Hello everyone!  I am so excited that this weekend will officially kick off the 2011 Love and Splendor wedding season! 🙂  It is my 6th (!) full year of planning + designing weddings for the loveliest couples on earth, and I am eagerly anticipating all the fabulous events on our roster this year.  Our 1st wedding of the year is at a favorite seaside resort of mine and we have many of my favorite vendors on board, including DJ Ian of Red Shoe LA and Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop.

This week has been an eventful one, and I can’t believe tomorrow will be Friday!  Here are some glimpses at what we’ve been up to for the past 7 days…

• Inspiring site visit at Saddlerock Ranch!  It was a glorious day and as you can see, I made a few new friends.  🙂

• Froyo run with Michie after a Love and Splendor work session on Sunday afternoon!  We went to Menchie’s instead of our beloved Pinkberry but no worries — we know where our loyalties lie.

• Me, Michie and Anna assembled 200 (!!!) of the most intricate, over-the-top save-the-dates EVER.  Seriously, I cannot wait to share these with you!  They all went in the mail today so once guests receive them, I will be giving you a glimpse.  They are for my New Mexico wedding this fall.

sneak peek of the artwork done by my in-house graphic designer, kristin.  more on her soon!!  😉

• I was called to jury duty, and subsequently selected for a trial!  I am still serving so I can’t share any details other than that, but I will say I don’t really mind it.  😉  It isn’t my first trial and I actually enjoy being a part of the process.  I just wish the courtrooms weren’t so dank and depressing!
• Tonight I passed on the corned beef and cabbage, but still kept dinner green with a spinach pesto + shrimp spaghetti.  Yum yum!

I want to leave you all with a little encouragement to check out the wonderful work the ladies at Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours are doing to collect money for disaster relief in Japan.  In partnership with Shelterbox, they have raised over $23,000 (so far!) to provide survivors of the earthquake + tsunami with lifesaving supplies.  Please check out FOR JAPAN WITH LOVE for more information on how to donate, and join me and many others in an online “day of silence” tomorrow (no blogging or other forms of social media).  xo

Enjoy your weekend and don’t take for granted all the blessings in your life today <3.  See you all next week!

xoxo, Angel

Hello again, everyone!  I want to start off by extending heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your love & support in the wake of last week’s blog post.  🙂  Anna is feeling the love!  ❤

Now on to an exponentially happier topic: my birthday, which took place on Monday (March 7th).  I have never been one to go “all out” for my birthday, and typically prefer to spend sweet, quiet time with my family.  My Mom and Raj always take me out for a decadent birthday dinner and past celebrations have taken place at AOC, Lucques, and the Bazaar at SLS. This year, however, they surprised me with reservations at Providence.  As one of only 3 restaurants in soCal with two coveted Michelin stars (the other two are Melisse and Spago, btw), Providence is thought by many to be one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles.  They specialize in seafood and are renowned for their creative tasting menus.  They offer 5, 9 and 16 (!!!) course tasting menus, but we opted for the 5-course.  Although it was my first time at Providence, Mom and Raj have visited numerous times and insisted that the 5-course would be perfect.  The meal still took us over 2 hours and I left quite satisfied (in terms of fullness).  I recall that the 9 course menu included an additional dessert course, a cheese course, an additional entrée and additional starter.  One day I might be brave (and hungry and patient!!) enough to attempt the 16-courses…

The meal was sublime!  Here are just a few snaps I took of our five courses.  Not pictured: a wonderful amuse bouche (turnip soup with a red wine reduction + gruyère puff pastry) and their incredible breads — bacon brioche and foccacia with seaweed!!

japanese kanpachi with crispy rice crackers, Australian finger lime and crème fraîche

nancy’s down east sea scallops with buckwheat, dashi and napa cabbage

wild striped bass with brown butter, lemon and nori sauce + braised cannelini beans

marcho farms veal tenderloin with curry daikon sauce, chanterelle mushrooms, pearl onions.

raj & anna, who were veal-shy, subbed with another delicious fish…

banana bread pudding with barley ice cream (and crunchy puffed barley!) + orange sauce (i love banana anything!)

We spied Andy Richter eating at the table next to ours (with two other actors whose faces I couldn’t quite place) that night.  Interestingly enough, I also found this interview he did with CNN in which he mentions the restaurant.  😉

I had a splendid evening at Providence and look forward to my next visit.  It may be a while, though — it’s a lot nicer going when you’re not footing the bill.  😉

I hope your week is off to a lovely start!~  How was your weekend?  I spent most of mine assembling 200 intricate save-the-dates with Anna & Michelle.  Wait until you see them… They are out-of-control amazing.

