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It’s not everyday that you get to marry the man of your dreams and best friend. Ten years ago a Fashion Stylist (that’s me!), fell in love with Daniel Madariaga, a savvy Real Estate agent in Studio City. We both knew from the moment we met that this was a very real and natural love. Everything came easy to us, we found out we were best friends. The proposal was absolutely magical and so stylish. We were in New York just finishing a dinner in Central Park when he surprised me with my dream ring. Of course with Daniel being in real estate, the location was absolutely fabulous, and so memorable. The proposal came at the perfect time in our lives.

Once we were backin Los Angeles, planning the wedding was a reality. We knew the location had to be just a stylish as the proposal.LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! It’s funny, but not surprising, that Daniel was actually the one to find the venue. We ended up going with the Luxe Hotel. It was on Rodeo Drive, which is quite perfect for me, and was a small Boutique Hotel with lots of style. It exceeded our expectations immediately. We had about 75 guests and the penthouse and rooftop terrace provided that “wow” factor in an intimate environment. Daniel and I are research junkies, and that was our saving grace to planning the wedding. We researched everything from locations to dresses to candle holders. We believe this saved us a lot of money in the end, and it gave us a tool to negotiate everything.

We decided to have our wedding in March, which was ten months away from the time he proposed, so time was of the essence. Choosing that month turned out to be a great choice, we soon found out it is considered the “off” season of the wedding business, so almost everyone was willing to negotiate prices. We were on a budget, but we didn’t let that affect the style and ambiance of the wedding. The dress, which I thought was going to be the easy part, turned out a little more difficult. I couldn’t find anything I loved. I was about to just take a break from shopping when I received an email about the very popular Monique Lhuillier sample sale. I rallied up my mom and went downtown on a very early Sunday morning. We stood in line for three hours before getting through those doors, and when we did make it in, we had a game plan… “grab anything that is a fit to flare!” After two hours or so I still hadn’t found a dress I loved, so I then decided to try different silhouettes. It turned out my mother found my dress. It was a beautiful Chantilly lace bustier top and a full silk organza skirt with flower cut outs and silk tulle train.The gown was romantic, fashionable, and completely bridal and I loved it!

I wanted the wedding to be classic and timeless, so I initially went with the color scheme of black, ivory and grey, but I am also a color lover at heart, so I decided to go with shades of purple at the reception. I did a lot of research on other weddings through websites and magazines. This really helped me to show my vendors what I envisioned for the wedding. I knew I didn’t want to have any “cheesy” typical wedding clichés. I tried to be creative with things, and instead of having the traditional guestbook, I bought an assortment of coffee table books and our guests signed those. Now they can be a part of my everyday life instead of being stored away in a box somewhere.

Another one of my favorite things was the invitations and table cards. I have an amazing cousin, Christine, who is a stellar interior designer and is also great at graphics. When I shared my vision with her, she nailed the design immediately. It was amazing, and looked so professional, it really set the tone for the entire wedding. Christine ended up being my wedding planner, whichhelped in so many ways while I was a work. Our photographer was amazing! It felt like we had been friends for years. She made us feel so comfortable, and she really understood what we were going for in the end result. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.  The day of the wedding was the best day of our lives. Coming down that aisle looking at the man I would share the rest of my life with was so overwhelming with joy and anticipation. The celebration of our union with all our friends and family was a blessing. Everyone had a great time, and many agreed that it was “the best wedding ever!”…We think so too!

Wedding Photography: Jen Lauren Grant Photography / Cinematography: Yarolslav Kaufman of Couture Cinema / Floral Design: Marilyn Chan of three beans & co. / Event Design: The Bride / Event Planning: Jessica Park of Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive / Wedding Ceremony Location: Saint Charles Borromeo Church / Wedding Reception Location: Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive / Wedding Invitations: The Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier

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Post tags: Beverly Hills, Black, CA, California, Couture Cinema, DIY Invitations, Hollywood, Jen Lauren Grant Photography, Jimmy Choo, Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, Monique Lhuillier, Purple, Rooftop Reception, Saint Charles Borromeo Church, three beans & co., White
Post categories: Contemporary

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From the Bride… It was extremely important for us to have a small wedding with only our family and closest friends. We knew early on we wanted everyone dining at one big square table by candlelight and we let that guide our direction for the rest of the wedding. We also didn’t want to exceed our budget of $5000.

I searched wedding blogs endlessly for inspiration. Throughout this process I started my blog, The Juliet Notes, which led me to a new blog friend, Katy from I Am Chasing Thirty. She also just so happened to be an incredibly talented photographer. Having her and her husband, Ari photograph our wedding was the best decision I made.

I wanted my wedding dress to look unique and was lucky enough to find the most wonderful local designer, Marcia Goncalves to make my wedding dress.  We went together to pick out the fabric and she even made a muslin version of the dress to try on before starting the final version. She took my vision and turned it into a reality.

Ian and I made our invitations together and sent them along with a pretty piece of paper folded in an envelope with instructions to write us a little love letter with advice, memories or well wishes and to bring it with them to our wedding. Instead of a guest book I purchased a handmade wooden box with our names on it for people to place their “love letters” to us in.

After searching endlessly for an affordable venue in Los Angeles that suited us we decided to have our wedding at The Woman’s Club of Hollywood, which was rich with old Hollywood history (Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard attended school there and Charlie Chaplin was a frequent visitor). There was an empty room upstairs so I thought we could get creative and turn it into a little chapel. We made the arch at the front of our “chapel” with PVC pipe and a large roll of white tablecloth runner cut into varying lengths. We then lined the window seals with small votive candles and hung a self-made “Chapel” sign above the entry.

A family friend became ordained and performed our ceremony. It was so meaningful to have someone who loves us be able to marry us. Ian and I wrote the ceremony together.  It was really important that the ceremony fit who we are as a couple and our beliefs.  We gave out little notes to our guests upon arrival with a message from Ian and me along with lyrics to the song “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys with the explanation that we wanted to sing this song all together after being pronounced husband and wife. It was really beautiful to have all of our loved ones singing with us after such an important moment.

In the months leading up to the wedding I had started collecting mismatched china dinner plates for our reception along with vintage books and tea tins. For the big square table we combined many rectangular tables to make up one table. This sat 25 perfectly. Instead of place cards we wrote a letter to each one of our guests explaining how much they mean to us and laid it on their dinner plate. We wanted the only light source to come from candles so we bought varying sized mason jars, filled them with candles and lined them around the table. I stacked the vintage books and filled tea tins and small bottles with baby’s breath and other flowers I had gotten the morning before the wedding at the LA Flower District. I knew I could handle making the centerpieces but wanted to put my bouquet and boutonniere in professional hands. I went straight to Holly Flora since I knew Holly would be able to create a perfectly beautiful, romantic arrangement. She did not disappoint. The chandelier candle holders were hung with twine, which gave it a rustic look.

We had a projector play “An Affair To Remember” on silent all night long. Ian worked his technical magic and turned the Technicolor film into black and white for a more dramatic look. We feasted on Indian food (Ian’s favorite, being from England) and butter cream cake (my favorite being I love dessert). We were lucky to have a friend and great performer play piano and act as our wedding coordinator for the day. He surprised us by bringing our wedding cake out on a wheeled cart, dancing beautifully with the cart to Dean Martin’s “Sway”. At the end of the night we were gathered with those most dear to us sipping champagne talking about how perfect the evening was. It was indeed.

Photography: Katy & Ari Schneiderman / Floral Design: DIY, The Bride / Bouquet & Boutonniere: Holly Flora / Wedding Venue: The Woman’s Club of Hollywood / Invitations & Paper Goods: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Hair & Makeup: Sister of the Bride & Groom / Wedding Coordinator & Pianist: Nigel Columbus, Friend of the Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Wedding Dress: Marcia Goncalves / Bride’s Bracelet: Gilded Elegance / Bride’s Hair Flower: Lo Boheme / Letter Box: Nana Montana Studio / Wedding Cake: Cake & Art / Catering: Gate of India / Rings: Ron Yates of Belloria and Titanium Jewelry

