Goodbye Weddings ... Hello!

I have been absent from this dusty old blog for quite a few months now and it is about time I stopped in to say hello and check in! The New Year came with a new set of challenges for me and in order to stay sane balanced, I had to make some adjustments. One of the changes I made was to sell the wedding side of my business. In January, I handed the key to my storage unit with all my props and gave all the best wishes to two amazing (and young!) women that are already off to a great start. Here is a glimpse of one of their first events ...

Sweet Sage Events

They are very talented and if you are looking for some help with an event you are planning you really should contact them.

I really loved designing the weddings and when I look back on the weddings I styled - especially the ones from last summer - I have such fond memories and the photos just make me smile.

The weddings were always something I did "on the side." I began the wedding business after I designed my daughter's wedding in 2010 and it kind of just evolved. The blog was created to promote the weddings and I did no more than two or three a summer for "fun". I think if I was 20 (or 30 - let's be honest) years younger I may have chosen to focus on weddings primarily or maybe even just do flowers. Honestly, it is so much fun and such great energy. I think part of what I loved about the weddings is that it was just all so positive - from the brides, the love, the excitement. And when it was over it was over. (No calls months later that there is an issue with a defective product, no fires to put out... all positive and lovely). That being said, it was time to move on and focus on other things...

Like this project that is starting to come together with a June finish date (fabulous photos to come!):

Fabrics for daybed #1 

Fabrics for daybed #2

A few of the light fixtures that are being used 

I have a lot of fantastic projects I am working on right now that are keeping me busy and I will share when I can. I hope you are all doing well... Happy 2015! Happy Spring :) Thanks so much for stopping by!

xo

Sherri

A Vintage Barn Wedding at Strawberry Farms

Sarah and Bryan got married at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine and it was the perfect wedding. 

I loved this wedding. The bride knew exactly what she wanted ... vintage furniture sitting on the lawn, old doors for her altar, bouquets with a few spectacular flowers and a lot of greenery and old bottles for her centerpieces. The guest book table belonged to her great-grandmother. The typewriter is mine and she purchased her guest book from The Paper Walrus on Etsy.

Her dress was ivory lace and her bridesmaids dresses were a gorgeous mint green. I made all the bouquets and arrangements. 

Photo via Facebook

I made a smaller version of the bride's bouquet for her to throw and we used it on the guest book table. 

About a month before the wedding the bride took a calligraphy class. We had some boards made and I helped her make her own signs. 

It was her idea to use the ladders. I was happy to use this one of mine that had never been used. We had planned on placing two large white balloons with tassels - one on either side of the aisle but the wind prevented us from doing so. White rose petals lined the aisle (the photos were taken before they were placed) and the smallest of two flower girls was pulled down the aisle in a red wagon.

A vintage suitcase held the gift cards.

The bride and her father found the doors, hinged them together doors and painted them to match the bridesmaid's dresses. We hung my sister's antique chandelier from a brace on the top.  I painted my side table to match the door and we used it to hold two small posies for the bride and groom's mothers. 

 I borrowed some old vintage windows from a friend and wrote the table assignments on it with a white paint pen.

I brought in my vintage furniture for a seating area next to the barn where the guests enjoyed food and drinks during the cocktail hour. The bride's sister provided the trunk.

We displayed photographs of the coupe between ladders that the bride had found. She saw the idea on Pinterest. We selected the fabric together and I made the banners.

The bride and her mom collected old bottles and votive holders for months. Before the wedding she dropped them off and I added some of mine to make 10 sets; one for each guest table. The day before the wedding I filled them with flowers and then placed them in empty wine boxes to transport them. We rented the brass candle holders - three for each table.

I made the menu cards and printed them on gray cardstock. I hand drew the tags from a sketch the bride texted me of one she had drawn based on her guest book design. I scanned my drawing on to my computer and printed them on white cardstock.  

The bride painted her initials on an old window I found.

The sweetheart table was a console table I found on Craigslist and the settee is mine as well. We used my sister's vintage plates for the bride and groom.  After the ceremony, we moved the altar doors inside the barn and placed them behind the sweetheart table. 

The cakes and small desserts were from Sweet & Saucy Shop in Long Beach and were placed on furniture that belonged to the bride's sister. The vintage plates and pedestals were provided by the bakery.

It was a fabulous wedding ... and so much fun being part of it. Seriously, I have the best job ever!

Photography: Prizler Photography. Thanks sis!