This Week I'm Loving | Bridal Blogger Alisha

April 10, 2015

I'm sad to report that this week was a total fail on the wedding planning front. Due to the Easter holiday, the three site visits I had scheduled fell through which pretty much halted my progress. Begrudgingly, I rescheduled all of my appointments and found myself with nothing to do but wait.

I decided to put the venue obsession on the back-burner for this week since my hands were pretty much tied. With my newly found free time, I took to Wedding Gawker and Pinterest for a little non-venue related inspiration. Today I'll be sharing my top 3 wedding related blog posts from this past week. I encourage you to check them out as well because there're awesome and I bet they'll inspire you too!

Fun Bridal Shower Inspiration

First and foremost, I have to mention Wedding Party's awesome post which highlights a ton of fun bridal shower ideas. I personally have never been a huge fan of this tradition but thanks to this post, I can't wait for mine! I mean - Mimosa bar, lipstick shaped cookies, and a pinata? Count me in!

Bestie PHOTO SHOOT Inspiration

I came across this magical little photo shoot featured by Confetti Daydreams a few nights ago and my jaw dropped! Why didn't anyone tell me that best friend photo shoots are a thing?

I never would have dreamed up this idea on my own but now that I know about it, I'm officially adding it to my to do list. I mean, how many times will you have the excuse to get all dolled up, wear a flower crown, and take professional pictures with your best friends? Bridal party - get ready!

Modern style inspiration

Lastly, my favorite post of the whole week came from 100 Layer Cake. I fell head over heals for this stunning wedding inspiration shoot. I mean...there are no words.

I love everything about it from the brides makeup to the sweet backdrop. It's the perfect mix of bold geometric patterns and soft elements. Basically, the shoot is perfection and I'll be referencing it throughout my design planning process.

Even though I was pretty bummed about having to put my venue hunt on hold, it's been nice having a week to just relax and fall back in love with wedding stuff.I feel super energized and can't wait for my first site visit this Sunday! Check back next week for an update on that.

I really hope you liked this little post and I'd love it if you'd share a link to what inspired you this week in the comment area!

8 Tips for Amazing Wedding Photos

April 8, 2015

As a lover of all things wedding related, I spend hours sifting through wedding photos. It's pretty much an all day thing for me because I'm constantly looking for inspiration. I'm always amazed by those really magical shots where the stars align and the photographer catches the bride and groom at the perfect moment.

This got me thinking about what it actually takes to get that kind of shot. After a lot of careful consideration I've decided that the cosmos probably have very little to do with good wedding photography. In reality, I think there are a lot of things that contribute to those magical images. Obviously starting out with a well recommended photographer is key, but the process shouldn't stop there. Today I share a few important tips for you to try that can help your photographer capture those once in a lifetime wedding photos.

1. Do an Engagement Session.

It's a good idea to do an engagement shoot with your photographer before your big day so that you can get a feel for how you work together. Since engagement shoots are generally pretty laid back, you'll have time to get comfortable with the camera which should help do away with any wedding day photography jitters. Think of it as a practice run for the main event!

2. The Shot List:

It is important to hire a photographer you trust and let them do their thing. Sending a few photos to showcase the style you love, that is fine, but don't expect to get the exact same shots as those you pinned. When it comes to family photos or must-have photos with certain friends, create a small shot list of those must have combinations. This will ensure you get the shots you want with certain family, and it will help the photographer get these photos done in a timely manner so you can go ahead and enjoy your cocktail hour!

3. Come Prepared.

A lot of couples like to include fun extras in their wedding photos. Thank you banners, signage, and portraits of loved ones can add a special personal touch to your pictures. If this is something you're interested in, make sure you assign someone to bring these items along come picture time.

4. Stick to your timeline.

This tip can be really hard to follow but is so important! In my opinion, some of the best wedding photographs are taken at sunset. Chances are your photographer has carefully reviews your timeline and has carved out a small portion of time to take these pictures. Sticking to your schedule will ensure that you not only get the photos you want throughout the day, but it will also help guarantee you have time to take advantage of the illuminating light as the sun goes down.

5. No surprises.

Weddings are all about fun so naturally some couples choose to through some surprises in for their guests. While that's totally awesome, keep in mind that your photographers job is to capture the moments. Help them out by cluing them in on any surprises so that they can position themselves in the right place at the right time.

6. Consider an unplugged wedding.

Nothing deflates the magic of a picture like seeing someone texting in the background. Going unplugged for your ceremony eliminates the photographers need to shoot around your phone obsessed loved ones.

7. Trust your photographer

You hired your photographer because you like their work, right? On your big day, trust them to do what they do best. If you're constantly worried about what they're doing you're not really going to enjoy your day and that will definitely translate in your photos.

This leads me to my last and most important tip....

8. HAVE FUN!

It's your wedding day! Be sure to enjoy even the little moments because a happy bride makes for the most amazing pictures of all.

FEATURED // Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine

April 6, 2015

Last year I had the pleasure of planning and designing a small vow renewal for one of my very favorite photographers, Carlie Statsky. She is wonderful friend and colleague so of course I had to jump on the opportunity to create some memories for her whole family!

Producing this vow renewal was one of my favorite events to date. The entire day was incredibly perfect from the wood and marble details, to the fun floral, their beautiful family of 4 frolicking around Holman Ranch making beautiful memories and of course exchanging the vows they spoke to each other 10 years prior.

I couldn't be more excited to announce that this beautiful day has been featured in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine! Pick up a copy to see more details and read the beautiful story of this couple!

Here is a small glimpse into the details of the day! Martha Stewart Weddings blog will be featuring more shots of the day next month - but feel free to follow us on Instagram for more sneaks!

Thanks a billion to the incredible vendor team that pulled this event off!

Venue Vision | Bridal Blogger Alisha

April 3, 2015

This week I attempted my first concrete steps towards wedding planning and started the daunting process of finding a venue. I sat down and tried to picture what my wedding day would look like, only to find that I have wedding ADD. By that I mean, I can't focus on one scenario. I bounce back and forth between picturing a modern industrial spot, to an outdoor location with scenic views, and everywhere in between.

I think this process is so hard for me because, as much as I really care where we get married, part of me knows that it doesn't really matter. I know that when our wedding day finally arrives, I really wont care so much about where I'm standing because I'll be so focused on who I'm standing with. That being said however, I'd really like to make our wedding day amazing for my fiance and there is where the challenge lies.

Seeing that he's a male, it can be really hard to pull a definite opinion out of him. After hours of Pinterest-ing, I've finally pinned down our top three venue possibilities. Keeping in mind that we would ideally like to have our entire wedding in one spot - here is what we came up with...

industrial

I for one love industrial style weddings. You can create a clean and simple look, if the space is cool enough it wont require a lot or sprucing up, and EXPOSED BRICK. Need I say more?

On top of all that I can have a nice, weather free, indoor ceremony. This will not only grantee my hair and makeup will be photo-ready, but it also means I can book an off-season wedding. Score!

Views, views, views!

This option may not have as many perks as our indoor industrial idea but, who doesn't love a good view? We honestly don't care if it's a cityscape or a rolling hillside, as long as the location has that "wow factor", we're in!

family tree

We have always loved the symbolism of getting married in front of a big beautiful tree. We love the idea of 'putting down roots" and so forth. From the start of our planning process this has been an option that we've thrown back and forth and I still love it. The trouble here is I'm super picky about the tree and have yet to find the perfect one for our big day.

Photo via Barbara Alessandra Photography

As you can see, we still have a long way to go in our planning process. Tony and I have A TON of site visits scheduled this month so we will keep you posted on our progress. We figure once we check out some of these venue styles in person, we'll have a better idea of the direction we want to go.

If you have any northern California venue recommendations let us know because the hunt is officially on!

Bridal Trend | The Slit Wedding Dress

April 1, 2015

Let's be honest ladies, wedding dress shopping is one of the best parts of being a bride. The trouble is, after trying a zillion white-ish ballgown dresses on, a girl may start to crave some individuality. In response to that feeling, I have three words for you - Slit. Wedding. Dress.

Let's stop and consider this concept for a second, shall we?

Pros:

You get to show off your fab designer shoe.
Less fabric means you'll actually stay cool on your wedding day.
You'll be dance floor ready with all that extra leg room.
You're gonna look stinking amazing!

Cons:

none - slit dress it is!

Now that I've convinced you with my bullet proof reasoning, see below for some inspiration and get shopping!

Photo via Traci Griffin Photography — Photo via Traci Griffin Photography

Bridal Blogger Alisha | Priority Planning

March 27, 2015

As I've mentioned, the fiance and I are having a bit of a rough go when it comes to planning our wedding. We are working with a modest budget but have pretty high expectations and it's been difficult to decide what's worth the splurge and where to save. After weeks of getting nowhere with our planning process, I finally decided to take action. I realized we needed to set priorities for our wedding and concentrate on what matters most to us as a couple. Here's what we did...

Photo via Amy Oliver Photography — Photo via Amy Oliver Photography

I wrote a list of wedding related events, goods, and so on. I covered everything from our attire to the venue itself. The list looked something like this...

attire food photography venue music

decor cake videography flowers favors

Then we each took turns picking our number one priority.

I was actually surprised by my fiances pick! He said that the venue was the most important part of the wedding to him - particularly the ceremony site. He even went as far to say that he would be happy with a champagne reception as long as the ceremony site was amazing! I would have never guessed.

For my pick I went with the music. I want to make sure our friends and family have a good time and dance the night away. A good DJ is a must for me.

Finally, we picked one last item together and once again my future husband surprised me! We easily agreed on attire for our third highest ranking priority. The reason being, this is the one time I'm ever going to be able to wear a wedding dress. I really want to seize the moment and take full advantage of my one day as a bride. Luckily for me, Tony agree's so fancy dress - here i come!

This little exercise may seem silly but it's been so helpful! It's really helped put Tony and I on the same page which, in turn, makes it easier for us to move forward with the planning process. I feel like we're a little bit closer to the big day and I can't wait!

If you're a fellow indecisive bride, try this little trick out and tell me what you think!

10 Must-See Geometric Backdrops

March 25, 2015

I've been positively obsessed with ceremony backdrops lately. When you think about it, your backdrop is one of the most important details of your whole wedding. Not only will it be one of the most photographed areas of the day, but it's what you're going to see as you make you're way to your future hubby. It's kind of a big deal!

My obsessive search has given me a healthy appreciation for the ultra-cool geometric backdrop and I thought I'd share. Enjoy my 10 most loved designs. I hope they inspire you too!

Signature Cocktails

March 23, 2015

Concept/design,/sourcing/styling: Engaged & Inspired. Photography/Styling: Michele Beckwith Photography.

We've curated a collection of tasty cocktails perfect for signature drinks. We've put together a collection of drinks with a variety of alcohols (for both the mister and missus), simple ingredients allow you quickly and easily stock your bar, and that are relatively simple for bartenders to create (goodbye bar lines!).

VODKA

Moscow Mule
4 oz Vodka
1 oz fresh lime juice
Ginger Beer
Mint Leaves

White Cosmopolitan
2 oz. Grey Goose vodka
1 oz. St. Germain liquor
1/2 oz. lime juice
1 oz. white cranberry juice
Orchid or any other edible flower & Ice

WHISKEY

Grapefruit sour
1 oz Grapefruit
1 oz sugar
2 oz irish whiskey

CHAMPAGNE

French 75
1.5 oz gin
1 small blood orange juiced 1/2 lemon juiced
3 oz Champagne

La Rosette
1⁄2 part St-Germain
1/2 part Brut Rosé

RUM

Dark & Stormy
2 oz light run
2 oz dark rum
Fresh grated ginger
Ginger beer
lime wedge

TEQUILA

French Kiss
4 basil leaves
8 oz blood orange
2 oz lime juice
4 oz Anejo Tequila
2 oz sweet vermouth

GIN

Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Gin and Tonics
12 blackberries
20 fresh mint leaves
2 Meyer lemons (can sub. regular lemons) 1/4 cup simple syrup
12 ounces good quality gin
tonic water
ice

Blushing Bride
2 parts gin
1 part St Germain
1 part grapefruit
Garnish grapefruit wedge
Sprig of thyme

Bride Blogger Alisha // Our Wedding Inspiration

March 20, 2015

As promised, today I'll be sharing my wedding inspiration board! Before I get into it, let me take a second to sing the praises of Pinterest. How in the world did any bride get along without it? Its such a fab way to find design inspiration and collect your thoughts.

