14k Gold, Princess-Cut, Diamond Stud Earrings

No jewelry wardrobe is complete without a classic pair of diamond stud earrings. Simple enough for daytime wear, yet radiant with evening attire, they offer sophistication and versatility all in one beautiful package. These classic studs, available in 14 karat white or yellow gold, showcase single princess-cut diamonds with a total weight of 1/3 carat held securely in four-prong settings. Detail

A Tec Petaja State Park Engagement Shoot

Our lovely couple, Tasha and Michael, are getting married in June of next year. We love them...they are such an adorable couple and we are having so much fun getting to know them!

Getting to work with Tec Petaja, one of our favorite photographers, has been a joy :) I love his use of natural light in these engagement pics. The tree shots are so intricate! Tasha has a huge love of trees that is definitely going to be incorporated into their wedding. The truth is, I could make a comment about each and every one of these pictures because they are all so amazing. But I think I'll just let you all enjoy them :)



One of my favorite shots...so gorgeous and simply moving.



Do you see what I mean with these trees? Unbelievable.






Thanks to Tec Petaja for sharing his work with us! We are having so much fun planning Tasha and Michaels big day, and can't wait to see how those pictures turn out, too!

My Happy Place

{Photo Credits: invitations from Martha Stewart Weddings, tea cups from Oh Joy!, flowers from frolic! via snippet & ink, church from Leo Patrone, pompoms from partypoms, garden chandelier from ssss, couple engagment shot from Stephanie Williams, cake from Martha Stweart Weddings, hairpiece from icing101, bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings, ribbons from frolic!, lanterns from tec petja, scarf from emilymaysparks, ceremony altar via joy thigpen and tec petaja.}

Hi there! I'm Stephanie Mello. I've been working with Heather for a while now and we both felt it was time I introduce myself to all of you lovely people :)

When Heather first asked me to put together an inspiration board as a way of introducing myself to the blogosphere, I had a minor anxiety attack. How could I put together just ONE inspiration board!? I love so many colors and am surrounded by beautiful inspiring elements all of the time! I don't want people to judge me based on this one board...will they know I like other colors, other styles?! And then I went to a happy place, which for me is my spot on the couch (we all have our own spots, don't we?) snuggled under a fleece blanket, cup of tea in hand, candles lit, and getting absolutely lost in a good book. As I was putting the book down to freshen my cup of tea, I looked up...and was so, incredibly comforted by the warmth I felt around me. The lamp shining from above lit up the yellowing pages of the book I had read a hundred times before, and the glowing light from the candles enveloped my entire apartment. Eureka! I had found enough inspiration to create my board to share with you all. It represents everything that brings me comfort...warmth, light and color...and I know on my wedding day, nothing would make me happier!

So there it is, out there for all to see, my first (of many I'm sure) inspiration board in ambers, golds, pinks and corals. I hope you enjoy it!

Peace, love and cookies.
-Mello.

P.S.
This is how I will be ending my posts, so you will all know when I'm posting and when Heather is :)

Need help on invitation wording?

There are so many decisions to make when planning a wedding it can really become overwhelming, even for the most organized of brides. Sometimes the most basic details surrounding your wedding can cause the largest headaches. One such detail is wedding invitation wording. Designing and creating the invitations is the fun part, but just trying to figure out a way to put it all into words and to make it personal to you ,can take lots of researching, writing and rewriting. The good news is, we just discovered a way to simplify the process. The Wedding Wording Wizard (say that 10 times fast!) is a tool developed by a company called Optimal Print. We love how it helps brides determine their invitation wording and only takes a few minutes to do!

When you go to the site, you fill out a mini questionnaire about bridal style, personal taste, reception plans etc., which allows you to customize the invite (names, your date, venue, time etc.). Then based on your answers it gives you the most fitting invitation wording to match your personality. Pretty cool, huh? Even if you don't do the exact wording it offers you, it's a great jumping off point, and will definitely help you get started...and we are big fans of anything that will make it easier on the bride and the decision making process.

To determine your wedding wording style go here!

invitation above by Inkylivie via etsy

home sweet home

Many thanks to Design Sponge for featuring our home today! It was truly an honor to be asked to be a part of their amazing and inspirational site and to be given the opportunity to share a little of my home and design with so many gracious and kind readers. Thank you for thinking of me Amy and the rest of the Design Sponge Team! It has been a great pleasure to hear of everyone's comments and reflect on the joy this home has brought us, especially as we are getting ready to move. It will not be easy to say goodbye .

Thought we would share some of the lovely photos taken by none other than Jamie Hammond Photography on our site as well, and some of our stories for posterity's sake....but for the actual post, much bigger pictures and guided tour head HERE.

