inspiration // chandeliers

Y'all love chandeliers, right?  Of course you do.  Duh.

In planning for an upcoming project I have with a few of my favorite fellow Ventura County wedding pros (we've got big news in the works!), I've been perusing all shapes, sizes, and styles of chandeliers on (you guessed it!) Pinterest. 

Feast your eyes, friends!  And if you're in the market for some dangling light fixtures, keep an open mind: chandeliers really do come in a variety of packages.


A couple of favorites (both prints on my walls!) from photographers Myan Soffia and Elle Moss
LOVE the Anthro vibe of these vintage-inspired lovelies from Recyclart.   A dramatic chandelier is always a good bet for adding a glam or "wow" factor to wedding styling (all four images from Style Me Pretty).  

What is your favorite style of chandelier -- do you prefer classic and traditional, modern and contemporary, reclaimed and unexpected?

 

life // lately.

Umm wow.  So I didn't really intend for "it's my birthday this weekend" to mean "I will disappear from blogging for a week."  Yikes.

Here's a rundown of what I've been up to the last few days!

On Saturday, we ended up having to reschedule a blogger brunch which was a bummer, but at least I got to see Julie (and finally meet her sweet pooch, Penny!).  Despite having a migraine, Julie ran out and got us bagels and lattes, and we had a lovely couple of hours together just shooting the breeze (mostly blogging and weddings, duh) in her kitchen.

Mini (i.e. just the two of us, haha!) blogger brunch at Julie's (image courtesy of Julie's Instagram)!

After Julie's, I went to Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills to photograph an engagement session.  Photographers: if you've never done a shoot at Paramount, I highly recommend it, but you do need to get yourself a permit.  Betrothed couples in Southern California: get your engagement photos taken at Paramount Ranch!  It is such a great location with countless options.  Kimmy and Chris and I had such a blast; here's a peek at Kimmy's engagement ring with one of my vintage cameras.

On Sunday (my birthday!), I went down to Orange County to do another engagement session, this time for my amazing friend Shannon (we studied abroad together in Paris in college!) and her awesome fiance Peter.  We had SO much fun, and while technically, yes, I was "working" on my birthday, I honestly can't think of a better way to have celebrated my 29th year.

The benefit of photographing good friends is that drinks are usually involved, and we definitely indulged in some Bloody Marys, champagne, and beer in between locations.  :)  I can't wait for their wedding in October (which will be photographed and filmed by Turned Wedding Films) in Sonoma County.

How cute are they?!  And would you guess for a second that they were nervous about our shoot?  Yeah, I don't buy it either.

After the sun went down, Shannon and Peter took me out to dinner for an impromptu birthday celebration at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and I got a surprise visit from my dear friend, Beau!  It was a very good birthday.

The next night, my parents took me out to dinner.  I have this kind of weird obsession with Red Robin and it's become a birthday tradition for me to go there for dinner.  Between the steak fries, the honey mustard dipping sauce, and the Oreo cookie milkshakes, I have some pretty serious birthday euphoria (followed by equally-serious birthday food coma).

The BAD news about this birthday weekend was that it really knocked me off-course from my food and exercise plans.  I ate terribly (the epitome of which was the aforementioned excursion to Red Robin) and didn't exercise at all; yesterday was my first day back at the gym, and it was brutal.  I've been overeating all week; not horrifically, but I won't lose more weight if I keep at it.  So think happy thoughts for me for getting back on the wagon this coming week.  :)

Did you guys have Monday off for President's Day?  What about weekend plans?  I'll be in Havasu for yet ANOTHER engagement shoot (have I mentioned lately that I adore my job?!).  :)

weekend snapshot.

I just finished editing a mini-session I had with Joelle and her new intern, Emily, last week in Santa Barbara!  I'm sure Joelle wants to debut the images herself on Something Charming, so this is all you get for now...

This weekend is going to be jam-packed for me.  Today (Saturday) I'm meeting Julie, Gina, Tammy, and Olivia for early lunch, and then I'm off to Paramount Ranch to shoot an engagement session.  Sunday is another engagement session ... and it's my birthday.  :)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

photography // camera bag lust.

I get asked all the time if my camera bag is by Kelly Moore.  I LOVE Kelly Moore bags, but mine is actually from JoTotes (and is sold out at the moment, so clearly I'm an awesome trend-setter, right?).  ;)

Mine is the one on the left, the Betsy in teal.  I really love this bag; it's big enough to hold the goodies I need immediate access to during a wedding (and my Tenba backpack takes care of the rest).


It gets heavy, but that's because of what I'm loading up inside.  Really, I'm considering either a belt system (like Kinesis) or even getting a Kelly Moore bag after all -- something a little smaller than Betsy that will let me move around more easily.  I'll have less space to carry extra lenses on my person, but during a wedding reception especially, I'm not really changing lenses all that frequently and the bag's bulk ends up being more of an inconvenience than it is a useful accessory.  I've found myself getting into the terrible habit of taking my bag off and setting it down somewhere; usually I can keep an eye on it from wherever I am in the room, but it would be really easy for someone to snatch if they wanted to.  #myworstfearissomeonestealingmygear

Kelly Moore's Posey 2 bag (also comes with a shoulder strap)

I actually got a Kelly Moore bag once before I changed my mind and bought Betsy instead.  I LOVE their Posey 2, and especially loved that the outer zipper pocket has memory card as well as credit card slots for photographers on the go.  But when I'd ordered the mustard Posey 2 and it arrived in the mail, I quickly decided it was too small.  Since then, my experience (and my poor, aching back at the end of an eight-hour wedding gig) has taught me that a smaller bag is a good thing to have.  So I might go ahead and invest in a Posey 2 after all.  I'm going for black this time, though -- one brightly colored bag is enough, and Betsy has already stolen the spotlight in that regard.

