Crazy love can offen be found folded throughout the weddings we post. That’s a given. But love paired with details so beautifully executed they only add to all that magic swirling around a wedding day; that’s a bit harder to find. But this Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse has it all. It’s a one-stop shop full of elegant, rustic details crafted by family and friends and images by Steve Steinhardt that showcase a perfect day; even if things didn’t go exactly according to plan. See all the beauty unfold right here as well as in the film shot by The Cana Family below.

 

From the Bride…We decided to travel to one of our favorite places, the Santa Ynez Valley, to have our wedding for two reasons: First, there was no place in the world we’d rather be. The second? It was sure to be warm… especially in November when the weather is just starting to cool back home. Well, you wouldn’t know it from the pictures, but that wasn’t the case. Our wedding day was cold. Freezing, even. So much so that we had to move most of the party indoors, leaving the string lights and adorable vintage trailer we’d rented lonely outside. In fact, there were a lot of those details that didn’t go according to plan on our wedding day… but when I look back, there’s not one thing I would change.

Hearing my dad tell me how proud he was before he walked me down the aisle, seeing Mark’s face (and the tears coming down it) when I walked his way… shivering as we said our vows… and dancing the night away next to a warm fire with the best band on earth. From the sky full of stars, to each and every one of the amazing people that made the night happen, to my brand new husband who makes me feel like the luckiest girl on earth… my heart is so full of thanks. Nothing went according to plan, but what I didn’t know when I made those plans was that none of them would really matter… I married my best friend, and our day couldn’t have been more perfect.

I’m a policy analyst in DC and write and edit the blog A Thousand Threads and Mark works as a business development manager for a construction company in the small town where we live.  We met almost six years ago, before we’d embarked on any of this.  At the time, we were both working at the same restaurant in the DC suburbs.  Above all, we wanted our day to be personal… more us than anything else.  So we hired a food truck and an amazing band and had a small party with 30 of our closest friends and family.  We planned it ourselves and included as many personal touches as we could.  We chose the farmhouse partly because it was brought from the east coast to the west.  Since I’m from Oregon and Mark is from Maryland, the east/west connection felt like it represented us both perfectly.  I carried each of my late grandmothers’ rings tied to my bouquet, and we both wore bottle caps pinned to our clothes (a nod to our favorite movie, Up – Mark was an eagle scout, so we have so many reasons to love it).  We gave everyone a welcome bag full of goodies from Oregon, Maryland, and California, and my aunt arranged our flowers with the help of my mother and a long time friend of the family.  Everyone really came out to help and make our day amazing… I can’t say how thankful I am for all of them.

Photographer: Steve Steinhardt | Venue: Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse | Videographer: The Cana Family | Day of Coordinator: Cori Lassahn, Avante Events | Cakes + Cupcakes: Enjoy Cupcakes | Catering: O Street Food Truck | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals | Lighting + Heating: Discount Party Rental | Hair+ Makeup: Mar with TEAM Hair and Makeup | Band: Moonsville Collective | Floral: DIY, with help from the bride’s aunt | Growlers: Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. | Dress: Ivy & Aster | Shoes: Kate Spade | Headpiece: Twigs & Honey

TEAM Hair and Makeup and Steve Steinhardt Photography are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

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When I first locked eyes with this South of France affair, I could have sworn it was a perfectly planned styled shoot. But no. It’s a real wedding with all the components to make you believe otherwise. From the model-beautiful bride and groom to the incredible setting of Chateau des Fleurs, this chic Provence soiree embodies everything a fairytale wedding should be, plus more. It’s taking all I have not hop a flight to France this very moment, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy a virtual vacay through the gallery of photos from Xavier Navarro. Won’t you join me?

