Before the wedding, I asked my photo friends who were attending the wedding to come and enjoy the day as guests. One of my closest friends, Becker, isn't much of a rule follower, so he snagged a few shots throughout the day. You should head over to his blog to look at them! I love the shots he got, especially the ones of me and Jeff below.
I am being interviewed by Becker today at 4pm PST, so make sure to head on over to THE CHATROOM today to ask me any questions you want LIVE! Also, if you are a photographer and haven't joined The B School yet, better get on it--you're missing lots! Now that the wedding is over, I'll be posting there much more often.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
I can't even express to you in words how much I love my photos from Jose Villa! They perfectly capture the wedding so well, and looking at them makes me happy!
One of the most frequently asked questions about the wedding has been "How are you going to pick a photographer?? Won't that be hard??" The truth is, Jose was the very first person we picked once we knew what kind of wedding we'd be having (and honestly, even before). Another question has been, "Why did you choose a film photographer? Does that mean that you think film is better" The answer to that is I didn't choose a film photographer. I chose JOSE because JOSE has the eye I want capturing my wedding, not because film is better. Jose could have shot my wedding with a box of cornflakes for all I care if he could make images this beautiful.
What I love about Jose's work is that it has a definitive point of view--I knew what I was going to get. I wanted photos that were stunning, soft, pretty, clean, natural, and breathtaking, all of which I received. He's just the best! I am sure that he felt some pressure going into this wedding, but personally, I was not nervous at all because I hired him to do the specific thing he is best at and most enjoys.
Today I want to showcase the rest of the wedding, in particular the location, the flowers, and the details (mixed in with my favorite moments).
The location is none other than the magnificent 3 Stones Vineyard. I have never worked with sweeter, kinder, and more eager to please people than Briana and Brian, the owners. They worked SO hard to make their property perfect for the wedding, even mowing out specific pieces for our events, giving us free reign to have the different parts of the wedding where we wanted, and going WAY above the call of duty to help us out all the way through the process. Here is a shot of Briana and Brian:
Because the property is so wild and beautiful, I knew that we needed a very very special florist to work with it and make it look both lush and stunning without being cliche and wedding-y. We hit the jackpot by hiring Gilly Flowers. Neil and Sharon from Gilly worked SO SO hard to bring our vision to life. They also tipped right over amazing into spectacular by coming up with their own touches (such as the jeweled bugs in the arrangements) for the knockout. Check out some of my favorite shots of what they did:
I was also in love with my bouquet--all the way around. I love the nubbly yarn wrapping, the vintage stick pin "J", the mix and colors of the flowers in the bouquet...just everything!!
One thing that I particularly loved was this antique file cabinet--what they did with it was incredible:
My favorite part of the wedding day was the ceremony. Not just the decor (although it was amazing), but having everyone we are close to there with us (mostly), looking out at everyone and seeing our family and friends...all amazing. We chose not to do a first look, as Jeff is more traditional and not used to weddings every weekend like me! I told him that "that moment" when you see each other isn't usually that great, that it's hard to concentrate with everyone around, but I was COMPLETELY wrong. I got to the back of that aisle with my dad, and Jeff was crying--it was so so cute! Neither of us expected that, and it almost made me lose it myself. Jeff's dad, Kim, is an Army Chaplain and he performed the ceremony--it was absolutely perfect. here are some of my favorite shots from that part of the day:
These chairs and sashes were the perfect pieces to look natural in this landscape. All of our rentals came from either Classic or Town & Country.
The sashes (along with all the table linens and napkins) were custom and done by Sin Dee Custom Sewing--they were amazing.
The wooden chairs were mixed in with pieces of vintage furniture that mostly came from an estate where they were handpicked for the wedding. Gilly Flowers outdid themselves creating an outdoor chapel with the stained glass pieces, which had custom brackets built for them to be free standing. I LOVE SO MUCH the heavy flowers adorning the tops. This yellow one was off to the side next to the ceremony, but they were randomly (but not so randomly) placed around the whole ceremony area:
The piece at the front of the ceremony was one I could look at over and over again--the shape of the window, the colors of the leaves--amazing. Fun fact--I did not want to see the ceremony OR reception setup before they were completely done on the wedding day--I wanted to be surprised! So we did the rehearsal at the hotel where everyone stayed, and I didn't go up the hill to see all this stuff till right before the ceremony :) Kabrel supervised the initial setup, Angel made sure every piece was set perfectly into place, and Gilly's team worked tirelessly and genius-ly to make every single piece stand out. It was so amazing.
Also, each teal sash had a vintage brooch embedded in the silk so that everyone would have a little something cool to look at while waiting for the ceremony to begin:
Locks and keys were a running theme through our wedding, and Neil set up an abandoned wooden fence behind the last row of chairs, which Angel & Kabrel hung vintage padlocks on!
