Something else I am loving right now? The darling custom totes that they sell. How cute are these?

And the best part? They are $10. $10!!! And even better? Right now, you can get 20% off with the code “wc”. So that’s $8. Seriously? They have adorable options for welcome bags for your out of town guests, ones to gift to your entire wedding party and even just a cute one to carry around all of your planning goodies in.

You know how I love a good flag that says Yay!

For those of you with little ones, On To Baby has some super cute totes, onesies and bibs too. You can get 20% off of these items too with the code “OhBaby!”. I just snagged a few things for my little man- including a “I Love Daddy” onesie. Perfect for Fathers Day!

**This post is not sponsored by Wedding Chicks. I just like them and like a good deal and wanted to spread the word!*

Since I am still waiting for my hard drive to be saved, I thought I would share some of my favorite findings from around the blog world in the past 6 weeks.

First of all, have you seen Styled Magazine, put together by my friend Victoria of A Subtle Revelry? It is so fun- chalk full of gorgeous photos and creative ideas. You have to check it out!

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I just can’t get enough of the amazingly fun ideas in this wedding, found on Oh Happy Day! & Martha Stewart Weddings. Surprising guests with rented bikes so that everyone could ride around from site to site for a progressive wedding- seriously one of the most creative ideas I have ever heard of. (and the fact that they stopped at UCLA spot Diddy Reese won me over even more!) Photos by Rachel Thurston

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My sister-in-law, the talented Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy, started making and selling the cutest iPad cases you’ve ever seen. I would buy one in a heartbeat. If I had an iPad. Which would be helpful with all of this middle of the night reading (iPhone just isn’t cutting it for my eyes). Dear Internet: anyone want to send one my way?

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Have you seen the Beatles Mania birthday party on Hostess with the Mostess? So creative and cute! Being a big Beatles fan, I am in love- especially with the clever uses of their song titles. Design by ShePaperie and photos by Jeanna Hayes.

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This wedding on Snippet & Ink caught my eye. The couple met in elementary school and I love how they integrated school themed details while still keeping the wedding elegant and gorgeous. Photos by Meg Smith.

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I also adore this red and white polka dot birthday party, found on Hostess with the Mostess (Designed by Pen and Paper Flowers)

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These DIY Save the Date confetti poppers by Jordan Ferney are so cute & creative! Full instructions on Oh Happy Day!

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Lisa Leonard recently launched a line of wedding items. I *love* the bouquet token and custom cake forks:

Happy browsing (hopefully not at all hours of the night, like I am!)

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!

]]> http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/07/12/a-sneak-peak-of-a-spanish-rancho-las-lomas-wedding/feed/ 2 http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/05/03/on-cancer-and-weddings/ http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/05/03/on-cancer-and-weddings/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 05:53:55 +0000 Courtney http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/?p=1372 A warning right from the start: today’s post gets personal. It’s a little bit of my story and how you can be a part of a bigger story. You see, I sometimes forget that people do not know everything about me. I will drop things in conversation like:

“oh, because when my husband and I were dating in high school…”, which is often received with a “what? I did not know you were high school sweethearts” or:

“…you know I can sing you any show tune because I did theater most of my life”- “what? you were an actress?”

This happens most often when I drop the word. The “cancer” word. In the middle of a perfectly normal conversation I’ll say something like, “yeah, when my hair grew back in after chemo it was totally darker”. To which I am usually met with a confused, quiet stare.

At the age of 15, I was diagnosed with a rare form of Ewings Sarcoma and my life was forever changed. Multiple surgeries, 18 months of chemotherapy, countless hospital stays and one bald head took over my high school agenda. I faced fear, hopelessness and despair. I found true joy, faith and hope.

In fact, that is part of the reason why I chose to include the word “joyful” in my company name. Through my battle against cancer, I learned to find joy in the everyday. The little moments made me feel normal, made me feel overwhelmingly loved and gave me hope and peace as I trusted in God. Since completing my treatment, I have made it my goal to live each day joyfully, enjoying the blessings that each day brings.

In the past couple of months, I have been thrilled to hear that the wedding community is standing up to cancer. Showering love on those who are fighting, showing that we care. My heart is full being able to share them with you today.

Here locally in Southern California, San Diego wedding vendors have joined together to support the amazing Peggi Walker, of Metro Floral, who is bravely battling cancer. Through REVOweddings, local couples have the opportunity to bid on amazing wedding services in an online auction. More than 75 San Diego vendors have donated their talents to raise money for Peggi.

If you are a local bride getting married in San Diego, you can get some great deals for your wedding, all while supporting a wonderful cause. And, seriously- you can get some amazing discounted pricing!

If you are interested in having us coordinate your wedding, you can bid on us here (at over 50% savings!).

If you live out of the area, but are interested in ordering a custom banner for your wedding, you can also bid on that here.

Secondly, an amazing foundation has been started this year to give the joy of a wedding to couples battling terminal illnesses. Wish Upon a Wedding is the first wedding wish organization- similar in spirit to the Make-A-Wish foundation (which I was blessed to be a part of), they put together weddings for couples who might otherwise not be able to celebrate their love and commitment while going through such a difficult time.

I am so excited to get involved and see this grow! If you know of someone who would qualify or if you would like to get involved, you can find out more on the website.

Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the life God has given me and I am so happy to be able to share it with you all!