 

From the Bride…Guillaume and I live in Paris but we are really a transatlantic couple, with our families between Paris and New York City… but we didn’t want to do a big city wedding. Since we both also have family connections to the Riviera, we decided to have our wedding weekend there. And since so many guests were coming all the way from the States and many didn’t know the area, we really wanted to showcase the South of France. Our vision was a chic Provence wedding, with an elegant vintage touch. This is easier said than done as the Riviera tends to be more “bling bling” than elegant. Our wonderful photographer Xavier Navarro was absolutely key in helping us find the right vendors who would “get” our vision and aesthetic, particularly our lovely florist and decorator. I am quite a perfectionist (some might even say control freak, em hem) so it was important to find the right people who I could trust with our big day since we were organizing from a distance.

The wedding colors were inspired by the natural local palette: the purple of the lavender fields and the sagey green of the olive trees. My bridesmaids (my 2 sisters and 4 girlfriends) chose their own lavender dresses — I loved the mix & match look. My little cousins in the wedding party looked adorable in their outfits: off-white tulle dresses with lavender sashes for the flower girls and grey slacks/white shirts with lavender bow ties for the ring bearers. They loved getting dressed up!

There were many DIY elements and we recruited friends and family to help us out: we assembled the invitations (which a friend designed) and the gifts bags (colorful sachets of dried lavender and mini bottles of local olive oil from my family’s property); one of my sisters designed the wedding website; my godmother had custom fans made etc… We owe them all a big thank you!

The 19th century Chateau des Fleurs, with its large terraced gardens, was the perfect venue — a blend of a traditional Provençal country house (“bastide”) with the tailored refinement of a Chateau. We planned an outdoor ceremony in the garden under a custom arch made by our florist, but the weather had other plans… Just as the first reading started, the skies opened up and all 165 guests ran inside. Thankfully we had prepared a backup and the rest of the ceremony, squeezed into the Chateau’s 12th century stone chapel, was all the more intimate and emotional. As we signed the wedding certificate, everyone started singing “All you need is love.” The rain cleared just in time for the apéritif, which featured bellinis with sprigs of lavender and small bites like seared foie gras and crispy polenta with olive tapenade. All the food was inspired by local cuisine and seasonal products. The dinner started with a sun-dried tomato and caramelized zucchini tart, followed by fresh grilled Mediterranean sea bream with vegetables, and the obligatory cheese course was a duo of local cheeses. The tables, draped in natural linen table clothes, were named after local flowers, and the table names were written in calligraphy on the backs of vintage botanical prints.

Just before the classic Croquembouche wedding cake, we planned a small surprise for my father because it was also his birthday. We had a special cake brought out and there was a small fireworks display around the Chateau’s basin. Then our guests moved inside for a decadent dessert buffet. Our decorator and florist worked together on all the details inside: from the antique trunk for the photobooth accessories, to the vintage mirrors propped up against the walls, to the stunning floral arrangements. The sound system had some issues as we started our first dance (you can’t control everything!), so everyone started singing “All you need is love” again… Then the band kicked off the party and we danced with all our family and friends. And ultimately this is what we really wanted: to throw a great party and have everyone dance with us until the wee hours! Guillaume and I had a magical day, but it all went by so quickly… We were so thrilled when we got Xavier’s incredible photos, he beautifully captured the love and joy of the day. Thanks to these gorgeous photos, we’ll be able to relive this day for the rest of our lives!

Wedding Photography: Xavier Navarro | Venue: Chateau des Fleurs | Floral Design: Sabine Flowers | Event Design: Christine Linder Favier | Hair +Makeup: Revann | Invitations: Marine Duroselle (London-based graphic designer, friend of the couple) | Caterer: One Shot | Wedding dress: Amsale (I had my tailor put in the pockets) | Bride’s shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Groom + Groomsmen Attire: Les Deux Oursons | Ties: Nodus | Flower Girls + Ring Bearers: Les Petits Inclassables

