Summertime Wedding Inspiration

We had the absolute privilege to work with Jessica Claire again this year. I'm telling you, everything she touches is golden. Her photography is absolutely stunning and makes our design look that much better. Thank you Jessica for allowing us to assist in your workshop!

Because the workshop was in June, the start of summer and in this rustic park - we wanted the theme of the shoot to reflect the surroundings. The park felt very camplike - so we started there. We were inspired by camping, all things summer, gingham, popsicles, fireflies, fun colors, rope and various textures.

Ask anyone - I was obsessed with using these darn popsicles. They were packed in an ice chest, and I prayed they would last. As you can see, just barely. :)

Hannah with Modern Bouquet always does an incredible job bringing our vision to reality. The whimsical florals were such an elegant touch to the table. She also hand made a rustic chandelier for the ceremony area that was hung from an arch, that came from Found Rentals.

Jeni from Found provided an amazing collection of furniture for the shoot. She is incredible to work with and has such a fantastic selection of pieces at her vintage rental warehouse.

Anytime we get the chance to create a an element of design that may be hung over a tablescape – we take advantage! We attached various styles of rope to the Oak Tree, along with the left over fabric to create an eclectic and fun looking rope chandelier.

Our goal was to take the rustic atmosphere & theme but create an elegant space. We love the idea of mixing textures and patterns. Gingham and vintage floral prints began to paint a vision. We made a custom peach and tangerine floral printed table runner and navy gingham napkins. Posh Paperie created adorable place card flags that were secured in fresh pieces of summer fruit – cantaloupe!

All the wedding signs were a beautiful combination of the two patterns. In order to off set the rustic environment, we used navy blue fine china, and then spray painted plastic plates as homemade chargers. A less expensive way to add color and another fun element to your table.

We really love summer fruit - especially cantelope. It played into the table decor and the color was the perfect 'pop'!

A small campfire area made up of various lanterns was created & included benches, a hammock, peanuts to snack on and a even a game of Bingo.

Melody, from Sweet & Saucy Shop created a cake table with 3 alternating sizes of cake, two of which had toasted marshmallow frosting! We designed a hand dyed tulle curtain backdrop for our cake table. The lighting created a beautiful focal point.

Katie and Ryan Scott are a real life couple. In fact, she too is a fantastic photographer. They were the perfect models, and so very lovely!

A BIG thank you to Jen at Green Wedding Shoes for featuring the shoot here!

Vendor Team:

Event Design/Styling: Carter & Cook Event Co.
Flowers: Modern Bouquet
Paper: Posh Paperie
Cakes: Sweet & Saucy Shop
Furniture Rentals: Found Rentals
Hair Pieces & Shoe Clips: Rachel Larraine
Hair: The Mermaid Salon, Kim Lilly
Make up: Color4Casting, Jessica Arredondo
Photography: Jessica Claire

Jessica Claire Styled Workshop: Peek.

Two weeks ago we had the privilege of styling one of Jessica Claire's photography workshops in Orange County. As always, it was such a fun process and we were able to pull together a dream team of vendors to pull off our summertime shoot.

Here is just a peek at two photos from the shoot, and a little inspiration board we went off of.

[For the life of me, I cannot figure out where several of the inspiration photos came from, so if it's yours, please do let me know!]

Yep, those 'Sex and the City' shoe clips are pretty hot right? Thanks to the ultra hip accessory designer Rachel Larriane, our bride was totally decked out.

More of the summertime shoot coming really soon!

Love,

Ashlyn+Heather

C&C

DIY Projects: Button Brunch!

As we wrap up the fun shoot we did with Wedding Chicks, I thought it would be fun to highlight the few DIY projects that happened to create some of the fun details for the tablescape.

The button garland was certainly a labor of love, but worth every minute of it. It's hard to envision this garland simply by the photos alone. In person, the button garland really made the space fun and unique!

We ordered lots of various buttons off etsy, and found several others at Michael's. We bought a larger yellow spool of thread used for quilting, and got to threading one button at a time. The tricky to part to this is making sure the garland doesn't get tangled up in a mess!

We made several strands of garland with the various colors and shapes of buttons. Make sure you have a beam, or some sort of overhang to tie your garland to. We decided to swoop it in various heights and layers over our table.

The 'favors' for this brunch were individual recipe boxes. We found plain wooden boxes at Michael's, and wrapped the yellow string around it several times, attached a few of the buttons on all sides of the box, and of course a darling Ink and Button fascinator to finish the touch. We also used them as a place card at each guests seat.


The table linens were hand made. We always have the hardest time finding just the right fabric for our tables. We found the delicate and girly floral printed fabric at Joann's, as well as the very fine stripped tangerine and cream linen, which was turned into the table runner.

The floral overlay fit just perfectly, and to add a fun touch, we sewed a cream fringe around the entire border of the linen. The table runner was hand sewn, and on the ends of the runner we glued {because it's just way faster} dozens and dozens of the buttons to tie in our theme.

Thank you again Amy and the Wedding Chicks! To see and read more about the shoot, please visit the 3 part feature on Wedding Chicks, here, here and here! Special thanks to Jessica Claire for all the photos!

