{source}

sometimes life gives you a teeny tiny reminder right when you need it. this week’s happy list – here goes:

1. the hall & oates pandora station – this is my ultimate jam station for wedding prep and with the first wedding of the season (and rehearsal dinner!) coming up this weekend, my speakers have been blasting michael mcdonald and old school 80s a lot lately :)

2. the entire issue of the latest kinfolk mag – get your hands on it because it will turn your frown upside down in an instant and have you longing for spring.

3. seeing the excitement of my clients as their wedding day approaches – it’s absolutely contagious!

4. cheerios, milk and fresh blueberries – breakfast of champs

5. phone chats with family – the best, and just when you need them. nourishment for the soul, i tell ya.

oh wayland, you said it best. this truly is a happy life. have a great week, everyone :)

{image by susanne ashby photography, floral design by lovely little details}

happy monday everyone! i woke up this morning to find out that b’s wedding bouquet is being featured on the wedding chicks today – thank you amy + jocey for the lovely surprise :) hope you all had a great weekend!

{florals, planning + design by lovely little details, images by stacey hedman}

this wedding (featured on style me pretty a few weeks back) has taken me so long to actually blog because it was so hard to pick my favorite images from the hundreds that the incredibly talented photographer, stacey hedman (and her second shooter jaq poussot) provided to me. many of you may know this already but if you don’t – i. love. film. photography. and if every one of my couples chose film for their wedding day? that’d just be the icing on the prettiest wedding cake you ever did see. not that i don’t love digital, don’t get me wrong. but film? it’s just so timeless, so real, so grainy, and raw. i just love it. so much. and so when e+a let me know that they ended up booking stacey as their photographer, my film-loving heart did a double flip. many of you may know erika as the gorgeous gal behind not only the design/interiors blog radiant republic, but also the owner and founder of cape nanny, which just recently launched! and her husband? co-founder of a soon-to-be-launched outerwear company focused on the elements. together they’re not only business saavy but they’re also absolutely beautiful inside and out.

erika actually booked me over a year out from her wedding day so we had a lot of time to refine the vision, talk details, and excitedly plan for the big celebration. she wanted to create something that infused her love of clean design with kate spade and her now-husband’s love of surfing and nature. armed with over 10 boxes of flowers and a carry-on bag filled with shells that i had painted gold, i flew to cape cod in preparation for erika + andrew’s wedding weekend. it was an intimate affair with their nearest and dearest in attendance and every detail, every word, every moment was so sentimental not only for the couple, but those in attendance (and those in the heart).

here are some of my favorite shots from the big day, from the details, to the florals, to the gorgeous wedding party themselves. enjoy!

erika created the cutest signs for their surfboard guest book and the gals at suite paperie custom designed little gold surfboards with orange and navy “tags” to be used as escort cards. andrew provided me with a bag of sand (which was a hilarious transaction by the way) and i added some natural elements along with the golden seashells to create a fun first impression for guests entering the reception area.

we wanted to infuse the wedding with not only natural elements but also those of cape cod, like lobstah traps, cranberry crates (thanks stacey! haha), and nautical navy & white stripes. but the wedding also took place in october, so we incorporated a bit of autumnal flair, like creamy white ghost pumpkins and orange/peach accent colors throughout. see that pretty sign up there? erika designed that, too!

many saw my multiple instagrams throughout the planning season last year but the gilded shells were what people seemed to be most excited about. i was happy to finally debut these beauts throughout erika & andrew’s wedding decor.

if you’re planning a kate spade-infused wedding, what better way than to rock a pair of gold glitter kate spade heels? stunners.

this bouquet. oh this bouquet. no joke it probably took me 3-hours from start to finish but i didn’t want to put it down until i was completely satisfied from every angle and knew for certain that erika would like it. i wrapped the handle with a gilded nautical rope and went to bed in the wee hours of the morning, excited to hand it off in just a few short hours. sure enough, as soon as i walked through the door on the morning of the wedding, bouquet in hand, erika started to cry the happiest tears only a wedding planner and bride can fully appreciate and understand. it was such a special moment for me – i felt like i had given her something i had created with all of my heart and soul. it sounds corny but it’s seriously the truth.

and the boutonnieres! these were so much fun. i literally wired cranberries on to the bouts for the guys (i mean how do you have a wedding in cape cod and not incorporate cranberries!) and tied the groom’s boutonniere with the thinnest nautical rope i could find as a nod to his love for sailing. i also (sorry wequassett!) got up early that morning to clip a few leaves from the beach plum bushes right there on the beach, because beach plum roses truly exemplify the shore, and the guys each wore a tiny piece of the wequasset that day.