My personal favorite, The Romantic:

She has some more masculine styles as well, which I love.

The beautiful photos were taken by The Modern Type.

All of her designs are available for local delivery and pick up next week. To see the full line and for information on ordering, please see Carissa’s blog.

Kristin is also a great accessories model

Go give Kristin some birthday love by checking out her shop (super cute hair accessories, fun masks, ring bearer pillows & flower girl pomanders), website and blog.

I will have a full post coming in the next month but, for now, I am excited to share some of the photos that the incredible Amelia Lyon posted on her blog.

Hi my name is Melissa and I am gorgeous:

Melissa and her stylin bridesmaids: (I loved their Melissa Sweet dresses!)

The guys looked pretty dapper themselves:

How fun is Bryan’s custom made tie and awesome boutonnière?

Their letterpressed invitations and save the dates were some of my favorite to date. I love that Melissa tied together all of the invitation pieces with pink and white bakers twine:

Together:

Some of the amazing details:

I have seen a lot of garlands put up on that arch at Rancho Las Lomas, but none of them could match this one designed by the incredible Kristin of The Treasured Petal. She killed it. It took two designers two full days to create this beauty- it came in twelve pieces and was like a ginormous snake when they were putting it up. I wanted to just curl it around me like a boa!

Onto the reception:

The cake. Oh the cake.

Melody’s creation of sugary beauty looked stunning against a backdrop that we created. Not to mention the delicious treats with the groom’s mother’s homemade cookies mixed in. I could have stood right there all night and been happy.

Dream clients + Dream Vendors= Happy planner.

Melissa & Bryan- thanks for being so awesome. Seriously- I loved every minute of our time together and your wedding was a dream. Amazing vendor team- thank you for all being incredible and rocking it.

The dream team:

*Venue: Rancho Las Lomas

*Photography: Amelia Lyon

*Florist: The Treasured Petal

*Cake: Sweet & Saucy Shop

*Videography: Elysium Productions

*Catering: 24 Carrots

*Hair & Makeup: Nicole DeAnne

*DJ: So Cal DJ

*Invitations and wedding day stationary: Ephemera Letterpress

*Hair Piece: Twigs & Honey

*Dress: Priscilla of Boston, Saks Fifth Avenue

*Photobooth: Cheesy Photobooths

I know that it is not even thanksgiving yet, but it is definitely time to start thinking about your Christmas Cards. Today I want to share with you some cards that I love, designed by the adorable ladies over at Posh Paperie. Their Christmas line is super cute and even better- you do not have to do any work other than sending them your photo. For all of you busy ladies out there, I know that is a huge score!

Here are some of my favorites from their line:

To see all of the card options, head on over to their website.

They are also selling super cute gift tags and beautiful 2010 calendars, which would make a great stocking stuffer!

It’s beginning to look a lot like….

Last week, I headed down to Old Poway Park with my husband and son to meet up with Erin and Jeff Youngren to take some photos. We needed some 2 year pictures of Isaiah and also a couple of options for our Christmas card, so I was so excited that the Youngrens had some time to get together with us. Have you seen Jeff & Erin’s work? If not, you must go take a look at their website and blog. Not only are they two of the nicest people you will ever meet, but their wedding and family photography is gorgeous.

Jeff and Erin just posted some of our photos on their blog and here are a few of my favorites:

Isaiah was not in much of a “look at the camera and smile” mood, so Jeff and Erin got lots of fun candids of him exploring the train tracks.

This is what Isaiah did when David tried to kiss him: *so funny!*

At one point, Isaiah wanted to see the pictures, so Jeff let him take a couple and look at the camera. Such a sweet moment!

I think this one is my absolute favorite:

To see more, check on the Youngren’s post. And, while you are over there, leave a comment to tell them how awesome they are.

]]> http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2009/11/16/what-is-making-me-happy-today/feed/ 1 http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2009/09/17/megan-and-dom-at-ole-hansen-beach-club-san-clemente/ http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2009/09/17/megan-and-dom-at-ole-hansen-beach-club-san-clemente/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:30:40 +0000 Courtney http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/?p=43 A few weeks back, Darcie coordinated the wedding of Megan and Dom at the Ole Hansen Beach Club in San Clemente. It was a special wedding for us because the mother of the bride, Tara, is the owner of Megan’s Garden, a florist that we not only work with on weddings but also where Darcie got her start in the wedding industry.

Flash back about 4 1/2 years ago: I was in my first season of having my own business and one of my first weddings for that summer was at Ole Hansen. When Tara and her floral team arrived to set up, I recognized one of her assistants. Darcie and I had played soccer together back we were young and I had not seen her since. We connected instantly and she started assisting me over the next year and even earned the same internship that I had gone through. We had not done a wedding together at that venue since, so it was fun to connect everyone back together where it all started!

Back to Megan and Dom: they are such an awesome couple! Darcie actually also grew up with Megan, so it was even more special for her to be a part of the day. We were excited to finally get to work with the wonderful Gabriel and Carlie of Gabriel Ryan Photography. Here is a preview of the wedding, courtesy of Gabriel and Carlie’s blog:

Darcie did such a great job and Tara rocked the roles of Mother of the Bride AND florist! Megan and Dom: We are so excited for you! We cannot wait to see what God does in and through your marriage!