Category: Weddings

December 15, 2011

Well here it is, everyone: the wedding you’ve been waiting to see in all its “perfection” and glory!!  🙂  I am bursting with joy to share these phenomenal images with you, courtesy of my dear friends Nate & Jac Kaiser of The Image is Found.  If you haven’t already, make sure to watch the two videos from Cana VP in conjunction with this post.  I promise they will only add to the enchantment.

Since my other blog posts about this couple have given you the background about the day, I’ll keep this blog short and simple.  (Well, the writing will be short..I’m about to OVERWHELM you with incredible images!!)  Just a little list of fun “midnight” treats guests enjoyed at this non-stop party: singalong mariachi, quesadillas and esquites, fresh fruit with lime + chili powder, and a taco cart…

Enjoy soaking up a little of Natalia & Brian’s bliss via these photos.  They will transport you straight to the day and I can assure you: the day was just as fun as it looks.  😉  (more HERE)

nat & brian have the most amazing group of friends!  loooved this bridal party.

if you haven’t guessed, brian is a total character.  🙂

all the guests had a BLAST… the energy was incredible that night!

love.

watching the wedding preview vid that the Cana boys made… ALWAYS a tearjerker with those guys!!!

parent dances

their thank you toast made me cry…

brian’s band played an amaaaazing set

anna, demonstrating the proper use of an inflatable guitar

the cana boys

the untouchable talents themselves: nate & jac.  i love these two like cah-ray-zee.

and us.  i LOVE these.  me & a couple that changed me forever.

—

Natalia & Brian — I will never be able to tell you how deeply your love touched me!  I thank God for the opportunity to have met you both, and to now call you dear and treasured friends.  Thank you for the ridiculous laughter we shared over the past year (seriously, we have the best stories!!), and for the tears of joy you brought to my eyes on your wedding day.  I couldn’t be happier to see two such wonderful people be united in marriage.  Your love inspires us all <3  xoxoxo, Angel

{ vendors: it sure helps to work with people who are amazing! }

PHOTOGRAPHY // THE IMAGE IS FOUND
PLANNING, DESIGN & COORDINATION // EVENTS OF LOVE AND SPLENDOR
VIDEOGRAPHY // CANA VIDEO PRODUCTIONS
VENUE // SADDLEROCK RANCH – malibu, ca
FLORAL DESIGN // HOLLYFLORA
RENTALS, TENTING, & LIGHTING // CLASSIC PARTY RENTALS
DJ // IAN with RED SHOE LA
VINTAGE RENTALS // FOUND VINTAGE RENTALS
STATIONARY // KRISTIN, in house graphic designer for LOVE AND SPLENDOR
DESSERTS // SWEET AND SAUCY SHOP //  CATERING // HUNTINGTON CATERING COMPANY // MARIACHI // MARIACHI MEXICO EN AMERICA

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December 6, 2011

Just under 3 months ago, we had the absolute pleasure of seeing the culmination of this very special wedding… the marriage of blogger (and friend!), Rachel and her high school sweetheart, Dustin.  I’ve known Rachel for years because she grew up with my best friend, Kristin.  I got to know her better via her incredible lifestyle blog, Heart of Light, where she regularly posts about food, family, crafting…  She lives her life beautifully, I savor each post she writes.  I was both floored and honored when she reached out to me about possibly helping with the planning and coordinating of her wedding day this fall.  I knew without a doubt that the day would be a special one.  Rachel’s creativity and eye for design are inspiring.  Pair her up with Dustin, a talented architect, and you have the recipe for a fabulous celebration.

Rachel and Dustin get all the credit for the incredibly beautiful, handmade, colorful and playful décor they created for this wedding.  From the gocco’d invitations to the hand-dyed napkins… to the carefully crafted paper flower centerpieces to a festive fringed and ruffled crepe backdrop… Rachel and Dustin poured their hearts into designing a wedding that celebrated THEM.  Anna and Michelle, my ever wonderful assistants, simply carried out Rachel and Dustin’s designs on the big day.  It is always a treat to work alongside such creative clients and although we here at Love & Splendor adoooore being a part of the design process, we are also eager to collaborate with our brilliant couples on their own phenomenal visions for their weddings.  What a privilege.

Rachel & Dustin’s beautiful wedding has already made a splash on the net after a series of features were posted on 100 Layer Cake (one of my very favorite wedding blogs).  Enjoy this look at their whimsical, vibrant, bliss-filled day, courtesy of images from Fresh In Love Photography.  xoxo

 

i LOVE this one.  simple and perfect.

<3

We hope you all enjoyed this cheery celebration as much as we did.  The bright colors feel like a bit of sunshine on this chilly winter day.  🙂  Enjoy your Tuesday!!

 xoxo, Angel

{vendor round-up}

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December 2, 2011

Happy Friday, everyone!!  December is here and Christmas is just around the corner… I feel like the air is just buzzing with excitement and joy for the impending celebrations.  Today I want to help you kick off your weekend with a double feature of Brian and Natalia, the couple I mentioned in my last post about the “perfect” wedding.

I have been DYING to share their preview video with all of you since I saw it the night of the wedding.  Now you’ll be able to get the smallest idea of what I meant when I said this wedding was drenched and saturated with love and emotion…

And yes, that’s me in a little cameo around 0:27ish.  That little part always makes me beam; I so cherish the precious friendships I built with this pair.

As a second serving of amazingness, you get to hear the intro to their ceremony, as masterfully told by their friend Johnny Irving.  This was just the introduction!!  He had us all laughing and crying throughout.  I was covered in goosebumps by the time they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

Enjoy these fabulous videos, courtesy of my dear friends Ben & Drew of Cana Video Production.  I’ve already watched both videos TWICE this morning.  🙂

I hope your weekend is fabulous!  My immediate plans include trimming our fresh cut Christmas tree, priming the bookshelf for babygirl’s nursery, and finishing up Catching Fire (the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy).

xoxo,  Angel

CATEGORIES: , , 9 comments

November 21, 2011

Happy Monday, everyone!  Thank you so much for all of your kind words on my last post — I love sharing the joy of my pregnancy with you!

Today I wanted to write a special entry about my last wedding of the 2011 season, which took place on 11.11.11.  It has been 10 days since the incredible celebration and I am still daydreaming about it.  Honestly.  This wedding affected me deeply and powerfully.  And although it is dangerous to use the word, I would dare say it was perfect.

(hauntingly beautiful image by The Image is Found)

When most people think of the “perfect” wedding, what do you think comes to mind?  A dazzling couture gown or the score-of-a-lifetime vintage frock?  Over-the-top florals, luxe linens, and a five-course dinner?  Or maybe a day where everything goes smoothly… without a single hiccup… with nary a hair out of its perfectly-coiffed place.  Of course, the perfect weather — warm and glowing sunshine with a cool breeze — is a given.

What if I told you that none of these things made my 11.11.11 ‘perfect?’  It rained.  It POURED.  It was dark and stormy.  We had to get a tent a few days prior to the wedding — the dream of a glorious outdoor wedding was going to be impossible to achieve.  We tried to start the ceremony outdoors and it started to rain, on the guests, sending everyone running for the tent.  Twice. Things got muddy.  I’m sure some ladies ruined their designer stilettos.  It was freezing cold once the evening was underway (outside the warmth of the tent, anyway).  Trips to the bathroom became treacherous jaunts through lawns-turned-marshland.  We had to fashion ponchos out of trashbags to escort umbrella-less guests to the shuttle stop at the night’s end.  I am sure that for some couples, it would have been more than they could have handled.

But not this couple.  Not these guests.  Not this wedding.

Meeting Brian and Natalia for the first time was like the perfect first date.  It was easy, natural.  We were perfectly matched in terms of style and vision.  They were planning an amazing wedding to celebrate 10+ years of love and companionship.  I fell in love with their love.  For months and months we dreamed and planned together for a day that would be warm, personable, festive and unique.  From the placesettings to the dinner music, everything was intentional.  Every detail seeped with their love for each other and the people they share their love with.  I felt truly blessed to be a part of it all.

When the weather forecast turned grim the week before the wedding, the couple was steadfast.  We carefully went over the options and they were able to wisely opt for the safest rain plan.  And then we waited to see what the day would hold.

And it was perfect.

When I greeted each of them on their wedding day (separately — they didn’t see each other until the ceremony), we shared huge hugs and undeniable excitement.  They were both just yearning for the night to unravel.  After two false starts with the ceremony, we DID get to hold the ceremony outside (praise God), underneath the great tree they fell in love with when they first picked the venue.  The bride’s dramatic entrance was heralded by shouts of joy and thunderous applause (and the festive shake of tambourines, of course).  Their truly personal ceremony, officiated by one of the most passionate and uniquely gifted ministers I have EVER seen/heard, was perfect.  I mean, I literally got the chills.  Multiple times.  I teared up throughout their vows.  I almost lost it at the end…  Their blissful kisses as the ceremony concluded (under the most dramatic sky) just MOVED you.  Forget the weather.  I don’t think anyone present could believe the heart-wrenchingly beautiful ceremony they’d just witnessed.

I was accompanied by some of my all-time favorite vendors that evening (Hi Nate, Jac, Ian, Ben & Drew!) and we all kept looking at each other, bug-eyed, throughout the evening… It was like we couldn’t believe what we were seeing.  It was the most beautiful, emotional, love-filled wedding I had ever seen.  As the night progressed, we saw the fruition of a warm and insanely romantic reception inside the tent… a first dance that made me laugh and cry… toasts that filled my heart up with so much happiness…  Brian and his AMAZING band (The Brian Buckley Band — go check them out; you’re welcome in advance.  I can’t stop listening to Hysterical Blindness) performed a set that had us all mesmerized.  More of their musically-gifted friends performed throughout the evening as well…  It was, simply, perfect.

At the end of the night, as I gave hugs and kisses to the departing couple, their heartfelt thanks reached me way down deep inside.  I was still processing all the enchantment and wonder of the evening.  It was like a dream…  And even now, as I try to recall every detail to mind, it is like a too-perfect dream.  Brian and Natalia’s wedding was perfect not because of external circumstances, but because of their powerful, one-of-a-kind love… and the beautiful people they celebrated with only amplified that love.  I will truly never, ever forget that evening and the way I felt as I watched it unfold before my eyes.

I wanted to write this post to remind any of you out there who are still planning a wedding: what makes a wedding “perfect” is the love you share, and those with whom you share it. Sometimes, we all need to be reminded to look beyond everything else and just be inspired by the core, the heart of a wedding.  Love.

Dying to share the images and video with you, and promise to do so as soon as I can.  😉  Until then, trust me.  It was perfect.

xoxo,

Angel

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November 2, 2011

Hello dearest readers!!  I am back after an incredibly busy two months and am excited to get back to regular posting.  😉  I have over a dozen weddings that I still need to blog from THIS YEAR — can you believe it?  Keep your eyes peeled for lots of beauty and inspiration coming very very soon.  In the meanwhile, I thought I’d ease back into blogging with an inspiring preview video from a wedding I did last month in gorgeous San Luis Obispo.

You may remember this stunning couple from a post I did on their engagement shoot by Ryan Ray (btw — Ryan Ray is as amazing a person as he is an artist).  I am dying to see the film he shot on that magical day.  The wedding was truly one-of-a-kind lovely.

Now grab some tissues (no seriously, you might need them if you’re anything like me) and enjoy this beautiful video prepared my dear dear friends Ben & Drew from Cana VP.  Watching it on the wedding night truly moved me.. and it still hasn’t lost its captivating effect after multiple subsequent views.

Hope you have a marvelous day — stay tuned for another post this week catching you up on where the L&S team has been lately!

xoxo,

Angel

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September 1, 2011

Hello dear readers!  Happy September!!!  (It is crazy to see that typed out…  This summer was gone in the blink of an eye!)  I absolutely love the fall and am looking forward to the cozy season, but it still feels like summer with this heatwave we’ve been having in soCal.  So, let’s sneak back to a few months ago when the summer was ripe and these two lovebirds were married!

Borami & Anthony first made an appearance on my blog when I shared their engagement session, but I actually met the couple back in 2009.  I planned Borami’s sister’s wedding (Hi Naomi!!) and was overjoyed when Borami reached out to me when she was engaged.  It was truly special to be a part of two weddings in this beautiful family.  Borami’s father told me that evening that he was sad he didn’t have any more daughters so I could plan their weddings.  😉  Speaking of Borami’s parents… a romantic moment I caught that day: Borami’s mother was getting ready and asked her husband if she looked OK.  His reply: “My baby always looks beautiful!”  I was so touched in that simple moment.  I know that Borami and Anthony will have a rich and loving marriage due to the wonderful example they have in their families.

This wedding took place at my beloved Saddlerock Ranch (where I still have 4 weddings left this year — woohoo!) and I truly never, EVER tire of the place.

Enjoy these dreamy photos from my dear friend, Amelia Lyon.  Working with her and Justin is always a joy, and these photos speak for themselves.  She is incredibly talented and these images bring back all the beauty and wonder of the day.

pure sweetness.

loooove these two images.

{ Lovely Vendors }

I hope you all have a lovely Labor Day weekend!!  My plans include a fabulous wedding in shades of eggplant, plum, sage and olive.. as well as attending The Taste!
xoxo, Angel
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August 12, 2011

Happy Friday, everyone!!  I hope your week was fantastic in every way.  😉  I’ve just come out of a terrible sinus infection (my first one — bleh!) and am almost 100% again.  I think the worst part of being sick was watching Erik (who was also sick… who happened to *give* me said sinus infection) take lots of medicine that I couldn’t take, and therefore get a lot of relief I couldn’t get. LOL  Grateful that I never ran a fever and no harm was done to the gummy bear.  I’m also grateful that the sinus infection ran its course now… and not a week from now when I’m in the throes of one of my largest-scale weddings of the year!!

Thank you to everyone who entered our latest giveaway — I will post the winner’s name at the bottom of this post.  If you didn’t win this time around, don’t fret — Anna’s summer essentials will be posted soon, along with another chance to win.  🙂

Today I wanted to send you off on the weekend with some gorgeous engagement photos of another one of our beloved couples: Sara and Bryon.  (Sara rhymes with Zara, btw~)  Are they too cute or what??  The photos were shot at our favorite Saddlerock Ranch, so I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of what the venue is like simply as a background for beautiful pictures.  (FYI — S&B aren’t getting married at Saddlerock!  You can pay a special “photoshoot” rate to have photos taken on-site.)  Many thanks to the lovely Suthi Picotte of Picotte Photography who shot and shared these photos with me.  Many of you may know that I was also Suthi’s wedding planner a few years ago.  Feel free to peruse the eye candy of her oft-imitated wedding… Her event was a trendsetter for sure.  xo

sara’s shoes!!!!

And now without further ado… Congratulations to Elisabeth, who won Michelle’s summer essentials giveaway!!  Check your email and we will get your goodies to you ASAP.  😉

Everyone else: enjoy a beautiful weekend.  My plans include lots of family time, lunch with a dear friend and catching up on some scrapbooking.

xoxo, Angel

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July 25, 2011

Hello everyone!!  Thank you SO very much for your heartwarming comments on the last post.  I read and re-read them all, cherishing all of your kind words.  We feel so surrounded by love during this exciting time and are blessed to have your support and prayers.  🙂

Today I am delighted to share with you a positively stunning wedding that took place almost exactly a year ago (Happy Anni, I & H!).  This beautiful affair was featured on Style Me Pretty today and I know you will enjoy poring over the gorgeous images here, too.

The event took place at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, which is easily one of my favorite venues ever.  The property has a genuine charm, sweetness, and romance that is completely natural.  It just feels like love.  Ingrid and Howard’s wedding can be summed up best in one word: lovely.  Their intimate celebration was romantic, vintage and inspired by nature.  They embraced a soft and ladylike palette of sherbet colors (including peach, blush and pale yellows) accented by a dusty aqua.   Their heartfelt ceremony on the garden lawn was followed by a cocktail reception featuring raspberry mojitos and peach bellinis.  Inside San Ysidro Ranch’s Colman Cottage, they gathered with just over 40 guests for a cozy dinner party.  The sounds of classical Spanish guitar played in the background as guests dined and laughed together.  As the night wound down, guests were treated to a dessert buffet and a gourmet popcorn station featuring fanciful toppings — everything from chili powder to dried seaweed flakes.  The atmosphere facilitated warm conversations that lingered into the mild summer evening, as guests lingered on the starlit patio…

Feast your eyes on these breathtaking photos by none other than the purely talented Jose Villa…  Everything he captures on film, I want to frame.  Grateful to call him a friend.

I & H: You are two of the sweetest, most thoughtful people I have had the pleasure to work with over the years.  Your gentle and genuine love was incredible to behold, and your wedding day was pure magic.  Wishing you only the best — miss you both!  xoxo

{ vendors }

*
I hope your day is as sweet as sugared cherries.  😉  xoxo, Angel

 

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July 11, 2011

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope your week is off to a lovely start~ I had a great weekend — we saw the fruition of a fun and quirky wedding at the Huron Substation and I can’t wait to share it with you soon. This week I’ll be prepping for my next (3rd!) July wedding: a bright and modern Indian wedding in Orange County.

Today I have another lovely May wedding for you, courtesy of the always sweet Sarah K. Chen. Sarah’s photos have such a beautiful softness and elegance to them; her images are truly timeless. As Sarah mentioned on her blog, Danielle and Eric’s wedding day was full of emotions. Danielle lost her mother at a young age and honored her in numerous ways throughout the day, including using part of her mom’s veil to wrap her bouquet. She also surprised Eric by walking up the aisle to “Mama’s Song” by Carrie Underwood… a SERIOUS tear-jerker. I was so moved by the love and joy that day — Danielle and Eric have a beautiful story and they are perfectly suited for one another. I LOVED getting to know this pair throughout the planning process and could not have asked for kinder clients. I know we will share friendship for years to come — Danielle and I already had lunch together last week!! 😉

Enjoy these photos of their beautiful wedding (at Rancho Las Lomas, one of my favorite Orange County venues), which leaned toward a very clean, fresh look with a palette of pure white, platinum and cobalt blue.

i loved the swooping arcs danielle + eric integrated in their wedding stationery (by bella figura), so we brought them into the ceremony design using flowing curves of dendrobium orchid strands set against a platinum satin backdrop for contrast.

{Vendors}

Hope you have a great day!!  As always, thanks for stopping by.  xoxo, Angel
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July 9, 2011

Hello everyone!!  I hope you all had a fantastic week!  July is a packed month for the L&S ladies — we have four spectacular weddings this month (one already down, one today, and two to go!) so please forgive the blog silence.  I have lots of posts in the queue, so I promise to catch up next week.  😉

Today I’m back with a quick glimpse at some gorgeous images from a wedding I did at the end of May.  This couple is very special to me because I’ve known them since the college years. As Jenn is a few years younger than me, I always looked at her like a little sister.  She and I had an instant bond on many levels, and quickly learned we shared similar backgrounds, dreams, and a love for all things Anthropologie.  I have always seen Jenn as an anam cara (a soul friend) and being a part of her wedding day was a true blessing.  Since the couple was already technically married, they opted for a simple and lovely daytime celebration at the Ritz Carlton Marina del Rey.  Much love to the amazing Malinda there who took great care of us.  Enjoy some beautiful photos courtesy of my dear friend, Amelia Lyon.

jenn + her parents.  love this one.

jenn’s dad is in delicate health so i know these pictures are very precious to her.  he is the sweetest, most charming man — he asked me on the wedding day if he looked handsome.  😉  of course he was quite dashing in his hat!

{vendors}

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!  See you next week with another May wedding.  😉  xoxo, Angel

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