Click here to see entire image gallery!

The proposal happened during an afternoon tea service in London. From that point on, we knew we had a few musts: we both love tea time and wanted to carry that theme to our wedding; we wanted to support small local businesses whenever it was possible; and it was incredibly important to us that the wedding be about who we are rather than about tradition. I love doing arts and crafts and styling, so we knew off the bat that I would style the wedding myself with help from the groom. Every opportunity we saw to customize something to make it more “us” we took.

I ended up designing and making a lot of things myself. I designed our stationery and had it letterpressed at a small letterpress shop I admired. I designed the top cake and a local cake company executed my vision. I made my own hair accessories and a big bow hairclip for the flower girl. To save money, we bought some inexpensive vases and I arranged some of the minor floral pieces. The groom and I even worked with a local jewelry broker to design our own pair of wedding bands. We also wrote a piece about our definition of marriage, and asked our officiant to use it as the core of the ceremony.

One of the biggest surprises for people, I think, was that the groom also wore white. Why not? we thought—it would make things more symmetrical and we didn’t see why the bride always got to look cheery and lovely in white while the groom had to wear a dark color on such a happy occasion. We wanted everything to have a modern and fairly minimalist look and feel so we used a lot of white, some bold stripes here and there, and little touches of a dot motif throughout. I could not stop smiling when I first found my shoes because they looked like they were made to match the cake sketch that I had already sent to the cake shop. Our venue had a big ballroom with some sconces and side tables and it was a lot of fun to figure out how to bridge the charm of the old neighborhood it was in with our bright, modern vibe.

We also had some fabulous vendors. Despite having talked at length with our florist about what flowers we wanted to use, when they came together, the arrangements were even more amazing than I’d imagined. Our wedding coordinator kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes and the staffing team she recommended was top notch with the service they provided. Our chef was the owner of a small take-out restaurant in Berkeley that we absolutely love; he doesn’t do weddings often but I called him and asked him if he’d do the wedding of a couple of his biggest fans, and it meant the world to us that he agreed.

I’m really happy that we completely scrapped the traditional timeline and scheduled the day our way. Before the ceremony, we did photos with our wedding party at the Japanese Tea Garden a few blocks from our venue, so the groom and I got to have a very intimate “first look” moment by ourselves instead of in front of all our guests. He is a big video game nerd so I walked down the aisle to a piano solo from Final Fantasy X. I thought it was very sweet that he was the one who cried during the ceremony. Our reception turned into a big garden party with our closest friends and family (about 60 guests) having lots of time to mingle and enjoy the food and drinks. Instead of the two of us dashing to a get-away car, we saw each one of our guests off when they felt ready to leave and that, for us, was the perfect way to end our wedding.

Photography: Aubrey Trinnaman & Blake Henderson, from Jerry Yoon Photography / Flowers: Not Just Flowers / Event Design: Lily Morello, Bride / Event Planning: Lisa Blake, Bellissima Vita / Ceremony and Reception Location: Hillsborough Racquet Club / Invitations: Lily Morello, printed by Twig and Fig / Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Hair and Makeup: Kathleen May / Bridesmaids Dresses: Anthropologie / Groom’s Jacket: Banana Republic / Groom’s Pants: Gucci / Groom’s Shirt: Brook’s Brothers / Chef: Gregoire Jacquet / Staffing: Thomas John Events / Cake: Satura Cakes / Cupcakes: Kara’s Cupcakes / Wine Supplier: 750ml Pianist: Harry Likas

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 29 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 750ml, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Bay Area Wedding, Bellissima Vita Weddings, Brooks Brothers, Color Palette Yellow, Gregoire Jacquet, Gucci, Harry Likas, Hillsborough Racquet Club, Jerry Yoon Photography, Kara's Cupcakes, Not Just Flowers, Pricilla of Boston, Satura Cakes, Thomas John Events, Twig and Fig, Yellow and Gray, Yellow Shoes
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Contemporary

click here to see the gallery and all of the super cute DIY details!

To wed or to elope? As self described scrooges…Steve and I wrestled with this question for a few months! In the end, we decided that it was important that we celebrate the day with our family and close friends. Once we went down this path, well, I went from “Monique Lhuillier who?” to owning a Monique Lhuillier dress! I obsessed about every detail of our wedding and spent my nights lurking on websites such as SMP looking for inspiration. Now that the planning is over, I’d like to contribute back to future brides!

