Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Amorology…Whimsical carousel horses were the driving force behind this “Marry Go Round” inspired shoot . We played with the saying of “love makes the world go around” and included a May Pole for an afternoon wedding activity. Soft pastel pink and mint green lent a candy-like feel across the tablescape and into the flowers, which consisted of peonies, dahlias, clover, hydrangea, and roses. Bright shades of yellow and orange also added a playful touch to the dreamy pastels. The stripes on the napkins created the illusion of poles and lent themselves to the horse china. Sweet details, such as the “Giddy Up” sherbet and Seven Up float greeted guests at each place setting! Playful pink Cotton Candy cupcakes alluded to the nature of a merry go round with horse graphics that stuck into each delicious treat!

When searching for a venue for the shoot, Leo Carillo Ranch seemed to be the perfect fit and played to the carousel horses but in an unexpected way. We loved the gorgeous gown by Lazaro as well and the softness and twirl it added to the shoot.

Photography: Sunday Romance / Floral Design: Twigg Botanicals / Event Design + Planning: Amorology / Location: Leo Carillo Ranch / Paper Elements: Brightly Designed / Dress: Lazaro / Vintage Furniture: Found Vintage Rentals / Cake: Elizabethan Desserts

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amorology, Brightly Designed, California Weddings, Carousel, Elizabethan Desserts, Found Vintage Rentals, Inspiration Shoot, Lazaro, Leo Carillo Ranch, Sunday Romance, Twigg Botanicals
Post categories: California Weddings

Today’s features are all about COLOR. Bold and beautiful ~ colorful weddings from around our Little Black Book network of sensational wedding vendors! Please give them some love in our comments section to let them know you agree … they’re the best!

First up is from Natasha at Waterlily Pond …

San Francisco wedding photographer Erin Beach chose Smith Mountain Lake in rural Southern Virginia for her wedding location because it’s close to her home town, her family and high-school friends. She wanted it to be a casual Southern BBQ – her mom’s friend catering, her cousin’s bluegrass band, beer kegs, lemonade and pies. But Erin is a very stylish girl, and we decided this will be 50′s style retro chic wedding. Dominated by primary colors and polka-dot patterns.

The lake marina had a basic picnic pavilion which I transformed by draping along the entire length of it with 200 yards of bright yellow fabric, and adding white paper lanterns. I am attaching before picture and a design sketch of the picnic pavilion.

The vintage carousel nearby was so much fun at the cocktail hour. And it turned out to be red and yellow! How cool since we designed the whole wedding in red and yellow and never got to see the inside of the carousel before the wedding day.

Erin’s retro-style dress and Chris’s suit were custom made by San Francisco tailor, and her shoes were Manolo Blahnik’s red with white polka dots. The bouquet was monochromatic yellow with a single red gerbera daisy.

I chose to create cute textural look for the centerpieces by putting together compositions of very simple monochromatic designs that required minimal labor. I used white, yellow and red dot stickers, and polka-dot ribbons to add patterns to simple clear and black glass cylinders. The sticker trick turned black cylinders into black with white polka-dots, and clear cylinders into yellow and red polka-dot. Making the centerpieces look adorable and stylish.

Mix of B&W polka-dot and yellow linens, and coordinating yellow and black paper napkins for the tables completed the look. Small white and yellow striped tent I rented for the bar added to the fun feel of the event. Colorful parachutes in the sky during the ceremony and beautiful sunset on the lake were just an unplanned bonus for Erin and Chris’s special day.

{see the entire wedding gallery here}

What a great way to start the week!! Congrats to Erin & Chris. Cheers to Natasha at Waterlily Pond on more sensational creations!

Event and Floral Design: Waterlily Pond Studio,  Photography: Stephanie Klein-Davis, Venue: Parkway Marina, Smith Mountain Lake, Huddleston, VA

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carousel, Color Palette Yellow Black Red, Daisies, Huddleston, Manolo Blahnik, Parasol, Parkway Marina, Polka Dots, spider mum, Virginia, Waterlily Pond
Post categories: Bouquets, Centerpieces, Color Palettes, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Shoes, Vintage Chic, Wedding Decor, Wedding Flowers

We’ve picked a few of our favorites from the day but you can see the whole shebang right here!

The day was beautiful and lovely and so many other things but what really struck me was 1. the bride’s awesome sense of style and 2. the pure joy that was radiating from this couple. Jenny filled us in on a few details…the little paper cranes that were tucked in every corner signified the couple’s love of China. Their best friend actually married them. They played a recording of April’s grandfather singing the Lord’s prayer during the ceremony. And lastly, the couple was having the time of their lives. Doesn’t that sounds so perfect??

Too see all of the beautiful photographs from this wedding, click right here.

Cake by The Sugar Chef /  Venue, Mizner Country Club / Dress, custom made in China, designed by the bride /Music by CTO High Voltage of the Palm Beaches

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 47 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Birdcage Veil, Boca Raton, Carousel, CTO High Voltage, Florida, Jenny Burton Photography, Mizner Country Club, The Sugar Chef
Post categories: Boca Raton, Casual Elegance, Florida Weddings, The Blog, Vintage Chic

This morning’s feature on the Little Black Book Blog was all about this happy couple ~ Beth & Chris who were married in April at Lake Lure Inn. We just wanted to give you a peek at their engagement photo session with their amazing photographer, Kristin Vining.

I have to admit, though, that I had to get some help figuring out if Beth and Chris are rooting for the same team … or the Cubs vs. the White Sox? My husband, Abby’s husband AND Kristin all assured me these guys are DEFINITELY huge CUBS fans! What cute pictures!

from Beth …

We had planned a wonderful camping trip to Charleston for the week and were leaving as soon as I got off work. Little did I know Chris was spending the morning getting my ring and having it sized. When I got off work early it messed everything up. He was then an hour and a half late picking me up which didn’t exactly make me happy. Chris felt so awful for not really being able to explain what took him so long.

We went home to eat some lunch before leaving. While I began digging into our Sbarro pizza, Chris disappeared. I turned around looking for him, with pizza in my mouth, and there I found him. He was down on one knee, shaking, with a beautiful ring. This still makes me laugh today. It was by no means the way Chris had planned on proposing, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Don’t you just love a great proposal story?

Again, a HUGE thank you to Kristin Vining Photography for sharing this wonderful e*shoot with us!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amusement Park, Carousel, Charlotte, Cubs, Engagement Shoot, Knight's Stadium, North Carolina, Proposal Story
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

I think they did a great job tying together the whimsy of the carousel with the decor of the reception! Festive and light-hearted, lots of hanging lanterns, brightly colored flowers in simple antique medicine bottles that Julia & Mike found in antique stores … just so many little touches that made this space so special.

Not to mention romantic!

If you’re just joining us … Abby has given me carte blanche on the SMP blog today. And when she’s away, I feel impelled to share a secret or two with you guys! One quick, little-known fact about Abby …When Abby was a young girl, she LOVED carousels and really wanted a hobby horse in her room! They were kind of ‘pricey’ … but I honestly did look for one that, perhaps, we could refurbish. Never did find one, but to this day, carousels remind me of Abby! On one of our family vacations, we spent a few days at Martha’s Vineyard.  She was SO excited to ride the historic Flying Horse Carousel, but devastated when she dropped the brass ring!

Lots more detail shots from Julia and Mike’s wedding to come a little later this afternoon …

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carousel, Connecticut, First Dance, Hobby Horse, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Paper Lanterns, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical