Groom Love: Introducing Tuxedo Tuesdays by Whitney!

Hello Everyone! My name is Whitney Brianna Boyle. As many of you may know, I am the Production Coordinator for The Sterling Team. Here’s a little more about me! I’m basically just a California girl! A native Los Angelina, who loves the outdoors, beach, forest, city life and desert! I’ve always had a passion for culture and the arts, from theater, to fashion, to travel, to music. I have a bit of a wild side too, I’m very adventurous, and would try almost any food or ritual if in the right place, at the right time. I have a lot of energy, and love to be active; like surfing, bike riding, snowboarding and swimming. My favorite thing to do is to laugh, and make others laugh! I like to keep positive and enjoy my family, friends, work and travels.

Photo courtesy of Callaway Gable Photography

I’m writing to you today to tell you about a new edition to our blog that I’m so thrilled about doing and hope you will be to! This is my first contribution to The Sterling Engagements blog and I can’t wait to begin this new and exciting journey with each of you!

As I continue to work in the Wedding industry, I consistently tend to notice that a significant amount of everything wedding is all about the woman. Now, don’t get me wrong, a bride on her wedding day is one of the most important parts of any wedding! There are just so many fun parts of a wedding that include the groom, or from the male’s side of things, that we are dedicating our Tuesdays to blog about all things Groom!

Photo courtesy of Danielle Klebanow Photography

Introducing, Tuxedo Tuesdays! Special thoughts, advice and tips for all the F.O.G.’s, G.O.G.’s, and of course, the very important “G”. Take an adventure as we explore shoes, accessories, tuxes, ties, BM tributes, Groomsmen gifts, parties, advice, and inspiration, unique and original style. So, Grooms and Brides, and everyone in between; join us weekly as we honor of all the boys to men and toughen up the wedding world with a some manly love for roles they play on the big day!

Photo courtesy of Austin & Dara Photography

So, why is a girl blogging about all things Groom?!
Growing up in the Boyle household- sports and ESPN were 2nd nature and Super Bowl was as big as Christmas. Being a Daddy’s girl and having two athletic, macho brothers gave me many insights on the male species-from habits to likes & dislikes to behaviors, attitudes and thoughts. I always had a handful of great girlfriends, and have definitely had my girly moments; what woman doesn’t like to dress up and go shopping, right?? However….I always tended to gravitate to the boys! Sure, some called it boy crazy; after all, I AM a Libra ruled by Venus- the planet of love. Whatever the reason, I tended to relate and hang better with the boys. Whether it was guy friends to watch sports with, give the “girl” perspective to, or play the wing girl, I was a girl in boy’s world and I loved it!

Anyway, I'm very excited for our first official post starting next Tuesday! Be sure to check it out and comment to let me know what you think and what you want to see!


*Whitney*

Red Carpet Fashion: What Caught our Eyes at The Emmy's!

The ladies of the Emmy's were looking gorgeous last night! We saw a significant amount of navy blue, grey's and jewel tone color gowns. Here are a handful of the ones that caught our attention!

Stephanie Pratt

While watching E!'s Countdown to the Emmy's we saw a chic makeover segment transitioning the lovely ladies of The Hills', Lo Bosworth and Stephanie Pratt into Mad Men 1960's bombshells! Stephanie Pratt's makeover was absolutely gorgeous and truly is a red carpet fave for us for the day. The long sleeve short dress is so sexy and the lace detail just takes it to another level! This would be an incredible rehearsal dinner ensemble. Believe it or not it was by Guess by Marciano which makes it an affordable dress as well, maybe that means you can splurge on the shoes!

Photo Courtesy of Sheknows.com


Lea Michele

Lea Michele wore a stunning navy blue Oscar de la Renta gown and looked like a Hollywood starlet. She looked insane, her jewels by Lorraine Schwartz were dazzling and so complimentary to her gown. This fit and flare dreamy gown was absolutely captivating.

Photo Courtesy of Modoration.com


Tina Fey

Tina Fey looked so sophisticated and elegant on the carpet. She also wore an Oscar de la Renta and it was a nice change for her as she often times wears black. While this dress was a layered black and what looked like silver gown, it was beaded, two-toned from see-through overlay and just lovely. This gown would look gorgeous on a youthful Mother of the Bride looking to not be so traditional by solely wearing a solid color.

