Friday, January 31, 2014

Santa Barbara ~ Four Seasons Biltmore Wedding

Today’s wedding is another beauty from Pat Moyer Photography and took place at the stunning Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara this past July. I collaborated with my good friend and amazing coordinator/designer Erica Espana of Twine Events on this and I really love how it turned out. I created my first ever four posted altar – with a very funny story involved - and worked in the popular and always lovely palette of creams, blushes, and peach with silvery greens. There was a slight spin on the typical flower selection with the inclusion of China mums. I’ve never had a request for those and I really enjoyed working with them. The bride made this request since they were used in the wedding invites and were special to her. I think these gorgeous and large face flowers should be considered more often. They’re an economical choice when peonies aren’t in the budget, available year round, and have such a pretty shape to them. I’ll definitely be singing their praises to future brides.

But back to the altar… I love working with wood. My dad had me in his workshop as a kid holding pieces of wood together while he glued, drilled, or hammered, etc., and I have always enjoyed being able to build things with my hands. So when it comes to either renting an altar or making one, I’m always going to try and build it myself. It was really easy to make and I’ve even written up plans and sent them to other designers so they can make it. But… I debated back and forth about how tall to make the vertical posts. They come standard at 8’ high but for some reason I really thought I needed to cut it down to 7’. It was going to be an overall small altar and I wanted it to have an intimate feel. I also thought having it so high would make the scale a bit wonky. Some folks seriously disagreed with me. The argument made to me was what if I get an NBA player up there, it would be too small. I though phfft, that will never happen. So, I get the altar up, it looks awesome, I’m so proud of myself. Then, I’m told the best man (who had a major part in the ceremony) was… wait for it… 7’ tall. O.M.G. They had to reconstruct the ceremony layout and place everyone in a different spot so he didn’t have to hunch during his part. So, if you’re going to make one, save yourself the extra work and just leave it at 8’. Haha.

I hope you enjoy Pat’s beautiful photos and happy Friday!

1 Oak and the Owl _ Four Seasons Biltmore

2 Oak and the Owl _ Wedding Dress

3 Oak and the Owl _ Bride Getting Ready

4 Oak and the Owl _ Bride and Maids

5 Oak and the Owl _ Peach and Blush Bouquet

6 Oak and the Owl _ Chinese Wedding Dresses

7 Oak and the Owl _ Peach and Blush Flowers

8 Oak and the Owl _ Bride and Groom Portraits

9 Oak and the Owl _ Santa Barbara Wedding

10 Oak and the Owl _ Modern Wedding Programs

11 Oak and the Owl _ Lush Floral Altar

12 Oak and the Owl _ SB Four Seasons Wedding

13 Oak and the Owl _ Patrick Moyer Photo

14 Oak and the Owl _ Lush Floral Altar

15 Oak and the Owl _ Santa Barbara Wedding

16 Oak and the Owl _ Patrick Moyer Photo

17 Oak and the Owl _ La Pacific Ballroom

18 Oak and the Owl _ Santa Barbara Wedding

19 Oak and the Owl _ La Pacifica Ballroom

20 Oak and the Owl _ Ballroom Wedding

21 Oak and the Owl _ Peach Centerpieces

22 Oak and the Owl _ White Chiavari Chairs

23 Oak and the Owl _ Succulents

24 Oak and the Owl _ Ballroom Wedding

25 Oak and the Owl _ Wedding Cake Fresh Flowers

26 Oak and the Owl _ Lush Wedding Cake Table

27 Oak and the Owl _ Bride and Groom Dance

28 Oak and the Owl _ Patrick Moyer Photo

29 Oak and the Owl _ Live Wedding Band

30 Oak and the Owl _ Father Daughter Wedding Dance

31 Oak and the Owl _ Santa Barbara Wedding

 

Vendor List

Photography: Patrick Moyer Photography

Venue: Santa Barbara Four Seasons Biltmore

Coordinator: Twine Events

Floral Design: Oak & the Owl

Hair & Make-Up: TEAM

Music Ceremony: Aurora Ensemble

Music Reception: Wayne Foster

Lighting & Drapery: Bella Vista Designs

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sunstone Winery Wedding

This romantic vineyard wedding at Sunstone Winery was designed to perfection by Lauren of LS Designs and captured beautifully by Pat Moyer Photography. Whoa Nelly catering put together an insane spread for the many facets of the evening, and the bride was killing me with all her incredibly beautiful gowns. This was also featured on Style Me Pretty, which as I say every time, is the icing on the cake of a gorgeous wedding.

This wedding will always be one of my favorites and I felt (and knew) I was really lucky to be involved with it. The vendors list is like a dream team, the venue is breathtaking and one of the new hot spots for Southern CA weddings, and the bride and groom were fantastic to work with. It also didn’t hurt that they could model in their spare time. The style direction was one where I had design liberty to create organically styled arrangements with whatever was best at market –  which is my favorite way to design. I hope you enjoy Pat’s gorgeous photos. I’m excited to get to work with him a lot more this coming season on some really exciting weddings. It’s going to be good!

1 OakandtheOwl_ Sunstone Winery

2 Oak and the Owl _ Badgley Mischka

3 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Winery

4 Oak and the Owl _ Pretty Plum Sugar

5 Oak and the Owl _ Ines de Santo

6 Oak and the Owl _ Formal Wedding

7 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Winery

8 Oak and the Owl _ First Look

9 Oak and the Owl _ Badgley Mischka

10 Oak and the Owl _ Pat Moyer

11 Oak and the Owl _ White Peony Bouquet

12 Oak and the Owl _ Pale Blush Bouquets

13 Oak and the Owl _ Bouts

14 Oak and the Owl _ Bridesmaids Bouquets

15 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Winery

16 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Wedding

17 Oak and the Owl _ Wedding Ceremony

18 Oak and the Owl _ Cocktail Lounge

19 Oak and the Owl _ Whoa Nelly Catering

20 Oak and the Owl _ Charcuterie Table

21 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Wedding

22 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Wedding

23 Oak and the Owl _ Cocktail Flowers

24 Oak and the Owl _ Lauren Stewart Design

25 Oak and the Owl _ Well Wishes Table

26 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Winery

27 Oak and the Owl _ Gold Bridesmaids Dresses

28 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Winery Wedding

29 Oak and the Owl _ Vineyard Wedding

30 Oak and the Owl _ Chalkboard Escort Cards

31 Oak and the Owl _ Bride and Groom Chairs

32 Oak and the Owl _ Garden Vineyard Wedding

33 Oak and the Owl _ Chalkboard Menu

34 Oak and the Owl _ Satellite Arrangements

35 Oak and the Owl _ Feasting Tables

36 Oak and the Owl _ Organic Wedding Flowers

37 Oak and the Owl _ Sunstone Wedding

38 Oak and the Owl _ Whoa Nelly Catering

39 Oak and the Owl _ Whoa Nelly Catering

40 Oak and the Owl _ First Dance

Vendor Credits

Photography: Patrick Moyer Photography

Event Design + Coordination : Lauren Stewart of LS Designs

Florist: Oak & Owl Florist

Videographer: Cloudless Weddings

Ceremony + Reception: Sunstone Villa (Santa Ynez, California)

Catering: WhoaNelly! Catering

Hair and Makeup: TEAM Hair & Makeup

Linens: La Tavola | Rentals: Town and Country

Dress: Ines Di Santo

Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Grooms Shoes: Ferragamo

DJ: DJ Anthony Soike of Red Shoe Productions

Transportation: Santa Barbara Airbus