Full Planning & Design: Engaged & Inspired, Photography: Willow & Ben, Venue: Santa Lucia Preserve, Floral Design: Barefoot Floral, Beauty: The Hair & Makeup Co, Entertainment: Golden Bell Productions, Cake: Layers Monterey, Rentals: Adore Folklore, Chic Event Rentals, Lighting: Fiesta Lighting
Carmel Valley Ranch Wedding, Olivia & Kevin
Olivia & Kevin wed earlier this year at the stunning Carmel Valley Ranch with a close group of family and friends, and a few of their very favorite vendors that spoke to the couple and their vision. It was such a pleasure to be brought on for full design & partial planning as I really aligned with the clients modern style and leaned into the bride’s favorite color of deep green and natural textured elements. It was a joy to work with the loving and creative Brandi Crocket photo based out of Ojai, CA and traveling in for the event. Here’s just a sneak peek of our day so we will be posted a second round up of images soon!
Our amazing vendor team - Planning & Design: Engaged & Inspired, Venue: Carmel Valley Ranch, Photo: Brandi Crocket Photo, Hair & Makeup: Blush Monterey, Specialty Rentals: Chic Event Rentals & Theoni rentals, Custom decor: Wilde Valley, Floral designer: Unwritten Florals
The newest wedding party trend is embracing personal style and individuality with an individually chosen bridal party dress than can be re worn. Instead of matching dresses, we're seeing beautifully mismatched garden dresses with unique floral patterns. This mix creates a visually stunning combination, showing off each bridesmaid's personality and best look. It's a modern twist on tradition that brings even more life to the party and adds a fun look to group photos. You can see how much fun they were having on the day!
The venue is set directly in between the property vineyards and garden, so guests have views as they enter and leave the ceremony to reception, with an optional walk right through the vineyard trail. We love hosting guests on the harvest landing any chance we get! This spot is best for groups up to 85 guests.
The secret deck at Carmel Valley Ranch is one of our favorite places to take our couples for a first look moment or to carve some special time in for portraits. The bridal party greeted them upon their return for a quick champagne toast and a quick stroll through the resort. Parasols were the perfect addition for the bridal party vibe and helped keep them a bit cooler during a hot day of pre ceremony fun!
Stradley Davidson table runners were paired perfectly with deep olive green napkins, handmade cane webbing napkin rings, bone style flatware, and mini bread loafs tied with calligraphy name cards or herb sprigs as meal indicators. A mix of bud vases, raffia votives, and my favorite: mini table lights, created an eclectic mix of table decor on the wooden tables. The round centerpieces filled the linen tables perfectly.
Pictured above is the perfect late summer weather, blessing wedding guests during cocktail hour on the harvest landing. We timed the start of dinner with the sunset lighting as we escorted all guests over to indoor space, ready with greenery installations that tied the room together nicely with the tablescapes.
A fun seating chart to let guests know where to sit, was one of the brides’ favorite details that came to life. The couple was able to sneak away for sunset photos as guests moved throughout the property. Carmel Valley Ranch is one of our favorite venues in the Carmel area, as it has so many fun locations on the huge property, and we cannot wait to work there again soon!
Modern Design Inspiration
I have put together a little snippet of things I've been loving at the moment. Less is more and simplicity are trends I'm starting to love more and more. Thank you Instagram for keeping me inspired day after day!
J & K | Holman Ranch Wedding
Holman Ranch, settled in the base of Carmel Valley, is the perfect blank canvas where anyones wedding dreams can become a reality. When choosing this 750 acre estate the options are endless with Jerusha and Kole proving this. Although this location being traditionally a more rustic location, modern and simple elements were added to this commencement to cater to what Jerusha and Kole had dreamed of which we strive to do here at Engaged & Inspired.
Photography: Sally Pinera | Floral: Christine Cater | Catering: Paradise Catering | Venue: Holman Ranch.
Design Process - ROUND 1 | Romantically Rustic Inspiration
I am spending the off season planning and designing for 2017/2018 clients. The last month or two I've been knee deep in the design process! I wanted to share a little more about how that works and show off some of the work I've been putting together.
The first step in my process is to create and present a mood board and call out specific pieces of the image (color palette, place setting look, the berries in the floral, etc.) This is less about creating a cohesive theme and more about taking the direction I've gathered from the client and throwing out some other ideas just to see where we land. We have a conversation about loves/hates, other ideas and the like. The goal here is to gather as much information as I possibly can so I can get those creative juices flowing and present round 2 with a few more unique ideas, exact rental options, etc.
