Guest Post on A Realistic Wedding

Check out my guest post today on…

While the lovely Claire is away on holiday, I am honored to guest post for her today! Stop by A Realistic Wedding , sit for a spell and get some really cool DIY’s for your wedding day and a few  fun ways to liven up your reception! 

                                                                                                Naomi ♥

Repurposed Elegance – Charlotte Hosten Jewelry

·Charlotte Hosten’s jewelry speaks for itself. Her one of a kind fabric necklaces are chic and the perfect choice to lend some glamour to a simple LBD or wedding gown.

Committed to “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle,” Charlotte Hosten’s designs are proudly handmade in Montreal with vintage beads, brooches, necklaces, silk, glass, and sometimes wood. These “second life” works of art are sure to make a very fashionable one of a kind statement.

source {Charlotte Hosten}

Wedding Dress Spotlight – Paloma Blanca

Wedding Dress Pick – Week # 35

 source {Paloma Blanca}

Board # 55 – A Farewell To Summer

Even in sunny southern California, the weather has begun to change. I can feel the slight chill in the air and the colors of the sunsets are suddenly richer and deeper. Very much like the colors we associate with autumn. 

For now, I will put away the sundresses that I wore to gatherings and exchange the sleeveless tanks for pull over sweaters. I will eagerly wait for the first cool day to wear my favorite pair of boots. Eventually, I will move the cardigans to the front of the closet so that I remember to bring one with me for our evening strolls during which, I am sure, Mr. G and I will talk about the summer that ended all too soon.

A Farewell to Summer

Milk Glass & A Few Words On Wedding Design

This is a two part post. See end of the “Milk Glass” post for the second part.

Milk glass is one of those vintage items that people either collect and display or have no idea what to do with it after collecting it. Lucky for you, I found a few images that might help you use grandma’s treasure trove (or your own) as a great addition to the decor at your country vintage inspired wedding.

Now For a Small FYI on Wedding Coordinators & Designers …

I have said before and I will say it again, a good wedding designer/coordinator must be able to design many different wedding themes and keep fresh with new ideas within the industry in order to service all types of brides. This holds true even if your wedding designer/coordinator’s personal style is city chic, polished preppy, or country comfy.

A great wedding designer/coordinator can make most of your ideas a reality regardless if the design does not reflect her personal taste. A true artist can see the beauty in any design concept. That is the mark of a true design professional. If you read between the lines, you will understand why I used the Milk Glass post to give you my two cents. Remember, I am a planner, everything I do is intentional. {smile}.

Inspiration Board # 54 – Coffee &Tea (Just You and Me)

It has been awhile since I have created an inspiration board. Sometimes life just gets in the way. Nevertheless, it is one of my favorite things to create!

I hope you enjoy my latest inspiration board. It is a neutral palette based on my love of intimate wedding settings, neutral colors, French macaroons, and cupcakes. Enjoy!

Coffee & Tea

Mini Sized Ice Cream Apples by Pen n’ Paperflowers

I am so excited about these incredibly creative mini Ice Cream Apples by Jess of Pen n’ Paper Flowers (a brilliant blog by the way). I absolutely love celebrating and recognizing the awesome talent in others and this lady sure has lots of talent! This has got to be one of the most creative ice cream treats I’ve come across in awhile.

I bet you could even make mini Granny Smith apples by substituting the red sugar crystals for green!

My favorite part of these mini treats are the “bitten” apples that have chocolate chips strategically placed in the ice cream to look like apple seeds. Genius!  

Want to make these treats for your next party or shower? Visit Pen n’ Paperflowers for the easy step-by-step instructions.

Creative. Ice cream. Fun.

2010 Emmy Awards Red Carpet Re-Cap

There were a few amazingly gorgeous gowns on the red carpet tonight and there were others that left me unequivocally dumbfounded. Some gowns (and dresses) were even, dare I say, downright horrible. I will not impose my red carpet critique on you, but I will say a few words about my favorites.

