The first event of the 2011 season kicked off with this wonderful Palm Springs wedding shot by the amazing and artistic eye of Aaron Young. These stunning photos simply speak the essence of Palm Springs. The weekend celebration took place at my favorite mid century modern hotel: The Horizon Hotel. This hotel is so unique in the aspect that the entire hotel grounds are solely occupied by the wedding party and guests. It is one of the best destination wedding venues because of this rare offering for event packages! The back drop to this location is absolutely breathtaking as it sits surrounded by mountains and desert air. We fell in love with Camille as her spunky and fresh spirit was clearly evident the first time we met. We felt so blessed to share in Jim + Camille’s weekend celebration.

Views from the Horizon Hotel

My favorite photo of the night! The full wedding party celebrating the close of the festivities with a jump in the pool!

The vendor line up:

*Venue: The Horizon Hotel

*Photography: Aaron Young Photography

*Floral Design: Cachet Fiore

*Catering: The Manila Machine

*DJ: Ultimate Entertainment

*Hair & Makeup: Bridesmaid

*Rentals + Linens: Classic Party Rentals

Date posted: January 23, 2012

Posted in: weddings by Bre 1 Comment »

I ventured into the wedding industry 9 years ago. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since eagerly walked into my first day of interning with an LA planner while in school at UCLA. At that time, brides did not have thousands of blogs within their fingertips- they mainly read wedding magazines. Mason jars were not popular and if you told someone that people would be incorporating fake moustaches into their wedding, they would think you were crazy.

Weddings had my heart from the start. The details, the moments, the quiet looks between a bride and groom. I have loved getting to be a part of my client’s love stories.

This year, I am saying goodbye to wedding planning. Not because I do not still love it with the giddiness of college student venturing into a world of peonies and place cards, but because my goal has always been to put my family first. I am so thankful that God blessed Joyful Weddings & Events beyond my wildest dreams- so much so that it grew beyond what my situation could handle. With my two sweet boys now at my side, I simply could not continue running a wedding planning business from home while trying to be the mom I wanted to be. My goal was always to be a mom, not a career woman. After a year of praying and discussing with those close to me, I made the hard decision to step back.

But I did it with joy in my heart. Not only because I have so many incredible memories and friends to take with me, but because I am handing it off to an incredible woman. Bre has been working with me for the past few years and, through that time, she has become a wonderful friend and an amazing wedding planner. You can read a bit more about her here, from when I introduced you to her last year. She has had the reins of the business this year and is rocking it! I cannot wait for her to show you what she has been up to- she will be posting some breathtakingly beautiful weddings soon.

What’s next for me? Getting to spend time with these two sweet boys and my amazing hubby.

I’m not going to lie- it has been bittersweet and has been a bit of a transition. I miss wedding planning already, but am treasuring the freedom to be a full-time mommy!

I am still running my etsy shop and have just launched a new blog. I will be sharing wedding & party DIYs, crafting tips and ramblings about my adventures in a crafty mom’s world. Come and follow my journey!

Other business:

Bre will be taking over the twitter handle joyfulweddings. Be sure to follow her for all of the latest gorgeousness from Joyful Weddings!

I will be now be JoyfulCourtney on twitter. Don’t worry- if you follow either of us already, you’ll still be following us. Just try not to get confused by the name switch

You can also follow me on pinterest and Bre too! (including inspiration for her own wedding coming up in June!!)

I also have a little giveaway on my new blog, so hop over to check it out!

Thank you all for following us and for the years of encouragement & love! Joyful Weddings & Events has been such a blessing to me & I cannot wait to see it grow & thrive under Bre’s leadership!

Date posted: January 16, 2012

Posted in: news by Courtney 11 Comments »

Hi everyone!

This coming Friday, the 9th, I (courtney) will be participating in one last holiday boutique. If you are in San Diego, come check it out! It is from 9-12 and 5-9 at a home in Poway.

It is called Ubuntu and it is particularly special to me. My bible study girls and I started it last year in an effort to do something bigger than our everyday working and mommy-ing. Every seller participating will be donating a portion of their sales to a charity of their choice. It is so fun to see what different causes are represented.

I will be donating to Blood Water Mission- an organization our family is passionate about that builds wells in areas of the world that do not have access to clean water.

Here is a flyer and some more info about Ubuntu, courtesy of my friend Mollie over at  YellowMeDaisy:

Date posted: December 6, 2011

Posted in: crafting, events, holidays by Courtney No Comments »

Cayla is one of my favorite people in the whole world. We met at UCLA, where she led my freshman bible study. She is one of the sweetest, most authentic and caring women I have ever known and I knew it was going to take someone incredible to win her heart.

Mike did just that. Their love story is beautiful (you can read a bit more of it here) and I could not be happier to have been able to be a part of their wedding day. It was overflowing with joy. I teared up more than I have at any of my weddings before and I simply could feel the strength of their love all day long. One of the best ceremonies I have ever witnessed on top of it all.

Their wedding took place at Parker Ranch in Trabuco Canyon and the cheery rustic vibe set the tone for a super fun, relaxed wedding day. Here is a glimpse into the beauty, shot by another one of my favorite UCLA friends, Emily with Gem Photo.

Cayla & Mike: Thanks for letting me help with your amazing day. I love you two and cannot wait to see what God does through your marriage!

