I love when I get submissions reading along with the curious intricacies that shaped a couple, or even a designer’s creative process, what inspired them to decor & fashion greatness.  Fun tidbit about today’s beautifully styled Black & White wedding, the inspiration came for black & white taper candles via Five Stripes!  I completely adore the idea of that and my oh my how gorgeous is the physical manifestation of this candle inspired vision!!  Set in a wonderfully industrial environment, a setting of organic whimsy was created featuring a deep wood table & mix matched chairs, a gold rimmed heirloom china collection, suspended umbrellas as a centerpiece and naturally Five Striped candles!  Our bride and groom are gorgeously styled to boot with the perfect amount of reserve with a slight vintage nod.  This session is wonderfully on trend, modern with a beautiful nod to old, whimsical and sophisticated all in the same breath!

What Storyboard Likes…

Black, White & Brown All Over-  Black & white weddings are wedding palette classic that in recent years has taken more of a main stage notice.  While I love the idea, I often find it can get boring becoming a repeat offender.  However, in the right hands, an artful design eye, the possibilities are limitless!  What I am completely in love with regarding this lil black & white wedding is the introduction of brown, be it in the from of strong organic wood, or in softened brushed golds.  Black & White is still clearly the star of the day, but with the compliments of a much strong supporting cast, the overall feel is softer & more lovely to look at.  The choice of the wood table & gold rimmed heirloom china {supplied by Rosann Konieczny, the calligrapher!} was superb & serve as the perfect accompaniment.  I would love to see more black and white weddings with dash of something extra sprinkled in there.  Its a lovely next step in the evolution of this classic color palette!

Mary Poppins Is Jealous- Let’s just say it now, how amazing are those umbrella centerpiece lights?!?!?!  And they light up for crying out loud!!  There certainly is no shortage of whimsy to this beautifully styled session, with the umbrellas serving as a stunning focal point.  Diane, owner of The Vintage Type, painted the umbrella ceilings with gold spray paint, punched holes with grommets and threaded through a cord with a bare Edison bulb. Believe it or not, these amazing umbrellas are rent-able!  I think if I could tolerate seeing an open umbrella in my life everyday, I would totally need these for my house!!

Industrial Spaces- In general I have a huge crush on just about anything rustic industrial, however when it comes to weddings, for me, it ups the ante!  Raw spaces are so unique but with such a blank canvas in the wrong hands, they can become terribly underwhelming.  As a venue industrial spaces are truly phenomenal and can take on a decor life of their own.  Tall ceilings, exposed beautifully blemished brick, weathered wood, you name, each of those gorgeous elements lend themselves perfectly to inspiring the elements you can use to craft your day.  If you allow it, the room can help you choose the right table, the perfect chairs, the overall vibe & feel.  Another wonderful thing about having your fete in a space of this nature…. the color palette options are literally limitless!!  For those of you looking to completely break the model, run as far away from cookie cutter as one can, I highly suggest checking out industrial venues in your area and I certainly suggest teaming up with a stellar design team that can truly get such an amazing space to really sing!!

Vendor Love

Gowns: Lula Kate, Courtesy of Bella Bridesmaid | Veil: Something Borrowed Bride | Hair & Makeup: Julie Swenson Beauty,KMT Beauty, Melanie Rivers Beauty | Calligraphy: Rosann Konieczny, Calligrapher | Graphic Design: The Vintage Type | Floral Design: Zook Floral Design | Vintage Rentals: The Vintage Type | Styling & Coordination: Girl Friday, The Vintage Type | Photographer: Zlata Modeen Photography

I have had a big time love affair with the city of New Orleans for the better part of 8 years now.  After my first trip in 2005, I was immediately hooked returning at least once a year.  While the city certainly has a well earned reputation as a party town, that is only a fraction of the faces that New Orleans wears.  Believe it or not, New Orleans is an incredibly romantic town as well.  There is a phenomenal old world magic to it all, from the architecture {not just speaking of the quarter}, the people, the history, even the way the sun falls on New Orleans.  There is a magic to the city I rarely feel in other places and its very easy to see why Lynn Davidson & Michael Green choose it not only as their favorite city, but the very place that they got married!  A more intimate wedding environment was perfect for our couple, saying ‘I do’  in the garden courtyard at Place d’Armes surrounded by their closest friends & family.  After the ceremony, the couple joined a well loved New Orleans tradition, a second line jazz band which proudly announced to the quarter their love & happiness in only a way a music loving town could!  Celebration, drinks & nibbles were shared with friends at Pat O’Briens all the while every moment captured by wonderful New Orleans wedding photographer Heirloom Collective.  Not every wedding needs to be major in the form of giant guest list, tons of decor, and so on.  Celebrate the love and have one hell of a good time, THAT’S what a wedding is meant to be!

