Eclectic California Ranch Wedding

Apr 4th

by: Lauren

This wedding I have for you all today from John & Joseph Photography is pretty fabulous. Blush pink, eclectic anthropologie-esque style, and a California ranch definitely constitute fabulous! And of course the awesome photography and details help a little too! The beautiful bride, Darlene, is sharing some insight into her wedding planning too- she has some great advice!

(FYI, I decided that I’ve been writing too much at the beginning of my wedding features lately, which is why I tried to keep this short and sweet! I want your attention to be on the photos, not my babbling!)

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

From the very beginning, my wedding planner helped me with every single detail of the wedding! Yoleine Dumarsais of Yellow Bird Events created a vision of vintage furniture, mason jars, and billowing flowers everywhere. Walnut Grove was the perfect spot to have this type of wedding. My bridesmaids and friends also gave me so many ideas for the wedding and helped me pick out my wedding dress, engagement outfits, and accessories.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

I knew that I wanted very detailed and organized vendors. When you’re relying on them to make everything come together at one time, you need to have people that are reliable and accessible. All of our vendors that we used came highly recommended by friends and my wedding planner.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

All of our vendors went above and beyond what we expected them to do. Yoleine was not only the wedding planner, but she did our flowers and refurbished many vintage pieces for the dessert bar and lounge areas.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

My husband and I both wanted a very personal wedding. We wanted to write our own vows, have our parents share a few words of advice, and convey the importance of our faith in our relationship as a couple. Our favorite thing about the wedding was being able to share a few hours with all the people we love….in one setting! It was really nice to have so many friends and family visiting from Northern California.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

The best advice that I would give a bride would be to decide on what is most important to you and splurge on that. There are so many details that can be minimized or things that you can spend less money on. Don’t worry about going over your budget too much, either!

Thank you for sharing your wedding day and insight with us Darlene! (Sidenote: my middle name is Darlene! Or rather, it was before I changed it to my maiden name.) A big huge thank you to John & Joseph Photography for sharing their images with us, and to Yellow Bird Events for planning such a fabulous wedding!

I think my favorite thing about this wedding is the pie and sweets area! YUM! I love the signs too- signs are always an excellent detail to have. It’s important to keep your guests informed! :) What do you think of all the eclectic decor? Raise your hand if you’re having an eclectic wedding too!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: John & Joseph Photography / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Yellow Bird Events / Reception Venue: Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch

Parisian Bridal Shower

Category: 14 Comments

Apr 3rd

by: Lauren

pinterest twitter fb stumble gplus

Oh my goodness do I have an something AMAZING for you all today! I’ve never featured a bridal shower before, but when Dana Goodson sent this Parisian shower over, I was so inspired by the fabulous details that I just HAD to share it with you all! Plus, it’s perfect for today, since Tuesdays are all about inspiration! ;) I for one absolutely LOVE showers. Bridal, baby, couples- the type of “shower” doesn’t matter to me, I just love to have an excuse to create something fun and awesome, and showers are perfect for that! [Confession: I can’t wait for more of my close friends to get engaged and have babies so I can put together fantastic showers for them. Get on it friends! ;)] Okay, enough of my gushing about how fun showers can be… I have PROOF of how fun this Parisian shower was!

The lovely bride Lara was kind enough to tell us all about her awesome shower…

“My Parisian bridal shower was a wonderful and magical soiree, hosted by my fabulous Mom! I have always loved all things Paris and together, we thought it would make for a fun and cute shower. Because most of our family and friends are from out of town, we decided to have the shower the day before the wedding. We wanted to have a memorable party filled with love, games and too much food! My Mom and I own Declaration Boutique and Events, where we create custom details for weddings and parties. So of course, we had to come up with some fun and different details all our own! The overall design was a blast to create and we put everything together from start to finish. We hung parasols from the ceiling, brought a hand drawn (by me!) patisserie to life, and even had macaroon escort cards. The games were fun to design and were the real hit of the shower. Each guest was given a Je T’aime tote bag filled with all of their game supplies. “Paper Doll Lara” was the favorite by far and now I have a collection of 50 handmade wedding dresses! There were vignettes throughout the shower, a pale pink bicycle with fresh flowers and baguettes and vintage lace parasol with Paris suitcase made you feel as though you were really in Paris! The thoughtful food stations and passed hors d’oeuvres were also hit!”

So what do you all think? Is this shower not amazing?! But now I’m SUPER curious… are any of you wanting to have fabulous bridal showers like this? Do you already have a theme? Or do you perhaps need more bridal shower inspiration? Because I could totally arrange that… ;)

Vendors who made it all happen…

Photographer: Dana Goodson Photography / Reception Venue: The White Room / Wedding Planner/Coordinator: The BIG Event / Event Designer: Declaration Boutique and Events / Cake Baker: Sweet Weddings Cake Designs

Vendor of the Week: Mari Darr~Welch Modern Photojournalist

Category: SPONSORS 2 Comments

Apr 3rd

by: Lauren

pinterest twitter fb stumble gplus

I am so very honored to introduce you all to my friend Mari Darr~Welch today! Not only does she have an amazing name, she’s also a super fun and amazing Florida photographer! Let’s learn a little more about her, shall we?

Why do you see yourself as being Modern, Vintage, Classic, or Eclectic?

