I just love Kelsey and Carl. It was an absolute joy to be a part of planning their beautiful wedding and they are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Kelsey and Carl chose to get married in her parent’s backyard in Orange County to give their wedding an intimate, personal feel. Kelsey wanted to include all things pink, lace, vintage and pearly. Carl requested that there be a romantic ambiance, with a “Great Gatsby” dreamy vibe.

The wedding was romantic, sweet and personal. It was featured on Style Me Pretty a while back. You can see the post here and I am excited to share all of the lovely details with you today. To make working a wedding for two amazing people even better, I had the privilege of working with some of my favorite vendors. Michael Norwood was on board to capture the day and his photos are absolutely stunning.

Meet the gorgeous Kelsey:

And the handsome Carl:

My friend Kristin from The Treasured Petal created the beautiful flowers. The feminine pink florals were lush and romantic, including garden roses, dinner plate dahlias, fragrant stock, and hydrangea.

The bridesmaids wore darling Melissa Sweet dresses.

Not a bad ceremony site (or backyard for that matter!):

Kelsey wanted to incorporate crystals, pearls and lush flowers on the ceremony arch and Kristin’s creation was gorgeous!

One really unique detail that Kelsey’s mom thought of was to have a mini version of the wailing wall of Jerusalem. She created this gorgeous mini wall and we had guests write prayers for the couple and then place them in between the rocks. Such a cool idea! The wall is now in the couple’s home.

I will be back will all of the reception details in my next post but, for now, I’ll leave you with a few killer photos of the couple:

By the way, how incredible is Kelsey’s Kenneth Pool gown?

Happy Friday everyone!

Date posted: September 3, 2010

Posted in: buzz, weddings by courtney.toney 1 Comment »

Last month, I had the joy of creating decor for a baby shower for one of my good friends. It was extra special because the mama-to-be and I went through cancer treatment together and both spent years fearing that we would not be able to have babies. Sweet little Riley was born a couple of weeks ago and I could not be more excited for them!

When I am brainstorming a theme or decor scheme for a baby shower, I often look at what bedding the parents have selected for the baby. In this case, it was a perfect fit for the shower decor. The mommy to be has always loved purple (we wore purple dresses in her wedding), so I knew that needed to be prominent. She selected this cute bedding for her sweet little girl from Pottery Barn Kids:

I pulled in the look of patchwork and ribbons by wrapping vases in alternating strands of ribbon. Super easy, cheap and cute!

I do not claim to be a florist, but I always love putting together small arrangements for showers and parties. For this event, I did not have time to go to the flower mart, so I grabbed whatever flowers I could find at Trader Joe’s.

I cut scrapbook paper into scalloped squares using my Cricut and placed each centerpiece on top. I also cut out some small R’s and placed them around the party.

I used green glasses from Anthropologie as candles (they are usually in my bedroom) and incorporated fresh mint from my garden into the arrangements.

The clubhouse we held the shower at had all sorts of fun side tables and accent pieces. I used bud vases holding flowers and fresh lavender on these, along with paper hearts and R’s.

I grabbed this potted plant from Trader Joe’s which matched the decor perfectly! I didn’t have to do anything to it except add a little accent.

Of course, I had to make a couple of banners. I made a large one to go on the fireplace mantle with the baby’s name. It now is hanging in her room.

The second one I made was for the buffet area:

I had nothing to do with the food, but wanted to show the cute cupcakes that Riley’s grandma made:

A couple of friends who were also hosting the shower made cute cookies in the shape of an R as favors for the guests:

Yay for babies! Yay for showers! Yay for affordable, cheap and personalized decor!

Date posted: August 27, 2010

Posted in: crafting, decor ideas, events by courtney.toney 2 Comments »

A while back, I shared a sneak peak of the gorgeous wedding of Marisa and Robert at the Hotel Bel Air. I am finally going to share the full wedding with you today! (Yes, this wedding was in September and, yes, I am behind in blogging weddings!)