the girls all wore the most amazing anne m cramer skirts in navy and white stripes and i designed their bouquets to infuse shades of peach / orange / green as a bright pop against the somewhat muted, nautical palette.

the ceremony arrangements might have been my fave yet. i loved how they looked against the beautiful backdrop at the wequassett. fun fact – i had to re-design these arrangements about 4 times and then finally bribed my friends jon and aaron (the guitarists for the ceremony and cocktail hour, ja2m) to help me wire them to the crates/fence! it is funny now but that day i was getting a bit worried that we might not have ceremony florals if they kept blowing over! haha

stacey captured me watching the wedding party portraits for a minute. i think the look on my face says it all – i am always so honored to play a part in every wedding and try to take a moment in between the logistics to just watch for a minute. it makes me happy to see how happy everyone else is. this is also right before i booked it back to the reception space so we could repurpose the ceremony florals!

i used weathered wooden boxes filled with ranunculus, dahlias, and about 15 other flowers for the table centerpieces, switched out with glass cylinders filled with sand and topped with succulents and orange pincushion protea. i also incorporated the gold & copper sprayed pumpkins throughout the reception

lastly, some wedding party photos :

thank you again erika & andrew for including me in your big day. and thank you to the friends & family who made me feel like part of the crew. xo

***

Wedding Photography: Stacey Hedman Photography / Assisting Photographer: Jacquelyn Poussot Photography / Wedding Venue: Wequassett Resort in Harwich, Massachusetts / Wedding Planning, Styling + Floral Design: lovely little details / Wedding Stationery: Suite Paperie / Ceremony + Cocktail Hour Music: Ja2M / DJ: Chris Murphy of Tri-State DJs / Wedding Cake: Delicious Desserts / Transportation: Fancy Enterprises / Table Runners: La Tavola Fine Linen Rental / Wedding Dress: Vineyard Collection by Priscilla of Boston (no longer available) / Bride’s Veil: Country Weddings Bridal Boutique / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Bridesmaids’ Skirts: Anne M Cramer / Bridesmaids’ Tops:Victoria’s Secret / Hair: Laurie Affleck of By Design / Makeup: Dani Wagener of DW Beauty / Groomsmen’s Jackets: Watson’s Men’s Store / Flower Girl Dress: BellaBean Couture

{image by stephen hughes // planning, styling + florals by lovely little details}

i have a lot of updates going on over here behind the scenes besides wedding planning, y’all. i can say y’all because.. well you’ll know very soon. regardless, i’ve been filling out paperwork for some of these updates and in one of the questionnaires, i was asked “what kind of packages do you offer?” and i stopped and thought for a moment. when LLD first opened its doors in 2010 i had every “package” available under the sun – month-of coordination, design-only, partial planning… and after a year of performing these services i learned something pretty important for me and my business: there is no such thing as a standard package, and there was no way i could continue to offer anything less than full planning + design.

let me pre-empt this by saying i give mad props to those who offer month/day-of coordination and always refer my clients who are looking for just that to those people. some of these service providers are very good friends of mine and i have a great deal of respect for anyone who bases their business model around what works best for them.

continuing on… here’s the thing. there’s a reason i just can’t provide anything less than full-service planning + design and it is simple: i give each client my all, and if i signed on for a “partial” planning contract with a client, you know i’d end up doing full planning anyways because i don’t want to leave any stone unturned. they are only getting married once (God willing) and this is the most exciting time of their lives. i want to give each client an amazing experience and extend their excitement throughout the planning journey whether its through the little surprise treats in the mail here and there, or through the custom design plan that was created based on hours of research to reflect the couple’s personalities and relationship to a T, or through the meticulously crafted timeline with every lovely little detail included. even though there will be occasional lulls in the actual planning milestones, my clients are continually reminded that a) they are right on track and thus put at ease and b) they have more exciting things to look forward to as the big day approaches. this is also the very reason i limit the number of weddings i take on each year – i will never give a client an excuse of “oh I’m sorry i’m busy with another client” if they need me. by limiting my total number of weddings each year, i’m not only able to split my time evenly between work and life, but i’m also able to give each client my all.

so as for packages? they just don’t exist in my world. they can’t. no two clients are the same, and while their services may be similar and their aesthetic alike, their needs are all completely unique. 95% of my clients do not live here in california, with 10% living out of the country. this means different time zones, different means for communication, and different requirements for their full-service wedding planner. they are working busy jobs but know what style they want. they don’t have time for the little details, but want to still enjoy the overall wedding planning experience. there’s just no package that could encompass all of the unique needs of my clients, and that’s the exact reason i just can’t offer them. the joy of being my own boutique small business is that i can customize these services for each one of my clients, make changes based on certain requests, and be flexible to make this not only the best experience ever, but also seamless.

