Both the ceremony & reception were held at the Coronado Community Center, our guest count filled the space to capacity with a super fun & supportive group of family and friends!!  I realize we all have support groups, but never in my wedding planning years have I seen a group like this one… I won’t lie and tell you I wasn’t nervous during the planning months, because I was! The thought of some many “friends” doing this and that made my  heart palpitate rather quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a bride tell me “my friend is helping me with (fill in the blank) on the wedding day” only for it to end up being a total disaster. Not this time.

Nearly every detail of the day was a DIY effort and all squeezed into a two-hour set-up time at the center. When I say nearly, I mean all the reception elements! The linens (which her mom & friends ironed and pre folded in the nights before the wedding), the glassware, table and flat ware, favors, coffee & drink stations, the cake, ALL of it! This was a true “village” effort. It  reminded me of weddings growing up in Mexico – where everyone in the town had a specific responsibility and they took on it with joy and pride! Everything arrived via u-haul truck with a caravan of about twenty friends who were dressed up for the wedding, but went on to do set-up flawlessly and efficiently with my team and I. Holy smokes! I even had time before the ceremony  to go fix James’ tie and a zipper on a family member’s dress…calmly.

Tiana & James trusted key elements of the celebration to the pros; Tess Fresh Flowers, Bill Calhoun Mobile Music, and We Heart Photography, Marisa Von Sheere (hair & make-up), with a little splurge on the white San Diego Trolley Charter, which I totally think is worth it! Talk about knowing where to allocate your budget.

It was an absolute pleasure to have been part of Tiana & James’ wedding… enjoy re-living it with me!

xxo!

Brenda

All photos by We Heart Photography

I don’t think I’ve paid much attention to kids shoes before, but since Mini was touching & moving everything, I found myself having to put it all back before the sales girl noticed the tornado that was going through the displays… So… I got to experience life as a five year old at the Nordy’s shoe department and it was fun! To no surprise. I found a pair of shoes during this little adventure! I’d totally wear these cute DC Rebound kicks if they had them in my size… but since they don’t, someone needs to get them for a ring bearer or heck, for a really hip flower girl.. don’t you think?

As we always tell our Swannys- you don’t make up of a theme for your wedding, you focus on who you both are and let the wedding be a reflection of your relationship, including, an allergy to flowers. For example, my husband and I both love traveling and our second passion is reading, if I was allergic to flowers, this is the variety of decor I’d use at our wedding!

xxo!

Ania

1.Flowers, 2. Flowers made from map, 3. Hearts, 4. Accordion Fold Heart, 5. Paper Flowers Ball, 6. Paper Flower, 7. Paper Backdrop, 8. Paper Bunting, 9. Paper Star,10. Paper Garland, 11. Bon Voyage Bunting, 12. Card Box, 13. Paper Feathers, 14.Paper Backdrop, 15. Paper Table Runner, 16. Globes,  17. Favor Boxes.

Now I think it is safe to say that many of us wouldn’t consider wearing this on a basic weekday. With that being said, all of these key elements can be used separately as your daily accessory. So, let’s break this Fabulous piece down to reality.

As shown, the stacked imperial beading around the shoulder and neckline continue around the upper part of the back. This is a gorgeous feature that can transform any average top or blouse pop with attention. Forget those oversized earrings or long necklace for your big night out. Try an eye-drawing beaded or sequence neckline like this one and own it!

Let’s move on to the stunning pearl drapes. Many times us women admire these dresses that are a bit oversized or have a little extra fabric in the right spot for our areas of concern. This is the perfectly elegant alternative without adding any extra fabric creating that ‘wing’ look. Yes, it would be difficult to replicate this image however, try applying this drape effect overtop of a beautiful textured blouse. This extracts any negative attention from our more sensitive area, the waist line. As you can see, the texture of the dress along with the draping creates a complimentary combination.

Lastly, my favorite piece… the ever-so-stunning bracelet. This piece is so versatile. You could wear it as shown or with your favorite pair of jeans and a white tee with heels or flats. The plethora of individualized wraps and stones are breathtaking. This is the show-stopper in my opinion as we are close to speechless. Amazing!

xxo!

Stephanie & Ania

Nicole & Cam are natives of Calgary, we planned their Japanese Friendship Gardens wedding mostly via late night novel-esque email exchanges and a couple San Diego trips where we had to squeeze in as much as we possibly could during their stay. I remember the planning of their wedding like it was yesterday, for Dayton was deployed to Afghanistan at the time and I would be up in the late hours of the night hoping to hear from him… but instead I passed my on-line time with Nicole and what would be her winsome and romantic wedding.

The good news to the (often perceived) long-distance planning challenges is that Nicole was the kind of bride who was decisive when the right choice was given to her and Cam was the type of groom who very much had a solid opinion, together, they committed to choices that made them both happy, efficiently. Such as letting the bridesmaids choose their own dresses, by-passing a traditional wedding cake, and remembering that the only important action-item of the day was exclaiming, “I DO!” loud and clear.

