Stylish couple Gwen and Anthony’s striking engagement shoot from Michael L’Heureux | Photography is full of mid-century modern design; clean, crisp images; and Mad Men-esque fashion. I love seeing how a couple can take a particular style or era that they love and use it as the starting point for a beautifully unique engagement shoot! Gwen and Michael generously gave us a little insight into the inspiration and how it all came together. 
From bride-to-be Gwen – Most people who know us, know that we have a fascination for anything mid-century; vintage clothes, Dave Brubeck, and retro cars are just the beginning. I dont think Anthony had quite the same interests until he met me, but he is undeniably a believer now. For me, the fascination started long before Don Draper and Mad Men were on the scene. In fact, my first car was a beautifully restored 66 Mustang! Fast forward from a little girl watching Breakfast at Tiffanys over and over again to the woman designing her engagement photo session and you get me – pulling together all the details to bring our retro vision to life! When we first set eyes on Michael LHeureuxs website, his talent was overwhelming and we just about hired him without even meeting in person. So as far as locations go, we are fortunate enough to live in an awesome area in the San Francisco East Bay with lots of protected open space. Fortunately one of Anthonys groomsmen owns a beautiful 63 Ford Galaxie and was willing to let us borrow it for the day; I got my hands on a vintage wool blanket and borrowed a picnic basket from a friend. 
From Photographer, Michael – It is always a pleasure when a client comes to me with a specific vision for the style they would like to see in their images. I love this set, and I think the key to their success was the open collaboration between photographer and client. The open flow of ideas during this shoot lent itself to what I think is a highly stylized and thoughtful representation of the couple. It just fits them! They are the couple that has impeccable style, great chemistry, and likes a bit of adventure. Basically, the couple you look at and say, “Wow they are the perfect couple!” I can’t wait for the Santa Barbara wedding to come! 
The Photoshoot Team: Photographer: Michael L’Heureux | Photography Dress: Siri Hair and Make-up: Yvette Swallow Thank you so much for sharing your retro, stylish engagement shoot with us, Gwen and Anthony! Readers, for more inspiration from real-life couples, be sure to check out our Real Wedding Library!
Mid-Century Modern Engagement Shoot – Gwen and Anthony
Wedding Planning 101 – How To Pin on a Boutonniere
OK, I’ll admit it. We’ve got boys on the brain this week at Junebug! We are so excited about our newest Fashion Report, The Groom – six sharp looks for the modern man, and just love sharing ideas about getting the guys all dressed up! Today I thought I’d address a common question that comes up during wedding season: how do you properly pin on those sweet little boutonnieres that your florist just delivered?
wedding boutonnieres – photos by (left) Adam Nyholt and (right) Holland Photo Arts
First, a little bit of history. The tradition began when men would place a single bloom through the buttonhole of their suit lapel to add a touch of color and style. There was a small loop at the back of the lapel to hold the stem in place. Across the pond, they still call a flower worn on a lapel a “buttonhole”, while we’ve adopted the French term “boutonniere”. Whatever you call them, lapel flowers are now usually a tiny cluster of stems that is pinned on. Usually only worn for formal occasions such as weddings, funerals, or proms today, they were often a daily part of getting dressed for men in earlier times!
wedding boutonnieres – photos by (top) Tracey Buyce, (bottom) Yvette Roman, and (left) Harwell Photography
Today, a man’s boutonniere should still be placed on his left lapel, the same side that the handkerchief pocket is on. (And yes! Men can wear a pocket square AND a boutonniere!) Boutonnieres are usually pinned on, with the flower pointing up and the stem running parallel to the direction of the lapel.
To pin a boutonniere on, insert one pin from the BACK of the lapel, pushing through the fabric to catch the stem portion of the boutonniere and then pushing back out toward the lapel back. Repeat with a second pin, also from the back of the lapel, making an X-shape with the two pins. This second pin is important because it prevents the boutonniere from flopping over as the day wears on. Ta-da! He’s all set to wow with a fun accessory!
wedding boutonnieres – photos by (top) Allyson Magda and (bottom) La Vie Photography
Today’s boutonnieres offer your guy the chance to make a personal statement. From formal white calla lilies or orchids, modern ranunculus and grasses in wild colors, to unusual materials such as buttons, ribbons, antique trinkets or mementos, they offer men a chance to show their love for a certain look, interest, or memory. I’ve even seen them out of wine corks, scrabble pieces, computer parts, and remnants of vintage baseballs!
orange boutonnieres – photos by (top) Jillian Mitchell and (bottom) Kenny Nakai
wedding boutonnieres – photos by (top) Stephanie Cristalli and (bottom) Chris + Lynn
Be sure to check out all of the gorgeous boutonnieres, and head-to-toe fashion ideas for men, in our new Fashion Report, The Groom – six sharp looks for the modern man!
