Simply Modern Weddings

ahhh maya & dave, i have been waiting to write this post forever! now yes, i love my couples…but there are no words to even express how much i adore maya & dave! through our many meetings, phone conversations, and crazy late night texts, the more it was clear that they were something more…almost like discovering your soulmate & long lost friends at the same time. i just feel so extremely honored and overjoyed that i was able to help them plan a day as beautiful and amazing as them!

see when maya and i met to first chat about her wedding, one of first things i asked her was, “what’s up with the 408 area code?” and come to find out, maya and i are both from san jose! we both squealed with delight and immediately started chatting about what neighborhoods we grew up in, what high school and college we went to, what brought us to southern ca, and more! as the meeting progress, we discovered that we shared more than our hometown and age in common! maya & her love of bold colors & design…her love for hot wings…her love for forever 21 and target…her crazy detailed lists, sketches, and inspiration photos…even her & dave’s relationship dynamic is similar to james and i, she is the crazy talkative one, and he is the chill mellow one. she is basically a “much funnier, way cooler, definitely prettier” version of me! and dave? he is just super cool and laid-back, how can you not love him! their friends & family? yes, couldn’t get enough of them! i just felt right at home with everyone, they are such an amazing, fun group of people. i think i hugged every person as they left for the night!

so what about the wedding style? in initial meetings i always ask my couples about their home decor style, so when maya mentioned bright & bold colors, awesome flea market finds, and their love of books and vintage cameras…i knew their wedding design would take on this same comfortable, fun, eclectic tone! not to mention, maya already has a stylishly hip vibe, and was full of so many fabulous ideas to personalize their day. in the end, the feel of their wedding really matched their style & personalities: fun, stylish, laughter, laid back, comfort, fun…oh and did i say fun?! i don’t think i ever seen a wedding rock the dance floor like they did. eric with so-cal dj spun the hits all night long, even surprising everyone by throwing in some bay area hip-hop for all the san jose peeps, loved it! (especially their friend’s break dancing battles!)

so very excited and honored that jen from green wedding shoes featured their wedding yesterday! do you know how much i adore green wedding shoes?! my happiness is pretty over the moon right now! so head over and check out the feature for more images, bridal tips and advice from maya, as well as lots of details about the design from myself and my girl erin with dandelion and grey!

thank you and much love to ala with love ala photography for capturing their day so beautifully, and your just general fabulousness!! you can’t help but drool over the floral design from megan with honey and poppies, there aren’t even enough words!

as always, awesome vendor team = awesome wedding! thank you to everyone involved!
cake: portos bakery
chiavari chairs: fusion linens
dj: socal dj
event styling: dandelion and grey
floral design: honey & poppies
hair: kennie johnson w/ salon sessions
hotel: westin pasadena
lighting design: aspect lighting
linen: la tavola linen
photography: love ala
rentals: line 204 events
venue & catering: happy trails catering

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

i have been working on an amazing wedding…i’m talking a “blow your socks off” super fabulous wedding!

first of all, my couple is beyond cool, it’s like working on a best friend’s wedding. secondly, we actually have a team of designers for this wedding. design team, you ask? yes…myself, a wedding stylist, and floral designer are all putting our creative minds together to rock this eclectic fiesta-chic wedding!

to give you little taste of what we are working on, here is the inspiration board i created for them…

clockwise: bouquet-erin hearts court / chairs-amy nichols / tablescape-jl designs / boutonniere-erin hearts court / reception-oh how charming / centerpiece-erin hearts court / loteria cards-jenna walker photography / bottle-jl designs

that’s why i am so overjoyed at the new utterly engaged “tear jerker” issue! you must must must check it out right now….like this instant!

this collection of images are definitely beauty.art.emotion all in one. when i dreamed of photo friday images to feature…these are the kind of images that would catch my attention. they are the reason that we hire photographers to capture our weddings, because they can catch these soft, tender, quiet moments as well as the ones of fun, laughter, and joyousness! also i love all the featured sweet stories, videos, the surprise proposal, the groom’s letter to his bride on the wedding day. i just love it all!

moments to last a lifetime…isn’t this what weddings are about?!

i am beyond honored that the utterly engaged gals included 2 of our weddings in the photo spread, as well as aaron & barbara’s beautiful wedding video! (p.s. what magazine do you know features video? that’s why i adore the whole concept of utterly engaged e-zine!)

for more touching images, check out issue #007!

you all remember barbara and aaron dieppa’s sultry spanish wedding at casa romantica that was recently featured in utterly engaged? well i just had to share this highlight video of their day by the motion boutique.

there is nothing like a fabulously done wedding video to get me all teary eyed…and this one is definitely one of my all time faves.

check it out!