Stay tuned for a fantastic photo shoot featuring Allure's floral and design talents! It's going to knock your socks off!

It's now official!

When I went home yesterday after a meeting with a new bride, I checked email and found my official The Knot logo for use on my site, listing Allure as "The Knot Best of Wedding 2010 Pick". So so grateful and thankful to all the brides who voted.

The Knot delivers great news!

The Knot magazine just announced that Allure was chosen by it's readers for their upcoming Best Of Weddings guide on the Central Coast! Such an honor as the selections come from past clients which means YOU voted for us. THANK YOU to all for your support and belief in Allure!

Meet Ashley Blake!

When a couple comes to me requesting recommendations for photographer's, one person in particular always comes to mind. Her name is Ashley Blake (A. Blake Photography) and she is awesome! She has shot some of the most amazing weddings I've seen and is such a asset and talent to the profession. My expectations (as a coordinator) of a photographer are very different from that of a bride and groom. I am looking for someone who is a team player, who strives to be the best at what they do, and who understands it takes an army of vendors to make the couples wedding day perfect. Ashley understands all that. In addition, she is one of those photographers that puts her clients at ease by her relaxed and gracious demeanor. She has a true passion for the art. I asked Ashley to share a little about herself with us..

Q. Who are you and what makes you FABULOUS?

A. I am a woman who loves people. I am a woman who loves being a mom to a beautiful baby girl who has the best giggle and big cheeks. I am a woman married to an amazing man with a heart like no other and a passion to serve. I am a woman surrounded by friends who have become family and support me in all I do. I am a woman who strives to love others the best I know how. I am a woman who loves coffee and the warmth of a coffee shop. I am a woman who loves family traditions for each holiday (especially Christmas). I am a woman who tries to use my talents to bless others.

Q. How did you get started in photography?

A. I joke with people that God blessed overnight with the love and growing talent for photography. All throughout college I had a passion for photography and would laugh that my dream job would was to be a wedding photographer...little did I know that it would come true. My husband bought me a film SLR camera for my birthday gift the year we got engaged (yes, it took all his savings) and it all sprung forth from there. I met an amazing photographer at a wedding where I was a guest and learned she was looking for an assistant...I jumped on the offer and was shaking at the thought. A year later another talented photographer in the area walked with me through my every growing learning curve and later hired me as his associate. I suppose the rest is history and here I am today.

Q. Why is an engagement session so important?

A. Engagement sessions break the ice and awkwardness of having a camera pointing in your direction. We have all experience when someone tries to take our picture and we duck or block the view of our faces...engagement sessions make us loosen up. I as the photographer learn more about how the bride and groom-to-be interact as a couple (what makes them laugh, get shy or even makes them feel silly). On the flip side, the couple learns how I work and how non-painful getting your picture taken can be. The best compliment I received from a camera-shy-groom was him saying, "That was not painful at all! I actually enjoyed myself." I also feel it is a time for a couple to relax and not feel the pressure of the wedding planning and just enjoy "being" together.

Q. What do you say to someone who isn't comfortable in front of the camera? What do you do to loosen them up?

A. I laugh as I write this since Miss Sweet Jenn is the very person who does not enjoy her picture taken! (She is right; I am NOT one for my photo taken!) Funnily enough, it's often photogenic people who are shy around a camera. In all honesty though, it's natural to not want to be captured on camera. My husband and I (of all people) were probably the couple my photographer was cringing at because of how nervous we both started out as. However, it is my job as the photographer to help facilitate a fun and peaceful environment that encourages a couple or individual to relax and feel at ease. I try my hardest to read the client(s) and see what helps them have that peace. If it's me chatting the whole time I shoot like I often do with teenagers in their senior pictures, I do it. If it's stepping back and letting the couple chat and recapture their wedding they just experienced and laughing at everything that went right and/or wrong, I do that. Truthfully, it's all about knowing my clients and them feeling comfortable with me (and my camera in my hand).