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Post tags: Ari Schneiderman, Badgley Mischka, Black, Budget Wedding, CA, Cake & Art, California Weddings, DIY Projects, Gate of India, Gilded Elegance, Holly Flora, Hollywood, intimate wedding, Katy Schneiderman, Lo Boheme, Los Angeles, Marcia Goncalves, Nana Montana, Peach, The Woman's Club of Hollywood, Vintage Chic, White
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, California Weddings, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Los Angeles Weddings

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From Jesi Haack Design… We were all so enamored with the beauty of the Sowden House’s architecture. The architecture became the apex of our design inspirations.  We really didn’t want to compete with the house itself and everything that came with it so we decided to go in the direction of Mayan Revival. We wanted to use all natural leaves and foliage to enhance the beauty of the grounds.  And we wanted to use fuchsia as our pop of color to touch on the look of the bougainvillea in the courtyard.  Then we needed to spice everything up, and that’s where the gold came in.  We copied the architecture of the home by cutting out wood in the same silhouette and creating the smilebooth backdrop to look like a mini version of the home.  This place is so insanely unique and different, and we wanted to capture the Old Hollywood/Mayan revival feel.  That’s how Ochi chose her dress and her bridesmaids dresses. Gorgeous.

From JL Designs… In keeping with the Mayan Revival idea, we chose a variety of vessels that had that South American feel but with a touch of Hollywood glam – hammered bronze vessels, gold mosaic vases and dark brown wood boxes… We also wanted to go with florals that felt indigenous to that area of the world so we chose tropical greens and foliage like monstera leaves, ti leaves and zebra leaves, accented with fuchsia ginger, feathered protea and fuzzy hanging heliconia.  And, you can’t have a Mayan wedding without gold!   We spray painted succulents for a gilded feel and added those to the arrangements for a touch of funky glam.  We also used hand painted gold votives for a softer, more romantic glow.

Ochi did not want a traditional bouquet for herself or her bridesmaids…so  that’s where we got the idea to do some super funky corsages…these were not your prom corsages of the 90′s!!

Overall I would say the words to describe the feel they wanted was “funky, glamorous, authentic, unique”…

From Rebecca of Docuvitae… Everything about this wedding, in my opinion, was absolutely perfect. This perfection primarily resulted from Ochi and Gabriel’s commitment to keeping their wedding authentic and true to who they are as individuals and as a couple.  Their commitment to and love for their families was exhibited with every glance, every hug, every kiss.  Every single detail reflected their taste, their style and their personalities.  Just like the happy couple, absolutely breathtaking.  It was such an honor to be there to document it all.

Wedding Photography: Rebecca Rotenberg for Docuvitae / Second Shooter: Ruth Kim / Wedding Design & Planning: Jesi Haack Design / Florals & Design: JL Designs / Dessert Table: Sweet & Saucy Shop / DJ: The Flashdance / Wedding Cinematography: Sharkpig / Catering: Heirloom LA / Paper Goods: Pitbulls and Posies / Ceremony Seating: Found Vintage Rentals / Valet: Jeffrey Valet / Hair & Makeup: Giulia Heiman + Kevianno Guerrero / Wedding Venue: The Sowden House

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Post tags: CA, California Weddings, Corsage, Docuvitae, Found Vintage Rentals, Giulia Heiman, Gold, Heirloom LA, Hollywood, Jeffrey Valet, Jesi Haack Design, JL Designs, Kevianno Guerrero, Los Angeles, Mayan Wedding, Old Hollywood, Old Hollywood Glamour, Pitbulls and Posies, SharkPig, Sweet and Saucy Shop, The FlashDance, The Sowden House
Post categories: California Weddings, Los Angeles Weddings, Traditional Elegance

We’re starting Valentine’s Day off with this adorable E*shoot from Callaway Gable Photography! And we want to join every other wedding blogger in the world to salute couples eagerly planning their own weddings ~ as well as everyone else who just happens to be in love!

Joya and Emre are getting married on the beach in Palos Verdes, CA. So for their engagement, they decided to go inland with a shoot that celebrates their love for Los Angeles, Hollywood and California. Additionally, they are both from out of state and work in television, so they wanted their guests to see pictures of sunshine and Hollywood as these images are being used for her Save the Date Invites. Joya made the signs, and we brought the heart chairs. These pictures were shot in Griffith Park and in Hollywood, right below the Hollywood sign. An interesting note on the “Californian” sign: There is a seldom-used little park by Griffith Park where the City of Los Angeles maintains a storage yard. In this yard lays an old rusted neon sign from the early part of the 20th Century that reads “Hotel Californian.” This is all that remains of what was once a modern hotel in the booming hotel district of MacArthur Park. The City of Los Angeles is keeping the sign here until the day the area is redeveloped. and the sign is hopefully placed onto the new building. Until that day comes, it will serve as a really cool backdrop for the beginning of Joya and Emre’s engagement session. – Callaway Gable Photography

See the whole gallery here!

More of this adorable E*Shoot on the Callaway Gable blog!

Please enjoy more of Callaway-Gables’ wedding masterpieces …

Stylish Cicada Wedding

Spectacular Vibiana Wedding

Incredible Coto de Caza Wedding

…more Valentine’s goodness coming up in a bit!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Callaway Gable, Heart, Hollywood, Valentine's Day
Post categories: engagement session, Little Black Book Blog

To see the FULL Engagement Session click here.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, engagement session, Hollywood, Tamar Levine
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Photography

Aren’t they stunning. The creamy paper, the gold calligraphy accents, the pure romance and elegance behind the style. These babies are fit for a princess! Oh and guess what…they are actually from Lisa’s White Label Collection which means that they are available for purchase! Woohoo!

So…because Lisa is just that awesome, she is extending SMP readers a 50% friends and family discount towards fine stationery orders! The offer is good through November, so you have a few weeks to order those thank you notes that we chatted about earlier! Make sure to enter the promo code below when you checkout.

Thank you so very much to the incredibly talented Lisa Hoffman of Ceci New York for stopping by today to share your invitation wisdom and style ideas. You are such a fun addition to SMP, always leaving me giddy with wedding inspirations!

We have yet another fun treat coming up next!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ceci New York, Engraving, Glam, Hollywood, Hollywood Glam, Invitations, Lisa Hoffman, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery

* * *

From Lisa Hoffman of Ceci New York…

I believe all weddings are special. And each one offers a different take on personal individual style which I love to experience everyday with all my different clients. Personalization is a big trend in weddings and this wedding that I am about to share with you is extra special because it’s my younger sister’s wedding!

Christie and Danny just got married over labor day weekend at the historic El Cortez Hotel in San Diego and it truly was a wedding full of inspiring personal style. Their theme was Old Hollywood, which is a trend that is still going strong. With its classic and timeless appeal, how could you not love it? But what I love is that Christie put her own touch on this theme and made it her own.

Christie’s dress is Vera Wang, jewelry from Carolee Jewelry. She infused champagne golds and antique coppers into her bridal bouquets. The hydrangeas were actually spray painted! I loved the unexpected color palette for flowers. So different. Flowers were done by Jennifer at Nantucket Florals.

Each of us bridesmaids had a different vintage hairstyle and our own individual feather jewelry hair pieces. The bridesmaid dresses were hand made by my mom but inspired originally by Priscilla Of Boston.

All the photography is courtesy of the fantastic fine art wedding photographer, Justin Lee. He believes in bringing style and grace to his photography and his goal is to create beautiful, vibrant, timeless, fine art images while being gracefully interactive. An as a bride on your wedding day, the nerves are running high, so you want to find a photographer that makes you feel incredibly comfortable and sexy while capturing the most outstanding images for you. As you can see, Justin will not let you down.

Coming up next, the AMAZING invitations and paper accouterments that Lisa crafted just for her sister’s big day. They are GORGEOUS to put it mildly.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Ceci New York, El Cortez Hotel, Hollywood, Hollywood Glam, Lisa Hoffman, San Diego, Vera Wang
Post categories: California Weddings, San Diego Weddings, Traditional Elegance

So those people you see dancing on the bar, they were the caterers! As soon as the desserts were served they jumped up on the bar and broke it down just to make sure the party was in high gear! Margaux and Beck even handed out little Oscar statuettes to the “film-makers” that helped make their wedding special.

Thank you so much, Jesse and Whitney and Our Labor of Love for sharing this not-so-traditional, very classy, beautiful Hollywood wedding with us!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Glamour, Hollywood, Our Labor of Love
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog