Victoria + Brent :: CA Wedding Part 1 :: How To Plan A Modern & Glam Wedding
We don’t know about you guys, but we have been so blown away lately by how crazy gorgeous these weddings have been!! We shouldn’t ever expect anything less from our OLAS brides, but it’s like you just can’t stop WOW-ing us with your exquisite taste and fun ideas :) As I’m sure you would expect – Victoria + Brent’s California wedding (actually shot by our talented southeast photographer Carla) is no different! The very first thing we noticed about V + B’s wedding was how truly modern and glamorous it was. Here are a few tips on how to “luxe up” your wedding day:
1. Sparkle, sparkle, SPARKLE! As you’ll notice below, Victoria adds a lot of sparkly little details throughout her wedding day decor. She has bling in her headpiece (oh.that.headpiece!), added to her dress, on her bridal bouquet, attached to the white fabric on the backs of the chairs at the ceremony, bling is everywhere!
2. Use lots and lots of white: Victoria’s wedding is a vision in white. While she infuses subtle little accents of aqua and gold here and there (we here at OLAS sure love those aqua nails), the predominate use of white in her flowers and overall ceremony decor are what really pull the whole modern – glam feel together. Adding the big, beautiful, white flowers down the center aisle was a stunning touch as well.
3. Arrive to the ceremony in a Rolls Royce: Nuff said :)
4. Add special little details no one will be expecting… like a dove send off! We just love that Victoria + Brent decided to release white doves at the end of their ceremony as they were announced for the first time, as husband and wife. Talk about making the importance of the moment truly stand out above the rest –> so glam.
Be on the look out for part two of V + B’s modern and glam wedding tomorrow!! x’s & o’s!
Ceremony: Pines Park in Dana Point; Florist: Green Leaf Designs; Harpist: Tomoko Sato; Dress Designer: Marisa purchased at Panache Beverly Hills; Transportation: Classic Limo; Chairs: Chiavari Chair Rental
Read MoreMallory + Zach::Chicago Wedding::Part 2::Budget-Friendly Whimsy DIY Tips
It’s time for Part 2 of Mallory + Zach’s gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous woodsy-DIY wedding outside of Chicago. If you missed Part 1, you’ll definitely want to check it out. Roya, our photog phenom in the Chicagoland area, got some absolutely incredible shots of Mallory + Zach after their first glance. Check it out, and head on back here! Today we promised you some practical, budget-friendly DIY wedding inspiration using Mallory + Zach’s wedding. These two SERIOUSLY got it right, and we think tons of you will find these tips helpful. So here they are, folks – some practical tips to achieve a the whimsy, DIY wedding you’ve always dreamed of, without breaking the bank:
1 – Save on uber-cool invites and programs by purchasing a template and printing them yourself - With online DIY stores like Etsy popping up everywhere these days, couples can access templates for invitations and programs designed by amazing graphic artists. Mallory and Zach used a design from Etsy shop Invited Design – Diana has some really beautiful designs.
2- Buy flowers wholesale, and make bouquets and centerpieces with your family and bridesmaids - One of our favorite parts of Mallory + Zach’s wedding was the beautiful wild flowers that were the perfect addition to the gorgeous scenery. Mallory told us that she used FiftyFlowers, and ordered all of her flowers online. This website offers packs of flower sets that may work well together, or if you want to get creative, you can order specific flowers….all at wholesale rates!
3 – Add a Whimsy Package to your (once like a spark) photography package - After their wedding ceremony, Mallory + Zach snuck away with Roya for just a few more minutes of couples shots. They wanted these set of shots to be more relaxed and whimsical feeling, so Mallory took down her hair, added a bright cardigan. Because they knew they wanted these shots to showcase some personality with a fun, creative feel, they previously added a Whimsy Package. A Whimsy Package is a pretty package sent directly to our clients full of some of our most favorite things, made by Etsy vendors. Essentially, a Whimsy Package includes amazing props for your engagement pictures or wedding-day couples shots. It makes getting those zany, silly pictures a little more stylish, and helps you live your dream of having a photo shoot in the front window of Anthro. Not to mention, it helps to support some pretty amazing artists out there! If you’re interested in a Whimsy Package, contact us at info@oncelikeaspark.com
Loving this ceremony site – beautifully organic, and fits right in with the nature around.
See! Told you their invitations and programs were uber-cool…
After the ceremony, Mallory + Zach headed to an area that had been set-up with items from our Whimsy Package…
We love that Mallory took her hair down and added a bright cardigan to give these shots a more whimsical, fun vibe.
