Succulent florals
Saw these flowers from a wedding in South Africa today on Style Me Pretty. Very cute!
via stylemepretty
Rustic Beauty
I like the rustic nature of this table setting. It might be a little too rustic though.
Bridal magazines
Typically my preferred magazine choice has been a variety of music magazines like Q, NME, or Spin, a smattering of trashy gossip rags like US Weekly and, at random, some interior design magazines (so bummed Domino fell to the axe).
Now I find myself scouring the newstands for bridal magazines. I think I've bought over 15 bridal magazines in just the past several months! And these things aren't cheap. There are so many of them. I think I need to subscribe to an annual membership to save on costs, which works out perfectly since the wedding is 13 months away. It really is ridiculous how many there are though. There's Pacific Weddings, the Knot (specific to each state but no subscription), Bridal Guide (6/year), Brides Magazine(6/year), Martha Stewart Weddings (4/year), Elegant Bride (last issue Fall 2009), Modern Bride (just found out it's last issue was Dec/Jan 09), Real Simple Weddings (annual), Modern Wedding Flowers (Australian), and many more, even wedding cake magazines! At the newstands you'll find tons from around the world too like the UK, Australia, and Asia. The best ones I think are Martha Stewart, Bride, and the Knot.
Everytime I see a new one, I snatch it off the shelf. Each one provides tons of visual ideas that you can incorporate into your own wedding. We haven't yet decided on the cake, flowers, dress color, color scheme, or table top decor, so every time I look at one of the magazines, my vision changes. There really is so many directions you can go and it's fun imagining each one. Currently I'm thinking purple bridesmaid dresses, purple/green bouquets, with a bunch of succulents in the centerpieces. But that will probably change by the time I pick up the next magazine! =)
Now I find myself scouring the newstands for bridal magazines. I think I've bought over 15 bridal magazines in just the past several months! And these things aren't cheap. There are so many of them. I think I need to subscribe to an annual membership to save on costs, which works out perfectly since the wedding is 13 months away. It really is ridiculous how many there are though. There's Pacific Weddings, the Knot (specific to each state but no subscription), Bridal Guide (6/year), Brides Magazine(6/year), Martha Stewart Weddings (4/year), Elegant Bride (last issue Fall 2009), Modern Bride (just found out it's last issue was Dec/Jan 09), Real Simple Weddings (annual), Modern Wedding Flowers (Australian), and many more, even wedding cake magazines! At the newstands you'll find tons from around the world too like the UK, Australia, and Asia. The best ones I think are Martha Stewart, Bride, and the Knot.
Everytime I see a new one, I snatch it off the shelf. Each one provides tons of visual ideas that you can incorporate into your own wedding. We haven't yet decided on the cake, flowers, dress color, color scheme, or table top decor, so every time I look at one of the magazines, my vision changes. There really is so many directions you can go and it's fun imagining each one. Currently I'm thinking purple bridesmaid dresses, purple/green bouquets, with a bunch of succulents in the centerpieces. But that will probably change by the time I pick up the next magazine! =)
YAY! We set a date!!
We picked our date! It’s going to be June 11th, 2011!! I’m so excited! It feels much more real now that there is a definitive date to look forward to. YAY!! We’ve contacted our entire wedding party and immediate family and it’s a go! We tried for this fall but all the dates (aside from 9/11) were booked up long ago. So we took the first available and least likeliest to rain day in 2011. So there you have it, June 11th, 2011!! The weather should be perfect for a late afternoon ceremony and we'll get an almost full moon!
We ended up choosing the very first place we visited in Los Angeles. Saddlerock Ranch!! It’s owned by Malibu Family Wines and the entire property including the vineyards is over 1000 acres! We went to visit it in late February, right after our Australia trip. It was tough to set up an appointment with Beth. She’s been absolutely fantastic but Saddlerock Ranch is so popular that she was pretty booked up. So when we finalized our visit date we were really eager to see how it looked in person. It was gorgeous on the internet, but you never really know until you see it in person.
It took us about 20 site visits before we chose this venue. Initially we wanted to have a close destination wedding in Santa Barbara. We looked at the Doubletree, The Farmhouse (our favorite but the most logistically challenged), Canary Hotel, Four Seasons, and the Biltmore. We even attended a Bridal Expo. However after realizing it would be difficult for some relatives, we thought we’d give Los Angeles a go round. The very first place we went to was Saddlerock Ranch and we were blown away. But we thought, we should do our due diligence because there might be something we like better. We ended up seeing about 15 more places spread out among various weekends. In the end, we narrowed it down to three: The Adamson House (Malibu), The Anthenaeum (Pasadena), and Saddlerock Ranch. We went to visit each one again for the second time and because Adamson House had a very strict 10PM curfew and Anthenauem might be too cramped for our number of guests, we chose Saddlerock! It was the first place we saw and fell in love with and in the end, it just feels right that we’ll have it there. There is something about Saddlerock that just makes me so happy. It’s beautiful, relaxed, magical, and romantic all at once!