A Brunch Inspired Engagement Shoot.

This is the first time we've ever used models for a shoot, and I must say, it added a whole new dimension. It was fun and really brought life to our ideas! Amy from the Wedding Chicks wanted us to design an engagement shoot inspired by our button brunch.

Katie and her hubby Ryan have been married for a few years, and their love for one another certainly showed in their photos. They were comfortable with each other and just plain cute!

We wanted our 'bride' Katie to wear a dress we found at Anthropologie. It had tangerine polka dots and a fun bright belt that tie in the colors we used earlier at the brunch shoot. We ordered a fun bow tie off etsy, but it didn't arrive in time! So the night before Heather whipped up a handmade bow tie with the extra material from our table runner. It was really perfect, and I am so proud of her....and thankful she's on my team for mad skills like that. ;)

Katie wore an Ink and Button hair piece, that was attached to her recipe box favor earlier that morning!

The shoot was set with a few different sheets for blankets and color, two of the bistro chairs we had used earlier, an old wood box, a cookbook and lots of fun baking supplies! The Floral Lab designed a fabulous bouquet made up of bright yellow acacia for Katie to hold. It was seriously fabulous! We wrapped the button garland around the bouquet to show those fun buttons!

This shoot is perfect for the little homemaker to be. Erica O'Brien baked us up some adorable colorful sugar cookies shaped like buttons.

Note to brides: When styling your engagement shoot, first, come up with a theme. Your outfits should reflect your theme and the colors. Bright colors always photograph nicely, and bring life into the photos.

Fun objects such as a clock, cookies, a handmade bouquet, furniture or even a fun and unique setting will make those photos pop! But best of all, you will have pictures of you and your love that you will cherish forever.

We really enjoy styling. Shoots, weddings, engagement sessions - you name it! Consider Carter & Cook to help style your engagement shoot as well!

Love,

Ashlyn + Heather

C&C

Bridesmaid Brunch [inspired by yellow and buttons!]

Amy from the Wedding Chicks was looking for someone to design a bridesmaid brunch photo shoot for a Wedding Chicks blog feature on bridal shower ideas. We quickly jumped at the opportunity! Why? Because we love The Wedding Chicks, and we had been dreaming up brunch ideas for some time now.


The team we were able to work with was truly incredible. First off, we had the chance to meet, and have the table shot by the amazing Jessica Claire. She is a hilarious, sweet girl who had us laughing the entire day...and her work is amazing!! Thank you Jessica for the beautiful images. You are the best! Jessica is actually the brain that came up with the two words, yellow and buttons, that inspired this entire shoot!

The Floral Lab....sigh. We love Leigh Anne. If you need a florist, she is your gal. Her ideas, creativity and talent are inspiring, and every time we work with her, she pulls our vision together seamlessly. She used kumquats!? I die...


Paper and Thread did all the paper: the invitation, the place cards, menus, recipes, and the Cute as a Button sign. Lori is the sweetest. She is not only creative and has a talent to match, but she is just so fun and kind! She was willing to go above and beyond her duty with the darling paper suite, and help Heather and me with any of the other crafty projects. Lori, thank you!!



Erica O'Brien pulled through with 5 knock-you-off-your-feet cakes. They were beautiful! She also made the adorable button sugar cookies for the engagement shoot that afternoon. Erica is insanely talented and if you need a cake that screams perfection, hire Erica.

Those buttons are fake. Yep, it's all fondant. Can we say, awesome?!



Did you notice those incredibly perfect felt flower pieces on our recipe boxes? Or the one our adorable 'bride' Katie wore in the esession shoot? Those lovelies were by one of our former brides Lisa Raser, creator of Ink and Button. We love our brides, and we love when they turn their passion and talent into something beautiful! Lisa, thank you again!!! Those were quite the hit!



The photo shoot was held at Cafe Mimosa in San Clemente. They were so kind to let us set up before the restaurant opened and hang hundreds of buttons from their ceiling. By the way, the mimosas are bomb!

Thank you Classic Party Rentals for the cute bistro chairs! The stemware and mugs were from Anthropologie and our cute shabby chic plates were from TJ Maxx at $4 a piece!


Would you look at these beauties?! Three of the four models are photographers. Katie from Katie Neal Photography, Rachel from Studio Casillero ,and Lauren Bullock in from Bullock Productions. Thank you ladies for looking pretty. All the bridesmaids wore dresses from Ruche. If you haven't checked out their online shop, you must now! They have darling and affordable clothing!

Thank you to Design Visage for the hair and make up. You're awesome!

We'll be back soon with more DIY ideas, crafts, and the brunch inspired engagement shoot!

Love,
Ashlyn + Heather
C&C

Sneak Peek.

We just wrapped up a super fun photo shoot yesterday for the ever so popular blog, Wedding Chicks. I can't wait to share more of the details...but until then, here is just a peek of what's to come. Oh what a fantastic day it was, and we had the privilege of working with the incredible Jessica Claire. Enjoy!

Source: Jessica Claire