Some of you may have seen this wedding featured on The Wedding Chicks a couple of months ago as well. You can see the full post here- thanks so much Amy & Jocey! We love you guys!

Onto the stunning wedding, captured by the amazing Jasmine Star. Marisa and Robert were a dream to work with- great vision, fully trusting of their vendors and absolutely smitten with each other. They envisioned a clean, simple and stunning white wedding, which is right up our ally. You cannot go wrong with that decor scheme set against the timeless backdrop of the Hotel Bel Air.

I love this next sequence of photos from their first look. Aren’t they g

I loved the elegant bouquet that Carissa with JL Designs created. Simply stunning!

The bridesmaids bouquets of blush colored dahlias were gorgeous as well:

I also loved the bridesmaids dresses from Two Birds Bridesmaid- they can be wrapped in a ton of different ways.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been caught making awkward faces in photos while pinning boutonnieres on.

There ceremony took place at the hotel’s Swan Lake. Yes- they have a lake with real swans in it.

I used mirrors and vintage pieces throughout the decor for signage and little details:

Carissa did a great job with the ceremony decor- simple, striking and gorgeous.

Carissa placed fabric boxes filled with petals for guests to throw on the aisle, along with apothecary jars with floating gardenias.

For the cocktail hour, we used wood lounge furniture and accented with Carissa’s cute pillows.

I adored how Carissa nailed frames and flowers to a tree in the middle of the cocktail hour.

For the escort cards, Carissa lined up white lace and accented the table with a cluster of beautiful arrangements. I made a sign out of a vintage mirrored tray, saying “please find your seat”.

For the reception tables, Carissa grouped arrangements with candle sticks and the apothecary jars with floating gardenias from the ceremony. It looked gorgeous!

I grabbed a large empty frame from my office on a whim and I loved how it looked on a console with Carissa’s arrangements:

In the adjoining room, we set up a lounge, showcasing their cake and favors. White couches were set with mirrored tables, accented with a ton of candlelight.

The pretty cake, made by Cake Divas, was set on a custom made stand by JL Designs.

Guests received bags of cookies from Diddy Reese, a Westwood (and UCLA!) favorite.

I could live in this wedding everyday and be happy.

The amazing vendor team:

*Venue: April and team at the Hotel Bel Air

*Photo: Jasmine Star

*Florals: JL Designs

*Band: DeBois Productions, Entourage & Spanish Guitar Trio

*Rentals: Classic Party Rentals and Level 4

*Hair & Makeup: Sheree with Lips and Locks

*Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhuillier

*Cake: Cake Divas

*Favors: Cookies from Diddy Riese

Date posted: August 18, 2010

Posted in: buzz, weddings by courtney.toney 3 Comments »

Tomorrow is the big day- our wedding designers swap meet! If you are in Orange County, are getting married or have loved ones who are, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to snag some killer wedding items at ridiculously cheap prices. Even if you are already married, there are going to be some great home decor and party decor items.

For more info, you can see my previous post about it. I’ve made some cute banners that are not yet available in my shop

See you there!

Date posted: August 13, 2010

Posted in: news by courtney.toney No Comments »

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week. I was busy enjoying this:

I spent a week camping in Yosemite with friends and family and as I look back at this picture my husband took, I am still in awe of the amazing beauty. How incredible would it be to get married in the park? Have any of you been to a wedding in Yosemite?

Lots of good stuff coming up in the next week, so stay tuned.

Date posted: August 11, 2010

Posted in: my life by courtney.toney 2 Comments »

I have shared before that, in my etsy shop, I sell these cute ringbearer/flower girl flags:

Photo by Jessica Claire **Keep your eyes peeled for our workshop design on Style Me Pretty next week. Abby posted a sneak peak with my little cutie yesterday, which you can see here. **

These flags also make great photo props for wedding portraits or engagement photos. Here is a shot of the bride and groom holding the sign as well, taken by one of Jessica Claire’s workshop attendees, E Leigh Photography:

I also take custom orders for these flags so that they match any couple’s wedding design. I wanted to share a few fun ones that I have made recently. Each customer has wanted something different, which has been really fun. All of the pictures were taken with my iphone, so please excuse the poor quality.