The ceremony itself could not have been more idyllic. The weather, the mood, it was all perfection. Here are my two flower girls walking down the aisle with my ring bearer. We were a bit nervous that the ring bearer might not cooperate, but the real drama is that one of the flower girls started crying because she didn't want to hold hands with a boy! You can see the girls cracking up as the kids started to waver...
Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Jeff at the front was the best moment! It was so much fun to walk slowly and really enjoy each step. At this point, time seemed to slow down and I really saw every single thing that went into this day. If there was a single moment that makes wedding planning worth the trouble, this was mine. Also, note the antique persian rugs lining the aisle--what an incredible touch!!!
Although my dad walked me down the aisle, my mom joined us at the front to help give me away. Although my parents divorced just a couple of years ago, they remain good friends and I am so proud that they have been able to maintain a relationship with one another and not make things weird at times like this! It was a great part of the day:
Kim asked us to look out at everyone for part of the ceremony, and it was so nice to take a moment to really look. Also, for those that are wondering my headpiece for the ceremony is by a hat maker in NYC called Kokin
These two are just so perfect. I particularly like the one on the right because it shows my "something old"--my great-grandmother's bracelet that my grandmother gave me last year.
The shot that most perfectly captures the ceremony:
I love these two. I want to take a minute and tell you a little story about the photo on the right of Candice. When I asked Candice to be my MOH, she accepted excitedly, but because of some date changes early on, we found out that her due date would conflict with the wedding. So all the way through the planning process, I knew that Candice would not be able to come to the wedding, as she was due just two weeks before. Although I was really sad, we prayed for her baby to be healthy and come a week or a few days early to at least give her a chance at making it, but she went right to her due date and had a beautiful baby boy, Wyatt. Although she said all along that if she was feeling up to it, she would do everything she could to be there, we both knew that having a baby is really hard on your body and mind, so there was really no chance. We made our peace. And yet, here she is, standing up for me at my wedding, two weeks post-partum. She looks incredible, Wyatt was amazing all day, and we were both just so happy that she was able to be there. She is truly superhuman!!
MARRIED!!!
I'll be posting everything Post-Marriage later today or tomorrow--check back soon!
(all photos by Jose Villa unless otherwise noted. please do not remove from this site without permission. thanks!)
Since Style Me Pretty and Jose Villa and Angel and Becker will be posting all about the wedding from their points of view, I think it would be fun for me to share some info about the behind the scenes stuff like where I bought things, and how the event came together.
I don't even know where to start with all of this, so I suppose I will start with Jeff and I, first separately, and in a later post, together.
First of all, as you know, Jeff's shoes were the very first thing bought for the wedding, you can see them here. But I don't enjoy being outdone in the shoe department, so I had to come up with a pair of my own that would be suitable for the wedding! Since our main wedding color was copper with the hundreds of pots and containers we acquired, I found these coppery shoes and fell in instant love! They are by Christian Louboutin (pictured here with my invitations by Kari Dyas:
The shoes, however much I love them, were not the first thing I bought for the wedding. I actually bought my wedding dress while shopping with my mom two days after getting engaged! Fun fact about me--I have never tried on a real wedding gown so it would be a fun experience when I got to do it for real. My mom was heading back to North Carolina after coming out for the engagement and party so we decided to stop off at The White Dress in Costa Mesa. The dress I bought after trying on only three or four dresses was actually the one in the window.
I should tell you, that although I AM an impulse shopper, I can't believe I bought my wedding dress so quickly. I second guessed it quite a few times--I wasn't sure it was unique or interesting enough for me, although I did think it looked good on my shape. I decided that i would just have to funk it up with hair and accessories, so I ended up keeping it. The dress is by Amsale, and the style is Coco:
My favorite item that I wore the day of the wedding was my crown, by Etsy seller Whichgoose. I knew that I wanted to do something more unusual than real flowers or some sort of prom-y updo, and when I found this crown, I was hooked! I think it photographed even better than I expected--I was thrilled with it. For $50, I considered it a steal. Also, I removed the ribbon that came on the back of it and replaced it with a ribbon from my mothers' wedding dress. Check it:
I should note that the fabulous and talented Nicole Deanne and her assistant Chelsey made the long trip up to do hair and makeup for me and all the girls. I think they did a wonderful job!
I probably bought 3 or 4 different necklaces to wear on the wedding day. My sister in law Cyndie ended up wearing one of them, you can see that I have a pearl one on in the black and white photos, but the one I eventually chose to wear that day is a gold one with all different flowers. I think it was my best wedding find, $20 at Shop Ruche! I think it looked really pretty and at that price, if there had been more I would have bought them for my girls also. However, it was the last one and I had to email Mai to beg her to sell it to me :)
Enough about me for now--let's talk about Jeff! Can we just pause for a second and talk about how hot my husband is??