Keeping the people of Japan in my prayers as they begin to recover from the devastating earthquakes + tsunami…

xoxo, Angel

Hello everyone!  The title of this post sums it up: the topic of today’s blog entry is not a cheery one (at first glance, anyway).  Since we shared the news of Anna’s engagement with all of you (in a blog post a bit over a week ago, now deleted), we felt similarly obliged to share with all of our beloved readers + friends that Anna has now called that engagement off.

As you can imagine, Anna is still dealing with the emotional repercussions of this situation and would prefer not to chat about this in person.  So, she asked me to write a brief and succinct post letting you all know the facts of what happened.  And then, we move on.  🙂

• Late last week, Anna discovered that J had been lying to her throughout their entire relationship.  It was a lie that extended into many areas of his life.
• J’s lie(s) directly impacted Anna and were also spread to his family, our family, etc.
• Anna decided to call off the wedding and break things off with J.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, the topic of calling off an engagement is not exactly what you’d expect (or frankly, want) to read about on my blog.  But because we have been so overwhelmed with the excitement of our readers, fellow vendors, friends and clients in the wake of announcing Anna’s engagement, we wanted to find the easiest “blanket” approach to giving everyone the news.  Although Anna has been rising above all of this with wonderful grace and strength, you can imagine how difficult it is when a sweet client or friend tells her, “Congratulations!!” on the now-defunct engagement.

Any of you who know Anna know this: she is a vivacious, sassy, beautiful and generous woman who will make it through all of this.  Although I started out this post saying the topic was not that cheery, I would go as far as saying that this broken engagement is the best thing to happen to Anna this year.  We could’ve done without the painful experience, but we trust and know that the Lord is using this to strengthen Anna.  We are SO grateful that Anna was able to uncover this now, and not in two months time when the severed relationship would have many more complications.

Thanks again for all of your love and support for Anna during this time.  If you feel so inclined to leave a comment, I know your encouraging words will mean the world to my sis.  🙂

P.S. I’ll be back soon with a more typical post.  😉  See you then!

xoxo, Angel

It’s time for another installment of my favorite random “lately-loves.”  🙂  Here are some of the things I’ve been enjoying lately, that are too good to keep to myself…

1.  siggi’s Icelandic style skyr (strained non-fat yogurt)

Say hello to my latest snack obsession.  I discovered siggi’s at my local Henry’s and was intrigued by the perfect packaging.  Looking closer, I was sold after scoping their unique flavors and impressive nutrition facts: no sugar (they use agave nectar instead), 120 cals, 17g of protein per cup!!!  But as we all know… the proof is in the skyr.  LOL  And it is diiiiiivine.  I highly recommend the pomegranate and passion fruit, grapefruit and vanilla flavors.  I also have read (but have not confirmed) that skyr is great for smoothies. Can’t wait to try them all!!

2.  cate blanchett’s givenchy haute couture dress from the 2011 oscars

I know I’m a week late on the obsession-train, but WOW.  I cannot get enough of the incredible pale lilac confection that Cate wore to the Oscars!!  I love absolutely everything about it, from the barnacle-like beading to the structured shoulders, to the delicate pleating to the pop of yellow.  Stunning and something I would wear in a heartbeat.  I was fairly bored by everything else the stars wore that night… but this dress, I can’t get out of my head!

3.  essie nail polish in “turquoise and caicos”

I think the best gifts are the ones you wish you could keep when you give them away.  😉  When I was wrapping up my Christmas shopping for Anna, I was on the hunt for a couple of nail polishes as “stocking stuffers.”  This cool turquoise was one that I snagged for her, and secretly wanted for myself!  I borrowed it this weekend and immediately fell in love with the playful, tropical color.

4.  vivité skincare

I have been LOVING my Vivite skincare products!  I was introduced to them by my sister-in-law Megan (who happens to own an awesome med spa in Pasadena — Elude!), as the products are made by Allergan…the same company that makes Botox and Latisse!  Everything is medical grade and full of powerful glycolic acid.  I can honestly say I’ve seen a difference in my skin in the couple of months I’ve been using the products.  I especially love the revitalizing eye cream and night renewal facial cream, while Meg raves about the vibrance therapy serum.

