Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Happy Couple…Whitney was bored at work on Valentine’s Day, 2005 and decided to enroll in an online dating site. That night, Alex came home from a dinner out with friends, saw Whitney’s profile and decided it was worth the dollar it would cost to email her — which means Whitney was on the dating site less than 24 hours before finding her match. After exchanging emails and talking on the phone, Whitney and Alex officially met for coffee on February 28, 2005 at a coffee shop near both of their houses. Alex proposed in front of this coffee shop about five years later on New Year’s Eve, 2009-10. They took their first post-engagement photo in the Rite-Aid up the street because it was the only thing open and, because Alex is a clean freak and a germaphobe, they do spend a lot of time in that drug store. Alex likes to make a silly face, known as “The Face” in our family (and captured on more than one occasion on our wedding day). He proposed by stopping in front of the coffee shop and pulling a box of mints from his pocket. “Do you want a mint?,” he asked Whitney. She said “sure.” Then he pulled out a ring box and said “Do you want to get married?.” Then he made “The Face”.

The first vacation Whitney & Alex took together was to the Santa Barbara area. This is also the first place he said “I love you.” They are also big foodies, so we wanted to have our wedding in a region known for its local flavors and seasonal ingredients. Alex and Whitney also like puns and the sort of idyllic notion of a rustic Americana. So we riffed on the idea of A&W Root Beer to play off our initials. Our wedding invitations incorporated that logo and theme and we placed A&W signs and bottles around the space. We even served root beer floats instead of a cake. But we knew some people would still want cake, so we had the cake designer also make mini treats to go with the Americana vibe, such as small Rice Krispie treats and ring dings.

We also used the A&W theme for our escort cards and we used twine to tie the escortcards around bottle necks of different sodas to note their menu choices. Those who ordered meat got an A&W Root Beer. Those who ordered fish got an orange soda (our fish dish was an orange-glazed black cod). The vegetarians got cream soda.

Alex and Whitney are both writers by profession, so we found a working vintage typewriter on eBay and let guests type their messages instead of using a traditional guestbook. Alex is a bit of a clean freak, so our wedding coordinator thought it would be cute to include handy wipes as part of the table settings. She even found wipes with labels that matched our color scheme! Whitney loves Jelly Bellies. In fact, gifting her with the beloved candy resulted in Alex receiving his first kiss from Whitney. Naturally we had to have jars of Jelly Bellies as party favors. We got colors to match our wedding colors — plus, of course, A&W Root Beer and cream soda flavors.

We also included classic rock ‘n roll songs in the evening. Whitney’s mother taught her to love The Beatles at a young age, so her parents escorted her down the aisle to George Harrison’s “Something.” We hired a rockabilly band to play our reception, pomodores and all, and our first dance was to Dave Clark Five’s “Because.” The band leader also sang the Beach Boys’ version of “I Can Hear Music” during the ceremony’s processional.

Whitney and Alex were both close to our grandparents and older relatives. But, as is often the case, most of our grandparents had passed on before our wedding. Whitney incorporated her “something old” by binding a ring from her grandfather and a necklace charm from her grandmother around her bouquet.

Coordinator: Mary Sushinski of Occasions / Venue: Firestone Vineyard / Wedding Photography: Miki & Sonja Photography / Catering: Duo Catering / Ceremony Music: Festival Strings / Music: Memphis Music Entertainment / Rabbi: Rabbi Eugene Levy / Wedding Cake: Decadence / Hair + Makeup: Malory of TEAM Hair & Makeup / Floral Décor: Jackie Combs Floral Design / Lighting: Ambience Event Design / Linens: Elegant Designs / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Invitations: 8 Illustrations / Transportation: EOS Transportation / Shuttles: Road Runner / Tuxedo: Rik Ducar / Sitters: Westside Sitters / Wedding Concierge and Event Resources: The Bridal Bar

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Post tags: 8 Illustrations, Ambience Event, Classic Party Rentals, Decadence, Duo Catering, Elegant Designs, EOS Transportation, Fall Wedding, Festival Strings, Firestone Vineyard, Jackie Combs Floral Design, Memphis Music Entertainment, Miki & Sonja Photography, Occasions, Rabbi Eugene Levy, Rik Ducar, Road Runner Shuttle, TEAM Hair & Makeup, Vineyard Style, Westside Sitters
Post categories: The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Rich proposed to Sarah on December 12, 2009 in San Francisco in front of Union Square on a rainy night, surrounded by beautiful Christmas lights and bundled up ice skaters.  He presented Sarah with his grandmother’s wedding ring, fully prepared for her to take the 2 carat diamond stone from it and design the perfect engagement ring of her dreams. To his sweet surprise, Sarah, who has never received a gift she didn’t enjoy exchanging, instantly fell in love with his grandmother’s ring, and would never have dreamed of changing it in any way!

