My Blush Pink Bridal Shower

StyleMePretty is a bridal inspirations blog that I followed religiously when I began the wedding planning process, so I was ecstatic when my bridal shower pictures were featured on the site Wednesday morning. To see the feature on Style Me Pretty click here. Many thanks to my maid of honor Kohar for understanding my love for design and details and for putting together my dream shower. Also, many thanks to Pictilio for capturing such beautiful photos and submitting them to get published! Below is a blurb that I had written with our submission as well as a few detailed photos of the shower.

The bridal shower is just that: a day when the bride can sit back, relax, and enjoy being showered with love by all of her closest family and friends. My bridal shower was no exception. I put faith in my maid of honor, who has a penchant for planning (and who understands my obsession over details and event design!). In the end, I was glad I did, because the day was perfect and made me feel so loved. Together with my moms and sister-in-law, she created a bridal shower that was beyond anything I could have imagined. The décor—blush pink hues that shone from the flower arrangements to the macaroon favors and place settings—was perfectly planned and executed down to the last detail. The menu—which featured a crostini bar and panini bar—was unbelievably delicious and unique. The dessert table—filled with an assortment of delectable goodies—was displayed so beautifully on white footed platters. Even the games were fabulous—especially the bridal runway game, which involved splitting everyone into teams; providing them with a box full of fabrics, ribbons, and pins; and giving them a short amount of time to create a bridal gown and dress one member of their team. When the time was up, each bride had to strut down the runway with her team while the judges cheered for their favorites. It was definitely a highlight; the girls really got into it and it made for some good laughs!

But aside from the food and décor, what really made the shower special was the fact that I was surrounded by such incredible family and friends. In my eyes, that is the most important part. Getting married is such a special time and it was amazing to have so much love and support from all these inspiring women in my life. They really know how to make a girl feel special! I can’t thank my family enough for putting together such a beautiful shower. My advice to all the brides out there is to enjoy every second of the engagement and wedding process—because it truly does fly by with a blink of an eye.

Photography: Pictilio / Venue: The Bride’s Parents’ Home in Saratoga, California / Floral Design: Avenue Florist / Catering: Elegant Event Catering / Cake + Desserts: Nothing Bundt Cakes + DIY / Linens + Bride’s Chair Covering: Wildflower Linen / Dress: BCBG / Shoes: She She Shoes / Makeup: MAC

Happy Valentine's Day! XOXO

I want to wish all of my family and friends a Happy Valentine's Day! Yes, I know that Valentine's day is just another excuse for corporate America to make money, but it does remind us to take the time to recognize the ones we love. Sometimes we get caught up in our busy lives and forget to show how much we appreciate and love those closest to us. Take the time today to reach out to someone close in your life whether it be a family member, friend, or significant other.

Below are some photos that I took last year of my sister-in-law and her husband for their Valentine's card. I thought it would be fun to revisit today. I can't believe it's already been a year! To see the full Valentine's shoot click here

Maternity Shoot: Aline & Dan

Pregnancy is such a special time for a mother to be, and what better way to document that time then with photographs that you can then cherish for years after. I was delighted when my friend Aline asked me to take some maternity photos of her with her husband Dan. I've known Aline for YEARS and I can't believe she is going to be a mama, how exciting! Aline is due in about 2 weeks so we quickly got together this past weekend and took a few pictures. We had a lot of fun. Dan was always doing something to crack us up and Aline was such a trooper, I probably made her sit down and get up about a dozen times. 

Aline and Dan, thank you for letting me document this moment in your lives. I am so happy for the both of you. I wish you a healthy and smooth pregnancy and delivery. Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The holidays this year were hectic, as is every year, so I apologize that this post is a few weeks late! Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year, well at least in my opinion. It's filled with family, friends, food, parties, more food, gifts, and of course GLITTER! My husband and I hosted Christmas at our house for the first time this year. By the time I was done decorating there was literally glitter in every corner of the house, oops! I wanted to create a special table decor that was elegant and festive for Christmas Eve dinner. Below are some simple ideas and tips that I wanted to share with you. I wish everyone a fabulous, healthy, and prosperous 2012!

Chargers are a great investment. They are very affordable and add elegance to a table setting. I purchased silver satin napkins to match the decor. You can find satin napkins at an affordable price online, I purchased mine from amazon.com. I always love the look of wrapping the folded napkin vertically around the plate.

I wanted to make party favors for my family to remember our first Christmas. I bought a huge box of assorted silver ornaments from TJ Maxx Home Goods. If you haven't been there you have to go, they have beautiful things for the home at affordable prices. I wanted to create a little tag to attach to the ornaments, so I purchased a few different items from Michaels to make them. If you have a printer, cardstock, glue, and some ribbon, you can easily make these yourself. It's a fun memento that my family can now hang on their tree every year.

The centerpiece was quite simple. I had 3 different size candy jars that I filled with different ornaments. I bought 3 bubble votive candle holders to add a little candlelight below.

I also decorated one more table for "the kids". I attached silver sparkly ribbon towards the top of 3 cylinder vases that I had. I filled up the vases with water and added floating candles at the same height as the ribbon. I bought glittery branches from Michaels to put below as a base.

I found this delicious recipe on Martha Stewart's website for Pomegranate Champagne Punch. I wanted to make a cute sign to display by the punch. I attached a key ring to one of the silver ornaments to create a holder for the sign.

Everyone loves a good cheese spread. I displayed a variety of cheese, meats, and crackers on a huge cutting board as one of the appetizers. Super simple to put together. My sister-in-law and husband make a delicious butternut squash soup and they were nice enough to bring some over on Christmas. We put the soup in martini glasses and handed them out as an appetizer. Soup is an easy appetizer because you can pre-make it and then just reheat when you are ready to serve.