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Happy tuesday, everyone! Today I'm delighted to share with you the lovely wedding of Jeannine (aka Jella) & Matt. 
This wedding is extra special for many reasons… here are my top 3:
1) Jella and I are kindred spirits and share a fierce love for Hello Kitty and Tarina Tarantino.
2) Jella & Matt may be two of the biggest lakers fans ever (another shared love!). You'll see their adoration of the team's purple, gold & white throughout their wedding.
3) This was the 2nd wedding that Anna flawlessly executed without me!
I was still involved throughout the planning process for this charming Santa Barbara wedding and Anna kept me in the loop throughout the wedding day via pics and texts sent from her blackberry. 
Many thanks to the fun, sweet and truly talented Sarah K. Chen who captured these beautiful images!
left: jella's beautiful amethyst jewelry (from tiffany & co.). right: a fun pop of color in her cole haan shoes.
…is gold!
For the most part, I'm a color-phobe. I love my grays, tans, browns and blacks. My one exception is shoes, shoes, shoes. So what if I own seven gray cardigans? When I wear a pair of gold heels with one of them, no one is bored by my love of a monochromatic pallet.
So in honor of too much gray–both in our closets and in the forecast–and the impending holidays, here's a little toast to looking sassy, thanks to one of my favorite stores. Plus, it doesn't hurt that none of these shoes are over $23! Come on now!
Sequin Holiday Pump, $22.80
Also comes in black.
This is my cousin Sam, his bestie is Ryan, and his fiancee is Nikki…. If you follow the hot-links you'll know his story! So excited that he will be marrying Nikki and I think their collective three daughters are adorable!! Congratulations on the engagement Sam + Nikki!
So much thought often goes into the bridal foot wear. All of the bridal details for that matter. The groom? Often some variation of a black dress shoe. But not for Michael. He needed some classic high tops to make his trek through downtown Toronto, across hot dog vendors, past a series of push-ups and a bad Bryan Adams remake, and finally, to Cypril // all with a hot dog still in hand.
P.
michael + cypril from stillmotion on Vimeo.
Jackie and Dale came all the way from the far far land of Australia to elope in my hometown and take some pictures. I had such a great time, not only photographing their beautifully gorgeous selves, but just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company!
I frequent the Weddingbee message boards, and one of the frequent questions I find myself answering over there is “Where do you find a wedding officiant?”
Sometimes I think the Wedding Industrial Complex has forgotten about the wedding officiant. I've met with couples who have been planning their wedding for 18 months – but didn't think to hire an officiant until three weeks before. Many couples worry about who is going to marry them if they don't get married in a church or a temple, or if they are non-religious or don't want a minister or a rabbi. The WIC tells brides that they need to match their bridesmaids’ dresses to their shoes exactly, that you need monogrammed napkins and signature drinks – but tells you nothing about customizing or personalizing your wedding ceremony, which is one of the most important parts of the entire day – otherwise, it's really just a party.
Here's the thing: wedding officiants and Celebrants are out there! And we want to perform your wedding ceremony – exactly how you want it to be! My weddings have NO requirements when it comes to their structure or content. Sure, I'll guide you in certain directions, based on my past experiences on what works, but you can basically choose exactly what you'd like to include in your wedding. It's always personal, and truly reflects the people being married.
And I'm not alone in doing this – there are Celebrants all over the United States (and a few scattered across other countries, too!) who want to work with you to create a beautiful wedding ceremony. You just need to find them! And we really do all that we can so you don't feel like you're being married by a wedding vendor or professional – we try to make it feel like you're being married by a friend (well, at least, I do). A friend who knows a lot about wedding traditions and the ins and outs of ceremony, that is.
So here are some tips when you begin your officiant search:
Wedding programs, by nature of their contents, are a last minute item. Your ceremony is your wedding. Most people {myself completely included} tend to focus on the reception as the wedding, but the reason you have a reception is to celebrate your ceremony where you committed your lives to each other in front of family and friends. Therefore it is understandable that you are working on the details of your ceremony until the last minute possible because it is so important. By the time you are done planning your ceremony you may be thinking, program? Do I really need a program? In a short word, yes.
You want your guests to feel welcomed and involved with your wedding. The more involved they feel, the better experience they will have. Wedding programs allow your guests to follow the ceremony, understand what is happening and why, and it is a keepsake of the day. Programs come in all shapes and sizes and there is no set format on what your program should look like. It should work for you and your ceremony and reflect you as a couple.
The key “ingredients” for a program include: your full names, wedding date, city, state, and location of the ceremony, the order of the wedding ceremony including musical selections, the composers and performers, the readings, the source or author, and the readers, wedding party names and their relation to you, your officiant's name, a thank you note to your parents and guests, and a brief explanation of traditions, rituals, and ethnic customs for both religious and secular ceremonies. You may also wish to honor those who have passed or could not join you by including a memorial.
Below are a few of my favorite programs I have designed along with a description of why the format was chosen for that particular ceremony.
emilie inc. photographers: Emilie and J
venue: Villa Amor Sayulita Mexico
officiant: Phil Dornfeld, friend of the groom
caterer: Villa Amor
dessert: churros and chocolate dipping sauce
band: Mariachi de Joya
dj: DJ Xtasis
flowers: Mary Gallegos, Alto Diseño Floral & Decoración
hair: El Corte Salon
dress: Amsale at Hitched Salon, Washington, DC
shoes: Kate Spade
attendant gifts: Sea Bags Portland, ME
groom: J Crew
invitations: Flora & Fauna Press
honeymoon: Palm Springs
Meet Megan and Peter. They both work in the movie biz in Hollywood, she as a creative director and he as a screenwriter. They met years ago through a mutual friend and decided to bring their family friends to the sleepy surf town of Sayulita, just north of Puerto Vallarta where they took their first vacation as a couple to make their union official. And they brought us, too!! They were originally planning a May wedding, but postponed until October because of the swine flu outbreak in the spring.
Several months ago I had lunch with my friend Jenny, who ordered a felt flower kit to make her own embroidered flower stems at home to keep in a vase on her desk. The other day, she sent me the results of what she had put together–I love these so much!
Ok so I have a huge obsession with Ladurée macaroons. Ever since clients of mine brought me a box home from their honeymoon in Paris, I have had a major weakness for these light and airy, delicious masterpieces. I was on their website the other day and became insanely inspired by their storefronts. The decor, details and the brilliance is so amazing I want to transform this into a wedding immediately. It's very Marie Antoinette with a touch of whimsy.
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