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From The Youngrens…Kent and Jacqueline’s classic, yet dramatic ballroom wedding was a chic New Year’s Eve black tie affair at the Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore, in Santa Barbara, CA. Newport natives Kent and Jacqueline were looking for that wow factor when it came to their Southern California wedding – without having anything cheesy or cliche. They wanted a big party that focused on fun and entertainment – the most important thing to them was to celebrate with friends and family in a beautiful setting, while dancing all night long!

With the help of Rebecca of Imagine Weddings and Special Events and Andrew of Couture Flowers, this wedding oozed elegance and FUN as Kent and Jacqueline along with 200 guests rang in 2011 with a dramatic bang. This wedding was an all out New Year’s Eve party complete with over-the-top reception decor, a dramatic Oscar de la Renta gown, sparkly Jimmy Choo heels, and a crazy midnight celebration led by the funky live band, Soulville. They used tons of large silver Christmas ornaments throughout the reception decor to blend the warmth of the Holiday season with the glamour of New Years’ Eve, lined the enormous head table with larger than life trees, and embellished the table settings and bouquets with glitzy buckles. Everything about this ballroom wedding said classy and elegant, but over-the-top modern dramatic.

Wedding Photography: The Youngrens / Wedding Cinematography: Artisan Productions / Floral + Event Design: Couture Flowers / Event Planning: Imagine… Weddings and Special Events / Ceremony Location: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church / Reception Location: Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding Dress: Oscar de la Renta / Music/Band: Soulville / Transportation: Santa Barbara Trolley / Hair: The Studio Agency / Make-up: Tomiko Taft / Wedding Cake: Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore / Lighting: Ambient Event Design / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ambient Event Design, ARtisan Productions, California Weddings, Classic Party Rentals, Couture Flowers, Four Seasons Resort, Imagine...Weddings & Special Events LLC, Jimmy Choo, New Year's Eve Wedding, Oscar De La Renta, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Trolley, Soulville, The Biltmore Santa Barbara, The Studio Agency, The Youngrens, Tomiko Taft
Post categories: The Blog, Traditional Elegance

If you need anymore, here is the gallery!

After much persistence from a co-worker who swore her nephew, Joshua, and I were destined to get married, I agreed to go on a blind-date. It was not good. In fact, it went down as one of the worse blind dates I had ever been on. After two years of no contact with Joshua, but still a diligent persistence by his Aunt, Joshua and I agreed to meet again. This second-first date found us both on a path of making positive changes in our lives and pursuing our passions. It was perfect timing. We never looked back from that point.

After one month of dating, Joshua bought me blue, Christian Loubouton peep toed shoes. I knew I was going to marry this man… and not just because I had found a man who liked to shoe shop. I vowed not to wear them until our wedding day. We were engaged 5 months later.

When it came to planning our wedding, there were a few non-negotiables – being married by my father who is a pastor, having an abundance of white flowers, and having our big day in a beach city. Joshua and I are lovers of boutique hotels, so The Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara was the perfect location. The minute I walked into the hotel I was pleasantly bombarded with the architecture, décor, color and patterns that ardorn the lobby. The rooftop had stunning views of the mountains and the red-tiled roofs Santa Barbara is famous for. It would be perfect for the chic yet whimsical wedding that Joshua and I wanted to create.

Joshua and I prefer more intimate settings. We wanted our big day to reflect this. On that day we were surrounded by 75 of our closest family and friends. Our wedding invitations set the tone for the blush color and Spanish-style floral pattern that we carried throughout our wedding day; in the programs, escort cards, menus and the three bridesmaid dresses that were custom made.

For our ceremony, we had a candle line aisle and a four post canopy dripping in white hydrangeas and orchids. We wanted a sit-down dinner in the ballroom to feel more like a dinner party rather than a reception. We had guests sit at either square or rectangle tables draped in matte satin beige linens and embellished with sweet centerpieces (created by the amazingly talented Jackie Combs of Jackie Combs Floral Design) of white vases with an array of white flowers.