Last week, Tony and I sat down and started our officially Pinterest planning board. After lots of debate and tons of pins, this is our end result. Check it out and leave us a comment below with your planning suggestions. We can use all the help we can get!

The first thing we agree'd on was our main color. We're going burgundy for the win! I just love how the rich color pops against the greenery in this bouquet!

I'm still trying to figure out what other accent colors to through into the mix. Maybe a few shades of pink, white, and light champagne gold?

As far as our personal wedding style, we are still playing around with different ideas. We've decided that incorporating the burgundy color is a must, but that's the only idea we've actually nailed down so far.

As stated in my last post, we want to include some "Old Hollywood" style but we're trying to be careful not to make it too cliche. I'm thinking that our wedding day looks could be the perfect area to infuse in some of that vintage glamour. More on that in a later post.

By far our biggest challenge has been the venue. We pretty much want big budget style... but with a small price tag. Hey - a girl can dream, right?

My ideal venue would be someplace affordable, with a killer view for our outdoor ceremony, and a elegant/modern indoor space for our reception. It's really important to me to have some natural elements in our day but I don't really want that rustic or lodge-y look.

Am I crazy? Does that even exist?

I love, love, love this table setting. I die over the mix of colors and textures every time I see it! It's pretty much my wedding in a tablescape.

Our cake selection will be of the naked variety because I love them! I've never been a huge frosting fan so I was really glad to see that this trend caught on. Plus, how gorgeous is that cake?

Lastly, can we talk about sparkler exits for a second? We really want to create a fun send off to close out our big day. I've always loved the idea of a sparkler exit and I can't wait to run through ours together!

Tell me what you think or leave me a comment down below and help me plan my wedding!

5 Ways to Reduce Waste At Your Weddings

March 18, 2015

Planning the details of your big day is fun, time consuming and sometimes costly! We've been there to clean up plenty of weddings and we always seem to see the same things being thrown away at the end of the night. So today we are sharing a few tips on how to save on your wedding and avoid tossing lots of lefties at the end of the night.

PROGRAMS

Programs are beautiful, but after the ceremony they serve little purpose. Programs are often something not a lot of guests grab and they end up in back in a box and sent back home with you. Cut down on both your budget and carbon footprint by printing about 50% of your total guest count.

CAKE

Oh cake. Unless you are planning on a diet of dessert only for the first month of your marriage, you'll want to manage your dessert order a bit more carefully. Consider only ordering desserts/cake for about 75% of your guests.

FLOWERS

Flowers are an incredibly important part of your wedding day decor. Skimping on the flowers isn't necessary something I'd recommend, but there are ways to manage the waste that is inherently associated with them. It is such a shame to toss them all at the end of the night, and we completely agree.

Consider giving them away to guests at the end of the night. We often move centerpieces to another table at the end of the night for guests to take on their way out! Create a little sign letting guests know they are up for grabs and they will all get out to good use! You could also reuse them for a brunch the following day or donate them to a retirement home or hospital!

FAVORS

I can't tell you how many weddings I've been to that ended with wedding favors scattered all over the place (or boxes and boxes of extras that just get put back into the couples car). An easy way to remedy this problem is to skip the favors all together, but if you must have that wonderful little favor, order only enough for about 50-60% of your guest count.

SIGNAGE

We love signage - but there is no need to create a sign for each and every piece of your wedding. Consider consolidating a few things together in one (for example: welcome details plus your Instagram hashtag) to save some space. After the wedding you may have the opportunity to use a few of these signs as home decor afterwards! A lot of wedding signage can be re-used as a way to inject a little love and personality into your place. Consider hanging statement signs in your living room and your "Mr." and "Mrs." chair back signs on the ends of your headboard in your bedroom.

I'd love to hear how you plan to cut down waste on your wedding day. Leave your tips and tricks in the comment section below.