As you can probably tell from the photos, Liz and Jean are one of those couples you always feel happy just being around. I think part of it is that it’s easy to tell just how much they love each other, and how much they appreciate having good friends around.

And that’s how this wedding felt – a bunch of good friends and family gathering in sunny California for a stunning destination wedding on the romantic grounds of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. The talented coordination trio, Scheme Events, was there to make sure every detail was in place and the entire day went flawless!

The morning started at The W Hotel in Hollywood, getting ready surrounded by close friends and loved ones.

I adored all the detail and love put into Liz and Jean’s wedding. The gorgeous floral was artfully created by the amazing team at Layers of Lovely, and custom letterpress invites were designed and made by Paper & Home.

For their first look, I brought Jean to a quiet private place between a long pathway of towering cypress trees. I think five years of loving Liz, and waiting for this day must have flooded Jean when he turned around to see his bride for the first time that day. His expression said it all.
The ceremony took place on the garden lawn, with a historic fountain and archway of soft peach and pink rose strands as the centerpiece.

The happy newlyweds – Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez! <3The desert table was to die for (and incredibly delicious too!) Designed by Liz with the main cake by Peridot Sweets and smaller cakes and deserts by Sweet & Saucy Shop.For their first dance as husband and wife Liz and Jean were serenaded by Frank Sinatra who sung “The Way You Look Tonight”.

A couple days after the wedding we met back up for an after-session and more photos in beautiful San Juan Capistrano:

L+J: Jayse and I love you guys!!! Congrats on finally tying the knot and becoming Mr & Mrs! You two are so perfect for each other. :-)

The fantastic team:
Wedding Venue: Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California / Wedding Coordination: Scheme Events / Flowers: Layers of Lovely Floral Design / Invitations + Paper goods: Paper & Home / Custom chargers + decor: The Pottery Shop / Wedding Photography: Chelsea Nicole Photography / Catering: Wolfgang Puck / Entertainment: Frank Sinatra-Gary Anthony, Violinist-Tamboura Baptiste / Hair and Makeup: Le Brian Salon / DJ:  Hey Mister DJ / Videographers: Something New Films / Officiant: JP Reynolds / Main Cake: Peridot Sweets / Mini-cakes and Desserts: Sweet & Saucy Shop / Rentals: Elm Concierge Rentals / Vintage Rentals: The Wooden Trunk + Layers of Lovely

To celebrate the next step of their adventures in life together, they decided to have their engagement photos in some of their favorite places close to home. The first of which are from Stow Lake, in Golden Gate Park:

One of Savannah and Shane’s favorite things to do is hike to pretty locations and have gourmet picnics. So, after boating around the lake, of course we just had to have a bite to eat in the meadow with their adorable maltese, Bexley (who will also be the ring bearer for their wedding).  I think he rather enjoyed it!

We ended our day enjoying the sunset along Baker Beach. :-)

Savannah and Shane will be returning to Vegas, where it all started, for an outdoor wedding at the gorgeous Legend’s Ranch. Check back this fall for their wedding photos!

Their wedding day was a laid-back, fun destination affair that took place at the gorgeous Springs Preserve in Las Vegas. And with the talented team at Scheme Events coordinating the day went absolutely perfect! To add an romantic touch to Guin & Eric’s outdoor ceremony in the Garden Arboretum, the wedding arch was adorned with vines, burlap fabric and an elegant chandelier. The reception took place in the Gardens Terrace. All the beautiful floral was by Layers of Lovely, and the bistro sting lights provided by Kevin Cordova at LED Unplugged created a magical ambiance throughout the night. :-)

Wedding Venue: The Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada / Wedding Coordination: Scheme Events / Wedding Photography: Chelsea Nicole Photography / Flowers: Layers of Lovely Floral Design /  DJ: Harry “O” Productions / Hair & Makeup: Makeup in the 702 / Lighting: LED Unplugged / Officiant: Peachy Keen Unions by Angie Kelly

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For more, check out the feature on Scheme Events Blog: Guin and Eric’s Springs Preserve Las Vegas Wedding

This June they’re heading back to where it all began: La Push, Washington! They’re saying their I Do’s on the 3-year anniversary of the day they first met. And yes, there will be drummers and there will be puppy chow! I can’t wait for the big day! But in the meantime here’s a few images from their engagement session:

Holly: It must have been the Chex puppy chow I served for dessert at the drum circle that made Vince want to follow me home :) I was volunteering with Global Citizens Network and Vince was working a summer job on the reservation. Vince came through the dessert line at the drum circle with his sweet smile, excited to try some of my homemade Chex puppy chow.

He turned out to be my knight in shining armor! I ended up locking myself out of my cabin – I couldn’t find any of my cabin mates so Vince helped me break in…twice! Seconds after he got me in the first time, I forgot the key on the kitchen counter…again :) He still wanted to hang out with me after that – definitely must have been the puppy chow, haha

Vince is a self proclaimed ‘popcorn addict’. They even have a B.Y.O.P (Bring Your Own Popcorn) sign on their mantle.

