Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that you had a fantastic holiday and are gearing up for a fantastic New Year!
I just realized, I never shared with you the photos from my innagural wedding. I’ve been planning events on the corporate side for 4 years now. And my very first job as a wedding planner was planning my brother’s wedding back in October.
Location: Calamigos Ranch Malibu CA
DJ and Lighting: Mike Carcano, Carcano DJ
Photography: Sean InLight Photography
A little wedding inspiration from Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey Hepburn is a classic style icon for many of us girls, but she showed particular style in a wedding gown.
Even when she wasn’t going for the bride look, she still inspired brides all over the world. Who doesn’t remember this dress from Sabrina?
For those of you who prefer a vintage look, vintage dresses like the two above can be found any where (don’t forget your grandmother’s closet) and I think it can add a charming or whimsical touch to any wedding.
Images from The Audrey Hepburn Library
WeddingBee has introduced me to a concept and a videographer I had never heard of before. Still Motion Photo & Cinema is a photography and videography team based out of Toronto and California (but they travel all over) that takes video footage of your wedding and transforms it into a movie. Their team doesn’t act as just a videographer, they take on a role of cinematographer to convey the spirit of your day.
They also can edit your film using a process called same day editing. Using SDE, their team will take video footage of all the days events and on the same day (either after or during the reception) they can edit that footage together with music and even some pre-shot studio sessions to create a beautiful video. Same day editing is a great idea if you are looking for something unique to capture the emotion and spirit of the day. Plus the quick editing time means you can watch your footage later at the reception.
They also create the traditional highlight videos, however with their use of camera angles, music, and professional looking video these videos are also anything but traditional.
It’s hard to put into words just how beautiful the videos are and why I highly recommend it for your wedding, you have to look at some of Still Motion’s great work at Still Motion’s website or on vimeo.
Still Motion’s videos capture the emotion of a wedding day so beautifully. I’ve watched the videos and I’ve cried, and I don’t even know these couples. I can only imagine how the couple felt after seeing their day immortalized like this.
(click the images to play the videos) 
So a while back I had the bridesmaid dress but I had no shoes. Since the wedding is going to be outside I had to consider that grass would be a factor and I should probably abandon my idea of my trademark sky high heels for something more sensible. (Also, I’m not only the bridesmaid, I’m also the day of coordinator so flats were really the front runner) Anyone who knows me knows I live for shoes and the higher the better. However all sensibility went out the window when I found these
These Jessica Simpson “Hardy” slingbacks matched my dress perfectly and I knew they were the pair. (I plan on bringing a black pair of ballet flats for the coordinating parts of the day-the sensible wedding planner in me hasn’t been abandoned) Although the question of how to walk in the grass is still present….I guess I’ll have to start walking on my tip toes.
Image from theknot.com
The dance floor and room decor would have been enough to impress the guests at this wedding. But, the addition of paper lanters certainly had jaws dropping.
We’ve all seen those great looking inspiration boards all over the web. If you’re looking to create your own, you can do it the old fashioned way by cutting pictures out of a magazine and pasting them to a piece of printer paper. But since you probably do most of your wedding planning online, there is this great website that can help you create a professional looking inspiration board online. With Mosaic Maker you can upload photos from your computer or enter in their url and they will arrange them into a beautiful collage.
Here’s what I created using a color palate of blues and purples (and magenta for the flower girls)
Images all via the knot, brides.com, alfred angelo, and martha stewart.
Also, if you’re a photoshop expert there are 2 great tutoruals via weddingbee.
I had the pleasure of assisting at a wedding at the Ebell in Los Angeles this past summer and I was amazed at how beautiful and how perfect this setting is for a wedding ceremony and/or reception.
I loved the architecture and decor of the site, personally. The Ebell was built in 1927, and walking onto the grounds, you feel as though you are walking back into the 1920s.
At the wedding I assisted at, the garden was the spot for the wedding cermony. The garden holds about 200 people and the fountain provides the perfect backdrop to the reciting of your vows. If you’re holding your ceremony elsewhere, the garden can be used as a great spot for a cockatil reception or dinner.
The main dining room was what I was the most impressed with. Walking into this room, I truly felt like I was transported back into a different world. The architecture of the room, with it’s columns and wood floors gave the room a really elegant feel. 250 guests can fit in the main dining room with room for a dancefloor. (If you opt not to dance, you can fit 50 more people).
The possibilities are endless when planning a wedding at the Ebell. Lighting in the main dining room can transform your reception into your wildest dreams, putting couches on the outdoor patio can can give your cocktail hour a loungey vibe, and the vintage architecture can make for some fantastic photo ops.
If you want to plan your wedding or special event here, Melissa Allen is your girl. Her staff was very helpful and made the day run very smoothly. I would love to plan many more weddings there in the future.
For more information and more photos, visit the Ebell’s website.
I stumbled across a website for Paper Olive, a “couture, invitation design studio” in Los Angeles and fell in love with this invitation design. I love the colors and the detail of adding the peacock feather in the set was a nice touch. The invitation, RSVP card, and feather are all held in a blue box that will definitly make a nice impression on your invitees.
This photo from Martha Stewart Weddings just blows my mind. I love the look for flowers as an aisle runner. I think they are perfect for an outdoor wedding.Just make sure you get flowers that won’t make a mess on your shoes or the bottom of your dress.
For a more budget friendly alternative you can use faux flowers or just line the outside edges of your aisle.
Some may say that having cupcakes at your wedding or event is outdated, however, I think it can be a sweet and charming addition to any wedding and cheaper than most cakes.
This weekend I went to Crumbs bake shop in Beverly Hills.And this place is heaven on earth to me. While sitting outside eating our cupcake, my boyfriend had a fabulous idea that a wedding could serve Crumbs cupcakes to its guests and the bride and groom could have that special cake cutting moment with one of the cakes that the bake shop offers. (Obviously my wedding planning obsession has rubbed off on his contractor brain)
I thought this is a fabulous idea. Cupcakes from crumbs average about $3, depending on the type of cupcake you are getting, and the larger cakes are approximately $36. So for a party of 100 people, you are looking at spending just over $300 on desert. Much cheaper than your traditional wedding cake which can cost about $5-$10 per slice.
Venture over to Crumbs and I dare your mouth not to water just looking at it’s website.