In my humble, opinion, Claire Danes stole the show. Her dress was spot on. Ms. Danes’ team (trust me it takes a team to make it all come together) did an incredible job. It was a glamorous look fitting of the red carpet. She was radiant in the Armani Prive dress. I am not always impressed with the head to toe look of any given celebrity and I was with the Clair Danes.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who some of you might not know…YET…will be staring in a new NBC pilot this fall, looked INCREDIBLE. At the time of this post, the designer of her dress was not known. Regardless of the designer, the dress did not wear Gugu Mbatha-Raw; she wore it. Her champagne colored gown had a most flattering fit for her petite frame and was very red carpet appropriate for a rising star. That is what I expect celebrities, on the red carpet, to look like. I do not expect them to look as if they just rolled out of bed and got dress to go to a BBQ or the next Star Trek conference.

Dare I say that Kim Kardashian surprised me in a very good way with her Greek goddess look? No need, I just did.

As always, I want to know what you think. Which gowns did you like and which ones did you dislike?

Claire Danes

In Armani Privé

Jessalyn Gilsig

In Nicole Miller

Emily Deschanel

In Max Azria Atelier

Rita Wilson & Tom Hanks

(Please tell me what the heck is she wearing and those shoes??)

Maura Tierney

In vintage The Way We Wore

Maria Menounos

in Ralph & Russo

Kelly Osbourne

In Tony Ward

Susan Sarandon and Eva Amurri

Susan Sarandon in Donna Karan & Eva Amurri

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Eva Longoria-Parker

in Robert Rodriguez

Brooke Burke

Jennifer Carpenter

Julia Louis-Dryfus

In Narcisco Rodriguez

 Heidi Klum

In Marchesa

Tina Fey

In Oscar de la Renta

Jewel

In Zuhair Murad

Wanda Sykes

  Cheryl Hines

In Zac Posen

Jenna Fischer

In Valentino

Emily Blunt

In Christian Dior

Kim Kardashian

In Marchesa

Edie Falco

In Bottega Veneta

Amy Poehler

In Max Azria

Paula Abdul

In a sequined black gown

Padmka Lakshmi

In a strapless navy gown

Elizabeth Moss

In Donna Karan

Lea Michele

In Oscar de la Renta

Nina Dobrev

in Zuhair Murad

Julie Bowen

In J. Mendel

Jane Lynch

In Ali Rahimi

Amber Riley

Kristen Lea

Kiernan Shipka

Mindy Kaling

Lauren Graham

In Yigal Azrouel

Rutina Wesle

Glenn Close

Toni Collette

Dianna Agron

In Carolina Herrera

  Jayma Mays

In Burberry

Eva La Rue

Carrie Ann Inaba

Kyra Sedgwick

In Monique Lhuillier

Christina Hendricks

In  Zac Posen

Sofia Vergara

In Carolina Herrera

Mariska Hargitay

Stephanie Pratt

Giuliana Rancic

Lo Bosworth

In Karen Caldwell

Keri Russell

In a Jean Louis Scherrer dress from Decades

Kathy Griffin

Kate Gosselin

Carmen Marc Valvo

Sara Hyland

in Pamella Roland

Mary Hart

Anna Paquin

In Alexander McQueen

January Jones

In Versace

SoCal Vendor Spotlight – Anika London Photography

San Diego is known for its laid-back attitude, amazing beaches, wine country (yes, wine country), and the best weather this side of ANYWHERE. Now with all that going for us and being a top destination-wedding locale in the USA you can bet your bottom dollar that we have some of the most talented wedding vendors from caterers to photographers and everything in between. I have decided that it is high time that these vendors be recognized and featured. My first vendor is Anika London.

