What's In Our File: It's Bananas!

We are gearing up for our bright and tropical wedding this weekend at Rancho Valencia with JL Designs and thought we would share what's in store! Painted pineapples, palms, and retro inspired pops of color are all on board. We are bananas over this wedding and can't wait to give you peaks on instagram! Head on over for a little slice of Hawaiian heaven!

Inspired By: An Intimate Loft Affair

We are putting all of our inspiration together for Mary Beth and Peter's intimate affair and thought we would surprise you with a sneak peak. With a proposal in Paris, there are sure to be Parisian touches as well as a nod to our bride's Southern roots and this couples love for travel.  We are in love with the lighting by Typewriter Boneyard and the industrial romantic feel it will bring to the evening. Cinder block details compliment this couple's modern style while the creamy color scheme with pops of tangerine will help warm up this space. We are counting down the days to August 2 when their closest friends and family come from all over the world to celebrate them. Mary Beth and Peter are are a sophisticated duo and their wedding will be nothing less!

Like what you see here? View our inspiration board MB+P Intimate Loft Affair on Pinterest for more!

Inspired By: Rock Steady

Cassie and Jeremy's wedding is fast approaching and we are oohing as the pieces come together. All the details for this rock steady celebration are sure to bring inspiration and delight to your day. If you are still wanting more hop over to our C+J Rock Steady board on pinterest where you can find all these images and more!

Inspired By: Gold Leaves

Whoever thought of spray painting leaves gold was a genius...and it is one of our very favorite things to do when needing a hint of metallic at your table. It adds the perfect touch of elegance, especially for winter. We highly suggest this trick for your Holiday decor and it adds great shine for New Years as well! We always love the girls over at 100 Layer Cake and they recently posted a DIY tutorial for a golden magnolia wreath by Danielle from Brown Paper Design that we can't get enough of. The golden wreath paired with a gorgeous centerpiece like the one above is sure to have all your guests in awe!

Inspired By: Swedish Christmas

One of my favorite holidays comes from my heritage and my Swedish grandmother, her legacy still lives on as we hold tight to the traditions that have been passed down through the generations. Every December 13th on Santa Lucia Day, in the early morning hours, I was always awakened by the sounds of my mother singing a traditional Swedish Christmas song while carrying a tray of hot cocoa and pepparkakor cookies. The beauty of the candles and wreath on her head seemed magical at those moments. It was always one of my favorite parts of December and unfailingly came as a sweet surprise each year. Today, I too carry along the tradition with my little ones and even still the memories of these moments evoke such warm feelings.   I loved waking up my own sleepy little babies this morning as the sun was rising and sharing with them the heritage that my mother also gave me.  All dressed in white and with the wreath of candles on my head, my sweet Milla asked me if I was an angel.  There may only be so many instances in her life where she thinks of her mother as such but for now I will hold on to that...

These are the feelings that bring me the most inspiration. Last weekend I was able to weave together all the elements that are dear to my heart in this special holiday to share with Green Wedding Shoes.  The smells of Swedish desserts, Swedish meatballs, and hot chocolate have brought the memories soaring back. Paintings by Carl Larsson and rosy cheeked girls with braided hair have been dancing in my head. Pretty packages with dala horses hiding within, lit candles, green wreaths of fresh pine, and wood logs waiting to provide warmth are some of my favorite things for this ever so special day. What made recreating all of this extra merry is that I was fortunate enough to recreate the memories with my mother from Twigg Botanicals as we worked side by side. 

Head on over to Green Wedding Shoes to view the inspired shoot we created with a great team of talent! Enjoy the inspiration boards below and we'd love to hear about any Christmas traditions that you have with your family.

xo
Heather 

What's In My File: Abbie + Tanner

Abbie and Tanner are a darling couple who we are so excited to be working with! They are getting married this June with a lovely seaside-inspired wedding. Tanner proposed to Abbie on a boat, and they both love the San Diego atmosphere of beaches, ocean and simplicity. Here is the inspiration board we put together for their big day.

We wanted to stay away from "typical" beach decor...so no sand or seashells. Instead, we turned to the textures of the deep blue seas and the creatures within. Sea urchins, salt, and rich blues will be the main focus. Tanner is a huge donut fan, so of course we had to incorporate that! We are even having custom donuts made to look like life savers! We can't wait for their wedding and all of the fun details!

Put the Lime in the Coconut

{Photo Credits: victorian inspired dress via Coutorture, island invitations via Snippet & Ink, hammocks via Apartment Therapy, coconut cake via Para ti Novia, Fiji, table scape via Style Me Pretty, dainty tags via Etsy, Kristin & Chris's wedding parasols via Amorology}

One of our creative couples approached us about mixing a fun Fiji island theme with Victorian inspired touches for their upcoming August wedding. This is the board we created to capture all the romance and island spirit for the backyard wedding. We plan on incorporating lush flowers, tropical coconuts, dainty lace, pretty parasols, and even a hammock or two! Check back to see this old- world island delight come to life.

"He's her lobster"

{Photo credits: cute couple via Style Me Pretty & flowers also Style Me Pretty, coral cake via French Blue, bridesmaid dress via Sarah Seven, lobster lollipops via the knot, seashell cookies via a Dozen Eggs, lobster invites via Oh So Beautiful Paper }

We are so excited to have Kate on team Amorology :) She's our newest addition and has been a complete blessing. We love her style and fell in love with her inspiration boards. We will definitely be sharing them with you here and there but wanted to introduce you all to her talent. Here is her latest and greatest titled, "He's her lobster." In her words, read below on how she was inspired to create the seaside crustacean creation :)

I loved the show "Friends" when I was younger and still find myself watching reruns regularly. One of my favorite episodes is "The One with the Prom Video," where Phoebe tells Ross, "it's a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life." I wanted to create a board that was playful, yet still romantic. Because honestly what is more romantic than being someone's lobster?

Inspiration on Parade

It is always such a treat when the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine arrives, and let me tell you it did not disappoint! I of course fell in love with the beautiful flowers on the cover, but had no idea what fun things were to come from inside its' pages!

Let me just confess that every once in a while a wedding comes along that I wish I would have planned. I wish I could claim it. I wish I would have thought of it. It's just that much fun! Such was the case with this one! I cannot get enough of it. The wedding is that of Hello! Lucky's co-creator Eunice and it's so completely original and fun! The details are amazing, it's completely playful, and I wish I was a part of the giant wooden animal parade!!

The stage is one of my favorite parts as well as the wooden animals, and all were made by Because We Can. It is an absolutely beautiful backdrop to such a fun wedding...the guests must have had the best night ever! And what incredible pictures it made for them and their photographers, Gia Canali with Sara Remington.

Don't you just want to climb into these pictures? For more of this amazing wedding, head over to Martha Stewart and the Hello! Lucky wedding blog! Happy Weekend!

Anne of Green Gables Inspiration Board

{Photo Credits: flowers from Jessica Claire's wedding by Jose Villa; cameo via peppergirlsmommy etsy shop; orchard via Studio Lovejoy; tie via xoelle etsy shop; library books via buckscountyframes etsy shop; getaway carriage via Martha Stewart Weddings; victorian boot via Peter Fox; cake via My Sweet and Saucy; plaid flowers via MayLynnFlowers etsy shop; lanterns via DeFalco Photography from Amorology; bride via flickr}

When I was a little girl, I used to absolutely love the book Anne of Green Gables. I was thrilled when they made it into a movie, and still have it on tape somewhere! I remember sitting in my room pretending I was Anne and trying with all my might to make my stuffed animals turn into real students so I could be their teacher (I swear I was really popular and had lots of friends).

I was recently going through some remaining items in my childhood room and came across the book. It's crazy how some small material things can bring back rushes of emotions and memories. My memories were filled with everything I imagined Green Gables to be: green, soft, romantic and a bit wild. I was instantly inspired and created this board for some daring, wildflower bride.

When I sit down to start gathering images for an inspiration board, I have to have music playing. Music inspires me more than anything, so I thought I would start listing "soundtracks" with my inspiration boards so you could also understand the feeling I was experiencing. Don't worry, I won't make you listen to a full album of 12-15 songs, I'll just have a few that stood out to me during the process.

Soundtrack:
Chasing Pirates, Norah Jones
Don't Let Me Fall, Lenka
Always and Always, The Notebook Soundtrack
Smile, Glee Cast Version (Obvi!)