For the pink one above, the bride wanted to tie the rings onto the flag, so we added on a ribbon tie at the top. Super cute!

As is shown above, we can also do custom wording. For one couple we  made four, featuring the words “yipee!” “woohoo!” “hooray!” and “yay!”. I also made one for a recent client that had “yay!” on the front and “m + a” (their initials) on the other side. I cannot wait to get the professional photos so that I can share that one- I think it is my favorite to date!

If you are interested in placing an order for a custom flag, please contact me through my etsy shop. As a side note, I will be out of the office for the next week, so all orders will be processed starting August 10th.

Date posted: July 31, 2010

Posted in: buzz, crafting, decor ideas by courtney.toney 1 Comment »

I was absolutely honored when Carissa and Kellee asked me to help plan and design the bridal shower for wedding PR rockstar Leila Khalil of Be Inspired PR. We had so much fun dreaming up a sherbet inspired lovely shower for Leila.

Set against a modern, clean white background of the loft style space at High Profile Productions in Culver City, we contrasted the stark, white space with feminine details like lace, cameos, lockets, vintage milkglass and gorgeous sherbet colored flowers.

We lucked out because the venue already had some amazing furniture we could use. We accented the furniture with ruffle pillows Carissa bought from Pier 1 and cute cameo pillows I found from etsy seller Diffraction Fiber:

Jane from Olive Hue made all of the paper goods for the day of the shower, including these awesome silhouettes- it is actually Leila’s silhouette!

When guests arrived, we had them write notes to Leila on cute cards made by Jane and then each guest received a quiz to take, featuring questions about Leila and her relationship with her fiance (now husband!) Tony.

We came up with a “L is for…” theme and used it everywhere in the shower details. “L is for Lovely”, “L is for Libations”, “L is for Lifetime”, “L is for Luscious” and, of course, “L is for Leila” are just a few examples.

Jane printed cute little flags and I attached them to paper straws I purchased from etsy seller HeyYoYO. Each flag had a different “L is for..” statement.

We served a few of Leila’s favorite drinks, including grapefruit vodka spritzer and peach bellinis:

A gorgeous cake by Sweet & Saucy shop was surrounded by the prettiest cupcakes I have ever seen from Cupcakes Couture in Manhattan Beach:

Seriously- have you ever seen such intricately designed cupcakes? They were tasty too- flavors like strawberry shortcake, champagne mimosa, red velvet, meyer lemon raspberry and cinnamon and brown sugar. Yum!

One of my favorite parts of the shower was the pinkberry bar. So awesome! It was actually the first private party that Pinkberry had done in LA and it was a hit! We had a few different types of yogurt guests could choose from as well as an assortment of toppings. (We tied on cute little tags that said “L is for Love it!” on the serving spoons too!)  They also provided some mini smoothies, which were really tasty.

I made a the banner shown above, which can be custom ordered through my etsy shop.

I wrapped up the game prizes with ribbon matching the event decor and Jane made these darling tags. What was inside the box? Custom made Pleated Poppy posy pins, matching the colors of the shower. Thanks Lindsey!

Another hit of the shower was a scent bar. One of Leila’s friends (also named Courtney!) set up a build your own perfume station- it was so cool!

Another look at the paper goods for the shower (made by Olive Hue) and the invitation beautifully hand painted by Momental Designs:

I am extra excited because the shower is currently featured in Bridal Guide Magazine:

Also, Green Wedding Shoes featured the shower yesterday. Click here to see the full post.