Elegant Black, White and Pink Dessert Filled Wedding – By Top Wedding Planner Mindy Weiss
Full of elegant touches and loads of sugar, Erica and Adi had the “sweetest” wedding celebration… literally. They had a huge dessert table filled with every treat imaginable including cake pop favors and a “Love is Sweet” theme. Desserts were naturally an integral part of the day since Erica owns Sweet E’s Bake Shop, and her passions, along with help from the expert team at Mindy Weiss Party Consultants, made this sophisticated by fun-loving wedding a sweet tooth’s delight! Enjoy these amazing photographs by Duke Photography, and the wedding planning story from bride Erica herself.
The Couple: Erica and Adi
The Wedding: 11.12.11 – St. Regis, Monarch Beach Dana Point, CA
What three adjectives best describe your wedding? Magical, fun and unforgettable
What was your wedding color palette? We used a classic black and white palate with touches of pink and silver.
What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? When we saw the St. Regis hotel we immediately fell in love. The elegance, glamour and sophistication of the hotel was exactly the style of wedding we wanted. From there we added our own personal touches to make the decor unique to us. I love sparkle and girly, pretty things, so there were touches of pink, shimmer and rhinestones on everything. We also did a few fun things like our own drink specials that were passed out at the reception. Adis drink was a Rum Punch and mine was a Kiwi-Tini.
Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? We really focused on making the wedding weekend personal to us. The wedding was about our love for one another and we made sure to focus on that. The planning was over and everything was set, so we made sure to relax and enjoy our wedding weekend. The first time we saw each other dressed and ready was such a magical moment. From then on we felt like we were in a dream. Walking down the isle I felt so many loving eyes on me; the love in the room was incredible. Our ceremony was beautiful and felt so intimate, even though there were 250 other people there. Adi’s dad married us, which really made the ceremony so personal and special. We also wrote our own vows which was so romantic; a keepsake we will have forever. Throughout the entire night we just kept reminding each other that we were at our own wedding. It was such a surreal experience and we tried to take in every moment.
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? Video and photography are so important! Everyone says that after the big day, all you are left with are the memories. It is so true!!! All your hard work of planning goes by in an instant. So loving your photographer and videographer is SO important. Our photographer, Duke, was the first vendor we booked and his photos inspired us throughout our wedding planning process. Now that the wedding is over we are so happy that we have such incredible photos and video to look back on for the rest of our lives.
Looking back, do you have a favoriteproject or successful decor idea from your wedding? Tell us wha tyou loved about it! I own a bake shop in Los Angeles called Sweet Es Bake Shop. We do weddings for other couples all year long ,so now that it was my turn I really wanted to go all out. Sweet Es is so much a part of our lives it just seemed fitting to make the sweets an integral part of our wedding. We set the tone for the entire event with the theme Love is Sweet. Printed on the save-the-dates, stamps, welcome bags, favors, itineraries, and more, Love is Sweet was a theme throughout our entire wedding weekend. The sweets started with the welcome bags where we had chocolate covered oreos with our monogram. Then at the rehearsal dinner the sweets continued with heart photo cookies on every plate, a dessert table, and a surprise groom’s cake. The groom’s cake was a life size cake in the shape of our two dogs, Luna and Cody. It was truly the most amazing cake we have done! Plus, it was a very sweet surprise for Adi.
At the wedding, guests were served a trio of wedding cake flavors. We couldnt choose our favorite flavors, so we chose three of our favorite flavors and each guest got to taste a bite of each – blue velvet, molten chocolate chip, and white chocolate raspberry champagne. Then, for the big finale we did a huge dessert table full of all our favorite sweets: cupcakes, cake pops, chocolate pretzels, chocolate marshmallows, peanut butter bliss, cheesecake bites….the list goes on. We also matched the decorations of all the sweets to our color scheme and added shimmer and rhinestones wherever I could. For our wedding favors each guest left with a gift box of two bride and groom decorated cake pops with a heart shaped note that read Thank you for sharing the sweetest moment of our lives.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Duke Photography
Event Planner: Mindy Weiss
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Monarch Beach Resort
Videographer/Film Maker: Vidicam Productions
Officiant: Rabbi Norbert Weinberg
Invitation Designer: 2HeartsB1
Catering: Someone’s in the Kitchen
Florist: Tic Tock
Wedding Cake and Dessert Table: Sweet E’s Bake Shop
Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier
Bridal Accessories: Stuart Weitzman
Bridemsaids’ Apparel: Monique Lhuillier
Groom and Groomsment Apparel: Groom – Theory, Groomsmen – Friar Tux
Make-up: Jeanine Canter
Live Music: West Coast Music
Favors: Sweet E’s Bake Shop
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Rings: Zadok Jewelers
Thank you so much for sharing your extra sweet wedding with us! Best wishes!
Craving something sugary? Check out the Cakes and Food section of our Inspiration Gallery!
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