A seperate ballroom for dancing housed a white dance floor, white couches and even more white flowers. We know that the smallest details created the strongest memories for us. From my blue shoes, to our custom Lakers groom cupcakes. From our “first-look” pictures to the custom made bracelet I wore. From taking communion for the first time as a couple to having my seven nieces and nephews a part of our ceremony. These are all memories Joshua and I will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Photography: The Youngrens / Flowers: Jackie Combs Floral Design / Event Design: Jackie Combs Floral Design / Ceremony Location: The Canary Hotel / Reception Location: The Canary Hotel / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Cake: Montecito Confections / DJ: AMS Entertainment / Hair & Makeup: TEAM Hair and Makeup / Rentals & Lounge Furniture: Classic Party Rentals / Linens: Wildflower Linens / Lighting: LBPS Events / Invitations: Bella Figura / Bridesmaid Dresses: Lauren Bradley

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: AMS Entertainment, Bella Figura, Boutique Hotels, California, Candles, Christian Louboutin, Classic Party Rentals, Color Palette Pink White, Jackie Combs Floral Design, Lauren Bradley, LBPS Events, Mismatched Bridesmaids, Montecito Confections, Santa Barbara, TEAM Hair and Makeup, The Canary Hotel, The Youngrens, Wedding Photography, Wedding Rentals, White Flowers, Wildflower Linens
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

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From the Bride… To have a destination wedding was an easy road for us with no arm-twisting needed. We had originally planned on having a large wedding in Los Angeles, but with both sides of our family being spread out all over the country planning such a large affair turned out to be…not so much fun. After one overwhelmingly long night of vendor searching and location finding we jokingly said, “Lets just get married on a beach somewhere.” It only took one look to know we both agreed and into Google search we went. Esperanza Resort of Auberge Resorts in Cabo San Lucas was the first location we found and we knew it was the one; a week long vacation with people we love and adore like crazy was exactly the kind of wedding we wanted.

As crazy as it sounds for a type A like myself, we never even visited the resort before getting married. Our gut instinct was so strong and the reputation of Auberge Resorts is so wonderful we just knew it was perfect in every single way. Once we decided on the location my inspiration for a theme was based on the resort itself. My favorite colors are cobalt blue, sunflower yellow and off white and that tied in perfectly with the resort decor. Since the wedding location also happened to be cliff side overlooking the gorgeous Sea of Cortez, I knew that nautical-seaside-romance was exactly what our wedding would be. It took no time at all for all the details to start falling into place.

I might have been a tad over confident in the beginning about planning a wedding in another country, but I knew I wanted to be my own wedding planner. I was smitten with so many ideas and I also knew the image I had in my head was something only I could create. I also mean create literally because about 70% of the wedding was DIY. I’m happy to say I managed it all and lived to tell about it, but it was far trickier then I imagined! The first projects were creating our save the dates and the passport covers that we sent out with them, which were hand stamped with “All You need is Love” on the bottom of each one. Josh’s family had never traveled out of the country and this was an extra special touch that they really enjoyed. We sent the bridal party some cute (and tasty!) cookies in the shape of a dress with “Will you be in my bridal party?” written in icing. It was a fun and cute way to ask people!

The dinner and reception decor was not only my biggest challenge, but it was also the most fun because I had to be incredibly creative with customs. I knew I wanted to create a lot of the details myself but with the restrictions of what and how much you could send through customs it was incredibly stressful. I can guarantee I did not sleep much until I knew my shipment had made it to the resort safe and sound. Someone referred to me as a “customs ninja” and it’s a title I will proudly wear because it was tricky! Another obstacle was the flowers we could use for the ceremony and reception.  With the intense humidity, real flowers were out of the question. My vision for the centerpieces was manzanita trees with blossoms and crystals, but to import real manzanita to the florist was incredibly difficult through customs. I opted for very realistic (though faux) manzanita trees and decorated them with crepe paper flowers I bought on Etsy and hanging crystals with candles. As I set it up on the morning of the wedding it looked better then I could have ever imagined. At the last moment before we left I wanted to be sure to have table numbers for easy guest seating. I hand made moss numbers and hung them from the trees on the tables and it worked perfectly.