Beautiful wildflower bouquets and centerpieces, made using wholesale flowers from FiftyFlowers
Photog: Roya; Ceremony Venue: Fullersburg Woods Nature Center; Reception: Graue Mill and Museum; Florist: Fifty Flowers (online); Dress: J.Crew; Accessories: BHLDN; Cake: Tipsy Cake; Caterer: La Belle Gourmet; Invitations/Program: Invited Designs on Etsy
Read More
Mallory + Zach::Chicago Wedding::Part 1::J.Crew And Nature Preserves
One of the things that we’ve learned over the years is that although our clients are all very different, they are all amazingly cool. Seriously – we marvel time after time about how we could not pick better clients if we had the pick of everyone in the whole wide world. In addition to being super cool, we do think there are two things that we do hear from our clients time and time again that they love: J.Crew and nature. Seriously – so many of our brides really dig the natural, relaxed J.Crew wedding style, and we hear time and time again that our clients really want beautiful photos that capture all of the natural beauty of their surroundings and their venues.
Whelp, folks. Today’s wedding is a perfect combo of precisely those two things. Our incredibly talented Roya shot Mal + Zach’s wedding outside of Chicago, and if this wedding looks familiar, it’s because it is currently featured on the J.Crew website (Mal’s dress was one of theirs!) Super cool, huh?! They also got married and had their reception at venues that are also nature preserves, which gave Roya TONS of amazing opportunity for some really beautiful, organic, nature-y kind of shots. 
If you read our post yesterday, you heard about the “first glance”. Mallory and Zach took advantage, and as you’ll see – the result was tons of time for these amazing couples portraits. Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow – it’s up to your eyeballs in DIY wedding inspiration and creative details. You’ll love! PS – Amazing vendor links at the bottom!
Photog: Roya; Ceremony Venue: Fullersburg Woods Nature Center; Reception Venue (Location of Couples Portraits): Graue Mill & Museum; Florist: Fifty Flowers (online); Dress: J.Crew; Accessories: BHLDN
Read MoreJessica + Jon::Augusta, GA Wedding::Part 2::A Little Swapping Around
Happy Monday little (once like a spark) chickadees! We hope you all enjoyed your weekend (and that our East Coast friends didn’t get snowed in!) I know that you all remember Part 1 of Jessica + Jon’s absolutely breathtaking Augusta, GA wedding that was posted on Friday – we included some great tips, tricks, and ideas for ALL brides, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already…
But for now…on to Part 2! Here in the OLAS offices, we all spend many hours of our day swooning and ooooohing and aaaahhing over the beautiful, beautiful photos we work with all day. When I showed our team the photos below, everyone commented on how stunning the couples photos are, and how Jessica + Jon look so peaceful, calm, and relaxed. They do, don’t they?
Well, I played a little trick on you all (but don’t be mad!) In Part 1, we saw beautiful individual photos of Jessica, Jon, and their ceremony, and you’re about to see some GORGEOUS couples photos below. The truth is that this post isn’t totally chronological – Jessica + Jon took these AMAZING couples photos before their ceremony! Our OLAS clients will often times hear us talk about a “first glance,” which allows the couple some time together BEFORE the ceremony with their photographer. We find it often results in some really sweet intimate time between our couples, and our brides and grooms are able to relax and enjoy the photography process, without worrying about running to their reception! We totally think it shows in these photos….
We love you Jessica + Jon! xoxo (Don’t forget to see a list of all of their vendors at the bottom of the post!)
Photographers: Carla and Jen; Ceremony Location: First Christian Church of Augusta; Reception: The Richmond on Greene; Wedding Director: Once Upon A Wedding; Florist: Garden Cottage Florist; Headpiece: Mayra’s Veils; Cake: Dianna Tornow Cakes; Invitations and Monogram: Papercake Designs; Shoes by: Christian Louboutin; Dress by: Alvina Valenta purchased at The House of the Bride; Hair By: Fringe Hair Salon; Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale purchased at The House of the Bride; Caterer: Roux’s; Band: Reunion
Read More
(once like a spark) Featured On District Weddings!
Big thanks to District Weddings for featuring Courtney + Patrick’s epic DC wedding shot by Michael at the DAR building. Loved this one!
Read More
OLAS LOVES :: *love day*
Hello OLAS lovelies!
You didn’t think we were going to let Valentines Day come and go without a special edition OLAS LOVES blog post did you?! Not a chance! We olas-ers work in a company whose whole purpose is to celebrate love and do our very best to capture it for lifetimes to come. Thus, since we absolutely love, “love day” (obvi!) –> we’ve decided to give you a little gallery of some our favorite/sweetest olas moments this year. Get ready for some seriously amazing couples shots and soak in the love.
Happy Valentines Day OLAS family!! We heart you.
Read More