{image by montana dennis // planning, styling + floral design by lovely little details}

and even though technically i’m working for my client, little do they know that they do so much for me, too. i’m so incredibly thankful for these amazing people because they continually, without fail, rekindle my faith in true love on a daily basis. that faith reminds me that the goal of the wedding isn’t to get to cocktail hour – it is to enjoy each moment, for as we all know, those moments fly by. and these moments, these lovely little details, and my awesome clients are exactly what make me excited to get out of bed every morning to get right back to work.

{heart reef view from our seaplane with hamilton island air}

i’ve been putting off this post for a while because i just have no words for our trip without saying “amazing” “unbelievable” or “insane” a thousand times. so instead i’ll share some of my favorite snapsnots from our adventures with some captions and a bit of insight here and there, if that’s ok with you. and then you can just email me when you’re ready to take a trip to australia and i’ll give recommendations galore :) all images (c) jacin fitzgerald

tony bennett left his heart in san francisco, but i left my heart in sydney. oh that city just captures my heart every time and the second our plane landed i thought i was going to start crying tears of happiness. i hadn’t been back since i lived there in 2004 and i was nostalgic everywhere we went. i was telling pat i missed the smell of sydney from my days when i would walk to work from the bus stop in the morning haha. our stay was a bit different this time around though because when i lived in sydney i was just out of college and staying at some of the backpacker hostels before finding my apartment. this time pat and i stayed at the westin, which i will say was a very nice upgrade to the bunk beds i was used to from my first trip haha. :) the heavenly bed and shower was just that – heavenly – especially after a 15 hour journey across the world.

pat was surprised at how beachy australia is and i reminded him that was half the draw for me when i moved there back in ’04 haha. it really is gorgeous though. we went to all the beaches around sydney and i think manly remains my favorite. we stayed at the novotel sydney manly pacific for our last 2 days in australia and absolutely loved it. manly is just such a charming little beach town with the most amazing beaches and perfect waves. here are my fave instagrams from sydney:

it was amazing to visit my old hometown, coogee, all these years later. it definitely seemed different though… but i guess that’s what happens in 9 years! we had a beer on the roof deck of one of my favorite bars from back in the day and i did a virtual cheers to all my old coogee friends. we then did the coogee to bondi walk which i strongly suggest to anyone who visits the area. absolutely gorgeous. the pic on the top left of the instagram collage above is about 3 houses down from my old apartment in coogee.

after about 5 days in sydney, we headed to melbourne to stay with my friend of 15 years (!), michael, and his wife and kids. we had a blast with them – they had kangaroos in their backyard!! that was something i couldn’t get used to – pat went golfing with the guys one day and kangaroos were all over the golf course. so funny. the pic below was taken just down the road from michael’s house.

of course we had to hit up the wineries while we were in melbourne too. that was a lot of fun – they’re so close to the gorgeous beaches, too! we had the BEST sparkling wine i’ve ever had (besides veuve of course) at red hill winery just outside rye. if you ever go you HAVE to try the red hill estate blanc de noirs. we may or may not have brought half a case home with us haha! (as i type this i’m shouting to pat in the room next door that maybe we should drink some with dinner? good idea, right?)

instagram line-up from melbourne is below:

after a long weekend in melbourne, we started our second week in australia up in hamilton island, which is the gateway to the great barrier reef. and ohmygoodness was it the most amazing 4 days ever. i have no words except you.have.to.go.here.now. and stay at qualia resort (ranked #1 resort in the world by conde nast) or the beach club. ahhh.

i was thrilled to meet with the weddings team at hamilton island and pat and i got to spend an afternoon site visit with the incredibly knowledgeable and sweet laurelle fazel (brides – call her now) and tom “tj” edwards from the island’s social media department. what a treat it was to see the island through their eyes and guidance. thank you again laurelle and tj! the image above was in front of the island’s quaint little chapel. i was in heaven. truly.

