Feathers Over Flowers

 These beautiful boutonnieres were made a month before the wedding date for a third the cost of live flowers. The bride made each of these boutonnieres unique to each of the groomsmen. My favorite was the one made for the Best Man (second from left) which has an anchor button because the Best Man is actually a captain. The feathers and dried flowers held up to the hot summer heat, looked amazing throughout the event, and I am sure would last a lifetime if the men saved these feathered gems. 

Stella & Dot Jewelry

Looking for jewelry for your bridesmaids? Or even yourself? Stella & Dot has everything you need from clean and classic, to runway inspired and celebrity loved pops of color and mixed metals. Your entire wedding party will look amazing. And, over half the line is under $50! Want to earn free gorgeous jewelry for your bridal party? Ask me about hosting an in home trunk show. You invite your friends, provide snacks, and I bring the bling.

Stella & Dot is a boutique-style jewelry and accessories company reinventing the home-based business opportunity for the modern woman through its social shopping business platform. Stella & Dot offers its’ on trend, celebrity-coveted product line exclusively through a growing network of trained independent stylists. For more information, visit www.stelladot.com/sites/annalisagross or email me at stylistannalisa@gmail.com.

Happy Shopping!

Annalisa

The Book of Love

Despite my husband’s wishes I purchased about 50 antique books from flea markets this weekend. Of course the question I came home to was "why?” I said, "Centerpieces, that's why". I hope that one of my brides will fall as much in love with these beautiful antique leather and cloth bound books as I did. I was able to pick-up some amazing titles and even in different languages. When you open these books you can tell they have been loved and hopefully they will add some love and warmth to someone's table decor soon.

Jewel of the Gaviota Coast

"The Arroyo Hondo Preserve is a magnificent canyon located west of Santa Barbara between Refugio State Beach and Gaviota State Park. The old ranch is rich in early California history and has an abundance of outstanding natural features. Purchased from the Hollister family in late 2001, Arroyo Hondo is now protected forever and managed by the Land Trust as a natural and historic preserve. Visitors are invited to come explore its beauty and diversity.”

This reserve offers several unique areas to hold your ceremony or reception. Ranging from barn to beach. The natural setting is priceless but requires extra work on the couples' part because everything must be brought in including generator and restrooms. The couple who runs the reserve (and were also married there) are friendly and want to make sure you enjoy your visit. Camping is not normally available within the reserve, but for an additional fee guests can be permitted to camp overnight.

http://www.sblandtrust.org/arroyohondo.html

The Story of Brian & Lisa | Save the Date!

There are so many ways to tell your friends and family about your big day, but why not do it in style. I have seen everything from magnets, wine bottles, and now even Youtube videos. I had to share this with my wedding community because I cannot believe how creative Brian and Lisa were with their wonderful announcement. Just imagine if they were this creative with their save the date what fabulous things are in store for their wedding guests. Enjoy!

Giving Back for Challenged Athletes in 2012

I want to give back to an organization that has truly touch my life. I hope to raise $10,000 for Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) in 2012. The Challenged Athletes Foun
dation has raised more than $30 million to provide grants for prosthetic limbs and other specialized equipment to help deserving individuals pursue an active lifestyle.

In an effort to give back I will donate my fees to CAF, therefore making your 2012 wedding or event planning tax deductible. CAF is not just another cause to us. CAF has touched our lives and those we love.

In May 2010, Stacie and 22 others climbed to Mt. Everest base to support CAF, accompanying her aunt and uncle in their summit bid. Stacie's uncle Paul overcame brachial plexus palsy, a nerve condition that severely limits muscle strength and dexterity in his right hand, to complete the Seven Summits (a task completed by less than 200 people in the world). Paul & Denise Fejtek will be returning to Kilimanjaro on the 10th anniversary of their summit and the first of their "Seven Summits for CAF".

During Stacie's training and fundraising for Mt. Everest, fate introduced us to Danielle McLaughlin, who later became our roommate. Danielle lost her left foot to synovial sarcoma when she was in high school. Since then, Danielle has mentored young adults that face limb loss due to cancer and has become a beneficiary of CAF. Danielle received an athletic limb from CAF which she used to not only compete, but won the gold medal in the World Paratriathlon.

CAF exists because it is not a lack of desire, courage or ability that keeps many challenged athletes on the sidelines -- it is a lack of funding. Your donation will pay for hand cycles, sports chairs, and hi-tech prosthetic limbs that will go directly to assist challenged athletes, including among others American soldiers wounded in Iraq. This equipment will allow them to once again fully participate in life.

All members of the CAFrica Challenge are paying their own expedition expenses and travel costs. Your donation will go entirely to CAF, a registered 501©3 nonprofit organization. We would like to have your support as we pursue our quest to reach the summit and reach our $10,000 fundraising goal for CAF. Please share some of your good fortune through contributing on our personal fundraising site today: http://cafrica.kintera.org/colbyandstacie

Learn more about CAF at :http://www.challengedathletes.org

Paul and Denise Fejtek wrote a book about their amazing journey for CAF through the seven summits. 100% of the proceeds benefit CAF: http://StepsToTheSummit.com/

Flowering Love

Rachel and Dustin were married on September 10, 2011 (yep..9-10-11) at the Cal State Fullerton Alumni House. Rachel is an unbelievably creative individual and hand-crafted thousands of these beautiful paper flowers. The effect was amazing. She combined her striking paper flowers with an array of succulents. When I asked her about the time it took to make all of them she said, "These flowers are priceless and I will never make one again." The time put into these flowers is only a drop in the bucket when compared to the time Rachel and Dustin have been together. These two started dating in sixth grade and were together for 16 years before taking the plunge.