The California State Fair

We're off to the fair today!


photo: Kelly Moore Photography

Hope y'all are enjoying the last weekend of summer!

Navy Maids

This photo keeps navy blue in the bm running.


This photo is what makes me love Jasmine's work. Check out this amazing wedding here.

Purchased

I bit the bullet.

I finally bought my very own R&H Wedding Organizer. Ever since Kate showed me hers I've wanted one. I tried to convince myself I could make my own version, that it was just too much to pay for a binder, but, I just wanted it. So instead of shopping for clothes this weekend, I bought it as a gift to myself. I even got it gift wrapped (hey, it was free!). I can't wait til it's here!

For free, printable and amazingly helpful templates, check out Kate's post here.

Yeah three day weekend!

Calligraphy+Invites=Love

Image via Southern Weddings

I seriously love this invitation. I realize it's on the formal side. But with a slightly less scripty font and some rustic packaging, it might be just what I'm looking for. I might change my mind, I realize there are literally thousands of amazingly gorgeous invites out there. I don't know, there's just something about that handwritten look.

What do you think?

As Seen in Cincinnati

I have to admit that I was starting to feel a little uninspired browsing through wedding stuff. But suddenly this week it's like I've been hit over the head with amazingly inspirational weddings. Exhibit A: Ross & Mackenzie's wedding in Ohio, shot by the uber talented Megan W of
m e g a n w p h o t o g r a p h y.

Check out the shoes! There's another reason Megan refers to this couple as the "shoe couple"

This wedding was like a breath of fresh air. Check out her little veil, the colors, the florals, the personality-it all goes so well. A little vintage, a little Americana, but nothing over the top. Of course it doesn't hurt that this is an adorable couple, but I seriously feel such joy when you can tell that a photographer has literally captured the essence of two people through the images of their day.

I've never met Mackenzie, but I feel like her personality resonates in every photo. Her hair totally fits, her dress looks perfect. The bms? Ok-so now I'm gushing. But really, check out Megan's blog because she has SO many great photos posted of this beautiful day.

No doubt this shot made the bride's heart melt!


Love the color combo!

These groom shots get to me every time!


Oh how I love a boy in a ball cap. All of the groomsmen had caps embroidered with their names and the wedding date. Currently thinking of stealing this idea....Oh! And check out the giant red balloons in the background. Loving that.

Perfection!

Thank you Megan for sharing these gorgeous photographs! Hope you all enjoy them as much as I have!

Rustic Inspiration From Snippet & Ink

I just love these boards and thought I'd put them together here as an illustration of the overall feel I would love to re-create."Rustic Abundance" - I love the forals, the pie and of course the barn! Sources at Snippet & Ink



"Feminine Rustic" Love the truck, pashminas and the envelope!


"Country Charm"- Fabric curtains, gingham envelopes and huge english roses. yum!
"Under the Trees"- ooo, I'm loving this color palette "Down Home Black Tie"
A perfect description. Love the calligraphy, hay bales and roses on the fence!!



Happy Monday everyone!

Sharing the Love of Photo

I saw this idea on Lindsey Undseth's blog and thought it was awesome. They are event cards that are passed out during the reception so that everyone knows where to go to see your photos. The photographer supplies them in the hopes that people will order photos of the event from her. She even designs them with the theme of your event in mind. This is something I would LOVE to do. And of course it's a great way to utilize those engagement photos.

The Scent of a Woman

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I was inspired by reading Miss Pom's post about what scent to wear on her wedding day. I have acquired quite the collection of frangrances and definitely have certain scents for certain occasions and seasons.

But I read somewhere that it's a fun idea to wear a scent you've never worn before on your big day. Because scents are so powerful in their ability to evoke memories of certain times and places, having a signature scent for your wedding will always bring back the memory of those moments. This NYT article describes your nose as an emotional time machine.

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For me, certain Bath & Body Works lotions bring back intense memories of middle school. 'Moonlight Path' will always remind me of our 8th grade trip to DC because I wore it all week long. Everytime I smell it somewhere, it takes me back!