5.  nars lip gloss in “easy lover”

I’m always carrying around 2-3 lipglosses and this one hasn’t left my purse in months.  This hot pink gloss goes on fairly sheer and has great staying power.  Love it alone or layered over a peachy lipstick (like YSL Rouge Volupté #30).

6.  ra ra riot – “the orchard”

An album I still can’t get enough of…  I am all about a rock band with prominent violin and cello!  My favorite songs are “Foolish,” “Keep It Quiet” and “Shadowcasting”… but I really don’t think there’s a bad song in the mix.

And as a bonus, here are some other albums currently in my CD changer…

from left to right: mumford & sons, the decemberists, the morning benders

I hope you all had a terrific first week of March!  I am looking forward to a very special celebration this weekend, and will share all about it next week.  As always, please let me know if there is something you’ve been loving lately…  I love reading about your fab finds, too!!

xoxo,

Angel

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I wanted to quickly drop in and share that the organic and nature-inspired baby shower we planned for Kristin of Petal and Thorn is featured today on “On To Baby.” If you haven’t checked out this blog, you are missing out on the most lovely and inspiring spot on the web for mothers and mothers-to-be!  I will admit I am one of those non-mothers who can’t get enough of nursery design, baby showers, and birthday parties.  😉  I am definitely going to be in trouble when I join the mommy club!!

photos by the lovely and fabulous Trista Lerit

A million thanks again to everyone involved with this shower, as well as the ladies of On To Baby for the great feature!!

Planning: Angel Swanson, Events of Love and Splendor, along with sister of mom-to-be, Jennyln, and friend Chie
Event Design, Florals, Paper Goods, & Signage: Angel Swanson, Events of Love and Splendor
Furniture & Decor Rentals: {found} vintage rentals
Cake, Desserts, & Favors: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Food: Homemade by Kristin’s sister Jennylyn

See you all again very soon; have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

Angel

Hello everyone!!  I am sorry for the long silence here; you probably (correctly) assumed what I’ve been up to: working with incredible couples on fabulous weddings!  Lots of fun things up my (puffy) sleeves, but for now I thought I’d ease myself back into blogging by sharing this GORGEOUS engagement shoot with you.  Meet Borami and Anthony!  They live on the east coast and are planning a gorgeous Malibu wedding for this summer.  Borami happens to be the sister of one of my former clients, Naomi.  I LOVE that I get to work with their effervescent family again on this very special occasion.  What a blessing to do both of their weddings.  😉  Borami is half Korean (like me!), half Puerto Rican, 100% ridiculously stunning.

Enjoy these inspiring images courtesy of my beloved (and wildly talented!!) friend Amelia Lyon.  I could stare at these dreamy images all day.

that’s a good looking couple right there 😉

Hope you have a great rest of the week!  I promise to be back again soon.

xoxo, Angel

Hello again, everyone!  I’m back again to share another fabulous featured wedding — this time the bright and cheerful nuptials of Sarah and Steve, which took place last May in Pasadena. The wonderful ladies of the Wedding Chicks featured this wedding last week, so make sure to check out THIS POST (if you haven’t already) to see all the details and learn more about the inspiration behind the day. I absolutely loved the quintessentially happy palette of canary yellow, cool “succulent” green, cool gray and pops of crisp white. The overall feel of the wedding was chic and playful… casual California elegance.  I hope this wedding brings some sunshine to your day!

one of my favorite bouquets ever.  a breath of fresh air.

i love the structural cymbidiums and callas paired with the creamy dahlias and softer dusty miller…

Sarah + Steve: It was such a joy to work with you, and a pleasure getting to know you (and Sarah’s sweet mom!) along the way.  😉  Thank you for all the trust you put in me as you planned from the other side of the country.  I couldn’t have been more pleased with the final outcome; your wedding really captured that balance of whimsy and elegance you desired.  Adore you both and wish you only the best.  Hope to see you next time you’re in town!!  xoxo

{impeccable vendor team}

• venue: pasadena city hall
• photography: jerry yoon
• planning and coordination: events of love and splendor
• floral design: kristin brancaleone, formerly known as the treasured petal (now she runs petal and thorn — check her out!)
• catering: the kitchen for exploring foods
• DJ: ian of red shoe LA
• rentals: classic party rentals – culver city
• linens & chiavaris: elegant designs specialty linens
• hair and makeup: kelly zhang
• wedding cake: cake sensations
• late night snacks: kogi bbq truck (yum yum!!)

Hello everyone!!  I’m so thrilled to share that Khali & Potsch’s wildly creative and whimsical wedding was featured on Green Wedding Shoes!  Check out THIS POST for tons of info on the inspiration behind the day straight from the genius minds of K+P.

