Katee Grace Photography Contest

I'm very excited to share Katee Grace Photography giveaway with you! She's a very talented photographer based in Santa Barbara (yes, she does travel, thankfully!) and she will be giving away a photography package for one lucky couple!

Simply write about your love story (and include a digital photo of you and your sweetheart) by July 25 and email it to Katee to enter at katee@kateegrace.com.

Katee suggestes including in your story: "How did the two of you meet? What makes your heart race about your soul mate? What are you most looking forward to about marrying the love of your life and living your happily ever after?I would also love to hear how you will translate your personal flavor into the details of your special day. Are you keeping it small and intimate using Grandmas fine china and heirloom linen in the family backyard? Or are you declaring your love in a poppy filled field with tall grass at sunset? I can't wait to read your Love Story!"

You can get the full details at the Katee Grace Blog.

Special Thanks- Products with Personality

How nice and double nice! Rebecca of Products with Personality included Smitten on their blog! I didn't know Products with Personality too well, but they have some really cute favors- my favorites being the Eco-friendly favors like the beeswax candle.

I also really liked these plantable seating cards...or should I say seeding cards?? After guests are seated they discover that these cards double as favors. The leaf on the corner gets buried and wildflowers will soon appear! The directions are on the back so each guest will know how to start their wildflowers, and each card is made from recyclable paper too.

Be sure to check out Products with Personality and their blog for more eco-friendly ideas!

Green Bridal Shower

Here are a few pictures from reader Nikki, who threw a "green bridal shower" or her co-worker, Kristin. Her solutions were not only eco-friendly but also super-sweet. At the end of the party the bride was able to take home some very personal gifts- and I'm sure she'll treasure them for years to come, as they're from dear friends.

Here are some ways we tried to make sure our event was eco-friendly:
Rather than use paper invitations, we used a cute bridal shower template from evite.com. On the evite, we introduced the "green theme" and asked guests to "think digital, recyclable, reusable, and organic".

We served a light lunch consisting of an assortment of salads, bread, chips, dip, and fruit. Wherever possible, we made sure to buy organic and local. For dessert, guests had sorbet served in real orange and grapefruit cups. We used recycled napkins and all other tableware was re-usable.

After lunch, we had a great time painting terracotta pots and planting Kristin's favorite plants in them. We knew that she loves gardening and working in her backyard so this was a fun activity for guests to do together and it also provided the bride with lovely gifts to take home.

In addition to the potted plants, we all pitched in and got Kristin a gift card to her favorite cooking store. As an added touch, the gift card was enclosed in a recycled, plantable greeting card, which had basil and chives seeds inside.

We found this article to be helpful during our planning: eHow

Many, many thanks to Nikki for sharing!

Real Weddings: Erick and Rhiannon

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Meet Erick and Rhiannon, they were married at the Santa Monica Pier. Rhiannon selected the pier because she liked the fact that the reservation costs went toward the restoration- another innoventive way to give back through a wedding! It was a wedding of whimsy and charm! They had the reception out on the pier where Rhiannon said that they were married in front of friends and family....and hundreds of spectators!

Rhiannon and Erick served pizza, pretzels, hotdogs, churros and cotton candy in vintage food carts. It was a fun and casual way to bring in the theme and keep the fun factor high. The amazingly awsome painting of the bride and groom was by a close friend, Jennifer Snodgrass.

I love too that Rhiannon hunted out her vendors from all sorts of locations...and her hardwork really paid off! Her cupcakes were created by Julie Desmeules and Rhiannon couldn't say enough wonderful things about her. Julie doesn't have a shop but does events exclusively and has a booth at the Century City Farmers Market every Thursday. Rhiannon's dress was vintage inspired and crafted by Dolly Couture.

Rhiannon wrote, "I have a few favorite moments. First, the time I spent alone with Erick before the wedding. We spent the day getting ready separately but before the ceremony or pictures we took some us time and it was really nice just to be with each other and away from the hassle and to think about what the day is really about. I also really loved how open our ceremony was - we attracted a huge crowd from the pier of passerbys that stopped to watch. I was a little nervous at first about how they'd react or what types of things they'd yell but they were all really supportive and funny and it really made the ceremony special. Not every wedding has an extra hundred strangers yelling after the first kiss. It made it a lot of fun."

Photography by Harmony Nixon.

As featured on Style Me Pretty

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Two of my most favorite clients to date are Michelle and Henry who were recently married. They tied the knot at the Sugarman Estate in Maui. It was a beautiful ceremony full of personal touches- like a French Fry station and displaying photos from their travels, hung whimsically on trees throughout the property.

Today I discovered their wedding featured on Style Me Pretty! Unfortunately there weren't any pictures of the invitations, but I promise I'll take some nice ones and showcase them Asap! The sweet story behind the monkey-themed invitations is that Michelle and Henry were both nicknamed "monkey" growing up. They really wanted to showcase their sweet affection for each other and with the amazing help of Evonne (from Events by Evonne) they were able to tie in all the details that made their wedding beautiful and touching. If you'd like more pictures, be sure to visit Away Soiree.

Vendors: Events by Evonne, Cakes by JoAnn, Catering from Soup to Nuts, Kahaiali`i Productions, Bella Bloom Floral Boutique, Smitten Invitations, Pacific Event Group, Photography by Dulce by Visionari, Pacific Isle Rentals, Dress by Pronovias

Real Weddings: Nikki and Brian (Part Two)

Nikki and Brian had a charming wedding in Santa Barbara. Nikki shared her breakdown on how she was able to keep her budget to $1,500. Yes! Really! $1,500 for a beautiful wedding. Nikki's budget breakdown:

$500 for the reception lunch
$500 for my dress (there's a story behind that, but that's a whole separate blog)
$100 chair rental
$200 flowers
$100 miscellaneous details
Handmade Invitations
Photos by friends and family

Nikki shares, "The SB courthouse is free to use, but you can't make reservations so a few friends got there early to scope it out for us. Luckily there were no other weddings that day...kinda risky! For the reception, our guests had a selected menu - about 4 meal choices...and the food was great! For our honeymoon, we drove up the coast to San Luis Obispo for a few days."

Nikki's Tip - "DIY events can be stressful and at times it felt like it was all on my shoulders, so I tried to keep reminding myself what it was all about...marrying my best friend...and I was also blessed to have great friends willing to help make the day a success."

Nikki's Regret - "I wish I had been able to have a professional photographer. I love the pictures my friends and family took, but there are a lot of high contrast and blurry shots, etc. that I wish looked a little more professional."

Real Weddings: Nikki and Brian

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Nikki and Brian were married July 1, 2006 at the Sunken Gardens at Santa Barbara Courthouse. For their reception they celebrated with lunch at the Opal Restaurant off State Street in downtown Santa Barbara - walking distance from the courthouse.

Nikki made some very simple yet personal touches that also allowed them to stay within their budget of $1,500. Yes, you heard me right...and see how lovely it was! Nikki made her own invitations. To keep it personal and meaningful, Pastor Jeff of Hope Chapel
officiated. Nikki said that Pastor Jeff was a very close friend of her family and that he knew her for her entire life.

To keep the budget reigned in, as well as to keep the affair intimate, they limited the guests to 20 close friends and family members. For her bouquet and the reception flowers, Nikki's friends made a trip to Trader Joes and the farmers market the day before. Potted flowers lined the aisle and guests took them home afterward...and the bride and groom still have one today on their patio!

The thing I really love about Brian and Nikki's wedding was that they had everything close to their heart. They decided to not be intimidated by their budget but to focus on the celebration. In the next post we'll go over Nikki's breakdown so you can see how she creativly budgeted her wedding, and we'll also have some tips from her as well!

Sneak-Peek: Kepharts and Rhiannon Affair

Sneak Peek!
The Kepharts and Rhiannon affair at the pier! It's a super sweet wedding!

Inspiration Board 39: Under the Sea

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Were you ever like me? On the top of your "when I grow up list" did you write, "become a mermaid?" Well, here's your chance! Throw an Under the Sea wedding. This would be perfect if you had a destination wedding or one near the shore. It incorporates shells in really fun ways that will last much longer than flowers. And these flowers feel more like they belong in the coral reef! This exotic centerpiece incorporates red dendrobium orchids and buffalo orange vanda orchids. And the dress by Melissa Sweet is the perfect mermaid attire!

Images courtesy of Brides.com

More Courthouse Weddings

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Los Angeles Times had an interesting article today about the new trends in weddings. More and more couples are choosing to wed in courthouses and then have simpler receptions or luncheons to celebrate. Several of them said that they're saving the money they would have spent on a wedding and have put it to good use....say a down payment on a house anyone? I think it works especially well for some of these couples as many of them lived together for some time, or this was a second marriage for others, or they are just the practical type. One way or another, these high school sweethearts from Poland were awfully cute...they got married after being reunited after years apart.