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  :)

fire sale at the JL DESIGNS studio!!!

in case you missed it, about 4 weeks ago there was an extreme fire in the warehouse next door to mine...thankfully no one was hurt and my inventory was saved!  the bad news is that the water and smoke damage to my unit has forced me to move into a new space...but honestly it has been a blessing in disguise!  our new studio is even better than the old one and the transition has forced me to purge a ton of my inventory...

so in the words of lindsey bluth "we're having a fire sale"!!!

come on out this saturday, october 20 to browse our stash of goodies...some of it is stuff we only have a few of so we are trying to streamline and focus on our larger collections...some is stuff we just don't use anymore and it's hogging a lot of space!  whatever the reason, we are letting it go...so if it's a good fit for you, we would love to see it find a better home rather than just collecting dust around here!

i will be posting photos of items for sale all this week on instagram and twitter...so follow me there to check out the inventory up for grabs!  username for both sites is @JL_DESIGNS

we will be hanging out from 9a-3p that day and if you want, you can take a peek inside our NEW studio which is just 3 doors down!  it's still a work in progress but it's coming together nicely :)

hope to see you there and send you home with some fun finds!

sidenote: we will be accepting CASH ONLY that day so come prepared!

a vibrant, retro wedding - the parker, palm springs

this was one of my favorite weddings to work on last year because i got to collaborate with my dear friend cortnie from canvas and canopy...she is an absolute design goddess and her ideas were just so fun to play with!!  plus i love me a white wedding but there is something so exciting about designing IN COLOR!!

style file:  "punchy in palm springs" - vibrant, kitschy, playful, fun all while remaining sophisticated

colors:  tangerine, peach, coral, blush, lime

elements:  mixed metallics, hanging lampshades, textured vessels, baby clementines, kumquats, blanc de chine vases, finials, ceramic artichokes, chess pieces, velvet, sequins, graphic patterns, fu dog statues, moroccan lanterns

this wedding was featured on 100 LAYER CAKE on 10.26.11 - click here for the full post!

bridal bouquet of coral charm peonies, peach and blush parrot tulips, green vibernum, white veronica, fuzzy succulents, orange and pale pink ranunculas...finished in olive green velvet with a cream modern dot trim...

a bike cart was used as the pre-ceremony beverage station...spiked arnold palmers??  mmmmmmm...

cortnie came up with the genius lampshade idea!  she accented each shade with green or orange velvet and finished them with a white tassel...we added the floral garlands and hung them from the trees at the ceremony...

for cocktail hour we stuck to mostly pinks, greens and whites...cortnie hand painted chess boards and pieces in white and gold - amazing right?!!?

each table was named after an old hollywood star so cortnie framed photos of each famous person to add to the placecard display...

flamingo stir sticks added a touch of retro california whimsy to cocktail hour...and i love these funny signs cortnie created - especially the "open bar YES, open mic NO"  ;)

bar arrangements were made up of fuzzy succulents, poppies, parrot tulips and veronica...cortnie made the cute little drink flags...

every table we designed was a different combination of vessels, retro props and metallic votives from cortnie and i...it was a labor of love to find all the custom pieces but we were so happy with how it turned out!

white compotes piled with baby clemetines, kumquats and gardenia leaves added a punch of color...

cortnie actually hand made every graphic patterned napkin so that each table would vary from one to the next!

the lounge area was probably my favorite part of the day...we stuck to mainly white, orange, green and brown here...it was just so fresh and fun!  and i DIE for that moroccan wedding couch that the parker owns...so amazing!

to cap off the throwback feel of the day, cortnie and the bride dreamed up this fantastical 60's inspired cake!!  i loved all the gilded fruit and the fact that the layers were seperated by a cake stand...so unique and i don't feel like anyone has done a cake like this in recent years!!

event design and styling:  cortnie purdy of canvas and canopy

floral design:  JL DESIGNS

event coordination:  something blue

photography:  sarah yates for birds of a feather

dj:  the flashdance

rentals:  poko event productions

venue:  the parker, palm springs