Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog

Santa Barbara Wedding by Elizabeth Messina + Duet Weddings, III

Abby Larson — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:00:53 +0000

Elizabeth Messina is the voice behind some of the most beautiful photographs a girl has ever seen. She has this incredibly romantic approach to photography…a perspective that not only makes you want to grab your hubby and plant a big one on him, but one that inspires you to seek out the joy in all of those little things that make life lovely. A photography perspective that simply can’t be replicated no matter how talented the lens holder is. And the moment that I laid eyes on Elizabeth’s latest masterpiece, I knew that I HAD to share the love with you wedding gurus out there…the only people that I knew could appreciate the insane beauty of this day as much as I do. And the best part? There is SO much more in the gallery.

From Rebeccca at Duet Weddings the AAAAAMAZING designer behind the day…

The reception was held at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara. The beautiful Spanish courtyard made for an incredible backdrop to raw wood dinner tables adorned with overflowing urns and distressed terra cotta pots. Loose, overgrown florals combined with fruits, vegetables and succulents created an organic feel to the table tops. In keeping with the organic feel, we used natural materials to create menus and table names. We affixed beautifully calligraphed menus to old, salvaged wood pieces, and hand drew the table signs on old, distressed wood pieces as well. Tables names were words inspired by love in Italian. Guest found their names on tiny manila tags, tucked sweetly under small succulent pots at place settings. Vintage seam binding danced on the breeze as flowy streamers and bistro string bulbs glowed magically.

Instead of a traditional guest book, Giovanna and Schuyler wanted something special that they would cherish and enjoy and be reminded of their wedding, their friends, their family with always. A potted olive tree (which now lives outside of Gio & Sky’s home) sat in the courtyard for guests to hang their wishes upon. The tree will continue to grow with the wishes and be a part of Gio & Sky’s lives.

*A HUGE thank you to Rebecca Stone at Duet Weddings and to Elizabeth Messina for sharing this incredibly gorgeous wedding with us. Make sure to check out Elizabeth’s blog, Kiss The Groom, for even more inspiration. And sign up for her new twitter account!*

Photographer: Elizabeth Messina / Caterer: Village Modern / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / DJ: Red Shoe LA / Cake: Christine Dahl / Calligrapher: Little Miss Press / Hair/Makeup: The Studio Agency (Cathryn Van Breene & Sheila Stone) / Dove release: SB Doves / Antique plates/flatware/napkin/rings (for picnic) – Small Masterpiece / Flowers: Modern Day Design / Lighting: Bella Vista Designs / Planning and Design: Duet Weddings / Bridesmaid Dresses: LulaKate

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bella Vista Designs, Best of 2010, California Weddings, Christine Dahl, Classic Party Rentals, Doves, Duet Weddings, Elizbeth Messina, Kiss the Groom, Little Miss Press, magazine, Modern Day Design, Picnic, Pink, Rebecca Stone, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Historial Museum, SB Doves, Small Masterpiece, The Studio Agency, Top Hat, Village Modern REd Shoe LA
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Traditional Elegance

Santa Barbara Wedding by Elizabeth Messina + Duet Weddings, II

Abby Larson — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:30:03 +0000

I know, upon first glance, I’d assume this was a photo shoot too. You know…picture perfect details, a bride and a groom that is shockingly gorgeous, a style that is both swoon worthy and surprisingly whimsical. But nope, this is not a photoshoot. I repeat, this is NOT a photoshoot. It’s an honest to goodness, real life wedding with a couple that is madly in love and a wedding that was built especially for them. And I’m pretty sure that it’s the most gorgeous wedding I’ve ever seen…with a design by Rebecca Stone of Duet Weddings and photography by Elizabeth Messina that is so beautiful, I could literally cry. Although we have tons of goodness coming up throughout the day, we totally get it if you simply can’t wait. Click here to see the whole shebang.

if you can’t wait for our next feature, click here to see the full wedding gallery!

From Rebeccca at Duet Weddings…

We created a romantic “lovers picnic” for two directly following the ceremony for Gio & Sky to have some time alone to reflect before joining the festivities. In addition to a picnic basket full of goodies, a special, miniature version of their wedding cake was created for them to share together. Antique china and flatware added a special touch to the setting- the antique ivory napkin rings featured the letter g & s, and among the flatware- an engraved spoon (from 1905) that was given from a man to his wife on their wedding anniversary.

