Classic Folktale Winery Wedding

VENDOR TEAM - Photo: Michelle Beckwith, Venue : Folktale Winery, Florals: Max Gill Designs, Paper Goods: The Quill, Full Planning & Design: Engaged & Inspired, Getaway Car: Monterey Touring Vehicles, Cake: Sweet Rebas, Transportation: Main Event

Margeaux & Bowman are the cutest southern couple you have ever met! They met in college and had the most adorable love story. Pairing Margeaux, and her impeccable aesthetic, with the right vendor team was crucial in the planning process. We curated a day that felt very much them, and it paired perfectly with the French Chateau inspired Folktale Winery venue in Carmel Valley. The intimate Vineyard house is one of my favorite venues for smaller scale guest lists, seating 80 people perfectly on the patio.

The bride wore a tulle shrug for her ceremony to accompany her strapless gown. 

Our seating chart fountain was the focal point of cocktail area. We collaborated with Max Gill to build this on site. 

we planned to match our cake design to the couple's family heirlooms in sterling silver. 

We love to work at Folktale Winery, with the diverse food and wine program, and the endless photo areas being a few of our favorite reasons. This venue also makes a perfect welcome party or rehearsal location.

E&I Blogging Bride: Seattle Art Gallery Bride

Source: Carina Skrobecki Photography

Hello, Engaged & Inspired Community! I’m Brianne, and I am so happy to be here as a new Blogging Bride to share my wedding inspiration and all the fun along the way. I thought I would take a few minutes to introduce us (me, and my fiancé, Erik) to you guys so you’d know a little bit about who we are and what we like. That way you can see the people behind all the inspiration we’ve collected and decisions we’ll be making.

 Source: Carina Skrobecki Photography

Our biggest "thing": we’re in a long distance relationship. We’re both from the greater Seattle area, and we met at a New Year’s Eve party 5 years ago. Just before we met, Erik had enlisted in the US Navy and he was scheduled to leave to start his training in the spring just after we’d started dating.  His training was only supposed to be about 18 months and then he was scheduled to be stationed back in WA. Well, so much for planning (if any of you are Military Spouses you know what I’m talking about!). In the end, he was stationed on the USS Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier in Norfolk, VA for the remainder of his contract (4 years!).

Fast forward 3 years, and after a lot of cross country flights (and a lot of frequent flyer miles!), Erik asked me to marry him. Long distance relationships are certainly a challenging road, but we've found a way to make it work. It certainly has made wedding planning interesting!

 Source: Carina Skrobecki Photography

So: more about who we are! I have a career as an architect, with a design and lifestyle blog on the side. I’m crafty, love working with my hands, and also love bright colors and have a creative spirit. I’m a Leo, with curly blond locks to match. Erik keeps me sane. He’s a nuclear engineer for the Navy, and he’s got a much more analytical side. He’s more technical (and rational) but also with a creative bent. When we do spend our time together we like to get out for hikes, do crossword puzzles, and discover great restaurants that serve amazing food.  We’re also totally nerdy and play video games and watch a lot of netflix as a way to stay connected across the miles. I think you’ll see a little bit of our geeky side come through later on.

 Source: Carina Skrobecki Photography

Because the military can make any plans unpredictable, we’ve decided to wait until Erik is out of the Navy to get married. We’ve been engaged for 9 months already and have about a year to go. We’ve chosen a venue and set our date for 4/5/14 so we have plenty of decision making yet to go. I’m hoping to share with you both the challenges and benefits of a long engagement, because there certainly are both and I think long engagements can get a bad rap.

Source: Carina Skrobecki Photography

Thanks for having us, we can’t wait to share what we’re up to and hear your suggestions!

Photos are excerpts of our engagement session with our fab photographer Carina Skrobecki, taken at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, WA.

Taking It All In {Wedding Week}

It's here! Our wedding week is here! At this point, it doesn't seem real! The event that we have been talking and planning for months is now here and I am just supposed to be relaxed and "take in every moment"?!  My family and friends will know how hard this will be for me but I am going to try!

Obviously, the most exciting part is marrying my best friend and the person who makes me laugh on a daily basis, Eric! I can't wait for our first look to see how handsome and happy he looks!

I thought I'd post some of my favorite inspiration photos through the wedding planning process!

Chevron Touches:

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Outdoor Ceremony:

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Grey Bridesmaid Dresses:

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Romantic and Soft Flowers:

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It's been a blast posting on Engaged and Inspired and I can't wait to share all my wedding day photos with all of you!

xoxo

Jess

Pretty Paper {Choosing Wedding Stationary}

This past week we worked on finalizing our stationary for the wedding. We used a stationary and wedding boutique in Tempe, Arizona for our invitations and LOVED working with the owner! Plus we loved the way our invitations turned out, so we knew we had to go back for the day of details!