There were several DIY components to our wedding; the most notable were all our paper items, our flowers, and our origami name cardholders. We DIY’ed as much as we could, not only because it was budget friendly but also because I had a lot of fun doing it. We knew we wanted to play with color and decided on green, yellow, and gray as our color palette. Our event ended up more yellow and gray with a touch of green but it definitely helped to have a color palette from the get-go so as not to be led astray by all the beautiful color choices out there!

The paper products were one area where we decided to save (splurging instead on our venue, caterer, and photographer). Three invaluable items which I used over and over again: my Xyron machine, paper cutter, and Fiskar corner punch. With an architect and a marketing professional as two of my three bridesmaids, I did not lack for creative talent and they helped create our bird logo. This was one of the best decisions to nail down early in the process because we were able to “brand” our wedding from start to finish in a consistent manner, from our website to our programs and menus.

My favorite component of the invitations was the envelopes! I had a crazy idea of sewing glassine inner envelopes with green thread around the borders. I purchased a $40 sewing machine on Amazon to test my project. The effect was pretty but I discovered that I couldn’t sew a straight line if my life depended on it. Using a pencil to lightly outline where to sew seemed to do the trick! I also fell in love with envelope liners; they were so easy to do and did not require a template or kit. If there’s only one DIY project that you do, this is it because it gave our invites extra oomph without taking up a lot of time.

Flowers…yes, logistically you CAN do your own flowers! And no formal training is required (I am a geeky number cruncher by profession)! I knew I wanted to have tons of flowers without breaking the bank but I was on the fence about this, worrying it would take away from time with friends and family. But with careful planning, I banged out table arrangements for 13 tables, 4 bouquets, 11 boutonnieres, and 4 corsages while still spending quality time with our wedding party. The trick is to have your flowers delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday assuming you have a Saturday wedding. You can then prepare your arrangements on Wednesday and Thursday (although corsages are best done on the day of). My other secret ingredients were the use of corsage picks to provide the bouts with a water source, a flower sealant spray to lock in moisture, and Oasis flower adhesive for the corsages. Make sure to do a couple of practice runs a few months or weeks before your wedding.

Our actual wedding day was so much fun and we felt so grateful that we could spend it with our closest friends and family. We chose to take pictures before our ceremony so that we could max out time with our guests. Our first look was just so precious; I’ll remember it always!Seeing each other before the ceremony had the added benefit of calming my nerves so that I was able to remember actually walking down the aisle! We drafted our own vows and we were able to inject some meaningful readings and humor into our ceremony. And the speeches during dinner…well, they were one of my favorite moments that day. We were touched by all the speeches (best man, matron of honor, my brother, Steve, and Steve’s mom), words cannot even describe.

For the Philly and NYC brides, I totally have to give a shout out to some of my vendors who made a big difference during the wedding planning process. Our photographers Margaret and Max from Unusually Fine, located in NYC, took amazing pictures and made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera. Stephanie at Robert Ryan Catering rocked! She took care of so many details and was always a step ahead. Tasha and Christina at cHill Weddings were our day-of coordinators; it was the best money I spent to make sure all went well during our wedding. Ann Hamilton, also in NYC was absolutely wonderful to work with and transformed my $250 dress (that’s right, you didn’t misread, I bought a Monique Lhuillier dress for $250 on sale!) into the vision I had in my head.

I had a lot of fun planning my wedding and I wish you ladies the same as you plan your special day!

Photography: Unusually Fine / Coordinator: cHill Weddings / Catering: Robert Ryan Catering / Alterations: Ann Hamilton / Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo / Groom & Groomsmen Tuxes: Mens Wearhouse / Online Flowers: 2GRoses / Cupcakes: Brown Bettys / Makeup: Aleksandra Ambrozy / Hair: Calista Brides / String Quartet: Anamaria Achitei, Musicali Strings / DJ: Kim Walsh / Custom Hand Lettering: GalaFont / Custom Table Numbers: Blue Mountain Crafts / Hair flower: Twigs & Honey / Cupcake Toppers: Naked Peggies

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 32 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2GRoses, Ann Hamilton, Blue Mountain Crafts, Brown Bettys Musicali Strings, cHill Weddings, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Gala Font, Gray, Handmade, Jenny Yoo, Men's Wearhouse, Monique Lhuillier, Naked Peggies, Philadelphia, Robert Ryan Catering, Twigs & Honey, Unusually Fine, Yellow, Yellow and Gray
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Traditional Elegance

click here to see the full wedding!

