Rustic Game of Thrones Styled Wedding at The Cooper Estate

It’s no secret that Game of Thrones has become a world wide phenomenon. It’s also not a secret that I have never seen an episode in my life. Whenever I mention this to someone, there is a gasp followed by, “BUT WHY?!?!?”. I genuinely don’t have an answer as to why I’ve never gotten into the HBO hit series, but there is one thing that was clear when I was asked by Abby from Blue Orchid Event Design to participate in a styled wedding shoot - I wanted in.

Trying to keep away from the usual medieval tokens such as a scroll, I really wanted to keep the invitation clean and modern but maintain a rustic feel. The addition of the hand torn edges wrapped with gray twine and wax seal cemented this idea. I also wanted to convey a little bit of the ice factor (#winterishere) and did so by using a vellum mailing envelope.

Rustic, hand torn edges wrapped with gray twine sealed with a wax seal. Game of Thrones Wedding invitation by Only One Mark

Click below to see more detailed images from the wedding shoot on Blue Orchid Events blog.

Vendors

Photographer: Lara Rose Photography

Planner + Designer: Blue Orchid Event Design

Venue: The Cooper Estate

Floral Designer: Flowers Unveiled

Invitation Suite: Only One Mark 😘 💌 

Cake Designer: Sweet Guilt by Angelica

Beauty: Majestic Hair

Women’s Attire: The Bridal Pro

Men’s Attire: The Lapel Project

And I’m excited to announce that we were featured in The Celebration Society!! Check out their feature below.

Garcia Party of 3 - Our Maternity Photo Session

While I try not to think about it, it felt like just yesterday that we were announcing our pregnancy and hosting the gender reveal for our family and close friends. Needless to say that the past 9 months have flown by. So much so, that I hadn't really been paying attention to any of the "timelines" or "suggested when-to-do" Pinterest, family, or friends would try to remind me of.

It was after our baby shower that I realized that we really needed to get on the ball about whether or not we would have maternity photos done. While we had some done during our gender reveal, I did want to get some professional photos of my bump and (trying not to toot my own horn 🎺) how awesome both Gus and I were looking towards the end of our pregnancy.

It was at around my 35th week of pregnancy that we met up with Amy from Aragon Photography and got to capture what would be some memorable moments. Here are some of our favorite photos.

Fun story: I found out we were pregnant on Halloween. Needless to say it was the best treat we could have ever received. I ran to Target to find a onesie to make the personalized “Beard” onesie and picked up a batman onesie too. The beard was designed to look like Gus’ beard.

We couldn't have been more content with these images Amy captured. If you are looking to have maternity photos captured by Amy, click http://aragonphotography.com/maternity-photographer-miami here for more info.

And if there was a detail you want to get your hands on, see the list below for some of the items and where you can find them.

Maternity Outfits - Amazon

Batman Onesie - Target

Beard Onesie - me

Star Wars Handmade Plushes - a gift from a family member

Wolverine/Logan Knitted Costume - DustysCrochetProps 

Jedi In Training Pajama - Disney Store (No Longer Available)

Batman itty bittys Baby Rattle Socks Baby Clothes Superheroes - Amazon

Casa Ylang Ylang - A Styled Shoot

Anytime we are asked to participate in a styled shoot, I get giddy butterfly feelings. I love being able to think outside what a client will normally request and have some fun designing paper goods and details that will be memorable. When I was asked to join in on Whimsical, Styled Shoot at Casa Ylang Ylang, you know I was pumped with having a slightly different theme to design to. 

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

The names were handwritten details requested by Erica Rodriguez of Erica Melissa as I would be providing more hand lettered details throughout the shoot.

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Photo Credit: Provence Photography

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Needless to say that this styled shoot was made of what tropical dreams are made of. Driving up to the venue alone took my breath away. It's quaint and gorgeous features make it a true gem amongst the many venues found in Miami. 

I'm excited to note that this shoot has been featured! 