Q. What do you love about photographing weddings? What is your favorite shot(s)?

A. Weddings were always enticing to me because it truly is one of the happiest days of a couple's life. Yes, stress is present but there is such joy in a wedding. A bride glows. A grooms has a subtle smile of pride. And families celebrates the thrill of their group expanding. There definitely are certain couples that cause me to walk away myself with a giggle in my step and my heart spurring to capture more...that's why I love weddings.

My favorite shot of a couple has to when I capture them in utter laugher at each other and they have that moment where they forget a camera is close by. They are real. They are themselves.

Q. What do you feel is the difference betweeen a wedding with a coordinator and one without?

A. Talented coordinators who can balance efficiency with graceful communication are a blessing. A sense of teamwork with the various different vendors is promoted and everyone is working towards the goal of a perfect wedding for the couple. People know where they need to be when they need to be and a couple can truly enjoy the event they have been planning for months. Coordinators provide a filter for the couple so the million different last minute decisions and questions may be addressed without creating unnecessary stress for the couple. I know the weddings I shoot who have topnotch coordinators will run smoothly and I can see a difference in the couple's demeanor throughout the day.

Q. Share your funniest wedding story...

A. Funniest story...wow, where to start?! It's almost like telling my most embarrassing moment since I have a million...I think each wedding has some sort of humor to it. However, the first one that came to mind was a beautiful wedding I shot at the Mission in San Luis Obispo over three years ago. Both the bride and groom were a joy to be around and had a contagious laugher to them...I found myself laughing behind the camera. At the ceremony while the vows were being said, the groom in his strong, successful marketing voice repeated after the priest, "Jen, I take you as my awful wife." What?! The priest said "lawful wife"...the guests and bride all started dying laughing and the groom as a bit mortified but quickly corrected himself with a bashful expression. Immediately after the ceremony he asked the videographer to ensure that the slip up would be edited out, but later he realized the humor in it all and had it included. So grooms...it's lawful and not awful.

THANK YOU, Ashley, for sharing your thoughts and comments with us! Keep being the ultra professional you are!

Attached are some of Ashley's favorite moments captured in time. Enjoy!

{ Jennie and Brian 10.10.09 }

More "sneak peek" photos (all provided by the amazing Melissa Fitzpatrick) of Jennie and Brian's wedding this past weekend. Jennie wanted her wedding the have the feel of an upscale backyard BBQ without the BBQ!!!! She had a passion of dessert flowers, very rustic and unique, so ALLURE designed the floral around texturally intriguing elements all in rich reds and oranges. So awesome!

{ Jenn & Kevin 10.3.09 }

Just a few "sneak peak" photos from the very talented Jill at Allyson Magda photography. A rich fall color palette of scarlette red and burnt orange. More to come, but take a look at what ALLURE designed.....

A Midsummer Night's Dream.....

Villa de Buena Vista in Paso Robles played host to the romantic, stylish wedding of Liz and Joel.  Liz, an actress and Joel, a talent agent, the couple craved a wedding of simple elegance with a romantic flair.  The guests were escorted to the venue by local yellow school buses, but not before sipping on chilled cans of FLOOT champagne.  The brides love of yellow and purple translated into stylish floral designs featuring sunflowers and lavender, all of which were designed and created by Allure.  Their ceremony took place under an arbor drenched with branches, lush greens and plenty of sunflowers.  A vintage photo booth provided by Mike Larson Photography served as a main attraction during cocktails as the guests were treated to the music stylings of The Martin Paris Trio.  Multiple leaf wrapped votives provided ambiance on the guest tables as the guests dined on a multi-course dinner provided by Chef Charlie.  A song prepared and sung by the groom himself was a highlight of the evening as the bride was mesmerized and entranced by her groom.  A splendid evening of elegance, style and pure love.

This just in.....California Weds magazine features one of our weddings

Look for the article in the Summer edition of the wedding magazine.  The wedding featured was that of Dara and David Giffen, whose wedding Allure designed and coordinated in September of 2008.  I was such a fan and still am of Dara and David.  Such amazing people.  A special thank you to Ashley Blake of A. Blake Photography for all the photos and work in getting this wedding out there to pose as inspiration for other brides.  

Platinum Dreams

Lainy and Jesse's wedding was romance at it's finest.  With a ceremony under an aged oak tree litereally in the middle of a vineyard,  Allure designed a ceremony structure made from rustic wood and draped it with lush white organza fabric and crystals to add a touch of sophistication and elegance.  Allure designed the floral to reflect a fresh from the garden feel, so the bridesmaids carried a beautiful pomander ball of pink peonies and a handmade pearl and crystal handle. The bride's bouquet of white peonies, garden roses and pink peonies was so romantic.  An hour of cocktails  followed the ceremony on the lawn of Silver Horse Winery while munchies were passed by the very talented Trumpet Vine Catering.  Allure dressed the guest tables in a silky platinum lamour linen and designed a rustic moss runner accented with floral of soft pink garden roses, white Casablanca lilies and pink dendrobium orchids to accent the tables.  Soft antique white pillar candles and crystal globe candleholders from Allure created a romantic glow throughout the venue for guests to dine and dance to.  Kramer Entertainment up lit the room with lighting that changed from pink to blue throughout the evening.  The night was complete with a sparkler send off and sweets of doughnut holes and milk for the long drive home.  I love a good romantic wedding! 

Dinner under the Stars!

So meet Price and Amber Wilson.  When Amber and I met almost a year ago, plans for the wedding were pretty straight forward: 75 guests, in a barrel room at Summerwood winery, focus of the evening was the dinner and celebration with their guests. Needless to say, all that went out the window pretty quickly as their guest count slowly pushed us to move in a different direction due to lack of space in the barrel room for the additional guests. So, "Dinner under the Stars!" was created.  Handmade bamboo cabanas were designed and constructed and draped with elegant white chiffon fabric (all constructed and designed by Allure!)  We made two long rows of 6 king size banquet tables and constructed the cabanas to surround the guests as the dined. Each cabana shared a GORGEOUS chandelier and each table was decorated with two tall crystal and silver candleholders of Allure's.  Floral used were all white orchids of all types, including my favorite phaleonopsis, and were arranged and designed by Allure also.  We made a sweetheart cabana (a.k.a. the Love Shack) for Amber and Price which featured it's own chandelier along with extraordinary black paillette linens from Wildflower Linen.  The guests were treated to trendy stations for dinner, including a sushi stations, tapas station and a meat and mashed potato bar.  The wedding cake provided by The Cakery was showcased by it's own cabana too, and was certainly a focus for the evening.  After dinner, guests joined the happy couple in the lounge area complete with crystals, two black and white chaise lounges and pomegranit red uplighting.  Congratulations, Price and Amber, and THANK YOU both for allowing me the opportunity to create a one of a kind event for you.  I'm so glad you were pleased!  

Here is the ceremony structure for Amber and Price.  We tied each fabric draped post back with chartreuse orchid ties and lined the back of the arbor with crystals.  So lovely!  The guests showered the happy couple with white and green dendrobium orchid blooms as they left the alter.

It's been a while since I blogged, so forgive me if my writing is rusty!  It's been an amazing wedding season so far and I've been so blessed to have been working with some awesome couples.  Stay tuned for amazing photos!!

Love this!

I just love the simplicity of this photo that the talented Allyson Magda shot from one of my last weddings of the season.  Every time I look at it I find it so elegant. Thanks Allyson. 

Vintage Charm

What a great couple Angela and Tim were. I had such a good time working with them.  Angela was such an organized bride and made my job soooo easy.  The colors were eggplant and champagne with floral accents in shades of white and green.  Angela loved succulents and wanted a very earthy yet rustic and charming feel for the decor.  We grouped floral centerpieces in 3's and used vintage mercury glass vessels along with birch branch sleeves to complete the look.  A special thank you to the very talented Allyson Magda for these beautiful photos.  Allyson and her assistant, Jill, were great to work with.  Floral designed and arranged by ALLURE (yep, that's me!).  Take a peek..

Tiny tots with their eyes ALL aglow...