If you live in the Arizona area, make sure to check out Definitely Debra.

Picking out our wedding invitations was actually quite simple! Once we started looking at the options, we loved the pocket invitations!  We went with an invitation suite that is similar to these beauties below!

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This week we designed our programs, place cards and other fun miscellaneous stationary for the big day! Here are some inspiration photos!

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This is not our style but I LOVED the idea of showing the wedding party in the order they will stand. How clever!

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I can't wait to see the finished project and to share it all with you!

Feel free to share with me your favorite wedding invitations and stationary!

Until Next Week!

Jessica

Follow me on Twitter @jessdawnd and my wedding inspiration board on Pinterest

Wedding Week Details {t stones}

Well, my big day is just around the corner. The festivities will begin this Saturday, and on Sunday I will marry Vinnie- my love, my best friend, and my better half. Although there have been some hiccups along the way, all-in-all, this planning experience has been fun and educational. I mean, who knew I could plan such a big & beautiful event!? One of the things I've truly enjoyed is magically stumbling upon talented people to help me. It happened once with finding LizzyBLoves, who designed my gorgeous invites & programs, and it happened again with the gifts for my bridesmaids. I had a vision in mind for the jewelry I wanted my girls to wear. I searched high and low at stores and couldn't find the right thing. Then I happened to run into my friend Tiffany Adams who owns a jewelry line called "T Stones". She showed me her portfolio and before you know it... boom! I had stunning custom, hand-made jewelry for my bridesmaids that totally complement the dresses! It's amazing how eventually your vision just comes together in the end. I can't show you what Tiffany made my girls, because I don't want to ruin the surprise ;-) but here's a peek at some other pieces she's made. If you live in Los Angeles you can check out her work at Cami in Manhattan Beach or give her a call to have something made just for you... The holidays are just around the corner (hint, hint)! The necklaces and earrings are made with high-quality stones and are reasonably priced! Here are two of my favorites:

Photo Credit: T Stones Jewelry

My advice to other brides out there is to have faith that it will all be beautiful and wonderful like you imagined, DELEGATE, and stay organized. It has helped me tremendously that I have been doing little things for my wedding all year; I learned recently how important delegating is too. This week I have ironed out the following details:

• seating chart (not as bad as I thought it would be)
• welcome bags (fun & affordable)
• party favors (delegated to the moms- check!)
• put someone responsible in charge of gifts & cards
• DIY table numbers & directional signs

Other than that, I just have to pick up my dress tomorrow and show up on Saturday for the rehearsal! I feel relaxed & ecstatic at the same time! I know that this weekend will be one that I'll remember always!

On that note, I'll leave you with some breathtaking "first looks." I can't wait for mine! :)

Photo Credit: Bridal Guide

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

 It's hard to believe that I have contributed 46 posts to this fabulous blog over the past 11 months. This has been such a rewarding experience. THANK YOU Allison for this opportunity. I'll be back posting on E&I a couple more times to share with you my thoughts from "the other side" and of course share photos and video with you once they're ready.

Yours Truly,

Taya (soon-to-be DiCarlo)

The Home Stretch {12 days left}

It's hard to believe that there are just 12 days left until my wedding day. They say that times flies by during this process, however I would like to specify that it speeds up once you hit your 3 month mark. Everything before that point felt organized, calm, and creative. I've hit a point where I simply just want to check everything off of my list so I can breathe easy and enjoy this time leading up to our big day. That being said, there are a number of loose ends that need to be addressed, and unexpected events that have happened.... for instance today I have to meet with my florist again because they completely missed the mark with what I asked for. Thank God I had the opportunity to do a final preview to make any last minute tweaks or changes! NOTE: ask for a preview of what your flowers will look like before hand! In retrospect I was much too trusting that they would understand my vision. I gave them multiple photos of what I wanted and they still messed up! Lesson learned- always get a preview of your linens and flowers.

To refresh your memory, this is the floral look I'm going for:

Photo Credits: Left, Bottom right

Photo Credits: Top, Bottom

The one thing I'm very proud of is how I've taken care of my health and body leading up to this point. From the get-go I did not want to be one of those brides that crash-dieted or went to extremes to look "perfect" on their wedding day. As Vinnie and I have discussed, "fit is the new sexy." For the past 11 months I have eaten well (not restricted myself), have exercised consistently, and taken care of my skin. Now that my big day is just around the corner I feel fantastic (inside and out) knowing I gave it my all! Here's a little inspiration board of what I've done to get in great shape and stay that way... I keep it pretty simple: Bar Method, Spin Class and jogging my dogs :)

photo credits: Top, bottom left, bottom right

This week is going to be crazy busy for me because I plan on finishing everything there is to be done so next week can be enjoyable! I am ready for the celebration, but most of all I'm excited for our ceremony. It's going to be personal, romantic, sweet and sentimental... many happy tears I'm sure.