Planning the wedding was a dream come true for Sarah, as she has always been a planner at heart and loves crafting and making daily trips to Michaels and Joann’s.  The couple instantly agreed upon four things they wanted for their wedding: fall weather, beautiful nature, good food, and lots of friends.

Living in the Bay Area made finding these things easy, as Wine Country was a stone’s throw away and a perfect match.  After finding a winery that felt like it was in the middle of a forest, it was easy for Sarah to pick her colors and work around the beautiful backdrop that is Buena Vista Winery (California’s oldest winery).  With shades of purple and with fall as the time of year, Sarah built the wedding around a theme of leaves.

Since Rich and Sarah are both sweets lovers (and excellent cooks) it was important to Sarah that the favors were handmade candies (caramels by Sarah and toffee by Rich) and that the dessert table offered not only a variety of cupcakes (great mini-cupcakes from Moonbaby Cakes!) but candies in shades of purple as well.  Every cake plate and decoration used on the dessert table was purchased by Sarah in the year long search for glass plates on Ebay. Etsy was another favorite website of Sarah’s, as she purchased the cake topper, fabric leaves, pompoms and mother gifts (handmade quilts with pictures of the bride and groom as children) from the site.

All of the “save the dates”, invitations and place cards were designed and made by Sarah using tools purchased from local craft stores and put together with help from her Mom and Sister during weekend long craft-fests.

Shanni and Blaine Weilert from What Shanni Saw captured the day beautifully on film and took great pictures of the many magic moments it entailed – including capturing the gorgeous Oak trees that flanked the outdoor wedding altar and that perfectly changed from green to vivid colors of orange, red, and yellow the day before Sarah’s wedding.

Jessica from Fleurs de France helped Sarah achieve her rustic floral vision and worked with Sarah to choose beautiful flowers within her budget.  It was easy for Sarah to trust that Jessica would choose just the right flowers to fulfill her vision of the day.  Not only did she do just that, but she even surprised Sarah by having two beautiful tall birch containers with fall leaves placed by the honeymoon table. The flowers were a great surprise for Sarah and one of the few she actually got to have that day, since she planned everything down to the last detail.

Overall, an important lesson to be learned from the day was to not over think/analyze things, which Sarah often has the habit of doing and go with your gut.  Choose great, highly recommended vendors and learn to trust. Enjoy your day and don’t worry about the things that you can’t control and you will find that everything turns out the way it should in the end.  Remember why you are there: to marry the one you love!

Venue: Buena Vista Winery / Wedding Planning: DIY / Caterer: Grapevine Catering / Wedding Stationery:  DIY / Officiant: Reverend Peadar Dalton / Photographer: What Shanni Saw / Bridal Gown: Jim Helm / Bridal Shoes:  Jimmy Choo / Hair & Makeup:  Erin Tate, Lewis & Company Hair Salon / Bridesmaids Dresses: Trudy’s Brides / Favors: DIY / Florals: Fleurs de France / Linens: Classic Party Rentals / Equipment & Lighting: Classic Party Rentals / Transportation: California Wine Tours / Tuxedo & Suits: Banana Republic / Wedding Cake: Moonbaby Cakes

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Post tags: Autumn Wedding, Banana Republic, Buena Vista Winery, California, California Wine Tours, Classic Party Rentals, Color Palette Purple, DIY Invitations, DIY Projects, DIY Wedding Planning, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Fall Wedding, Fleurs de France, Grapevine Catering, Jim Hjelm, Jimmy Choo, Lewis & Company Hair Salon, Moonbaby Cakes, Reverend Peadar Dalton, Sonoma County, Trudy's Brides, Wedding Flowers, What Shanni Saw
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Little Black Book Blog

Photography by What Shanni Saw.

