Real Weddings: Maria + Oscar

 Want to know the best part of a secret? Finally getting to share it with those you love! When we first heard Maria and Oscar's story and how they had wed in secret 5 years ago all the while keeping it from their family and loved ones, even after having a baby together... We were beyond thrilled that they came to us to help them with the big reveal. The two dated briefly in high school, but 10 years later fate brought them back together. After dating for seven months they knew they couldn't spend another day without one another so they decided to secretly elope.

Fast forward to when they came to us with the desire to honor and share the love they had found. Their ceremony was to be the first time that they would share with their guests that they actually were already married. For Maria and Oscar's we pulled inspiration from Maria's personal style and combined bohemian and romantic elements to create a day that felt intimate, elegant, and full of romance. Their wedding took place at the La Quinta Resort located in Palm Springs, California and set a beautiful desert backdrop for their day. For their color palette we paid homage to the Palm Springs desert with boho neutrals and shades of wine, plum, and mauve. The groomsmen (many of them police men and colleagues to the groom) appropriately wore suits in a deep shade of blue, while the bridesmaids wore flowy white dresses. Guests were greeted by an escort wall built by Back Up Backdrops that read "You're My Best Kept Secret" and were favored with diaries hand painted and calligraphed by Betlem Calligraphy that held their names and table assignments. Guests were asked to sign in with "the secret to happily ever after" all as a tribute to our couple's love story. Floral arrangements by Oak and the Owl that mimicked the surrounding desert landscape sat on top of Moroccan inspired runners from hostess haven with tables and chairs from Folklore. Gold flatware was placed alongside crisp white plates with intricate details, and glassware that resembled the blue dessert sky.

When it came to designing Maria and Oscar's dessert table we wanted to keep it playful. Maria is a nurse and Oscar is a police officer, so naturally dessert began with coffee (a nurse's go-to beverage) and an array of donuts by Home Bakeshop (because what police officer doesn't love a good donut?!). Hey There Cupcake! Designed a cake inspired by the intricate detailing of Maria's wedding gown. Friends and family spent the rest of the evening dancing under strings of market lights, sipping on a boysenblue (boysenberry and blackberry cocktail) and another nod to Oscar's career, as well as "a hush hush", a ll the while watching Maria and Oscar's darling 3 year old bust a move on the dance floor. It was a night to celebrate family and the unveiling of Maria and Oscar's secret - because some secrets again are best when they're shared with those we love most!

Want to see more from the road to Maria and Oscar's wedding day?  Check out the Style Me Pretty feature here or our previous post "What's In Our File" where we share more about our inspiration behind their wedding day and then head over to our Engaging post and prepare to swoon over snaps from their engagement shoot!   Many thanks to our talented friend Ashley Kelemen for all the gorgeous photos!

In the Media: New Year, New Features!

Some might say February is the month of love, but with all of our lovely media shares, we sure were feeling it in January!  To keep the good vibes going, we're looking back on a very exciting month that kickstarted what's sure to be another amazing year at team Amorology!  So as we get ready to see what February has to offer, have fun and scroll through the links below as we recap some of our favorite media moments.  First things first, let's get started with a series of features that took place this January on the one and only Style Me Pretty!

Style Me Pretty kicked off our 2016 by sharing this classic summer wedding that took place at the oh so lovely Rancho Valencia resort.  This charming couple promised to give one another the moon and the stars in an absolutely dreamy setting.  And trust us, you're not going to miss the not so little surprise we built to pay homage to how they first met! (hint hint - think beer taps!).  To see more, be sure to click the link here and check out how Style Me Pretty named this English style soiree one of their "Must See Moments from Our Little Black Book Members" here!

This next feature on Style Me Pretty gave us another reason to celebrate spring (thanks again Mr. Groundhog!), it's our lovely couple Zareen and Jaxson's colorful celebration at the gorgeous Rancho Las Lomas!  For their special day we played with bright colors, pretty patterns, and our duo's adorable nicknames!  So don't forget take a gander at this lovely feature here!   

We were overjoyed to have Style Me Pretty share Tory and Blake's swoonworthy day captured by the one and only Jose Villa.  Our darling bride not only shared some exquisite captures from the spring al-fresco wedding we dreamed up for her and her handsome husband, but also shared her own recap of the day she and Blake said "I do".  Click here to see more of their dreamy day! 

To say we were excited to see Rachel and Tanner's wedding day up on Style Me Pretty would be quite the understatement!  This couple stole our hearts when they told us the story of how they fell head over heels for one another through love letters and e-mails (all of which they've saved and treasured).  To check out more of their lovely spring wedding, click here!

Last, but certainly not least, on our list of love from Style Me Pretty is the party we threw for one of our favorite little seven year old, that they described as a "Snow White party gone chic"!  We brought a little bit of the enchanted forest to our own backyard for our very own little Miss Milla's special birthday.  More of our own Snow White's party can be seen here - make sure to keep an eye out for her woodland friends (and maybe one mischievous little brother)!

We ended our fabulous first month of 2016, by sharing a day in the life of Amorology over on Wedding Wire's Official Instagram account!  Check out more here to catch all the fun we had and keep an eye out for more features coming soon!

Friday Feature: Beauty and the Beholder

Today our Italian collaboration with Nomad Republic Intl is featured over on Style Me Pretty, and we can't think of a better way to start our weekend! Our vision behind this shoot was "Beauty and the Beholder". Inspiration from the artistic culture of Florence was carried throughout our design. We incorporated hand-painted features with shades of inky-blue and indigo brushed onto plates from Red Raven Studios and paper elements by Peanut Press Creative with hand-lettering by Nancy Hopkins. Tuscan Wedding Cakes also included lovely blue details in an elegant, hand-painted, 4-tiered cake.

Balancing vibrant colors with soft hues, dusty pink linens dressed the table while mix-matched indigo napkins from Hostess Haven brought in a playful pop of pattern. Place cards were finished with gold leafing and fortunes to greet guests at the table, with sayings such as “You are enveloped in grace” and “You create magic” again reminding us that beauty is where you find it.  Oak and the Owl created flowing floral arrangements complete with local foliage and natural greenery woven through white blooms with pops of pink and orange, that in the end paid tribute the beautiful rolling Tuscan hillsides.  

Surrounded by such romantic and beautiful elements - monocles incorporated with escort cards, vintage inspired bridal jewelry from Twigs and Honey, our bride's gorgeous gown from Rue De Seine  at The Dress Theory, and antique handheld mirrors - we were constantly reminded that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Take a scroll through our gallery of Tuscan beauty below, and many thanks to Mademoiselle Fiona for being there to play with us in Tuscany and capturing all the swoon-worthy images.  Be sure to head over to Style Me Pretty for more!