In upcoming posts I’ll highlight some of the venues we checked out. All were beautiful in their own right but Saddlerock just connected with us the most. I'm so happy!! I can not wait!!
Some advice. If you are intent on a Saturday wedding and in a specific month, start looking at venues asap. You'd be surprised how quickly they book up, especially for outdoor venues which have shorter wedding seasons. Like us, if the fall season is completely booked, you'll have to wait through the winter until the next spring/summer season. Luckily for us, it wasn't such a big deal.
We ended up choosing the very first place we visited in Los Angeles. Saddlerock Ranch!! It’s owned by Malibu Family Wines and the entire property including the vineyards is over 1000 acres! We went to visit it in late February, right after our Australia trip. It was tough to set up an appointment with Beth. She’s been absolutely fantastic but Saddlerock Ranch is so popular that she was pretty booked up. So when we finalized our visit date we were really eager to see how it looked in person. It was gorgeous on the internet, but you never really know until you see it in person.
This is the tree we'll tie the knot under!
We went up on a cold Saturday morning and it was pretty windy. You have to drive through the windy Malibu mountains and then you come upon a gate. As we drove through the beginning road, we felt like we were a hundred miles from Los Angeles. The road eventually slopes upward and as you come onto a flat landing you see the expansive Malibu Hills and the vineyards in all directions. A gigantic red and orange rock jutted into the sky. It was breathtaking! It instantly reminded me of The Farmhouse in Santa Barbara which was our first choice if we were to have it up north. Both Yams and I were taken away with the scenery.
We met up with Beth and she took us to the Vineyard Setting which has spectacular views because it sits on this high cliff that overlooks all the vineyards. You can see to the valley between two mountains. Guests would be shuttled to the top of the cliff, have cocktails near a cottage, walk down a path surrounded by roses on each side, and watch the ceremony with a gorgeous backdrop behind them. The only drawback for this location was that capacity was maxed at 100 and we knew we would go slightly over it.
The second setting she took us to was the Garden Setting. It’s completely different. The entrance to this setting is separated from the other so you would never even know if there was a wedding on the other side of the property. You definitely get more of a ranch feel when driving into this setting. The entrance road takes you pass zebras, llamas, camels, horses, and buffalo. The ceremony here would take place under a beautiful willow tree. Later guests would move to a large lawn for cocktails and would be able to pet some horses near their pen. Finally we’d move under 6 huge oak trees that have dripping twinkle lights coming down from their branches. It’s magical!
It took us about 20 site visits before we chose this venue. Initially we wanted to have a close destination wedding in Santa Barbara. We looked at the Doubletree, The Farmhouse (our favorite but the most logistically challenged), Canary Hotel, Four Seasons, and the Biltmore. We even attended a Bridal Expo. However after realizing it would be difficult for some relatives, we thought we’d give Los Angeles a go round. The very first place we went to was Saddlerock Ranch and we were blown away. But we thought, we should do our due diligence because there might be something we like better. We ended up seeing about 15 more places spread out among various weekends. In the end, we narrowed it down to three: The Adamson House (Malibu), The Anthenaeum (Pasadena), and Saddlerock Ranch. We went to visit each one again for the second time and because Adamson House had a very strict 10PM curfew and Anthenauem might be too cramped for our number of guests, we chose Saddlerock! It was the first place we saw and fell in love with and in the end, it just feels right that we’ll have it there. There is something about Saddlerock that just makes me so happy. It’s beautiful, relaxed, magical, and romantic all at once!
In upcoming posts I’ll highlight some of the venues we checked out. All were beautiful in their own right but Saddlerock just connected with us the most. I'm so happy!! I can not wait!!
Some advice. If you are intent on a Saturday wedding and in a specific month, start looking at venues asap. You'd be surprised how quickly they book up, especially for outdoor venues which have shorter wedding seasons. Like us, if the fall season is completely booked, you'll have to wait through the winter until the next spring/summer season. Luckily for us, it wasn't such a big deal.
How we met
My fiancé and I met in the fall of 2005 with the help of two important people in our lives (who are now our maid of honor and best man). Ironically we had gone to the same university and lived right across the lawn from each other while in the freshman dorms and never met. Just out of college, a study abroad friend of mine introduced me to her coworker Miss S. Miss S and I hit it off and became good friends. A year or so later, Miss S was invited to a birthday party and was reacquainted with an old college friend, Mr. M (who was tagging along with one of his best friends, my fiancé). Mr.M, Miss S, and I soon became the three amigos. Mr M loved to host parties and get togethers and had always thought my fiancé and I should meet. But as luck would have it, every time we both went to one of his parties, one of us would arrive and leave before the other arrived. This went on for a couple years, until Mr M had his birthday party in Oct 2005. We finally met and a couple days later we sat in a coffee shop talking as three hours quickly passed by. This was followed soon after by our next 9 hour date that consisted of dinner, golf, a 3AM museum exhibit of King Tut, and a very early morning breakfast at Silverlake’s Fred 62.
I remember bringing him to meet some of my friends for the first time. Mr C, was hosting a Xmas potluck dinner for 9 guests. By the end of dinner and quite possibly after a few bottles of beer, someone had picked up a motorcycle helmet and ran head into a wall (as a joke). This was followed by a passing of the helmet around the table for everyone’s astronaut photo. If ever there was a time for my future fiancé to walk out the door, it was probably that evening. Luckily for me, he stuck around.
Three and a half years later, on July 18th 2009, my fiancé got down on one knee after we had been first row at a Coldplay concert. I was already on a high after seeing my favorite band and I was caught totally off guard. As he stood in the middle of the Home Depot Center and asked me to marry him, it suddenly felt like we were the only two people in the whole stadium. I cried, I said yes, and he endearingly slipped the ring onto the wrong hand. We were so happy that we didn’t even notice until after we had our pictures taken.
My fiance is an adorable, sweet, romantic, caring, considerate, smart, and funny man that cares immensely for his family, myself, and now my family. He can be silly with me, make me laugh, and lift me up after a hard day. We never run out of things to talk about which I love. He even kills spiders for me, how great is that? And even after 4.5 years, we still send loving texts/emails to each other through out the day. I can say that I truly look forward to seeing him when I get home every night.
So now it’s time to plan the wedding! We had a bit of a late start because we didn’t start planning until this past January. My married friends dropped their two cents early on saying that venues would book up but we hadn’t taken it too seriously. After looking at venues in January, we soon learned they were correct and that every Saturday we wanted was booked for 2010 (aside from 9/11!). We seriously considered surprising our friends and family by eloping while in Australia in February but ultimately decided we really wanted them there to share the day with us.
Our dream is to have an outdoor wedding which limits us from late April to early October and gives us even fewer Saturday options. But not to worry. We are in no big rush (obviously!) and we know we will be with each other forever which is all that matters. So we’re aiming for April-June of 2011 and we’ll have the pick of our litter on venue availability and vendor choices.
What follows are what we’ve done so far and the journey to get to our big day. I’m thrilled and excited to eventually be married and grow old with my fiancé. We have a whole adventure ahead of us that will be filled with love. I’m going to refer to him as Yams from hereon, my nickname for him. You Are My Sweetheart. Sappy, I know =)
I remember bringing him to meet some of my friends for the first time. Mr C, was hosting a Xmas potluck dinner for 9 guests. By the end of dinner and quite possibly after a few bottles of beer, someone had picked up a motorcycle helmet and ran head into a wall (as a joke). This was followed by a passing of the helmet around the table for everyone’s astronaut photo. If ever there was a time for my future fiancé to walk out the door, it was probably that evening. Luckily for me, he stuck around.
Three and a half years later, on July 18th 2009, my fiancé got down on one knee after we had been first row at a Coldplay concert. I was already on a high after seeing my favorite band and I was caught totally off guard. As he stood in the middle of the Home Depot Center and asked me to marry him, it suddenly felt like we were the only two people in the whole stadium. I cried, I said yes, and he endearingly slipped the ring onto the wrong hand. We were so happy that we didn’t even notice until after we had our pictures taken.
My fiance is an adorable, sweet, romantic, caring, considerate, smart, and funny man that cares immensely for his family, myself, and now my family. He can be silly with me, make me laugh, and lift me up after a hard day. We never run out of things to talk about which I love. He even kills spiders for me, how great is that? And even after 4.5 years, we still send loving texts/emails to each other through out the day. I can say that I truly look forward to seeing him when I get home every night.
So now it’s time to plan the wedding! We had a bit of a late start because we didn’t start planning until this past January. My married friends dropped their two cents early on saying that venues would book up but we hadn’t taken it too seriously. After looking at venues in January, we soon learned they were correct and that every Saturday we wanted was booked for 2010 (aside from 9/11!). We seriously considered surprising our friends and family by eloping while in Australia in February but ultimately decided we really wanted them there to share the day with us.
Our dream is to have an outdoor wedding which limits us from late April to early October and gives us even fewer Saturday options. But not to worry. We are in no big rush (obviously!) and we know we will be with each other forever which is all that matters. So we’re aiming for April-June of 2011 and we’ll have the pick of our litter on venue availability and vendor choices.
What follows are what we’ve done so far and the journey to get to our big day. I’m thrilled and excited to eventually be married and grow old with my fiancé. We have a whole adventure ahead of us that will be filled with love. I’m going to refer to him as Yams from hereon, my nickname for him. You Are My Sweetheart. Sappy, I know =)
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