The week of pretty on the LBB Blog, in case you missed any:

a breathtaking wedding trailer set on the breathtaking waters of Lake Michigan
a sweet as pie, macarons, and cupcakes Texas bridal shower
a colorful, yet oh-so-chic Claremont affair with the most beautiful wedding stationery
a very beautiful, very pink soiree in the most wonderful Arizona garden
a chic Pennsylvania wedding with style bursting out every seam
a classically beautiful, and completely rustic chic fête in South Carolina
a sweet, southern affair on a beautiful North Carolina estate
a California whimsical wedding complete with TWO fabulous videos
a pretty in pink soiree, fit for a Colorado ballerina & her prince
a stunning Oregon farm wedding with the best colors

A few of our favorite links from around the web:

a sweet escort card idea – mini masterpieces – via Project Wedding
an embroidered calendar, perfect for planning the wedding festivities from Grey Likes Weddings
an absolutely breathtaking Florence, Italy wedding over at 100 Layer Cake

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Post tags: Autumn, Fall Wedding, Fleurs de France, Wedding Inspiration, Weekly Wrap-Up, What Shanni Saw, Wrap it up Pretty
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

Yes, there’s more.  We are sending you into the weekend with this fabulous video of the masters at work by Urban Light Films.  Enjoy!

From Flower Talk… A beautiful autumn day with blue skies in Perth, Western Australia. The style shoot teams decided to have the shoot in Perth’s favorite wedding venue, Bluewater Grill which is situated on a hill with the Perth skyline in the background.

The theme colors are winter hue, red hippeastrum, orange tulips, yellow chrysanthemum, green/red nadine foliages, tulips and poppies. Cathrin D’Entremont, the wedding planner and stylist complimented the flower styling with dark green tablecloths, red charger plates and crystal cutlery. The walnut Tiffany chairs from the Bride & Groom Store go well with all the winter colors and Bluewater Grill’s private dining room with fireplace and rich wood surrounding. The string quartet was fabulous and their music really add to the atmosphere. Menus, invitations and stationery was all styled by Studio Bomba. I can’t wait to work with Angela and Leah again. Natasha from NK Photography took all the beautiful images and Derek from Urban Light filmed the shoot. Nicole Forde did fabulous make-up and hair on the models and Samantha Wynn was there to personally help dress the girls.

We had so much fun creating this style shoot and I am sure brides and grooms will get as much inspiration from this creations as much as we enjoyed creating them. At the end we had a lovely dinner compliments by Bluewater Grill and Natalie Crompton the wedding coordinator who did a fabulous job to make sure we had everything we needed.

Event Design + Styling: Cathrin D’Entremont Weddings / Floral Design: Flower Talk / Photography: NK Photography / Videography: Urban Light Films / Wedding Gown: Samantha Wynne / Stationery: Mitchell and Dent / Hair + Make-up: Nicole Forde / Music: Les Trois Amies / Models: Melissa and Nilan / Flower Girl: Jasyme / Chairs: Bride and Groom Store / Groom’s Suit: Formal Wear Express / Location: Bluewater Grill

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Post tags: Autumn Wedding, Bluewater Grill, Bride and Groom Store, Catherin D'Entremont Weddings, Fall Colors, Fall Inspiration, Fall Wedding, Flower Talk, Formal Wear Express, Inspiration, Les Trois Amies, Mitchell and Dent, Nicole Forde, NK Photography, Orange, Outdoor Wedding, Red, Samantha Wynne, Urban Light, Western Australia, Yellow
Post categories: Australia Weddings, Photo Shoot, Western Australia

What is a Berkshire Barn Wedding Fiesta? Is it the Quaker-inspired service in which guests can share favorite memories, poems, stories, quotes, well-wishes, prayers, words of wisdom, music… anything under a minute, for brevity’s sake? (Don’t worry, there had been cocktails beforehand to loosen nervous tongues.) Is it the free-flowing margaritas, beer, wine, locally distilled spirits, and fresh apple cider from the orchard down the road? Is it jazz cuddling up to indie rock, New Wave, old school hip-hop, Motown, and Texas Swing? Is it Latin American fare crafted with mostly local and organic ingredients? Is it papel picado banners and twinkly lights? Is it a beautiful country barn filled with a bunch of raucous city folk? Is it 10.10.10 falling over Columbus Day weekend during peak fall foliage season? Yes.

To borrow the age-old expression, it’s a little bit country and a little bit rock-n-roll. And it’s a sampling of the things we love, with the people we love, in a great big celebration of love.

