Spotted in SF: Verunica

Okay, so for those of you who don't know me, I'm pretty much a vintage clothing and jewelry junkie. I loooove old weird costume pieces and see the story each one holds. Anyway, when our clients are looking for the best vintage accessories, I usually suggest Verunica in Hayes Valley. They have totally awesome stuff and the inventory is always changing. I've found everything from shoes to shawls there and the girls in the shop are super friendly and knowledgable about what they sell. They occasionally have wedding dresses and cute dresses for bridesmaids if you don't want everyone to match. But the best thing of all is their insane accessories collection. And just when you think you've dug through it all, make sure you pop over to the other shop across the street for more goodies.


xo.
a.b.

Dress Designer Spotlight: Jenny Packham

I just recently discovered these gorgeous dresses from Jenny Packham. I love how feminine and ethereal they are, they're so old world feeling. This British designer's gowns are only sold in her flagship stores in London, but you can purchase some of the dresses and accessories online. The boudoir collection is also pretty killer and is sold online through Net-a-Porter. Enjoy!

New Wedding: Laura and Justin, Carmel

As promised, here are some more photos of the wedding we did at the Santa Lucia Preserve last October. You can find this wedding in Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine on stands right now. Check it out!










Photos are by Lovebird Photography.

Vendor Spotlight: Jason Murakawa

As any wedding planner will tell you, the one thing you simply can't sacrifice when planning a wedding is a beautiful tabletop. There's an art to setting a table so that it looks not only picture perfect, but also welcoming and comfortable and warm. A great way to add an element of charm to a table is to mix and match vintage pieces. Jason Murakawa, of Small Masterpiece, does just that. Jason owns a vintage tabletop rental company and has mastered the art of tabletop styling. Jason's crew literally sets the tables at events, ensuring that all of their gorgeous Limoges china, antique silverware and eclectic mix of glassware is handled properly. We recently asked Jason some questions about gathering inspiration for a wedding and thought we'd share some of his great ideas with you. Enjoy!


AE: With all the wedding blogs, web sites and magazines out there, how do you recommend sticking to one specific theme or style?

JM: Start with 4 themes and gather imagery for each. As you start to narrow your different themes, having explored this area extensively will help provide a solid direction to this process. Monitor your excitement and enthusiasm, it will indicate where your heart lies regarding the perfect theme for your wedding.



AE: Can a non-design savvy person still plan a pretty wedding that’s unique?

JM: The designs are already out there in the blogs or magazines. What will make your wedding unique is how you interpret these design ideas and make it your own. Keep your eyes and mind open, you may stumble upon a concept in the most unlikely places! Beauty can be found in the most simple things in our day to day lives.



AE: If a bride is overwhelmed by the beautiful imagery out there in the wedding world, how can she make it work within her budget?

JM: Style and beauty don’t equal great expense. If you design your wedding with purpose and confidence, you can walk down the ailse in a white t-shirt and $4000.00 skirt. Be deliberate about your choices. Sometimes great creativity comes from a limited budget. It makes a person explore more and forces options.



AE: How do you suggest defining a specific color palette?

JM: Let the time of day dictate your color palette. Pastel colors for mornings and pastel or medium level saturated colors for afternoons. Evenings have greater flexiblity to dress “up” pastel colors or go with a stronger color palette. Within the pastels and saturated colors, you have a rainbow of colors to choose from.



AE: What’s a good example of turning inspiration into reality?

JM: When professionals in the wedding business can make the inspiration of a bride’s wish a reality!






Thanks for the insight, Jason! You can view more of his collection on the Small Masterpiece website.

Tabletop photos by Thayer Allyson Gowdy; photo of Jason courtesy of LA Magazine.

New Buffalo Wedding, Part II

One of the things that made our New Buffalo wedding so drop dead gorgeous was the attention that was given to detail. Since paper materials are one of the key details, Olive-Route custom designed all of the paper goodies for this wedding.



Inspired by the old-world Great Gatsby theme, the invitations and welcome letter tied together a sense of classic elegance with a modern twist. Incorporating a botanical element made the suite really pretty and delicate, while choosing Queen Anne's Lace as the floral motif brought in a summery feel. The color palette was mostly gray with splashes of bright yellow and hot pink. So, most of the paper was either gray or white, with black or yellow text and a hot pink hand stitching that bound the pieces together into a booklet format.



The letter pressed and hand calligraphed menus were placed atop unique vintage table settings, part of the Small Masterpiece collection.



Table numbers were die cuts of wood, painted black so they'd stand out against the khaki linen runners and wood tables. The botanical theme was even intertwined into those pieces.



For the seating chart, we used some nineteenth century vintage ephemera lettering to alphabetize guests' names, creating a chart on an old wood framed blackboard.




Event Planning and Design: AE Planning + Design
Photos: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
Paper Materials: Olive-Route
Tabletop Settings: Small Masterpiece
Linens: La Tavola

New Buffalo Wedding

As 2010 comes to an end, we're excited to share our biggest wedding of the year with you. The wedding was held over three gloriously sunny days in New Buffalo, Michigan this past August and is the epitome of summer elegance. Inspired by the setting of the Great Gatsby, the bride and groom wanted their wedding to feel like a step back in time, reflecting sophistication and simple charm.





The couple exchanged their vows in the backyard of the bride's family home, overlooking Lake Michigan. Guests were then driven in golf carts decorated with pom poms to the reception, which was held inside a Sperry tent on a private golf course in New Buffalo. Everything was stunning, from the handmade wood tables to the sisal carpeted flooring to the bubbly candlelight leading the pathway to the tent.

Lynne Jordan and the Shivers lit the dancefloor on fire, with their epic combination of motown classics and modern hits.



We'll unfold more photos of the details over the next week, so we hope you'll check back throughout the week to see more of this beautiful wedding.




Happy Holidays from the AE team to you and yours!

Event Planning and Design: Kelsey Sheofsky and Danielle Rowe, AE Planning + Design
Photos: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
Paper Materials: Olive-Route
Tabletop Settings: Small Masterpiece
Tent: Sperry Tents Great Lakes
Flowers: Danielle Rowe
Catering: Blue Plate
Rentals and Lighting: Kehoe
Linens: La Tavola

New Rehearsal Dinner: Lake Michigan (part 2 of 3)

As promised, here are some more photos of the rehearsal dinner we designed and produced in New Buffalo, Michigan over the summer. Doesn't the sunlight look so dreamy? And the flowers are so simple and yet, so bright and cheerful. Summer on Lake Michigan is our happy place.




What we love so much about this event is that it looks so effortless and down to earth, yet so elegant. The beauty is in the details and the simplicity of it all. Embracing that simplicity makes is feel so romantic and cozy...

More to come on Friday, but in the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to all!







Photos by Thayer Allyson Gowdy
Event Design by our own Kelsey Sheofsky and Danielle Rowe of AE Planning and Design
Tent by Party Time Productions