exciting times

Sorry I've been so absent this past week... lots of new things going on right now in my personal life and my business life.  While things are really busy and exciting right now, I do need to say a huge thank you to Amy Atlas for the wonderful blog features last week!  No doubt some of you reading my blog have found us because of seeing my dessert feature on Amy's blog.  So, welcome to my blog!... feel free to visit us on our facebook page... as well as my other FB page for my jewelry, accessories & paperie.

Last weekend we attended a family wedding in Park City, UT and {don't get me wrong} I love being a part of the behind the scenes of weddings, but it was such a treat to be a guest last weekend! Looking forward to being a guest again at a friend's wedding this weekend at the Four Season in Santa Barbara... as guests we're totally getting spoiled! =)

Be back soon with some fun things to share!

*blair

{real wedding sneak peek} marci + josh 6.26.10

Ok folks, this past weekend I had the honor of designing and coordinating this wedding for a couple who is very special to me... here are the newlyweds

Josh + Marci

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed planning their big day with them... they are so mellow, easy going, and fun; which made them a dream to work with!  Josh + Marci are college sweethearts who were looking for a very Anthropology and eclectically inspired day... I'm happy to say we succeeded in that! They were married at Rancho Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano on a gorgeous day here in So Cal, and we were blessed with such beautiful weather! 

{none of the june gloom we've been having here recently}

Anyhow, while we're waiting on the no doubt amazing photos from their photographer Hugh Forte, here are some sneak peek shots captured from their day.  I hope you enjoy these glimpses of their wedding!

gorgeously eclectic bridesmaid bouquets

{dusty miller. cabbage, wild peonies, painted scabiosa, hydrangea, and many other wonderful blooms}

Marci's monique lhuillier dress was gorgeous and so was her bouquet filled with ruffled tulips, dusty miller, freesia, garden roses, peonies {just to name a few} =)

and LOOK at these phenomenal shoes!!! 

I melt just looking at them...

the centerpieces incorporated 5-6 different containers filled with all sorts of florals, and the centerpieces sat on piece of burlap to anchor them - all the tablescapes really were a feast for the eyes. 

We used three varying sized vintage frames, which we attached chicken wire to and painted white, 

then clipped on the vintage shipping tag escort cards with painted mini clothes-pins.

This is one of their 3 cakes, Jay's catering did such a wonderful job implementing the style we were going for.. we gave them burlap to cover the cake bases so that it would coordinate with the burlap on the tables and to echo the brown tones from the wedding invite envelopes {which were made from kraft paper}.  Also, the crocheted ribbon was a used to secure all the pieces of the invite suite, so we used it again to help add some interest to the satin ribbon wrapped around the base of each cake tier!

Don't you just love that sugar flower peony?!?

Here's a little look at some of the mini desserts that were served in addition to the cakes!

Jay's really outdid themselves with the color coordinated lollicakes, petit-four-esq cheescake bites, and chocolate covered cream puffs!  Trust me, they tasted just as yummy as they look - yep, 

I had to sample of course!

And here's a glimpse of the sweetheart table - we used the "M and J" initial mugs as containers for their table... We also plopped these amazing dinner plate dahlias around to help give texture and color to the table... I also added this pedestal & cloche to give them their own little dessert display, that way they could have their sweets without having to leave their table!

Well, that's all for now, but I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the wedding... I still can't believe how wonderfully well all the details pulled together for such a truly beautiful day! 

Big thanks go out to the following wonderful vendors I was so blessed to work with that day!

Catering & desserts: Jay's Catering

Photos courtesy of Mary Lallande

Paper goods, jewelry & bridal accessories: Joie de Vie

Floral Design: Jayne Hallaian of Bits of Whimsy

DJ: Tony Boldi of Goodtimes Entertainment

Cinematography: Aqua Vivus Productions

Professional Photography: Hugh Forte

{sneak peak} 6.26.10 - Rancho Capistrano

Ah... I'm still so overjoyed with the way yesterday's wedding turned out, and how we made the bride & groom's vision come to life, but for now I'll leave you with yesterday's {love story} created by the amazing Tom of Aqua Vivus... I think this sets up and introduces yesterday's couple so perfectly...enjoy, I know I did and so did the rest of last night's guest!  I'd like you to meet this wonderful couple... Josh + Marci

Josh + Marci Love Story//Same Day Premiere from AQUA VIVUS on Vimeo.

"oh boy" baby shower - 3.10.10

So this past Saturday was the "oh boy" themed baby shower for Wendy who is a very special friend of mine... she also happens to be the first to become a mommy of all of my close friends!  You can view the invitations and the inspiration used to help plan and design this event in this previous post.

We had been experiencing some great weather prior to the weekend we had scheduled the "oh boy" shower... But became a little nervous with the looming, gloomy weather forecasts for the weekend.

However, we were truly blessed with perfect weather for our event! 

We hung light and airy lantern and tissue pomander decor from the patio covering
for additional bursts of  the blue color scheme.

Here's the mommy-to-be modeling the "oh boy" drink flags 

and coordinating mason jars for shower beverages.

I also created this banner using complimentary cardstock and my handy cricut machine. 

We displayed the banner near the area where Wendy opened the gifts 

she had been showered with.

Another view of some of the decor details - you might notice the various children's books displayed... we surprised Wendy by asking all of the guests to bring a favorite book to help stock their nursery for future story time.  For an extra special touch, we asked the guests to write a special note in their book that Wendy & her hubby can read to their son in the future! {sigh}   =)

Here are the florals we put together for the event - they sat on a gingham fabric square with a pinking edge.  I had originally planned to have 3 components - but after finding these daisies with 

blue centers{of all things} I scrapped my idea to fill the galvanized buckets with white carnations and decided to use these cute daisies, paired with some vintage bottles filled with white ranunculus, bud vases with fresh picked sweet peas, and grouped with the ribbon tied hurricanes 

topped with a button mum pomander.

We also incorporated some of the smaller books in each table grouping.

Here's another view of the tables, I just love those little daisies!  You probably will also notice there are silverware rolls at each place setting, we wrapped those with a striped band 

{which actually happened to be the striped pattern from the shower invitations!}

Lots of love... and LOTS of gifts!

Grandma-to-be saying hi!

Two of the three games are shown below:

At one point we passed around a ball of yarn and asked each guest to guess/cut a piece that they tought equaled the circumference of Wendy's tummy!  Below: Wendy with the winner and one of the other soon-to-be mommies using her tummy to help!

We also purchased a variety of baby items and played "the price is right." We gave out game sheets and asked everyone to guess 

the prices and the closest without going over the real price won.

We also created these coordinating pennant banners which hung at the dessert table and near the gifts.  We also chose a burlap fabric as the backdrop to help ensure the banner colors would stand out.

Wendy's a big fan of sweets, so we made sure there was an ample amount of goodies!

We served brownies, Chicago carmel corn {her mom brought those as a treat as her parents currently live there}, red velvet mini cupcakes, lemon bars, coconut blueberry cheesecake bars, wite chocolate dipped pretzels, animal cookies, and the desserts wouldn't have been complete without.....

the "oh boy" cookies from Ethel O's... Loved them!

Gift time! This will be the baby's USC exit outfit from UCLA Med Center, where she will be

 having the baby. Being a fellow Trojan, I just think that's hilarious =)

Opening her Harvey's Seatbelt Diaper Bag 

Testing out her new rocking chair which had been re-upholstered in her nursery 

colors and given to her by her sis-in-law & mom-in-law, so sweet!

I have to say a big THANK YOU to my friends, fellow hostesses, and soon to be aunties...
Thank you gals for your help assembling and setting up this shower for our friend, thank you
so much for helping to make this event a reality - we make such a great team! Love you girls =)

Also, thanks go out to Shayna of Huff Photography for the photos, thanks for capturing the event lady!