Our next guest is the lovely Cassandra from coco + kelley:

Whenever I get asked about where I find inspiration for my interiors and events, I only have one answer: everywhere. So, whether I’m planning a wedding or styling a dining room, I always tell my clients to send me anything that moves them. I’ve created rooms inspired by fashion spreads and weddings inspired by vintage posters. It’s really all about figuring out what it is about that piece that inspires you, and designing everything around it. Here’s how it works for me…

I recently moved back to Seattle from Los Angeles and have been completely infatuated by the amazing colors of the leaves changing all over the city. Patches of vivid reds, oranges and yellows are everywhere I look! I wanted to find a room that really captured the colors of the season while still remaining elegant…

This dining room by Stephen Shubel has always been a favorite of mine, and happens to be the perfect inspiration! I love how he designed the chairs in different colors to add a bit of playfulness to a more formal space. The dark rustic table and floors help warm things up a bit and keep the space grounded. So, now it’s time to translate this feeling into a wedding!

To me, there were a few key elements to keep in mind for this design – elegance, playfulness, and a dash of rustic. Keeping the color palette mostly brown and golden yellow with subtle touches of orange and red creates a sophisticated palette. Tying in the chandelier motif to the invitation also creates this sense of luxury. The feather accents, colorful lanterns, and lots of loose ribbons lighten the mood, while the setting itself creates all the rustic touches needed. And voila! That’s how I translate an inspirational room to a wedding!

Sources:
1) Ring pillow photographed by Studio Nouveau
2) Lanterns via {frolic!}
3) Ceremony site: by Karen Bussen
4) Chandelier invitations photographed by Belathee Photography:
5) Bridesmaid dress via Style Me Pretty
6. Cake via Martha Stewart Weddings
7. Boutonniere: Twigs & Honey
8. Shoes: J.Crew
9. Dress: Vera Wang
10. Chandelier photographed by Belathee Photography
11. Flower girls via Martha Stewart Weddings
12. Vintage car photo via Brides
13. Bouquet via Snippet & Ink

I’m super excited to introduce our first inspirational guest blogger for the week, Kathryn from Snippet & Ink:

I’m so flattered that Kelly has invited me to share a little about my process for creating inspiration boards. The truth is, some days I feel very inspired, and I can see exactly what I want my inspiration board to look like, and all of the elements just fall into place. But other days – most days – finding that starting point can be tricky. The starting point can be anything: a season, a venue, a bouquet. It can even be something less obvious, like a children’s book or wallpaper pattern. I even have a file labeled “Inspiration” where I save images that really stand out to me, like this:

or this

Generally, the images that I save to my Inspiration file are images that make me think of a color palette or a venue – those things that weren’t coming so easily before. Sometimes, even when I get going on an inspiration board, it won’t come together exactly the way I want it to, and I’ll put it aside for a day or two, or scrap it altogether. But usually, once I have that initial image, I can create something I’m happy with.

I get questions from readers about how they can go about creating their own inspiration boards, so here is what I usually tell them:

Unless you’re already comfortable with Photoshop, or feel like taking the time to learn it, there are other, easier ways to pull images together. Polyvore is one method, or Mosaic Maker is another. An actual bulletin board is a great way to include not only tearsheets, but also fabric and paper samples, ticket stubs, and other ephemera. Once you’ve decided on your medium, here are some things to consider, that should help you pull your inspiration board together:

- What season is it? What colors, flowers, foods make sense in that season?
- What is the mood of the event? Is it formal, casual, or something in between? Is it grand or intimate? Sophisticated? Playful?
- What is the venue? Inside or outdoors? How can I play up regional or local elements? Does the architecture or scenery inspire me?
- What single element can tie everything together? Is it a theme? A certain flower or fruit? Color or pattern?
- How can I stretch this idea? What is unexpected but fits perfectly with all the other elements?

Don’t let specific colors or themes limit you – an inspiration board should help you figure out what kinds of things you like, what kind of look you’re going for, but you should not feel limited by colors you’ve chosen or a theme you’re working on. Let your inspiration board reflect your personality, reflect things you truly love and not those things you think other people want to see, and it will be a wonderful tool in the planning process. And if you’re not feeling especially inspired, stop by Snippet & Ink to see if anything strikes your fancy!

Images: 1. Inspiration Board 271 2. House & Garden via {this is glamorous} 3. Ngoc Minh Ngo 4. Inspiration Board 257 5. Inspiration Board 298

I love finding new rental equipment to use for my event designs and these ghost chairs from Resource One fit the bill. Designed by Philippe Starke and produced by Kartell, they are the epitome of a clean, modern style. The chairs come in two styles, the more feminine and smaller option is called “Victoria,” the more masculine version is called “Louis.”

Victoria comes in a plethora of colors whereas Louis comes in more basic colors like white, black, amber and clear.

The chairs can be shipped nationwide, with the LA warehouse serving the west coast and New Jersey the east coast. The rental price isn’t cheap, but if you have to have something more modern than the standard chivari chair this is a cool alternative.

The search for the dress was very, very hard (isn’t it always?). I knew I wanted a tea length dress which turned out to be nearly impossible to find. I found something very close to what I wanted at Monique Lhuillier, but the price of the dress and the lace on the bodice were just not for me.

