Planning Progress Report {Nine-ish Months}

July 5, 2012

So I have to admit, having an all inclusive venue and very little planning to do on my own has been pretty tough. Checking off so many tasks at once has left me a bit wedding restless. Since there isn't a time machine to take me to the week before our big day I've been keeping myself busy and when my involvement in planning the wedding is needed, I drag it out as much as possible. I've even made the standard two meetings that are typical for planning with this venue into four different meetings and I'm hoping I can squeeze in one more. On the topic of planning meetings, we recently hashed out most of the big details. Unfortunately we weren't able to chose the ceremony site since the second site isn't yet done and though we really love the ceremony site that is completed (if you could only see it my friends!) we really want to see how the second one will turn out. We're also really torn about which site to have our reception. Inside vs. outside has been our biggest see-saw the entire time. We've actually had our hearts set on a complete outdoor wedding since day one, but this place has so much to offer that we really want people to experience the entire place. Luckily our coordinator is very understanding and we also have lots of time before we have to finalize those decisions.

During our meeting we also got to meet our DJ. I've pretty much left the Mister with music duty, and of course I'm helping. Our DJ was super helpful and really cool. He was really good about asking what type of music we wanted and making sure we didn't just go with music we're supposed to have at a wedding. He also made sure to make a list of the songs we didn't want played, which funnily enough were the songs he here's every time he asks that question. Who knew everyone hated the chicken dance? Since I'm still on the hunt for the best songs to dance to, here is some fun photos of wedding dancing fun!

Source: Wedding Chicks, Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty

We have lots coming up that I can't wait to share including our cake appointment and our save-the-dates!

What is your favorite song to dance to at a wedding? What first dance did you share with your new husband! Share with me!

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Something {Red, White, and} Blue

July 4, 2012

In honor of the country's birthday today (and one of my favorite holidays!), I wanted to share some 4th of July-inspired weddings. I'm not doing a 4th of July theme, but after looking at these pictures I am totally sold on the idea! Check out this inspirational shoot. I am loving the vintage, all-American vibe.

Source and more from the shoot

Here's another 4th-themed shoot. This one isn't a wedding, but it has all the adorable details of one.

Source

More Independence Day inspiration...

Source

Wishing you all a happy 4th of July!

J'Adore {Honeymoon Planning and French Inspiration}

July 3, 2012

I don't know about you guys, but whenever wedding to-dos have me stressed, I just daydream about our honeymoon. Don't get me wrong; I'm beyond excited for the wedding day. But the fact that we have a fabulous vacation following it is icing on the cake. Or, should I say, la cerise sur le gâteau...because we're headed to France! (PS. I have no idea of that's correct French. I just looked it up on google!) Sure, romance in France may be a bit cliche, but we don't care one bit! We are very excited for a relaxing and romantic honeymoon.

We figure we'll be exhausted from the planning, wedding and travel, so we're starting on the beach. We're staying in a small fishing village near Nice called Villefranche Sur Mer. This part of the trip will be filled with coffee and pastries on the balcony, wondering through the village, big bowls of mussels and time on the beach!

Sources: 1, 2

From there, we head north to the Loire Valley. This area is a bit south of France and full chateaus, vineyards and amazing food. So we'll ride bikes through the vines, drink wine and eat!

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Hopefully we'll be fairly rested after some beach and winery time as we'll be finishing our French adventure in Paris. Dan's never been before, and I went with a college group, but never really got to appreciate Paris. So, we're going to keep our touristy time to a minimum and try to really soak up the culture. I'm looking forward to wondering little streets, stopping for a cappuccino, finding a flea market or antique shop and eating. Yes, eating will be a theme :)

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Looking at photos of France gets me so excited about the trip! It also makes me think about how AMAZING a French-inspired wedding could be. My french wedding would be inspired by the countryside, with lavender, balloons, pastels and charming vintage details.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

What would your French-inspired wedding look like?

Urban Engagement Party by Chantal Andrea

June 29, 2012

I haven't been this excited a feature in a pretty long time, but this one just has it all! An amazing color palette, a really cool couple (thanks Mark & Amy Smith) and some amazing details. All captured by one of my new favorite photogs Chantal Andrea. Seriously, she is incredible.

Rachel at Finch & Thistle design the shoot including the floral and decor, and all these awesome details you see floating about. Sally at La Happy created a fun engagement party invitation suite which is pretty rocking! That mouth-watering (and hippest) vegan ombre cake was done by Kerissa bakes.

What a team right? This is literally urban magic.

Malibu Wedding Inspiration

June 25, 2012

Two incredibly good friends of mine are trying the kont in August! Corey + Delancey are hosting a Malibu affair that is going to be romantic and gorgeous and all sorts of fun. We are going to stick with a vintage color palette and style at their ranch wedding venue, however I'm excited to say we will be adding in a few fun pops of color to make everything a little more wow-factor! Her entire inspiration board is on Pinterest, but check out what I am thinking with this collection of images below.

