Category — southern california

You know how sometimes, you just have to try something unreasonable on, so you can see how bad/ill-fitting it looks and “Rule it Out”?

{Image Source: Brides.com}

I used to think I wanted a Claire Pettibone dress. The Juliet, to be exact. I couldn’t afford it, but it didn’t stop me from wanting it. I dragged my mom while she was in town for Christmas, to try it on, hoping I’d hate it in person. But it was just lovely. And to wear one of her dresses is like bathing in silk…. comfortable, sensual, and rich-feeling. Too rich, for my wee bank account. I looked and looked for an alternate, but to no avail. I was nervous.

Cut to: May ‘08
Our great friend Billy (aka our officiant, more on that another time) teaches yoga. He came over one night and gave me a business card for a local, eco-conscious dress designer who took his class that evening, thinking I might be able to use it. I was all, “pssshhh - we’ll see if I like her stuff better than the Juliet - yeah, right!”

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Even before we were officially engaged, I liked to torture myself by spending hours looking at the galleries on wedding photography websites. We both knew from the start that photography is possibly the most important element (after the love, of course), because every bride I know says the day is such a blur that the photos are the only way to remember certain details. I quickly learned that there are really two types of photographers worth considering. Some are reasonably (though not easily) affordable and take ‘pretty’ pictures. You look at them objectively and say, “aw, how nice”, and quickly flip to the next one. And then there are the kind who are able to communicate the energy, emotion and drama of each moment. They make the viewer feel close to the people in the photo, even though they’re complete strangers. Their photographs rivet you and make you emotional, just looking at them. That’s exactly what we wanted, but I knew we’d never be able to afford a photographer like that, not on our budget.

Then, I saw a post on A $10,000 Wedding about a photographer who offers 3 pro-bono wedding packages each year to needy/deserving brides who cannot afford high-end photography for their weddings. Rather than being a competition-style offer, its just an incredibly generous outreach to support couples who cannot otherwise afford remarkable photography. I looked at the Chennergy website and I honestly could barely breathe. His pictures were so vivid, so moving, so beautifully composed and emotional… I had never seen anything like it. For a couple days, it was all I could think about. I decided I had to write in and see what happened, or I’d always wonder ‘what if…’

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As foodies, it was really important that the food be a reflection of our taste, and surpass your average “banquet” style affair. That’s why we were so excited to have our expectations exceeded by the Bungalow Club’s delightful “middle-terranean” cuisine (thats Middle Eastern/Mediterranean fusion, yo.). Its even got a hint of Japan here and there.

During each meeting with Anat, the owner, she’d periodically yell out to a member of the staff - “bring them the Moroccan cigars! Bring more hummus! Bring the spring rolls!” … and we lapped up every morsel.

I’ve always dreamed of having a tray-passed hors d’oeuvre cocktail hour, but it always seemed like an unreasonable expense whenever I talked budget with caterers. But, Anat assured us that she’d have it no other way, so hooray! We’ll be having a mix of 6-8 passed appetizers, from tuna tartar to avocado spring rolls to lamb lollipops to sushi rolls. They have a great selection of vegetarian food, which is important because I (as well as many of our friends) are either vegetarian or very picky about their meat.

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…We now return for the thrilling conclusion of “How to find a wedding venue in 7 months!”

If I were to give you all the details on every place we researched, contacted, obtained proposals from, and visited, this blog would go on forever and the only remaining readers would be zombies. So, we’ll just cut to the chase, shall we?

For a long while, I had ruled out restaurants because of our desire to marry outdoors. But desperate times called for desperate measures and we figured that we could always do an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception if we found the right place. So, I hit up the ol’ internets with fresh eyes, and there it was… a beautiful gem had been right under my nose all along.

{Image source: The Bungalow Club}

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Ellen and Caro were married at one of my favorite venues, the Viceroy in Palm Springs, and if that weren’t enough, they had the positively drool-worthy Next Exit Photography there to capture the day.  The Viceroy is black and white and yellow all over and so was this wedding!

Check out our stylish couple:

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From the minute we got engaged, Hunter had fantasies of us marrying in Mexico. After all, we loves us some margaritas and mexican food! (Did someone say melty cheese? Yes, please!) And Mexico is only a 2.5 hour drive from home sweet home. I wasn’t really into the idea, but after the disappointments we had in seeking a venue in the US, our attentions turned south, and we made plans to visit Rosarito Mexico. Rosarito is just 45 minutes south of the border, and known for its nice beaches and for being where all the stars from Hollywood came to drink during prohibition. Random fact: Titanic was filmed here. They even have a museum commemorating this honor.

Jesus blesses the margarita drinkers
Author’s personal collection, 2008

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Yesterday, we shared Lyndsy and Elon’s gorgeous Malibu ceremony, as photographed by the incredible Natalie Moser.  Today, we give you their beautiful reception, including all of the details that they executed to perfection!  Take a look at their beautiful reception from a distance…

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We have been so excited over the recent months to follow the planning of Lyndsy and Elon’s wedding via Lyndsy’s blog, Yellow Brick Bride.  So when we connected with Natalie Moser and she offered up Lyndsy’s wedding photos for a feature, naturally we were thrilled!  Between Natalie’s amazing talent behind the camera and Lyndsy and Elon’s fab sense of style and branding, this wedding was truly fabulous! 

First shot = one of the best ever.  The sock shot seems to be as popular as the colored shoe shots lately and this one is sure to inspire countless searches for argyle socks.

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Hello! As a fellow bride, and blog-stalker extraordinaire, I am just thrilled to get to share some of my experiences with the loyal EAD readers out there. I am especially excited to be working with E and A since I’m such a big fan. I enjoy writing, and since I come across, or dream up, so many exciting ideas each day, and I’m psyched to share them with girls just like me…. stalking blogs for wedding porn!

I guess I should start with a wee* intro, so y’all know a bit about my background and story. Well, here goes!

I am a 30-year old actress from Chicago. I moved to Los Angeles nearly 2 years ago with the love of my life, Hunter, and our doggie, Paco. Hunter and I met in Milwaukee in 2002 and celebrated our 5 year anniversary last October 7th.

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I have been so excited to show all of you this gorgeous real wedding shot by the absolutely fabulous Michael Norwood.

Kathy and Sam were married at the Turnip Rose at Grand Newport Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.  Take a look at the spectacular setting they had to work with!

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