Our Snow White Shoot – “Get The Look” Feature on Every Last Detail!

Did you catch yesterday’s Modern Rustic Snow White Inspiration Shoot, featured on Every Last Detail?  It’s getting a lot of great attention, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should.  You already did, you say, and you loved it?  You’re in luck, then!  Lauren is starting a new feature along with photoshoots, and we’re the first ones to get in on the action!  She asked me last week if I’d be interested in participating in her new “Get The Look” series, and of course I said yes!  I am a big believer in transparency and helping people get the best wedding they can have…  So I went back through our receipts to find out the prices for all the pieces we used, and Lauren wrote them up.

We used a mixture of vintage/thrifted pieces and new ones, including mirrors, chargers, and plates from Wal-Mart; moss, wood, and other supplies from Save-on-Crafts and the local flower market; and candle holders (used to hold succulents) from IKEA.

Check out our “Get The Look” feature on Every Last Detail today!

Inspiration: Vegetables

I love using everyday items in unexpected ways!  Vegetables are so often overlooked as being boring.  But they can be so beautiful and colorful.  They bring a different texture and feel to events than flowers.  I love the idea of using veggies in place of more expected elements – like on the “sweet table”, in the bouquet, and as “bunting”, and I couldn’t resist including my use of them to bring interest to the baby shower table!

Vegetables Wedding Inspiration Board: Events by Elisa

Photo credits (clockwise from left): Seed Packet Invitations, Boutonniere, Buffet, Bunting, Escort Cards, Cabbage, Tomato Favors, Artichoke Centerpiece, Garden Box, Bouquet,

Inspiration: Enchanted Unicorn & Rainbow Birthday Party

I have to admit that this board was inspired by all the gorgeous rainbow cakes I’ve been seeing lately!  I thought I’d take a day off of my how-to series and give you some pretty pictures to look at!

This birthday party was designed for a seven-year-old me.  It’s got second grade Elisa all over it!  In fact, at that age I used to use my grandfather’s typewriter and Xerox machine to create “newspapers” for my family, with poems I’d made up or stories I’d written.  At the bottom of each one was a hand-drawn rainbow with fluffy clouds at each end and a big star and the name of my “publishing house” – Elisa Press.  I was obsessed, too, with unicorns (I was for years) and collected a ton of LisaFrank folders!  I dug up this picture from inside one of my old binders (a Lisa Frank one at that!).  I think I was about 9 when I drew it (the paper is so yellow!):

 

An Events by Elisa original (no idea why the pony's name was "Carol").

Anyway, this inspiration board is for you, Little Elisa! 🙂

Enchanted Unicorn & Rainbows Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

Photo credits (clockwise, from top left): Broke-Ass Bride, Babble, ArtNectar, Inspired Parties, Juicy Bits, Love to Know, The Wedding Queen, SmugMug, Hostess With the Mostess, The Cake Blog, Creative Genius Printables.

Inspiration: Blush Lace

I never know what will inspire a board.  Sometimes, it’s a photo or movie I see.  Today, it was a wedding dress.  I actually built this whole theme around the wedding dress included in the board!

This is a modern, feminine theme, focusing on lush flowers in rosy hues, with clean lines despite the lace details.

Blush Lace Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

Photo credits (clockwise, from top left): The Knot, Bari Jay (by way of BestBridesmaid.com), Jim Hjelm (from JLM Couture), Oh Sugar Events, Vera Wang (from WeddingBee), Vintage Flower House, Pink Cake Box, Simply By Tamara Nicole.

Inspiration: Rustic Birds

Okay, I promise you I am doing something other than making pretty inspiration boards all the time.  But right now I can’t quite share any of the other projects I’ve been working on.  Plus, I get inspired by the strangest things, so sometimes boards like this can’t help but get made.

I actually was working on a completely different concept when I saw the ring bearer nest and just HAD to work on this.  It’s a board for a rustic, woodsy wedding with bird accents.  In fact, it’s funny – I actually couldn’t find a lot of the photos I wanted, so you’ll just have to imagine  little birds in the bouquet (neither of the bouquets is quite right either but they’re close) and guest tables that have elements of both the guest table and sweet table in the board (but with a large rustic wooden table instead of the moss tablecloth), and a banner that says “love” or the couples’ names on bird shapes in shades of brown and green.  I also was thinking that the wedding party itself would probably be dressed in a rich brown, like (but not exactly) this dress from Nordstrom:

Anyway, I can see this being a very fun, relaxed, outdoor wedding, with fairy lights in the trees, birdseed instead of rice, and lots of pretty natural elements!

Rustic Birds Wedding Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

Photo credits (clockwise from left): Gardensidestudio’s Flickr Stream, Sparkle and Hay, Luvs2Create2’s Etsy Shop, Artfire, Dearjes’ Etsy Shop, House Martin, The Knot,  Green Wedding Shoes, The Knot, Once Wed, Nordstrom, Artfire.