Leila- I am so glad we were able to throw you a shower that you loved- you deserve it! You are an old married woman now, but I am still going to say congratulations again! Carissa and Kellee- thanks for bringing me on board! It was so fun to plan this event with you.

And a HUGE thank you to all of the vendors that made shower absolutely amazing:

Venue: High Profile Productions

Floral and Event Design: JL Designs

Quizzes, Framed Art, Custom Cameo, Labels, Drink Tags, etc.: Olive Hue Paper

Invitation: Momental Designs

Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop

Cupcakes: Cupcakes Couture

Dessert: Pinkberry

Photographer: Jessica Claire

Video: Cana Video Production

Custom scent station: Kamilyn

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals & Level 4 International

Catering: Contemporary Catering

Linens: Elegant Designs

Hair and make-up: Kacee Geoffroy

Spray Tan: Danielle of Island Spray Tan

Date posted: July 22, 2010

Posted in: buzz, events, news by courtney.toney 4 Comments »

I just made it official on my twitter, so I figured I better tell the blog world too:

Baby Toney #2 is on it’s way in February! We could not be more excited!

Isaiah wants to baby to come out of my belly now so that he can hold it. He also thinks he has a baby in his tummy- we are working on getting him to understand that one

Date posted: July 19, 2010

Posted in: my life, news by courtney.toney 6 Comments »

One of my favorite weddings of the year thus far has been JJ and Jeanette’s wedding at Rancho Las Lomas. Inspired by sangria, Jeanette wanted a rich, gorgeous event, with touches of vintage charm and lots of papel picado. I cannot wait to share the professional photos by Tara Leigh, which I know will be incredible, but, in the mean time, the lovely Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop sent over some great photos she snapped that day and I had to share them!

Melody created not one- but 7!- delicious and beautiful cakes. They were set on a wood table under a gorgeous bougainvillea arch that Carissa of JL Designs designed.

For the main cake, Melody mimicked the papel picado design from the couple’s invitation and paper goods and created an incredible fuchsia sugar flower:

In addition to the main wedding cake, Jeanette wanted a variety of smaller rustic style cakes in different flavors. For each of these, I crafted mini banners inspired by the papel picado we used in the decor. I loved how they turned out, especially next to the peonies that Carissa placed.

Melody also got some great shots of the table decor, so I can give you a sneak peak of the papel picado runners, lush arrangements in cut crystal glasses and wood boxes, vintage books, fruit and colored wine glasses.

I cannot wait to show you the full wedding- it was full of details and not only are JJ & Jeanette gorgeous, but they are one of the sweetest couples ever!

Thanks Melody for the photos!

Date posted: July 12, 2010

Posted in: vendors, weddings by courtney.toney 2 Comments »

If you could only see in our closets, garages and storage spaces… The amazing things we collect after our events are over- collecting dust, waiting for an excuse to get used again. As wedding planners and designers, we have a surplus of great wedding items and we decided to share them!

A group of us Southern California wedding gals decided to put together a little bridal bazaar where we sell gently used wedding items, along with handcrafted new items. Check out all of the details below:

Come, bring your friends and shop away for your wedding or just for cute items for your house or next party. It is free- score! It will be at the studio of the wonderful In The Now Weddings and we will be there with lots of goodies in tow. Here is a little sampling of what I will be selling:

*Vases

*Candles

*Banners and other fun things from my etsy shop

*craft items (fabric, ribbon, etc)

*Wedding signs

*Papel picado banners

*a sweet tree stump cake stand

*table numbers and other wedding day details

Here is a list of the other talented designers who will be selling items (more may be added as well!):

1. In The Now
2. Events of Love and Splendor
3. Joyful Weddings
4. Jesi Haack
5. Simply Modern Weddings
6. The Treasured Petal
7. JL Designs

Make sure you mark it on your calendars and I hope to see you there! You can rsvp here (it’s free- just so we have an idea of how many people to expect).

Date posted: July 8, 2010

Posted in: events, news by courtney.toney No Comments »