Living the Dream at The Cream

I don't gush about personal experiences here too often, but today is a "Dear Diary" kind of day. I hope you don't mind a break from the food nerd chatter, the beauty product recommendations, or favorite tv show ramblings. I want to walk about 2 subjects near and dear to my heart: weddings and friendship.

If you know me, you know that I loooove weddings! I love the flowers, getting dressed up, watching the groom when the bride walks in (especially if he tears up!), watching the bride when she lays eyes on her groom, the gown...oh the gown! Being engaged is a time like no other. I grew up planning my wedding in my mind (and maybe in a binder hidden deep in the recesses of my closet), but when I got engaged planning my wedding for real was pretty, well, surreal. I knew pretty early on what kind of wedding I wanted and what I wanted it to look like. When we booked our venue, it really solidified my wedding vision (check out how it turned out on Style Me Pretty)

During our engagement I definitely felt an outpouring of love from family and friends at all the wedding related events and that was something so special and I'm grateful to have experienced. However, planning a wedding is not all cake tastings and ring shoppings, this comes with an incredible amount of stress- at a level I have never before experienced and sustained for such a prolonged period of time. SO.MANY.DECISIONS and people you'd like to make happy through this process. Even with all the stress, I loved planning our wedding. I really knew the feel and look I wanted the day to have and really enjoyed picking out every detail and component to create that experience. On that wedding day, when all of that stress melts away, you're left with this unbelievably gorgeous event filled with the people you love, a showstopping dress, hair and make up like you've never had before, but most importantly, this incredible spouse who is better than anyone you could have ever dreamed up!

My wedding day, image by Heidi Ryder

Watching my friends get engaged is such a great feeling and beyond exciting! Recently, one of my best friends and my maid of honor got engaged. This is an incredible couple who surprised us and their other friends at their New Years Eve party by announcing their engagement (from the week prior!) and I think I jumped out of my skin with excitement! I cannot wait to see her on her wedding day as I know she will be a BEAUTIFUL bride who is marrying a man completely deserving of her.

As a lifelong wedding lover, I am always happy to help my friends in anyway possible plan for their weddings. Last night S and I went to The Cream at the Book Bindery in Culver City which is hands down the wedding event of the year (really, no other wedding event tops this one). It was so much fun to drool over decor, meet new friends (Hi Amanda!), snack on nibbles and sweets, sip on cocktails, gawk at some seriously swoon worthy floral arrangements and tablescapes (if you follow me on Pinterest you know how much I love a good tablescape-- LOVE!), ooh and ahh over gowns, and spend the girliest of times with S. S is not the girl who had a wedding binder or who stayed up late talking with girlfriends about the kind of wedding she would want someday. While she has been with her fiance for years, she never really caught the wedding bug. But, now that a ring found it's way onto her finger, I can see the wedding sparkle come alive. I am excited about the creativity S is bringing when envisioning her wedding and I know this will be a wedding like no other with a bride like no other! 

Let's not end this on such a sappy note- you know I wouldn't leave you out in the cold and hold out on pictures from The Cream, enjoy and get ready to loose your mind!!!

Swoon worthy Florals and covet-able decor

 

I loved these mini arrangements of rannuculas by Twig and Twine

 
 

Hanging votives and chains

TINSEL CHANDELIER!!! Come to mama!

Enormous balloons from Geronimo Balloons

I flipped out for this wrapping scheme

Impressive Treats

Snow Cone of the tastiest variert from Sno-Con Amor

Mini pies and whoopies
from Simplethings

Gorgeous AND delicious cocktails from Pharmacie LA

I had no clue there were so many different kinds of bitters

Lasagna cupcakes from Heirloom LA

Yes, that's a cereal bar!

Cheese selections from Whoa Nelly

 

Only Coolhaus can make something like that actually taste good!

 First Class Vendors

Fabulous accessories from Ban.do

Registry suggestions from the Rue girls

Cakes to Die For

Have your cake and eat it too!
Cakes from Superfine Bakery

 

Typographical Treasures

Glorious calligraphy

Holy mother of invitation amazingness!
From Urbanic Paper

 

BHLDN Beauty

 Stunning EVERYTHING from BHLDN

 Dance off contest
by The Flashdance

Incredible Spaces

 

 

And...

A Killer Goodie Bag!

Have a wonderful weekend and a special cheers to the brides and the girls who just can't get enough of weddings!

Funny Girl Fashion

Angelina, Scar-Jo, Jennifer Hudson all know how to work the red carpet, this is a given! They also do seemingly well on their everyday looks. We can't all be Angie though and we can't all run out to St. John for our weekend wear.

I have found some fashion inspiration from some unlikely women recently. Funny women in particular, and one foodie woman. When I saw Tina Fey's hair at an awards show a few years ago I knew I wanted some variation of this to be my wedding hair.

Tina's Golden Globe 2011 Gorgeous Hair

My Wedding Day Hair

I always love what Gale Simmons wears on Top Chef, well  almost always, she has some off days, but she usually comes through for me. I love that she has a normal lady body and she works it with her bold prints and smart skirts.
Sleep was not in the cards for me one night last week, but luckily and Chelsea and I could get reacquainted. I love me some sassy Chelsea, but I also really loved her outfit! I knew I had to make it mine. Gloria Steinem's outfit, not so much, but you go Gloria!!

I really do love the thrill of the shop and this was a good one. So I took to my usual predictable online stores and I pieced it together! I already have camel shoes that will work, thank you Sole Society. (We will talk more about Sole Society another time, but if you haven't looked into Sole Society, please do!)

I found these pants on Banana Republic and thanks to an extra 30% off, I ended up getting the pants (which were already on sale) for $17.The Gap was also having a 30% off sale, and this sweater pulled it together.

Total outfit cost- $49+ existing shoes.

PS- After writing this post, I came across another blog by a blogger who also noticed Chelsea's cute outfit, detailing where she got each piece. I think I actually did a solid job of recreating the "look for less"- I hate myself just a little for saying look for less. Apologies, but there's just no other way of saying that! Do you have an outfit you want to recreate? Send it over and I'll do my sleuthing for you!