Inspiration: Watercolor Gallery Tablescape

Inspired by the way watercolors blend effortlessly and create amazing color combinations, this tablescape created an art gallery on the table by framing the flowers and place settings but honored the movement of traditional watercolor art with the playful linen and casual napkin shapes. The escort card table welcomes guests with glasses of champagne topped with cotton candy and paint brushes.

Photographer: Clifton Photography

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

Coordinator / Wedding Planner: Stephanie Rose Events

Florist: Flowers by Coley

Linens: La Tavola Fine Linens

Chairs: Raphael's Party Rentals & Floral Works

Invitations/ Stationery: Take Note! Creations

Favors: La Reine des Macarons

Rentals: Archive Rentals 

Wedding Wednesday: Ahn & Sinh

8/22/2015  |  Tams Lighthouse

This couple was a lot of fun from there Sparkly Blue Toms that they changed into after ceremony to a lip sync battle during the reception. They partied like rock stars and genuinely just wanted to have a great time! They were from New York and they had a beautiful San Diego destination wedding overlooking the gorgeous urban Skyline and San Diego Bay.

ingredients:
Location: Tams Lighthouse
Photography: True Photography Weddings
Florist: Storybook Weddings & Events
Entertainment: DJ Will Chitwood
Photo Booth: Foto Box
Cake: Jenny Wenny Cakes

Wedding Wednesday: Arielle & Darrell

9/21/2014  |  Bali Hai

This gorgeous wedding was submitted by Kriselle Crane at Taylor Grace Floral Designs and is alive with gorgeous shades of purple and orange.

ingredients:
Photographer: Stunning Photography
Location: Bali Hai
Florist: Taylor Grace Floral Designs
Cake: Shirley Reznick Desserts

Wedding Wednesday: Natalija & Patrick

2/13/2016  |  The Prado at Balboa Park

How did you two meet? Natalija was a flight attendant, and was working her first trip to Dublin, Ireland on July 4, 2013. She was out touring the city by herself when she stopped in a bar, where Paddy was by himself waiting for friends to show up. They clicked right away. Natalija was going to be there the next week as well and we made plans for him to show me around the city.

Natalija and Patroick had having a bit of a "peacock theme" for their wedding. The reason the peacock is kind of special goes back to prior to when they were engaged. They were in Philadelphia and happened to be walking around the jewelry district when Paddy saw this tacky, ornate metal peacock in one of the displays with all the engagement rings. He said "why do people have to get a engagement ring when they get engaged, why can't it be an engagement peacock!" That became their running joke about how Natalija would always carry this peacock around to show they were engaged. They made two subsequent trips to Philly to see if the peacock was still in the display. On the second, it was no longer there and Natalija was disappointed. Little did she know, Paddy had already bought the peacock and six months later on the night we became engaged it was on my bed after they got back.

ingredients:
Photography: Derek Chad Photography
Location: The Prado at Balboa Park 

Coordinator: Breezy Day Weddings Event Planner 

Entertainment: Caprice Strings Musicians 
/ Thomas Giglio Band 

Florist: Lois Mathews Design Floral Designer 


Ask Abby: Save the Dates

Do we have to send Save the Dates? If so when and do they have to be through the mail or can we send them online? 

Save the Dates by Love Notes Stationery

Save the Dates are a nice formality and let your guests know ahead of time when exactly your wedding is so they don't make plans that weekend. To some, it may seem obsolete or just too far ahead to ask people to plan on it. When you think about it, if someone is planning a trip abroad or may have other weddings to attend, they are going to book tickets sooner rather than later. If they wanted to go to your wedding, that could be a huge letdown to not have that person in attendance. 

It's best to send out your Save the Dates as soon as possible. Picking a date should be one of the first things you do after getting engaged. In our increasingly electronic world, more and more of correspondence is being done online. However, many people would prefer a paper copy to hold onto as a keepsake.

Save the Dates are a fairly simple step in your wedding planning process. You just need your name, your fiancé's names, the date, and a city and you are good to go! Then the wedding planning fun can really begin!