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.

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!