Berkeley, Cake, California Weddings, Melons Catering, Orchids, R. Jack Balthazar, Satura Cakes, The Brazilian Room
Post categories: Bouquets, Casual Elegance, Centerpieces, Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Decor, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Planners & Designers

As I mentioned, the fabulous (and I when I say fabulous, I am hardly doing him justice) Leo Patrone sent us today’s real wedding and it is complete and total loveliness. From the perfect bride, to the undeniably gorgeous flowers and sweet little details, every bit of it is swoon-worthy. With a soft, feminine color palette and a really simple approach to design, this couple managed to pull off an affair that is as timeless as it is chic. I love that. It’s a style that will forever remain gorgeous, that will forever be used as inspiration.

The wedding was held at Tilden Park in Berkeley’s Brazil Room. It was planned by Jessica Goldblatt from Dreams on a Dime Events and Weddings and was a perfect combination of timeless elegance, and a fun, modern sense of whimsy. You can actually feel the joy in each and every photo with a bride and groom that are clearly madly in love and a celebration that is all charm.

Make sure to check out Leo’s ridiculously cool site and his blog that is completely filled with eye candy and inspirations! Even a couple of the prettiest weddings you’ve ever seen.

Additional Vendors: Caterer – Serves You Right Catering, Flowers – Orchid Florist, Hair & Makeup – Sherrie Long, Invites – Vistaprint + Michaels, Rentals – Celebration Party Rental, Violin & cello duo – Ramen & Rice, Gypsy jazz band – Pacific Manouche Trio, DJ – Dave Hosley, Transportation – On Time Limousine, Dresses – Melissa Sweet + J.Crew, Suit – Ermenegildo Zegna, Wedding bands – Van Craeynest + Shane Co., Cake topper – Naked Peggies on Etsy, Scrapbook – Kolo, Parasols – Lunabazaar

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Berkeley, Brazil Room, California Weddings, Leo Patrone, Tilden Park
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

From Avalon…

We were married on 08.10.07 in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, CA and used a dark chocolate, white, and aqua color palette. We let the natural setting around us infuse the wedding with different shades of green. We wanted our wedding to be simple, elegant, and special, which is what led me to choose these nine pictures in particular.

Top Row:
(L) Brooch from Bride and Bloom
(C) Bark Vases by Small Stump via d*s guest blog by Rebecca of Moontree Letterpress
(R) Champagne glasses by Brides.com

Middle Row:
(L) Candy Buffet – MS Weddings
(C) Cake – MS Weddings
(R) Zara Home Ad – Housemartin Blog

Bottom Row:
(L) Hydrangeas – Brides.com
(C) Lisa and Nick’s Wedding – MS Weddings
(R) Pretty Bride – theknot.com, or maybe brides.com

Here is how the inspiration came to life:

We gave our baker the photo of the cake and asked him to replicate it. Ours had strawberries with grand marnier inside with fresh whipped cream. Because we had a Friday morning brunch, we thought that focusing on champagne was a good way to make sure the reception still seemed special and elegant. We added the words “champagne brunch to follow” at the bottom of our invitations to make sure everyone knew what to expect. I loved the Martha Steward candy buffet from the moment I laid eyes on it. We chose to use dark brown and white candy in a mix of glass vases with hand made labels, and customized bags in a mirrored tray. Although be careful, candy buffets can be much more expensive than you might expect! We loved how ours added to the decor during the reception and gave our guests something to do. The muted blue and gray vases are colors we love and use throughout our home. We took Abby’s advice and used a variety of shades of aqua ranging from dark and bright to light and muted. I think it gave the event a more nuanced and upscale appearance. The hydrangeas in the sculptural vases were such a huge inspiration from the beginning. We chose to use three stems of white dendrobium orchids in Kenneth Wingard vases for our centerpieces, which added a more lush feel than the hydrangeas. Lisa and Nick’s wedding was the most directly inspirational “real wedding” I came across in the whole process. It made me feel it would be possible to have a unique, clean, and beautiful wedding that could be filled with as much or as little tradition as we chose. We used long tables pushed together, brown runners and napkins with white square plates for a modern and clean feeling. Lastly, I chose the smiling model because she looks glowing, vibrant and happy, which is part of the whole feeling we wanted. In the end, our wedding was more beautiful and fun than we ever imagined it could be. I think collecting beautiful and inspirational images was important in planning our wedding, but I think that it was editing down and focusing on a few great ideas that truly made it perfect.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Berkeley, California Weddings, Martha Stewart, Moontree Letterpress, The Bride and Bloom, Tilden Regional Park
Post categories: Inspiration Boards