Happy 2018 everyone!

We are so thrilled to be able to share these photos with you! Last spring, Rebecca Yale approached us about collaborating on a photo shoot with her and over the next few months, we dreamt up the details to put it all together!

We had an incredible team of vendors that came together to make this shoot happen! We couldn’t have done it without their talents and pieces. A huge Thank You!! to the following dream team!

Rebecca Yale | Monique Lhuillier | TEAM Hair and Makeup | The Ark Rentals | Found Vintage Rentals | Sene Studio  |  Lele Patisserie | La Tavola Linen |  Lotus & Ash | Silk & Willow | Hushed Commotion | Bella Belle | Silver Fox Calligraphy | Susie Saltzman | The Mrs Box | Salt and Pepper Co. | Florabundance | Rose Story Farm

Happy December everyone!!

With the holidays quickly approaching, some of us (ME!) are more excited than others (may or may not be Kim). Regardless, neither of us could resist throwing an appreciation lunch for our amazing interns and turning it into a holiday party!!

We spent the morning decorating and cooking with Christmas music on in the background, of course. We decided to use a few more pops of color than the traditional red and green by incorporating pink poinsettias, pomegranates, pink taper candles, and rosé!

Kim made one of her favorite dishes, roasted green beans with hazelnut pesto, topped with crème fraîche and pomegranate seeds! It was so delicious!

We tucked miniature pinecones into a runner of winter greens and added a sprig to each napkin. And let’s talk about these white linen napkins with silver trim from DIANI Living!!!

I made apple pie, using my family’s recipe, covered with Christmas tree cutouts and topped with a star! It may have looked more recognizable before it was cooked, but it tasted like Christmas nonetheless!!

And last but not least, a huge thank you to our two sweet interns this past semester! You’ll be seeing a post from both Kristen & Claire on the blog soon as they reflect on some of their experiences as interns over the last few months. We can’t wait to hear what they think!!

You guys, I turned 40.  4-0!!!!!  I know they say 40 is the new – whatever, but there is a strange psychological aversion to turning 40.  Everyone I talk to over the age of 40 says the same thing.  

To help with my general horrible attitude directed toward my birthday (that lasted for months leading up to the actual day), amazing Tamara and the ever talented, Christy Parker conspired with my crazy friend Uriah and ever-patient husband to throw the most beautiful birthday dinner ever at one of my favorite Santa Barbara restaurants, Sama Sama Kitchen.

Christy Parker went above and beyond – hand-dying napkins to match the hues of the most incredibly gorgeous flowers.   I had recently returned from a trip to Bali with my family, so tropical goodness topped all the tables.  Hibiscus and orchids made perfect partners for dahlias and garden roses.  Pineapple printed menus (created by CP of course) were set at each place setting.  

Tamara, Uriah and CP transitioned the back patio at Sama Sama in record time to welcome my closest friends.  It was an exquisite evening surrounded by my favorite people in the whole world.  My boys even showed up as a surprise to give Mom a special toast and of course, just in time for cake.  I don’t know where Amber over at Enjoy Cupcakes comes up with her cake flavors, but the Cucumber Lime cake is phenomenal.

Thank you, my crazy, dearest friends, for such a sweet celebration.  I loved every last detail and more importantly loved sharing my birthday with you.

P.S.   40 isn’t so bad, well, except when I am trying to go for a run.

Part of what we love about the “off-season” (if you can really call it that in the wedding industry) is that we have the opportunity to regroup, look for inspiration for all of our upcoming weddings, dream up new ideas, and create photo shoots. So when one of our amazing interns suggested creating a table runner out of pages from vintage books that she found around Santa Barbara, we let her run with it!! And this pretty little photo shoot is the result!

With some of our favorite vendors in tow, we created a Literary Garden Inspiration shoot. Whether the bride or groom is a school teacher, the couple shares a love of reading, or you just happen to have ten million books laying around, this shoot is designed to inspire that page-turning creativity.

Vendor Credits:

Event Design + Coordination + Floral Design: TOAST Santa Barbara | Rentals: Town & Country | Photography: Jessica Fairchild | Invitations: The Stationery Collection | Cake: Enjoy Cupcakes | Calligraphy + Bookmarks: Janice Blair |