Desert Beauty Wedding

Katie and John's wedding was so utterly classy and sophisticated, and yet unhindered in it's beautiful simplicity.  Their destination wedding weekend was about two incredible people coming together in a very intimate, mostly family-only weekend to celebrate the union of their hearts and their lives.  Most everyone came down from the rainy northwest, so the stellar Phoenix sunsets and weather were readily soaked up by the guests at The Royal Palms Resort and Spa.

Katie and John had such an uncomplicated style - they wanted to bring subtle hints of the Arizona desert into their decor, but really they wanted to have neutral elements with texture and a little sparkle.  We used a few succulents in gold pots for favors, and our amazing florist, Petal Pusher, made succulents in the flowers sparkle with champagne gold as well - just like we wanted!  We incorporated some brown spotted feathers in the gorgeous invitations, designed by Celebrations In Paper, as well as subtle hints of them in the florals and bouquets/boutonnieres.

Here is the inspiration board I created to help craft the gorgeous decor.  As you can see, having a tight concept of your decor, colors, and ambiance you want helps your vendor team really deliver the exact vision you have for your wedding.

Time for a change - to get the guests feeling relaxed and ready for the celebration, the cocktail hour was held before the ceremony - so after the first-look shots, the bride changed into this sassy little number before the party!

 

The kids tables were outside and featured some classic Arizona candy - with REAL scorpions in them (they're edible), and the little girls were treated to their own mini-bouquets at their place setting. 

The kids had a blast with all the entertainment they could ever want: coloring books, stickers, toys, etc.

 

The fantastic photos were taken by the lovely and talented Courtney of Courtney Sargent Photography. The flowers could not have been more amazing.  Thank you Petal Pusher for surrounding us with such incredible beauty that day.  If you're wondering what those stunning brownish/orangeish flowers are - they are Charlie Brown Orchids.  Stunning, I tell you!!

Thanks to the über cool guys from Easton Ashe Band who provided top-notch entertainment, Classic Party Rentals for the cocktail hour lounge furniture, Wildflower Linens for the exquisite custom-made 30-foot long table cloth and sparkly linens.

Happy Summer Board!

This board and its summery colors just makes me happy.  Enjoy!



The photo in the board that served as my inspiration is from www.ruemag.com.

Desert Beauty

I'm so excited to share this next board with you.  My bride had very classy, sophisticated, yet simple taste - she loves neutrals, textures, and wanted to incorporate some of the southwest into her destination wedding.  We created the most beautiful wedding, which will be ready to show soon!  But in the meantime, here's the board full of gorgeous, creamy ivories, subtle sparkles of gold, and a few  succulents to top it off.  Dreamy.

Bridal Show Booth Design

Twice a year, I've had the honor of being asked to design the Phoenix Bride & Groom Magazine booth at the Bridal Fashion Debut Show. You can see past designs here and here, and every time I base the concept on the latest magazine cover, which is always fun. There are thousands of vendors with booths at this show, and probably almost 5,000 people attending, so I always try to make the booth stick out and capture everyone's attention.

Here's the latest magazine cover, from which I drew the concept for this year's booth:

Beautiful, simple, clean, elegant, couture! I immediately gravitated to the green bear grass, pearls and white orchids Brady's Floral designed in this stunning headpiece. So, here's what we came up with for the booth, with the help of Brady's again, who made my floral dreams come to life, and KOOL Party Rentals and Classic Party Rentals who furnished the booth, and BBJ Linens who provided the gorgeous Grass Twist linens.