SBW Ps- How brilliant is the idea of using a crotchet hook to help button all those beautiful studs that often run down gowns?!  Take note my future brides!

SBW Pps- I am sorry, but how incredibly cute {albeit maybe a lil wrong, hehe} is the shot of the lil man, draped in Mardi Gras beads, sippin from his bottle!?  I mean, seriously!!!

Novella of the Bride…

We met in Boston at a Kentucky Derby party. Michael jokes that he knew I was the girl for him when I laughed at his “as much use as tits on a bull” joke. I loved the fact that our first discussion was an argument over the number of laps the horses run in the Derby–and I won! After that – we pretty much became inseparable. Our favorite spot in Boston quickly became Fenway Park, watching the Red Sox play. Fast forward a few years, we moved to California for a change of scenery. On a trip back to Boston, Michael snuck me onto the field at Fenway to propose….an unbelievable feat that most Red Sox fans will never get to experience!

Picking the location for the wedding was easy – our favorite city – New Orleans. We wanted the wedding to be about us, in a place that we love.  And what better excuse do we need to visit in the future? After that, the pieces just fell into place…a gorgeous courtyard for the ceremony, our favorite bar for the reception, and an AMAZING second line. It was the perfect New Orleans wedding that we both wanted–a truly unforgettable day.

Vendor Love

Ceremony Venue: Place d’Armes| Reception Venue: Pat O’Briens | Makeup Artist: Flawless Bride | Officiant: Fig Street Weddings| Band: Kinfolk Brass Band | Floral Designer: Chloe Ann Designs | Cake Designer: Cake Design By Meg | Props: NOLA Umbrellas | Event Planner: All About Events | Cinema and Video: Jacob Media Project | Photographer: Heirloom Collective

The Impressionistic era was a powerful time in painting, heavily focusing on elements like the accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities.  Short “broken” brush strokes of mixed and pure unmixed colour were used to achieve an effect of intense colour vibration.  This blend of gorgeous colors left you with the feeling of something inanimate come alive.  Its easy to so how such beauty can inspire a unique wedding theme & style.  With an open palette, colors & patterns are allowed to run wild, crafting a beautiful symphony of attraction.  California photographer Siegel Thurston photography teamed with some stellar vendors to craft a modern watercolor wedding with a slight vintage nod to the 60′s.  The table set up is utterly divine and I am dying over the cake!!  Watercolor as  a source of wedding inspiration is phenomenal and I am sure you will think so too!

What Storyboard Likes…

Watery Colors = Delight- I am completely taken by the gorgeous idea of watercolors for wedding inspiration  I mean look at the amazing cake for example!  When your working with something like watercolors as inspiration, the beauty of it is wide berth that is given to achieve your goal.  Naturally florals go hand in hand with inspiring mixes of hues, but its the details in things like the stationary, the cake, the cupcake wrappers, and so forth that tie the watery blend of colors all together!

Floral, Floral & More Floral- As I noted just above, a very good friend to a watercolor theme is flowers!  I love the idea of going with a bright & vibrant floral print table cloth that itself has a very impressionistic feel!  I adore patterned linens and would love to see a reprisal of them in weddings!  Naturally the true blooms are the superstars, bright colorful leafy blooms with tons of petals that create many short lines for the eye vs hard defined ones, the essence of impressionism, non?  Be it prints or natural blooms, flowers are a watercolor themes best friend!

Escorting The Guests- I hate to say it, but escort cards & how they are displayed are all to often incredibly under styled elements in most weddings.  The set up here is simple with a few choice elements of interesting design, like the old phone & fringe lamp shade.  What I really love though are the lovely soft hankies that are knotted into a garland of sorts completely taking the entire presentation up a notch, not to mention tying back into the gorgeous floral impressionistic design!  Nothing too crazy but its enough to make the cards feel just as special as the rest of the wedding decor, another lovely step in the day, not something that breaks from the wedding magic!