I'm also a big fan of Epiphanie.  I had a lovely red Lola from them (can I mention here that I love the names these companies use for their lady-friendly camera bags?  Always a rad girl's name!), but I definitely bought that one more for its aesthetic than its practicality.  I was ALWAYS bumping into something or someone with that bag, and that was before I started shooting weddings, during which I knew the need for maneuvering with ease would be crucial.  So I said goodbye to Lola and sold her to a good home in Florida.

(That's Lola there on the right.  The one on the left is a new Epiphanie I'm definitely drooling over!).


Are you coveting any camera bags? Do you have a pretty one for your DSLR? 

inspiration // 7 lovely things

The bloggers from Imprintalish, Paisley Boulevard, Just Love.ly, Lena B Photography, La La lists and The Anna Delores Blog would love to welcome you to the 7 Lovely Things on Valentines' Day Pinterest & Blog Hop! This is a great chance to meet some new friends, oogle and google over some lovely things, and gain endless inspiration! Follow the instructions below on how to add YOUR '7 Lovely Things on Valentines Day' post to the party and connect with other inspiring bloggers through Pinterest!

So one of MY favorite things is COFFEE.  And being a single lady, coffee is one of my many Valentines this year!  Just last night I bought some acrylic paint and a stenciling kit a la Martha Stewart to create some rad custom coffee mugs (DIY soon to come on the blog!).  Until then, feast your eyes on the lovely delights that come from the pairing of LOVE and COFFEE.

 1 // Pretty self-explanatory, right?

  2 // a Valentine's day printable for your coffee sleeves, from Eat Drink Chic 3 // an excellent (and truthful!) art print from noodlehug on Etsy  
4 // what goes better with coffee than sweets?!  Arrow cupcake toppers via The Sweetest Occasion 5 // macarons (again, another sweet complement to a cup of joe!) over at What Katie Ate  

6 // time to get craft with coffee filters!  Coffee filter wreath DIY via Lolly Jane

7 // DIY burlap and coffee filter decor over at Tatertots and Jello

What do you need to do? Grab a button to add to your post and join in anytime today through Saturday to celebrate Valentines Day with 7 Lovely Things! Simply pull together 7 images that inspire you into a blog post. Link your post up on any of the 6 blogs named above and your post will automatically be inter-linked to all of the hosts blogs! Once you've linked up your blog post, scroll down and add your Pinterest account to the next linky list! Feel free to follow, mingle, chat...whatever you like ;) Have fun and thanks for joining us!

<a href="http://www.imprintalish.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Loves on a Thursday" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l607/Alicia_Hummel-Kettlewell/7lovelythings300x300e_zps988efa1e.jpg"/></a>

life // lately, plus six things.

I've been a wee bit of an Instagram slacker as of late.  I've actually been taking more photos with my real camera, which I guess is a good thing.  :)

// new mug added to the collection.

// town & country event rentals showroom with joelle.

// back roads on the central california coast.

// venue scouting: see canyon fruit ranch for a wedding in 2014.

// lavender = current obsession.

// coffee with alyssa.

// making chalkboard photo booth props.

// friday sunset while sitting in traffic.

// bowling for the first time in at least three years.

// greeting the piano man while we wait to head into the pantages theater in LA.

...and six fun things to distract you this Monday morning:

1. This post on how to button a suit jacket.  Who knew? 

2. I just finished "reading" (i.e. audio book) Dan Pink's To Sell is Human and I've been jotting down "notes to self" all over the place in attempts to remember key concepts!  It'll be a re-listen for sure.

3. Now reading Why I Left Goldman-Sachs by Greg Smith.  Should be interesting...

4. I love a good emotion-filled wedding vignette (thanks to Weddings360 for the share).

5. This giveaway for a KitchenAid Mixer!

6. My favorite post from last week (and yours too, apparently, based on the feedback I got!): proposals caught on camera.

Did you do anything awesome this weekend?  Anything planned for the upcoming President's Day weekend? 

      

P.S. Linked up with Brooke today! 

weddings // handmade, no diamonds

Like many other days, I got sucked into Pinterest this morning.  Aside from lusting after Mamie+James dresses, I found myself ogling lots of really lovely engagement rings.

I am REALLY crushing hard on handmade, non-diamond rings lately!  The aesthetic of the made-to-order, a little off-beat, vintage-inspired ring is just so lovely to me.

I rounded up a little collection of my favorite finds so that you can ogle right along with me.  And if you have an hour (or, you know, ten hours) to kill and want to wander through Pinterest, my "wedding rings" board is here.

{ via Garnet Girl Designs }

{ via Lichen & Lychee }

{ via Alexis Russell Jewelry -- these are actually diamonds, but still non-traditional! }


{ via Garnet Girl Designs again -- my favorite!}

What are your thoughts on non-diamond engagement rings?  Would you go for it, or are you committed to the tradition of diamonds?