If there is one thing I adore about Cali its the ability to dine Al Fresco in a gorgeous setting that samples that of the Spanish mission style ambiance.  Whats more is how perfectly the creamy stucco walls and terracotta like floors lend themselves to a really rich, deep color palette as well!  This styled session highlights so many wonderful ways to dress a table in elegance & refinement all the while paying proper homage to lush organic surroundings.   A deep berry upper layer table cloth sets the tone, while flashes of gold are present in both the under layer table cloth as well as fat bows around the chiavari chairs.  The gold serves as a much need eye pop & shimmer to an otherwise dark affair.  Beautiful gnarled wood brings a real earthy element to the table, while dressed with sliced citrus fruits, artichokes & pomegranates, creating an open cornucopia touch.  Unique blooms transport the table into a more ethereal feel while little details like single blooms & succulents are playfully entrapped in over turned glassware.  The overall effect is a wonderfully organic, rich feeling table set up that steps well away from cookie cutter & transports its guest into a twilight night under the stars!

Vendor Love

Event Venue: Aldea at Tlaquepaque, Phoenix | Event Designer: Trisha Lucy {Petals & Lucy} | Floral Designer: Community Florist | Photographer: Jill Lauren Photography

What better way to showcase the captivating female form then surrounded by mother earth herself!  Venturing into a true rustic setting, Tamara & Lisa Hodack wanted to highlight all the earthy goodness that they could muster all the while showing off Tamara’s oh so fabulous body!  Not to go there buuuuut, dammmmmn girl that booty!  In all seriousness though, I love everything from the setting, the fringe goddess wrap, to the way the light playful wraps around Tamara in each set.  What a fabulously yummy & wonderfully earthy boudoir session!

A Note from Lisa Hodack Photography:

“Being an earthy girl myself, I’ve always wanted to photograph an outdoor boudoir session. Tamara and I collaborated our ideas and she turned out to be the most perfect girl for the shoot! She is the owner of an eco-friendly business called Juja&Stone, who makes all natural beauty products, handmade custom bags from recycled materials, and more. I wanted this session to capture a perfect mix between Tamara’s natural beauty and style as well as the gorgeous light and backgrounds our earth has to offer. The end result turned out better than I could have imagined!”

I have a real thing for table settings, when done right, setting a table properly and creatively as can be is practically art in and of itself.  When guest are presented with the {reception} room for the first time, rest assured that after the awe of the whole picture subsides, the very next thing they are looking at are your tables!  One of my most favorite boards that I curate on Pinterest focuses expressly on the art of the table setting which I have dubbed, Elegance of Table Setting.  Designing ones tables for an event is a true art but with a bit of help and design breakdown, you’ll soon enough be seeing the saucers through the forest of plates, if you know what I mean!

There has been the most chic, lovely & wondrous backyard BBQ place setting floating around for a bit now and I am super eager to discuss it on WIWW!  This gorgeous dream of a setup has color harmony out the wazoo, gentle eye breaks in the form of texture & pattern, along with a beautifully organic touch!  The full post can be found on OnceWed and as always I highly encourage you to head over to check it out!  Let’s see this light beauty shall we!?

 *Photograph by Robert Sukrachand

Color Theory:  The first element to the entire setup that really resonates is the color harmony.  Complimentary colors in the form of green & peach are the true stars here.  The varying tones of each color beautifully jive with its neighbor as each is slighty lighter {or darker} then the next.  The wonderful thing about the color scheme is that some elements, such as the rosemary sprig & some of the leaves in the planter box, contain a tonal range all within themselves!  This vibrant collection of complimentary colors delivers a truly fresh & nirvana like state to any table set up.  While the greens & peaches are spectacular, the mix of neutrals within the rest of the table serve to keep our lofty shades grounded!  In just about any color match up, neutral colors are fair game.  The rule of thumb here is simply to make sure that your tonal ranges match up.  You’ll want the right kind of whites, the right deepness of blacks, and the right earthiness of your browns.  Here, charcoal to true blacks are used, mixed with what I will call lived in whites.  Tying it all together is the light beige table cloth which is the perfect balance between the deep blacks & light whites.  Color harmony takes a lot of work, but when you get it right, there is nothing more glorious!