Vendor Love

Venue: Darlington House | Fashion Stylist: CBS Lifestylist | Jewelry: Alber Rezko | Hair: Kalyn Sieminski hair | Make Up: Melissa Rae & Co | Florist: Grand floral | Props & Tableware: Vintage vault | Rentals: Farm Tables and More | Linens: La Tavola | Paper | Products: Poppy Print | Event Design: Sara Mackenzie Creative & Laura Lorraine Designs | Photography: Siegel Thurston photography

Delia Parra & Adrian Parra decided that they didn’t want the conventional idea of a wedding, instead hopping on a Vegas bound plane to tie the knot!  While the chapel there included photography, after the I do’s were said, they realized their love wasn’t captured on film as they had hoped.  They opted to reaching out to Studio Sequoia to get some proper bridal portraits together!  What I love about a part of their session is how wonderfully it plays out like the perfect engagement session.  All too often couples don’t really think about what they want and end up with imagery that plays out like that of senior pictures.  I hate to say it, but it is so frequently the case.  Delia & Adrian’s simple shoot in the ivy is the perfect example of what just a touch of forethought can bring.  A simple sweet picnic setup, throw in a vintage trunk & some classic board games & you have the easy makings for a far more memorable engagement session.  The sweet couple is still very clearly the stars of the session, its the strength of the staging that really makes for an extraordinary set of memories!

Vendor Love

Venue: Balboa Park
Photographer: Studio Sequoia

I am all kinds of swoony in love with this gorgeous styled shoot!  Firstly let’s discuss the bridesmaid luncheon, if you have not really heard of it {sadly a tradition that has largely slipped away from us} it is a petite party thrown by the bride herself where she plays host to her bridesmaids & close friends/family to thank them for their support through out.  Typically brides will host this event close to the final fitting, sometimes even the day before the wedding itself.  I adore this idea and would love nothing more then to hear of this tradition picking back up again!  Your lovely ladies are there for you throughout so many ups & downs, its a wonderful treat to thank them with a sweet party, to really  let them know how very much you value them by your side.  An incredible team of Texas vendors crafted a stunning styled luncheon, inspired by the wonder of the Antbellum era.  Light lovely colors hallmark the day while flowing fabrics & soft pastel florals served up some gorgeous imagery.  Never one to stray from the sweet south, treats like pecan pie & peach bellinis greeted the guests.  This shoot is pure spring eye candy, the kind that makes you want to throw your own adorable fete straight away!

Novella of the Design…

The wedding reception may be the party of all parties as far as wedding events for the couple and bride-to-be. But for the bridal party, family and friends; pre-wedding parties are momentous celebrations. With this premise, we staged a lifestyle shoot that revolves around a very important but often neglected pre-wedding party: the bridesmaids’ luncheon.

Our luncheon celebrates the beauty and glamour of the Antebellum era in a Modern Plantation Garden soiree. It’s all about the sweetness of the South with modern and DIY details, in a palette of mint and gold, with touches of peach, cream, and white. Simple touches like teacups and roses, sweet pies and peaches to Victorian compotes.

A Rococo settee in front of The Plantation House was the perfect sitting area for the bride-to-be in a floral and proper Southern dress but with a modern edge. Hobnail milk glasses were DIY’ed by dipping in gold acrylic paint, unassuming juice bottles were turned into simple vases with just a coat of paint and washi tape. Plate settings are perfect with mint green plates with gold rim paired with goldware. Menu items are marked by vintage hardware and the favors are soaps in a decorated box with with handmade peach-pink paper roses. The soiree continues to the pool area, and the party is not complete without a bar cart, perfect parfaits, peach bellinis, and the quintessential Southern dessert, pecan pies (in adorable miniature, of course!)

Vendor Love

Venue: The Plantation House | Wardrobe Stylist: Cristina Facundo | Makeup Artist: Adrienne Pitkin | Hair Stylist: Roar Salon | Caterer: Crave Catering | Florist: Luanna Cole with the Plantation House  | Event Designer: Maureen Stevens | Prop Rentals: Sweet Sunday Events | Paper Products: Meldeen | Handmade Goods Designer: Maureen Stevens | Model: Emma Hefti | Photographer: Nicole Ryan Photography