a contemporary west hollywood wedding - the london hotel

natasha and fred got married last october at the london hotel in west hollywood...they were just so cool, so hip and so incredibly sweet...the look they wanted was something modern and urban but with a couple fun touches - like the gray and white pumpkins lining the aisle and the graphic chain link table runners we custom made...

it was SUCH a gorgeous wedding and even though i was 9 months pregnant the day of the install, everything flowed so smoothly - i have to thank my amazing staff and my fellow vendors for that!

style file:  cool, urban, hip, contemporary, clean lines, structured flower-blocking

color scheme:  gray, white, silver, dark plum and eggplant tones

elements:  white ceramic vessels, gray and white pumpkins, silver sea urchins, gray succulents, white grapewood branches, acrylic, gray moss

we used a lot of "flower-blocking" in this wedding - where we group certain types of flowers together instead of mixing them...it gives it a modern, structured, asymmetrical feel...for the bridal bouquet we grouped white lisianthus, gray dusty miller foliage, white ranunculas and gray succulents...we then added some sparkly silver beaded trim to tie in with the bride's amazing beaded belt!

little boutonnieres made up of gray succulents, scabiosa pods and 2 types of gray velvet...

these shoes!!!!  sighhhhh...

for the rooftop ceremony overlooking the LA skyline, we tried to keep it light so as not to obstruct the amazing view...acrylic podiums were filled with white grapewood branches and set with arrangements of white hydrangea, gray dusty miller and gray succulents...

we lined the aisle with a gray and white chain link patterned fabric and accented with various size gray and white pumpkins, as well as glass cylinders with floating candles...

simple little cocktail arrangements of textured silver vases with gray moss and succulents, as well as silver sea urchins and mercury glass votives...

placecards were set in an acrylic tray filled with gray moss and white baby pumpkins...

each table had 4 white ceramic vases filled with gray dusty miller and gray succulents, along with either all white or all plum toned theme flowers, arranged in a "flower-blocking" technique...

we custom made these gray and white chain link runners and mercury glass votives added a touch of metallic to the tables...

we brought the ceremony podiums into the reception area and pushed them together to create a one of a kind cake stand!

it was such a sophisticated and chic wedding and i was honored to be a part of it - happy anniversary natasha and fred!

oh and this wedding was featured on style me pretty - to see the full post click here!

event coordination and design:  jeannie from details, details (who is the epitome of class, poise and professionalism - love her!)

floral and event design: JL DESIGNS

photography: jan garcia (who is so fab to work with!)

venue: the london hotel, west hollywood

decker: year one

this past year has been such a crazy blur of firsts for our little family...i honestly don't know how 12 full months have gone by and yet when i think back to our lives before decker it just seems soooo long ago...

i am not gonna lie...the first couple months of mommy hood were really hard at times...it wasn't all sunshine and smiles and infatuation with my new little one...there were some days i just wanted to pull the covers back over my head in the morning and hide from him for the rest of the day...i am not ashamed to admit this because i know that this is something all new mommies go through and experience no matter what it may seem like on the outside...it doesn't make me a bad mom...it makes me REAL...

parenthood is hard...no one can prepare you for the complete overhaul your life goes through...but it does get easier and DANG does it get better...even though i haven't forgotten the fatigue, the tears, the frustration and sometimes physical pain - they aren't what i remember vividly...if i want to dig up those memories i can...but when i think about this first year, what comes soaring to the front of my mind is this:

the first time brian saw decker smile...like full blown, open mouthed, squinty eyed SMILE...i honestly
     thought my heart would explode
the way he smelled right after a bath
nursing him in the afternoon - when he was so sleepy but i was wide awake and i could enjoy every
     second...i feel so proud and amazed that he grew so much those first 6 months completely by what
     my body could produce
the way he would stick his tongue out all the time
watching him bond with bossy - even if he was upset all we had to say was "where's
     bossyyyyyy?" and he would immediately look around, lock eyes on her and get so excited
the softness of his skin and running my fingers along each and every chub roll
when he would bite down on daddy's nose thinking it was a pacifier

how we would give him a super soft stuffed animal, blanket etc and he would bury his face in it and 

     snuggle

the way he would tilt his head to one side and give us a shy little smile
seeing him start to really play with his toys and make connections with them - placing the puzzle pieces
     on top of the puzzle board, putting the plastic shapes back in the box they belong, etc.
when he discovered his walking toy and how he would push that thing all over the house

his first swim class with daddy

finding him on the floor of his nursery, "reading" books by himself and making rasberry noises
the mornings in those newborn days where i would feed him and then bring him into our bed and he
     would fall back asleep sandwiched in between us

hearing his soft little snore when he was in a deep sleep

getting him to laugh so hard it would make me cry

       
decker - our sweet boy
you have brought so much joy and an abundance of love into our lives...we have watched you grow and change so much and it's a little bittersweet that this magical first year is over...but we can't wait to see what year 2 holds for our family!  so much joy ahead  :)