d a n d e l i o n + g r e y

2013-01-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, it's officially official. I fell off the face of the blogging planet. It's been just shy of a year since my last post . . . but that doesn't mean Dandelion + Grey hasn't been in full swing. We were all over the place in 2012, making pretty things happen at weddings and parties; dabbling in food styling; terrifying ourselves by attempting to run wedding rehearsals and tackle timelines. I've also been taking on freelance writing jobs, co-running a little online general store and, get this, writing a screenplay with a couple of deeply inspiring folks. (No, really, we're doing it.) So, no, I didn't spend any of my spare moments sharing photos and tales from the road, but I hope my absence is somewhat explained and that you'll welcome me back.

After much contemplation and reflection, I've decided to take Dandelion + Grey in a similar, but new direction. We will now operate mostly as a floral design studio. This new endeavor will likely include styling and art direction, so my past is not completely dead. Florals are something I've been tinkering around with for as long as I can remember. I've even single handedly (and, at times, with my team) provided the flowers for several weddings in recent years, and been asked to provide them more times than that. But here's what usually happens: I take on a styling job, and more often than not the couple opts out of hiring a coordinator. Being an impetuous, "right-brained" person myself, I quickly agree that this sounds like a brilliant idea and an excellent way for them to save a little money.

And then, I panic a little. Wait a second, who is going to ensure the vendors arrive on time or line up the bridal party? Who's going to refill the lemonade dispensers or clean up scattered beer bottles?

Oh, right. Me. Happens every time.

And while, in all fairness, I don't have to do these things, I do them. And needless to say, the few times I added "florist" to this already inundated list, I got a little overwhelmed. So in order to do my other tasks well, I removed the whole idea from the equation.

But my mind always wandered back to the flowers. And lately, with a little more free time on my hands, I've been ending up at the flower mart again and again, walking around the block with garden shears like it's no big deal, and crafting arrangements like a mad woman.

Lucky for me I have a ridiculously talented husband and best friend who are almost always willing to photograph my creations in exchange for listening to me sing, tell horrible stories and make a huge mess. Who's on the winning end of that stick?

So here I am, telling you now, what the future of this little 'ol company of mine will be. A future that I hope will be full of artistry, gratification, joy. . . and peonies.

Please stop by my new website - dandelionandgrey.com - to see a bit of what I've been up to. More will be added in the coming weeks.

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !
x o x o

Erin

O H , H E L L O !

2012-01-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

...it's been a while!

i've been keeping quite busy, but have missed you all so much!

i have all kinds of prettiness awaiting features and publication, so i'll be sharing full length posts with you just as soon as i can!

|laura murray photography|

|one love photo|

|cami jane photography|

|birds of a feather photo|

happy new year! hope your 2012 is off to a beautiful start!

xo.

Corporate Event : Guy & Eva

2011-10-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

in august, i had the extreme pleasure of traveling to NYC to plan & style guy & eva's first annual launch conference & preview of their fall//winter 2011 collection! they are such a fun company with absolutely swoon-worthy jewelry. a huge thank you to mat and daniel for allowing me to be a part of this amazing event!
check out guy & eva - website | facebook

the event was hosted at 91 event space in the meatpacking district. i honestly cannot say enough great things about the space or the staff! being that i planned the event from los angeles, i couldn't have done it without them. their catering division, the upper crust nyc provided a delicious breakfast for all of our guests.

i sourced all of the display & decor pieces from various online retailers. the tables & black armchairs were rented from taylor creative in new york.

a huge thank you to leila brewster photography for traveling out and capturing these gorgeous images!

DIY wedding decor from Factory Direct Craft

2011-10-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

When I am styling a wedding, I'm all about DIYs and saving my brides money when I can. For this very reason, I simply adore craft sites! I stumbled upon Factory Direct Craft last April when I was looking for some unique tags to tie around mini mason jars to use as escort cards at one of my weddings. As soon as I saw Factory Direct's rustic tin tags, I knew they'd be perfect!

Lovely, no?

Another pretty design element I'm enamored with these days are airplants tucked into clear acrylic ornaments. Factory Direct Craft sells these in bulk, so your florist can beautify them with succulents, airplants, moss and other greenery. They would be stunning making a big statement at a ceremony site, or doubling as escort cards with guest names attached.

They also have a great selection of vintage-inspired skeleton keys which are so, so easy and lovely to use for escort cards. And your guests will adore having such a sweet keepsake from your wedding!

For the ambitious DIY bride who wants to craft part of her wedding day accoutrement, Factory Direct Craft carries a ton of great feathers, fabrics and trims for creating just about anything you can dream up. I love this Ivory Pearl Band Trim & think it'd be a super easy way to create a chic belt for your wedding dress!

Of course, they also carry all the important wedding basics- candles, kraft paper, twine.. items that I always have on hand when styling a wedding. Pop over to their site for more!

credits: escort card mason jars {one love photo}, plants inside acrylic ornaments {shelterness}, skeleton keys as escort cards {united with love}, pink dress with beaded belt {preston & olivia}

{sneak peek} REAL DANDELION & GREY WEDDING | JORDAN & NATALIE

2011-07-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

This wedding has my whole heart.

After over a year of planning, Jordan & Natalie's wedding day arrived last month. It was an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful day. Many, many more photos to come!

