Be still my heart

I just came across an adorable wedding on the Details Details blog. I am such a DIY girl & absolutely love what this bride did. Here are a couple of pics, be sure to check out the rest.


I love love love the idea of having the fabric dictate what table guests sit at. I am already dreaming of ways to incorporate this idea into future events. Oh, the possibilities!

A labor day weekend sneak peak

Happy Labor Day weekend! I am up in beautiful Bass Lake relaxing with my family & some family friends. It is seriously breathtaking! Waking up in the morning to the sounds of my little man talking and looking out the window at the lake, seeing the sun rising over the hill was a gift of a wake up.

I wanted to give you a sneak peak at Charissa & Jarryd's wedding at the Richard Nixon Library a few weeks ago. Professional pictures by John Partridge are still to come, but here are few pics of the flowers taken by Megan of Rainbow Flowers in Long Beach.














Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

oh, email, why do you hate me?

It has been brought to my attention that a few people have received bounce back notices when they have tried to email me in the past few days. If this has happened to you, I am so sorry. I am working on the problem right now. If your email got sent back, I would be so appreciative if you could resend it to: joyfulweddingsandevents at gmail dot com.

Thank you!

Jill & Harry on The Wedding Chicks

Happy Monday everyone!

We are honored and thrilled to tell you that Jill & Harry's wedding has been featured on The Wedding Chicks today. 

I still get amazingly happy whenever I look at the pictures from this wedding and am so overjoyed for Jill & Harry! 

*My wish list*

Wanted: Couples who are getting married at the following venues:

*Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
*The W Hotel San Diego
*The Ivy Hotel
*Montage Laguna Beach
*The Resort at Pelican Hill
*Prado

*A destination wedding in Hawaii

I would love to work at these venues in the next year. If you are getting married there and are looking for a coordinator, lets talk. I may be able to work something out for you :)

Just thought I'd throw it out there...

Darin & Rachele: Part 2

I'm back with a glimpse at the reception and details from Darin & Rachele's wedding at The Dana:

The escort cards were placed into large boxes of wheat grass. The groom made the boxes, as well as the cake stand (to been seen a bit later) himself. All stationary by Marquardt Design.

In place of favors, Darin & Rachele made donations to a foundation started by his grandmother that serves orphans in Africa. It was a sweet surprise for his family members, who did not find out about it until they found their seats in the reception. There were lots of hugs and a few tears.

A glimpse out at the patio where the cocktail hour was held:

A few more looks at the flowers, by Whimsey Florals:

A good way to get more use out of your flowers is to reuse your bridesmaid's bouquets throughout the bar/lobby area. They can take them back at the end of the night.

The tables had a mix of three different sized vases with either green or white flowers. Rachele said she wanted them to look organic- like she had just bought them at Trader Joe's and put them in a vase on her dining room table. I think that they turned out wonderfully!

My favorite were the mini hydrangeas.


To add a splash of green to the tables, we placed a green ribbon around each napkin, held in the back by a glue dot. I love doing this because it is cheap, easy and adds a simple fun touch to the place settings.

The chiavari chairs and linens were provided by the wonderful Classic Party Rentals.

The cupcake tower, made by the groom, was filled with wheat grass by the florist and filled with red velvet cupcakes by Heaven Sent Desserts. I came up with this idea to bring in some green, tie the escort card boxes in and to bring a unique edge to the wedding.
How killer is this cake cutting shot?

My favorite part of the wedding was their first dance.
As they danced to a Journey song, a few of their guests whipped out lighters and stuck them in the area. Before another minute went by, the entire ballroom was filled with lights swaying back and forth in the area. Guests grabbed the votives off of the table if they did not have a lighter. It was hilarious! I loved it!
All photos by En Luce Photography.

Other vendors:
Band: The Boys of Summer (Super fun 80's band)
Angie & the amazing team at The Dana.
Video: Super 8 shot by En Luce.

Darin & Rachele:
I cannot tell you how fun it was to work with you guys. I loved the simplicity and cleanness of the wedding design and loved getting to know you guys even more. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for you!

Darin & Rachele, part 1

Back in the beginning of June, Darin & Rachele were married at The Dana on Mission Bay. It was such a fun celebration of the love between these two. I so enjoyed getting to know them throughout our year of planning and their wedding was amazing!

