Real Wedding: Kelley & Rob, Part 1

When we sat down and talked about the look of this wedding, the bride Kelley and her mom, Ludie, said they wanted it to feel as if you were invited into an old southern mansion. This was the theme throughout the wedding infusing so many personal touches as if each piece was taken out of someones home. 

  The ceremony took place at the groom's parents house in their backyard. This place had special significance, since it was here that Rob proposed to Kelley.

 The floral design by Peony & Plum exceeded everyone's expectations and was the talk of the party. The one-of-a-kind floral wreath chandelier that was suspended from the oak tree in the back yard of the groom's parents home was an amazing focal point for the backyard ceremony.

 We used many props that were in the home including the blue and white vase filled with florals and lemons to help accent our beverage station.

 Moss Initials were created to hang at th entrance to the backyard and were later repurposed at the escort card table.

 Calligraphy Katrina did all of the calligraphy for this wedding including this tent card for the antique handkercheifs.

As soon as I set foot in the backyard I knew the tree was the perfect spot for the ceremony. And accented by the floral wreath chandelier and the swagged leaves down the aisle with clusters of florals and lemons just completed the look. 

The bride's dress was a custom couture gown by Alina Pizzano Couture based locally in Pasadena.

I love these photos in the rose garden which is where the groom proposed to his beautiful bride.

The bridal party, ladies dressed in Lulu Kate gowns in the shade of Tiffany Blue.

Stat tuned for more photos in Part 2.

The Team Behind the Scenes

Event Design & Planning: Events by Heather Ham

Floral Design: Peony & Plum

Calligraphy: Calligraphy Katrina

Ceremony Programs: The Lettered Olive

Photography: Memories by Michael:

Attire for Bride & Mother of the Bride: Alina Pizzano Couture

Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulu Kate

Hair & Makeup: ECCO Salon

Ceremony Music: Sparrow Lane Strings

Real Wedding: Lisa & Sudha

I had the pleasure of being the lead planner for my mentor, Mary Sushinski, of Occasions. She had a baby in August (Jackson Dean, the cutest little guy ever) and that's when this wedding took place, so I helped out and filled her shoes as best I could.

This lovely wedding took place at the Athanaeum in Pasadena. This venue has a very classic and understated elegance to it.

The flowers were done by Amy Smith.

The bride and MOB (mother of the bride) had their dresses custom made for a fraction of the designer's costs. Gorgeous!!!

The day before the traditional wedding ceremony, they had an Indian wedding ceremony. So they incorporated a few Indian elements into the day like this gorgeous structure from Raj Tents which was later used as a Henna Station.

The chiavari chairs were rented from Chiavaris 4 Rent.

The photos were taken by Nick Boswell Photography.

The fabulous cake was done by A Sweet Design. What a work of art this cake was!!!

All of the lighting was done by the fantastic Sid Khera and his team at Aspect Lighting.

The bride and groom wanted to party all night and made the investment in Jay Sterling Music and had a live band perform at the reception.

Celebrity Wedding: Speidi

Ok, so I've only seen a few episodes of "The Hills" and have only really seen Spencer & Heidi in magazines and on the recent reality show, "I'm a Celebrity Get Met Out Of Here". But, my husband is a huge closet fan. He pauses the show just so he can watch it in his own space, it's his thing. I'm the same way with "The Girls Next Door" and now "Kendra".

The ceremony was at the beautiful Westminster Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, CA. It's gorgeous.

So, I had to share these amazing photos that Feather Love Photography took at Speidi's cocktail reception at Social Hollywood. These photos were at the request of their wedding planner, Michelle Buckley of Mint Julep. I just thought these pics were fabulous. The flowers were done by Eggs, Los Angeles and the cake is from Sweet Gems. And the DJ of this fabulous event was The Flash Dance DJ.

Hot Colors this Season: as you see here YELLOW is fabulous, other Hot Pics are Purple, in any shade, and Navy Blue. Love it!!!

