REAL WEDDING: jeff & giorgiana III

i love this pier. and i love this picture. i would so blow this up and frame it in my house if it was from my wedding. it is sooo cool.

details of the brides bouquet...

because the bride's wedding dress was custom made, i was able to get a piece of fabric from her actual wedding dress to wrap around the bouquet. we finished it off with a brown satin ribbon and a chartreuse brooch.

here you can see the bride's bouquet was made up of spider mums, button mums, bear grass, and large white roses to mimic the roses on her and the bridesmaid's dresses.

this really has absolutely nothing to do with the details of the flowers, but i loved this picture! to me, it totally looks like it's out of a magazine or something. so vogue. one more post to come with some of the details from the reception! stay tuned....

REAL WEDDING: jeff & giorgiana II

i started posting about this wedding last week and have a few more posts to share. i love these two pictures of the bride and groom. such sweet moments.

check out the fog over these mountains? talk about a beautiful backdrop!

we made a "memory" bouquet in honor of the grooms late mother...

the bouquet was placed in a vase at the front of the ceremony and the bride and groom took a moment during the ceremony to honor his mom by placing it on the seat where she would have been sitting.

i could not help but post this little sequence. i have not seen doves at a wedding since i was a little girl... it seems like no one does it anymore! but i kind of like this old tradition making it's way back.



the wedding & reception were at the pine's resort & ducey's lodge on bass lake; the beautiful photography was done by dani mac photography; and the wedding was coordinated by brooke dyar (reached at brooke79@gmail.com). this meant we were only doing the flowers for this wedding and it was a nice little change! never before have i shown up a couple hours before the wedding and left before it started! :)

unfinished business

as i was going through some archives, i realized i never finished posting about this wedding. how on earth did that happen?! i'm really not sure, because i loved this wedding. the location was gorgeous, the bride was beautiful, the weather was quite epic, and the photographer did an amazing job capturing it all. let's not waste any more time talking about it and let's get right to the pretty pictures.

here are some pre-wedding pictures of the bridal party...

this little flower girl was too cute. the bridesmaids each wore big spider mums in their hair. it was different than the typical orchid, i loved it!

i love these mossy rocks and the rustic feel of this picture.

the bridesmaids' bouquets were all similar yet each a little different with the whimsy bear grass poking out at different places...

not sure why, but i love this huge umbrella!

i love the face the groom is making here...

again, i am loving the rustic feel with the rocks, antlers, and beautiful wood of the venue...

this picture is just awesome. i wish i could do bigger pictures on this here blog because some of the faces on these groomsmen are pretty priceless.

the grooms boutonniere had one spider mum, bear grass, and a small piece of curly willow.

pictures of the ceremony, reception, and bride & groom are to come...

join us

if you are in the central valley area (or not, and you want to drive), you should join us for the 2009 created to worship conference. it is sure to be a great weekend, full of lots of worship, teaching, and practical workshops, featuring rita springer, cindy rethmeier, and tony sanchez. find all the details here.

REAL WEDDING: Fall Tones

i was so lucky to be a part of such a fun wedding last weekend.

the wedding & reception were at country M ranch, in between visalia & tulare. it was a cool venue - one i had never seen before. there was a big barn with beautiful -huge - red doors in front. i can't wait to see the pictures of the bridal party standing in front of them.


the bride & groom sat at a round table with their 5 bridal party guests. their little two-tiered wedding cake was the centerpiece with the bride & bridesmaids' bouquets (this pic was pre-reception).


the gorgeous flowers and manzanita trees (& hanging initials!) were done by tulip. that girl rocks!


i mean, who doesn't love a candy bar? i think people that don't even like candy, like candy bars at weddings cause they are just so cool.

the bride and sister-in-law to the bride (who planned & designed much of the wedding), made these fabulous cupcake stands with 2 round cardboard cutouts, a martini glass turned upside down, bronze spray paint and some funky gold ric-rac! i think they turned out so awesome!

three different styles of cupcakes, one with a fresh mum on the top! cupcakes & cake made by shelly de jong.

the bride said she didn't want a typical wedding feel at the reception, yet still wanted it to be beautiful of course. we had a lot of fun putting it all together that day... it's so great seeing everyone's hard work come together. my favorite part of the day? probably the sublime and 311 tracks that were played while guests were seated. seriously, awesome.

flowers - tulip design studio
photography - tiffany aicklen (not the above photos, thanks iphone).
cupcakes/cake - shelly wade
venue - country m ranch
day-of-setup - rae events

fall has arrived

and i could not be happier! i love this time of year, mainly because it means summer is OVER! i love the fall weather, the cool breezes, and the pretty trees - i also love bringing my jeans out of hibernation. one of the biggest reasons i love fall though, is because it means winter is right around the corner! uggs, scarves, hats... mmm, i can't wait! :)

this recent change in weather called for some fall decorating around our little farm house. i really like fall decorating because it's so simple. half of my decorations are just candles! doesn't it just seem so fun to put out lots of candles in the fall more than any other season? i'm not sure why that is... perhaps it's the sudden change in weather and the romantic colors of the trees and leaves, or maybe it's just the delicious maple/walnut/baking/brown-sugar/vanilla chai/candied pecan/sugar cookie scents that we so desire our homes to smell like in autumn...

another reason decorating for fall is so simple is because it's all around us! i love natural elements, so i try to incorporate that into my decorations and fall is a perfect time to do that... i use the same cotton and wheat every year from my father-in-laws fields and store it away in plastic bins. i also use corn and curly willow that i store year after year. it makes for festive and very cheap decorations - which is the most important part to me!

just because autumn conveys a woodsy and outdoorsy feel, does not mean you can't include some sparkles and glitter!

tabletops

i'm not sure why but most of my fall decorations have been purchased on the clearance rack at target at the end of the season. take these pumpkins for example, i bought two boxes of them last year at the end of november for 1.50 each... regularly $7! shopping after the season can be the best way to build up your holiday collection.

what is your favorite thing about fall? happy autumn to each of you and thanks for stopping by!

for me?

yes, this time it was for me.

for all those faithful readers out there... you have listened to me moan, groan, and complain over the last couple years through my adventure with school. and i thank you. it was a long journey, yes, but one that has quickly (and thankfully) come to a close. on august 10th, i {virtually} attended my last day of school. on september 12th, i walked in the northern california commencement ceremony at the arco arena in sacramento.

(yes, i am a phoenix).

and on september 25th my husband (along with my sister, and the rest of my family), threw me a beautiful graduation party.


i decided that night that i was in the wrong profession. my husband and sister are the ones who belong in the party planning world. just look.

they didn't miss a single detail. the candles,

the lights,

the music, (oh the music! including special selections from the twilight soundtrack! :),

the food, (have i told you about my obsession with appetizers? well, the party was full of the very best ones. bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, artichoke dip, brie, chicken skewers, spinach & feta in phyllo dough. oh the food!),

the drinks (a special cocktail for the evening - lemon drops - my favorite!),

and the desserts (chocolate covered strawberries, creme puffs, and the most beautiful - and delicious - cake with triple berry buttercream filling!)

it was the perfect evening and way to celebrate the ending of a big chapter in both our lives (my husband was just as thankful for me to be done as i was.)

i was so blessed and honored to be a part of such a beautiful night. here are some more fun pics from the evening.

i love this picture of my niece and nephew helping my sister light all the candles for the spa


my sis :)



sweet friends :)

can you see my niece (on the right) in her party dress? she was so excited about it and no doubt, so cute in it.

the party girls :) my mom & sister

fun cocktail tables and graduation paraphernalia

my sweet, sweet husband and i after a wonderful evening