A little bit ago, we let you in on a fabulous little partnership between Dove Hair, SMP and the ever fabulous Mark Townsend. A partnership that combined product, pretty and pizzazz for all things hair. We kicked off the pretty hair parade with this boho chic look on our talented Jess, and now it’s time to pull a 180 and go all out mod on little ol’ me. And let me be honest, my mane is not the easiest to tame. But with one swoop of Mark’s talented brush and a dollop of Dove Hair product I had a top knot so fierce I would have walked down any red carpet you put in front of me. True story.  The absolute best part? I am donning that same do right at this very moment because Mark let me in on all of his tricks of the trade. And now it’s time to share them with you, because whether you’re walking the red carpet or vacuuming your own, everything is better with a top knot…

From Mark Townsend…This is very polished hair that makes a quiet statement. It’s minimal, and there’s sophistication and ease in that simplicity. Usually when I’m thinking modern elegance, it’s about taking a trend — in this case top knots, which are E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E — and making it a little more polished and elevated for a wedding.

The silhouette of the dress Abby chose was very fresh and architectural. The hair needed to reflect that, although I kept it slightly asymmetrical so it wouldn’t feel too perfect. There’s nothing vintage about this look. It’s wholly 2013.

1. Abby lifts her hair to blond, which can lead to a little more damage, so we started with the NEW Dove® Intensive Repair Shampoo & NEW Dove® Intensive Repair Conditioner; it nourishes and strengthens hair to help prevent split ends and leave hair smooth without weighing it down. Lightened, wet hair also tends to be more coarse, so I worked in a few drops of the Dove® Nourishing Oil Care Detangler before blow-drying. The almond and coconut oil soak immediately into the hair shaft and help those lifted cuticles lie down smooth and flat.

2. I blew the hair out with a large, round brush, focusing on smoothness and a little bend.

MARK’S  TIP: Don’t blow dry too flat or straight — otherwise strands will be too slippery to put up.

3. Spritz a flat brush with the Dove® Style+Care Strength & Shine Extra Hold Hairspray and rake hair back into a high, tight ponytail. We’re talking literally on top of the head — not on the back — then secure with a bunji elastic. Pulling the hair up ultra-high is what separates this updo from the gym top knot you’d wear any day of the week.

4. Emulsify the Dove® Style+Care Frizz-Free Shine Cream-Serum in your hands and smooth back the fuzz around the hairline, then rake hands through the ponytail. And now we start styling (stay with me here): Take the ponytail in your right hand, lift it up straight. Put your left thumb directly in front of the base of the ponytail and wrap the ponytail around the thumb to create a loop — all while still holding the rest of the ponytail around the base. Then slide your thumb out. See that loop? That gives you a little more volume and really nice smoothness.

5. Tuck in ends with hair pins.

MARK’S TIP: Spray extra-hold hair spray on a reusable mascara wand to slick back baby hairs around the hairline and nape.

 

It’s honestly easy as 1,2,3. And that mascara wand tip? Life changing. Mark Townsend and Dove Hair make hair magic happen, and now we can all walk around with lovely locks. There is still one more gorgeous look coming your way from this talented team – but you can keep the hair-spiration going by pinning all the hair pretty right here.

Guess what? There is even more fabulous to share, SMPers. Dove Hair is giving away these exact products Mark created to create the Modern Elegance Style to the first 10 winners who leave a comment! That’s the NEW Dove ® Intensive Repair Shampoo, NEW Dove® Intensive Repair Conditioner, Dove® Nourishing Oil Care Detangler, Dove® Style+Care Frizz-Free Shine Cream-Serum, AND Dove® Style+Care Strength & Shine Extra Hold Hairspray so you can make this look your very own. So whip up that top knot and get to typing – just leave a little comment on why you love this oh-so-in look below to win!

Photography: Anne Robert Photography | Location: Gabriella Bridal New York Bridal Salon in SoHo | Hair Styling: Mark Townsend | Makeup: Sharon Becker | Robes: Pretty Plum Sugar

See terms and conditions here.

Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Anne Robert Photography and SB Beauty are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

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