Inspiration: Vintage Rosebuds

I love me some vintage!   I was inspired by a bride I’ve been consulting with to create a vintage sweet table inspiration board.  I love the tones of blush and daffodil!  I only wish I’d been able to find some photos of flowers arranged the way I can see them in my head.  I’d love to gather ranunculus, peonies, daffodils, dahlias, gerberas, and freesia together in just the right messy way, and I’d love to see them in the gorgeous pale pink glass vase in my event rental catalog.

I’d also add a bunch of fairy lights and some chinese lanterns in pale pink, yellow, green, and white.

Vintage Sweet Table Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

 

 

To use this inspiration board for a wedding, I’d definitely start with a wedding dress from Fancy New York, like this gorgeous “Maggie Rosebud” design:

Maggie Rosebud by Fancy New York

Beautiful!

Photo credits (clockwise, from top left): Ruffled Blog, Little Loveables, Country Living, Kate Landers Events, KristopherK’s Flickr Stream, Old Fashioned Lemonade, The Sweetest Occasion, Karen Tran Florals.

Inspiration: The Rocketeer South Seas Club Wedding

From the moment I saw the 1991 Disney movie The Rocketeer, I loved everything about it.  The handsome hero and beautiful heroine, the dashing evildoer, the happy ending…  And the style.  I have to say that this was probably my first taste of Art Deco style.  I wanted to be Jenny; not just because she ended up with the insanely handsome Cliff Secord (and “got to play a scene” with Neville Sinclair, who wasn’t so bad himself), but because she looked so glamorous.

My favorite scene, visually, is the one in the South Seas Club.  Jenny is dressed in the most stunning white satin sweetheart-necked gown, with ruby red lips and hair perfectly coiffed.  Neville, in his tuxedo, leads her down a wide staircase to the dance floor.  The clamshell opens and the sultry singer begins the beguine.  The whole place is gorgeously decorated in the Art Deco style, and is a perfect example of what I wanted a nightclub to be.

When I was planning my own wedding, my first inclination was to look for a dress like Jenny’s in The Rocketeer; I thought we’d have an elegant Art Deco-inspired affair.  And when I found a local hotel with a clamshell band stage in the ballroom, I was over the moon.  We ultimately decided to focus on another location and another design, but if I had my wedding to do over I think I’d have to find a way to make this inspiration board a reality (minus, perhaps, the leather jacket!).  I didn’t like any of the printed materials I found to go with this inspiration board; guess I’ll have to work on some! 🙂

The Rocketeer South Seas Wedding Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

Image credits (clockwise, from top left): Connect.in, Hibiscus Florals, Run Do Not Walk, Unique Vintage, Garethr1’s Flickr Stream, Wedding Things, Your Stupid Minds, SaucefortheGoose’s Etsy Shop, Cake image was not properly credited on any site I found (I think it’s originally from Martha Stewart Weddings but can’t find the original source – there are TONS of secondary sources though), Alfred Angelo (dress #7069 in Celadon).

Inspiration: Born on the Fourth of July

I was at Disneyland on Tuesday (and, um, I’m going back tomorrow for a bachelorette party…  no, I didn’t plan it that way) and walking down Main Street U.S.A. started getting my creative juices going.  I created this inspiration board for an old-fashioned Fourth-of-July party that would also be appropriate for a summer birthday or wedding.  I can imagine serving a beautiful picnic lunch and making homemade ice cream in a vintage hand-crank ice cream maker (ok, actually, that would be really difficult, as cool as it would look!), and listening to a Barbershop Quartet or an old-fashioned band.   The perfect setting for this party would be a pretty green park – especially if there were a gazebo where you could hang the bunting!

Born on the Fourth of July Inspiration Board - Events by Elisa

Image credits (clockwise, from top left): Bliss Weddings Market, 4 In a Bar, Giggleberry Creations, Bouquet Bridal, Elizabeth Anne Designs, The Darling Bee, Jasperdo’s Flickr Stream, My Finer Consigner, North 60’s Flickr Stream, Events Wholesale, Pool and Patio.

Inspiration: Sunflowers and Lemonade

Maybe it’s the dismal weather we’ve had today: clouds, wind, and rain…  Maybe I’m just really looking forward to summer…  But my latest inspiration board creation is sort of inspired by Tuscany and Provence, and features a gorgeous sunny yellow color contrasted by deep blues.  I’d love to plan this party for a bridal or baby shower, or a birthday party!

Sunflowers and Lemonade Inspiration Board

Image credits (clockwise, from top left):  Hostess with the Mostess, Tickled Pink, Kara’s Party Ideas, Recipe Bloom, Country Living, Dit49’s Flickr Photo Stream, Wrapped in Happiness (but the photo was taken by Charlotte Geary), A French Tablecloth, Pink Cake Box, The Sweetest Occasion.