highlight of our entire trip? hopping in a seaplane with our trusty pilot steve-o and boat captain scotty “tally-ho!” as they’d say, and flying over the great barrier reef, landing in a little spot (on the water in a seaplane, don’t forget!) and hopping out in to a little boat for a morning of snorkeling. it was insane. like the craziest most amazing day ever. we had to wear head-to-toe wetsuits because of the “stingers” AKA irukandji jellyfish because, you know, they’re only the most venomous creature in the world. haha. but luckily we only had to wear wetsuit tuxedos up on hamilton island – the waters elsewhere weren’t a threat. the next few pics below are the views of the reef from the plane (as is the first pic in the post).

we actually flew with steve-o “tally-ho!” twice – the next day we took a seaplane (with other guests this time vs. the first day where it was just me and pat – crazy!) to whitehaven beach which has the whitest sand in the world. it was breathtaking. i talk a lot (look at this post already – i said i wouldn’t even say that much and yet i can’t stop talking!) and i was speechless. everyone was happy :)

oh that up there? that’s just our little seaplane :)

a pic up there to prove we were actually on the trip. we never have pics of us! it’s always scenery!

and an instagram line-up from hamilton island:

all in all? best trip ever. literally. best. trip. ever. if you are ever considering heading across the world you have to make a stop in australia. you will love it. and you can count on me to give you recs on where to eat/stay/what to do, etc. :)

{image taken with my instagram}

this past weekend we decided to book a last minute trip up to one of my favorite places on the planet – st. helena. st. helena is a quaint little town in napa valley filled to the brim with cozy restaurants, boutique wineries, and pretty sights in every direction. it’s a treat for all 5 senses and we lucked out with a big ol’ house that was available for our last minute request. there were only 4 of us willing to make the trek at such late notice and it was just a perfect weekend. we visited wineries, dined at a unanimously-agreed-upon favorite restaurant, and relaxed at our leisure. rhody had a blast exploring the surrounding areas of the house which resulted in us having to rescue a cat from a tree haha, and even snuck in a few swims in the pool. the weekend wasn’t a burdon on our wallets when we all pooled in together but it was more than that – each person had their own personal agenda and reason for wanting to get away. sometimes we get so caught up in our daily routine that we forget to remember to take time to do those things that make us happy without feeling guilty for taking the time to do so. i realized i had a few things that had been holding me back, so i decided to start a happy list every week. i also created a personal, private instagram feed for my 8,305,106 photos of rhody, pat, the grass, and anything everything that inspires me so i don’t have to constantly flood my lovelydetails instagram account, and save that more for the wedding/floral/business-related posts. it was such a small action but made me happy that i could post to my hearts content of all the things that truly do make me happy or inspired. so today i’ll share a few with you – here’s my happy list top 5, week 1 :)

1. rainy days – as i type this the rain is tapping on my windowpane and though my office could use a little cleanup and i could probably use another lamp to brighten the room a bit, that rain is making my heart happy as can be.

{taken with my personal instagram}

2. unconditional love from the dog at my feet – this pup i swear, can turn anyone’s frown upside down. he’s the sweetest little ball of fur i’ve ever met and the unconditional love he shows us on a daily basis is such an inspiration. the guy is always happy, unless we’re gone. how simple is that? oh rhody you’re just the best :)

3. seeing the hard work of friends pay off – have you seen reverie made’s new website? if you haven’t yet – go. it is probably the prettiest, most unique branding i’ve ever seen. new jersey brides, you are in for a treat if you decide to work with kristin & adam. kristin and i have been friends through this crazy wedding blog world for the past few years and i finally got to meet her at this past engage in december. she’s a true inspiration and example of what hard work, amazing style, and a tireless work ethic looks like. plus, she is probably one of the nicest people on the planet. congratulations on your gorgeous new site!

4. early morning walks as the sun comes up – a quiet time to reflect on your thoughts while the dog runs happily beside you. bliss.

