Modern Rustic Snow White Inspiration Shoot

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Elisa

This post is long overdue. Like, more than a year.

Yeah, sorry… That happened last year.

Anyway, I’m trying to get back on the blogging bandwagon. Starting here. With one of my favorite photo shoots I’ve done to date. My Modern Rustic Snow White Inspiration Shoot from June 2012!

This shoot grew out of the Inspired Bridal Bowl table that Desiree of Penny Blooms Floral Design and I did together. We played with moss and wood, added in some pops of white and red, and created a fun and whimsical look. Of course, we had to step it up once we made it a “proper” photo shoot. So we called on a little help from our friends. 🙂

We had no less than ten wedding vendors, a fantastic venue, and a couple of amazing boutiques involved in this shoot, plus a couple of seriously gorgeous models. Throw in perfect San Diego weather, and I guess it’s no wonder that this shoot has been featured on Lover.ly, Every Last Detail, and San Diego Style Weddings!

Melissa Biador snapped these exquisite photographs, and Porcelain Rose Productions filmed the day (linked at the end)… And what a day it was…

Nic.Roc.Designs created some AMAZING stationery (including this fabulous wooden invitation!).

And of course we had a sweets buffet replete with goodies, from the INSANELY beautiful cake (OMG mini frames!) by Hey There, Cupcake!…

To the apple cake pops and cake ball gems by Calculated Whisk…

To the marbled macarons by La Reine des Macarons

To the delectable (and beautiful!) apple pie pops and mini mason jar pies from Wicked Spoon!

Of course, putting it all together was fun…

Then of course there were Desiree’s florals. Seriously, Penny Blooms Floral Design is one of my favorite vendors for a variety of reasons… But one of the biggest is because she isn’t afraid to play around with different ideas, try different things, go out on a limb, and be downright creative. We always talk about creativity and innovation in our business, but Desiree consistently does it. And pushes me to, as well. 🙂

Then we have the flawless makeup and hair by Blush Makeup Artistry and Beth Whitfield:

And the ombre dress – absolute perfection – from Bliss Bride:

And our handsome groom’s suit, from A Better Deal Designer Tuxedo and Suit Rentals:

Of course, our models – Taylor and Ben – aren’t too shabby either.

Scratch that. They are gorgeous!!!!!!

We hung frames and mirrors from the trees…

And cut slits into apples to use as place card holders…

Didn’t skimp out on details…

And even had a little play acting at the end…

Ooh, you can see the edge of her phenomenal dress in this shot! 😉

At the end of the day, we were just seriously blessed by all the stunning pieces to this photo shoot. This is still one of my very favorite projects I’ve gotten to work on. Ever.

We’ve been trying to get the same team back together for another round… But due to unfortunate timing it hasn’t worked out. Cross your fingers for a second fairy tale fabulous photo shoot!

Oh yes… And don’t forget to check out the film!!!!

Snow White: Rustic Styled Shoot from Porcelain Rose Productions on Vimeo.

Modern Rustic Snow White Inspiration Shoot Vendor Credits:

Planning, Design & Styling: Events by Elisa
Florals, Design & Styling: Penny Blooms Floral Design
Photography: Melissa Biador Photography
Videography: Porcelain Rose Productions
Stationery: Nic.Roc. Designs
Cake: Hey there, Cupcake!
Sweets: Wicked Spoon Desserts, Calculated Whisk, La Reine des Macarons
Makeup: Blush Makeup Artistry By Laura Crivello
Hair: Beth Whitfield
Dress: bliss bride
Suit: A better Deal Tuxedos & Suit Rentals
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals, Hall Weddings + Events
Details: Summer Wind Soy, Sparrow Bridal
Venue: Villa De Flores

Events by Elisa in PRINT! Our Snow White Shoot Featured in San Diego Style Weddings!!!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Elisa

Ok, with everything that happened last week I didn’t have a chance to share my other piece of news. This one’s pretty amazing too.

I’ve been published in my first magazine!!!! Now, obviously *I* am not the only one responsible for this amazing shoot (which, again, I promise to share in more detail here!), and, actually I worked very closely with Desiree of Penny Blooms Floral Design to make it gorgeous. There are some INCREDIBLE vendors that gave their all too! But still, it was thrilling to see my business name and the work I am so proud to have done in a magazine!

We got a whole page spread of photographs, beautifully taken by Melissa Biador! (And special thanks to Nikki of Calculated Whisk for sharing this photo – I have my copy of the magazine but keep forgetting to take a photo of the spread!). 🙂

Check it out in the huge 25th Anniversary San Diego Style Weddings magazine (available on newsstands NOW!). 🙂

Snow White Shoot Featured on Every Last Detail!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Elisa

I’ve got to catch up on blogging my own shoots and weddings… But in the mean time, I’m being featured all over the place!!! 🙂 I’m SO thrilled to announce that our Rustic Modern Snow White inspiration shoot (no, it still hasn’t been blogged here, but I promise it will be soon!), photographed by Melissa Biador Photography, is featured today on Every Last Detail! I have to admit that ELD is probably my favorite wedding blog to read (if you follow me on Facebook you’ll notice I do a lot of linking to Lauren’s posts). I was SO thrilled to find out that we were going to be featured!!!

And there is no shortage of gorgeous on the blog today, including the utter fabulosity of the florals by Penny Blooms Floral Design (just… wow), custom stationery by Nic.Roc. Designs, custom cake by Hey There, Cupcake! (seriously… I about fell over when I saw it), as well as the marbled macarons by La Reine des Macarons, the apple pie pops by Wicked Spoon, and the apple cake pops and gemstone cake balls by Calculated Whisk! Lauren even posted a link to the behind-the-scenes video by Porcelain Rose Productions!