Vendor Pick: Songi Bridal

When walking through Old Town Pasadena by Violet's Cakes, across the street I see white. I see sparkle. I see wedding dresses. The bridal salon is called Songi. I found that it's not just a bridal store, Songi is a dress designer. The dresses are gorgeous, classic, and not too expensive. The dresses can be found not only in california, but also in Nevada, New York, and Ohio. Take a look.  

Real Wedding: Tessa & Steven

My dear friend Tessa got married to her soulmate Steven on October 11, 2008. I had the privilege of being her wedding coordinator and helping in the planning from start to finish. I am so excited for Tessa & Steven and can't wait to one day help plan the baby shower. Please enjoy these photos of the big day from photographer Patrick Holland. For a slideshow please click here.

Yes, those are blue burkenstock's the bride wore on her wedding day.

With a color palette of blue and orange, the bride had Gary Leonard (tofr@pacbell.net) use dahlias, calla lilies, roses, and gerber daisies in the orange hue. All the ribbon for was bought by the bride and I at Moskatels at 738 Wall St Los Angeles, CA .

And for an added touch, she had her bouquet adorned with photos of family member's who have passed on so they would be with her in spirit.

The bride's mother, who is an amazing seamstress, made 8 dresses for this event (the bride, 4 bridesmaids, 2 flower girls, and her own dress). I'm sure this dress will be passed down for years to come.

The bride and her girls got ready at the beutiful Langham Hotel & Spa in San Marino, formerly the Ritz Carlton Huntington.

It was very important to Tessa to be able to spend time with her guests. To allow that to happen I suggested they do a "First Look". It's not the traditional meeting when the groom sees his bride for the first time walking down the aisle, but he gets to experience that twice. We placed the groom and brought the bride from the opposite side and when they got closer we had the groom turn around to have a "First Look" at his beautiful bride. This allows that there is plenty of time for photos as well as plenty of time to spend with guests. Instead of spending the cocktail hour in front of the camera they were able to do all the romantics, bridal party, and family portraits before the ceremony. It's also a great thing for any bride or grooms who get anxious and nervous, they seem to calm each other down before the ceremony begins.

So happy together!
The too cute flower girls are the neice of the bride and groom and the daughter of bridesmaid and longtime friend of the bride.

The neice and nephew of the bride and groom. I'm sure this ones going in a frame on the mantle.

Ceremony begins...more ribbon from Moskatels adorning the candles down the aisle.

Your's truly in action straightening out the train and veil before the bride walks down the aisle.

The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all took place at the church that the bride grew up at, All Saints of Pasadena. And it's also the church my husband works at as the youth minister for jr. high & high school. That's how I met the bride.

Another suggestion was to get a group photo of EVERYONE at the wedding. The guest count was close to 60 which makes it duable. We walked across the street to the steps of City Hall in Pasadena for this photo.

Instead of paying extra money for decorations for the bride and groom's table, we just used the bouquets of the bridesmaids and the bride to adorn the top of the sweetheart table. I also added a gold charger at each of their place settings.

The bride has a love for dragonflies and infused it throughout her event, from these Kate Spade toasting flutes to the matching cake knife and server...

to the dragonflies which adorned the top of the cake which I created specially for the bride and groom through my jewelry design company It's All Twisted.

and even the favors...plantable paper dragonflies...planted in the soil and wildflowers will bloom. Who wants another organza bag of chocolate.

The centerpieces were simple and chic. Three glass cylinders of different heights. One with rocks, one with a submerged flower, and one with just water. Then a candle floats in each one to add a glow to the room. All rentals and linens were provided by Dolphin Rentals in Pasadena.

To give the hall at the church a more outdoorsy and elegant look ficus trees and ferns were rented from Armstrong Garden Center in Pasadena. This isn't something all Armstrong's do, but talk to the manager at the one in Pasadena. They initially charge you full price but you get back 80% once the items are returned and you are not charged sales tax.

Sunset Photos...

And they're off through a sea of bubbles for a relaxing night at the Langham. Tessa & Steven, thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. It's an honor to call you friends.