Jeff's outfit was chosen with as much or more careful consideration than mine was, believe it or not. One of the things that Jeff really wanted was to look GOOD on his wedding day, and that meant reflective of his rugged, vintage inspired style, but also unique and classy. Sounds easy, right? We eventually chose grey and browns for his color palette, although his shirt does have some deep purple in the stitching as well. His suit is by Armani, tie by Tom Ford, shirt by Etro, and of course, shoes by John Varvatos:
Jeff and I decided to give each other a gift the morning of the wedding. The gifts were sort of a surprise (but not really). I knew that he wanted a watch, and he knew that I wanted two wedding bands. We both received what we wanted. Jeff's watch, for those wondering is by Cuervo Y Sobrinos, and was the only one of its kind in the US when I bought it. I got it at Horologio in Las Vegas at the Venetian.
You may or may not believe this, but as much thought as it took to get Jeff and I wedding-ready, it was even more time consuming to dress the groomsmen! If we had been smarter, we would have chosen one outfit, told them to go rent it, and been done. As it was, we kept changing our minds because nothing we could rent looked good with the wedding at all, which meant that the outfits needed to be 1. handpicked, 2. affordable, 3. in a WIDE range of sizes and 4. looking good with the wedding as a whole. Dressing the groomsmen was not the most fun part of the wedding planning, and I might never go to Men's Warehouse again, but I do think they ended up looking fantastic!
All of the groomsmen are wearing distressed pants from J. Crew. The vest also came from J. Crew. The suspenders are from Macy's, as are the four striped ties. The four solid brown ties are from Men's Warehouse:
Good looking and oh-so-smooth:
I've never once seen Jeff ride a bike, but I love this shot! He told me yesterday when we were looking at the photos that they are all laughing because the bike was broken and he couldn't get it to stop!
The girls were easier in a way, although their outfits were more complicated in that no two are the same. I knew immediately that I didn't want to have them all in matching dresses. We ended up with right about 90 guests, and 8 bridesmaids, so having that many people all wearing the same outfit would look ridiculous! I wanted them all in outfits in fall colors, and my only real requirements were that 1. I like their dress and 2. they show their personal style. I figured that by going super eclectic, it would either work out REALLY REALLY well, or not look good at all, so I'm glad they all pulled it off so amazingly well!
I did have a hand in choosing the dresses, or at least approving them. I was the only one who knew what all the dresses looked like since the girls live all over the country, so I tried my best to make sure that they were all in the same ballpark of length and dressiness. Other than that, they had free reign! I personally think that the girls together is one of the cutest details of the whole wedding--man do my girls have STYLE!! Oh, and they are all absolutely beautiful:
So many things I love about this photo and the people in it:
My mom and Jeff's mom also looked stunning:
How about these little flower girls?? Finding their outfits was also more challenging than I first thought. I ordered a set of tutu's early on off Etsy that when they came were long enough to fit ME and were COMPLETELY see through. Not appropriate. Luckily though, I was able to find another tutu designer on Etsy called Ruffles and Stitches who custom made the tutus you see here. I LOVED them!!
Next up will be all about the flowers and details, so stay tuned!
How do you recap the summation of a dream you've been having your entire life?
I think every little girl grows up thinking about her wedding. Boys are different--they might think of their future wife, their marriage, their married life, but not the wedding. That's mostly for the girls. Like most girls, I thought about mine, although in recent years, I was doubtful I'd see one.
But something happened when I became a wedding photographer, and it happened again when I became a wedding photographer in particular in Orange County, California. I realized how many choices were really out there! Colors, themes, locations...hundreds and thousands of different permutations of combinations I could select from.
I froze.
What could I do? What kind of wedding could I have that would even come close to the beautiful weddings I've seen over the past ten years in business? I don't have the money, the style, or the resources that my clients have. I have friends who have seen everything under the sun. What would be different?
Then I realized what it was.
The wedding could be about US. Me and Jeff. One of the things I teach in my workshops is that the single greatest asset everyone has is the ability to be the best THEM of anyone in the world. I'll never be a better anyone else than they are, and nobody could ever be a better me! So Jeff and I decided to have the wedding incorporate all of the things that we love into our special day, and I am so excited to finally share them with you, along with our story!