This client wants something more on the rustic side, so my design round up is filled with ideas to bring out the romantic elegance while still maintaining the rustic style of the couple and the venue. Pulling in the dusty rose, deckled edge paper in off-white tones and wood signage were ways of creating a more rustic look while still elevating the overall feel.
This is the first round of design boards for this event, and while I don't want to share too much about the final designs, I'll be back to share more about the design process, where things go from here and how we flush out the details to create a cohesive design plan that we then work to plan for and execute on the day-of.
S & C | Big Sur Destination Wedding
We had the pleasure of working with this incredibly sweet couple to plan their destination wedding for 20 of their closest family and friends. Guests traveled from Ohio for a wedding weekend getaway in Carmel, and were shuttled to Big Sur for the wedding. The fog burnt off and the coastline was at it's best all day followed by a bright and colorful sunset which fit in perfectly with the design concept we executed for the tablescape.
Venue: Wind & Sea Estate, Big Sur | Planning & Design: Engaged & Inspired | Floral: Studio Mondine | Photography: The Why We Love | Catering: Paradise Catering
Pinterest Overload on Bridal Guide Magazine
I'm over on the Bridal Guide magazine blog talking about avoiding Pinterest overload and how to use Pinterest to your benefit while planning a wedding.
This is a huge subject now that Pinterest is the only way to design a wedding these days (back in my day when I got married, we just had to use folders on our desktop! I know, it was a pain).
Hop on over there and check out my tips for Pinterest and Wedding Planning.
Wedding Invitation Wording Ideas by The Aerialist Press
Our friends over at Aerialist Press just created a life-saver of a blog post, 21 Best Wedding Invitation Wording Ideas, and we just to share.
Aerialist Press is one of my favorite invitation and paper company, their work is just beautiful and their professionalism is on point. They have definitely seen it all when it comes to invitation wording, so it is no surprise that they whipped up this perfectly amazing blog post/infographic all about invitation wording.
Make sure you bookmark so you can reference it when you are ready to write out those invites!
Refreshing Signature Cocktail Ideas
Who doesn't love a good cocktail? I for one am a fan of a cocktail made of fresh real ingredients as opposed to syrups and sugars. These cocktails all include fresh ingredients but are simple enough to pull off quickly and with a larger crowd.
Plum & Thyme Prosecco Smash
This delicious prosecco-based cocktail from My Diary of Us combines fresh fruit and fresh herbs in the perfect mixture. YUM
Blackberry Lemon Gin & Tonic
I'm a huge Gin fan, so this one is right up my alley. The color alone makes this cocktail well worth a try, especially on a hot summer day. Thanks to The Stiers Aesthetic for creating this beauty.
Watermelon Mojito
A Subtle Revelry does it again, this time with a refeshing summer cocktail that also makes for the perfect "Hers" Signature Cocktail for any wedding.
Basil Fig Vodka Smash
This one might be a challenge to pull off at a wedding, but would be totally worth it! With Food & Love creates the perfect summer/fall cocktail that is sure to be a favorite no matter where you serve it. YUM.
Fall 2016 Bridal Trends with David's Bridal
Let's talk bridal fashion, and who knows more about fashion, trends and what women want than David's Bridal. They have over 300 stores and 1 of every 3 brides will walk down the aisle in a David's Bridal gown, so they know a little something about the topic.
Fall 2016 is fast approaching and with it we will see a new collection of beautiful gowns. So what are the top trends this fall? We have partnered with David's Bridal to hear about a few trends that we will definitely be seeing more of in the near future.
DRESS: David’s Bridal Style Number MS251173 | Collection: Melissa Sweet, exclusively at David’s Bridal
Deep V – This season’s plunging necklines offer modern brides an elegant way to add a something extra to her look.
DRESS: David’s Bridal Style Number SLMS251111 | Collection: Melissa Sweet, exclusively at David's Bridal
Delicate Deco – Inspired by 1920’s glamour, this season’s art deco beading is crafted to be delicate and graceful.
RESS 1: David’s Bridal Style SWG751 | Collection: Galina Signature DRESS 2: David’s Bridal Style WG3817 | Collection: Galina
Sleeves - Sleeves are one of the top looks for fall. Better for fall, it adds a little something special to the bride's silhouette.
What are your favorite wedding dress details and what do you feel like we will be seeing a lot more of this Fall? Make sure you check out the David's Bridal new arrivals when you're looking for your dream dress!