Photography: Eric Limon Photography / Flowers: Gillooly & Co Design / Event Design: Experience Events / Event Planning: Experience Events / Venue: Jacob’s Pillow / Linens: La Tavola Linens / Invitations: Hello Lucky / Hair: Sonya Heimann

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Post tags: Barn Wedding, Eclectic, Eric Limon Photography, Experience Events, Fall Wedding, Flower girls, Gillooly & Co Design, Hello! Lucky, Jason's Pillow, La Tavola Linens, Massachusetts, Outdoor Ceremony, Papel Picado Banners, Ring Bearers, Sonya Heimann, Wedding Planners & Designers
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Planners & Designers

From Bellissima Floral … Anne and Rob are a whimsical, fun-loving couple who met one summer working as camp counselors in the Sierra Mountains. After living together for several years in Lake Tahoe, pursuit of their careers moved Anne and Rob to the San Francisco Bay area. On a favorite lake-view hike during a visit to Tahoe, Rob proposed to Anne. When dear family friends offered to host the nuptials at their historic, lodge-style cabin in Lake Tahoe, Rob and Anne knew it was the perfect place to “Take the Plunge.” An intimate autumn celebration for their closest friends and family was planned.  Save-The-Dates were sent out: engagement photos of Anne and Rob dressed in wedding garb literally taking a plunge into the San Francisco Bay. On the lush West Shore of Lake Tahoe, 60 guests were treated to a full immersion experience of Rob and Anne’s vibrant personalities, love for the outdoors, and a festive celebration.

Anne chose a warm saturated palate of oranges, wine, plum and gold. She wanted an intimate, seasonal, feasting feel full of dimension and texture. To honor the autumn season, she requested dahlias and wildflowers be layered with elements that speak of the time of year, such as artichokes, squash, sunflowers and rosehips. Anne loves dahlias and included them as a tribute to her father-in-law and his passion for cultivating dahlias in his garden.

The wedding day was full of amazing and meaningful nuances that were appreciated by all, many personally handmade by Anne, Rob, and their families. Anne and her sister made the escort cards, crafted from leaf shaped paper strung on colorful ribbon tied to the branches of a tree in the yard. Anne’s mom and grandma fashioned paper chains to edge the ceremony pier, anchored to the pier posts with heirloom varieties of farmer’s market pumpkins. A skilled woodworker and close friend of the couple made customized wooden signs to guide guests around the venue and down a wooded footpath to the ceremony pier.  The wedding cake and cupcakes served for dessert were a favorite recipe that Anne’s mom baked from scratch. The ale of choice served at the bar was Rob’s own self-crafted homebrew.

The ceremony took place on a pier over Lake Tahoe. Cocktails were to follow in the naturally landscaped backyard, and dinner and dancing were staged on the cabin’s wrap-around porch and deck. But, Mother Nature had a different plan. The day started out warm, sunny and blue. During the ceremony guests were treated to a seemingly painted backdrop of ever darkening clouds reflecting in the blue lake.  The first drops fell as guests walked from the lake up to the reception. As the mountain thunderstorm came in strong, the celebration easily transitioned under cover. By no means were spirits dampened. Guests heard emotion-filled speeches over a farmer’s market inspired dinner, served at glowing candlelit tables. Anne and Rob shared their first dance under strung bistro lights and a lovely, evening Tahoe sky.

Photographer: Carrie Richards Photography / Flowers: Sara Spurlock of Bellissima Floral / Event Planning: Crystal Laquang of Amazáe Special Events / Invitations: Brides Uncle, John Moniz / Venue: Private Home, Lake Tahoe / Linens: La Tavola Linen / Rentals: Event Masters / Wedding Dress & Bridesmaid’s Dress: J. Crew / Rings: Tiffany & Co., Benchmark, Jerry Spaulding / Groom’s Suit: Men’s Wearhouse / Hair: Tara Morrisey of Bella Vita Salon / Makeup: Elizabeth Atkinson / Catering: Scott Yorkie / Cake: Brides Mom, Kathy Moniz / Cake topper: goosegrease on Etsy / DJ: DJ Paul / Wooden signs: David Worfolk / Escort cards: Bride

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Post tags: Amazae Special Events, Autumn Wedding, Beach Wedding, Bella Vita Salon, Bellissima Floral, Benchmark, California, Carrie Richards Photography, Casual Elegance, Etsy, Event Masters, Fall Wedding, J. Crew, Jerry Spaulding, La Tavola Linen, Lake Tahoe, Men's Wearhouse, Outdoor Ceremony, Tiffany & Co., Wedding Designers & Planners, Wedding Flowers
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

Psst. New York Brides – there are more FAB New York Weddings like this on our new New York Local Blog!

