right after i got off the red eye at 6 AM in LA a few weekends ago for kimberlee’s baby shower, my [very pregnant] sister and brother-in-law picked me up and we headed for santa monica to shoot some maternity pics. it was fun playing photographer for the morning and here are a few of my faves from the day! isn’t she just the cutest thing ever? i sure think so. now we’re all just waiting anxiously for the sweet lil thing inside that belly to make her grand entrance into the world!
taylor was in charge of flowers/decor/muffins and i was in charge of the designing/signage/decor. i found two different sets of milk glass on craigslist in CA and had my mom drive all over southern california to pick them up (she is kind of awesome). taylor picked out the most gorgeous and colorful flowers and arranged them all beautifully in the variously shaped vases. one of my favorite combinations is milk glass + billy balls (the yellow pom pom looking things) and they fit our theme perfectly. my favorite aspect of the shower — besides the coffee bar — was definitely the mimosa bar! i had so much fun making the signage and am pretty in love with how the letters turned out against the colored streamers; i used spray glue to spray half of the metallic gold letters and then immediately sprinkled them with gold glitter for a “glitter-dipped” look. it was so easy! and of course it is totally normal to have dessert following brunch, so we had a dessert station complete with cake balls (that matched our colors!), mini bundt cakes, and a strawberry jello cake. so yeah…if you ever come to one of our parties, you are guaranteed to roll away from all of the sweet goodies you will consume :)
we cannot wait to meet our little niece who will be here in just a few short weeks! her mama is one special, special lady and we had the best time planning and throwing her such a fun shower! i love you kimbo.
i am ALL about the little details when it comes to throwing parties. i think they make a world of difference and just add that extra special touch to kick things up a notch. i’d say this baby brunch was full of the little details which made it oh-so-fun to photograph!
my mom always taught us from an early age that “guests don’t leave our house hungry”…suffice to say we have carried that with us to our party throwing endeavors. diane was in charge of 95% of the food (taylor made the delicious blueberry and lemon poppyseed muffins!) and hot dang, she did a FABULOUS job making mostly everything from scratch with presentation that was absolutely impeccable!!! even down to the cute mini yogurt parfait cups which looked so cute with the little glitter heart toothpicks (shown here). since it was a brunch, we hired espresso one to set up a coffee bar for our guests, complete with a barista, so we could have our own personal starbucks in the backyard with an unlimited amount of drinks (they will also be at my wedding!). a whole menu of drinks was available — including ice blendeds which were perfect on that scorcher of a day. up next: the mimosa bar and more of the little details!
taylor and bradley’s reception was held in taylor’s parents’ gorgeous backyard (a dream of taylor’s since she was little!). she spent months perfecting the decor, shopping for vintage pieces, and creating a billion DIY projects…all of which were well worth it because her backyard was transformed into an absolute fairytale dreamland! market lights + fabric strips + the most amazing flowers (the head table pictured above was unreal!!) + candles + old bottles + a create your own pasta dish bar + lots of burlap and lace + OMG the most creative and beautiful dessert table i have ever seen! girl is seriously talented. it was a beautiful day celebrating the marriage of a very very special couple! i love you both so much and i am so proud of you guys. congratulations tay and bud! xx
on friday before the wedding, the bridal party went to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures and then to the hotel (complete with our emergency bridal kit in tow, which thankfully we didn’t have to use!) to have a relaxing evening before the big day! (sidenote: taylor’s bridal party was so. much. fun. i seriously love all of these girls so much and loved getting to know them!) we went out for dinner and drinks and then came back to our suite to hang out, talk, and watch wedding episodes of one tree hill. it was a totally girly and fun way to spend taylor’s last day/night as a single lady!
on thursday before my brother and taylor got married, my sister and i took the bride-to-be out for a fun sister day in LA getting blow outs at the adorable drybar in west hollywood. that place is the cutest ever; from the decor to the “menu” — everything is themed like a real bar — so cute and creative! we also went out to lunch at joan’s on third (a recommendation from my good friend janelle) and it did not disappoint. i only wish i lived closer so that i could frequent both of these places more often! such a fun and relaxing day getting to spend time with two of my favorite people.