Feature: Style Me Pretty.

It's been too long since I last posted.  Here's why:

1. I moved to Phoenix. (Yup, as in Arizona.)
2. I'm going back to school.  (For architecture and sculpture, Yippee!)

While this first change has been a bit of a tumultuous one for me, ultimately I am VERY excited about it.  It means I get to do #2 on the list, and support my husband and live near his family and all that good stuff.  It is my hope that these additional degrees will just make me better at this wedding and event design stuff, so if you think Chandra Abel Designs is going anywhere, fear not!  I will be back!  (I'm not really going anywhere in the first place, but you smell what I'm cookin'.)  If you have a wedding in California or Arizona, call me.  I'm still as in love with flowers as ever.  Now the day I get to combine it with architecture and sculpture... well that will be a happy day.

Now onto the equally exciting stuff... for me, anyway.

Our wedding was featured in Style Me Pretty this morning!  To quote Ferris Buller, for brides and many of us in the industry, "it is so choice."  I've checked it daily, if not multiple times a day, for inspiration both business-related and personal.  It sounds vain I suppose, but from the get-go it was a goal to be featured here.  Mission accomplished!  But not without the guidance of the All You Need Is Love ladies, and of course, the amazing talent that is Christine Chang.

So lookie here!  I am thilled and honored to be a part of the weddings on Style Me Pretty.

Weddings by 4120.

The two biggest regrets I would always hear from former brides, and not in this order, were 1. "I wish I would have worn a veil," and 2. "I wish we would have hired a videographer."  The veil part was easy, but I didn't know that we would really want or need a videographer until I came across the 4120 boys via Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book of Vendors.  After looking at some of the previews from other weddings they've done, I began to realize that the photos and video of the day is really all that you get to hang on to after the fact.  And Holy Moly, does it go by in a flash.  And while I couldn't be more in love with our photographs (and our photographer!), having video of our day makes it so easy to relive the moment, and will be a joy to share with our children one day.

These guys were awesome.  Matt, Matt, and Steve (Matt #2 not pictured) were personable but not the least bit intrusive; in fact, we had many guests that didn't even know we had videographers at all.  This is the only shot our photographer got of them all day.  And the guests who did notice them (my new sister-in-law in particular) want to be their new best friend.  

Here's the preview edit from our day - who knew it could be summed up so beautifully in just over three minutes?  They did, apparently.  Here's the link to their blog, in case you'd like to see more samples of their work.

We will be eternally grateful to Matt, Matt, and Steve for what they've created for us.  And we can't wait to see the full edit!

I'm a Mrs!

Wow.  What a crazy month its been.  The biggest emotion I've felt over these past few weeks is gratitude.  Tony and I are so lucky to have had such generous support not just from family and friends, but from our vendors as well.  Our wedding is an experience that we will remember forever, and I can honestly say that it holds some of the best moments of our lives.  Sure we had hiccups... who doesn't... but they were small and went unnoticed; and the most important parts - our love and the love of our family and friends - were the focus.  Not much more you can ask for.

Yet we were lucky to have so much more.  I have very heartfelt thank yous for all of our vendors.  They worked SO hard, at a venue that was definitely not an easy one, with a bridal party of TWENTY PEOPLE (All You Need is Love = Cat Wrangler), and a bride in the industry who wanted everything perfect.

Tony and I are in the process of packing up and moving, so I'm going to keep this entry short and point you in the direction of Christine Chang.  She and her second shooter, Carla Choy, captured moments I had no idea they noticed.  I have been a fan of Christine's for quite a while (I stalked her blog before I was officially engaged and claimed I was doing business research), so I knew what she shot would be beautiful, but she still managed to blow me away.  Here is a link to her blog, and below is the slide show preview she put together for us.



Talented, eh?

I'll end it there, but I'll be back soon to give each vendor their due praises.  Back to packing!

Renegade this weekend!

Hey terrarium lovers!  Planted will be at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend (July 9th and 10th) in San Francisco at the lovely Fort Mason.  I'll be right down the middle at booth #97.  Come say hello!  (L.A. next weekend at Historic Park outside China Town :)

Pelican Hill.

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of doing the flowers for Chris and Vincent's Pelican Hill wedding.  The way we decided on everything was a little unconventional, as I was never able to meet the beautiful couple in person (not even on the day; the coordinator picked up the personal flowers from me while I was setting up the reception).  I did get to meet the bride's mother prior to the wedding, and Chris and I emailed a few times to work out details.  These photos were taken by their photographer, Brian Khang, who captured the day beautifully.  Check out his blog to view more examples of his work.  

                        

The Well-Mannered Wedding.

We all remember Emily Post's books on the rules of wedding etiquette.  Her daughter, Peggy (who also has a few books published on the same matter) has started a Q&A blog via The Times answering and discussing reader's questions on such touchy subjects as who on your guest list gets a plus one.  I know I'll be a regular reader.  I expect the possibility of some of the information to be a bit outdated and stringent, but this first entry was pretty spot on in my book.

Photo Credit: The Legacy Boutique
Bouquet and boutonniere by Yours Truly

All You Need Is Love. Seriously.

This week was a great week in the planning realm for me.  I found a team of coordinators that I am THRILLED to be working with.  Vikki and Shannon of All You Need Is Love are two amazing planners, and I could not be happier that they are going to help me with The Day.   Vikki was a bride of mine last September (with the same wedding day as me and T!); a couple of her wedding photos can be seen in this post.  After talking to them this week, I immediately felt an overwhelming sense of trust and I know it in my gut that these two are going to kill it.  In every good way of course.  This is a definite scenario where two heads are better than one.  Here's how they operate: 

Vikki stays on site for the wedding from the very beginning, making sure that each detail looks right and keeping vendors on track.  I feel so lucky to have someone I can pass all of the decor responsibilities off to.  As a wedding florist that's not easy for me to do, but now I know that I can basically transfer all of the minute details from my brain to hers, and she will make it happen.  Shannon will stick by my side all day, making sure I get to where I'm supposed to going gracefully (and on time of course) and that I have everything I need while doing so.  She will be there to protect my experience of the day - a stress shield if you will.  In my head I picture her throwing her arms up like Wonder Woman deflecting potential anxiety heading my way.  And with a total of 20 (twenty!) people in our wedding party, I'm going to need it.  I love my girls almost as much as I love my future hubby - but no matter how you slice it, that's a lot of people to wrangle, and herding cats is not my forte.  If any of you engaged folks are in need, I strongly suggest getting in touch with them.  At the very least you should check out their blog where you can find lots of helpful little tidbits and ideas.  Happy planning!