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So many of the Escada scents remind me of college since the line of summery, fruity scents were always my favorite "going out" picks. Docle and Gabana's 'By' (once carried at Neiman's) reminds me of the cruise my whole family went on, because I bought it just for that occassion, and Gucci 'Envy Me' will forever be the reminder of when I first met DF. We met in early October, and I still think it's a great summer to fall scent.
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My best friend/MOH's mom wears the original Burberry, and I swear their whole house smells like it. While walking through ULTA in June, I decided to spritz some on. I had to call her as soon as I got in the car because it made me miss them so much! So to me, scents are very transcending.

For a great article on how to wear your fragarance on your wedding day, check out this UK brides blog post. I will definitely be going with her step by step instructions!

Stumped

Just as soon as our date is officially set I want to formally invite my girls to be my bridesmaids. BF/MOH was invited to be my MOH the moment after I told her I was engaged, but everyone else is probably starting to question! Four of my deareast friends (including MOH) are total no-matter-what-bridesmaids. Nothing would ever change my desire to have them stand next to me on my wedding day. But there are three other women who I go back and forth about. I may take a few more months to decide on those. They are not friends with my other BMs so they wont know if the 4 get gifts/invites first.
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I have to be honest--I have not seen a BM invite that has really blown me away. MOH lives in SF, 2 live in the LA area and the other is a med student in Ohio. So something I can mail would be ideal. I can figure out something special to write them, but I'd love to send them an invitation in an unexpected way or with a unique token of my appreciation and love. I've thought about baked goods, other sweets etc. But for the life of me I just can't think of a unique way to do this!

So I'm turning this over to anyone reading this. I realize you don't know my friends, but I'm hoping your ideas will spark something for me!

Still Here

Whoa-I've been away from the blog for a while! I spent some time with my bestie/MOH in SF and then DF and I flew down for some family, lake, Vegas fun! I don't think I realized how much I needed a vacation until I was out on our boat relaxing in the sun. It was the first time I've truly felt relaxed in a looong time!

Now I'm back and feeling a little uninspired when it comes to wedding planning. I think I'm just feeling stalled by not having our venue booked and date set. This is changing soon! I don't want to whine--but why does everything have to be so pricey? Even with all of my research and budget ideas-I'm still feeling queasy about how much this is going to cost!

Luckily, I started back to work this week. It was a little abrubt coming home from an 8 day vacay to an 8 hour day on Monday-but I do thrive on routine so I'm excited to have a normal schedule and even more excited to earn a decent paycheck while I await my bar results.

I'm still catching up on my google reader...

Understated Rhinestone Cow[girl]

I wouldn't be surprised if most of my long time friends are expecting me to plan a lavish, ultra fancy wedding. I tend to be rather boisterous about my expecatations and I'm sure some of my lifelong friends might even describe some of my style choices as borderline gaudy. Let's just say I was wearing gold shoes and handbags waaay before it was "ok". The flipside to my over-the-top inclinations is my inner country girl. So when I told one of my friends that I wanted a homespun/rustic/comfortable wedding with certain elegant details, she seemed to understand.

I would love for our moms to carry a tiny bouquet like this one. It looks so old fashioned and pure to me.

Now that I have saturated my brain with wedding images and ideas, I find myself favoring the photos of understated details. The ballrooms with the uplighting and the gobos, seamless dance floor and towering centerpieces, while never exactly my favorite, are now completely overlooked when I scan wedding photos. Too predictable.


This is the perfect look for our flower girl(s)...although I would change it to a cotton dress. But the ballet flats are so precious! From UK Brides



photo via Ritzy Bee Blog

With so many amazing invitation designs ranging from high end letter press to homemade gocco'd goodness, I'm baffled by my draw to extremely simple invites. I love allowing the font or calligraphy be the focal point.

image found via Budget Savvy Bride


While I really do want a big bouquet to balance me out proportionately.I want the look of simple flowers for the bms. These roses are perfection....so original! photo by Amelia Lyon

Resourceful Resources

I never really thought about "my" wedding until I suddenly had a rock staring at me from my left hand. Luckily two of my fellow law school classmates were also planning weddings. One of them introduced me to Pictage. Since that moment it has been my go-to for alternative venue photos, examples of photographer's work and the occasional browsing of strangers wedding photos.

