Wedding Ideas & Tips, Wedding Blog

5 Mar

A Disneyland engagement sesh: Alexandria + Johnny

categories Engagements

If you’ve ever been to Disneyland and taken yourself out of the Mickey Mouse of it all, you’ll notice the creative details that go into the meticulous environments that make it the happiest place on earth. The art directors have mastered the visitors experience – the use of space, colors, hand-painted typography, and architecture makes every Land in Disneyland feel like you’re walking through a romantic and nostalgic movie set. And that’s exactly why and how Alexandria + Johnny wanted Connie Lyu to photograph their e-sesh, by shooting in a way that one wouldn’t be able to tell right away it was a theme park and instead, capture its unique and festive atmosphere.

a disneyland engagement shoot

2 Mar

Lavender & cream engagement sesh: Jenna + Joshua

categories Engagements

Jacob and Annie are the talented husband and wife team behind Brumley and Wells Fine Art Photography. Their style will have you letting out a sigh of happiness-it’s so dreamy. But they’re onto something these two. Their cameras are magical little instruments that instantly turn out a stunning photograph after another. That’s why they’re pros, and why we’re head over heels in love with Jenna + Joshua’s engagement sesh.

lavender cream engagement shoot

engagement shoot in a field

A few words from Brumley and Wells:

We had a magical day photographing Joshua and Jenna in the foothills of Colorado. Joshua is an artist, and Jenna is a photographer, so the two chose to style an art themed picnic to bring out their personalities in their engagement shoot. Jenna’s beautiful Gap dress and casually styled hair were so perfect for the setting, and gave movement to the entire shoot. The two are so in love and so natural together, and we were honored to capture a snippet of that on camera.

lavender cream engagement shoot

picnic engagement shoot

Jenna + Joshua’s story of love:

Our love story first began almost three years ago when we first met. Despite how cliché it might sound, we really do remember the very first time we saw each other. Working together over the summer, we quickly became close friends and started dating. We knew right away that we would one day get hitched. Our dream of getting married always included the hope of having Jacob and Annie as our photographers. These dear friends of ours have distinctly professional artistry that attracted Joshua who is an artist himself. We really wanted to include his artistic passion in our engagement shoot, and so we chose to create an art themed picnic. The picnic theme was also meaningful to us because Joshua proposed on a mountain top picnic in July. Jacob and Annie knew exactly how to help us make our vision come to life in our photo shoot. The colors and style of the shoot perfectly foreshadow our upcoming wedding in a truly magical way.

Happy weekend, Cakelets!

2 Mar

Winter wedding decor inspiration

categories Styled Shoots

We may have just spent last night schmoozing it up at The Cream Event, surrounded by everything neon, but it’s still Winter y’all! As we come down from our bright multi-colored high, cozying up with this inspiration shoot styled in the snowy outdoors of Prince Edward Island, Canada, sounds like the perfect way to go into the weekend. Hot chocolate and heart-shaped marshmallows await!

winter wedding decor inspiration

Check out those votives sitting pretty in the snow! Such a cute idea to dress up a powdered aisle.

winter wedding decor inspiration

The couple featured in this shoot – they’re an actual couple that recently married over the new year. Congrats Meredith + Ryan!

faux fur shrug wedding fashion

hot chocolate dessert station

winter wedding decor inspiration

We used the romantic backdrop of lovers lane and the charm of the Green Gables Heritage House as our main location. We showcased the talent of islanders by bringing in handmade items, made with love, such as knitted mittens; afghans; cross stitching and quilts; all of which speak to the tradition and simplicity of the Island.

green and white place setting

his and hers embroidery loop

The photo holder above is one of the easiest DIY projects. Just grab an old book that you don’t mind using and fold each page in the book in half. As they stack upon each other the pages will lean against each other making it a perfect little recycled turned charming picture holder.

winter wedding decor inspiration

We’ve been hearing of snow storms and chilly weather in all parts of the nation, so hope you spend it warm (or sledding)!