[My husband Troy and I purchased our home 3 1/2 years ago in the San Elijo Hills (North San Diego County) area. At the time we had one little boy and it was a dream to be able to get started working on our home to make it our very own. Together we worked late into the evening as we pulled out carpet and replaced it with wood flooring, painted the walls from VERY high ladders, tiled the bathrooms and added crown molding and baseboards. I loved the fire place mantle my husband designed and built, as well as the wainscoting and French doors that were added on to what would eventually be our little girl's room. As a wedding designer, I wanted my home to be a reflection of my taste and style and a comfortable place for my brides to meet with me. We have found so much joy raising our family and making so many memories in the home that we have created.]

Our Family of Starfish

[My favorite thing in our home has to be our starfish that hang on our wall, representing our family. With each new child, on Father's Day, I wrap up a baby starfish to add to our wall, as a gift to my husband and our growing family. The children love looking at them everyday and pointing out which starfish is supposed to be them.]

my little Milla's room

[We wanted our little girl's room to be as bright and happy as she is, filled with lots of color and texture. One of my favorite things in her room is her little aqua table with stools. I love using small scale furniture that feels like it was made just for her. This is a favorite place for my children to sit and color or have snacks.]

[I also like to try to incorporate one element from each of the weddings that I have done into my home. It makes me happy to look around and be reminded of the beautiful brides that I have worked with and the special moments with them. In 2-year old Milla's room, a bright orange parasol from our "good fortune" wedding, hangs above Milla's crib. A handmade fabric bird and a birdcage from our " Lovebird" wedding perch on her shelf as custom made fabric snails from our "walk in the rain" photoshoot, crawl along her ledge, near the toadstool. I always encourage my brides to use things that can later be re-purposed to their home and serve as a lasting memory of their wedding day.]

my Finn's room

[Children's rooms are probably one of my most favorite elements of a home. They allow for a playful component in design and show that a little person with big personality lives there! My goal for creating my children's rooms was similar to my style of wedding design. I wanted it to be a space that was truly their own and reflective of who they are. My little guy, 4-year-old Finn, is already a musician and performer at heart. Like his daddy he loves guitars and we knew that we wanted to be able to encourage his talents and allow for easy access of his guitar, which sits right by his bed.]

[When I found a book that had a big black dog in it called "Sally Goes to the Beach" I knew that I had found the perfect element to add to his room. It combined our reoccurring subtle fish and beach element of our home with Finn's love for big black dogs that resemble our family dog, Kobie. I cut and framed pictures from it's pages to hang on his wall, which is a really inexpensive way to get art that you love.]

...many more happy times and design adventures to come in the next home. Thank you again Design Sponge.

xoxo, Heather

Ideas For Christmas DIY Wedding Invitations

Christmas is a magical time of the year. Planning a wedding at this festive time is a perfect idea. Everyone is in full festive spirit and ready to celebrate a joyous occasion.

The cost of ordering your invites from stationers can be very pricey. Once you have recovered from the shock of the quoted prices. You maybe start to think about making your own home made wedding invitations.

How about trying to make a Christmas tree design. Everyone can draw a tree, have a go. You know you have a creative side inside just waiting to surface. The tree can have decorations on each branch. The traditional colors of red and green still hold a special touch today in everyone's heart.

You can add a little creativity to the tree by choosing different colours to make your Christmas theme. Silver and white is a great choice as a color theme for the festive period. You may decide on having pink decorations on top of a pink tree. For the Goths there is a brilliant black tree with black and white decorations. Your color choice is endless.

A fantastic invite would be a normal square shaped card. Brides can choose to have a little header at the top of the wedding invitation with both names. You can also add the wedding date for a special touch.

You can make an amazing invitation by choosing a normal shaped card. A card which opens out to the side would be an ideal choice to start with to show off your unique invite. On the front of the card you can punch holes in various wintery shapes. A snowflake would be a good design to start with for your invitation. Insert a different colored wording on the inside of the border of the invitation to show your design off to its fullest. The special hole punches can be purchased from local supermarkets or craft shops.

Couples can choose a plain white card with a red border. This is a very elegant style and simple design to complete. The border can be plain red in colour or have a pattern. Both choices will wow the wedding guests.

Source : http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1386900338704492379

Funky, fun bridesmaids dresses

We so often get requests from brides who are looking for bridesmaids dresses that their friends can wear again. Let's face it...being a bridesmaid is not always an easy job, and it doesn't help if you have to do it all in a not-so-flattering dress, especially if that dress gets thrown in a closet to never see the light of day again. We just discovered Quail, a dress shop that just launched a new bridal line, and are LOVING their looks! Michelle's non-traditional bridesmaid dresses are funky and fresh; I particularly love the minty green color of this strapless "Toasting Dress," and the texture of the blue, florette "Peony Dress." So fun and girly!


Being young and playful, these dresses are great for our brides who are always so sweet and want their girlfriends looking fashionable and feeling pretty. The biggest advantage?...these looks could definitely become a fun party dress after the wedding!