When I first met Khali and Potsch for their consultation with Anna, I got a major ab workout.  Anna and I maintain that their consult holds the record for most laughter. Khali and Potsch are simply two of the sweetest, most generous, kind-hearted and UTTERLY.HILARIOUS people you will ever meet.  I loved every interaction I had with these two… from the sweet emails to the giggle-fest meetings.  It was a joy to come alongside them as they planned an incredibly personalized wedding filled with DIY touches.  Anna was the lead coordinator on this wedding, which means she (and darling Michelle) ran the show on the day-of.  But, because I was managing all the planning before the big day (and had become so attached to K&P!), I couldn’t stay away from the wedding.  😉  I came for a little set-up, the ceremony, and cocktail hour.  Everything was perfect and I was blown away by the (countless) unique, gorgeous projects that Khali and Potsch put together.  From hand-sewn runners and napkins to a wooden cupcake stand complete with tiny figurines (we had the best time dreaming up funny stories about the characters…), the wedding had a whimsical, almost dream-like quality.  Enjoy these photos, courtesy of the insanely talented Kelty of Steep Street.

Stills from the silent film they made & debuted at the reception.  INCREDIBLE!!  Make sure you WATCH IT HERE.

Khali & Potsch — WOW do I love you two.  🙂  Thank you for inviting us into your lives at such a special time.  It was so inspiring to watch your creativity come to life, and it was an honor being a part of the big day.  I was so moved during your ceremony… I sat on the grass under a big tree and just reveled in the amazing power of your love. You are surrounded by so many wonderful people, too — what a blessing!  I miss you madly and can’t wait to get together soon.  And Khali: are we still going into the shoe biz together???  LOL  xoxo

{fabulous vendors}

• Venue: Temescal Gateway Park + Stewart Hall
• Photography: Kelty of Steep Street (adored working with her!)
• Videography: Isabel Gonzalez
• Wedding Planning and Coordination: Events of Love and Splendor (with Anna as lead coordinator)
• DJ: Ian of Red Shoe LA
• Caterer: Brats Brothers
• Appetizers, Jam + Cupcakes: Chef Cathy Shambley (mother of the bride!)

We have another exciting feature to share with you in a day or two, so keep your eyes peeled for that!  Hope you all are having a marvelous week!

xoxo, Angel

I hope you’re all having a fabulous week!!  I’m excited to share that one of my favorite weddings from 2010, the sweet  + charming nuptials of Amanda and David, was published in an Australian wedding magazine!  Wedding Style Guide did a gorgeous 6-page (!!!) spread of the wedding, which took place at Chateau le Dome at Saddlerock Ranch.  I absolutely adored being a part of this gorgeous day and am excited to pick up a copy of the magazine at my local Borders!

Many, many thanks to the fabulous Cat & Adi of Next Exit Photography for the beautiful images (I never get tired of looking at them!) and the opportunity to share this beautiful wedding with our friends down under.  😉

Have a wonderful Thursday, everyone!  See you again soon~  xoxo, Angel

Although my first wedding of 2011 is still a couple months away, things have been non-stop busy over here.  The post-holiday season is widely known as “booking season” in the wedding industry.  I always see a huge influx of inquiries in January and this year has been no different!  I’ve been having a wonderful time meeting with new clients and planning for some really fabulous 2011 events. As usual, there is lots of fresh and inspiring stuff cooking here at Love and Splendor.  🙂

I thought I better put up a little holiday re-cap before January slipped away!  I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into how I spent my Christmas, as well as the favorite items I found underneath the Christmas tree.  😉

at aunt frances’ house

Christmas Eve, 2010, at Erik’s aunt Frances’ home.

The view on Christmas morning.

{my favorite fab finds under the Christmas tree, 2010}

• hunter original gloss wellies in violet (available at Zappos here)
• new music from arcade fire, ray lamontagne and sufjan stevens
• classic black blazer from Zara, with an adorable striped lining that peeks out when I roll up the sleeves 😉
• hello kitty sigg bottle
• vivité skincare (looooving this stuff so far!)
• j. crew puffer vest in the most perfect deep taupe(i have a hard time not wearing it everyday)
• LA philharmonic tickets (sooo excited to see gustavo dudamel in action!!!)

I’d love to hear about any fab finds you’ve discovered lately, too!  I hope you have a marvelous weekend~

xoxo, Angel