I am so happy our hard work (and over 9 months of planning!) paid off with this gorgeous shoot! 🙂 I swear I’ll blog it soon! 😉 Check out the whole shoot feature on Every Last Detail!!! <3!

Another Feature – Aidan’s Birthday Party on Baby Lifestyles!

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Elisa

Lauren, the editor of Baby Lifestyles, spotted Aidan’s First Birthday on my blog and fell in love with it. “OMG so cute!” she said. “Can we feature it?”

I said yes, of course! 😉

Check out our feature today on Baby Lifestyles!

What I’ve Been Up To Lately…

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Elisa

June was an extremely busy month for me (spilling into the first day of July). I’ve got three more events happening in the next several weeks but I thought that on this beautiful holiday I might share a little taste of what I’ve been involved with over the last month!!! Three styled shoots (including stationery for two) and two weddings (including programs for one and all the stationery for the other) meant a ton of work and very little time off. But look at the gorgeous results!!!

I hope you have a fantastic holiday – I’m off to spend the day with friends and my husband. Be safe!!!

Photo credits:

Aidan’s Teddy Bear First Birthday Party in San Marcos, 02182012

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Elisa

I have been doing a lot of talk about weddings lately, but it’s not all I do! I also design and plan social events (birthdays, showers, and other parties and galas). Today’s event is a birthday party!!

Aidan’s mom Jennie e-mailed me in mid-January, asking for planning and design help with his first birthday party. She had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted, but needed assistance tying everything together and making it happen. The challenge was getting the sweets buffet to look elegant and beautiful without it looking girly, and to keep Jennie’s fantastic ideas under budget. 🙂

I think that the result was a great balance of whimsy, elegance, and boyish fun, tying together the themes of teddy bears and milk and cookies. We featured a sweets buffet in the center of the backyard and a build-a-bear vendor on the patio, along with bunting handmade by Aidan’s dad Sal. Jennie got in on the handcrafting too, making all the tablecloths and runners as well as all the savory items and some of the cookies and cupcakes!

Jennie purchased printables online at Pink Pickle Studios, including hats, water bottle labels, and a banner:

And Jennie used Aidan’s red wagon as a focal point.

The younger guests had so much fun with Fabbiola of My Beary Best Friend, choosing their animals and watching them be stuffed:

Of course we had to have teddy bears (with individual cookie jars at each table, inside and out!).

Aidan’s parents designed an extra special birthday cake for him, which was brought to life by the amazing Stevi at Hey There, Cupcake!

And now… The showpiece of the party. The fabulous sweets table! I had waaaay too much fun styling this, using my pieces and Jennie’s. And at her request I made the fantastic fabric flowers from some tutorials I pinned on Pinterest (whew! Try saying that three times fast!). I LOVE them SO much!

Yes I know. They’re just fabric flowers. But I adore them.

Anyway, on to the rest of the sweet table!

And of course you can’t have a first birthday party without a smash cake!

Aidan’s Teddy Bear First Birthday Party in San Marcos, CA 02*18*2012 Details:

Planning/Design/Styling: Events by Elisa
Photography: Nicole Benitez Photography
Cake/Cupcakes: Hey There, Cupcake!
Printables: Pink Pickle Studio
Build-a-Bear: My Beary Best Friend

Under The Sea Baby Shower 11122011

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Elisa

I created this “Under the Sea” baby shower theme for a very special momma – my cousin Natalie! She wanted a big affair – 70 people, including kids and men – so it had to be anything but ordinary!

This shower was originally scheduled – and styled – for outdoors in a pretty, terraced backyard. But a week before the shower was to take place, we found out that our Southern California sun wasn’t going to behave. Instead of having a beautiful relaxing sun-soaked November day, we’d have soaking of a different sort. Rain. Buckets of rain.

I can’t lie – it was a bit of a shocker, since no one counted on rain during what was supposed to be a very dry November in San Diego. What was worse was that the home where we’d planned to hold the shower couldn’t accommodate 70 people indoors. So, thanks to a very generous coworker, we moved on to Plan B: the gourmet kitchen and bar areas of a private clubhouse (the rest of which was already rented out that day for a bridal shower!).

Luckily it was an absolutely gorgeous venue, and luckily even the rain didn’t keep away the throngs of guests. We showered this Mama in style!

We created some really fun touches, from GORGEOUS sea urchin vases custom made by the insanely creative Desiree of Penny Blooms to cascading bubble chandeliers made from clear glass ornaments provided by the mom-to-be to a wishing tree made from driftwood.

Natalie and Tony decided that they didn’t want to know the gender of their unborn baby, so we threw a completely gender-neutral party (complete with coloring pages asking if the kids in attendance thought the baby was a Stella – girl – or Brayden – boy, and a single game asking adults in attendance to fill in their guesses for birth stats and gender). I have to admit, it was kind of tough staying firmly in the “cute and gender neutral” category, but it was helpful that Natalie chose such an adorable “Under the Sea” theme, inspired by a set of scrapbooking stickers she found when she found out she was first pregnant!

I created a set of printed pieces including an invitation featuring original artwork (inspired by the stickers) an original poem by Practically Perfect Poetry, Prose, and Proofreading – I just love how much personality there was in that sweet little turtle!

Then of course there was my personal favorite feature of the party – a huge ocean-themed sweets buffet featuring a gorgeous “wave” backdrop of fabric that my amazing assistant found at Joann’s Fabric, hand-assembled clamshell cookies (made by me!), a sculpted sandcastle cake by Hey There, Cupcake!, and the most adorable sea creature cake pops by Calculated Whisk! The “sand” was actually brown sugar, and the rocks and shells were candy – and every kid there (and some of the adults) loved that they could eat every bit they wanted! Plus brown sugar was inexpensive, non-toxic, and looked and smelled amazing!