Rather than purchasing a dress (for some unknown thousands of dollars), Angela is renting her (I think) Vera Wang wedding dress from One Night Affair (in Santa Monica).

If you don’t think you’ll have sentimental attachments to the dress – keeping it as a family heirloom and so on – this is a deal and a half …

Angela is renting the dress (for 2 weeks), plus all alterations and insurance for much less than $1000.

HOWEVER:

One Night Affair completely ruined Angela’s dress. From what I understand, the one she had picked out (below) was NOT altered at all when she went to pick it up, and they ended up giving her a different dress that was “shredded” – a lace up back taken out of the back dress, a rip on the front…. as I type this, getting ready to leave for Italy, I still don’t know what Ang is going to wear for her wedding on Wednesday!

So, maybe only use them if you have the time to make sure it’s done properly?

Angela went to pick up her dress the day before leaving for Italy and so had no chance to take a close look, determine that it was completely unusable and take the dress back.

I’m sure she’ll look beautiful, as usual, though.

Chris and Nichole had their wedding at Q’emiln Park in Post Falls … gorgeous setting right on a lake, with big trees and green everywhere …..

So gorgeous.

We were able to see it the first time at the rehearsal Thursday night….

Just picture the wedding surrounded by all this loveliness:

Andrew is the groom’s cousin, so we had a lot of family to say hi to (including in the wedding party) …

The precious flower girls – neices of the groom:

Stay tuned for photos from the wedding day ….

About a week ago I attended a couples bridal shower for the bride and groom – hosted by their Best Man (Doug) and his wife (Serrina).

This is their gorgeous house/backyard in Pasadena. I could live here. No problem. I think I heard him say the neighborhood is from the 1940s, with big trees and big lots ….

love it.

The party was styled with orange details (Angela’s favorite color) and Italian food … I *think* the orange flowers in the landscaping was just a happy coincidence.

The food was just …. amazing. Tasted great and looked even better ….

Pizza and salad.

Pasta and olives.

And those tomato slices with mozerella and basil were my favorite. Plus probably really easy to put together …

As I mentioned, the orange decor added cute details throughout. The hosts have a big tree in the backyard and set up tables underneath …. complete with the orange table runner and these super cute and festive centerpieces ….

And — Bellinis! Peach juice + champagne

But, the piece de resistance was ….

The spaghetti and meatballs decorated cake (made by Angela’s mom).

The ‘noodles’ are buttercream frosting; the ‘sauce’ is strawberry jam; the ‘meatballs’ are Ferrero Rocher candies.

Genius.

Nieces of the bride

It was such a relaxed atmosphere, and so festive ….

I can’t wait for their Italy wedding!

]]> http://www.teeganphotography.com/2009/09/04/los-angeles-bridal-shower-angela-and-devo/feed/ 1 http://www.teeganphotography.com/2009/08/31/anniversary-celebration/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:05 +0000 amy http://www.teeganphotography.com/?p=941 The beginning of August, our friends Josh and Maggie celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary. And about a week ago, they had an Ice Cream Social to celebrate the same with their friends and family.

I made sure to arrive RIGHT at the beginning so I had some good sunset light for photos, because Maggie’s parties are always stylish ….

I’m never disappointed.

Pink, orange and yellow. With these big tissue paper pom poms hung strategically from the terrace. (I’m gonna get Maggie to tell me how she made them).

p.s. the party was at Maggie’s mom’s house ….. returning to the scene of the crime – same place they got married 5 years ago.

We did an anniversary portrait session a few weeks ago – in an orange grove off the 126 on the way to Ventura – and she had some of the images up to decorate, along with vases of oranges. I haven’t been able to post them before now – because she wanted to wait until after the party. But I’ve got a couple posts full coming up of all sorts of cuteness. Stay tuned for more of those …

Ice cream social = all sorts of good sweets. I intentionally had salad for dinner before coming so I could eat all this stuff with no guilt!

and finally, some of the guests:

Eleanor with her grandpa…

(and the back porch/terraced area for the guests. I love the look of the lights+tissue paper pom poms. I need to make a note of this for my future backyard parties)

And!! Now that the party has occurred, I’m allowed to post the anniversary portraits that we took in honor of their 5 years being married.

Here’s just a couple sneak peeks, with more photos to come ….

The Richard Nixon Library has the most beautiful grounds for a wedding ceremony.

View photos of some of their weddings here.

I can’t wait to shoot a wedding in that garden …

At VRBO.com (stands for Vacation Rental By Owner) you can find a wide spectrum of different home types for short-term rental (from 1 night to a week+).

I don’t want to link to any specific properties, because you would of course want to speak to the owner before inviting 50+ people into their home.

But, think about all those old neighborhoods in Toluca Lake or Pasadena … big old trees and wide backyards that would be perfect for an intimate, DIY wedding. Or a Malibu beach house with a balcony overlooking the ocean? Or even a downtown loft with high ceilings?

There are other home rental sites as well …. .

Just think of the possibilities.

Recently, helping Angela and Devo research locations for their California reception (the wedding will be in Italy!) I can across the Jim Henson Studios.

One thing you should know about me: I LOVE the Muppets. I love the actual Muppet characters, and I love the genius behind producing Muppet shows/movies. I eat up anything to do with Jim Henson. I have books and books. I went to a museum exhibit on Jim Henson. I actually toyed with the idea of writing my Masters thesis about Jim Henson and the Muppets (related to material culture, etc).

When I found out that you can host an event at Jim Henson Studios … I almost cried with joy.

Someday, that will be me.

Go visit their site – check out the images.

Imagine the creativity that you can put into your event and have it completely BELONG in the space …

Just make sure you tell me about it … . I can’t wait!

I wish I was getting married so I could take advantage of it.

SMOG SHOPPE : LA’s greenest urban oasis

You MUST check out the photos. It’s modern and stylish, but also a bit retro and classic.

Not only is SMOG SHOPPE so aesthetically pleasing but it “Exceeds, in many cases by more than double!, nearly every requirement in every category for the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification (qualifying for up to 55 points out of 57).

Promise me you’ll invite me to photograph your wedding if you have the event here?

Check out a couple favorite screen shots below:

(P.S. post title – Anyone see That Thing You Do?)

And Andrew came home whining because he sooo wants a baby. Kind of cute, but also kind of annoying.

The decor (I’m assuming Eleanor didn’t have anything to do with it) was all blue and silver … and very wintery. Love it. Winter Onederland …. winter…. one year … get it? Someday Maggie will be an amazing event planner! She has the best style.

Anyway, very very cute…

Aunties …

Oh my goodness … this dress … ridiculous amount of ruffles…

Check out her tips here and leave your own in the comments!