They have a ferris wheel on the property, so of course I'm dying to have them take a photo like this one! OMG, how amazing, right?

Photo Credit

Animals on Your Wedding Day

June 7, 2012

Today I bring you a fun topic, animals in your wedding or wedding photos! Something we tossed around was including our dog in our wedding, unfortunately our venue doesn't allow any animals other than the horses they have for their carriage (which we didn't opt for as of now). However, I can't help but imagine the beauty and love that animals could add to our wedding. Of course who better to join in the festivities but man's best friend?

Source: Grey Likes Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty, Martha Stewart Weddings, 100 Layer cake

Farm and ranch weddings add rustic charm and a natural feel to your wedding venue, why leave out it's residents?

Source: Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty

If you're thinking about including a pet or animal in your wedding, check out this article on Martha Stewart Weddings to help you decided how big or small their part will be and tips on how to make sure to keep both you and your pet happy in the process.

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Picking The Perfect 'Do

June 5, 2012

I am still coming down from the high of one of my best friend’s wedding this past weekend. It was amazing – I am actually kind of sad it is over! And I am hoping to share more details of her wedding in a future post. But this weekend did get me thinking about something that I hadn’t really thought about before – how am I going to wear my hair on my big day? I know that might be a weird thought, but all of us bridesmaids had our hair done this past weekend and several people asked me how I was going to wear my hair for my wedding and I had absolutely no idea!

For the last two weddings I was a bridesmaid in, I went with a high ballerina bun. I like that it is off my face, it’s fun and I don’t have to worry about wind or my very aggressive dancing messing it up.

And though I still love this look, I am not sure if I want it for my big day. Niall has said he wants my hair down (he also wants me to wear no make-up – obviously not happening!).

But I think my dress might look best with an up-do. And I also like not worrying about wind, or curls falling out (which is basically inevitable with my hair).

Any advice on figuring this out? Did you figure it out at your hair trial or know all along what you wanted?

Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

{E&I Work} Crafty Library Inspired Baby Shower

June 4, 2012

After tossing around a few ideas for this shower, Yasmin of Floral Theory and I landed on what you can see here. The amazing invitations were done by Aerialist Press, truly a talented duo.

From there I began crafting like crazy on the details to make sure the details were fabulous and fitting for such a fun event celebrating Erin's amazing little man. I'll try to post some DIY tutorials soon! The crowns were the most fun little DIY I did for this. There are so so many people to thank for contributing to this. From the food, to desserts and even the venue were a labor of love. We are lucky to know so many great and talented individuals up here.

Super excited that this baby shower was featured on Onto Baby!

The Lab :: Romatically Pink by Esla Events

May 21, 2012

Photographer: Meg Perotti

Back in January 3 gals (Erin of Bustle Events, Yasmin of Floral Theory and yours truly of Engaged & Inspired) banded together to bring the most amazing bridal event to Northern California, The Lab. I wanted to feature some of the incredible images from Esla Events of an inspiration board she brought to life at the event. She was a new-comer last year, but her talent was so evident and we knew she should be a perfect fit for what we were doing. Check out these AMAZING images from The Lab. Special thanks to Weddingbee for the inspiration board!

We are so excited to host The Lab Event once again next January! Watch out for the date, which we will be announcing soon.

Photographer: Meg Perotti

Photographer: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Photographer: Meg Perotti

Photographer: Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Photographer: Jennifer Skog Photography

Photographer: Tinywater Photography

Weddingbee’s “Young Love” inspiration board Designer: Esla Events Floral: Studio Choo Desserts: Fox & Fawn Rentals: Hartmann Studios Vintage Rentals: Milkglass Vintage Rentals/ Heritage & Craft Lighting: Impact Lighting Stationery: Aerialist Press

Inspired by Neon Pink Accents

May 18, 2012

Source: Let's Party, Dessert Table

Pink is a hard color for me. I know how much I love it, but at the same time, isn't that typical? I was actually scared to add any pink into my wedding because I didn't want it to read too girlie. With the current trends of neon coming back into style, I just can't help it anymore. I'm dying over basically everything neon, pink being at the top of that list.

Source: Shoes, Cake

Favor DIY alert right here. These cute kraft-paper chocolate bars are super easy, check them out right here. This right next to this fab Kate Spade bud vase (which I literally can't find anywhere).

Source: Kraft Wrapping, Vase

Source: Balloon, Sweater

For me, I have been drawn to white and nude tones for so long, that it is a nice change of pace to go bold and go strong with color. How about you? Are you still drawn to nude tones or are you excited to break out with bold colors?