22 Jul

As a nice follow up to Kristina’s wedding yesterday, we thought we share a peek into the studio of the lovely women who made her dress: Alix & Kelly.

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They have a beautiful, light-filled studio in the fashion district of downtown LA and if you’re the kind of bride-to-be who’s not all that into bridal specialists wearing headsets as they usher you into a windowless dressing room, might we suggest you give Alix and Kelly a call? Their space is as refreshing, simple and inspired as their line. And you’ll be meeting with literally either Alix or Kelly, who are just as sweet and real as summer pie. No sample bouquets or pressure to buy a veil… just a lovely line of dresses to try.

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And their bridesmaids dresses are completely beautiful too. Again simple, elegant, pretty… certainly something your maids would wear again. Plus their dresses come in 70 colors, with all sorts of interesting tones that are hard to find with some of the bigger labels.

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Pretty, no? And they have a new line coming out in August/September which we cannot wait to see.

They’re appointment only, so call them. If you time it right you can swing by the flower market on your way over, which is always fun.

Alix & Kelly
(213) 622-3991

8 comments

21 Jul

We had a minor computer meltdown yesterday that kept us from getting this post up in a timely fashion, but a little delay of gratification never hurt anybody, right?

We’ve been waiting for. ever. to post Kristina’s wedding (our own Kristina, in case that’s not assumed) and now that the little spread is out in Brides So. Cal, we’ve deemed it safe to post our own version. And a word of warning, it’s super hard to edit down a wedding that we’re so close to, especially when we have all 1200 photos at our disposal. So maybe sit back, pour yourself a cool drink, and enjoy.

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Palm Springs is an awesome place to get married in the fall. It’s warm, it’s sunny and you can guarantee that your friends and family are going to have a relaxing and super fun weekend laying by the pool, sipping cocktails and generally enjoying the celebratory mood of the desert. Kristina and Brock chose the Colony Palms because of it’s intimate feel, small number of guest rooms (so they could take over the whole space), excellent food and generally groovy vibe. Plus it was brand new when they signed their contract which made it sort of a hidden little gem amid all the popular spots in the valley.

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Kristina designed their invites herself using Jenna Hein’s calligraphy as the script throughout the suite. She had them letterpressed by Aardvark Letterpress in downtown LA and gocco’d the little monogram button herself to finish them off.

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How cool are the windmills??

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For table numbers, Kristina collected vintage Palm Springs postcards which she backed with black cardstock, a pattern left over from her envelope liners and of course the actual table number. (Number stands are from Surfas in Culver City).

She also had the excellent fortune to find a florist who was nice enough to let her bring half of the arrangements for the tables. She made the succulent centerpieces herself, using tips from Hoot & Heart (they are so nice!), and arranged them in vintage California pottery she’d collected from ebay, etsy, flea markets, and thrift stores. Place cards were arranged in vintage pin flower frogs found the same places as the pottery.

She spent the summer growing a jungle of heirloom pumpkins in her backyard and used them as decoration around the ceremony and reception space.

And because it’s impossible to stop with the projects once they start, she gocco’d 250 coasters that were used at each place setting around around the bar area.

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Their ceremony was held in a little garden within the Colony Palms. Brock’s older brother Sky served as their officiant and wove personal stories, pieces of literature and generally heartfelt eloquence together into a truly amazing ceremony.

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The reception and party were held outside around the pool. And they finished off the night with poker in the original speakeasy (the hotel was built by a mobster in the 30’s) under the restaurant kitchen.

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Good times.

You can see Kristina’s invites, table numbers, coasters, escort cards, ceremony arrangements, succulent centerpieces, rehearsal dinner favors, and other details we’re forgetting right now under the “our wedding” tag on her personal blog, Lovely Morning.

And for more photos of the wedding, go to Michele’s blog here and here (as if you need to see more). Plus Kristina posted Michele’s photos from the rehearsal dinner, rehearsal, and their welcome cocktail party on her blog as well.

Photography: Michèle M. Waite

Venue: The Colony Palms Hotel, Palm Springs

Flowers: Hoot & Heart

Calligraphy: Jenna Hein

Dress: Alix & Kelly

Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Music: James King

Coordination: Allison Trowbridge – allison.trowbridge{at}gmail{dot}com

24 comments

17 Jul

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Hilariously cute photobooth on Kiss the Groom

Lemony French ruffles from The Cherry Blossom Girl. More bridesmaids should dress like this, don’t you think?

Mais oui! That be-flowered veil (made by the bride herself) via Green Wedding Shoes, (photo by Mark Brooke Photographers)

Mmmmmm. Buttermilk. No need to say anything else. (via uppercase)

And finally, frosted sugar cookie topped cupcakes from the always amazing Inchmark. (there were from a few weeks ago, but we somehow forgot to post). Some excellent inspiration for homemade dessert bar?

Ooh, and our friend Audrey from Parcel Post is hosting a giveaway… and the prize is a Russel + Hazel wedding binder. Get over there!

Now go out and have a joyfully sweaty weekend in the sun.

7 comments

16 Jul

Beeeautiful engagement shoot alert! Courtney of Erin Hearts Court sent us this dreamy summer shoot of Nadia and Charles. We need to plan a romantic picnic, stat.

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You can see tons more photos on their blog. There are sooo many good ones, you have to go see. Really.

13 comments

15 Jul

Last week Jillian met up with Carolina Della Valle of Modern Press at her sweet studio in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Her space and creativity alone are enough to persuade anyone to hire her to design their invites.

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Carolina has a background in Architecture and Interior Design and once you know that you can see how her education has influenced her work. She has a decidedly clean, modern style, she loves to work with unique materials, and spends time conceptualizing each piece as if it were a little sculpture.

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And, as if that weren’t enough, she does every single thing by hand. Letterpress printing, embossing, diecutting, foil stamping, plus laser engraving and cutting on a bunch of interesting materials.

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She’s also the awesome kind of pack rat that keeps all sorts of interesting scraps from previous projects with the hope that she might be able to use them again.

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Her approach is so thoroughly inspiring – she just likes to make things, yay! – that we can see how inspired a client would feel as they work with her on a project.

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In fact, Jillian was so inspired that they discussed hosting a fun crafternoon at Carolina’s shop in the near future. Which sounds like a really perfect way to spend the day, no?

Thanks for sharing your beautiful space with everyone, Carolina!

Take a peek-sie at her work: Modern Press
Photos by Scott Clark Scott Clark Photo

6 comments