Simply Modern Weddings

esther & doan were one of those couples where every time we met, the meeting was guaranteed to be full of laughs, jokes, and swapping stories. even during our initial meeting we ended up talking about movies, fashion, their love of rap music, and of course how they started dating. all of a sudden, it was 2.5 hours later…so i knew we were destined to be! oooh it was love! (i absolutely have to love my couples!!)

one thing i loved about their planning was how involved doan was! he made sure to be at every meeting giving his input, as well as cracking jokes! i just love when grooms take an interest in the plans, because then the wedding will be a great mix of both their styles. plus i just adore getting to know both my brides and grooms…seeing their love for each other, as well as learning more about them and their personalities helps us incorporate that into their wedding design!

okay so back to my lovely couple & their fabulous wedding! esther is super fun & sassy…her style was feminine, but she still has a bit of a modern edge and wanted to stay away from anything too girly! i knew that carissa with jl designs was going to be the perfect match for floral design. when i sent esther the link to carissa’s site to take a look at…she fell in love with carissa’s work! i just LOVE when that happens! carissa (doan nicknamed her “the mad scientist”) and i collaborated on creating their wedding to be an exciting mix of harmonious opposites: silver and bronze metallic tones, feminine yet edgy, romantic yet modern! my favorite twist were the scabiosa pod boutonnieres which were wrapped in a soft charcoal velvet trim!

now doan, he’s the guy that’s always having fun. he just wanted the wedding to be a killer party, and have cool music. they both were all about their wedding being the party of the century! supernova was such a perfect fit for them, since their string quartet plays a delightful fusion of anything from classical, hip hop, rock, and pop hits. so when doan told me that he and his guys were going to walk out for the ceremony to metallica’s “enter sandman” i was beyond thrilled! supernova kept the rocked it out during the cocktail hour with hits like beyonce and tupac, mixed in with a little journey and guns and roses! those guys are serious magic on the strings! for the remainder of the reception, mike with carcano dj kept the dance floor packed tighter than a free concert! so so much fun!! esther and doan, you both have so much love & laughter for your future…i am so happy for you guys!

now just a warning, the photos below are way to amazing for words! i mean seriously, aaron delesie rocked it out on this one….okay…he always rocks it out, but i am just in love with the magic he captured in their wedding images! wow!

lots of hugs and kisses to amanda with one of my favorite blogs, ruffled, for featuring their fabulous wedding. i was excited to also share a bit more about the design from their wedding with her readers…so be sure to check it out!

of course nothing is possible without our killer vendor dream team…so check them out!
photography – aaron delesie
floral design – jl designs
cake & desserts – sweet and saucy
linens – la tavola linen
ceremony entertainment – supernova
dj & lighting – carcano dj
photobooth – cheesy photobooth
white dance floor – barker décor
hair & makeup – all made up team

once again…shade tree films rocked it! i seriously can’t get over how totally amazing those guys are!

just in case you missed the feature in issue #012, look at this awesomeness that they filmed for the utterly engaged hoedown. we were all super nervous for this interview, and it came out fabulous…even though i still feel a bit dorky!

remember how excited i was to share the details from the ultimate hoedown that i planned for utterly engaged? well they just launched issue #012 yesterday and i was ecstatic to see all the fun party action in print! head over to the site to read all about the party and all the amazing vendors who donated their services to make this event a fabulous success!

it was such a pleasure working with the utterly engaged girls on the anniversary party, and i am so excited to see what’s to come this year for their magazine!

if there is one thing us planners have a lot of, it’s miscellaneous wedding stuff! somehow over the years we end up with studios, garages, and sometimes even warehouses full of decor that we have used to style our various events. at some point, this gets a bit out of control…and we have to spring clean our space. after all, how else would we have the room to collect even more stuff?

so some of my favorite industry colleagues have decided to do a little bridal swap meet this saturday from 10-4pm. you can score some amazing thrift finds, as well as wonderful handmade pieces from our crafty designers! i will be up in napa this weekend helping out on a wedding, so i will be missing out on all the shopping fun. so sad!

the event is open house style and it’s also free to attend. be sure to register here and have a fabulous time!

here are some of my favorite peeps that will be participating!
* events of love & splendor
* In the Now Weddings and Events
* Jesi Haack Weddings
* JL Designs
* Joyful Weddings and Events
* The Treasured Petal

here is a little glimpse at utterly engaged’s fabulous anniversary party i planned a couple weeks ago, courtesy of jessica claire.

we asked summer with grey likes weddings to style this beautiful dessert display for us…and i am in love with what she created! the desserts were by none other than melody from sweet and saucy, so you know they were beyond yummy’licous!

i am so excited for the next issue of utterly engaged so you can see more of the eye-candy and amazing details, as well as to showcase all the wonderful vendors that made the event beyond wonderful!