I hope you enjoy!
Mello

My Happy Place

{Photo Credits: invitations from Martha Stewart Weddings, tea cups from Oh Joy!, flowers from frolic! via snippet & ink, church from Leo Patrone, pompoms from partypoms, garden chandelier from ssss, couple engagment shot from Stephanie Williams, cake from Martha Stweart Weddings, hairpiece from icing101, bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings, ribbons from frolic!, lanterns from tec petja, scarf from emilymaysparks, ceremony altar via joy thigpen and tec petaja.}

Hi there! I'm Stephanie Mello. I've been working with Heather for a while now and we both felt it was time I introduce myself to all of you lovely people :)

When Heather first asked me to put together an inspiration board as a way of introducing myself to the blogosphere, I had a minor anxiety attack. How could I put together just ONE inspiration board!? I love so many colors and am surrounded by beautiful inspiring elements all of the time! I don't want people to judge me based on this one board...will they know I like other colors, other styles?! And then I went to a happy place, which for me is my spot on the couch (we all have our own spots, don't we?) snuggled under a fleece blanket, cup of tea in hand, candles lit, and getting absolutely lost in a good book. As I was putting the book down to freshen my cup of tea, I looked up...and was so, incredibly comforted by the warmth I felt around me. The lamp shining from above lit up the yellowing pages of the book I had read a hundred times before, and the glowing light from the candles enveloped my entire apartment. Eureka! I had found enough inspiration to create my board to share with you all. It represents everything that brings me comfort...warmth, light and color...and I know on my wedding day, nothing would make me happier!

So there it is, out there for all to see, my first (of many I'm sure) inspiration board in ambers, golds, pinks and corals. I hope you enjoy it!

Peace, love and cookies.
-Mello.

P.S.
This is how I will be ending my posts, so you will all know when I'm posting and when Heather is :)

Remember when?

Remember when we posted this "What's in my file" for Missy and Nick? We were completely inspired by the vintage mosaic guitar pin that we found (pictured in the upper left), which later became part of Nick's boutonnière thanks to Twigg Botanicals.

We have finally gone through all of their amazing pictures from Natalie Norton Photography and are eager to share them with you all!

Stay tuned to see the pictures from their guitars and paper stars, Beatles-inspired wedding!

Our latest inspriation..

As most of you know, we love color! Which is why we love this French Riviera inspiration board of reds, yellows and blues that our new intern Cami put together for us! Cami interviewed with us recently, and we just adore her and her amazing sense of style, and couldn't be happier to have her on board with us!

Cami visited the French Riviera and pulled inspiration from there plus three of her favorite fabric swatches she has been holding onto for some time now . Make sure to enlarge this collage so you can take a closer look at all of the pictures, there are so many fun images. The blue church might be my favorite, but I also love, love, love the lady sitting in the boat, and the lollipops, and the bouquets...well, and everything :)

Don't you want to be sitting in France sipping on a refreshing beverage!? Looking cool, Cami. Welcome to the team!

Tiny Treasures

At Amorology, we love to have our brides pick wedding favors guests will actually use. Nothing is sadder than a favor tossed in the trash or forgotten at a table because your guests see no use for them! With these lovely Japanese chiyogami (old-paper) favor tins from Etsy shop gamiworks, how could you resist taking one of these unique treasures home!?



I love how the tins are all different, colorful and distinctly delicate. We would just love filling these with snacks like mini candies, mints or nuts for the reception! Guests could use these later as coin tins, accessory holders or even tiny gift boxes! Traditional favor boxes are always easy to find and fun to fill, but these keepsakes will have your guests raving about your attention to detail, and will surely remind them of your special day for years to come!

The Butterfly Effect

I love, love, love a beautiful bridal bouquet. It can be the perfect accessory to complete any bridal look. But when this fun, youthful take on the traditional bridal bouquet fluttered my way, I just couldn't help smiling. I adore the varying sizes, shapes and colors of the different delicate butterflies. They remind me of flying flowers, floating gracefully down the isle.

The surprising joy and artistry of this insect inspiration, pulled from Martha Stewart Weddings, has understated elegance that could only enhance the bride's charm. I'm fortunate to work with Twigg Botanicals on most of my bridal flowers and arrangements, and absoloutely love playing with different elements to completely change the look of a wedding. It's personal, unique details such as this that take an ordinary wedding to a breathtaking, unforgettable day.

Keeping your options open

I am loving everything about the Macbeth Collection...from the votives to the tubs, to the vases and tool caddy. The best part is that they can be customized with the pattern or style you choose as well as with print or a monogram. Love that! Endless options!