Travis and I met in Lynchburg, VA where we had both gone to school and now work. Travis is originally from Iowa, and I am from New York. We had a lot of mutual friends here in Lynchburg, but didn’t know each other for a long time. At one point I began to see Travis around a lot, and couldn’t help but notice that we had the same sense of humor, and that he had one of the best beards I had ever seen. It turned out that we worked for the same university, and we started sending each other emails at work every day. We found out that we had more and more in common, and started spending a lot of time together.  It wasn’t long before we started dating, and we were engaged a year later.

Travis and I had an outdoor wedding on May 30, at Riverview Manor in Hurt, VA. We just wanted a fun, laid back wedding with plenty of our own personal style. I wanted to keep things fairly understated (bridal party attire, decorations, etc.), and let the scenery and atmosphere do the work on its own. For me, color was important, and I was sure to incorporate lots of blue, grey, and yellow. I had my bridesmaids wearing light grey cotton dresses with yellow belts, all from JCrew. They carried yellow bouquets wrapped in light blue ribbon. Travis and his groomsmen all wore shades of grey with yellow billy ball boutonnieres. Travis had a light grey cotton suit from JCrew, and the guys wore darker grey dress pants and vests from Target. I wore a relatively simple dropped waist gown by Demetrios and carried a yellow bouquet.

The manor was already so beautiful that I didn’t want to do much decorating. We used simple galvanized buckets and mason jars for the flower centerpieces.  The mason jars were all empty until after the ceremony, when I had my bridesmaids put their bouquets in them (a great way to save some money on flowers!).

One of my favorite ways in which Travis and I personalized our wedding was by incorporating Scandinavian traditions. His family is of Danish descent, and mine Norwegian. We had traditional Scandinavian wedding cakes made at a Scandinavian deli in Brooklyn, NY (in addition to cupcakes from my favorite local bakery). We also used traditional Scandinavian heart baskets as wedding favors.  These are typically used as Christmas tree ornaments, so we thought people may get some use out of them later.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day! It was so much fun and I am glad we were able to incorporate elements that truly made it our own.

Photography: Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography / Flowers: Petal Flower Co / Ceremony + Reception Location: River View Manor, Hurt VA / Hair: Samuel Gravitt / Groom’s Apparel: JCrew / Groomsmen Apparel: Merona for Target / Bride’s Dress: Macy’s New York, Demetrios / Bridesmaid Dresses: JCrew

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adam Barnes Fine Photography, Demetrios, J. Crew, Petal Flower Co, River View Manor, Virginia, Yellow and Gray
Post categories: Casual Elegance

Click here to see the full wedding in all it’s gorgeous glory!

Adam and I met 11 years ago at a small high school in Wisconsin.  After attending college together and moving out to Los Angeles to pursue our dreams, we decided on having a “destination” wedding for our guests to show them our version of California.  Nearly every guest was from out of town, many from Wisconsin, a few from the south, one couple came from as far away as Hong Kong!  We wanted our wedding to be a personal, warm, chic and streamlined affair filled with romance and fun.

We picked a traditional church for the ceremony and had the reception at the rooftop terrace of a local art museum.  This was the perfect juxtaposition for us, classic and modern.  We chose a color palate that reflected this same sense of streamlined and modern.  Slate gray and yellow.  The museum was basically all white, so I thought the yellow would be the perfect way to make things pop.  (Plus it’s my favorite color!)

The ceremony was the shining star, with not a dry eye in the chapel.  We chose a reading from the Velveteen Rabbit which shows our playful and childlike spirit.  We tied our rings together on a piece of white ribbon and sent it through the pews asking each person to “warm” the rings with their own blessing and wishes.  The rings went all the way around the church and came back to us just in time for us to exchange them.

My mother reconstructed her own wedding dress into the most beautiful and charming flower girl dress.  The flower girl even chose to wear my Mom’s headpiece from her wedding day nearly 40 years ago.

Since we have been dating since high school, I chose to DIY the table numbers and name them after the years that we have dated.  Each table number had a few pictures of us from that year with a little story as to what was happening in our lives at that point.  It added a fun element to the tables.

To play some more on the many years that we have been together, we printed our own trivia questions on cards and placed them on the tables during the cocktail hour.  We heard that this was a huge hit with our guests.

Being that I am half-Japanese, we really wanted to incorporate an element of this into our wedding day.  We love the legend of a thousand paper cranes.  It says that folding a thousand paper cranes will make one’s wishes come true.  The legend promises that a Bride and Groom who fold one thousand paper cranes will be granted a long and prosperous marriage.  So, together with our families we folded 1000 origami paper cranes and incorporated them into our reception space.  We hung them from the loft style ceiling in the dancing and cocktail area creating garlands of cranes surrounding our guests as they danced the night away.  We also folded mini-cranes and used them on the escort cards, creating a fun and chic escort card display. Because the folding of those cranes was such a labor of love for all involved, we decided to keep the legend going and included one paper crane from the wedding with each thank you card that we sent.