A few months ago I found a recent wedding at the venue I am hoping for. The photographer listed the last names of the couple....I typed their names into The Wedding Channel search and their wedding website came up. I emailed the bride, asked her a few questions, complimented her wedding and received an incredibly detailed response including vendor reviews....jackpot! Seriously...that email has been an amazing help.

I wouldn't even be blogging about this if it weren't for Kate of Kate's Wedding. I found her blog while searching for venue information at the very, very beginning. Not only was her blog incredibly helpful, but she took the time to respond to my emails and since then we've been able to stay in touch. Finding a local bride who is already halfway through the process and also happens to be extremely organized is invaluable! She inspired me to blog-and I'm so glad that I started when I did!

Another site that I don't hear a lot about is Project Wedding. I love this site and found it especially relevant for Northern California brides. It's easy to navigate and offers great information.

And of course good ol trusty craigslist! I found beautiful sofas for our formal living room on CL three years ago and have been hooked ever since. I found a beautiful rehearsal dress option for $40 not too long ago but decided to pass as it was just too premature. I also found amazing photographers listed on CL. My goal was to find someone who was just starting out, and while it takes a while to weed through the repeat posters, I found some incredible leads. More on that in the future...

And if you needed another recommendation to convince you to buy Mindy's The Wedding Book, here it is: I love it! One of my law school brides gave it to me for my birthday and I was finally able to delve into it this evening. While most of it may be repeat advice, somehow her layout really makes things click. And there's a sense of trust since it is Mindy Weiss.

Of course, I can't forget to mention how important photography blogs have been for me. They are so helpful! I love seeing real weddings from all over. I especially LOVE when the photogs take the time to describe the couple and more importantly-the details of the event!! When a photog lists the venue, the coordinator, the videographer, the dress maker, DJ, make up artist...it seriously makes my day! When I see that, I instantly subscribe to the blog. When you love the photos, it's essential to know who made that photo happen. Definitely a great resource!

Anyone else have great resources to share?

Little Lovelies

I fell in love with this recent wedding shot by Michael Norwood. It took place at the St. Regis Monarch in the OC. The table name signs are my absolute favorite detail! I love how Michael put them all together for a photo. It makes a great impact!

I was lucky enough to visit this hotel when it first opened, the views, ambiance and service are definitely top, top, top! But while the Monarch is a total VIP venue, I have to admit that since so many weddings take place there, they all start to look the same! This one stands apart.

Love the colors and the paper products! I wish I could see a picture of the bm dresses. But there is more to see on Michael's blog

A Pop of Bridesmaid

I found these beautiful photos at Jonathan Canlas Photography. This wedding was in Salt Lake City and the rest of the details are really beautiful. What struck me were the fantastic bm dresses! What a great way to achieve color along with flattering dresses. Love this idea!


Aren't the florals awesome?

So I finally learned how to change the layout of my blog so that I could include larger photographs! I actually learned from a helpful post from Liene at Blue Orchid Designs!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

story.telling.gabriel.ryan.photographers.

So I know him as Gabe. We went to the same high school, I graduated the same year as his sister, Ashley and my little brother was good friends with his youngest sister, Courtney Nicole.

This is a day after shot of Gabriel and his wife Carlie. Check out their session here. Aren't they adorable?

When Courtney passed away after a long hard-fought battle with leukemia, I found myself reading a blog that was written by her mother. I read that Gabe was getting married and that lead me to Jasmine Star's photoblog. Gabriel's engagement shots with his beautiful bride Carlie were literally like nothing I had ever seen. And with that, photoblog stalking began.

Fast forward over a year later-- Gabe is now a full time photographer himself. He and Carlie make an amazing team, striking the perfect balance between epic photographs and detail shots. Their photos are full of life, color and depth.

Gabriel's blog entries insist on telling each couple's story, which is something I love in a photography blog. I have no doubt that great things await this power couple.
Gabriel is located in southern California and I've seen a few couples who I know which is always fun!


Definitely check out his stuff.