Looking back on the entire wedding day it seems like a daydream though there were some very real moments I’m especially thankful for. The genuine amount of love, care and immense appreciation we had for everyone there was thick in the air and it lent to the feel of our entire wedding. I will never forget the intimate moment with my Mom seeing me in my dress for the very first time and helping me into it. When she handed me my bouquet she had adorned it with my Great Grandmother’s wedding ring and a sweet note that my Great Grandmother wrote before she passed, all tied off in her favorite scarf. I felt flooded with love and warmth like she was there with us. We also had a special tribute to a very young woman and my dear friend, Alicia, who had very recently lost her fight with cancer. During the reception we played a song Ali and I always used to sing together. To see and feel everyone I love gather in one big circle and sing “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond at the top of their lungs through laughter and tears was magical and touched me so deeply. It’s a moment I will never forget.

Most importantly, however, we have our amazing photographers, Jeff and Erin Youngren, to thank for a lot of our favorite moments.  Not only did they capture every smile, look, and tear of the entire week as our photographers, but as our friends they made us feel so loved and comfortable that we never even noticed the cameras.  The moments they so lovingly guided us into were magical.  I know Josh and I will never forget when we first talked to Jeff and Erin on the phone. They called us in the middle of their amazing vacation in Thailand just to talk to us about our wedding. As we carried on a call from two opposite sides of the world, we felt like we were catching up with two people we had known all of our lives. As the call was ending, I looked at Josh and we had the biggest, cheesiest smiles on our faces and we knew Jeff and Erin were not only going to be our photographers, but lifelong friends and mentors as well. The last thing I said to them that evening was ” We would love for you to come to our wedding as our friends who just happen to have really nice cameras, not as vendors.” That’s exactly what they did and who they were and we know our wedding would not be half of what it was without Jeff and Erin being the people they are. They are such a gift and any couple that finds them behind the lens on their most important day is absolutely blessed.

We could only have planned our wedding day so far in our heads and the actual event far surpassed anything I could have imagined. We wanted our wedding to be about love and spending all the time in the world with those you care about and for people to feel that. They say all you need is love, and we got that and so much more.

Wedding Photography: The Youngrens / Flowers: Los Cabos Flowers / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: Esperanza Resort / Bride’s Shoes: Grazia (Valentine) / Dress: J.Crew / Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Morel / Event Design & Planning: The Bride / Bridesmaid Shoes: Grazia (Tiffany) / Bridesmaid Dresses: Amanda Archer / Wedding Invitations: Two Yellow Shoes / Dinner Thank You Cards: A Graphic Artist / Wedding Clutch: Kiu Designs / Rice Paper Candles: Blossom / Mr. & Mrs. Forks: Beach House Living / Crepe Paper Flowers: Treasured Editions / Moss Numbers & Manzanita Trees: Kate ‘n Kylie / Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Banana Republic + Tommy Bahama

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Graphic Artist, Amanda Archer, Banana Republic, Beach, Beach House Living, Blossom, Blue, Cabo San Lucas, Destination Wedding, DIY Projects, Esperanza Resort, Grazia, J. Crew, Kate 'n Kylie, Kiu, Los Cabos Flowers, Mexico, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Reception, Suzanne Morel, The Youngrens, Tommy Bahama, Treasured Editions, Two Yellow Shoes, White, Yellow
Post categories: Destination, Destination Weddings, Mexico Weddings

The Youngrens have a SENSATIONAL blog feature with so many more details from this fabulous celebration. Actually, there are SO many details it took two features on their blog! And Bonnie Harper’s custom jewelry designs? F A B U L O U S ! See more on her blog and in her etsy store!