For a while I considered having a dress made and I found one of Monique’s dressmakers to do this for me. During this time, I went home to visit my parents and went dress shopping with my mom. By a pure fluke we found a Lea-Anne Belter dress (top photo) that was very close to what I wanted. The only problem was it was long and with a train. They offered to sell me the sample which I jumped at because I knew I was going to end up cutting half the dress off.

I took it to Mercedes Trump and she transformed the dress, cutting it to the perfect length, taking in the bodice, adding a slip, and then she made my veil and sash.

Accessories were much easier to find. I found my shoes at Nordstrom’s about a month after I got my dress. I loved the rhinestone detailing and they were also only about 2″ high which was very important to me since I never wear heels. The bracelet was my great aunt’s, the earrings I found at Macy’s, and my mom found the vintage purse.

I brought my florist, Kim from Collage, from LA because I had worked with her for the past three years and her arrangements are always stunning, she truly has a talent for blending colors and shapes. I told her I wanted succulents, orchids, black calla lilies and hydrangea.

I really wanted to highlight the contrast between the masculine succulents and the dainty hydrangea. Likewise, Kim added pods and roses which had the same effect.

For my bouquet, Kim wired in mini succulents and the groom wore one for his boutonnière. I loved my bouquet, it was the perfect size and it was just stunning against my dress. Enjoy!

Jo Gartin’s Guide for the Stylish Bride and Karen Bussen’s Simple Stunning Weddings are both must buy books for the style conscious bride. Jo’s book has a ton of great detail ideas that will inspire you to think outside of the box from flowers, to favors, to invitations, to food styling and beyond, Jo provides a plethora of ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

Karen’s book is organized by type of location and talks about the unique challenges of each. She also provides tons of ideas on how to best personalize your unique scenario, focusing on modern, romantic design elements. If you head over to Amazon you can get both books for less that $40. Talk about affordable inspiration!

Happy Valentine’s day everyone! I thought it would be appropriate to share one of my favorite tabletops by Rebecca Thuss. The table is set with a runner of deep red with various types of roses and tulips arranged in red silk containers. The artful play with texture and height along with the simplicity of the place settings allows the dramatic nature of red to be the focus. Enjoy!

On Saturday I met with Camilla at the Biltmore and she showed some of photos of her gorgeous work. Her style is versatile, but her passion for color is obvious.

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For all you Southern California brides, A Soolip Wedding has been scheduled for March 30th at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. The location is the former archdioceses cathedral which has been completely restored and is now available for private events. Sadly, I’m getting married the day before and can’t make it this year. I attended last year and there were a ton of beautiful tabletops, food, champagne, and great guests speakers like Jo Gartin of Love, Luck & Angels. If any readers would like to send in a recap I would be greatful!

David Stark, a New York designer and event production guru, constantly produces events that push the event envelope and raise the bar for the rest of us. I love this candlelit event where light seems to float in space. Truly a round of “we’re not worthy!” is in order!

One of my favorite places to find inspiration is the LA flower market and the adjacent fashion district (the jewerly district is not to far off either if you’re looking for wedding bands). The flower market is on Maple and 9th and is open to the public weekly Monday through Saturday from 6am or 8am (depending on the day) and charges a measly $2 for entrance. Taking up 2 city blocks, flowers go on as far as the eye can see. Upstairs from the flower market is GM Floral, Just Pots, and accross the street is Moskatels (ie Michael’s). GM and Moskatels both have decor and craft supplies for days and at pretty reasonable prices. Just Pots has an amazing collection of pots and vases for any color scheme or “look”. You can walk down a block to Wall and 8th St where the fashion district starts with its hundreds of fabric stores. Here you can haggle with vendors on prices and score silk fabric for $8 a yard. Truly a dream come true!

Stella Mare’s is an acclaimed Montecito restaurant specializing in wine country cuisine (good for rehearsal dinners) that also owns an event location off Las Positas. It has an undeniable French country charm about it and a cute patio with a mountain view.

With dinner menus starting at $39 per person,and bar service for $20 for full unlimited well bar, a $2500 rental fee, it is definitely an affordable option.

As a bonus, parties can go to 1am, unusual in Santa Barbara.

Mood Moss (left) and Reindeer Moss (right) both make great tabletop decor either as an addition to flowers or in place of flowers. I’ve used reindeer moss as a table runner for a Christmas Eve event and then tucked in gold ornaments. Simple, but dramatic and rich to the eye. More importantly, it comes in a range of hues from dark green, to lime green, I’ve even seen it in cherry red and bright yellow.

And over at Martha Stewart Weddings, Mood Moss is used in simple white bowls for a wedding. The effect is clean, modern and undeniably chic. Ask you florist about either option- though it should be noted some mosses have a distinctive smell and can be quite messy if not used correctly.

I love, love this site. They have a great selection of vases from intricate metal urns to simple bamboo cylinders, to candles, rocks, feathers, napkin rings (I particularly like the square napkin ring), and so on. The best part? The prices are super reasonable. Happy shopping!

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of lace details in weddings (see the post on designsponge) and I think doilies could be a cheap and easy way to get a lace feel without the cost. I love the idea of cutting sections out and affixing it to brightly colored favor boxes or maybe even wrapping around votives or hurricanes for an updated white winter look. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t discount cheap materials– they could be your ticket to a couture, one of a kind look!