As I've mentioned before, I have a slight obsession with peacocks--they appear frequently in Art Deco and Art Nouveau artwork, and the bright jewel tones and metallics offer up a to-die-for wedding palette. While there will be no live peacocks at our wedding, there will be a few special details inspired by my feathered friends. Here are some peacock images that have been hovering around my Pinterest board for a while.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
We all love pillow fights, but often times we don't have something to photograph the beauty of a field of feathers. Casey Hendrickson Photography did a wonderful job capturing these two in a bed of feathers for their engagement session.
This couple is gorgeous. And her style is my favorite in an engagement shoot to date. RIGHT? Daniel Usenko Photography did such a wonderful job capturing this wonderful couple. Get those pin buttons ready, this couple is like a model from a magazine and the fashion, oh ya you're going to want to remember this one.
Hair & Makeup & Stylist: Annabelle Petry Photography: Daniel Usenko Photography
Alright bloggities! I'm beginning to plan a trip to Italy this coming September, and I need some recommendations! I am planning & designing a destination wedding in Italy, and since I will be over there, I am hoping to make the most of it. But I need your help! Here is the route we currently have mapped. Getting excited just looking at it.
Here is the rundown:
Before heading to Italy, we are going to spent a little stint in Paris. The plan is to fly from SFO to Paris and stay there for 2 or 3 days. Yes, this is going to be crazy. Any hotel recommendations?
We will be flying into Rome but will only be there for a day. I'm not into Rome, but my husband really wants to poke around and look at buildings. So fine. We will spend one night there and head to the wedding venue the very next morning. Since we don't have much time I'd like to have this portion planned very well so we see the cool stuff and don't waste any time. Favorite Rome spots?
The wedding is in a small town called Scansano. The nearest big city is Grosseto which looks pretty cool via Google Images. They have some amazing beaches and wonderful little downtown spots tucked into gorgeous scenery.
We will be in the Scansano/Grosseto area for about 5 days. Since it isn't the traditional "tourist" spot, I'm looking forward to exploring in places that aren't as well traveled. The photo above of Scansano is actually the wedding venue, gorgeous isn't it?
Anyone know of anything cool that we should definitely check out?
We will leave bright and early Saturday morning and head from Scansano to Venice. This is a 4 hour drive but we are expecting to take our time and visit some of the cities and towns in between. Breakfast in Siena, maybe a little trip for Tuscany (is it worth it to drive out of the way to visit Tuscany?) lunch in Florence, and dinner in Bologna. This will be the most jam-packed day of the entire trip, but it is the best way to visit so much and still keep the trip going.
Ok, this is where things get good. After a crazy trip of small stints in each location, we will be spending the most time in Venice. I'm sure there is SO much to see, and I doubt we will have time for it all, but I'd love some must visit locations as well as your favorite hotels in the area!
What? Oh ya, we are going to Croatia too. The ferry from Venice to Croatia is only a few hours so we plan to spend at least an afternoon there but I'm thinking about extending and spending a night there. What is the best city to go to? They all look amazing.
I just don't have the time to research the bejesus out of the country so I'd LOVE any help you can offer. Favorite spots, favorite hotels and must see things! Thanks a million billion for all the help!
There are a lot of things to think about when imagining how your wedding tables will look. Here are a list of the components that go into a 'tablescape':
- Tablecloths: ask your caterer or rental company what options you have and think about whether you want to add to it with a runner or other decorative piece.
- Napkins: just like the tablecloths, you will want to find out what options you have.
- Plates, silverware, glasses: what will they look like? If you don't want to splurge on expensive rentals of ones that will go perfectly with your vision, consider using plain options that would allow the other pieces of the table to take center stage.
- Flowers/Candles: Will you be having large centerpieces, smaller mixed votives, tall, short, or a combination of these?
- Menus: a group menu for the table, individual menus for each person, or a central menu you place near the escort cards to show guests what's coming before they sit down.
- Table numbers
- Escort cards
- Food: it's good to consider how your food will come out and how much room it will take up on the table. Since we are doing family style, we need to allow for large platters. Because of this we will have smaller center pieces.
Below are images of what I'm imagining for our tables:
Source: left, right top, right bottom
We will have round tables, and I'm thinking of adding table runners. I will probably buy the fabric and then get ribbon to tie them, like in the image below.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with all the options, I recommend creating a Pinterest board or collage just for the tables. It will really narrow down what you are thinking and give you a chance to see how it will all come together.
How did you make your tables come together?
In the months leading up to our engagement, I started pinning images here and there that I knew I would want to fold into our wedding day. I snuck them onto boards called “Sparkle” and “Party Time” but really, I had our someday wedding in mind all along. So when we got engaged, of course the first thing I did was to bring all those ideas back together into one board called “The Big Day” and started to pull out my very favorite images to I could put together a cohesive idea of what I wanted. I wanted to start being able to show people my overall vision in one place.
Source: Ruffled Blog
As I pulled out my favorite moments, it was interesting to see the evolution of this inspiration as Erik and I worked together to decide what our wedding day would be like. I don't think a lot of people talk about how these things come together (since it doesn't just happen out of the blue).
