Simply Modern Weddings

Please excuse my delayed blogging lately, James and I lost both our brother and nephew this month within just 2 weeks of each other. It’s definitely been a rough time for our family lately. We are truly grateful for all the well wishes and prayers from our friends; your kindness has meant so much to us and we feel so blessed to have you in our lives!

Although it’s been under sad circumstances, I do appreciate that we have had time to come up to Northern CA to spend time with our family. It reminded of how life is so fragile, and you can’t take your family for granted…by thinking that they will always be around for you to tell them how much you love and care for them.

Take time to call an aunt you haven’t talked to in a while, go play basketball with your little brother, surprise your cousin by bringing her cupcakes, and remember to make every moment count!

This photo from Our Labor of Love makes me laugh as I think about fun times with family.

Today’s feature is from Tinywater Photography. I adore the soft look of this image…how you can see the bride, but not really see the bride. Such a great perspective!

Also there is something about this photo that calms me, makes me think of a bride taking a quiet moment right before the ceremony. Prior to our wedding, I had our wedding planner schedule the last 15 minutes before the ceremony as complete private time for me to be alone and reflect on this next journey that my life was taking. It was a very spiritual moment filled with thought and prayer.

For more great photos, make sure to check out Tinywater’s blog!

Oscar de la Renta has been known in the fashion world for his feminine, luxurious designs. So of course it’s no surprise that his bridal gown creations are equally stylish and chic.

Below are some pieces from his Spring 2010 collection. I adore the flirty shape of the top left gown and the torn ribbon texture of the top right gown. Which is your favorite?

if you are a Monique Lhuillier fan…then you must head down to the 1 day sample sale this Sunday the 19th!

There will be select bridal and ready to wear items from 40-90% off!

Wooohoo, sounds like an early Christmas…what more can you ask for!

I love when my couples introduce me to a photographer’s work that I haven’t seen before. So imagine how excited I was to hear about Meg Perotti, one of the photographers that my couple is considering for their December wedding. I spent so much time combing through Meg’s work….and am absolutely smitten!

I just love this photo of the girls helping the bride down the stairs. Not only are the colors so vibrant and beautiful, but my favorite part of the image is how it captured the emotion of the bridesmaid on the right. PRICELESS!!

Just wanted to take a moment to wish my beautiful husband a Happy Anniversary! I can’t believe that it has already been 2 years since that beautiful day…I can still feel the soothing warmth of your hands in mine as we repeated our vows before God and our families.

James, thank you for being the amazing person that you are, and for always supporting my dreams and passions. You are more than I could have ever thought to ask for. I look forward to spending many more July 14th’s with you!

Our eye-candy is courtesy of SF Bay Area’s fabulous HyStudio!

Happy happy Friday peeps! It’s time for another fabulous Photo Friday…woohoo!

There are so many things I love about this photo by Ben Crisman. First off, the colors are so vivid! I also just love the editorial look of the image. Imagine this photo as a piece of art in your home after your wedding….wow! It also makes me really want to go on vacation to Greece. Ahh…just amazing!

For more of Ben’s stunning work, be sure to check out his blog!

Of course today’s photo selection is from Melissa & Andrew’s wedding, courtesy of Trista Lerit.

It just makes me laugh every time I look at it! Sometimes no matter how much candy bribing I do, my little ringbearers and flowergirls will stop mid-aisle during the ceremony and turn back around to walk back the wrong way. Haha…kids will be kids…and I love them for their silliness! By the way, how adorable are their little outfits?!

Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

When Melissa walked into my studio last September, she immediately looked around and said “this is exactly what I want for my wedding!”. We giggled…and I knew this was a start to a fun relationship! So we sat down and chatted about her and Andrew, how they met, his super sweet proposal in NY, and of course their style. As with all my initial meetings, I asked her to explain how she wanted the wedding to feel…so she had me look up Hotel Delano in Miami as her inspiration. All I could say was, “Wow, I like where you are going with this”! This hotel has a very chic and mellow vibe, something that she wanted for her beachfront wedding at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

The inspiration board that I created for Melissa was a palette of crisp white, with very bright aqua blue accents. When we brought in Kristin with the Treasured Petal, she helped to further define the look…with her softer blue floral and even incorporating a very special “pop” of pink! Melissa told me that she always pictured walking down the aisle carrying a bouquet of pink-tipped roses, but knew it would go against the color palette. Since I am a huge fan of making your own rules…I told Melissa that it’s perfectly fine to go against the grain. (it’s actually quite fun!!) Kristin’s amazing expertise helped make that dream a reality. Even some of the orchids had the same hints of pink as Melissa’s bouquet…genius!

Their wedding was full so many beautiful details: aqua crystal accents, white lounge with pool colored toss pillows, h2o accent lighting, signature mojitos with cocktail flags, and so much more!

Since Melissa and Andrew didn’t think there would be many people dancing at the wedding, our fabulous photographer, Trista Lerit ROCKED out an amazing photobooth to create a fun activity for the guests…some of them definitely got a little “um creative”! Although we didn’t anticipate much dancing, SoCal-DJ had people up and jammin until the end of the party. It was definitely good times!

Melissa, I am going to really miss our super late-night long emails to each other about all your fun ideas! It was such a treat to help you and Andrew realize your beautiful wedding vision. I wish you both all the love, laughter, and success in your marriage!

Below is a peek at the wedding, but for more eye-candy, check out Trista’s blog!

Of course this wedding was a HUGE success because of our fantastic vendor “dream team”!

Cupcakes: Vanilla Bake Shop
DJ: SoCal-DJ
Floral Design: Treasured Petal
Hair & Makeup: All Made Up
Lighting: Rainbow Sound and Lighting
Linens: Fusion Linens
Officiant: You May Kiss the Bride
Photography: Trista Lerit
Rentals: Barker Decor and Town and Country
Stationery: Joceybella Invites
Venue: Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel