Black Tie Elegance by Emily Jane Photography

 This little number shot by the talented Emily Jane Photography is worth a second look! I love the elegance of this couple and can we talk about that bouquet for a second?! Happy Thursday! 

Venue- Francis Park // Photography: Emily Jane Photography // Styling & Floral: Kill's Custom Creations // Makeup: Danielle Woodworth // Hair: Amy Rabideau with Encore Salon // Gown: Nicole Miller via Rent The Runway // Jewelry: Medwar Jewelers // Cake: Sweet Heather Ann // Chairs: Chiavari Chairs of Michigan

Rancho Sol del Pacifico Wedding by Amanda K Photography

I'm pretty much obsessed with this wedding. The laid back feel of the venue and decor, that incredible dress and every single photo by Amanda K Photography. Seriously, obsessed. I'm a sucker for effortless events that are focused around guests, vows and celebrations. This wedding just feels so right in every way. And one, more time, let's here it for that dress.

Vendors:

Venue: Rancho Sol del Pacifico // Photography: Amanda K Photography // Wedding Dress: Grace Loves Lace // Groom's Apparel: Banana Republic // Bridesmaid Dresses: Victoria's Secret // Caterer: Pierre's Catering // Dessert: Marie Callender's Pies // Invitations: River City Studio // Floral: Exotic Green Garden // Hair & Makeup: TEAM Hair & Makeup

From the Bride:

Q. Tell us about finding your wedding dress.

A. After browsing several bridal salons in LA, I grew bored by the seas of heavy and structured traditional wedding dresses I had seen a thousand times. I wanted to find a dress I felt like myself in and that reflected my personality - relaxed, unique, and free spirited. I discovered Grace Loves Lace online, fell in love with their dresses, and ordered one of their dresses from Australia. They did not disappoint! The dress I chose was light and flowy, with floor length panels of chiffon that billowed over a french lace skirt. It had delicate straps, a low back, and it looked effortlessly beautiful with a wild floral crown and bare feet.

Q. What was the inspiration/vision for your wedding day?

A. We wanted our wedding to be personal and reflect our style and personality as a couple. Therefore, we wanted it to be natural, relaxed, and fun. Our inspiration for styling our wedding came from mainly from our love of nature and bohemian style, but we tried to make it personal by incorporating decorations that reflect our faith and our history together. Our venue was already so naturally colorful and beautiful that we chose to decorate simply with reclaimed wood and shades of white, tan, and natural greens. Of course we had to incorporate some color, so our florist created our bouquets and flower arrangements out of sprigs of colorful, just-picked looking wildflowers - my favorite! 

Q. What advice would you give another couple planning their wedding?

A. The biggest piece of advice we could offer would be to always remember why you are getting married, and to make sure it's for the right reasons. There is so much importance placed on a wedding, and it's so easy to get swept up in all the details, but life quickly returns to normal after the wedding festivities are over. Marriage is the true reason to celebrate, and it lasts forever, so make sure that takes priority over your wedding, which will be over in the blink of an eye.

Q. Most memorable moment?

A. The most memorable moment of the day was right after we were married. We had just walked back up the aisle and we finally had a moment to ourselves to relax and take in the moment together. We couldn't stop laughing and hugging. After a minute to ourselves, our bridal party joined us and we climbed up the the lighthouse on the property where we hugged, celebrated, and drank champagne as we took in the incredible views and watched our guests enjoying themselves below us. It felt like a dream.

 

Fall & Figs - Julep Challenge

I was asked to pick my favorite fall nail color from Julep and create a mood board to go along with it. Challenge accepted. I'm a huge fan of nail colors, and I'm particularly fond of those darker fall colors. 

I stuck to one of my favorite fall colors, Gayle, one that I'm actually wearing right this minute. This worked out quite well seeing as I've been really into deeper, darker, richer colors this fall. What do you think? 

Beachy Engagement Session by Tyler Rye Photography

Don't you just love when you discover a photographer that has such a wonderful body of work that every image is even better than the last? That is how I feel about Tyler Rye Photography. His work is just....the best.

And this engagement session is no exception. The beautiful scenery is captured perfectly along with this beautiful couple. It is all just so pretty, isn't it? 

Proposals & Surprise Parties

Last weekend I had the pleasure of throwing a little engagement party for two friends of mine. The best part was that she didn't know. He planned the day so well, there were so many surprises. One of which was this Wall-E ring box he used to hold the ring. How amazing is that?

After the proposal, he took her to dinner where 40 of their friends and family were there to surprise her! After dinner everyone went to my house for dessert and drinks. I didn't have time to go as crazy as I would have wanted (it is wedding season people!) but I put together a few things that I thought would be really fun, mostly having to do with dessert. 

Those little jars were the favors, and they were a hit! I made chocolate pudding along with chantilly whipped cream. They were super easy and soooo good. 

The Engaged & Inspired Wedding Planning Workshop

Introducing....The Engaged & Inspired Wedding Planning Workshop! 

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What It Is: Consider this your wedding planning bootcamp! Learn everything you need to know to plan your perfect wedding, without hiring a planner. 

Who You Are: You want to plan your own wedding. You love a good challenge but you have a job and a life and can't spend every waking hour planning (even though you really want to!). You need a little push in the right direction and then you'll be off the races!

How It Works: Upon arrival you'll be greeted with the full service planning binder that I give to each of my clients and use myself day in and day out. This will act as your planning guide throughout planning your wedding. 

First up, Vendors! Finding your perfect vendor team is so important, but is also SUCH a challenge.  We will go through the must-ask questions, give you the tips you need to know to find that perfect someone and even have a few talented professionals on hand for you to talk to.  Flower samples, portfolio books, cake tastings - it'll all be there. 

Next we will move onto logistics! We will create the first drafts of your wedding timeline, vendor production schedule, venue diagrams, work out seating charts, transportation schedules, room blocks, wedding websites, venue logistics and SO much more. When the time comes to finalize these pieces, you'll be ready to tackle these things head first.

Now we get to the fun part, design! Turn that Pinterest board into a full fledged design plan and mood board with help from our staff. You'll walk away with a first draft design plan including color palettes, ideas, and where to source everything! Then it is on to rentals, linens and finding out how to secure and source some of those pieces that are oh so important in bringing your inspiration to life!  

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We will do a few budget checks along the way to ensure you are in line with where you need to be, show you some styling tips, and constantly give you tidbits of advice that will make your wedding planning journey that much easier. What we have listed here only scratches the surface of what this full-day intensive wedding planning session will entail and in the end, you'll be sent off to plan your wedding with a solid foundation on how to finish up from there. 

If you haven't realized by now, this workshop isn't just a bunch of lecturing that will leave you with a notebook filled with to-do's and little tidbits of knowledge. This is a full fledged hands-on day of wedding planning! You'll get all the tips and tricks of the trade, hands on help throughout each piece, and plenty of samples along the way. Try the foods, feel the linens, mock up the tablescape, and turn those ideas into reality. You'll walk away prepared to conquer it all! 

The Details: Join us on January 31 in San Francisco. Hours: 10-6. Breakfast goodies and full lunch will be served! Price: $395. Exact location TBD. 

Sign Me Up: Sounds awesome, right? Buy Tickets Here!