Happy Birthday Mom

     Those of you who know us, also know our Mother, Lynne Wheeler.  She is a class act...to say the very least.   We bought her, her first pair of jeans a few years back and she will only wear them horse back riding.  She is always dressed to impress, and never disappoints. 

at Sacs Fifth Ave. where they had cake and champagne waiting for her (last year)!  In Alexander McQueen.

     She has a beautiful heart for philanthropy, and has even won an award for her volunteer work in San Diego.

At the Patrons of the Prado Gala.  Mom's in Nicole Miller...we have a lot of fun.

     She even makes canoeing and inner-tubing look good.  On the lake one summer our family went canoeing...I was with Dad, and Jess was with Mom.  Mom decided that it was more like a Disneyland ride, and less like a participation sport, and so Jess was left to row alone.  Dad yelled over to her, "Lynnie, you're nothing but dead weight." To which our Mother responded with a smile, "Glamorous dead weight."

Mom, 
  You are one tough act to follow.  Thank you for everything you have taught us about life, love, fashion, hair, makeup, and to not take yourself too seriously.  You make us laugh everyday, and we love you so very much! Happy Birthday Mom! We get more like you every year, so our future is looking fabulous! 

LLLove,
Jen and Jess

We're Off To Las Vegas!

     In honor of our fabulous Mother, we are off to her favorite place...Vegas! We have shopping, shows, fine dining, champagne, and cake in our near future.  All to celebrate the birth of the one and only, Lynne Dunahoo Wheeler.  We can't wait!

     We are so excited we even put together a mini shopping guide...


Vegas Day Time Look:

   Some comfortable wedges for walking, plus fun spring/summer colors, and you are set for where ever the day might take you.

Mango stretch jeans

$40 - placedestendances.com

Joe's wedge sandals

$245 - nordstrom.com

Nine west handbag

$59 - ninewest.com

Mango sheer scarve

$29 - mango.com

Madewell straw fedora

$58 - madewell.com

Round sunglasses

$369 - lagarconne.com

Vegas Night Time Look:

    In Vegas the heels are higher, the skirts are shorter, and everything sparkles.  Try a neutral sequin dress, and add a pop of color with a bright pashmina or purse.

Sequin dress

$30 - alloy.com

Lipsy dress

$175 - lipsy.co.uk

Sequin dress

$32 - fashionunion.com

Alexandre Birman strappy stiletto heels

$475 - brownsfashion.com

Christian Louboutin wedding shoes

christianlouboutin.com

Rebecca minkoff handbag

$250 - stefanibags.com

Diane von Fürstenberg clutch handbag

$345 - intermixonline.com

Alexander McQueen clutch handbag

$3,145 - couture.zappos.com

Reed Krakoff genuine leather handbag

$1,990 - reedkrakoff.com

Marchesa jeweled clutch

$3,902 - boutique1.com

Mango scarve

$29 - mango.com

PASHMINA ART cashmere scarve

$54 - pret-a-beaute.com

     Don't worry, what happens in Vegas won't stay there.  We will have a full report when we get back.




LLLove,
Jen and Jess

From Inspiration to Reality: Dessert Table

     

     For my wedding, I had a lot of ideas . . . I mean a LOT!  I had a binder of about 20 different themes, color palettes, and ideas.  If this sounds like you, don't be discouraged.  As soon as you sit down with your future hubby and discuss what you want the feel and the look of your big day to be, you will be able to edit and simplify!  Also, your venue will definitely dictate your decor and color palette, after all, you want your wedding to compliment the venue not compete with it.

     Now, when it came to decor, I had a lot of craft projects I wanted to do.  At one point I even wanted to make a life size chess set for the cocktail hour (that quickly got vetoed).  One of the biggest projects I had on my list was to build a wall display to serve as a backdrop behind the dessert table. Our lovely wedding coordinator Wynn, from Wynn Austin Events, and her assistant Janice said they could make this for me if I told them what I wanted.  

     I have always loved the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica, and they have this fabulous plate wall . . . 

. . . So I e-mailed Janice the pictures above, and said I wanted a gray antiqued wall with white plates.  Next, I found some great shabby chic plates at T.J. Maxx for about $3 each, and dropped them off.

. . . here is how it turned out . . .

     As for the table decor, we rented linens from Wildflower Linens, and reused some of the flowers from the ceremony.  Also, my fabulous Auntie Mae knew how much I love topiaries and brought a few for us to use.  I found the "Love is Sweet" banner on Etsy, and I made half the bud vases (see the DIY here), the others I bought at Save On Crafts.  The rest of the plates and cake stands I found online or at T.J. Maxx.  Below is a little buyers guide.

     

1. "LOVE IS SWEET" Glitter Banner by Funkyshique, $36

2. Rosanna Footed Round Bowl, $50

3. 14" Silver Square Cake Stand, $89.99

4. Petite Flour Wood Crate and Bud Vases, $8

     I was contacted a lot about where I found everything for the dessert table, so I hope this helps!  But feel free to comment or contact us with any questions!

LLLove,

Jess

photos via Studio Castillero, and Pinterest.

DIY: Doily Mason Jar Vases

     For all of you lovely "Non-DIY" ladies out there, this is an extremely easy and cute DIY!  For my wedding I collected a lot of glass bottles (I mostly used Coconut Water Kefer glass bottles), cleaned them out and then used them as bud vases.  I learned that it was cheaper to use a lot of bud vases for florals (and pay $1 a flower), instead of multiple mini flower arrangements.  Next, I wanted to make the bottle cute, so just added doilies and twine.


     Below are the same steps I did using mason jars.  This is super easy, anyone can do it!  Also, if you want to use the mason jars again, try using Glue Dots instead of a glue gun.

Step 1:  Gather your materials.  You will need, your jars or bottles, a hot glue gun or glue dots, doilies, scissors, and twine or ribbon.

Step 2:  Put a dot of glue (you don't need much) on the back of each doily, and place them on either side of the mason jar/bottle.

Step 3:  Tie the twine/ribbon around the bottle.

Make sure to check out our Dessert Table post to see some of the doily vases in use here!

LLLove,

Jess

DIY: Wine Bottle Table Numbers

    photo via True Photography

     Jen wanted a preppy shabby chic feel for her wedding, with a lot of homemade touches.  So I found some free number stencils on the fabulous Wedding Style Guide (you can download them here), cut the numbers out with an x-acto knife, and got to it!


MATERIALS:
~ Number stencils (download them for free here)
~ Painters tape (to hold down the stencils)
~ Double sided tape
~ Paper (I used a roll of kraft paper from Home Depot)
~ White paint
~ Loose glitter
~ A sponge (I actually cut a square from my moms dishwashing sponge - hey, use what you've got)
~ Q-tips (for cleaning up the edges after stenciling)
~ Spray adhesive
~ Doilies
~ Buttons
~ Hot glue gun
~ Ribbon

     Also, here is a little crafting tip our fabulous friend Leslie told us about!  She found rolls of kraft paper at Home Depot in the "Painting Department" for super cheap (way cheaper then at a craft store).  I bought a huge roll for about $10.00, and I found another roll about the size I needed for the wine bottles for around $2 . . . . score! . . . seriously, it made my day -- it's the little things!

STEP 1:   I stenciled all of the numbers and sprinkled clear glitter dust on the wet paint, then touched up any smudged edges of the numbers with Q-tips.  Next, I cut some small doilies into halves, sprayed them with spray adhesive (over a large section of newspaper - you'll be surprised how far that spray travels), and laid them out over night to dry.

STEP 2: Using double sided tape, we wrapped the table numbers onto the wine bottles.  Then, using a hot glue gun, we added little buttons down the back.

STEP 3: Lastly, we tied gingham bows (to go with Jen's theme of "Gingham & Lace") on the necks of the bottles.

... and here are some shots from the wedding ...

photos via True Photography

     The idea was to have usable table numbers, so that after the guests found their seats, the servers could pour the wine and then clear the empty bottles, leaving a cleaner look.
     
     However, they were so cute, the servers thought the table numbers were part of the decor and never opened them.  So I collected them at the end of the night and stored them in my parents wine closet.  Now Jen and Brandon have a bottle of wine from their big day for their first 19 anniversaries! 




LLLove,
Jess

Words to Live By

source

     Jen and I have been thinking a lot about our mom this week, because her Birthday is on Friday!  Not only that, but we are celebrating in Vegas (one of her favorite places to party).  She loves the shopping, all the shows, and loves the dueling piano bars.  Our mother is an extremely smart and talented woman, who is always dressed to the nines.  She is very quotable herself, and one of my favorite "Lynneisms" is, "I'm always overdressed, and always underestimated."
     For example, she is a huge football fan, but she goes to games usually in a pants suit with a fur collar.  I found this quote and thought it was a perfect way to describe our mother.  She is full of life and joy, and loves to celebrate with those she loves around her...and she always looks good doing it!  Happy almost Birthday Mom!

Love,

Jess

And Thank You Style Me Pretty

     We have yet another fabulously styled Hunger Games Wedding! This time by the always impeccable, Style Me Pretty.

To see the full post click here.

LLLove,

Jen and Jess

3,2,1...0 ~ Happy Hunger Games Opening!

via here

In honor of the long awaited "Hunger Games" movie opening, 

we put together a little outing...A day of Archery!

and you can't have an outing without treats...

     I made cute arrow ends out of red construction paper and cake pop sticks, and bought cupcakes from the delicious Thyme Cafe in LA.  Then I put together a little "survival kit" including candy for the movie, and wipes to keep clean.  The candy was movie themed with Warheads, Lifesavers, and Razzles (because everyone at this outing was definitely "13 going on 30")....

Brooke Marston, Brooke Lyons, Elena Bondar, Jen, Jess got called into work and couldn't make it.

Once we were hair and makeup ready...

...it was time to shoot!

     The range we found has free beginner classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and it is actually one of the ranges that Jennifer Lawrence used to train for the movie!!  Extra awesome points for Woodley Park Archery!

Lawrence and her trainer, Olympian Khatuna Lorig

After we had conquered archery, there was nothing left to do but see the midnight showing of "The Hunger Games".

And the movie...bullseye!!

LLLove,
Jen

Wedding Planning 201: Now What?

Wedding Planning 201: Now What?

     So, you've talked about budget and guest list size.  You've solidified your venue, and you've found a photographer.  You started a dropbox account (post about dropbox as a wedding tool here)...now what?  (If you don't have any of those things please read our Wedding Planning 101 post.)


     The next big items to check off your list are: florist, caterer, wedding dress, Save the dates, invitations, rental companies (tables, chairs, linens), DJ or band, and officiant (if your officiant is through a faith based organization, you may be required to take premarital classes).  Yes, there is more on the list, but break it down and tackle one set of goals at a time.  Get referrals from the venue and photographer you already have, and from friends who have just gotten married.  Everyone has people that they enjoy working with, and if you love your photographer, chances are you will love the vendors they do.  


     Research online first.  Take the lists of vendors you have found online, or through referrals and check them out.  See if you like their style.  Narrow it down to your top 3 or 4 vendors in each category, and then set up interviews with them.  Choosing vendors can sometimes feel like speed dating.  You drive around town all day talking to these wonderful people, who all have amazing and creative ideas, and then you have to choose one of them.  When Brandon and I (Jen) chose our vendors, we sent "break up" letters to the vendors that we didn't go with.  Yes, the choosing process can be trying, but you have to go with your gut...and once it's over, then you get to start planning!


     One of the most fun parts of planning is picking a wedding dress (see our dress post here).  Make sure you leave ample time to find a dress, as most boutiques require the dress to be ordered 6 months in advance.


     Set up a calendar with goals on it.  "Save the Dates" should go out 6 months before the wedding date, or 1 year, if it's a destination wedding.  Invitations should go out 3 months before the wedding date, etc.  Once you have dates set, with tangible goals attached to them, you can start to wrap your head around this whole wedding thing.


Sound Overwhelming?...
     
     There are a lot of wonderful resources out there to help you plan your wedding.  Websites like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings will give you a very detailed list of what to do, and when to have it done by.  All you do is enter your wedding date, and it gives you a very comprehensive list that will take you right up to walking down the aisle.


     There are also many magazines you can pick up, but you will quickly find that most of them are filled with ads only, and very little advice.  The best magazine I found, as far as usefulness and information, was Real Simple Weddings.  They have really simple worksheets that break down how much of your budget should go to each piece of your wedding, and wonderful advice on everything from budget, to dress styles and fits, to etiquette.  


Still Overwhelmed?...


     You might want to look into a wedding planner.  Wedding planners come in all shapes and sizes.  You can have someone to take you through every single step, so you never have to worry about anything.  (Some even design and build custom decor.)  You can have someone come in a month out and tie up all the loose ends, and take care of it from there on out.  You can have someone just the week of, or day of, that makes sure your day goes off without a hitch, and that all of your friends and family (and you) can actually get to enjoy it.  We strongly suggest you at least spring for the last one.  Having a point person, that is not a part of the wedding party or family, is so important to everyones enjoyment of the day.  On your wedding day someone should be holding a clipboard, and it shouldn't be you. 


     One word of caution with hiring a planner...some planners work for a percentage of your overall budget, which means if you go over budget, they get more money.  It protects them because as your budget grows, so does their work load, but weddings always cost more then you think they are going to, so be carful about getting doubly penalized for over spending.  If you are worried about going over budget, it may be in your best interest to hire someone with a set rate.  At the end of the day it is all up to you.  Do things at a pace that works for you, and choose the people that you feel the most comfortable with.


I hope that helps.  Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail us at linenlaceandlove@gmail.com if you have any questions! 


LLLove,
Jen and Jess


{photo via here}