Click here for more inspiration in the full gallery!

We’re not ready to leave the garden just yet!  Picotte Weddings not only has amazing photography skills but they also have some of the best wedding cinematography around!

It all started with a bouquet. I saw this amazing bouquet in all warm and bright shades of pinks and oranges tied off with a vibrant teal ribbon. I’d always wanted to do a wedding inspired by it, so when Susan, of Peony & Plum approached me I showed her the bouquet and our brains started to churn with ideas.  As each vendor agreed to be a part of this inspiration shoot, all of the pieces just seemed to fit and the look we were going for seemed to just fall into place as if each of us was just the right puzzle piece and fit together seamlessly to create this Antique English Garden inspiration. And an inspiration shoot was truly realized through the eye of our amazing and wonderful photographer, Suthi Picotte of Picotte Photography.

Stone Manor, where the inspiration shoot took place, is a hidden gem in the mountains of Malibu, has a breathtaking view of the Pacific Coast and has so much character and charm, that pulled the whole look together. To offset the very meticulous grounds and stone laid walkways and walls, we chose to use all vintage pieces from a farm table, to mismatching chairs, antique glassware, and some fabulous vintage suitcases. We has so much fun perusing through all of the items that Archive Vintage Rentals had to offer, that it was hard to narrow down our selections, as everything they have is fantastic. One of my favorite vintage rental pieces of the day was the aqua blue sideboard. We placed this sideboard as the escort card table beneath an ivy covered arch that framed it perfectly. We placed moss and potted herbs in a vintage suitcase with paper escort cards from Calligraphy Katrina. We had fun with the props and added moss and flowers peaking out of the top drawer and stacked some more vintage suitcases and pitchers overflowing with peonies, garden roses, and amaranthus.

The flowers, oh the flowers. Peony & Plum did an amazing job. The flowers were just marvelous… whimsical… breathtaking. I was blown away when Susan arrived with all of the arrangements, many of which were in white ceramic pitchers to add a little country home feel to the day, a bit more casual, but still classy. Susan also placed peonies, garden roses, hanging amaranthus, moss, berries, and herbs in an eclectic mix of vessels in shades of pinks and blues from Archive Vintage Rentals

Fantasy Frostings blew me away with this simple, yet truly unique cake with custom made fondant flowers that look like fabric that had been folded to form whimsical roses. The cake was placed on top of a vintage suitcase on top of the same antique aqua sideboard in front of a custom photo booth backdrop created by Picotte Photo with sewn fabric panels in coordinating patterns and colors to go with the color scheme and the vintage vibe of the whole inspiration. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun with props on this table including the crocheted table runners

And the main table, oh did we have fun with this. We wanted to showcase the charm of the vintage furniture from Archive and really enhance it’s history with all of the sweet elements of the flowers, pillows in coordinating colors from La Tavola, and all of the table top details. We had a cloud shape that was incorporated into all of the main stationary pieces from the invitation to the oh so sweet menu cards in coordinating light pink and turquoise blue, which had an alternative mauve or turquoise velveteen ribbon and each then adorned with it’s own antique brooch.  The centerpieces were an array of pink and blue antique glassware, mason jars, white ceramic pitchers, and cake plates all filled with peonies, garden roses, amaranthus, lisianthus, berries, and herbs. Susan also created a small flower piece to place in the chandelier that was custom made by the owners of Stone Manor and their landscape lighting company. The property is filled with it from chandeliers to smaller lighting in the shapes of flowers, mushrooms, and lanterns.

Our models, Kristen and Dan, got married this past summer and jumped at the chance to take more wedding pictures. Stacy Bisel did a fantastic job on Kristen’s hair and makeup giving her a soft and romantic look. The “bride” wore a custom couture gown from the ever so talented Alina Pizzano who created this crocheted masterpiece. They had so much fun with the custom photo booth, and who doesn’t love props like a chalkboard speech bubble, lips, and mustaches. Suthi took them all over the grounds to capture some romantics of the couple. We also created an outdoor living room complete with a rocking chair, antique mirror, and a birdcage.

And Calligraphy Katrina put all of the finishing touches together with all of the paper goods, creating a custom invitation set (through her couture line of stationary called Maison Du Papier) using the cloud shaped pattern, as well as the escort cards, photo booth sign, menus, beverage tent cards, plus Bride & Groom Pennants that read “Kristen’s Hubby” and Daniel’s Wifey”. It’s all about the personal touches that truly brings an event to life and makes it one of a kind.

Photography, Cinematography + Photo Booth: Picotte Weddings, Inc. / Event Designer: Events by Heather Ham / Floral Designer: Peony & Plum /  Location: Stone Manor / Rentals: Archive Vintage Rentals / Linens: La Tavola / Cake: Fantasy Frostings / Invitations: Maison Du Papier / Calligraphy: Calligraphy Katrina / Dress: Alina Pizzano Couture / Hair + Makeup: Stacy Bisel Make-up + Hair Design

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, English Garden, Events by Heather Ham, Peony and Plum, Picotte Weddings, Stone Manor, Vintage
Post categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog

see the FULL wedding here!

My now-husband Chris and I met in 2005 when we both worked at Yahoo! Wary of the potential pitfalls of dating a co-worker, we took several months getting to know each other before we officially began dating. But with our mutual passions for karaoke, 1980s British New Wave music, and classic Sci-Fi and indie movies (yes, we’re both geeks) — it was difficult to resist such a match. Shortly after we got engaged in 2009 in Big Sur, we were went on CNN for a segment on romance in the workplace. We even gave some tips for people thinking about getting involved with a coworker.

I had waited such a long time to get married (I’m 36!) , and I wanted to do it in a way that was incredibly personalized and allowed Chris and me to express our creativity and passion for movies and music along with our own whimsical and offbeat sense of style. We took our inspiration from movie theater nostalgia and old Hollywood glamour. And it all came together! The very first detail we focused on was site location. Though neither of us is a California native by birth, we have both come to love and treasure the natural beauty of coastal Southern California which we now call our home. We knew we wanted to get married at a venue with a beautiful outdoor space, and we were also hoping that the venue would have a view of the ocean. Many of our relatives are from the East Coast and Midwest, and some had not visited Southern California very much or at all. We wanted our ceremony and reception to incorporate the elements of Southern California that had won our hearts and that we find so appealing in our every day life here. After visiting eight venues, we fell in love with Stone Manor in Malibu, California. This private home is set up in the hills and has a sweeping, terraced backyard with an inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean.

Photography: Rob Greer / Cinematography: Matt Odom of Rock and Roll Hearts / Ceremony Location: Stone Manor, Malibu, CA / Cupcake Tower: Vanilla Bake Shop / Vintage Brooch Bouquet: Created by the bride from her grandmother’s vintage jewelry / Flowers: Century City Flower Market / Bride’s Dress: Nicole Miller, Altered to add blue tulle and change to fishtail shape by Marie Nelson at West Coast Couture / Bride’s Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Bride’s Feather Wrap: Lena Kanter on Etsy / Groom’s Suit: Ralph Lauren Black Label from Barneys New York / Rings: Gaspar Fine Jewelers / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew, Alfred Sung for Dessy, and others / Make-up and hair: Pomp Salon / Catering: Truly Yours Catering / Event Planning: Events by Heather Ham / Officiant: Dr. Kimber Lee Wilkes / DJ: Keith Divel / String Quartet: Riviera String Quartet / Personalized Parasols: Pamela’s Parasols and KMattso2 on Etsy / Bride and Groom Guitar Picks: Sierra Metal Design on Etsy / Classic Cadillac Rental: Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Dessy, Events by Heather Ham, J. Crew, Malibu, Nicole Miller, Rob Greer Photography, Stone Manor, Vanilla Bake Shop
Post categories: California Weddings, Los Angeles Weddings, Real Weddings, Whimsical

On to Rose and Sunil’s Cocktail Hour and Reception!

They joined their guests for a few brief hugs and then headed off for a little alone time and a few more photos …

I can’t help it … I’m just in love with the kids at this wedding …

And now from sweet Rose …

Sunil and I met in New York through friends. We connected right away and dated for a few months before he suddenly had to move to LA for a job. We lost touch for about 3 years then he bought a house and sent an email to everyone with his new information. We got back in touch and it was as if no time had passed. I came to visit him on August 19 and a year later … to the day … he proposed.

We were married the following May at Stone Manor. We both knew we wanted an outdoor setting for the wedding, and in LA you can do that without much fear of bad weather. Stone Manor was the second place we saw and I knew instantly it was the right place for us. The gardens were so pretty but not too stuffy or formal. It just felt like us. As for design, our planner Lisa Gorjestani helped us a lot after meeting with us. She came to our house and picked up on our own style and went from there. We’re pretty casual and we tend to like a simpler, more natural style and she just got it right away.

You all … just got it! A very charming affair …

Laura and Ann and Kat, the Docuvitae photographers are true story-tellers! You guys did an amazing job capturing the simple charm, warmth and emotion encompassing the day.  Thank you SO much for sharing this wedding with us!

Again, congratulations to Rose and Sunil from all of us at Style Me Pretty~

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Basic Grey, California Weddings, Cocktail Party, Docuvitae, Heidi Swapp, Lisa Gorjestani, Malibu, Memory Makers, Scrapbook, Spring, Stone Manor, Vera Wang
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

I shopped one day for dresses. I knew pretty quickly that this dress was the one. I tried on more to be sure, but knew I’d probably end up with that first dress. It’s a Vera Wang, although that’s not why I bought it at all, it just happened to be the dress that fit me the best. It was flattering, gave me a waist where I don’t really have one and it seemed unusual.

Isn’t that the way it goes so much of the time? The first dress you try on!

Laura Kleinhenz, founder and principal photographer at Docuvitae shot today’s wedding in Malibu at the breath-taking Stone Manor venue.

But before we get to the details of the day, a few really sweet ‘getting ready’ shots that will make you feel like you were in the room…

Uh-oh …it appears that Rose is going to have a tough time getting through the day without the flood of emotion that often accompanies the moment … I can almost hear them saying “breathe … breathe …”

… and another pretty lady preparing for this special day …

But this little guy nearly steals the show (all day long)!

Everyone gathers at the amazing Stone Manor for the wedding ceremony.

Uh-oh, sweet Rose …

Congratulations Rose & Sunil!

More on the way from the reception …

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Docuvitae, Hair Accessories, Malibu, Orchids, ring bearer, Sari, Shoes, Stone Manor, Vera Wang
Post categories: Bouquets, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style

Tuesday’s Little Black Book Blog feature is from the superb team of photographers at Docuvitae. It’s beautiful, it’s sweet and the bride is wearing Vera!

See you then …

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Docuvitae, Malibu, Stone Manor, Vera Wang
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Photography