From The Youngren’s …
Keith and Janine are two fun-loving teachers from Los Gatos and Palo Alto, CA, who met on Match.com and clicked instantly over their witty sense of humors, sexy charm, and love for life. Their fresh, bright summer wedding was held at Clos La Chance, a gorgeous winery tucked back into the San Jose countryside surrounded by the golden hills of Northern California wine country, and with the help of Kren Rasmussen of Bloomsters, Joanna Biondi at Cafe Primavera, and Little Black Book Member Bonnie Harper of One World Designs, they were able to incorporate their upbeat personalities and meaningful details into the decor of the day. In fact, Bonnie Harper’s jewelry design played a significant role in the wedding day. Between Bonnie and Janine, they custom designed a number of jewelry pieces to complete Janine’s wedding day look, and they even blended one of her grandmother’s strands of pearls into her custom necklace, a detail that held special meaning to the family since her grandmother had just recently passed away.

Photography: The Youngrens / Jewelry: Bonnie Harper of One World Designs / Floral & Event Design: Bloomsters / Event Planning: Kristin Murphy of Clos La Chance / Ceremony & Reception Venue: Clos La Chance / Catering, Dessert Bar, Cake: Cafe Primavera / Hair & Makeup Design: Suzannah Salim, La Nouvelle / DJ: Raffi Nalvarian, Sound In Motion

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bloomsters, Cafe Primavera, Clos La Chance, One World Designs, San Jose, The Youngrens, Winery Wedding
Post categories: Jewelry, Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance

From The Youngrens…

Stephanie and Sean’s wedding took place at a private estate in Montrose, just outside of Pasadena, CA. Under the direction of event coordinator Chris Clark of Extraordinary Events, the couple held their wedding reception throughout the multi-level, spacious garden of the bride’s family home. They infused the space with modern lighting, simple tabletop elegance, and personal Hispanic flavor (Stephanie’s grandmother made her famous homemade tamales). The real show stopper, however, was the dangling Chinese-style lanterns they strung throughout the space that lit the area with warm sophistication as the sun sank down and nighttime took over.

To see the entire affair, check out The Youngren’s blog.

Vendors: Photographers: Jeff and Erin Youngren of The Youngrens / Coordinator: Chris Clark of Extraordinary Events / Ceremony: First Baptist Church of Pasadena / Florist: Crescenta Valley Flower Mart

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Hispanic, Lanterns, Montrose, Pasadena, The Youngrens
Post categories: California Weddings, Pasadena Weddings, Traditional Elegance

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Carlsbad, Leo Carrillo Ranch, The Youngrens
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

From The Youngrens…

Natalie and Chris absolutely fell in love with this venue when we featured a different wedding we photographed there, and Natalie infused the space with soft summer details, beautiful strung lighting, and modern touches.

The seating cards doubled as the favors, because each card contained a CD of the couple’s favorite songs, which was such a cute and smart way to both get creative and save a little money. Holly Vanderslice of Slice of Heaven Catering provided the beautifully presented food, the wedding cake, and also coordinated the entire event. Each buffet served tri-tip as well as a fun do-it-yourself mashed potato bar, complete with martini glasses filled with every topping you could imagine. Diane of Whimsey Florals provided the simple, soft centerpieces that played off of the wildflowers surrounding the historical ranch, as well as the bouquets for the bridal party. The highlight of the space was the strung lighting that Natalie brought in to warm the space during their sunset dinner and provide lighting for the dancing afterward.

LOVE. Really, really love. More coming up in just a bit!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Carlsbad, Chocolate Brown and Pink, Leo Carrillo Ranch, Slice of Heaven Catering, The Youngrens, Whimsey Florals
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

With that said, we have a GORGEOUS wedding for you today. I always love when I see a note from The Youngrens in my inbox, as their work is absolutely stunning and they always have the luxury of working with the most stylish clients. This particular affair took place at the Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad, California and is ALL about the details…

I love weddings that just scream romance. The bride in her perfect dress, the unbelievable lovely flowers that Diane of Whimsey Florals crafted, the chocolate and palest of pink color palette and the dreamy, dreamy photographs. Everything about this wedding is yummy. We have a ton of details coming up in just a bit!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Carlsbad, Leo Carrillo Ranch, The Youngrens, Whimsy Florals
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog