And all in the bride’s very own words …

My husband and I were married at the historic North Chapel, a recently restored naval chapel that is now open for public use. In the 1940’s the chapel was part of the Naval Training Center in San Diego, where 40,000 plus recruits were housed during WWII. My family has a long history of military service (father, brother, both sets of grandparents ~ grandmothers and grandfathers, and a great-grandfather) so I thought it would be special to be married there in a way to honor my family. With our wedding site in a historic chapel and groom and groomsmen in kilts to honor our Scottish heritage, we thought it would be nice to have our paper designs have a “vintage feel” and Sarah definitely accomplished that in her designs.

About a year and a half before I was married, I contacted Sarah with Fuzzynk Designs to see if she was interested in doing some custom paper designs for my wedding. There were a few things I had in mind from the beginning of the design process and knew Sarah would be able to deliver!

I wanted a cohesive design throughout the process ~ from our engagement announcements to the save-the-dates to the wedding invitations to the wedding signage. I wanted each wedding paper item sent out to follow the theme and to get the guests excited about the upcoming event.

Since Scott and I are both of Scottish descent, it was important for us to incorporate the colors from my husband’s family tartan into our “wedding colors” of navy blue, sage green, and ivory since he would be wearing that kilt on our wedding day. I found a picture of a Scottish luckenbooth ~ one of the most romantic of Scottish symbols since the 1700’s.  Luckenbooth pendants were traditionally exchanged between lovers at the time of betrothal.

I sent it to Sarah to incorporate into my wedding designs. Sarah’s talented husband hand drew a version of a Luckenbooth surrounded by our initials E&S which became a “wedding logo” for us and was included in everything we sent out to the guests. The best part of the luckenbooth design was included on our wedding invitations; a small paragraph explained to our guests the meaning of the luckenbooth symbol that they had seen in every design.

My husband, his family and many of his friends are from the East Coast. I was born and grew up in San Diego. My husband and I met in the Midwest at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), so when it came to our wedding guests, we definitely had people from all over the country. At the rehearsal dinner, my mother-in-law put up a map so that people could pin where they are from in the country. It was amazing to see how many people had traveled so far to be with us on our special day. The finished map was then put on display at the reception.

FIRST LOOK ~ We had our first look at the Point Loma Lighthouse because some of the cliffs and open areas up by the lighthouse reminded us of Scotland and made for some really pretty pictures …

Haydee De La Cruz with Haydee’s Creative Flowers did all of the florals for my wedding. I knew that I wanted primarily white and green flowers with touches of thistle (the national flower of Scotland) as a nod to our heritage. Haydee took creative control from that point on and my wedding flowers were absolutely gorgeous ~ who would have thought orchids, peonies and thistles would look so good together?

Since we were going for the whole Scottish theme, when it came to transportation, I knew I wanted a classic British double-decker bus. A limo wouldn’t feel right for a bunch of men in kilts! All kidding aside, we did our bridal party pictures before the ceremony and the open-air seating on top was a great way for the bridal party to relax and take in the sights of San Diego before the wedding.

It was fun getting my husband’s groomsmen to wear full Scottish attire for the wedding. The groomsmen wore the kilts for the ceremony and pictures. As part of their groomsmen gift, we bought them matching ties to wear with a dark suit to change into for the reception. I think the guys had fun wearing the kilts, it was definitely a “once in a lifetime” experience for most of them.

Cake by Sumi’s Oven in San Diego. It was a beautiful and simple four-tier white fondant cake decorated with flowers from Haydee’s.

All photos are courtesy of our photographer John Schnack with Schnack Studios. He and his second shooter were amazing throughout the day. My husband and I felt very comfortable with him since we had done an engagement session with him a month prior. I feel he really captured the feelings and the special moments of the day and the shots never felt forced or contrived.

Thank you, Erin & Scott for sharing the details and the images from your absolutely lovely wedding!

And thanks to Sarah at Fuzzynk Design Studio for sending it our way! You can see more of Sarah’s incredible designs on her website and blog!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California, Fuzzynk Design Studio, Haydee's Creative Flowers, Kilt, Luckenbooth, Military, Navy, North Chapel, Point Loma Linda Lighthouse, San Diego, Schnack Studios, Scottish Traditions, Sumi's Oven
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog

A man in uniform, a vintage airline hanger, a bride that is as gorgeous as she is chic. Does it get any better?

Before we get into the wedding details, I have to share Dagney & Michael’s Engagement Story (from Robert and Kathleen)…

Dagney grew up up loving planes. From air shows with her Dad, to taking up flying herself, aviation has always been a passion for her. When it came to finding someone to spend the rest of her life with, it goes without saying that he had to love flying too. That was one of the things eHarmony searched for when looking for her perfect match.   And there he was. Michael – an Army pilot, who loved flying (both helicopters and planes) just as much as he does. They hit it off right away. He knew she was the one, and he knew the perfect way to ask her to marry him. Dinner would follow the proposal, but the real magic would happen on the way there. What better way to get to dinner than for him to fly them both there? The flight was really the whole point of it all, of course, because up at 5,500 feet, he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.

The wedding just gets better and better, I swear. And both Robert and Kathleen AND Candice at Jubilee are stopping by to share all of the incredible details that they infused into this perfect event.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Airline, Hanger, Jubilee Events, Maggie Sottero, Military, Robert and Kathleen Photographers, Vintage Airline
Post categories: Traditional Elegance, Vintage Chic, Whimsical

Carly & Matthew’s wedding is the perfect mix of classic natural beauty with a splendid touch of whimsy …

Everything about their wedding is just so darned pretty … the flowers are very simple and so very delicate…

And then … there’s the cake! Wow! So cool …

So, who are these extra-special Little Black Book vendors?

The awesome photography team was Dave Miyamoto & Company. The positively perfect florals were from Designs by Hemingway.

Cakelava … of course … designed the fabulous cake. All you have to do is take one look at the cake and you just KNOW it’s one of Rick’s, right?

I read on Rick & Sasha’s blog …

Carly and Matthew gave us plenty of artistic leeway when designing their cake. Their requests were funky, pink and green and white, and swirls, so Rick worked his magic. For their cake flavors, they chose Guava Lava, a completely pink cake, which couldn’t be more fitting for this wedding, and our Hot Fudge Sundae, a nice combination.

Dave really captured the fun … and the sweetest emotions of the day!

The term “fairy tale wedding” might seem cliché … but Carly looks like … she feels like … a princess! And Matthew? Her dashing young prince, of course.

We love it when we can show you that our Little Black Book vendors are all we say they are … and more!

Thanks Dave, for sharing Carly & Matthew’s wedding day with us!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cakelava, Color Palette Pink Green, Dave Miyamoto, David's Bridal, Designs by Hemingway, Hawaii, Military
Post categories: Bouquets, Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

Here are a few more pictures from Stella Alesi…

And, if you haven’t already, you really must check out the newest addition to the Style Me Pretty family…The Little Black Book Blog!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Military, Military Wedding, Stella Alesi
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance