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A Savvy Bride to Be: Audrey
We’ve been following Audrey’s journey to the altar this year (you can catch her past entries here and here) – we’ve introduced you to Audrey and Matt, chronicled their engagement story, and now we finally get to tell you more about her wedding!
Tell us a little bit about your wedding.
We are getting married on July 26, 2104 at Ahmanson Ranch, which is a stunningly beautiful property in the Santa Monica Mountains on Calabasas. The house on the property was built in the 1930′s, and the serenity of the ranch quickly sold us as we were searching for the perfect venue. Historic scenes from Gone with the Wind and many other movies were filmed on the ranch, and we are so excited to make it our own this summer!
Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?
Yes, we are working very hard to incorporate details that are meaningful to us. Matt’s uncle is going to marry us in a personalized ceremony that we are creating together with him, and our dog Shadow will be walking down the aisle before I do (she even has her own veil). Given that I am from Texas, we will also be incorporating a few southern elements such as quotes from our favorite country songs, comfort foods, and a first dance to George Strait’s “I Cross My Heart”.
When did you know that Matt was “the one”?
I knew that Matt was “the one” after only a few dates. I immediately felt very comfortable being around him, and I came home after our first date and said that I felt like I had known him for ten years. There was instantly something so easy and refreshing about our connections, and I knew quickly that he was my forever.
Gilt.com’s Wedding Event with Style Me Pretty
We have something very exciting to share with you! Starting this Friday, 4/18 at 12pm ET (that’s today!!), GILT will be kicking off our bi-annual bridal event with all things wedding, from sophisticated dresses, elegant jewels, gorgeous heels, and other fabulous wedding finds… and all at amazing prices at up to 60% off retail. You can expect top designer brands from the likes of Oscar De La Renta, Reem Acra, Marchesa Couture, Vera Wang and Badgley Mischka to name a few.
And this season, GILT has teamed up with Abby Larson, editor and founder of StyleMePretty.com and SyleMePrettyLiving.com, who has curated a sale of some of her favorite wedding must-haves, from dresses to jewelry to pumps and more. Her sale on GILT has everything you need to make your wedding an affair to remember. Abby also shares some insider tips and tricks from making the perfect wedding in an exclusive Q&A with GILT, which can be accessed here. You can access Abby’s curated sale by going to the link – gilt.com/stylemepretty
La Tavola Linen Release Party
Each year La Tavola Linen releases some new linens, and to announce the new linens they throw a party! This year’s release party was last week, and it was wonderful. The new linens are so fun and beautiful, and we thought we’d share them with you here (pardon the iPhone photos!).
Jax Silver and Ajanta Tan are such a charming pair.
In addition to releasing a great new stripe (Hudson Stripe, shown here in Onyx and Tangerine), La Tavola also released some new colors in the beautiful Casablanca pattern (Onyx, Kiwi, and Tangerine).
Flow Hollyhock caught our eye. Such a great linen for spring, and the colors are amazing. Shown here next to Eze Coral. We love the spring and summer colors that were featured at the party. Patterns and textures and pinks and yellows really pop in the springtime, and we can’t wait to use some of these new linens.
We also saw some romantic and traditional linens. Neutrals, gorgeous whites, and layered tables were everywhere at the party. It really was nice to see all of the new linens and we really can’t wait to start designing your tablescapes with the new linens!
Click here to view all of the new linens from the 2014 line.
Vendor Highlight: I Do Wedding Ceremony
Since 2010, I Do Wedding Ceremony has offered officiating for your wedding day. These officiants work directly with their couples to create memorable, personalized ceremonies.They customize each ceremony to their couples, and they do a fabulous job!
Wedding Inspiration: The Ceremony
Earlier this week we shared some ideas on ceremony design and backdrops for you, and today we want to talk about the wedding ceremony and wedding traditions. We’ve seen many wedding ceremonies, and we love ones that bring unique twists on tradition and incorporate personal touches or cultural details.
A thousand paper cranes are traditionally given as a wedding gift by the father, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together, and by adding paper cranes on the chuppah, this couple perfectly fused their Japanese/Jewish wedding.
This couple chose to literally tie a knot during their ceremony. Typically a central part of weddings in Scottish and Greek Orthodox faith, it is a very common and fun ritual to include in your ceremony. They chose a fisherman’s knot, which is also known as a true lovers knot. The simple knot strengthens under pressure and becomes sturdier when it gets wet.
It’s also sweet and touching to honor family members that are no longer with us. This couple saved seats for their departed family members, and added photos on the seats. This is a great way to honor deceased family members, or family members who simply cannot make the trip out to the wedding.
This sweet vow renewal featured a toss bar – where guests fill a cone with different items to toss at the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony. This bride chose to fill the cones with lavender for devotion, rose petals for love, and confetti for fun.
Wedding Inspiration: Ceremony Design
Happy Monday! We hope you had a great weekend. The Savvy Team was busy kicking off wedding season and while we can’t wait to share all the details of the great weddings we worked on this weekend, today we’ll have to settle with a post all about wedding inspiration. Over the next few weeks we’re going to be sharing lots of wedding inspiration with you, and this week it’s all about ceremonies. The ceremony is the first space your guests are welcomed into when they arrive – and it should be treated with as much thought and love as the rest of the wedding.
Photo by Allyson Wiley
Joe + Jessica’s wedding featured gorgeous lanterns and ribbons as their ceremony backdrop. The effect was truly romantic and perfectly complimented their Wine Country Wedding.
Photo by Allyson Wiley
Ribbon back drops and screen back drops are such a fun way to add detail and design into your ceremony, and a unique alternative to the traditional altars. Liz + Patrick had an amazing screen back drop for their ceremony, which was then repurposed with uplighting for their dance lounge. This helped really showcase their modern and contemporary vision.
Photo by Mike Larson
Chris + Robyn’s Sonoma Golf Club wedding had a beautiful ribbon backdrop hanging from the vines of their altar that perfectly complimented their glamorous wedding.
Photo by Ellie Grover
The altar and ceremony backdrop is really the first place that guests will see the vision for your wedding. It’s the introduction to the entire event, and should be showcased. We hope this inspiration post helped spark ideas for all you brides planning your weddings – and don’t forget, we’re here to help!
Vendor Highlight: Seltzer Sisters
We’ve really enjoyed sharing some fun vendors with you this week. Today, we bring you the Seltzer Sisters, a Bay Area company specializing in Real Seltzer and Italian Sodas.
Since 1983 the Seltzer Sisters have bottled and delivered old-fashioned seltzer to people all over the Bay Area. They’re one of a handful of small companies devoted to old-fashioned service and then environmentally sound use of refillable bottles.
They also have a Fountain Service, which is great for events! Bringing unique flavor to any event – the old fashioned soda fountain can be set up onsite and make over 300 flavor combinations in the form of hand-made sodas and ice cream sodas. Famous for their New York Chocolate Egg Cream, the Seltzer Sisters use authentic turn-of-the-century spritzer bottles of beautiful blue and green glass. We think this would be such a fantastic and fun service to have at your wedding or party (and great for children’s parties, too!).
Vendor Highlight: Vow To Be Chic
This week we’re sharing fun and interesting vendors with you, and today we’re excited to introduce you to Vow To Be Chic – a website where you can rent designer bridesmaids dresses online starting at $95. “After being bridesmaids ourselves on many occasions, we realized the honor of being a bridesmaid can be very expensive. We knew that there must be an easier, less expensive, and more fun alternative to the current bridesmaid experience. That’s how Vow To Be Chic began.”
(Sky by Jim Hjelm)
Vow To Be Chic promises to simplify the bridesmaid experience. You submit your measurements and they recommend sizes for your chosen dress. They then send you the same dress in two sizes two months before the wedding so you can try on both and pick the one that fits you better. They even handle the dry cleaning!
(Claire by Joanna August)
Your dress arrives one week before the wedding, and after the wedding just drop the dress in the mail using the prepaid packaging. It’s that simple. Currently featuring Joanna August, Jim Hjelm, Alvina Valenta, Swoon, and Lula Kate, your bridesmaids will have plenty of dresses to choose from.
(Samantha by Alvina Valenta)
All of the dresses come in short length and four colors: blush/pale pink, champagne/nude, grey & navy. The lace dresses come in silver, black, and grey. Vow To Be Chic even has bridal stylists that are ready to help you in any way. From having the bridal party vote on styles, to gather bridesmaids’ measurements, to ordering the dresses – Vow is there to help!
We think Vow To Be Chic is an amazing solution for brides and their maids. Would you rent your bridesmaid dress?
Vendor Highlight: Booker & Butler
Happy Monday! This week we’re highlight some really fun vendors. Today’s vendor is a personal concierge service in Napa and Sonoma Counties. We were lucky enough to speak with Booker and Butler and thought that our brides and grooms might greatly benefit from a service like this. Founder and Concierge of Booker and Butler, Melanie Schwartz, gave us an inside view on what her company provides.
“Booker & Butler is for anyone who wants to make the most of their time in Napa and Sonoma. We put together the most delicious, immersive, playful, exhilarating, inspiring and pampered getaways. We find accommodations, book wine tastings, line up limo drivers, make spa and restaurant reservations, plan any and all activities…you name it. There are two sides to the business: one for visitors staying in hotels or vacation rentals, the other for second-homeowners. Booker & Butler handles the details for both.”
Sample itineraries, located on their website, include romantic excursions for couples and weekend getaways for groups. This is a great service for anyone looking to make the most of their weekend in Wine Country, and great for our couples to recommend to their out of town guests who are looking to make the wedding weekend a full vacation. We absolutely love the idea of having all of your vacation planning done by a professional, instead of pouring through Yelp reviews and word of mouth from friends.
(All photos via Booker & Butler)
Are you planning your Wine Country Weekend? If so, contact Booker & Butler to help make the process easier!
Happy Friday and The Winner!
Happy Friday, readers! We hope you have a fabulous weekend. We’re leaving you with a little throwback from one of our weddings last year. We love this photo of the bride & groom tucked away in a Redwood Grove.
Photo by onelove photography.
The winner of the guestbook giveaway from Forever Heyday is Emma. Emma has been contacted directly. If you have any questions please let us know at brittany@asavvyevent.com
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