From the bride, Lauren…

The ceremony was my favorite part of the entire day. Dark-colored storm clouds rolled in a few hours before that looked quite ominous for rain (August in New Mexico is known for afternoon showers). We certainly lucked out though because the storm never made its way to the Encantado, yet the clouds created an awesome backdrop for spectacular photos.

Luckily for all us, the jaw dropping doesn’t stop with the ceremony. Lauren was inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting, “White Trumpet Flower”, so she hired Santa Fe floral designer, Andrea Soorikian, to turn her vision into reality and create an evening that was as expressive as the painting itself.

From Lauren…

Overall I wanted the look to be very natural and organic: grasses, succulents, driftwood, pods, etc, with tonal cream blooms, complemented by tons of candlelight. I wanted the floral arrangements to each be unique, so we had a mix of tables with varied vessels to adorn each. The round tables had rectangular wood vases or bamboo bowls, while the long tables had an arrangement of driftwood, white blooms and greens running down the length of each table. I had my heart set on creating a “tree” for the place card table, which I found out is no easy task. Thankfully Andrea did not shy away from the challenge and went above and beyond to create the most gorgeous orchid tree I could have ever imagined!

Credits: Flowers by Andrea Soorikian Design, Ceremony and Reception location Encantado Resort, Wedding Coordination by Heidi Anderson, Dress by Vera Wang, Calligraphy by Betsy Dunlap, photography by Kitty and Craig Fritz from Twin Lens.

More photos of the gorgeous reception coming up next.

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Post tags: Calligraphy, New Mexico, Orchids, Outdoor Wedding, Santa Fe, Twin Lens
Post categories: Casual Elegance

This first image is probably my favorite! Ingrid does amazing things with trees in her photographs!

From the earlier post on Natalie and Brian’s wedding, you’ll remember that they had a small bridal party ~ just siblings who were allowed to wear anything they wanted. Natalie loves yellow and incorporated it into the flowers. The splashes of color in an otherwise naturally green surrounding is positively perfect!

Natalie’s precious dress is by Watters Brides and her cute yellow shoes are by Lumiani.

Flowers were by Art In Bloom … Event by Joy of Life Events … Makeup by Carola May …

Natalie & Brian were married at Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley.

Ahhhhh! I would SO love to have been at Natalie & Brian’s wedding! Congratulations!!

And thank you Ingrid for sharing the joy and the serenity of their day!!

For more of Myrtle & Marjoram’s amazing weddings, be sure to spend some time on Ingrid’s blog and website! Lots and lots of inspiration!!

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Post tags: Art In Bloom, California, Carola May, Cupcakes, Empire Mine State Park, Joy Of Life Events, Lumiani, Myrtle & Marjoram Photography, Outdoor Wedding, Watters Brides
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

Hawaiian inspiration … in Sandy, Oregon!

It never ceases to amaze me that once you know the ‘who, when, and where’ … the design, colors and style just seem to happen.

Love the leis for the guys…

Floral design was provided by Adria at Lavish.

from Adria … talk about having someone’s personality shine through in their event! This wedding was so fun to work on because Kristin was such a hoot – totally colorful personality. Her father is from Hawaii and she has spent a lot of time there, so they really wanted to bring some tropical elements into their day. We used lots of bright flowers and lush foliage, but we also wanted a modern feel so we went with clear square glass vases with submerged blooms and bamboo for the centerpieces.They also went with the traditional maile leis for the groom and his men as well as leis for the gals.

The story about the plane is great! The wedding was held at her parents home. A few months before the ceremony they had noticed a bright green crop duster circling the area, so on a whim they hopped in the car and spent about an hour following it around until it landed. Then they asked if the pilot would be willing to fly over the reception and drop petals! This is a gal who gets stuff done. I love it! Flowers we used: Flame callas, cymbidium, dendrobium and vanda orchids, Lotus pods, Tropical fern curls … Lots of fun foliage!

In Colin Cowie’s fabulous new book,  Wedding Chic, he says, “Today, we live in a world where the boundaries between cultures are blurred and it’s not unusual to find people of one group borrowing and blending the rituals and traditions of another. ..The very idea of borrowing resonates as an openness to exploring spiritual meaning.” The point being … whatever inspires you, whatever makes you smile … embrace it!

and from the bride, Kristin …

When Eric and I were thinking about what kind of wedding we wanted to have, we started by discussing all of our similar interests and what we thought would tell the story of our relationship. We both have a special connection and love for Hawaii. My father is from Hawaii and Eric spent a summer in Maui during college, learning how to surf and loving the island vibe. So, we decided to use elements from Hawaiian culture in our ceremony as well as in our music (ukulele player), flower choices, and decorations. It was really special to be able to have our wedding at my parents’ house because we wanted to create a close family feeling. Many of our friends and family were traveling from all over the country and we were able to have both the rehearsal dinner/southern bbq and our wedding at my family’s house. It truly brought people together in a comfortable beautiful atmosphere. The fireworks show my dad put on after the rehearsal dinner will never be forgotten! Our theme extended into wedding party attire as well. The groomsmen wore fidora hats, seaweed leis, Cuban wedding shirts, and flip flops and the bridesmaids carried tropical bouquets. I designed and made my jewlery and hairpiece as well as the jewelery for the bridesmaids. It was really fun having the fidora hats for the boys, the boys sort of took on new personalities with them on! Probably the most important thing to us was the music for the reception. After trips to Jazzfest, we fell in love with New Orleans culture and music, so we were honored to have The Devin Phillips Band play the wedding. Devin is a Portland transplant who moved here after Katrina. The band was awesome, mellow jazz for dinner and New Orleans funk for dancing afterwards. I didn’t know that some of my relatives could move like that! We chose Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” as our first dance and I felt like I was floating on air when Eric swung me around at the end of the dance!

Thanks so much to Adria, Kristin & Eric, and of course the very talented Holly & Paul for sharing these photos and stories!

Holly Andres and Paul Rich are yet another of Style Me Pretty’s fabulous Little Black Book husband & wife photography teams! Check out their website and blog for more of their fantastic work!

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Post tags: Colin Cowie, Color Palette Orange Green, Fourth Of July, Hawaiian Inspired, Oregon, Outdoor Wedding, Paul Rich Studio, Portland
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

From the beautiful bride, Ashley…

When I was planning my wedding I knew I wanted 2 things- for it to be outside and to have peonies!  We ended up having the most beautiful weather- 78 and sunny- in Georgia in the summer!  We chose the location because my husband and I both graduated from UGA, and thought it would be really fun for everyone to come back up for the wedding.  The Founders Garden is just one of those gems on campus- perfect for a wedding!  We were really going for the garden party theme with a few vintage touches (mostly with the centerpieces).  We hung lanterns in the trees and had lights strung across the courtyard.   I would have to say my favorite detail of the day was the flowers- they were absolutely perfect!

Thanks so much for sharing your day with us, Ashley! We are announcing our giveaway winners next, so definitely check back in a bit!

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Post tags: Athens, Color Palette Pink Green, Founders Memorial Garden, Garden Party Theme, Georgia, Lanterns, Outdoor Wedding, Peonies
Post categories: Real Weddings

Heather Forsythe, out of Charleston, sent me this gorgeous pink wedding. Let me tell you what I really love about this wedding…the couple paired a frilly pink palette with a super rustic, outdoor space making the whole wedding seem mismatched in that incredibly perfect way. To me, this is what a beautiful wedding does…it brings together all things beautiful, but with different textures and styles so that nothing seems too planned or over designed. More pics on the way!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Charleston, Country Elegance, Heather Forsythe, Outdoor Wedding, Pink Week, Rustic
Post categories: Real Weddings

From Cameron, Carol and Steve…

Another really cool project…Carol repurposed a wedding invitation to conceal their vows. Designed by Carol and Steve’s friend, Kristie, is a local Flagstaff artist and teaches art to junior high students in Winslow. She designed them to be reminicent of the wedding site, and linoleum block printed an edition of 100. She signed and numbered each. The result was that each guest received a limited edition piece of art that commemorated our wedding as well as an invitation.

From Steve…my sister made the wedding cake. This caused great anxiety with my mother, who feared an amature cake might somehow be the wedding’s downfall, bringing only ruin and despair to our big day; my sister is an air traffic controller, and not a professional baker. The end result was beautiful, though, and was a great way to put money into areas our guests would appreciate more directly.

Oh, I just love all of these personal touches. Not only do they bring a sense of intimacy to the wedding…Steve and Carol now have so many stories to tell about their big day! Thanks, Cameron, for sending to us and a HUGE congratulations to Steve and Carol!

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Post tags: Arizona, Cameron Clark, Outdoor Wedding
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired

From Cameron, Carol and Steve…

The wedding was filled with DIY touches. Carol’s sister printed up, cut out, and pasted old family photographs to construction paper and then hung them on twine with clothespins on the “forest walk” to the ceremony site.  Every guest stopped to check out the photos.  It was a huge HIT!

Also in superb DIY fashion their friends cut out Aspen tree ‘rounds’ and arranged tabletop flowers within them. They turned out beautiful. Our friend David constructed these rounds by cutting a fallen aspen into sections and auguring multiple holes into each to contain the stems. He sealed the bottoms with a lacquer to prevent water from leaking onto the tablecloths.

Other tidbits…The bride’s friend Tamara arranged her bouquet using many local flowers including a huge sunflower.  They wrote their own vows, and used a beautiful wood-cut paper invitation to conceal them.

More to come!

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Post tags: Arizona, Cameron Clark, Outdoor Wedding
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired

From Cameron…

Steve and Carol have been together forever. They even went to prom together! Their ceremony location was tucked behind some Aspen trees in the middle of the forest at 8,000 in Flagstaff, AZ and it was gorgeous. They made this wedding really reflect their personalities. They had lawn games and many DIY details. From the FANCY portable “Royal” restroom facility to the artist who crafted their invites, Carol must have spent hours dreaming up the details to her wedding.

More details and pictures coming soon!

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Post tags: Arizona, Cameron Clark, Outdoor Wedding
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired

More to come!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Outdoor Wedding, Table Settings
Post categories: Real Weddings

Not surprisingly, the forever talented Beth Helmstetterplanned this gorgeous event. Filled with pretty, simple touches like the lovely birch vases, the candles dripping from the trees, the lace wrapped candles…every element is romantic and seemingly effortless.

Stay tuned, we have more weddings on the way today! In the meantime, check out Jose’s blog…major eye candy!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beth Helmstetter, Birch Vases, Jose Villa, Outdoor Wedding
Post categories: Real Weddings

A bit from the bride, Alana…

My husband Alex and I were married on July 19th 2008 in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. We currently live in Montreal, Canada but we both grew up in the Okanagan and couldn’t imagine our wedding taking place anywhere else. Our ceremony was held on my parents’ lawn, which overlooks beautiful Okanagan Lake. We wanted to create an elegant, clean & simple wedding.

We were on a budget so we kept our guest list relatively small (75 people) and tried to do as many DIY projects as possible. We also wanted our wedding to be unique and very representative of us and didn’t want to have to sacrifice that because of the budget.

Stay tuned to hear all of the details from this gorgeous wedding!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blue, British Columbia, Budget Beautiful, Canada, Green, Okanagan Lake, Outdoor Wedding, Summerland, Wedding Colors
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

There is just something about a man in uniform! This wedding is just so dramatic and yet, the look is edited so that it doesn’t seem over-the-top. And the pictures, oh the pictures! More to come!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aaron Delesie, Outdoor Wedding
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 29 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Outdoor Wedding, Paper Lanterns
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic