{click here for more of those Sedona skylines}

For our wedding, my fiancé and I envisioned an intimate affair with our closest family and friends.  Since our loved ones are spread all over the country, we were open to any destination.  When we stumbled upon L’Auberge de Sedona in Sedona, Arizona, we knew right away it was the perfect place.   The red rock views were breathtaking, the accommodations were luxurious, and it had the rustic feel we were looking for.

When we started planning the details, Style Me Pretty gave us daily inspiration.  We loved seeing how couples incorporated unique ideas and personality into their celebrations.  It helped us come up with our own little touches, like using a canvas and paints for our guest book (I’m an artist) and having a cake covered in coconut (fiancé’s favorite).  The stone ceremony was one of our favorite things.  Guests had been asked to find and bring a small stone, and during the wedding ceremony they were asked to hold it and say a prayer.  We’ll be able to keep the stones – with their prayers – in our home forever.

We are especially indebted to SMP for helping us find the most amazing photography team ever, Twin Lens.  When we saw Kitty and Craig’s work, no other photographer would do.  And on top of their profound talent, they are the sweetest people ever.  We could not be happier with our choice, and I am so thankful to them for giving me what I believe to be the best, most beautiful wedding photographs that I’ve ever seen.    We will be forever grateful to Sandy Walker of In Awe Weddings & Events for making the wedding planning and our special day so wonderful.  I don’t know how many times throughout the planning process that I told Sandy she was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I couldn’t have meant it more.  She was professional, creative, patient, and wonderful in too many ways to list.

Photography: Twin Lens / Venue: L’Auberge de Sedona / Wedding coordination: Sandy Walker- In Awe Weddings & Events / Cake: Sedona Cake Couture / Flowers: Flowers With Flair / Make-up and hair stylist: Allison Pynn /Dress: Paloma Blanca /

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Post tags: Allison Pynn, Arizona, Flowers with Flair, In Awe Weddings and Events, L'Auberge de Sedona, Paloma Blanca, Sedona, Sedona Cake Couture, Twin Lens Images
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Destination, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

When Mike took me to Santa Fe to meet his mom for the first time, it was love at first sight. I thought, “Here is where I will marry this incredible man.”

Between us, there has always been this feeling of ease and comfort. And while we both love the life we live in Chicago, we wanted our wedding to reflect the same sense of comfort we found in Santa Fe that we found in each other. We are together in part because we have the same priorities; top on the list being family and friends. So, we enlisted our loved ones and their many talents to help us create a day that reflected a “personal touch” and was as lush in love as the garden in which we wed.

Our ceremony took place at the Selby Fleetwood Gallery on Canyon Road. In the initial planning stages, Mike’s mom, Selby, sent us some images of paintings from the gallery and we got hooked on one from an artist we had long admired, Lor Roybal. This image, Adonis and Miranda, became the cornerstone of our wedding.

I borrowed the spiced wine color from the painting when I looked for bridesmaid’s dresses (JCrew) and for the pop of color from my shoes (Kate Spade).

The girls’ flowers, from Artichokes and Pomegranates, were also filled with matching hues.

We used the Adonis and Miranda image on our wedding program fans- a labor of love that took me something like two weeks and a bruised hand (from all that corner punching)! They were worth it, though ~ guests used them as they strolled up Canyon Road to the reception.

My gown was by Marisa. I think it was an older style. It was a sample I got really, really inexpensively and had beautifully fixed up by this wonderful place, Davis Imperial, here in Chicago – they are a wonderful cleaner/tailor/preservation company!

We wanted to honor tradition yet find touches that came uniquely from us, our family and our friends. So we asked Mike’s bandmate and his wife to be our ceremony musicians. They played an acoustic version of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” as I walked down the aisle. My cousin, who was our ring bearess, carried Mike’s titanium ring and my ruby band (that was his grandmother’s guard ring) in a beautiful ceramic dish created by Paloma’s Nest inscribed with words from “Wildflowers.”

As our numbers grew (115 of our closest came from Kansas to Philly to Spain, including some of my former students) we decided we needed a bigger reception venue and El Farol came to the rescue. El Farol is the oldest restaurant in Santa Fe and legend has it that there are bullet holes in the walls! When an afternoon downpour prevented the party from being outside, we quickly arranged everyone indoors in cozy rooms where an intimate affair took shape. The tables were filled with stunning arrangements done for us as a gift from a close friend of Selby’s. On the morning of the wedding, we all ventured to the farmer’s market to select peonies and wildflowers which were added to the fresh mint, sage and sweet peas from Selby’s home garden.

Our guests filled their plates with flash fried avocados & salsa and seafood paella before dancing to the funky sounds of the Felonious Groove Foundation. One of Mike’s wedding musts (he’s a drummer disguised as a lawyer) was to find a band that would get everyone up and moving and it worked! Our Mayan chile chocolate cakes (3 small round cakes, ours sitting on a vintage cake stand I found a week before the wedding on Ebay!) were from The Chocolate Maven and were like heaven. Instead of a traditional cake topper, we had peg people made to look like us from Naked Peggies on Etsy!

That night, we did just what we wanted: we laughed and loved, hugged and squeezed, danced and ate in the mountains with our loved ones.

You know what else? I totally forgot to add that we used squares of canvas (following the art gallery theme) for our guest book, which guests filled out with a message and hung on clothespins that I modge podged with paper in our colors.

As a wonderful surprise, Mike’s family presented us with Adonis & Miranda, who now live with us in Chicago!

image from Selby Fleetwood Gallery website

To capture the day it was without question that we chose Twin Lens. Mike and I were immediately drawn to Kitty and Craig’s style and their obvious passion for what they do. They went above and beyond , leaving us with the most incredible visual story of our day.

* * *

Congratulations to Amy & Mike on your positively perfect wedding!!! And thank you, as well, for providing all of the details and inspiration behind your planning. We love to hear that our readers have found Style Me Pretty to be instrumental in firing up your creative juices!!

* * *

When Kitty Clark Fritz & Craig Fritz set out to tell your story, they do so with an obvious love of the arts~ no matter the season, the place, or the media. Their artistic flair for not only painting pictures with their cameras, but telling an incredible love story at the same time, distinguishes them as truly, the best of the best! We LOVE Twin Lens Images!  Thank you, guys for always sending us your stunning weddings!

For more of their sensational work, take a look at the FEATURED WEDDINGS on their website.

Here are some links to a few of their weddings previously featured on Style Me Pretty and The Little Black Book Blog …

Elle & Kevin’s Glamorous Affair (think Fred Astaire + Audrey Hepburn)

Renae & Alex’s New Mexico Hacienda Celebration

Elizabeth & Johnny’s Wedding (Elizabeth’s only rule? No Glue Guns! 5-part feature on SMP)

Eleana & Avi’s stunning Jewish traditions

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Artichokes & Pomegranates, J. Crew, Kate Spade, Lor Roybal, Marisa, Naked Peggies, New Mexico, Paloma's Nest, Santa Fe, Selby Fleetwood Gallery, The Chocolate Maven, Twin Lens Images
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography

We had people to tell us we should cut costs by asking a friend or an art student to take the pictures, and I am thrilled that we completely ignored that advice. We set out looking for photographers who could really capture the essence of the day. Cheesy photos of wedding parties jumping in the air and grooms dipping their brides didn’t interest us. We wanted the pictures to not only remind us of how we felt during the celebration, but to convey to those who couldn’t make it a real sense of what it was like to be there. Johnny and I are both novice photographers, and we love a more photo-journalist style.  Kitty and Craig absolutely exceeded our expectations. Not only were they in the thick of everything, but they pulled it off without being the least bit intrusive. They were like ninja photographers! And the pictures represent the day so intimately and honestly, people joyfully tear up when looking at them. The added bonus of them living in the very same New Mexico village where our wedding was held was simply too serendipitous to ignore.

And, some last words that are SO important for every bride on a budget to remember…

Using the resources you have, hunting for great deals, going to local businesses rather than large wedding retailers, and incorporating the talents that you have and the talents of others close to you – all of this is my best advice for creating a wedding that is not only affordable but that is truly your own.

The last thing I would add is that all of the guests made comments about how wonderful the rain was, affirming my belief that working with unplanned events (rather than trying to fight against them), is the best practice. Brides in particular get so caught up in the day being ‘perfect.’ We were rained on, ran people from courtyard to tent back to courtyard, had technical difficulties with the father-daughter dance, had to improvise a plan to fill water glasses, my bustle broke, my dress got muddy, the bus showed up too early to take guests back to the hotel, just to name a few mishaps… and it was the most spectacular day of my life. At least 20 of our guests told me that the evening was “just perfect,” and I couldn’t agree more.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

* * *

Couldn’t have said it better myself!! Coming up next, we are announcing the Crate and Barrel Favorite Four Giveaway Winners!!! And later today, we have another pretty killer giveaway…in the meantime, check out the AWESOME Gourmet Invitations Giveaway on the Little Black Book Blog!

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Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: The Blog, Vintage Chic

From Elizabeth, the lovely, lovely bride…

We found that buying silverware at thrift stores was more than 50% cheaper than renting it.  We provided one fork, knife and spoon for each guest, and picked up cool serving utensils as we stumbled upon them – all in all about 375 pieces of silverware.

We borrowed napkins from my cousin. She had used them at her wedding, which was also deluged by a heavy rainstorm. There was speculation among my family members that perhaps the napkins brought the rain with them…

It was my little sister’s idea to name our tables after some of our favorite jazz musicians, a passion Johnny and I share. The night that we met we had a lengthy conversation about the film ‘Sweet and Lowdown,’ and our love for the swing era. The head table was then named after the (fictional) lead characters from that film, Emmet Ray and his love, Hattie. The lanterns came from a decor hunt Johnny and his mother went on in Johnny’s hometown of Durango. The jars and bottles we collected at antique stores and garage sales during our engagement. Julie had sage bushes in her yard, so we used branches from them in the jars, and then attached the table markers to the branches with clothespins.

Our desserts were made by three of our friends. One of them made the wedding cake, her first ever attempt, to rave reviews! It was a chocolate-cocoa cake with buttercream frosting and fresh berries. The coconut cake in particular was too delicious to be described. Finally our third baking friend made cookies and mini cheesecakes for those who prefer something other than cake.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

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Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

We are love, love, loving Elizabeth and Johnny’s featured affair today. I have to admit, it was the incredible photography shot by Twin Lens that first caught my attention…and then, as I read more about the wedding, I realized that it was the ridiculously lovely, completely creative couple that made each photograph shine.

We had a friend growing flowers as her gift to us (as well as for her own personal edification as a novice gardener). We basically found images of flowers that we thought we pretty, and she planted as many of them as she could find. We knew some of them might not grow in the desert, so we developed a plan B of using supermarket bouquets to fill out our floral arrangements. This is ultimately what we ended up doing – combining flowers from Julie’s garden with flowers from Whole Foods to make bouquets, boutineers, and a few table arrangements. We didn’t really need many flowers for decor, as our location was a lush, garden setting. If you think about the average wedding bouquet costing around $250, a few bunches at $15-$20 a piece becomes a really great deal.

My dress was actually a contemporary gown by Lian Carlo. I found it at Belltown Bride in Seattle, ‘a discount bridal boutique.’ The owner sells overstock and sample dress, all of them quite affordable as wedding gowns go. My sisters came with me, and we were on a mission as it was about 10 weeks to the wedding. I had pretty strained dress experiences up to that point, but I found about 5 different possible dresses at this shop. The dress I chose was the one with absolutely no cons on the pros & cons scale. The flower accessory was a bouquet belt from Jcrew (my secret addiction). I thought it made the flower embroidery on the bodice come to life.

Johnny’s suit came from a vintage shop in San Diego called Wear it Again Sam. It’s from the late 1940′s. As a member of the band Le Chat Lunatique, Johnny owns a number of suits for playing gigs with this dapper quartet. He originally bought the suit just because he loved it and his band gives him the perfect excuse for owning gorgeous attire.

So much more to come!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

Classic first words from today’s gorgeous bride as she described her vision to Kitty and Craig of Twin Lens Images. The bride wanted a wedding that was all about the love, all about the romance. And most importantly, all about the friends and family that they shared their life with. And the result captured my heart completely!

Elizabeth, the bride, has been sweet enough to share some really beautiful details from her wedding….

It’s funny because we never really talked about a particular theme, but rather just making the wedding a representation of who we are as individuals and as a couple. At one point in the planning process I read something about having a theme, and we decided that if we had one it was likely to be “thrift store chic.”

The most important thing to both of us was to truly involve our families, friends and community in the event. So many weddings feel like a party you just show up at, where you are completely catered to, and where everything matches perfectly. That approach works for a lot of couples, but for us those ideas lend a feeling of being disconnected from the event itself.

I read a lot, and as I read about weddings, I learned that in the early part of the 20th century a wedding was likely to be a gathering of the community with everyone bringing some sort of contribution. Whether it was food or clothing or flowers, or giving their time and energy, everyone pitched in. That was the feeling we wanted to create – that of a truly collective experience and celebration.

Johnny (who is a musician in local jazz band, “Le Chat Lunatique”) and I have many of our own interests, but it was our shared joys that really influenced the wedding. One of our first conversations included a chat about how we both feel we may have been born in the wrong era, and our strong connection to the 1920′s, 30′s, 40′s and 50′s. He’s the only man I’ve ever known who chops wood, drives a pick up, goes mountain biking, yet also understands and loves fashion almost as much as I do.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

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Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Thrift Store Chic, Twin Lens, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

Aren’t they right out of a movie? Whenever Twin Lens sends us a wedding, I always have the same dilemma…I get so caught up in the photography, the absolutely breathtaking wall-art-worthy images of the couple, that I can’t ever figure out how to show you the details, all of which are equally amazing. There is just something about the candid photographs that they capture that steal my heart each and every time.

Not to worry though, we’ll be back in a bit with all of the incredible details from today’s affair!

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

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Post tags: Black and White, budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Twin Lens, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Vintage Chic

Here is a little sneaky peek of the ridiculously in love couple…

The amazingly talented team at Twin Lens captured these photographs and aside from being total photography geniuses, they also shoot from the unque husband and wife perspective…so each catches all of the little nuances, all of the little details to perfection. More to come!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: budget, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Elizabeth and Johnny, Kitty and Craig Fritz, New Mexico, Sneak Peek, Thrift Store Chic, Twin Lens, Twin Lens Images, Vintage
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Wedding Photography