Utterly Engaged } The 1st Online Wedding & Bridal Magazine. Inspiring Brides with Style.

In Singapore (and a few other Asian cultures), it is common for couples to have a pre-wedding/engagement session where they get into formal wear, even in a bridal gown for the bride-to-be and suits for her man. It is usually the first time the couple gets a professional picture taken of both of them before their actual wedding day, and it takes a lot of planning to decide on the concepts, locations, outfits, makeup and hairstyles, which happens long before the actual shoot.

Today’s featured couple Karen and Kenneth came from Singapore and they picked Princeton University where they fell in love for their location. Their photographer Lindsey of Lindsey K Photography did a great job capturing them at their favorite spots on campus in their wedding attire.

Karen also got a couple fun dresses from Rent the Runway for more casual fun shots!

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The Beverly Hills Skyline Estate is one of those hidden gems that you seriously have to seek out to find. We didn’t even know it existed until now! A perfect Los Angeles local destination that’s great for an intimate wedding. The estate is perched high atop a ridgeline with breathtaking views of the Los Angeles City skyline but it’s only minutes away from the action of Sunset Blvd. If you don’t believe that such a place existed, take a look below and see how Sharla & Ryan celebrated their special day with 2 of their adorable dogs and 120 of their closest friends and family.

From the Bride:

Our Wedding Day was amazing.  It was spent on Sept 1st, 2012 in the Beverly Hills at the Skyline Estate.  We had 120 guests. The views from the top of the hill spread all throughout Los Angeles and you could see the whole city light up at night.  The other view was of the whole San Fernando Valley. The views were spectacular.  The grounds was on 7 acres of land with the home providing 7000 sq feet for bridal party and guests to stay the weekend.  Hair and makeup for bride and bridesmaids was Melissa Marchese of Studio 50/50 in Huntington Beach.  She did a fabulous job on all of us.  We wanted our guests to be able to laugh during our ceremony, so we hired a comedian officiant who cracked one joke after the next and quoted from Princess Bride.  The guests laughed non-stop.  Our DJ was Woody Diaz who provided a complete personalized song list according to my requests.  The food was wonderful provided by Tacos & Co.  We wanted our guests to be able to mingle and drink without having to have a formal sit down dinner.  This was the perfect way to provide for the social/party setting that we were looking for.  Jen of Fondly Forever photographed the most beautiful pictures possible with her wonderful creativity.  Cupcakes were made from scratch raspberry chambourd and chocolate ding dong flavors.  They were a smash (in both the bride and the groom’s faces).  The flowers spread out were amazing collection of wild flowers by Commerce Flowers.  I wanted to provide a vintage furniture setting for photographs and Found Vintage Rentals gave me amazing and beautiful options.  But I could not have done any of it without my wedding coordinator Yoleine.  She did an incredible job of keeping everything organized and together.

The BEST part of that day was being able to have my dogs walk down the aisle with me!  I know everyone says this, but it was literally the best day of our lives!

Congrats you two!
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Location: Skyline Estate, Los Angeles, Ca / Photographer: Fondly Forever /  Dress: Jinny’s Bridal Huntington Beach, CA  /  Vintage Furniture: Found /  Tables & Chairs: Signature Party Rentals /  DJ: Woody Diaz /  Comedian Officant: Roger Lungblade /  Flowers: Commerce Flowers /  Bar: Sunseri’s Bar /  Hair & Makeup:  Melissa Marchese  /  Cupcakes: Homemade by Jennifer Figueroa  /  Caterer: Tacos & Co.  /  Event Planner: Yoleine of Yellowbird Events

When the owner of a stylish boutique store in San Francisco gets engaged, you know you’re in for a fashionable engagement session. Marisa and Dan chose the Sutro Baths and Ocean Beach for a mix of glam and casual chic.

We’re totally diggin’ her two looks. The first look with a sparkly sequined dress and nude heels on the sandy beach is unexpected yet oh-so-sexy.

And we absolutely love her peplum top and hot pink pants with gold pumps! What a fun way to make your pictures pop!

Photography: Ashley Batz Photoraphy

Finding the perfect venue for your wedding can be a challenge. But sometimes the stars align and the perfect venue just comes to you. That’s what happened to today’s featured couple Cara and Garret. When they were invited to Garret’s mom’s best friend’s home in Acton, California for a birthday party, they didn’t expect to find their wedding venue. Complete with twinkling lights under the desert sky, they knew it was “the one”.

Words of the Bride:
Linda Marshall (our florist) is one of Garret’s Mom’s best friends. Garret and I had already picked a venue in Northern CA (where I grew up) when we went to a birthday party at Linda Marshall’s home. The venue in Northern CA was beautiful, but Garret and I were frustrated because we felt with every venue there was something we had to compromise on (i.e. wedding ending time, using specific vendors etc.). When we went to Linda’s birthday party at her home, it was perfect. Her home is in the desert/mountains in Acton, CA. It was lit up with string lights (one of my essential musts for my wedding). Linda created a perfect relaxed, but very fun atmosphere.  Not to mention it was decorated beautifully (she’s a florist after all). Jokingly we said we should just get married at her house. Linda being the very generous person that she is, actually got very excited by the whole idea.  Her husband Dave even got ordained and officiated our wedding. So the Marshalls really made our wedding happen!

Some of the key decor that we incorporated into our wedding to match our rustic venue was: burlap table runners, mason jar drinking glasses and candle holders, and horse saddles in the cocktail area. A few personal touches included in the ceremony were: our dog “swamp monster” walking down the isle, my grandmothers’ necklaces wrapped around my bouquet (they have both passed so I wanted to include them), personal vows that included “in happiness and in grumpiness”, and a fiddle player Teri Villani who played “Puff The Magic Dragon”, “Norwegian Wood”, and “Here Comes the Bride”.  Some other fun stuff we incorporated was: Pirate Themed Beer Cozies as wedding gift saying “Till Death Do Us Part”, and Skull/Cross Bones cupcakes.

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Photography: Honey Honey Photography | Wedding Coordinator: Lisa Nutall of Crystal Clear Weddings & Occasions | Florist: Linda Marshall Acton Country Flowers (661-269-9326) | Hair/Makeup: Andrea Martin of Blush Up LA | Catering: Kenny Fryer (661-916-6224) | Rentals: A-1 Event Rentals (661-755-8111) | Music: John Spears (Runaway Train Band and Teri Villani

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? I know I do. Even though it’s been 11 years since the first time I said “I think I’m falling for you”, the feelings are still as real as they were 11 years ago.

Love has you floating on cloud nine and living in la-la land. Every experience with love is refreshing and new. Your five senses are heightened. Food tastes better. Every word, smell and touch is so much sweeter.

But Love together and apart is intimate and mysterious. Leaving you at peace but always wanting more.

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Words: Lucia Pador of Utterly Engaged  /  Photography: Kiss me Frank /  Stylist & Planner: Las alas de Fabiola /  Makeup & Hair: Alba Pesas  /  Dresses: Las alas de Fabiola /  Model: Carmen Pérez