This wedding would not have been ANYTHING like it was without the help of two people in particular, and a ton of others who I will get to throughout the post. The first one is our Wedding Planner and Event Designer Angel Swanson. Angel...well, there was never a more aptly named person, that's for sure. Angel is hardworking, creative, calm (the ONLY person to remain calm and rational all the way through), organized, thorough, fun, silly, resourceful, and lots of other things I am sure that I'm leaving out. If you need a coordinator, she's your gal. If you need a support system, confidant, calming presence, or reassurance, she's your gal. I can't recommend her highly enough, and if you don't think you need a coordinator...well, honestly, you're wrong. Book her asap. Here's a shot of her with Jeff and I:
The second person who made this wedding happen (at times by sheer willpower and a firm hand on her computer keyboard is our Event Designer and Stylist Kabrel Polak. The creativity, resourcefulness, drive for perfection, attention to detail, crazy eBay skills, and desire for nothing less than AMAZING that comes out of her head is almost incomprehensible. When we found the location (more about the location in a later post), Kabrel didn't see a location, she saw a blank canvas. You could actually see the gears and wheels in her head starting to spin as she began to style and create something I couldn't have thought up on my most creative day, or with the finished product right in front of my face. The hours and hours she has spent on her computer, in meetings, dealing with things that make my brain want to explode out of my face are countless. Her results are priceless. Having a wedding Stylist and Designer isn't a luxury I ever though I would have, or knew that I needed, but sometimes you just luck out and get blessed with something so awesome you know you don't deserve it. I can say this: If you want to have an event where EVERY SINGLE ASPECT is cohesive, brilliantly designed, stunningly and jaw-droppingly put together, and out of this world original and creative, you should email Kabrel immediately to see what she might be able to do for you. Here's a shot of me and Kabrel together:
Unless you've ever planned a wedding like this one, you have no idea what is involved in turning a gorgeous piece of property into a wedding wonderland. Every single fork, plate, chair, light, and piece of decor had to be bought, borrowed, rented, or stolen (well, not so much stolen), and somehow brought 9 hours away, set up, and then eventually taken down and brought back. The amount of work and details are seriously ridiculous. Both of these people made them happen flawlessly and without error. In a word...amazing.
I'll be posting throughout the day, starting at right around noon PST. If you need your fix right now, head over to Style Me Pretty!
More About My Wedding (Because It's Getting Closer....) Tue. September 8, 2009
Wow, thank you so much for all of the comments on the invitations! I wanted to share a little bit more about the process of their creation, now that there are finally photos to go along with them. I also wanted to share one more of my vendors with you all, but first about the invites...
For years, I've been having my business cards (up until my most recent variation due to the fact that it is metal and needed a specific process to create), letterhead, and custom album boxes made by an EXTREMELY talented designer/letterpress artist. I've shared her name and contact information many times in my workshops and through email, but never on this blog, mostly because I have been afraid that she will explode into the outer stratosphere of busy and not be able to micromanage things like hand selecting the perfect books to use for invitations any more.
But it's time.
The mastermind behind the save the dates and invitations (it was a group effort to formulate the concept, but she single-handedly spent WEEKS carving them, gluing them, sourcing the individual pieces, and creating the finished pieces) is a wunderkind named Kari Dyas:
Tell her I sent you, so maybe she'll still squeeze me in every now and then :)
She will work with your theme, budget, and crazed-on-crack ideas to create pieces that are truly works of art. Literally every single time I have picked up something Kari has created, I've been stunningly aware that the time and effort that have gone into it has been Kari's alone, and she is genius. Letterpress is her particular specialty, but there's literally nothing she can't do.
Jose, like Kari, was chosen because he is the best in the world at what he does. I don't believe the every photographer (or any photographer) is the best at everything. I think that certain people are the best at specific things, and Jose is the best at the particular kind of wedding that Jeff and I are going to be having.
My priorities for my photographer were:
1. that he/she be someone whose work I looked at and LOVED
2. that he/she love shooting the kind of wedding we are having
3. that I be confident that he/she photograph Jeff and I to bring out our best qualities both physically and in allowing us to show our relationship in front of the camera
4. that I be able to look at the wedding photos and know undoubtedly that he/she did the best job with our day that could be done
No pressure, right :)
Seriously though, I turned down offers from AMAZING photographers that were incredibly generous because I knew once the wedding started to come together that Jose was the person would would be able to meet the above requirements not because he was forced or asked to, but because that is what he simply WILL do once he's at the wedding. His work is so beautiful, so etherial and lovely that I can't wait to have it in my home.
Here are a few examples of why I chose Jose:
Jose just sees so much beauty in simple things. His work isn't trying to be the most hip, the most cool, or the most crazy, it's just natural, beautiful, captured in an enchanting way, and organic. All of the things that Jeff and I have attempted to bring into the wedding. Jose is not the obvious choice, he was the only real choice from the start.
By the way, there may still be a slot or two open in Jose's MEXICO WORKSHOP, November 16-19 which I will be teaching at alongside him! Jeff will be there too, and who knows--we may bring our wedding outfits and try to sneak into a few of the photos. Hope to see you there!
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