Giovanna & Schuyler share a special connection to birds…and doves in particular seem to have a way of following them everywhere they go. (I witnessed this myself at several of our planning meetings- it was quite remarkable!) It was only fitting that a special ‘lovebird’ release take place for the lovebirds on their wedding day.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bella Vista Designs, Best of 2010, California Weddings, Christine Dahl, Classic Party Rentals, Doves, Duet Weddings, Elizbeth Messina, Kiss the Groom, Little Miss Press, magazine, Modern Day Design, Picnic, Pink, Rebecca Stone, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Historial Museum, SB Doves, Small Masterpiece, The Studio Agency, Top Hat, Village Modern REd Shoe LA
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Santa Barbara Wedding by Elizabeth Messina + Duet Weddings

Abby Larson — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:00:01 +0000

If you happen to be one of those girls that cringes at the daily gushing we do on SMP…you might want to step away from the computer. Because I am about to gush like I’ve never gushed before. We’re talking wedding gush taken to an entirely new level. And let me just preface said gushing by saying this…to date, we’ve written more than four THOUSAND, five hundred wedding features. And each and every one of them has overflowed with beauty, with style, with charm. I’ve loved, loved and loved some more over the past three years. And yet, I have never fallen in love with a wedding quite as hard as I have fallen in love with this one. Photographed by the genius that is Elizabeth Messina and designed by the fabulous Rebecca Stone of Duet Weddings…this is the definition of perfection.

From Rebeccca at Duet Weddings…

I’ll never forget the first time I met Gio & Sky, I was so touched by their warmth and beautiful energy. Listening to their story, I was overwhelmed with inspiration and emotion. Their wedding would be the ultimate celebration of life and love- full of meaning and beauty in every stitch of the day.

Their family and friends traveled from all over the world to join in celebration in Giovanna & Schuyler’s home, Santa Barbara. Gio & Sky wanted to give their guests a taste of this “home” and what it means to them- inspiration was drawn from the natural beauty and history of Santa Barbara itself, Giovanna’s Italian heritage, and Gio & Sky’s connectedness to the earth and love of nature.

The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Montecito. Florals, by Modern Day Design, were inspired by the colors of the church- soft, romantic blush tones with a hint of dusty plum- peonies, garden roses, sweet pea contrasted with silvery green succulents (a favorite of the groom!). Vintage hankies were offered for ‘tears of joy’ in an antique plate. Old fashioned manila tags bound together by vintage seam binding made for sweet programs.

So much more coming up next!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 38 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bella Vista Designs, Best of 2010, California Weddings, Christine Dahl, Classic Party Rentals, Doves, Duet Weddings, Elizbeth Messina, Kiss the Groom, Little Miss Press, magazine, Modern Day Design, Picnic, Pink, Rebecca Stone, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Historial Museum, SB Doves, Small Masterpiece, The Studio Agency, Top Hat, Village Modern REd Shoe LA
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Real Wedding Inspirations

Abby Larson — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:59:23 +0000

I am so excited about today’s post…not only do we get to see one of the prettiest real weddings I’ve ever seen, we also get to see the inspiration behind the whole event. The wedding was a collective effort between two of our Little Black Book members, the oh-so-fab Rebecca Stone of Duet Weddings and the amazingly talented Leigh Miller of Leigh Miller Photography.

From Rebecca…

I met the couple, Sarah and Mike and was instantly drawn to them. They were so full of life, so completely in love and had such an amazing energy to them. Their wedding was held in a beautiful wild garden setting, with dinner inside the old barn on the property. We took several trips to the site together and walked through at different points in the day- I always like to soak in the feelings of the day, see the way the light reflects, etc. I fell in love with the location right away – the vegetable patches and pockets of wild flowers, the bees and hummingbirds, the barn in all of its cob-webby glory- it was this perfect mish mosh of unrefined, organic elegance with a vintage rustic flair. This was the palette for the look and feel of the day and Sarah and Mike were the medium.

With this in mind, Rebecca created four different inspiration boards for the events. Here is the pre-ceremony inspiration board (click to make larger)…

The ceremony inspiration board (click to make larger)…

The cocktail hour inspiration board…

And finally, the reception inspiration board…

Stay tuned to see how Rebecca transformed these inspiration boards into a warm and inviting, and yet incredibly chic real wedding!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Duet Weddings, Leigh Miller Photography, Rebecca Stone
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Inspiration Boards, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic, Wedding Planners & Designers