I DIY’d all of the paper goods myself, with the help of my fiance.  He got quite skilled at using the embossing gun by the time the wedding day came around.  We made the invitation suite, programs, menu cards, table numbers, trivia cards and signage.

As a traditional type of Bride it was very important to me to have meaningful items for my something borrowed, etc.  For my something old, I taped the sixpence that my mother wore in her shoe on her wedding day to the inside of my new Manolos.  My Something New was my very favorite Monique Lhuillier gown.  For Something Borrowed, I pinned an antique brooch to my bouquet that was loaned to me from the Groom’s Aunt.  My Something Blue, was my most special which is why I have included a picture of it.  My Great Uncle Kenny who was like a Grandfather to me did not live to see me walk down the aisle.  So instead, we took one of his handkerchiefs and sewed it to the inner lining of my dress.  This was he could be with me the whole day, plus my Groom’s last name begins with a K, so it was perfect!

July 18, 2009 was a magical day for us.  Years of dreaming about our wedding day and it was us in so many ways.  Traditional yet modern.  Elegant yet chic.  And filled to the brim with personal touches.  High school sweethearts really can live happily ever after!

Photography: Nataly Lemus / Coordinator: Just Chic Events / Flowers: Kate Baker / Paper Goods: DIY / Ceremony Location: First United Methodist Church, Pasadena, CA / Reception Location: Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA / Make-Up: Blushing Bridal / Lighting: Ambiance Party Lighting / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Bridesmaid Dresses: Delanie Couture

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 32 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ambiance Party, Blushing Bridal, California Weddings, Delanie Couture, Manolo Blahnik, Monique Lhuillier, Nataly Lemus, Pasadena, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Yellow and Gray, Yellow Shoes
Post categories: California Weddings, Casual Elegance, Pasadena Weddings, Traditional Elegance

But, above all else, it’s the pictures that really make me swoon. Erin Heart’s Court captured the details with such thoughtful simplicity and captured the pure joy with pure whimsy and style.

A few of the fun details that the couple provided (from Megan)…guests received the most adorable welcome bags I have ever seen that included sunscreen and snacks as well as a flip book of Palm Springs restaurants and activities, hand-made by the bride. Pre-mixed white wine sangria and spiked lemonade in large glass canisters were available for guests’ enjoyment. A self-portrait station was available for guests to have fun with throughout the night.  A graphic fabric backdrop, a yellow mid-century chair, a yellow boa and a succulent bouquet to pose with set the mood. We placed Connect Four games in the bar area after dinner because the couple plays the game on trips to palm springs. The couple provided bright yellow and white flip flops near the dance floor for their guests’ sore feet.

Here are a few more notes from Megan, at La Partie Events…

In the bar area, we hung silver hanging candle balls from Crate and Barrel and yellow, white and gray pom poms from the Etsy store “Pom Love.” The bar also included a fire pit for smores-making and the couple’s initials that lit up from a local Blockbuster that had recently closed down.

The mothers sewed napkins and a festive table runner from bright yellow and white fabric purchased on Etsy.  The menus, designed by the bride, were tucked into the napkins and tied with brown string (knotted with pride by the groom). Instead of a traditional guest book, the bride purchased yellow metal “trees” from IKEA and guests wrote wishes on kraft paper tags and hung them from the trees. Battery operated lights from CB2 floated in the pool and the groom and his father hung large bulb lights across the pool for ambiance.  At the end of the night, the guests jumped in the pool and continued the party.  Eric of SoCal DJ provided excellent music for the entire affair.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Erin Heart's Court, Kelly and Chris, La Partie Events, Palm Springs, Yellow and Gray
Post categories: Casual Elegance

From Megan…The main flowers were succulents, yellow crespedia balls, yellow yarrow and papyrus. I made the bridal bouquets by wiring each individual succulent to give it a stem and wrapped them with brown string. The aisle petals were formed into concentric circles for a unique look that complemented the circular crespedia balls, circular pom poms and other circular décor.

As I mentioned yesterday, Erin Heart’s Court is the photographer behind this beautiful, fun, fabulously whimsical wedding. Thanks to their incredible engagement session and now their ridiculously great wedding, I am hopelessly in love with Erin Heart’s Court.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Erin Heart's Court, Kelly and Chris, La Partie Events, Palm Springs, Yellow and Gray
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Whimsical