I’m loving today’s thoroughly feminine wedding editorial created by Toast Events and photographed by Elisa B Photography. The dip dyed silk ribbon of the bouquet paired with lavender and white garden roses is ever so romantic.

A floral headpiece, a seersucker bow tie, a field of flowers… perfection.

The tabletop design continues the soft garden look with a slightly French feel. Upholstered chairs, elegant etched glassware and a table set with delicate scalloped china from Anthropologie feels effortless and timeless. Thanks Elisa for sharing these lovely images!

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I love the simplicity of this shoot Jose Villa I did back in May…. The shoot was pretty last minute, and came about when I was having lunch with Jose & Joel on Friday in Los Alamos at Bell Street Farms. Jose mentioned these dresses had just come in and he wanted to shoot them again before he had to return them to the designer. So the following Wednesday we captured this…

I’ve been thinking about a Grecian inspired shoot for a while and the Samuelle Couture dresses lended themselves perfectly for this look.

Jose hooked up the location (a top secret ranch that is impossible to get into for the normal person, surfers know this spot well). I had actually done a wedding at this exact spot last year and I banked on if being windy (and it was, the poor model was so cold!).

I pulled a variety of props from my collection, including the brass urn up top that was from my sister’s wedding. The mirror I found at a consignment shop and has the most beautiful tooled metal handle.

I thought of this look as “Athena” the goddess of inspiration and wisdom…

For the second look we used a ball gown and shot on the exact location where I had tented for my wedding last year… Simple drop earrings from 33 Jewels completed the look.

Here, I styled the model, Eva, with loose flowers in a bundle and in her hair. I thought of this look as “Persephone,” very spring-inspired with a bouquet of lilacs, peonies and tulips all from Florabundance. Thank you Jose for capturing these insane images!!!

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My sister’s ceremony was held at the Richmond-upon-Thames registry office. A small room in a historic house, the ceremony had just 40 guests in attendance. The service is very simple, bridesmaids and groomsmen sit with guests. The bride and groom also sit at the registrar’s desk. During the ceremony the license is signed  by the best man and maid of honor. After that, the couple and all the guests stand as the wording before the kiss is said. And afterwards, the couple gets showered with confetti as they leave the office. I love, love this tradition!

Post-ceremony we took portraits, some more traditional, some less so (we had to bring some westside style to this shindig).

Tracy & Mark continued with photos while we headed to the reception. I’m absolutely in love with their wedding portrait by the Thames by Kirsten of Beaux Arts. My mom had brought wellies from the US and they just happened to match her wedding dress perfectly. Mark, of course, wore a traditional morning suit.

My sister, like me, opted to go with a short wedding dress. She paired it with a classic birdcage veil and some Badgley Mischka heels. You can see more of the wedding right here on Snippet & Ink!

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I can’t believe its been almost a year since my sister Tracy got married… I traveled to England two weeks prior to the big day to help her with all the last minute details and to gather all the decor for the wedding. My sister wanted something that felt appropriate to the reception space and we talked about a color palette of soft blues, bits of lavender, and cream. I threw out the ideal of Toile which is that perfect shade of blue/grey and definitely had that old world elegance. Once we had that piece decided on, I ordered fabric and had my linen vendor make a runner for the head table and napkins for all the guests.

I brought the menus, linens & napkins, and a suitcase full of floral supplies with me (TSA was a big fan I’m sure). Tracy and I bought containers ranging from old tea sets, to old trophies, to vintage biscuit tins from flea markets and antique stores. I sourced flowers from the London Flower Market (I used Alagar, who were easy to work with and delivered the flowers directly to my sister’s house) and I ordered  garden roses from David Austin.

For seating cards, we found a vintage letterpress drawer to tuck the cards into. My mom was kind enough to write them all out, since I elected her as having the prettiest hand writing. The menus are from Wedding Paper Divas. I accented them with Italian paper from Paper Source and a “R” seal for Ryan (the groom’s last name). I got the seal and the wax from Letter Seals. My sister made the majority of the seals which we dubbed “Ryan money” since they looked like copper pennies.

Of course, what would an English wedding be without many proper pints? My dad, up top making friends with the groom’s family, and myself, after finishing setup.

There was much laughter and love that night, the two families with extremely different backgrounds came together and crushed many a pint. Above, my sister with my dad, below Tracy and I with the two bridesmaids, Lisa, my sister’s BF, and our cousin Jocelyn sharing a moment right after toasts.

My sister’s first dance was adorable… She chose “At Last” by Etta James which was fitting. They met in Australia while both were back packing and working… Mark is from England (though ethnically Irish) and she was an American… After much world trotting back and forth and going through the immigration process to get into the UK, it was nice to simply celebrate their new lives together.

I was absolutely in love with the adorable cake my sister designed with Georgina’s Cakes. The bride and groom figurines are sitting on a rucksack with a map and book saying Australia in reference to how they met. It was so much fun to get to spend time hanging out with my sister and her husband and seeing how happy they are. Congrats you too!!!

*And where is ceremony you might ask? It’s up on Snippet & Ink right here. Go look, the bride & groom photos are adorable! And I’m a big, big fan of the UK tradition’s of a confetti toss.

**And a very special thank you to the amazing Kirsten at Beaux Arts Photographie for coming all the way to London to shoot my sister’s wedding!

*** You can see more about my adventures in London right here, here, here and here.

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Today I’m in love with this eclectic and relaxed wedding that took place at the gorgeous Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. I love the flowers in the bride’s hair and her shoes, well, I’ll take a pair!

The ceremony was held in the herb garden at the Inn. Holly Flora complimented the location with flowers arranged in a loose and wildflower manner.

Couple and family photos were taken after ceremony during Ojai’s famous pink moment (as the sun sets in Ojai, all the mountains turn pink).

For the reception, flowers and decor were again kept loose and natural in a color palette of pinks, purples and whites. I particularly love the raspberry gophrena!

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Flowers aren’t the only option for centerpieces, and this week I’m exploring the very wide world of potted centerpieces. Today, I’m using a collection of herbs. They have a casual, yet homey feel to them.

For the container, I used a cedar flower box (available at your local hardware store). I used about 6 different herbs in the arrangement. To start, water the herbs and pull them out of their plastic containers (the wet dirt makes it easier to get them out). Place a bit of potting soil in the window box to build up the height of the arrangement (I found about 1/3 the total height of the planter box). When placing in your herbs, be sure to push down to make sure there is no air under your herbs (this will cause mold to grow).

To fill in the gaps between the herbs and cover the dirt, I tucked in loose lavender to add even more fragrance to the arrangement.

The upside to the centerpiece? It’s green (quite literally), your guests can take home your arrangements and replant them in their garden. And for the DIY bride, these would be easy to do ahead of time. And of course, dogs love this idea too (just ask Mira!). Happy planting! And to see all Flower Chic posts click right here.

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I love a palette of rich jewels tones in flowers. Mix in some umbrella fern for a forest-y vibe, and you’ve got a colorful and fun centerpiece.

For this arrangement you will need:

Flowers:

-1 stem fritillaria

-5 stems fuschia peonies

-3 stems of umbrella fern

- 1 bunch red astilbe

- 8 stems purple anenomes

- 10 stems purple tulips

-10 stems lilac

-5 stems allium, purple sensation

Tools:

-brick of floral foam, cut with a knife until it fits your container

-bucket of water

- floral shears

-container (mine is from Jamali Garden and is available here)

Begin by cutting your floral foam so that it fits your container (a craft knife works great for this). Soak your foam in water for several minutes until completely soaked through. Begin by putting a few pieces of umbrella fern at the base and the start placing your flowers, I generally start at the top to determine the highest point of the arrangement and then work down to the base from there. Keep turning your arrangement as you place flowers so you can make sure your arrangement looks good from all angles. And to see all Flower Chic posts click right here.

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