Pattern Party: Personally I am a huge proponent of patterns.  In most cases, if I can throw in at least one pattern, I’m a happy girl.  By design, patterns keep the eye moving, beautiful noise if you will, therefore the key is always pattern selection.  Pick competing patterns and your eyes will cry, pick just the right combos and the sky’s will sing!  The beauty to the pattern selection here is the use of two striking patterns that are not loud attention seekers.  When working with multiple patterns, the key is to select patterns that will play nice with one another.  Mixing of geometric shapes are typically a nice way to go, just make sure there is a common thread to tie them together. The pairing of these two work so well as the simple windowpane check squares in the base layer echo that of the diamond shape that is found in between the circles within the top napkin.  I bet when you first looked at the set up you didn’t even realize how very complimentary the two patterns were!  The hidden gem to the layering however is the choice of the solid black menu which provides the eye break within the pattern world and beautifully ties them all together.  Even the choice of font for the menu eloquently picks up on the thinness of the check print as does the name card which echos that of the curvier nature of the circle napkin.  Speaking of ties, the small simple black & white striped ribbon tying our napkin package together, works beautifully to counter balance those geometric shapes within the napkins.  Lastly the soft gentle textures & patterns in the floral, their leaves and even the table cloth all serve as the perfect compliment to the over all picture!

Earthy Goodness:  Perhaps my favorite piece to this puzzle is the wonderfully organic feel to the entire set up.  Starting with the simple yet oh so powerful touch of the Rosemary sprig as the perfect finishing element to the choice of the centerpiece which emulates that of how one might envision flowers to appear in a natural proper English garden.  Even the choice of using a low planter box {dark stained to beautifully harmonize with the color scheme!} brings you back to a true backyard garden feel, touching back to mother earth.  I am not sure if it is or not, but the tablecloth seems as if it might be made of  hemp, at the very least linen, either way, wonderful organic fibers that further that yummy earthy feel.

Light, bright and fresh can be wonderfully achieved with just the right elements.  Gorgeous florals, select patterns, organic or metallic, you name it, the table setting world is your oyster!  Remember just because you want a lighter {or darker} setup doesn’t mean that you can not have darker elements.  Not to get all philosophical on you, but for what is a highlight without shadow detail, and the reverse is equally as true!  Be sure to check out the full backyard BBQ wedding at OnceWed HERE.  I’d love to hear what your favorite elements in today’s WIWW are!  Are you a fan of patterns like me, or is it the organic earthy elements that touched you?  Have something you’d love to have design explained, send it in, you never know, it just might be the next WIWW!

Vendor Love

Photography by Robert Sukrachand // Event Design + Florals + Coordination by The Nouveau Romantics // Catering by14 Acre Farm // Vintage Rentals by Magpie Vintage Rentals // Wedding Dress by Leanne Marshall // Groom’s Suit byBrooklyn Tailors //  Invitations by Katherine Ahn

Not just a novelty anymore, retro inspired styles are not just chic but very much in demand within the world of fashion.  We all know that Gatsby  inspired elements are having their moment right now, but the 1950′s/1960′s Man Men infused styles are very much here to stay for quite some time.  These throw back threads speak to a certain polish, a refinement & essence of a well put together woman.  All the better for bride’s willing to look back at the dresses that came before them for their perfect bridal style!  Vintage boutiques are a treasure trove of fashion history and believe it or not, there are ones specific to bridal: gowns, gloves, veils, purses, you name it!  Why not stroll down the aisle in a piece of history thats likely to be one heck of a deal too!  Angela Bartunek of aster & olive photography teamed up with the amazing folks of Miranda’s Vintage Bridal to put together a sweet little shoot highlighting a few lovely retro fashions, including the most covet worthy pair of kitten gloves you’ll ever see!  Please please ladies, bring the kitten gloves back!  {Dying to see some modern brides rockin the gloves!} Regardless of your fashion tastes, dipping into the vintage closet can unearth some mega finds that set the stage for greatness!

Vendor Love

Dress Boutique: Miranda’s Vintage Bridal | Dress: Bianchi {Vintage} *No longer creates | Photographer: aster & olive photography

There’s a certain real wedding that we featured recently on SBW which garnered all sorts of lovely response for not only its wonderfully stylish couple, but the tremendous design done in decor & flora.  A focal point to the wedding was the bride’s bouquet which was utterly D.IV.I.N.E!!  I knew this gorgeous arrangement of blooms would make for the perfect, Why It Works Wednesday!

Firstly some house keeping, to view the full post {trust me if you have not seen it, you simply must!!} Click Here.  The vibe for the wedding as a whole was wonderfully rustic industrial with the Georgia peach as the inspiration both in textures & color palette.  The result are expertly mix matched tables with varying centerpieces ranging from vintage wood planter boxes along with hand colored milk bottles to suspended floral plank centerpieces.  Wedding decor maven  Juli Vaughn Designs crafted not only the design of the decor but the handled the blooms as well.  While the suspended centerpieces are most certainly a WIWW feature all their own, I wanted to focus on our bride’s bouquet which has stuck with me ever since putting the feature together!  It might seem like a surprise, but you would be shocked to know how many bouquets are nothing too special, if not even poorly constructed… therefore when you find a good one, you best hold onto it like a firefly at night!