Here is a look into their wedding day, captured by the incredible Dana Hargitay of En Luce Photography. *side note: Dana was actually the second shooter for my own wedding 3 years ago & is wonderful!


The beautiful bride:

The ceremony:

I loved what we did for the bridesmaid's bouquets: each had a different type of flower, all in white. I loved how it turned out. Floral design by the wonderful Diane of Whimsey Florals.

The bride's bouquet:

What a character:



It think it is great when couples think far enough ahead to do this:
The perfect thank you card picture!

And, how amazing is this photo? I absolutely adore it:


Detail photos & a look at their killer reception coming soon!

The ABC's of me

i was tagged by my sister in law Lindsey & my sisters Heather & Shannon to do the abc's of me. I don't normally do these things on my business blog, but I thought it might be fun to give all of my readers a little more insight into my life.

A. Attached or single? happily attached

B. Best friend? my hubby, my sisters, my mom & Jules, Erica & Cait

C. Cake or pie? cake, hands down. I eat far too much during wedding season. Red velvet is my favorite, which is a good thing because it has been at 5 of my weddings in the past couple of months!

D. Day of Choice? That's tough... sundays probably. Church, chipotle, down time at home (unless I have a sunday wedding)

E. Essential Item? Music. Rainbow sandals. Diet coke. My laptop. Trish McEvoy eye curling mascara. 

F. Favorite color? Black & white, & again- I agree with lindsey, kind of a turquoise-y tealy color

G. Gummy bears or worms? worms- only the sour ones. I very much dislike gummy bears.

H. Hometown? Mission Viejo, CA. My parents still live in the same house from when I was born.

I. Favorite indulgence? Ice Cream. Mint Chip or Peppermint at Christmastime. Buying myself a bunch of peonies at the store when they are in season. Or a trip to the spa for a massage :)

J. January or July? July- I love summer. Life is slower in January though.

K. Kids? Mr. Isaiah John Toney (9 1/2 months)

L. Life isn't complete without? Dessert, family & enjoying God's beautiful creation.

M. Marriage Date? September 9th, 2005

photos by Docuvitae

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 3 sisters, 2 brothers (3 of those biological). I'm the baby.

O. Oranges or apples? apples. Fuji.

P. Phobias? Being alone in the dark. spiders.

Q. Quotes? Many of my favorite quotes come from songs. Here are a few:

"Your Grace has found me just as I am: empty handed but alive in your hand" -"Majesty" by Hillsong United

"Bring it on, you moonlit blond, we'll frolic for a lifetime long" - I don't remember the name of it, but one of the first songs my hubby wrote about me back in high school.

R. Reasons to smile? Two weekends off in a row! Last saturday, I got to enjoy a real hang out at home saturday. I went to the pool with a friend & her baby, then hung out at home with David and worked on a bunch of projects, followed by BBQing and a movie. It was amazing! And this next weekend, we are heading up to SLO for my nephew's 1st birthday party!

S. Season of choice? the beginning of each season. I love the newness, freshness and excitement.

T. Tag 5 people: Nikki, Cristina, Amanda with In the Now weddings, Kristin with The Treasured Petal (welcome to blogging! You'll get tagged for junk like this!) & Megan with Classic. I'll tag my hubby too, just for fun, to see if he'll do it :)

U. Unknown fact about me? I clean my ears obsessively and I cannot stand it when Isaiah has boogers in his nose.

V. There was no V. My cousin Kristin added Vacation of Choice- I like it!: Anywhere with ocean, good fun and family. Favorites have been St. Lucia & Hawaii.

W. Worst habit? I am not the world's best driver... I am a good driver, but I do my makeup, eat and even check my email (thanks iPhone!) while driving. I know- it's terrible. I try not to do it when Isaiah is in the car especially. I've never been in an accident though!

X. X-ray or ultrasound? it depends: ultrasound to see a baby- wins hands down. ultrasound for any other reason when I've had to drink a gallon of water and hold my pee in, X-ray wins.

Y. Your favorite food? Anything with cheese: pizza, cheese & crackers, quesedillas, etc. Also, ice cream, risotto & good pasta. I have to say Chipotle too (and that's not just for my hubby!).

Z. Zodiac sign? Sagittarius, but I'm not into signs at all

phew... and I'm done. Another great wedding coming your way this week :)