Date posted:

Posted in: Uncategorized, weddings by Courtney 3 Comments »

Happy Halloween everyone!

Courtney’s shop, Joyful Joyful, will be selling at two boutiques coming up in Southern CA. If you are in Orange County or San Diego, definitely come check them out!

The first is this coming Thursday in Mission Viejo. The Market at Saddleback Covenant Church will have lots of great handmade items and baked goods. You can find out details at their blog. It will be held at:

23401 Madero Mission Viejo

The weekend before Thanksgiving, it is Queen Bee Market time again! It will be held in Del Mar again and will definitely be one of the best shopping events of the year! There will even be a concert by Mindy Gledhill! More info below and on their site.

We are going to have a super cute new product available at both boutiques. Here is a little peak:

Date posted: October 31, 2011

Posted in: events, news by Courtney No Comments »

With their wedding almost a month away, we are so thrilled to be working with Jenifer and Casey! From the moment we met Jen, we absolutely fell in love with her style and vision! Not to mention they are an absolutely stunning couple who will be breathtaking on their wedding day. Lane Dittoe portrayed the couple’s engagement session so beautifully! We can’t wait until October! This first photo is captivating…I want it poster sized in my office.

Date posted: September 14, 2011

Posted in: engagements by Bre 1 Comment »

Monica and Elliot are one of the sweetest couples I have ever met. Full of joy, you cannot help but smile when you are around them and see their love for one another. They were married last summer at the La Jolla Bridge Club- a cute little spot with an incredible view. Their color palette of seafoam green, white and yellow was fresh and summery and their wedding day was full of fun. All photos are by the lovely Photographs by Anjuli

With such a stunning ceremony backdrop (yellow pacific!) we wanted to keep the ceremony decor simple. We tied bunches of ribbon from the chairs and the Floral Lab set up pomanders on different sized glass hurricanes to frame the bride and groom.

I loved this bike! I’m not going to lie, I kind of wanted to take it for a stroll. We used it to greet guests with a sign directing them to the ceremony and then changed the sign out for a little after ceremony ride for the couple.

Monica made a large amount of the decor and details herself- from the poms to the programs to the table number clocks. It all turned out so cute! We made a large banner to cover up the bridge club’s sign and sweet mini banners for the bride & groom’s chairs. Leigh Anne with The Floral Lab did an awesome job with the flowers and the escort card grass display.

In leiu of favors, the couple made donations to Invisible Children.

The guests kept the dance floor packed all night and were surprised with a frozen yogurt buffet at the end of the night. Such a joyous wedding and we were honored to be a part of it!

The vendor line up:

*Venue: The La Jolla Cove Bridge Club

*Photography: Photographs by Anjuli

*Floral Design: The Floral Lab

*Video: Curtis Nemetz Productions

*Catering: Ki’s

*DJ: Mobile Music Plus

*Frozen Yogurt Bar: Fiji Yogurt

*Hair & Makeup: A New Twist

*Rentals: Affairs

*Linens: A Perfect Table

*Banners: Joyful Joyful

Date posted: August 18, 2011

Posted in: weddings by Courtney 9 Comments »

I had such a fun time at the Queen Bee Market on saturday! I met new friends, got to spend time with some favorites and scored some really fun finds!

I love how our booth turned out. I told my husband I wanted it to look like a wall in a house and we ended up building a giant grown-up version of a school tri-fold project board. The pictures are not so lovely (thanks ballroom lighting!) and I didn’t get one of the whole booth, but I wanted to show you all how it turned out.

I had planned on taking pictures of all of the other cute booths, but amidst the forgetting of my breast pump, arranging for it to be brought (and dying in the meantime), finding a private location to use the aforementioned pump at a huge hotel (much more of an adventure than it should have been and quite a great story) and chatting, shopping and maintaining my booth, I totally forgot. Longest sentence ever and tmi- I know, I know.

I did- however- manage to snag a picture of Hudson’s first modeling job in the adorable YellowMeDaisy booth:

Yep, he’s a stud.

Jessica & Mique did such a great job of organizing the event- as always. Thanks so much ladies for all of your hard work!

We will be back to posting lots of great weddings and parties soon- I promise! Also, our etsy shop will be updated soon will all of the items we have left over from the market.

Happy wednesday!

Date posted: August 10, 2011

Posted in: my life by Courtney 3 Comments »

Just a reminder for all of you in Southern CA: the Queen Bee Market is tomorrow! Hooray! Be sure to come check out all of the handmade goodness. I know that I will be doing a lot of shopping

Here is a sneak peak of a new product I have been working away on. I am so excited about them!

Happy weekend everyone!

Date posted: August 5, 2011

Posted in: Uncategorized by Courtney No Comments »

I am so excited to be participating in the Queen Bee Market again! If you have not heard of Queen Bee, it is a killer handmade & vintage boutique in Southern CA.

The next boutique is on Saturday August 6th in Downtown San Diego and I cannot wait! I am working away on banners, tags and a couple of fun new products. If you are local, you definitely want to come. So much cute stuff!

Here are the details:

Saturday, August 6th
Bayfront Hilton Downtown
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, California

9:00-6:00

Let me know if you are going to be there so I can say hello! Also, you can enter to win a $50 gift certificate to the market by spreading the word. Make sure you mention I sent you- then we both get entries!

Date posted: July 19, 2011

Posted in: buzz, events, my life, news by Courtney No Comments »