 *Photograph by Jason Hales Photography

Know your blooms: Cafe Au Laut Dahlias | Coral Charm Peonies | Campanella and Juliet Garden Roses | Amsterdam Roses |Gloriosa Lilies | Billy Balls | Salmon and Orange Ranunculus | Sage

Elements at play: Tonal range {the colors}, bloom size/placing & finishing elements

“Lauren wanted a bouquet that was rustic, romantic, and sophisticated. We kept it romantic by using fluffier, soft blooms, sophisticated because of the shape, and rustic with the feathers and herbs.”

Tonal Range

The inspiration for the wedding as a whole was the good ol’Georgia peach.  Peaches bring to mind soft soft yellows, pale pinks, deeper oranges infused with a pink glow, pure orange and of course the greenery of the leaves when it grows.   Juli Vaughn expertly hand picked each bloom for its specific hue, insuring each would reflect some aspect of the naturally ombréd peaches coloring.  Blossoms were placed together to create a synergy & harmony that would echo the unique skin of our fuzzy tasty friend.  The overall effect is a not just a well designed piece but an arrangement that has a peaceful yet highly sophisticated look.

Blooms Size & Placement 

Did you know that romantic is an adjective that has action behind it?  When carving out the overall feel for the day, romantic was one of the buzzwords the team used to pull from for inspiration.  In effort to inject a romantic vibe into the bouquet, the team opted for fluffier more cloud like soft blooms.  These pillowy petals give off an incredible lusciousness, a feeling of a flush face, breath of life, even a touch of catching your breath as you view them.  All feelings a person feels when they spy the one they love for the first time, the emotions of romance blooming right before your eyes!  Ok ok, I am getting carried away with poetic license here but you get my point.  Big, soft, luscious blooms are the perfect conductor for a romantic vibe, they emote a genuine sense of love!  Just as important as the size of the blooms, each was skillful placed next to one another highlighting its neighbor in special ways.  Whether it was to build upon the color harmony, big up its friend {small blooms next to oversized}, even portray a textural fuzziness, know that each bloom had its place and with good reason.  The result is a tightly {thought not too tightly} constructed bouquet that is sizable in the choice of blooms used, not in an over use of simply too many flowers.  Each is strategic and important!

Finishing Elements

How a bouquet is wrapped is often gawked after, sometimes more so then the blooms, when done with a creative hand.  Keeping with the rustic romantic feel, along with sophisticated design, the team leaned on burlap to be the perfect underlay to the handle.  Choosing a thick finished {worth noting as often burlap is not finished, thus immediately upping the sophistication level!} burlap ribbon, the underlying layer easily gives off that rustic flavor.  Building upon the burlap, a layer of silk ribbons was added in a deeper more inspired hue then the bouquet, insuring it would stand out for all the right reasons.  Silk by nature is a delicate & highly revered fabric often associated with designer threads, therefore the choice of silk is equally working to bring the savoir faire to the design.  The handle is finished with the crème de la crème in refinement, a pheasant feather ribbon accent.  I looooove that Juli brought in the pheasant feather here with its rich browny-gray tone & spotted pattern.  Feathers are the ultimate in class and when wielded for good, triumphs everything!  The choice of burlap, silk ribbon & pheasant feathers beautifully echos the wedding buzzwords of rustic, romantic, and sophisticated.  Knowing how to wrap your bouquet is equally as important as the blooms used to make it!

This gorgeous bouquet has everything going right for it!   Wonderfully hand selected colors & full soft blooms as well as the details used to wrap the handle hearken attention to the full picture.  Flowers are such a powerful tool on your wedding day, something that can easily transport an entire room, or bride, to a whole new world, if just for a day.  Are you as equally enamored by this peach inspired bouquet as I am?  What are some of your favorite elements, the blooms, the colors, maybe the pheasant feathers?!  I’d love to know!  As always, if there is ever something that you would love to know Why It Works, please send it my way, you never know, I just may feature it!

To view the original post: Georgia Peach Inspired Hues In This Rustic Industrial Wedding With Farmhouse Chic Sophistication, CLICK HERE

Vendor Love

Ceremony Venue: St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church  | Reception Venue: Summerour Studio | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Bridesmaid Dresses: Bari Jay  | Shoes: Manolo Blahnik &Prada  | Hair Stylist: The Hair Artist  | Makeup Artist: Kristen Phelps  | Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss | Invitation Designer: Love vs Design  | Music: AMP’D Atlanta  | Rentals: Four Inch Fold &Bold American  | Florist: Juli Vaughn Designs | Caterer: Bold American  | Baker: Lush Cakery | Wedding/Event Planner: Juli Vaughn Designs | Photographer: Jason Hales Photography