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.

Altar-ations

With the hope that our wedding site will have amazing views, I've decided that our ceremony will be pretty much decor-free. I don't feel the need for shepard's hooks, a rose petaled aisle or huge urns of flowers. Just something simple. But I would love to have an altar as a focal point. Since I'm hoping to break from tradition with the seating arrangement (with some sort of semi-circle). I'll need something that wont block the view from any angle. I am in love with all of these choices. This top one is probably my favorite.

Loving the idea of "planting" the posts in large potted plants. Very resourceful and easy. From Martha.

My FMIL's better half has mentioned that he would be willing and able to construct something for us! That was really exciting because while my DF is handy, he's not exactly a wood-worker. Hopefully we can come up with something that we could also keep and have in our backyard.
I've had this image saved for a long time. This idea would work well for an altar.
I love the draping/fabric. I don't plan on having florals, but thought this was a pretty option. Photo by Trista Lerit

photo by Nathaniel Thompson

These two are shots of the same altar done two slightly different ways. What a gorgeous spot! This is exactly the look I'm going for-very organic and simple. Love, love, love the white fabric (cloth-no tulle for me)

Not sure where the second picture is from, but this amazing venue is in Santa Barbara at the Orella Ranch. Isn't it breath taking? Sometimes shots like these make me want to get married at home...The garland is a very nice touch. It adds something without being obnoxious, and I'm guessing is pretty budget friendly.

I'm actually really excited about this detail!