Click below to see the features:

With this styled shoot, we had something a little different happen. Instead of there just being one photographer, there were over 10 photographers shooting the same imagery. This means we got to have a lot of unique aspects of the same moments. You will also notice when you go down the list that we weren't the only stationers showcased. 24th Avenue Design provided a beautiful watercolor and foil suite that gave a slightly different take on the theme for the shoot.

Keeping this in mind, I wanted to also showcase the individual point of views from each photographer. Click below to see each photographer's favorite shots from this tropical shoot.

Vendors

Photographer: Erica Melissa, Aurora Photography, + Gloria Francis Photography (Various other guest photographers were also present and participated in the shoot)

Event Planner & Stylist: Pink Wasabi

Venue: Casa Ylang Ylang 

Venue Coordinator: Melanie Event Design

Florist: Flower Fanatic Miami

Handwritten Invitation Suite + On-Site Calligraphy: Only One Mark, Inc. (Table number, escort cards, chalkboard writing, tropical handwritten suite with vows) 😘 💌 

Watercolor + Foiled Invitation Suite: 24th Avenue Designs

Cake: The Starfish Cottage

Furniture Rentals: Mi Vintage Rentals

Reception Table & Chair Rental: Le Fragole Catering

Bistro Lighting: Eugene Harris

Dress: The Find Bridal / Chic Parisien (Designer: Romona Keveža)

Heels: Ted Baker

Suit: My Grooms Room

Hair: J & A Makeup Artistry

Makeup: Safai Kelly

Jewelry: Pink Wasabi

Table Settings: Different Look Rentals

Linens: Over The Top Rental Linens

Favors: Sugar Fina

Ice Pops: Cielito Artisan Pops

Models: Ariana (Bride) + Khaleel (Groom)

Our Baby Moon

You would be surprised at all the things people don't tell you about once you become pregnant. However, one of the things we had been told prior to finding out about our soon to be Padawan was the growing tradition of the soon-to-be parents going on a "babymoon".  Let me explain:

ba·by·moon

[ˈbābēˌmo͞on]

NOUN informal

1. a relaxing or romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born.

   "on the eve of my third trimester, we boarded a plane for a week-long babymoon among the quiet canals of Amsterdam"  (Source - Oxford Dictionaries)

Needless to say that amongst the adventures Gus and I have taken - the many Disney Trips, New York, Las Vegas, Arizona - we really didn't know where to go next. As this pregnancy has progressed, we both came to the conclusion that all we wanted to do was eat really good food, relax, and enjoy our last "hoorah" as #justustwo. Gus took the reigns on planning the vacay while I was solely responsible for finding where to stay. We stayed locally at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Midtown and stayed with the area of Wynwood, Brickell, and Downtown. Here are some of the yummy and fun things we did and ate.

We headed over to the Wynwood Diner to have some much craved Chicken + Waffles. Let's just say they did not disappoint. Neither was their Croque Madame.

We decided to walk off brunch and explore Wynwood. Much has change from my art school days. We even squeezed in a portrait or two.

After checking into our home away from home for the night, we decided to go over to Bayside and then back to Wynwood for Dinner and Dessert.

At 1-800-Lucky, we both ate from a different booths. Gus got the Kagoshima Ramen and I got the Sesame Crusted Sweet and Sour Chicken. Let's just say we are trying to find another good excuse to make it out there just to eat there again! 

Our Selections from The Salty Donut (in order, left to right) - White Chocolate Tres Leches, Guava + Cheese, Maple + Bacon, Nutella, Tart Cherry + Cream, Brown Butter + Salt

Our last day was spent checking out Brickell City Center. We got to watch Ready Player One and had some lunch at Pubbelly Sushi.

We took time to just relax at the hotel and even took advantage of the affordable transportation offered by Freebee Miami (meaning we didn't have to move our car from the hotel nor did we have to pay outrageous parking fees at the places we were going to visit). 

We can't wait for our little Padawan to arrive, but it was definitely a restful weekend much needed for the both of us.

Did you or will you be going on a babymoon when you are expecting? What would you like to go do or where would you like to visit?