So who is Anika London? Josh and Ariel makeup the team called Anika London. This gorgeous husband and wife team (seriously, they are smokin’!) are based in San Diego. Their work is amazing and their approach to shooting an engagement or wedding is like no other. These two are so cool that they were nice enough to answer a few of my questions so that I can share them with you…so without further ado I bring you, Anika London!

Q. What makes Anika London so unique?

Our two distinct styles; both of us have been shooting weddings for many years but the two of us have two distinctly different styles. I would consider myself more of a photojournalist. I love movement, energy, and the craziness of the wedding day and what it represents. I’m definitely more into capturing the laughter, the tears, the crazy uncle, the brawl between ladies vying for the bouquet, and all the fearless drunken dancers on the dance floor.

Ariel loves beauty, she wants you to look at the photos afterwards and think to yourself, “holy good graciousness! I look amazing!” She’s the master of angles and knows how to make anyone look their best. She also has a very sweet sincere personality that really helps you feel at ease so that you look natural and truly beautiful. Combining our two styles really capture what the wedding day is and give the couple the best of both worlds. Great candid shots mixed hand-in-hand with images that take your breath away.

Q. What are some of your favorite locations to shoot in SD?

Oh boy, we absolutely love shooting in odd unconventional places. We have shot in school buses, parking garages, bars, roller coasters, hotel basements, and even a political rally. Our absolute favorite place to shoot is in any given parking garage. You give us a parking garage of any type and we are in heaven.

Q. Why are you such huge fans of the first look photo. 

Here’s why; you’re makeup and hair are fresh, generally you haven’t been crying yet so your eyes still look pretty, you can actually speak to one another when you see each other for the first time, there’s no stress because no one is waiting on you and there’s no reception we have to run off to, you’re generally not starving so you tend to not be as cranky (this one’s more for the guys), and ultimately you’ve spent a large amount of cash on your photographer(s) so why not have a scheduled time to shoot the most worthwhile photos of the day?

Q. What can a bride do to ensure that her photos will be great?

·The most important thing a bride can do (and a groom, we tend to leave them out of the mix but they are people too) is hire a coordinator. I am not just saying this because I want Naomi to like me I am saying it because it is absolutely true and necessary.

On your wedding day, you and your spouse need to enjoy every single second of it and having a good coordinator (not a friend that has been married before) run the show helps tremendously. They allow you and your spouse to focus on each other, your friends, and like I mentioned in the second question, the craziness of the day! There is no question about it, weddings are stressful, but no one needs to be stressed. Let the small things go, if by chance something goes wrong blow it off, let it be just another memory of the day. It is not what goes wrong that will ruin your day it is how you react to it.

A good coordinator will make sure things run smoothly so you will be stress free and HAPPY. Happiness is easy to photograph; anger and stress are not. I am just being honest here. Honestly, we can shoot anywhere it does not matter where it is, but if you are not happy and in love on your wedding day, your photos will most definitely show it. So the lesson is, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Or it could be “get drunk early,” whichever motto best suits your life.

 I knew you would love them! Please visit  the website of Anika London here  and  be the first to see their latest shoots on their on Anika London’s blog  here.

Stay tuned for more vendors in the series Vendor Spotlight!

French Farmhouse by Pacific Weddings Magazine

I know, I always say how much I love this or that when I write about weddings or anything lovely but this time I REALLY want you to know how much I LOVE the details of this shoot! My wedding design did not have vintage details but I still can appreciate the design details in any wedding, vintage or not.

In the new issue of Pacific Weddings, Yvonne Chapman of Yvonne Design and Honolulu photographer, Frank Amodo came together to create a shoot that is simply stunning! Stacey Nomura of Lily & Bradley created the vintage inspired eye chart motif stationery. How clever!

What do I love about this shoot? The shades of pink, the mercury glass, the French macaroons, the dahlias, the worn farmhouse look, I could go on and on but I will let you see for yourself. Enjoy!

 (Flowers by Yvonne Design, gown by Vera Wang)

Even if you are not the vintage type bride, isn’t this gorgeous?