I see myself as a very modern photographer who is always evolving. I adore finding light and angles that are hidden in plain sight for the average person. I guess those images would be considered eclectic by some. And in my interweaving of styles to form my own, I love it when I find some vintage aesthetics of the situation to weave into my modern composition to form my own style.

What is your favorite wedding detail you’ve ever seen or created?

Since I am a photographer, images that document life are important to me. I love the trees with the hanging cards scrapbook style that have images of friends and family on them.

What is your favorite store or brand?

Doesn’t every girl love Tiffany’s? My other favorite stores are Anthropologie, Nordstrom and Borders. I adore books!

What advice do you have for a newly engaged bride?

Keep your focus on what is important. Don’t get lost in the tiny things that nobody will notice. Remember in 50 years you will only have your spouse and your images left from your wedding.

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

As a professional photojournalist, weddings as a whole totally ignite my passion. It is the best of everything I once did on an editorial side of life. The day flows at breakneck speed, you are documenting a monumental event and creating high-fashion art and all within a wonderful positive environment. I would say, however, the best thing about weddings is when my brides tell me that when they looked at their images they cried with joy because we had captured moments they didn’t even see happen and while looking at their images they felt the magic of their day happen all over again. Now that’s a great feeling!

Mari is based in the Florida Panhandle, but she also loves traveling to Chicago and New Orleans to shoot weddings too! Oh and don’t forget to go check out her ELV listing to see even more of her work! :)

Mari Darr~Welch Modern Photojournalist

email: mari@maridarrwelch.com | phone: 850.699.3403 | website:http://maridarrwelch.com/
twitter: Follow @ParadiseImages | facebook: “Like” Mari Darr~Welch!

location: Chicago, Louisiana, Panhandle | type: Photographer | style: Eclectic, Modern, Vintage | price: $$$, $$

Vintage Travel-Inspired California Wedding

Category: REAL WEDDINGS 7 Comments

Apr 2nd

by: Lauren

pinterest twitter fb stumble gplus

Happy Monday everyone! Um wow, can you believe it’s April already?! I’m still in denial- it feels like March didn’t even happen! Any of you with me on that? I’m also curious to know how many of you are getting married this month, since April marks the start of wedding season for just about everywhere! Anyone? ;)

Well, this vintage travel-inspired wedding by Green Orchid Events and Whitney Darling Photography that I have for you today is an excellent example of what happens when you design a wedding to really reflect the couple. In this case, the bride and groom, Katie and Luke, absolutely loved traveling and even lived overseas for some time, and so it was natural that they have a travel-inspired wedding. From accessories to drinks, they were able to successfully incorporate travel in many aspects of the wedding. Katie was kind enough to stop by and share some of her insight about planning her wonderful travel-inspired wedding with us…

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

Green Orchid Events and my mother helped the MOST during the planning process. Also, the staff at Estancia was extremely helpful and accommodating with all my questions. The day of the wedding would have been impossible without Angelica and her team with Green Orchid Events. They made my day SO smooth! My mother was the artistic eye behind all the small details. We planned and created every last detail. My mother is so creative!

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

The most importance thing when deciding who to work with for our wedding was the connection we made! Of course, budget had to play in the decision, however, it was mostly the connection to be sure we had the same idea for our wedding.

Did any of your vendors do anything special for you before, on, or after your wedding day that you would like to share?

Our photographer, Whitney, took a few polaroid pictures of us at our wedding. She said they were for the honeymoon so we could remember our wedding. We LOVED that and they are now a part of our home. Green Orchid Events decorated our honeymoon suite with little details from our wedding. The room looked gorgeous…we were so surprised! Jacque Spitzer, our videographer, created an amazing trailer and video for us. We still watch it all the time! Tammi, my makeup artist, gifted my some bridal lipgloss. It’s the small things that mean a lot!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

The favorite thing about my wedding was seeing Luke so incredibly happy. The look on his face during the first look and the hugs throughout the evening from him was so telling that this man was going to love me forever. There’s no greater joy than knowing I get to share this life with him! There’s so much to love! Beach yoga in the morning with my bridesmaids, dancing with my Dad, sharing a Guinness toast with all our favorite people, and dancing our butt off with awesome music and laser lights is just a FEW of the highlights. Everything was just PERFECT.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

A. Pray. A lot. B. Do a first look! This was such an intimate and special time for us. It also allowed us and our bridal party to enjoy the cocktail hour which means we could actually sit and eat our dinner instead of greeting guest. It was a win win! C. Make your wedding personal in every detail. D. Save money for an amazing honeymoon!

Oh, and that video trailer that Katie mentioned? It is indeed pretty awesome…

Luke + Katie Wedding Trailer from Jacques Spitzer on Vimeo.

A big thank you to Katie for her excellent advice, and to Green Orchid Events and Whitney Darling Photography for sharing Katie and Luke’s amazing wedding! :)

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely LOVE the vintage travel theme! It was perfect too, since traveling is one the bride and groom’s favorite things to do! Oh, and did you see Katie’s hairpiece? She made it, and the coins in it are all from various places that they visited together. Love that! I also loved the “passport” escort cards! That is how a wedding should be- a total reflection of you and your fiance and your relationship.

So tell me- do any of you have anything that you’re planning on doing to reflect you and your fiance?