I Believe in Forever

I met my husband when I was 15. It was not love at first sight. In fact, I thought he was going to be trouble because he came off incredibly rude and defiant. Not the type of personality you want to deal with when you're in a class leadership position. Fortunately, he was able to make up for his very bad first impression and I was happy to find out that he was not even close to being that type of person. He was the polar opposite - incredibly sweet and trusting. Over time, we became friends.

Fast forwarding to our first date, we had the usual high school teen plans: dinner and a movie. We were on our way when Ryan realized his parents had something that he needed. They were over at a friend's house for a game night so we swung by. On our very first date I met Ryan's family and the Petersen family. I have known the Petersen family for as long as I have known my in-laws. Over the last 10 years (yikes... has it been that long?!) I've watched their friendship with my husband's family endure despite the separation of being in 3 different states. Needless to say, they aren't just like family... they are family.

This past June, their daughter Kelsey got married in the San Diego Temple. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I believe that families can be together forever. The Bible teaches us that Peter was given the keys of heaven and he was promised 'whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall also be bound in heaven'   (Matthew 16:18-19)

What makes a temple marriage different from any other marriage ceremony is that we believe in using the same Priesthood authority, or keys, that the apostle Peter once held to make promises, or covenants, in the temple not only with our spouse but with God. Honoring that covenant allows us to extend marriage beyond 'until death do us part' into heaven and eternity.

What a blessing it was to see Kelsey and Cody make those very special promises to each other and watch as they bound their two families into one. It was a wonderful day and they celebrated it in a very beautiful way. Isn't the coral and turquoise color palette amazing? My mother-in-law and I took on the candy bar. Kelsey decided she wanted an all turquoise candy bar since there was a lot of coral already incorporated in the decor. Being one of my favorite colors, I absolutely love how it turned out. The candy included gum balls, rock candy, sixlets, salt water taffy, old-fashioned candy sticks, chocolate kisses, and customized monogram suckers. The candy bar was displayed on the most darling vintage dresser and mirror combo.

It was a gorgeous love-filled day and I am so happy for Kelsey and Cody. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring. Once you're done perusing the beautiful pictures, be sure to check out the vendor links below!

VENDOR CREDITS:
Venue: San Diego LDS Temple
Reception: Twin Oaks Garden Estate
Photography: Joiedevivre Photography
Flowers: Florals Designs by Jerri Disney
Candy Bar: Sugar and Soirées

Garden Themed 1st Birthday

This last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to San Diego to help my dear friend Joy with her daughter's 1st birthday party. Our families have remained close over the years - her father is my brother's god-father and our mothers were best friends back in the day. I've always considered Joy to be like an older sister to me and it has been so fun to watch as she's become a successful clinical psychologist, loving wife, and now 1st time mom. You can only imagine my excitement when I had the chance to to help her with the dessert table for Amelia's 1st birthday and baptism celebration.

The party had a garden theme with a pink and gold color palette. The backdrop consisted of paper lanterns and tissue paper poms in various shades of pink. I love how the poms resemble flowers and that the custom birthday banner added the perfect pop of gold. The dessert table featured an all pink candy bar as well as baked desserts. The birthday cake by Marinold Cakes was a sweet design of lace and bows in pink and white. The mini chocolate chip cookies were homemade.The gold vases with pink gerber daisies and carnations in the petites fleurs crate added an elegant touch in keeping to the garden theme.

Additional details to look out for are the gold painted mason jars with pink and white flower arrangements that were done Joy's friend Liza and were the centerpieces for the tables. The favor consisted of stamped muslin bags filled with seeds. They were arranged on the wooden herb garden set up. I adore how the paper roses I wrapped the sides with turned out. They transformed an otherwise rustic piece into looking sweet and dainty. I love the overall look and am thrilled that Joy was happy with the dessert table. Happy 1st birthday dear Amelia! I look forward to watching you and Kaylen grow in the years to come.

VENDOR CREDITS:
Dessert Table Styling - Sugar and Soirées
Birthday Cake - Marinold Cakes
Birthday Banner - Little Retreats

Milk and Cookies Birthday Social

Last year, we didn't really get to celebrate my husband's birthday with our daughter's birth and all... so this year Ryan wanted to have a few friends over to celebrate. This was a last minute decision. As in the week before this little shindig was to take place. For most people that is probably not a big deal but for me, that made my mind reel and I went right into planning mode.

To keep things simple, I knew I was only going to serve dessert but the thought of a traditional dessert table seemed too girly and just serving cake seemed way too simple to me. So I focused on one of Ryan's favorite sweets - cookies. We served 3 of his favorite kinds - Burt's Bomb Diggity Chocolate Chip Cookies, Molasses Cookies, and Oreos (his absolute favorite). I baked the cookies myself and even dressed up some of the Oreos with the help of a handy dandy cookie mold and white chocolate.

The recipe for the Molasses Cookies and a tutorial on how to make the Oreos can be found on my Pinterest. The chocolate chip cookies are actually a secret family recipe that my father-in-law doesn't give out. If I can ever convince him to one day give me the ok to share it, I'll be sure to do a feature on how to make them because they are sooo good.

I kept the decor simple and rustic, utilizing a blue and white color palette with pops of silver and brown. I had plain milk in glass bottles that were on ice in a galvanized tub from Etablir Shop. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry mixes were available so our guests could flavor their milk to their own preference. Instead of cake, we served cupcakes that I dressed up with some DIY'ed mini paper fans that I made to coordinate with the paper fans used in the background. Overall, I think it all came together nicely and Ryan was happy that I was able to pull together his 'man' party haha. We had a great time with some friends we haven't seen in a while and we're blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful company. Happy Birthday Ryan!

 

Kaylen's Mermaid 1st Birthday

When Kaylen was born last summer, I knew I wanted to do an outdoor celebration for her 1^st birthday. Living in Southern California, the beach quickly became a natural fit for the venue. The mermaid theme emerged upon inspiration from a mint and purple swim suit that I knew would be perfect for Kaylen. With the help of Pinterest, the ideas quickly came to life.

When it comes to kids parties I don’t like to take the theme too literally. I feel like there is a very fine line between pretty and too kiddie. In fact, you won’t find any actual mermaids anywhere in this party. Instead, I focused on mermaid-like elements like the mermaid “tail” tier of the birthday cake and the fun mermaid hair chalking station. I utilized other elements of the ocean to create a cohesive feel – sea shells, sea creatures, sand, bubbles, and loose gems.

I got to get down and DIY dirty by crafting the tassel garland, making the white chocolate sea shells for favors in upcycled baby food jars, re-purposing additional jars for simple centerpieces, and coordinating a candy bar onto the dessert table. I absolutely love how the party turned out and all of our guests had a blast at the beach. I am so very thankful to my wonderful vendors for their amazing talent. Make sure to check out the links to their work below!

VENDOR CREDITS:
Party Design and Styling - Sugar and Soirées
Photography - Jessica Downey Photo
Decorated Cookies and Ruffled Smash Cake - Marinold Cakes
French Macarons - Merely Sweets
Paper Straws - Spiral Sage