5. dinner consisting of cheese, charcuterie and wine – dream dinner. that’s it.

hope you all had a great weekend whatever you were up to. what’s on your happy list today? :)

well i’m back from australia with so much to share with you and i promise i’ll get to that once i download all of our photos & video to my computer and once i feel like i’m in the same time zone again :). in the meantime, while we were gone, erika + andrew’s october cape cod wedding was featured on style me pretty – so if you didn’t check it out a few weeks back, head on over to give them some love today!

image by paul lenehan, flickr

fun fact: in 2005, 2 years after graduating college, i moved to australia. solo. i had always wanted to go to australia but played lacrosse in college (club – don’t get too excited but we still traveled  all over the country and the season always interfered with study abroad programs), so i never had a chance to go. after planning weddings + events in newport, rhode island for a few years, i suddenly realized if i was ever going to pick up and move somewhere, it had to be then, before i settled down somewhere. so with the blessings of my former co-workers, friends and family, i packed up, obtained my australian work visa, and bought a one-way ticket to sydney, australia. i found a sweet little apartment right off the beach in coogee, one of the beach suburbs outside of sydney, and got a job in sydney coordinating events + marketing for a private school. i took the bus in from coogee to sydney every day. i traveled. i met new friends everywhere i met. when you travel alone, you have 2 choices – stay alone or meet new people. i chose option B and continue to keep in touch with so many of those wonderful friends to this day. long story short – it was probably the most amazing experience of my life. part of my heart stayed in sydney when the time came for me to come back to the states, and i have always been dying to go back there. and tomorrow night, pat and i are packing up and heading back to my old hometown. and i cannot wait. i can’t even sleep i’m so excited. if i could add another 20 exclamation points to this paragraph to express my excitement i would. but i think you get the picture :)

we’ll be meeting up with old friends, visiting some amazing wedding venues, and seeing as much as we possibly can in 2-weeks. oh and i’m also dying to pay a visit to the sydney flower mart, though i’m not sure pat would be as excited about that! hehe. and of course i’ll be sharing images whenever possible over on instagram so definitely make sure to pop by if you want to follow along. see you back here in a few weeks :)

(oh, and PS – also check in to Style Me Pretty on monday morning, jan 28 around 9am PT / 12pm ET. you might spy LLD!)

sequins, ruffles, glam and san francisco charm were all a huge part of e+t’s wedding this past october. it was my last wedding of the year and one of the most detailed ones, with custom ribbon curtains, amazing blooms by laura miller, vintage rentals from one true love, and the sweetest couple around. i’m so excited to see their smiling faces and all the details featured on ruffled today, so head on over to take a look and leave them some love :)

::::

vendors: Wedding Planning, Styling, and Seating Chart Design: Lovely Little Details / Wedding Photographer: Delbarr Moradi / Wedding Venue, Caterer, and Cake: The Fairmont San Francisco / Wedding Flowers: Laura Miller Design / Favors and Wedding Invitation Design: Courtney Talbot / Wedding Dress: Judd Waddell “Aurelia” / Veil: Gracefully Girly / Sash: Eclu / Wedding Shoes: BHLDN / Jewelry: Nordstrom / Bride’s Hair and Makeup: The Glamourist / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale / Bridesmaids’ Hair and Makeup: Betten Chaston / Table Linens: La Tavola Linens / Vintage Rentals: One True Love Vintage Rentals / Chair and Charger Rentals: Kristina V Events / Chair Ruffle Linens: Wildflower Linens / Pipe and Drape Setup: Hartmann Rentals / Curtains: Lovely Little Details / Wedding Music: San Francisco Conservatory of Music / DJ: Spintronix Entertainment / Photobooth: Tomfoolery SF / Officiant: Cathy Tibbets / Videographer: Shakewell Studios

today is my 32nd birthday. i’ve decided i’d like to share it. want to join me?

at this past engage in december (2013 dates announced today!) i was fortunate to meet so many inspiring individuals, and it’s hard to pinpoint who stood out the most from the crowd. everyone had their own story, but my new friend and fellow wedding planning extraordinare paige chenault‘s labor of love, the birthday party project (which BTW isn’t even her full-time job!), really inspired me more than i can say. TBPP’s mission isto celebrate the lives of homeless children and youth by partnering with homeless shelters to provide birthday parties and gifts for all resident children between the ages of one and eighteen.

here, watch the video (grab a tissue).

last week i reached out to paige to see how i could help from afar. i asked her if it’d be ok to post about it today, in hopes that others will be as inspired as i am to get out and do something to help. and so today, on my birthday, i’m headed out to target and the party store to stock up on birthday party goodies to send to paige for the birthday party project. imagine if each of us did something similar on our own birthday? the newtown random acts of kindness movement didn’t end in december and i intend to continue in my own way – and spreading joy to a homeless child on their birthday is a great way to start.

so – who’s down to help? for information on the birthday party project and ways to get involved, please click here. for a birthday party wish list, click here. every bit counts :)

:: if you decide to make a donation or get out there and make a care package, share it with us by using the hashtags
#shareyourbirthday #givingisgood ::