Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Heather & Gian: the wedding!


There are some weddings that I am just not ready to finish planning. This was one of them. I so enjoyed Heather & Gian and had so much fun planning their wedding at Calamigos Ranch. The wedding came to life beautifully last saturday and it was a blast, even in the 107 degree heat.

Heather and Gian are two wonderful individuals who make an incredible team when they join forces. I am so excited to see what life has in store for them: wonderful things, I am sure of that! Their story is so fun: they met pretending to be a married couple while doing research for eHarmony at UCLA and fell in love one research session at a time.

We had an incredible vendor team & I am so excited to give you a sneak peak into their joyful day, courtesy of the lovely Jasmine Star.

The amazing couple in front of the ceremony site:
I love these shots of the wedding party:

Flowers by the wonderful Carissa of JL Designs:
I loved the rich color scheme: wines and eggplants. Some wouldn't think to use these colors in the summer, but I always say go for it! It turned out beautifully- very dramatic and warm.

Inside of the reception tent:
Tablesettings:
Linens by Elegant Designs. I LOVED these tablecloths- texture, color, everything.

Here are a couple of my favorite details from the wedding:

*Favors: Cookies from Diddy Reese!!! You had me at diddy... any bruin knows the joy of this westwood cookie shop. It was a fun touch that tied in their story. Adorable labels on the boxes from myweddinglabels.com

*Quizzes: In the place of menu cards, we had the idea to do a quiz about the couple. This is always fun, but it is especially fitting for Heather & Gian because they do surveys of couples everyday for work. The questions were really fun too! We placed a little golf pencil in the fold of the napkin as well.

Some more details:

Danny the DJ kept the dance floor moving all night. Heather and Gian started it off with a bang when they surprised guests with a switch to a swing routine in the middle of their first dance. They were great! I love this shot!

A sweet moment during toasts:


Such a sweet moment at the end of the ceremony:
How gorgeous is this shoe shot?

To end, here is one of my favorite photos of the couple. It just looks like one that their grandkids will frame and show to their kids, doesn't it? This is was shot in their room...scratch that- their house of a suite at the breathtaking Westlake Village Inn.

More pics on Jasmine's blog and more detail photos to come in the next couple of weeks.

Other wonderful vendors:
*Hair & Make up by Cathryn & Trina of The Studio Agency
*Cake: Oh so yummy red velvet by The Cake Divas (totally lived up to their name!)
*Stings for the ceremony: Angelica Strings
*Limo: Odyssey Limo in Westlake Village



Heather & Gian: I cannot tell you what a privilege it was to be a part of your planning process. I will miss our almost daily emails, phone conversations and gmail chats. I hope that you are having an amazing time in Belize... although I did notice on Jasmine's blog that you found a way to get on the Internet :) I hope to get to know you even better through the years and I cannot wait to hear all about what the two of you accomplish. Maybe we can find a reason to use some more flower balls?

Monday, June 23, 2008

Charissa & Jarryd's Engagement Pics

I almost did not post these.... it's not because of the couple, it's not because of the photographer... it's because of the location. You see, Charissa & Jarryd took their engagement photos at USC.

The first time I met Jarryd, he was wearing a USC hat. At our last meeting, I parked behind his car, which had a USC license plate. And now this. Charissa and Jarryd: if you could do me one favor, please just do not change your wedding colors to red & gold or hire the USC band to play. I don't know if I could do it.

In all honesty, I am so excited for their wedding this August at the amazing Richard Nixon Library. It is going to be beautiful! Check out how sweet they are, captured by John Partridge:






p.s. U.C.L.A....UCLA fight fight fight!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Help us build a well!


My amazingly talented husband just recorded a new album. It is a collection of 10 hymns and it is awesome! I even sing on a few :)   The album is a fundraiser for Blood Water Mission. 100% of the proceeds will go toward building a well in Africa. His goal is to sell 300 CD's, which will raise enough for one well. If you would like to find out more about the project, Blood Water Mission or to buy the CD or get a sampling of the music, go to www.davidtoneymusic.com

Thanks! Happy thursday!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Jasmine Star is Hot!!!


If you haven't seen Jasmine Star's new website, you must! It is a.maz.ing! 

I love this girl... and her photos... and now her fun website. 

Get clicking: www.jasmine-star.com





btw Jas- I will never turn down dessert either. under any circumstances.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Inspiration: A lovebird wedding

Okay, so I am in love with this wedding for more reasons than I can count! Check out these details! What an incredible wedding designed by Amorology (check out their website- inspiration beyond belief!) and photographed by Sara France.









How killer is this shot?:


Look at how lush these bouquets are!
So fun!
For more photos, check out Sara's podcast.

Thank you Sara & Heather for bringing us this cheery burst of a wedding treat!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

I love the flower mart!


And Isaiah does too!

I have had to privilege of getting to attend 4 floral mock-ups in the past month. I love these because it gives us a sneak peak of the wedding day and also helps us make decisions as we see our ideas coming to life. If you are a bride, I would highly recommend talking to your florist about setting up a mock-up. This can be done at your wedding venue, at the florist's shop, or just about anywhere. It helps to bring in the linens you will be renting as well. Here is an example of how important this can be: For an incredible wedding I have coming up this month, we did a mock-up with the florist on site. We thought we had great linen options picked out, but when we saw them with the flower arrangements, it just didn't work. We work able to brainstorm what might look better from looking at the centerpieces, and now we are going to have a killer set-up!

I have pictures from a couple of the meetings but, unfortunately, my camera broke at the end of our Hawaii trip :( So, here is a picture from one of the mock-ups, taken on my iphone:
I love the pop of the colors!

More photos to come once my camera is fixed!

Happy Thursday!