Our first inspiration board was put together entirely by me, and it looked like this:
Sources: Tealily Photography, Ely Fair Photography, Ashley Meaders, Found Vintage Rentals, Design Sponge, The Rubbish Revival, Jeff Loves Jessica, Beautiful Days Events, Spencer Studio, Alexandre Weddings, Kinfolk Mag, Jonathan Ong Photography, Domus, Juli Vaughn, Sweetapolita
I thought it was so pretty and was what I’d envisioned in the types of spaces we were hoping for our venue. But when I showed it to Erik the reaction sort of fell flat. Sure, he thought it was “pretty”, but he also felt it was a little boring and a little too natural. After all, we knew we wanted a city wedding in the springtime just after he gets home from the Navy, and we weren’t planning on a outdoor summer affair. I swapped out some of the more earthy inspirations with a little bit more fun and funky and came up with this:
Sources (In addition to above): Todd Pellowe, Jeff Loves Jessica
And again, his reaction wasn’t that “Yes! This is OUR big day”. He simply said to me, yeah, its pretty, but where are WE? Where is the COLOR? And that’s true, I love bright bold jewel tones, and so does he. My house is certainly not the monochrome modern oasis that you might expect of an architect. And he doesn’t really have that typical bachelor style.
We went back through my pinterest boards together and when we passed this palette he said “Now, I like that!” Which was a pretty cool moment, having him get really excited about our big day. So, I went back through one more time and picked some bolder images and folded them in with the light and texture we’d loved from the beginning.
And voila! Our full inspiration came to life. Its not THAT much of a departure from where we started, but its much more “us” which really makes me happy. And it taught me a good lesson at the beginning of the whole process – which is to really consider decisions about who you are as a couple and not just what the industry or websites are telling you is pretty.
Sources (In addition to above): Bespoke Glass, Marilyn Nakazato, Canary Grey, The Creative Parasol, Sunday Suppers, Nine Cakes, Aurelio Zen
This past wedding season I had the pleasure of working with Kristen & Brian coordinating their wedding day. She had tons of beautiful details that fit the Holman Ranch scene perfectly. These two were wonderful to work with and I am so happy I have the opportunity to work with them and so many other brides on their wedding day. For more information on my services, check out my pretty new site!
Coordination: Engaged & Inspired Events | Hair & Makeup: Katie Nash | Venue: Holman Ranch | Caterer: Paradise Catering | Floral: Christine Cater | Photographer: Stacey Pentland | Band: Smokin J's | Officiant: Fr. Josh Favalora | Desserts: Gizdich Ranch
With all the planning that goes into your wedding day, it goes without saying that you'll want it to be one of the most amazing days of your life. However, there are so many different pieces that make up the big day, it's easy to get bride brain and forget something that may make a huge difference. Well put those fears aside, brideys - we've compiled a list of 12 different things that you might regret doing on your wedding day in hindsight.
1. Not having a videographer. They don't come cheap, but a professional video of your wedding day will be something you'll treasure forever.
2. Not having all photos that your guests take at your engagement party, bridal shower, wedding day, and all your other special events! (Psst…Wedding Party is perfect for this!)
3. Not having an open bar - trust us on this one.
Harwell Photography via Wedding Chicks
4. Not doing personal vows, or personalizing your ceremony in any way. This day should reflect your uniqueness as a couple and your relationship!
Tammy Horton Photography via Style Me Pretty
5. Not wearing comfy shoes for the reception. How are you supposed to enjoy the reception when your feet are killing you?
Katherine Elizabeth Photography via Ruffled
6. Not feeding your guests at the right time. This one isn't obvious, but it's important! You don't want guests to be drunk or too hungry during key parts of your reception. Grumpy or uncomfortable guests will have a hard time paying attention to toasts or meaningful speeches.
Davina and Daniel Photography via 100 Layer Cake
7. Not putting a limit on who can give toasts at your wedding reception, or putting a limit on how long those toasts can run. While a few heartfelt speeches are important, nobody likes sitting through too many long and rambling ones!
Studio 222 Photography via Lover.ly
8. Not after-partying with your closest friends/bridal party after the reception. You may be tired, but your friends and family want to party with you!
9. Not discussing with your photographer all the photos and wedding details you want him/her to capture. If you don't communicate the must-have photos, you may end up disappointed when you get your photos back!
10. Not getting your makeup/hair done for your wedding. What better time than your wedding day to pamper yourself and get your hair and makeup done professionally?
11. Not doing a morning of gift for your bride/groom. It's a meaningful way to connect before you get to see each other at the wedding ceremony, and chances are you're going to treasure that gift forever.
12. Not getting ready with your bridal party the morning of the big day - getting dressed up with your girls is always fun, so why would you skip out on some quality girl time before you get married?
GUEST BLOGGER: My name is Stephanie, and I work at Wedding Party, a startup that specializes in creating technology and apps for weddings. Our first product, Wedding Party, is a free app that you can download for iPhone and Android. Wedding Party lets couples collect all the wedding photos their guests take, and provides a unique, social way for guests to interact with the each other on the couple’s big day.
Set up your own Wedding Party app today, and check out more of my musings on the Wedding Party blog.
From The Photographer: Amy and Micah are planning a destination wedding in Las Vegas, NV. Not a drive-thru... or a little white chapel... but a gorgeous wedding at a golf resort. They were in town for a planning session with their designer, and a visit to Micah's Grammy. So, we opted to have a quick mini-engagement session before they headed back to Arizona. For us desert rats it was an extremely cold day, but Amy and Micah rocked it, nonetheless. :)
Aside from running a blog, I am also the co-founder of The Lab Event, a totally awesome bridal event. Our last event was held last January in Sonoma at Cline Cellars!
This year we had a popup shop for the first time ever designed by the girls at Going Lovely. The popup shop had a selection of handmade wedding goods including tassels from EverlyLane, wood jewelry from Bird of Virtue, awesome bags from Hiip SF, bridal accessories from Lovely Ever After, tons of garlands from Le Petite Fest, and of course everything your man needs to look his best from Bonobos.
Thanks to the girls at Going Lovely for designing such a fun space for attendees to shop! Photography by one of my favorite Sonoma photographers Megan Clouse!