Photography: Rachel Peters / Event planner: Kiss The Bride / Event designer: Modern Jane / Floral designer: Kelly’s Flower Shop / Invitation designer: Kim Roach Designs / Rentals: Coulson’s Used Furniture and Antique Shop / Cake designer: City View Bakehouse / Hair stylist: Cheryl Weeks / Makeup artist: Michelle Cudmore / Veils + headpiece: Love Charlie / DIY handmade goods: Northern Watters Knitwear / Bride’s dress: Mori Lee Blu

1 Mar

California forest wedding: Melissa + Morgen

categories Real Weddings

We’ve always wondered what an adult tree house would look like so when photographer, Kurt Boomer shared Melissa + Morgen’s romantically rustic wedding, we had our a-ha moment. This is it – the ultimate adult tree house, fitting for an adorable couple that loves Disneyland so much that they’ve dedicated every Monday to it. The incredible branch structure they married under, the sound of a small stream nearby as they exchanged love notes to one another, and the beautiful mountain setting engulfed with pine trees…magical!

My dress was from Mary Linn’s Bridal. The dress was a Matthew Christopher but redesigned by the amazing seamstress Lupe at Mary Linn’s. She knew exactly what I wanted. The whole top of the dress was redone with the added ruffle on top. My veil was from BHLDN and the birdcage veil and hair clip that I wore after the ceremony was made by one of my bridesmaids!

The project I loved making most was our silverware holders. All we did was sew burlap together to create a little pocket then tied a cute paper travel tag around stamped with the word EAT. We made the tags look a little used by lightly smearing the stamp on the edges. Then there was our table runners made of burlap and lace. They were made with by my Nana and accented with boxes that were stained and handmade by my brother-in-law.

The flowers were a lower budget item for us since we knew we didn’t want to take away from the already beautiful setting of Pine Rose – we wanted a lot of green and not a lot of pricey flowers. We went with bright fire orange dahlias as the main flower with red coffee beans, and silvery eucalyptus branches.

Once the sun went down and the string lights came on, the level of beauty hit its max.

The Pine Rose, as a venue, is gorgeous and it’s not just for the outdoorsy type! There’s something nostalgic about celebrating one of the most important days of your life under the stars surrounded by California’s natural beauty. We’re loving it.

Congratulations M + M!

Photography: Kurt Boomer / Venue: Pine Rose / DJ’s: Prime Time Productions / Flowers: La Jarden Florals / Bride’s dress: Matthew Christopher purchased at Mary Linn’s Bridal / Veil: BHLDN / Birdcage veil: made by one of the bridesmaids / Hair & makeup: Amica Mia Salon / Groom’s suit: Hugo Boss / Shoes + tie: Nordstrom / Bridesmaid dresses: J.Crew, Bella Bridesmaid, David’s Bridal

1 Mar

Mid-century modern Texas wedding: Isabelle + Andy

categories Real Weddings

Isabelle is a completely relatable bride. She started the planning process with so many ideas, colors in mind, and too many themes to wrap her head around. Unfortunately her color palette never materialized further than inspiration boards. And then she tried the theme route – but there were too many options and ideas. It got to the point where she jokingly considered hosting an entire week of wedding celebrations just so she could use all of her “themed” ideas – but that didn’t happen. In the end the best choice for her and Andy, was to be cost effective and stick with the details that made sense and they wouldn’t regret. We’d say she did a fab job!

Liz from The Nouveau Romantics met with us a month before the wedding and was the creative mind behind all of the bouquets – because we knew nothing about flowers. Her proposal included succulents, mint, blue thistle and of course cotton (Andrew’s last name). Liz had the brilliant idea to reuse all of our bouquets to decorate the dessert table during the reception.

Nessa K photographed their wedding with such class and beauty. The above photo is so cinematic and feels like it could be a still from a movie. Texas, your landscapes make for gorgeous and effortless backdrops!

You want a simple to make backdrop for your ceremony that makes a statement? Use ribbons. It’s such an easy way to incorporate your colors and can be multi-functional. Take it back to your reception venue and you’ve got something colorful to sit in front of or to brighten up a delicious dessert table/sweet bar.

We’re sure you’ve noticed by now that Isabelle + Andy can sure pick good looking food. The Sweets from Sweet Sugar Mama’s are so tempting and their presentation, among the wedding party’s bouquets is just the right amount of decor.