These would be so fun to display drinks in or other goodies at a wedding or backyard party. They also would work great for centerpieces. Wouldn't you just love to fill these as welcome tubs too? I am just dying to find somewhere to use them. Any other ideas?

calling all creative

So we just finished up a photo shoot for San Diego Style Weddings Magazine yesterday in which we were asked to do a concept and design for a table scape. It was so much fun!! I paired up with my mom from Twigg Botanicals who did the florals and we got to work!
One of my favorite details of the day...kind of a last minute idea to go with our favors
The linens that Wildflower had could not have been more perfect! We were so excited to find these! Everything they have is beautiful though..linens to inspire and hundreds of weddings waiting to happen!
We must have changed our concept at least 3 times...but were finally inspired by this tea canister with the beautiful elephant. Our concept quickly became titled "Tea in China". Sidenote: We learned that day from the very talented Haydee of Haydee's florals that an elephant with it's trunk up means good fortune. Isn't that so appropriate for a wedding theme too. I loved that! Unfortunately...I've already done a good fortune themed wedding...and this wedding quickly moved from China to somewhere in Bombay. It took on a much more Indian type feel and we have been left without a title!
So...this is where I'm enlisting all of your creative help and inner genius. We haven't come upon just the right name for our table and I was hoping you could help. As of now, we named it "Indian Ocean". Any other ideas? Something with Bombay perhaps, tea,tangerine or mandarin orange. Please.....anything that comes to mind. I would love to hear any and all ideas and hey it may just make it into the magazine. THANKS in advance and love to you all! I'll have the real professional pictures soon to share. Stay posted!!

and there were fireworks...

Hoping your 4th of July was bright and beautiful!

top row: fireworks by flickr, cake by instyle mag, shoes by emser design
middle: cherries by brides uk, flowers by martha stewart,
invitations by hello lucky, flag at etsy
all others...amorology

take the key and lock her up....

Okay, so you guys are all probably thinking this inspiration board is crazy! I just had to do something special for my convict bride to be...be sure to see the letters below that inspired it all!
I was thinking we could incorporate some real fun elements like these earrings by crumpetcake






We could play the police for ambient background music..HA!
..and we definitely could thumb print everyone at the door as the guest book. Perfect! Little clocks would make excellent favors. Oh yes..I know you're following me..."Doing time", so appropriate. We would serve a fine meal of crusty breads and cute personalized labeled bottles of water of course! The stripes on this Preston + Sturgess cake just pulls it all together. For the exit...I'm thinking vintage POLICE car and handcuffs.

So, I have officially had my first wedding scam. Who knew there was such a thing? Planners beware! This is the email that I just received a couple days ago from a so called bride to be in Germany. Lot's of details in this first email as you can see...and it just got more detailed in the emails that followed.

My name is Kim Lohan, from Germany,Hamburg (Europe ).. I will be coming over to California with my Husband James Phillips who's French by nature but has actually naturalised in Germany. We'll be moving to the US to start a new life because my husband to be just got a job with the Coca-cola Co. in CA and i have made plans of opening my new kiddies fashion store in CA as soon as we are settled in. Just before then we will be getting married on the 7th of December , 2008 and we have decided to get married in THE STATES since we're moving on and we pretty know our new move would be wonderful. We will be needin' a good wedding planner to take care of our wedding event both ceremony and reception for our guests and our convenience because we require the best for the best memories fost on our wedding day. We prefer the ceremony and reception event to take place in a location and we are expecting at most 60 guests on the day of our occasion because most of our families in Europe and in the United Kingdom will be present for this wonderful occassion. Also, we would like you to know we prefer the reception and ceremony to take place in a location for the convenience of our guests and would love the ceremony to be in a garden setting and the reception in an indoor location in San Marcos ,CA or surrounding areas because the weather is unpredictable at this time of the year. We haven't made any venue reservations yet but we are sure the wedding planner can do that on on our behalf as we are looking for a customized wedding planning package that involves virtually every aspect of planning except the band which we are already making arrangements for. The total wedding budget is 25,000$US. Please let us know if you can help work with us for the success of our event and can help work within our budget as we're not opened to spending a dollar more than the above bidget? Thanks and God bless, kim

Here's the next one....
Hello Heather, Thanks for your response! We will definitely love to work with you!! Oh and we will understand if we are only able to have an indoor wedding in December because of the weather as we didn't realise this before and an evening event will be perfect indoors

Well i'm used to calling James my husband because we are getting married and nothing's changing that fact 'cause we have come a long way together. My husband and i will be arriving Town on the 9th of November this year which is the only time we'll be available for a face to face consultation because we would like to finish our work here and also spend more time with our family and loved ones before coming as we might not be chanced to spend as much time with them.. we would like the ceremony and reception to take place in the same location.. Preferred time for ceremony is 6pm and no traditions or heritage involved. The budget is US$25000!

We are expecting nothing less than 55 guests and at most 65people.. Our preferred wedding style is formal. There'll be 3 bridesmaids including maid of honor, 3 groomsmen including the bestman and 2 flower girls. A ring bearer We don't have a color scheme yet. Six of our favorite colors are pink, orange, green, blue, violet and lemon. Hmm five colors i don't like are red, brown, grey, black and i dont know any other. We don't have any theme yet we can always make that out later. The preferred time for reception is 8:30pm. As for catering the seated/plated dinner is perfect. Our food preference is sea food. We would prefer a fruit cake with fresh or silk flowers incorporated in the design of the cake. No grooms cake required. The cake should be like 4 tiers Flowers should be included in the centrepieces.
We have a specific photography requirement but we don't know if they do such in the US that is to make every part of the wedding like a story, a story book photography. Please let us know if we can find this type of photographer? Our entertainment band will be coming in from Benin Republic , It's a french coupe de calien african band, they're marvelous.We will need the DJ to be present during the reception to provide background sounds.
An itinerary put together for the guests will help them alot for them to be able to make plans for the proper hotel rooms and costs before their arrival to the states to avoid any form of trouble with that in future. We'll be coming with the pastor of our church who will be the ceremony officiant on that day. Okay dear that's it for now, we hope you're able to make our event as wonderful as we've dreamed it would be.

The cost of your services is okay by us. We will like you to start planning as soon as possible..We'll be needing also your detailed contact information that your name to make deposit check payable and mailing instructions not a PO BOX to have it sent to you. Have a pleasant day! Sincerely Kim

This just gets crazier!
Hello Heather
Great to read from you again! We're well pleased!! Well we are easy to get to know and as a matter of fact we are opened to be read like a book.
James and i met in Paris , in the year 1998 and that was how it all started. I travelled to Paris to see my grand ma and eventually met James in my grand ma's mansion, he was her personal accountant. To my surprise he spoke english very well unlike other french nationals around and he was the only other person i could talk to except my grand ma. He was nice enough to have me say a yes to an invitation for dinner after a few days that we've met and that was how he started getting closer to my heart and after my visit to my grand ma's i was back in Germany and James didnt stop calling me everytime to wish me well and tell me how much he missed me, he didnt give up on me even when there's so much distance between us and one day he promised to visit me in Germany which he did. This actually triggered my feelings for him and we started a relationship from there and got engaged in July 2002..
In February 2003 he got a job with the Coca-cola company in Hamburg as an Auditor and ever since we've been together as one. We share so many things in common and we love kids alot though we haven't started giving birth yet until after our marriage.
More about us, we are christians, well mannered, easy going, great sense of humour, peace loving, quite out going, we love flowers. We love to swim, dance, go out to the movies, love sports, James loves water skiing and i love skating.
We would also love to know more about you and your family, are you married, do you have any child? I hope this isn't prying though if it is then you don't have to answer.

Actually it was a friend of mine in Spain who just got married in New York that referred me to the Website i viewed your advert and eventually visited your website and to our surprise you got a great chance of working with us as your style is preferably intriguing.

Please let us know if this is pretty okay by you, we have attached a picture to this message for you to put a face with our e-mails. Have a pleasant day!

Sincerely
Kim
and here was my response after I realized what was really going on....
Dear Kim,
Oh...you sound like such a kind and honest person. To read more about me and my family go to http://www.ic3.gov/

Hopefully, you'll learn more about me there...and we can begin our journey together making plans for your wedding. Can't wait! I'm glad one of your favorite colors is orange...because I have something perfect in mind for the bridal party to wear with sparkly silver cuffs. I think it would go great with a black and white theme and we could incorporate the use of sirens. What do you think?

see you soon!

amorology

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?

My husband actually saved the day. He found out this was a scam when he googled the band. The scam is that they send a cashier's check for the deposit along with an extra $3000.00 deposit to be sent to the band in Africa. When the federal reserve discovers the check is a fraud, the "band" has been paid and I'm on the hook for the money.... I feel so bad for the other event planners that have already been taken advantage of. Has anyone heard of this?