Location : Demetria Estate

Photography : One Love Photo

Planning, Styling & Floral Design : Dandelion & Grey

Catering : Trumpet Vine Catering

Cakes : Enjoy Cupcakes

DJ & Lighting : Kramer Entertainment

Rentals : Classic Party Rentals

Vintage Rentals : Found Vintage Rentals

Vintage Tabletop Rentals : Archive Vintage Rentals

{ Real Wedding | Karen & Phil }

2011-07-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Today's wedding is extra special to me! Karen is a friend of Greg & me and is one of the kindest people around. Her sweet wedding took place at the Buerge Chapel in the Pacific Palisades in California and the reception took place at Karen & Phil's adorable Los Angeles home.

The entire wedding was so charming, intimate and personal. A close friend of the couple officiated, another dear friend sang the processional & Karen & one of her bridesmaids sewed all of the pillows and aprons for the event.

Congratulations Karen & Phil!

xoxo

Photography by Claire Barrett | Ceremony Location: Buerge Chapel | Catering: Chef Cordelia | Event Design: Brown Hot Events | Rentals: Town & Country and Del Rey Rentals

{ Happy Weekend & Featured! In The KNOT }

2011-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

I hope you had a lovely week. Thank you for the Birthday comments!

I'm so excited & honored that the colorful fiesta wedding I styled last year has landed in the pages of The Knot Southern California! It's on newsstands if you feel like picking up a copy!

Have a great weekend!

Maya & Dave's Wedding photographed by

Beautiful Black & whites from Tec Petaja

2011-07-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Black & Whites from Jonas Peterson

2011-06-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Black & Whites from Ashley Garmon Photography

2011-06-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

{ Happy Weekend }

2011-06-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

Have a sunny, sweet Weekend!

Onward...

2011-06-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

{Ruffled, 100LC, SMP, Tec Petaja, Kate MacPherson, Elizabeth Messina, Ben Blood, Gia Canali, Jonas Peterson, Rachel Thurston, Once Wed}

{ Real Wedding: Daniela + Anthony }

2011-06-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

This sun-drenched, sweet Calistoga wedding by Jesse Leake Photography won me over in an instant with it's smiling faces, gorgeous scenery, family style reception and charming simplicity.

{ Happy Weekend }

2011-06-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

A few pretties for your weekend...

1. Dazzle Crystal Headwrap from Ban.Do

2. Cheeky Paper Goods from Mae Mae Paperie {from this lovely shoot}

3. Shimmering Lattice Skimmers from BHLDN

4. A 1950's Vintage Frock from Dear Golden Vintage {It's so darling & only $350!}

A special heartfelt shout-out to my friends Tracy & Justin who tying the knot this weekend! Tracy runs the super stellar Day-of-Coordination firm, The Bride Concierge, and is a total sweetheart! So happy for you guys!

Have The Loveliest Weekend, friends!!

Beautiful Black & Whites from One Love Photo

2011-06-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

{ Happy Weekend }

2011-05-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

Enjoy your Holiday Weekend!

What do you have planned? I will be styling a photoshoot for an upcoming magazine feature

{ wee! } and spending some quality time with friends... BBQ's, sunshine, sangria...I'm looking forward to it!

Isn't this kind of the best image ever? It's from Ruche's new lookbook, which you absolutely must check out if you haven't yet!

Lookbook photography by:

Beautiful Black & Whites from Amy & Stuart

2011-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Each week I'd love to highlight a beautiful collection of Black & White photographs from one photographer. If you would like to submit your B&W's for this feature, please email me!

{ Happy Weekend }

2011-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

I will be attending the Bridal Fair by the Sea on Sunday on behalf of Archive Vintage Rentals! If you are attending as well, please stop by and say hi!

xoxo.

{ photo by Josh Goleman }

Sea Glass, Ruffles, Blush & Cake

2011-05-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd pop by and say hi with a few lovely photos for your Thursday!

2011-03-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Please consider joining the effort to help those affected by the horrific disaster in Japan.

My heart is aching for what has happened there.

Anything you contribute will be so greatly appreciated.

For more info please click here.

Happy Birthday, GREG!

2011-02-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

"Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then

subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have
to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is
inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the
promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any
fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has
burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those
that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground,
and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they
find that they are one tree and not two."

This was read by one of our dear friends at our wedding a year and a half ago, so it has special meaning to us.

Happy Birthday, Greg! I love you!

Excerpt from "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis de Bernieres

Justin & Rachael's Engagement on SMP!

2011-02-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Justin & Rachael were engaged in France in a beautiful garden after a sweet bike ride! I wanted to capture that feeling again for them in their engagement photos.

This is just a little sneak of the prettiness! Head over to SMP to see more of this lovely French picnic inspired shoot!

photography by the lovely Sarah Yates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2011-01-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my very best friend!

We celebrated the night by eating too much Mexican food at Lares and too many strawberry shortcake cookies at Leila's.

Enjoy my blurry polaroids & terrible scan job. Let's just call them charming, shall we?

Love you, Leila! oxo

SCOUT magazine

2011-01-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

I'm thrilled that one of my tablescapes was chosen to be featured in Scout Magazine, a lovely online publication highlighting independent artists!

click here to check out the full feature & the issue in it's entirety!

Photography by Leila Brewster Photography.

Featured In Get Married Magazine!

2011-01-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Thank You, Thank You to Get Married Magazine for choosing Dandelion & Grey as one of their Top 5 Best-Loved Blogs!

I am ecstatic & honored to be in such good company!

Also, a huge Thank You to Bride Tide for selecting Dandelion & Grey as one of their Top 100 Wedding Blogs!