Vince: I have to admit, although the chex puppy chow was extremely delicious, it was Holly’s smile that caught my attention! I waited forever, well 45 minutes (but it seemed like forever), for her to finally step away from her group of friends so I would have a chance to talk to her. It was well worth the wait, who says you can’t meet your soul mate at a Native American drum circle.

During the first year of their relationship (while things were still long-distance), Vince would hand-write Holly love letters on baseballs. :-)

Vince’s family owns a gun factory that makes assault riffles and Holly and him love going shooting together, so they brought along a few toys. ;-)

Ryan’s a pilot, and brought his uniform all the way from Australia for a few images!

Shoutout goes to Janine and LaVey at Your Beauty Call for Miranda’s gorgeous hair and makeup. Love these girls! M+R: Got your little package in the mail a couple days ago. :-) Thanks so much for the sweet note and chocolates (YUM!!) It was so thoughtful and very appreciated. I’m so happy I had the chance to get to know you guys and I cherish our time together. Hope to see you again on a future trip out west! Congrats again and much love from Vegas!! xo

It’s a rare occasion that Debbie and Will’s family is all together, so they decided to celebrate with a family photo-session while their children were home to visit. But in addition to family photos, Debbie and her son Landon were scheming up a very special surprise. They came up with the idea to use the photo-shoot as a way doing a secret proposal for Landon’s girlfriend Tiffany.

While we planned everything out together, Landon took every precaution to keep the proposal a surprise – from waiting until Tiffany was out of the house to chat about details to coming up with a secret code phrase, ‘Red Elephant’.  On the day of, after I brought the two of them into the space I wanted I told Tiffany to look away off into the distance as if there was a ‘Red Elephant’ standing there. She laughed and said “What?” And as she turned back around, Landon was down on one knee opening a special little box. She said, yes!

The day was full of happy tears, smiles and loads of laughter. I loved being a part of such an incredible occasion and spending the morning with this amazing family. So without further ado, meet the Derentzs – Aley, Landon, Tiffany, Debbie, Will, Luke, Kaitlyn and Adam:

Now for the big moment…

Landon’s family decorated their getaway limousine:

Cheers to the happy couple. :-) Congrats you two!

xo
Chelsea Nicole

This past December an opportunity came up for Jayse to speak about his film work (Avengers, Planet of the Apes, 2012) at a conference in Russia. Just three weeks after finding out, we were on our way to Moscow for an exciting new adventure! And I can’t imagine a more perfect time to travel there. Yes, it was FREEZING (and admittedly we’re total wimps when it comes to cold weather)… And yes, we looked like eskimos in our big down jackets… But it was SO worth it to see Moscow in the wintertime. It’s absolutely magical when it snows and they had just put up the Christmas decorations in Red Square. :-)

Since we spent a lot of time walking, we didn’t want to carry a ton of gear. Instead, we spent the majority of the time playing with our iPhones and Jayse’s little Panasonic Gf3 and were able to put together a fun little personal video from our vacation footage that I’d love to share:

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years with those you love the most! :-)

xox
Chels, Jayse and Bella

Now, you may be thinking Clay is totally Sarah’s honky-tonk hero, and you’d be right. But he’s also mine. While we were driving out to this shoot, my car got stuck in the ultra thick, post-rain lake-bed dirt. But not to worry! Before I knew it, he jumped out with chains and used his truck (the very same truck they used for their first secret-desert-picnic date) to wrangle me out. Without him, I guess you could say, this shoot never would have happened. And you’d be right!

So thanks Clay! You and Sarah made this whole day such a fun, playful, sexy adventure! But I’ll let the images tell the rest!

‘Save a horse ride a cowboy!’

Be sure to check back for lots more of these two! I am SO looking forward to their wedding next spring! It’s going to be an outdoor, country style affair at the beautiful Springs Preserve.

When they first met, Jean couldn’t get Liz out of his mind. After talking all night with her, he regretted not getting her number. But he just had to see her again. He found out about the pottery shop, The Artful Potter, she owned and decided to get a little creative. Employing the help of a friend’s child, he came to “paint pottery” as a ruse to see her again. When he found out she had already left for the day, he decided he had to cook up another plan. He left the little ceramic dog and returned a few days later to pick it up. This time he came at midday on a weekday so that he could be sure to bump into her. His plan worked. He asked her to dinner, and they went out that same night. And this time, he didn’t leave without her number.  In addition to being good friends, Liz & Jean are also great photographers and owners of Elizabeth Le Photography. I’ve gotten to know them quite well and knew we had to plan something as fun and lively as they are for their engagement session! After brainstorming ideas together, we decided on a 2-Part shoot starting at the L.A County Fair.
After the fair we headed to Griffith Park for part II! We made it just in time for the magical sunset. I loved the adorable tree swing and ‘Sweet Love’ plates Liz made for our shoot!

I can’t wait Liz and Jean’s wedding day next spring at the historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills! :-)

**Update: See more photos from Liz & Jean’s engagement session featured on Style Me Pretty California!