Grey Likes Weddings

A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity of attending an “Edible Auditing”, hosted by the most chic caterer, Room Forty. Alexa of Sterling Engagements designed the entire event, and I was absolutely bowled over! I sat with some of the industry’s best wedding planners and ogled over all the genius and inspiration ideas! Are you ready for some spectacular pretties and ideas (all shot by the absolutely wonderful Ryan Garvin Photography)?

First up, check out the beautiful invites design by Prim and Prixie:

Vibiana is the most stunning possible venue in existence!

All the florals by Shawna Yamamoto Event Design were jaw dropping. I loved that the decor was very inspired by the food! You can see a Kale arrangement, and an artichoke below. There were also bunches of rosemary and mint scattered along the table. We even received herbs to plan as part of our favor.

Room Forty also has a mixologist on staff who creates custom drinks for pairings! This “Orangerie Punch Bowl” cocktail featured hibiscus, jasmine and even included an edible flower as a garnish!

I love how Room Forty serves their food! And it’s hilarious on the right–do you see all of us shooting the food with our phones??? It was just so beautiful!

Below are my two favorite elements of our TEN course meal! On the left is just the garnish for a delicious soup. The actual soup part was poured at the table out of a beautiful pitcher! What fun! On the right is a whiskey cocktail that had real smoke wafting out of the glass. What an amazing experience to really grasp the smokiness in the whiskey. I’m not much of a whiskey lover, but it was an amazing cocktail!

All the napkins embroidered with lace and place mats were created just for the event by Dahlia of Designer Specialty Linens.

We enjoyed live classical guitar from ESPIMUSIC Entertainment. It was amazing!

A little gift box to take home, which was delicious salad elements, home made vinaigrette and a recipe!

Below left is a shot of Steve, the force behind Room Forty, and me after our meal. I was so full, I barely made it home!

It’s always amazing to share with you the best of the best in the industry, and give you a chance to see what vendors can dream up if you give them room to dream with you! These are also amazing vendors to contact if you are in the industry, or a bride planning a wedding!

Oh my GOODNESS! So, my darlings! We’re bringing you a very special weekend post with some ideas I think you’re going to LOVE! Lady Grey recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Garnish–a company that sells the coolest and most thoughtful event details. And you know how we love details. They’ve got everything from customized wood utensils to baker’s twine. But really, there’s no way you can really understand, unless you check out the images and all the ideas they come up with!

Garnish is in fact so ingenious, that they’ve got an entire idea section on their site, PLUS an online magazine they just released. So many brilliant ideas, like the angel food cake minis above. How adorable are those little cuties?

So, if you are looking for some creative, affordable ways to personalize your wedding, shower or any entertaining situation at all, definitely head on over to Garnish and start shopping! We LOVE their goodies.

*Garnish is a sponsor of Grey Likes–and we SERIOUSLY think they are amazing!

My dear friend, Jen Huang, recently invited Bryan and I and a few other photographers and bloggers out to a gorgeous dinner in Santa Ynez. The following day, we had a chance to meet the attendees of her photography workshop and even model for a shoot. I’m so excited to share with you images of the gorgeous dinner–everything was so inspiring, I’m sure you’ll love it! I think one of my favorite touches were the custom calligraphy turned rubber stamp place cards by Paperfinger. What a great memento! I also ADORE how Poppies and Posies Events put unique elements into the florals, like yellow heirloom tomatoes and bunches of blackberries! You have to look close to see them, but when I was sitting at the table, it felt like a creative treasure hunt looking for all the details! Using produce in your centerpieces is such an unexpected idea that I absolutely LOVE!

What a fun night! Very special thanks to Jen for putting on a gorgeous night, along with her team: Florals & Styling by Poppies and Posies Events; Calligraphy by Paperfinger; Catering by MSCNYC; Dessert by EnjoyCupcakes

One of my favorite wedding traditions is the rehearsal dinner–something that has blossomed into a meal with more significance and meaning than ever before. In my experience, the rehearsal dinner has always been an opportunity for family members to reconnect, bridal parties to hang out, and guests to become acquainted. It’s also a very relaxed atmosphere that I truly believe is the first chance for the families of the bride and groom to form new bonds. Without a formal agenda and tight timeline, rehearsal dinners are also the perfect stage for meaningful speeches from family members, bridal party attendants, and close guests.

For all those reasons, we love the idea of making your rehearsal dinner special–in whichever way you decide to do that. Be it a square dance and barbecue, martinis and outdoor movie screening, afternoon picnic and croquet, or whatever else you can dream up, the idea is to squeeze in as much time with your loved ones as possible, because every married couple we know says the same thing: “The wedding went by so fast!!!”

Today, we’re sharing with you a particularly gorgeous rehearsal dinner designed by the lovely Gianna of Chic Celebrations. All the flowers are by one of our fave fave fave floral stylists, Lauryl Lane with images by Brittany Rene.  Strands of Edison light bulbs and a solo guitar player provided ambiance while guests mingled over cocktails. Dinner was served at a u-shaped over-sized family style table, creating the perfect opportunity for toasts and warm interaction. We love it all!

Resources included: Planning and Design: Chic Celebrations // Floral Styling and Design: Lauryl Lane // Rentals: Town and Country // Linens: La Tavola // Catering: Contemporary Catering and Sunseri’s Beverage Catering // Venue: Hummingbird Nest Ranch // Photography: Brittany Rene

Friends!

As you know, every year we style a gift wrap shoot to help you out with inspiration for those extra special holiday gifts! That’s coming soon, but I thought I’d get you started just a little early with these gifts wrapped by my fab designer friend, Lindsey from MStetson Design. She’s created a line of polymer clay gift tags that are so absurdly cute (and affordable) that you MUST have a look. My fave are the customizable tags as well as the advent tags! Genius! Oh…and the 12 reindeer? I can’t resist.