Ayo proposed on a family ski trip at the top of mountain in Utah. I was totally unsuspecting and caught by surprise, but delightedly said yes and we were married eight months later.

We loved the ceremony space at Glen Island Harbour Club, which was a rotunda of glass overlooking the Long Island Sound.  The whole space had an elegance and sophistication that matched our style, and being right next to the water provided a serene and picturesque backdrop for the day. For our wedding, we went with simple elegance. We wanted our fall colors (purple, yellow, gold, orange) to complement the season, not match to it, and to be vibrant and pop

Ayo was born and spent his childhood in Nigeria (where his father is from). After dinner, we incorporated an outfit change into traditional Nigerian dress and re-entered the room to Nigerian music. We then participated in a traditional celebration dance where we invited the room to dance around us in a circle.

Photographer: Kellie & Rupert of 4Eyes Photography / Floral Designer: Diana Gould Ltd / Day of Coordinator: Sojourner Auguste of Erganic Design / Invitation Designer: Kenzie Kate / Cake: Glen Island Harbour Club / Wedding Gown Designer: Nicole Miller / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Jim Hjelm / Bride’s Jewelry: Looney Maiden / Venue: Glen Island Harbour Club

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 4Eyes Photography, Color Palette yellow purple orange, Cultural Beauty, Diana Gould Ltd, Erganic Design, Fall Wedding, Glen Island Harbour Club, Jim Hjelm, Kenzie Kate, Looney Maiden, New York, Nicole Miller, Nigerian, Sunflowers, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Cultural Beauty, Little Black Book Blog

See what I mean? Beyond. Beyond. Beyond gorgeous. Before we jump into our buying guide, I had to share with you one more set of images from Jose Villa. We get pretty wrapped up in the details here on SMP, as we’ll always be a blog that focuses on the design and the inspiration behind all of the perfect little touches. But these images completely reminded me that sometimes the most beautiful details are the little moments of love, of beauty, of pure art behind each and every photograph.

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From Jill La Fleur… I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country, Santa Ynez, CA…the wine country region of Santa Barbara County. People come from all over the world to visit this area for it’s perfect climate, rolling hills studded with oak trees, incredible sunsets and of course the wine and wineries!

This wedding was at a beautiful winery in this valley, Foley Winery, and the couple chose one of the most beautiful times of the year to have their wedding here…in October.  This is harvest time here when the grapes are full on the vines and the sunsets fill the sky with oranges and yellows each evening. That’s where the term Harvest Moon comes from!  Ashley & Michael love this area, in fact they moved here since their wedding, and so they decided to embrace the colors of the sky and the season in their wedding, which is what I loved about planning their wedding so much!  The colors in their photos and film just remind me of the beautiful sunsets of this area and we incorporated lanterns, wine barrels, rustic farm tables, vintage fruit crates and lots of colorful floral to really pull together both the location and the season.  And to keep the beautiful scenery and starry sky in our sights all evening, we rented a clear tent to bring in the amazing views all night!

I think these amazing photos and this romantic film capture it all!  Congats to Ashley & Mike…best wishes for a colorful, beautiful future together and welcome to paradise!

Event Planning & Design: Jill La Fleur / Wedding Photography: Jose Villa / Cinematography: Joel Serrato / Wedding Venue: Foley Estates Vineyard and Winery / Lighting: Ambient Event Design / Floral Design: Camille Panzarello of Modern Day Design / Mar Romero of Team Hair & Makeup / Event Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Music: Jon Harris of JSH Music Productions / Wedding Cake: Decadence Fine Cakes & Confections / Wedding Gown: Monique Lhuillier / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Perry Ellis / Wedding Invitations: Jessie Zinke of Zinke Design

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Post tags: Ambient Event Design, Brown, CA, California, Classic Party Rentals, Cream, Decadence Fine Cakes & Confections, Fall Wedding, Foley Winery, Gold, J. Crew, Jill La Fleur, Jimmy Choo, Joel Serrato, Jose Villa, JSH Music Productions, Lompoc, Mason Jars, Mauve, Modern Day Design, Monique Lhuillier, Orange, Outdoor Ceremony, Perry Ellis, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Southern California Wedding, TEAM Hair & Makeup, Tented Reception, Vineyard Wedding, Winery Wedding, Yellow, Zinke Design
Post categories: Traditional Elegance