Steam Punk Wedding

So how do I begin........ I had an idea... a Steampunk Wedding Idea.  I wanted to do a wedding of this sort but needed a bride who wanted to do a wedding like this. I asked around but to no avail. So, I decided I needed to do a faux wedding and needed a Photographer who liked doing stylized photo shoots. I thought of one who has astounded me in the past with her creativeness. I contacted her and she said "YES!!!!" (those are her exact words.) So we began on the steampunk journey..... I designed, she snapped photos and offered suggestions for ultimate lighting and angles and other fun stuff. She blogged.... I am linking.... We are a team!  I loved every minute of it!   here's the link.... http://www.freshfromgod.blogspot.com/2012/05/steampunk-wedding-southern-california.html.  Sit back enjoy and let us know what you think!!!  oxoxoxo

Lavender Field, Olive Grove and Love

The most handsome young man married a beautiful young lady amongst Olive Trees and Lavender fields. It was the most beautiful and precious wedding of all time! (ok, I'm a little biased as it was my eldest sonshine's wedding).  Shane and Sara were highly involved in all the details of the day and asked me to lend a guiding hand... what an honor to be able to be not only the mother of the groom but the planner as well.
This wedding took place at Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley, CA on a beautifully cloudy and slightly damp day. The rains held off until the happy couple began to say their vows to each other. It was Magical!  It was doubly wonderful as they had asked my husband (the grooms father) to jump through the hoops to be able to marry them and marry them he did!
I was able to leave the Day~of Coordination in the trusty hands of my Best good friend and one of my assistants so I fully enjoyed being the mother~of~the groom. (ok, maybe one or two episodes of taking over)
Sit back and revel in the loveliness of this day with me!


The Bride getting ready.... not forgetting her  DIY chalkboard paint flask, which was also her gift to her bridesmaids!

The First Look.....

 

The wedding Party... 

Jake, Jared, Ben, Jake and Tony all stood up for Shane all the while pick pocketing each other!  Sara and the girls were in a fun huddle trying to keep warm with Melissa, Kristy, Jen, Carly and Puja.
 

 

The tables had a burlap runner with small assorted vases and jars with flowers, succulents and Cabbage roses.... the table numbers were framed photos of the bride & groom at around the same ages.

 

The funnest photo booth for guests!  The Bride & Groom made this and added old pictures of their grandparents and parents weddings surrounding the openings.  

You are the cheese to my macaroni..... an interactive activity/guestbook

 The Old bible/ring carrier, Invitation and bridal bouquet

 The wedding couple in various areas around Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley California.

 

 

 

The prettiest wedding flowers I have seen were provided by Katie of KM Floral Design.
Jenna and Steve O'Keefe from Okeefe Photography took these amazing photos.


What an awesome day!!   Thanks for sharing it with me!




Oh.... and here's me, stepping out of Mother of the groom mode for just a minute and being wedding planner!! 

Kerri & Clay at Highland Springs Resort

 

What a fun way to spend my 49th birthday! I'm sure you've heard me say I love weddings but to be able to work one on the last Fourtieth birthday of my life was amazing!  Kerri had so many fun details that she brought to the table that it's hard to know where to start!  First of all, the venue Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley California is a perfect place for a  wedding. The beauty of nature brings such a lovely element to the ceremony, and then the Vintage rustic dining room for the reception... perfection!  Suthi of Picotte Photography captured the feel of the day....so sit back and take in a moment of Kerri & Clay's wonderful wedding...... wait! first grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.... ok...much better..... enjoy!

The olive grove is a magical place....

A welcome sign for all loved ones and guests

Guest were welcomed with a sign and some refreshing beverages

A wreath was placed on Kerri's mothers chair ... what a precious memorial 

The short strapless green dresses with a gray sash were perfect for this natural beauty inspired wedding

The Ceremony was held on the Festival Lawn at Highland Springs resort. The pace is so beautiful not much was needed for decorating it but the white flowers added just the right feel!

A few detail shots of the paper pennant straws, a word game and the individual mason jar candle favors

Love the stand alone miniature pennants next to the cake, so cute.
The Ram skull above the cake area adds a rustic element you don't find too often at weddings!

The white and green with the wood chairs equals rustic elegance!

Rusty old farm machinery added a neat texture to the white bridal bouquet

Such a great wedding! Congratulations Kerri & Clay!!


Venue and Food:  Highland Springs Resort 
Flowers and Cake: Jensen's  Palm Springs
Photography: Picotte Photography
Wedding Planner/Coordinator: A Day Remembered (Barra Franklin)

Jack Rabbit Ranch Wedding

If ever I had the chance to have a wedding again this might be the place to do it! I had the honor of coordinating this fun, down-to-earth wedding for Erika and Michael. Their love of family and all things related to it was the theme of this love filled day. Add that to a rustic, western yet down right beautiful theme and it was perfection. Let me share with you a few detail pics that awesome Rebecca from Love Spell photography captured for me!




Look for more photos on the website coming soon!! Just wait til you see the gorgeous Bride and other fun elements of this wedding!

To plan or not to plan...that is the question!!

Do you need to hire a planner? That depends... on YOU, on your available free time, stress-level, patience, creativity or lack thereof, expertise with vendor contracts, list of dependable vendors, a background in etiquette, expertise in budgeting, an overall interest, and much more. Here are some guidelines to help you decide if you should hire a planner.
You may want to hire a planner if... you don't want this to be you on your wedding day! or.......

• You need help with organizing, coordinating and planning your overall event plan.
• You have the vision but don’t know where to start or pull it all together.
• You want someone else to deal with the hassles of vendor research, coordinating activities, creating timelines, hundreds of details and more.
• You want the fun of picking all the big details but don’t have time or don’t want to do the small tedious stuff
• You want to have an organized dream wedding day but don't have your own list of reliable vendors and resources to pull it all together.
• Since you’ve never planned an event before you haven’t worked with an array of vendors to know their styles, prices and personalities (believe it or not personalities are almost as important as their product or pricing)
• You and your significant other can't seem to agree on anything for your wedding.
• You need a neutral 3rd party perspective to make the best decision to make the vision come true
• You want some personalization but not sure how to incorporate it into the wedding.
• Your loves and likes are unique and you need direction to pull that owl or pink or pirate fetish you have into the details of your wedding and make it flow.
• You want something different and fabulous.
• All you’ve seen are standard traditional weddings or over the top “Tutera” styled ones on TV. You want something in between but uniquely “you” and you don’t know what to do or where to start
• You have little or no free time to coordinate, make phone calls, do research.
• You are busy and stressed. Adding wedding planning will send you over the edge
• You feel completely overwhelmed by the number of choices and decisions to make.
• You need someone to streamline the decisions and allow you to make a better decision based on a neutral perspective
• You're tired of buying things for the wedding here and there without an overall plan.
• The hodge podge of items you have acquired seem like they won’t flow. You need someone to pull it all together into a cohesive plan.
• You just don't know where to start with your wedding planning.
• With all the areas needed to be planned you need direction and a timeline to decrease the stress of being overwhelmed
• You have a vision and would like a planner to help you make it a reality!

Now maybe you will be able to decide whether or not you need a planner or day-of coordinator to walk beside you and allow your wedding to become one that you have dreamed of!

Lavender Fields and Clouds

May 29th, the Sunday of memorial day weekend, in normally sunny Cherry Valley, California I had the pleasure of working a beautiful wedding. All day it threatened to rain and it was freezing...(ok, not exactly but it was in the 60's) although a plan B for rain was in the back of our minds, the bride didn't want a tent reception or ceremony, so with tons of prayers and good vibes we went ahead with the outdoor plans! It remained cold but didn't rain and the clouds made for some striking photos. Josselyn Peterson took the pics and I'll let her tell you the story of the Lavender fields and cloudy wedding!




Highland Springs Resort is such a beautiful venue and has many different types of landscape to choose from. The ceremony was in the lavender fields, just a few weeks shy from full bloom, while the reception was on their Great Lawn. The olive grove is spectacular!


Venue: Highland Springs Resort
Photographer: josselynpeterson.com
Florist: phillip warren & jolene hillard
Wedding planner: A Day Remembered

Beautiful Retro wedding at the Mitten!

Retro weddings are so fun to plan and when you double that with the best couple around it was a ball! (ok, that dates me! ) The pairing of architectural interest with beautiful flowers made for a beautiful wedding. I think maybe I should let the photo's of Okeefe Photography tell the fun story! The Mitten Building is located in Redlands, Ca. right next to the old train tracks and depot.


From her vintage style Justin Alexander dress to the typewriter and old window menu board this wedding had you stepping back in time!

The First Look...... walking down the old train platform..Love this retro feel, don't you?


Overall such a great fun wedding to plan! Thanks to Amy and Alex the newlyweds!


Venue: the Mitten Building, Redlands, CA
Photography: Okeefe Photography
Flowers: The Fleur De Lis studio Bob Luna
Catering: The Farm Artisan, Redlands, CA
Wedding planning: A Day Remembered