JL DESIGNS featured in bride and bloom magazine!

we are SO excited to featured in the latest issue of bride and bloom magazine, on newstands NOW!

they put together a "top ten" of their favorite weddings they have featured in the last 5 years...the only NEW wedding they featured was the one i designed for nba player brian cook! seriously SUCH an honor!

i have to thank kathy and susan from bella weddings for bringing me in on this event and also leila from be inspired pr for working so hard on the submission itself! also, big thanks to carol poon, editor in chief at bride and bloom for choosing to showcase this wedding and jasmine star for taking the beautiful photos :) and of course much love to brian and victoria for trusting me with the design of their day - they were an absolute pleasure to work with!

be sure to check back in because i will be blogging this wedding either tomorrow or friday :)

sneak peak of helen and mike - the ritz-carlton, dana point

okay so i know this is longer than a normal "sneak peak" but i couldn't help myself! janey from mary jane photography took so many stunning shots of this recent 4th of july wedding i just HAD to share! a full post will come later on down the road but hopefully these will suffice for now in showing how gorgeous the day was!


there were SO many great details, most of which were executed by the lovely beth helmstetter - who, along with the bride, has impeccable taste and a real eye for design! the look of the day was kind of a "ballroomed-up" version of the french countryside...we utilized the outdoor ceremony area to bring in more rustic elements like herbs, wheelbarrows, moss, wood signs, etc...but in the ballroom we kept to elegant, footed glass vases, lush florals in cream and yellow, mason jar candles, warm lighting and shabby chic charger plates (hand-picked by beth). overall stunning-ness!





















i cannot wait to show you all more images! but due to the fact that this wedding is being submitted for publication in a wedding magazine, i need to keep a lot of the juicy details to under wraps for the time being...nevertheless, i hope you enjoyed this small sampling of what's to come!

karen and dave - nixon library, yorba linda

karen and dave were married on the gorgeous grounds of the nixon library.  when karen told me they were going for a classic, elegant look with touches of a "political-presidential" vibe, i was all about it!  we stuck to a palette of white, cream, gold and navy throughout the entire event (florals, chairs, linens, printing, favors, etc.)...

bouquets made up of all white japhette orchids, ranunculas, garden roses, peonies, tulips and gardenias...

at the head of the aisle we used two shepherd's hooks to hold two large glass vases spilling over with ivory hydrangea, white garden roses, green hanging amaranthus and gardenia foliage...

the cake looked incredibly colonial set next to that painting in the ballroom!  plus the crown molding on the walls was also to die for...

karen and dave hand-made these adorable "election buttons" for every guest to wear.  they said things like "karen and dave in 09", "america loves them and so do i" and"don't blame me, i voted lang"...so fun!

a low matte gold urn packed full of ivory hydrangea, white tulips, white garden roses, green hanging amaranthus and gardenia foliage...

the couple's monogram was used everywhere from the menu cards, to the programs, to the favors, to the cake...i LOVE consistency!

a glass footed vase was filled with a solid mass of fluffy white hydrangea and set on top of a base we wrapped in navy dupioni silk...extremely simple but elegant and classic at the same time...

remember people, it doesn't NEED to be huge and it doesn't NEED to cost a fortune...it just needs to make an impact...and the best way to do that is a solid mass of the same type of flower...a la the centerpiece above...clean, elegant and monochromatic works every time!

special thanks to harvard photography for the pictures... and to karen and dave for allowing me to be a part of their day!  it's not too often i actually get to hear the vows at my client's weddings...but i totally teared up in yours and was reminded how much i LOVE what i do!