My favorite aspect of being part of this wedding was that neither Cam or Nicole let the “little stuff” stress them, such as the fact the ceremony area was not perfectly laid out for their guest count and that the bridal party would have to stand all in once side of the chuppah. Nicole’s walk “down the isle” was quite long, crooked, and a bit “off road” too, and Cam and the guys had to enter from a narrow path, but it didn’t phase them…those details just weren’t important, not as much as the traditions included to honor their families, that the chose colors and decor were not overwhelming to the venue’s already peaceful setting, and that everyone focused on what this day was… a celebration!

On the Wedding day, they were both SO EXCITED to get married! Nicole started doing push-ups in the bridal room to tame her adrenalin and Cam all but watched her put her dress on… it was wonderful to see them both so in love and anxious that they threw that whole “we won’t see each other before the wedding” tradition out the window.

I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into their day. Nicole & Cam, if you are reading this… I miss you both and our late night chats!!

xxo!

Brenda

xxo!

Ania

Now, even though I do not own anything on the MAC line, yet, I am going to go ahead and answer all of my own questions by accepting it does make a difference! Every time I walk into their store, I honestly cannot stop staring at how beautiful the make-up sits on the faces of the women who work there. From the heaviest to most elegant make-up combined with various vintage-inspired hairstyles, gives me sort of a 1950′s vibe…and thanks to the fabulous MAC product line, I have been inspired, by the color Red! I’ve never been inspired like this at CVS!

The color red makes me think of a beautiful pin-up model. Red is the romantic color that attracts all sorts of emotions, beginning at the obvious feeling of warmth and love, while also making me think sexy and adventurous… definitely a color for those who want to be noticed! Today’s inspiration is just that, mixed with warm & dark shades, the red incorporates a sexy feel to any wedding.  The color palette I present here is the same ‘vintage-beauty’ many of us have seen in weddings in that last couple years… it never tires and I love it!

The way I see it, red allows you to mix elegance with antique…create a look that is old-school or new-school…romantic or sexy… it is always a classic! So go ahead, don’t be afraid of red!

xxo!

Intern Hammer (Stephanie)

Photo Credit (L to R, top to bottom): Erwin Photography, Luna Photo, Triple 8 Photography, Palos Studio, Luna Photo, Little White Dress

The ruffled skirt keeps the dress romantic while the detailing on the bust gives it a little glam yet sophisticated. This dress would be perfect for a Winter wedding but I could see it being pulled off for a spring or summer wedding too!

What do you think? How do you feel about Wedding Dresses being in a color other than white?

xxo!

Ania

Roberto Cavalli Gown

You’ve hired on all the pros to handle everything, from food to music, linens, cake and more! Perhaps the most expensive investment at your wedding (besides the ice on your finger) is the photographer. Albeit that some of you also hired a professional & magnificent cinematographer, but for the sake of this post, they will be one in the same.

I am not going to dance around this, I watch wedding days unfold nearly every weekend, I see a cluster coming before the people caught in it even realize, so, here is my one and ONLY photography tip for your wedding day.

Tell your parents to leave their cameras at home!

My advice (read: warning) has nothing to do with the fact that most ordinary people (me, you, your parents, or any other hobbyist at your wedding) do not know how to use the fancy DSLR camera they bought at Costco for cheap or during the last Black Friday sale, I mean I AM one of those people, except I bought my DSLR at the military base, no tax baby! HA! Ok, but seriously, this is the same for anyone with a point and shoot camera OR a fancy schmancy one. Here are my reasons:

Reason #1: Parents carrying bulky cameras strapped to their bodies as they process down the isle for the ceremony (because they do not trust anyone to hold it OR want to have it available when they sit down) look ridiculous. Parents with little cameras stuffed in their even littler pockets, purses, or in their hands look worse, especially when that hand should be on the grooms arm or escorting a bride.

Reason #2: Parents who have cameras stuck to their faces or are looking down a the LCD screen every time they take a shot, CANNOT be captured in a natural/emotional state by the pro you hired. Because the parent is more focused on taking his/her own photos of the ceremony and checking how good they are or are not (deciding whether or not it was a good idea to put the camera on manual or auto mode), they are likely NOT even experiencing the ceremony! If for some reason they are listening and they are moved by the words of the officiant, the people paid to capture those photo journalistic, emotional moments, can’t… because mom or dad has a big ol chuck of Canon stuck to their face.

Reason #2.5: During said ceremony, in a church, where the parent gives up on using manual mode and switches to auto… guess what, a flash goes off as it always does with auto mode. This not only pisses-off the already mean church coordinator who yells at the hired photographers for it (and me bc somehow I become responsible for the hired photogs), BUT there’s a chance that the hired photog’s shot they had set up for and were waiting for the right moment to take, has been ruined by this unexpected burst of unnecessary flash.