Much of the time I try to keep my family separate from my work, but this is just one of those times I have to share the love.  These are my girls:  Lauren (10, going on 16), Hannah (7), and little Gracie (3, we call her GiGi). These photos were from a shoot  the very talented Ashley Blake, of A. Blake Photography did for us over the holiday. She's so gifted and such a sweet person.  Thank you Ashley!

Merry Christmas to all....

I can hardly believe Christmas has come and gone.  It is so bittersweet for me. I love the rush of the holidays:  the baking of peppermint and chocolate ganache dipped sugar cookies (yep, it's true!), watching my children open all their presents and seeing the pure enjoyment in their eyes, and the endless flow of champagne while visiting with my closest friends.  I hope all of you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did.  

Here are a few photos of some holiday floral I did for a fantastic Christmas party for some friends.

Wine Country Love Affair

Meet Heather and Jim, a charming couple both originally from the mid-west who moved to southern California a few years ago. After taking a trip to Paso Robles on a short but sweet weekend getaway, they feel madly in love with the area and knew this was the place they wanted to bring their friends and family to celebrate and witness the start of their life together. The setting was Robert Hall Winery in Paso and the weather was phenomenal. The vineyards were rich in color, allowing for some of the most amazing photos of their day. They were married under a statuesque oak tree on the patio and treated their guests to an refined menu catered by Chef Jeffrey Scott, all the while listening to tunes orchestrated by Beau Kramer of Kramer Entertainment.  Floral all designed and arranged by ALLURE.  One of the best vintage photo booths I've seen was brought in by Mike Larson Photography and guests enjoyed taking mulitple trips to the booth to share their memories with Heather and Jim. Heather is obsessed with smores, so we handmade a chic smores with a flame that hovered over amber and black cut glass crystals. What a treat! Take a peek...

Rustic Spring Romance

It's the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up two very lovely girls, who met a man name Jeff with two kids of his own......Rachelle had two beautiful girls and met Jeff after being set up by a good friend. He had two children of his own, a boy and a girl, and they instantly fell in love. Every ounce of detail put into this wedding was a true reflection of their love for each other and complete acceptance of each other's children. The theme was based around a rustic vineyard evening setting and that's exactly what it turned out to be! The ceremony was marked by a pinky promise between families to love, respect, and always be each other's support for the rest of their lives. A vintage bird theme defined the kids area complete with handmade feather placemats and rich copper colored taffeta pillows that each child sat on. We used rustic brown galvanized containers that held colored pencils and paper so the kids could color during dinner. On the adult guest tables, copper linens were accented with grapevine place mats and distressed wooden boxes played host to floral in shades of red and orange (arranged and designed by Camilla Flowers). This was truly a remarkable event.

Phenomenal wine!

Elegance Perfected

When I first met Angela, she was overwhelmed with the details of her dream wedding. So many vendors, so many choices. She was about ready to head to Vegas and call it a wedding! After many hours together narrowing down her decisions, and guidance from Allure along the way, the day had finally come for her and Jeff to walk down the aisle. Blessed were they! Talk about romance. A horse drawn carriage, a superior meal from Chef Charlie, and awe inspired floral decor (all designed and arranged by ALLURE) were just a few of the ultra romantic details that defined their wedding. Thanks to the stunning photos taken by one of SLO's most talented photographers, Mark Nakamura, their day was complete. Take a peak!

One Enchanted Evening

What an amazing wedding this was! The couple was from L.A. and truly awesome people. You know when you first meet someone and you know your life will forever be changed by that first verbal exchange? That's what I felt with Dara and David. I've developed a life long friendship with them and my life is all the better for it. Dara knew what she wanted for her wedding, but just wasn't sure how to turn it all into reality. That's where I came in. I collaborated with her and we came up with the Old World theme for the wedding. The guests were treated to the local sounds of the latin/spanish quartet, Luna Guitana, from Santa Barbara while sipping on Harvest Punch and Paso Punch cocktails. The bride loved moss, so I designed a moss table for the olive oil place cards, which was a hit! The guests were then treated to the most amazing 5-course meal prepared by my catering hero, Chef Charlie. Kudos to Ashley Blake Photography for awesome photos!  The weather was lovely and the night a complete success!