Looking forward to my last post next week as a "bride-to-be!" yippee!

xo, Taya

cute & clever {escort cards}

Not gonna lie, people..... the bridal anxiety has set in. I'm trying my best not to freak out, but omg the big day is here in just 33 days! I'd like to have 95% of my work done 2 weeks before, which means I have 2 WEEKS to get my butt in gear! I have plenty of little things that need my attention. one of which is seating. Should I have a map/list of guests' names & tables with a name card at their seat, or should I make escort cards and have guests seat themselves at the table? Well, if I do escort cards I would like something cute and/or clever.... like any of these:

photo credit: www.elizabethannedesigns.com

photo credit: poptasticbride.com

photo credit: left & right 

lavender escorts double as pretty table decor

These succulent escort cards double as party favors :)

Thank you Allison for emailing me some escort card inspiration and for the advice. You're totally right-  "You can do something simple and just add a tiny twist to make it kind of different. For example, an escort card with something that matches your wedding taped with a little piece of glitter tape." I think the simple route is the direction I'm headed ;)

What are your thoughts, brides-to-be? Anyone else only a month a way? Or perhaps you just had your big day? Any words of wisdom for me as I wuickly approach mine???

xo, Taya

falling in love with {fall weddings}

Ok E&I brides, I am now just 47 days away from my wedding day- that's just 6 1/2 weeks away, people!  Here's what I've been up to lately:

• The invitations have been sent out! They're gorgeous and I LOVE them :)
• I had my first wedding dress fitting- if I wasn't nervous/excited before, well, I am now!
• We met with the wedding singer (live Italian opera singer btw)
• I had my GORGEOUS bridal shower in LA hosted by Vinnie's aunt Teri, Debbie, and Sally :)
• Vinnie got fitted in his custom suite

There is still plenty to do, but as you can see these last couple weeks have been BUSY for us.

To give myself a little break from my own wedding planning I chose to blog about fall weddings in general. Living in LA we don't have the luxury of having a TRUE Autumn season... at least not like the beautiful foliage I enjoyed while living in Eugene, Oregon :)

Enjoy this fall wedding inspiration!

Photo Credits: Martha Stewart

Photo Credits: Martha Stewart

Photo Credits: Left, Top Right, Bottom Right

Photo Credit: Green Wedding Shoes

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay tuned for my next few posts.... I'll be cake tasting; taking you through Vinnie's custom suit fitting, and giving you some work out tips from a personal trainer at the Biggest Loser Ranch! ;-)

See you next Tuesday!

DIY wedding favors

Now that I'm just 54 days away from saying "I DO" it's time to talk about favors! I have often thought to myself, "do I really need to do favors?" After-all, I can think of numerous weddings I've been to where I either didn't take the favor, or never used it. The thought of putting a ton of effort into making favors and being left with a majority of them bothers me. So.... what's a bride to do? Well, I did a little research by googling "wedding favors that people actually want." (Believe it or not, Google actually finished that sentence for me, so at least I know I'm not alone on this subject.) Here are some of the creative favor ideas I came across:

A wine stopper & a CD of the bride and groom's favorite love songs

DIY Rice Crispy Treat Favors! yummmmmm! Click the photo for the step-by-step TUTORIAL!

Homemade Limoncello!

candies in the color of your wedding. simple, but cute

Italian Wedding Bombonieres.... pretty sure Greeks do these too ;-)

 Photo credit: left & right

Are you a bride that plans on doing favors? If so, what ideas can you offer for those of us debating whether or not we should do them? Looking forward to reading your comments! :)

style, comfort &/or color {bridal shoes}

In exactly 2 months from today I will be married... OMG! The next 60 days or so will be filled with bridal showers, last minute vendor meetings, and finalizing the details. One of those details is picking out what shoes I'm going to wear. Lately the trend has been to wear a pop of color. I once thought that I would go that route, but now I'm leaning toward something more traditional and elegant. Oh and here's something we rarely think about ladies.... COMFORT! Yes we want to look gorgeous from head to toe on our wedding day, but at what cost? I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to wear something feminine and elegant for the ceremony and photos, then opt for something more comfortable and stylish for the reception. Here's some of my inspiration:

TOMS, Miu Miu, Badgley Mischka Kate Spade & Stewart Wietzman

Badgley Mischka & BHLDN Steve Madden &  Jimmy Choo

What about you? Can you swing the 5 inch heels all night, or are you going to have a second pair of fancy flats to hit the dance floor with?