Reason #3: Post ceremony pics are nearly always crammed for time with too many people. Hired photogs have a system to get through these important formal shots everyone wants. But if your parent is busier taking photos of all the guests outside the church or the guests at the cocktail hour, then he or she can’t be in the photos, so we have to track them down, then they gotta put their camera down, or if they don’t, they hold it behind themselves instead of holding you… Lame that a camera is more important that a  moment with you, not to mention they look funny with their chest sticking out and no arms in photos. In that same scenario, if your parent decides to stand directly behind the hired photog to capture all their same shots, now the photog can’t move about freely to adjust the shot. Awesome. Why not just tie the photog’s feet together, that at least would be funny.

Reason #4: During the fun bridal photo shoot…It is likely that ordinary people don’t have the right lenses for different shots and when they do, it takes them 5 or more minutes to trade them out, at which point, the incredibly awesome moment they were going to capture is gone…long gone… sadly, I have seen time and time again, how photo schedules intricately figured out by the photographer & myself fall behind, waaay behind, because a parent stops the photos to recreate the moment of now ten minutes ago, so that he/she can try to capture it too, which takes even longer since they are still trying to figure out the whole auto v. manual thing. Multiply this by the two or thirteen times it happens, and now we are really behind! By the way, did I mention that said parent is now missing mingling with all their  guests and family at the cocktail hour?? Sad. True Story: I once had a parent miss the limo ride to the reception from church (the bridal party was in a party bus), because he was taking photos and didn’t realize the limo left, and the other parent assumed he was in the back of the limo… the party bus took off, limo was gone, so were all the guests, and yea, that was a “yelling-at” I didn’t appreciate.

Reason #5: A parent playing shadow to a photographer to capture all the moments at the reception will undoubtedly trip and fall over themselves, it will not be funny, but it will however distract everyone from paying attention to the first dance, toast, prayer… whatever it was they were so feverishly trying to photograph. This sucks, because the attention is taken away from the moment, you will not get it back… it turns into a spectacle, no matter how small or comical, your moment is no longer yours. Not to mention that the parents missed that moment too… This gets worse when the parent is due to give a speech or toast, I’ve asked them to take their seat so that they are ready when the emcee announces them and five minutes later as they are introduced, they rise up from a  dark corner where they were squatting by the charging equipment for their camera. OR they can’t hold their glass of champagne or because guess what is in their hands?? Right, a camera. Perhaps the most silly thing I have seen, is a parent taking photos as they are giving the speech, from the middle of the dance floor, as they speak, instead of standing next to you and actually seeing your face as those sweet loving words are given.

I am done writing reasons because this post is too long. You get the point, you want your parents to enjoy and experience the day with you, not to hurt themselves or look silly in every photo because it is a photo of them taking a photo of moments they are supposed to be enjoying. You’ve all invested a lot of money and time planning this day, let the pros you’ve hired earn their fees AND do the best job that they can do for you… photogs already struggle with the iphone carrying masses in the way (including yours truly), the cinema team, uncle Bob and aunt Sally with their DSLRs, your college friend who wanted to take pics as your present and brought his light reflectors and umbrella flashes (true story!), and the limited time they have to do it in… really, there is no need for the people who count most to be MIA in photos or be running around like photography interns.

As you’ll be able to tell, Leanne & Travis have spent a lot of time traveling together, a passion that I too, appreciate, so when it came to figuring out how to decorate the Amy Strong Castle’s nooks & crannies, their momentos brought back from the various trips were perfect! We used their travel guides, maps, and DIY photo cubes with photos of each place visited for centerpieces, which also made it easy to name the tables (after each location).

Leanne hadn’t envisioned elaborate flowers as part of her day, so she opted for custom made clutches for her and the bridesmaids to carry down the isle (although her talented mom still made her a beautiful bouquet and Travis a lei), as well as minimal florals in various containers, which were accents to the travel themed decor on the tables…a task I was happy to take-on given it’s simplicity and Leanne’s acceptance of my floral design skills (or lack there of!). She gave me various containers and a bucket of flowers (literally) ordered from a local shop and I put them together that morning. Note to readers/DIYers/Novice Coordinators: Give yourself PLENTY of time during prep to handle such big tasks ON the day of the wedding, assure that the client knows your skill level, and be certain to have the right tools too! Such as floral scissors, access to water, a trash can, etc... Luckily, I had plenty of set-up time and free-form design power from the couple. Not to mention there was less than a dozen small arrangements, so this was an easy, low pressure extra task I could do to help make the day wonderful!

Another element I loved from this wedding- no cake!! Leanne & Travis love Julian pies! So they ordered various pies as their “cake” and even had a cute topper made. The pie was served with ice-cream too! I have to confess that this was one of the only times I was sad not to have gotten the chance to partake in dessert… the pies smelled SOOO yummy! Good thing they hired a donut cart though! Uhm hello! What a sweet little treat and I did get some of those! NOM.

Thanks L & T for trusting me as part of your wedding team!

xxo!

Brenda

Wedding Pro Team: Mandi Contreras for Melissa McClure Photography, Hair & Make-up by Audra Rene Studio, Officiated by Ceremonies by Bethel, Personal Touch Dining catering, Sensational Treats Party Donuts, Starlight Photobooth, Wedding pie by Julian Pie Co., JMC Events (DJ & Lighting), DIY: Flowers, Invitations, and Paperie.