Photo Courtesy of JustJared.com


Jewel

Jewel stole the show with her angelic Zuhair Murad gown. In a blush palette with beading encrusted below and an adored bow embellishment. This gown was so sweet and pure yet elegant. Definitely a favorite from the night, she glowed! Jewel was there to preform the In Memoriam tribute and she was incredible!

Photo Courtesy of JustJared.com


The men were looking good too! Here are a couple favorites...

Ty Burell

Ty Burell's tuxedo is definitely a favorite! We adore the grey color palette and incorporating it with a white shirt is so sharp! This would look stellar on a groom for a spring or summer wedding. We only wish his wife's dress wasn't what it was, she may have put herself on the list for worst dressed wearing a gown like this!

Photo Courtesy of TheFrisky.com


Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka

These men looked Sharp!!! The charcoal suit and the black tux together was smashing and contrasted so well together! Neil was wearing Calvin Klein and he did wear it well.

Photo Courtesy of JustJared.com


Our favorite couple of the night was definitely this hot pair! They compliment each other so nicely and really are adorable together!




Tony Parker and Eva Longoria-Parker

Together these two stood out from one edge of the carpet to the next showing how in love they are! Tony was even caught affectionately kissing her forehead at one point. They both looked impeccable with Eva in Robert Rodriguez and Tony in Brooks Brothers.

Photos Courtesy of JustJared.com


It was quite an afternoon on the carpet and most looked stunning!

Worst Dressed definitely had to have been January Jones in Atelier Versace!

Photo Courtesy of JustJared.com

Happy Day!

Shoe Shot Sunday: Joanne + Vincent

In honor of the Emmy's today, we wanted to pick something a little extra sparkly for our shoe shot today! All the ritz and glam that's about to be on TV we got a wee bit excited and decided to partake in featuring a red carpet worthy shoe!


From the moment we saw these precious ivory shoes on Caroline Tran's website we fell in love. They are the epitome of old Hollywood Glamour and their blue counterpart, the Something Blue Manolo Blahnik heels are just epic. This pair is actually just an interpretation of the Manolo's but we love it anyway. They are called the Zenith Ivory Bridal Shoe and can be found on the Perfect Details site. Check them out!


Joanne wore them for her special day as captured by Caroline and we loved that her gown had a sash which complimented the color of the buckle on the heel. Such a stunning look!

Happy Feet and Happy Red Carpet Day!

Festive Fridays: Fun and Colorful Bouquets to Brighten your Day!

This week we wanted to focus on something festive with flowers. As we began searching for some inspiration, we came across this amazing yellow bouquet! It's so happy and feminine, we just love it! After knowing we had to include this in our post, we decided that today's Festive Friday will be all about bouquets and the magic color brings to them!

Photo Courtesy of Wedding Flowers

One of our favorite color combinations is whites with greens. There is something so fresh and clean about them together yet at the same time whimsical and garden like. This next bouquet combines succulents with green cymbidum orchids for the green element and then uses white calla's for the white elegant contrast. This is one of the prettiest, yet still colorful and fun bouquets! Adore it!

Photo Courtesy of Santa Barbara Chic Blog


This pink bouquet is sweet! We love the texture and the combination of pinks used to make them all pop. It's festive and vivid and still very bridal.

Photo Courtesy of Flower Arrangement Adviser

Sunflowers are one of our most favorite flowers. Sometimes just looking at them brings happiness. They are so bright and vibrant plus BIG!

Photo Courtesy of Delightful Wedding Flowers and Decor

In May we designed a peacock inspired wedding. While our images are not back just yet, this bouquet represents the colors we were inspired by. They were so well together and are bold! Completely pops in photographs, stay tuned for the feature of our peacock inspired wedding!

Photo Courtesy of Black Door Floral

Happy Bouquet Friday!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday: The Importance of Videography

Cinematography happens to be one of our favorite elements from a wedding. While a picture is worth a thousand words, there is nothing more powerful or emotionally riveting than the story a wedding day video tells. There is something truly magical about reliving the most special of moments, being able to hear vows and speeches all over again and simply just viewing the day, after it happens. Your wedding day goes by so quickly and so much is happening at once that many often overlook things large or small. Having the peace of mind in knowing you will have a keepsake to hold onto and experience everything all over again is priceless.

Unfortunately, video tends to be one of the first vendors our clients seem to want to omit, for budget purposes or they just don't think they need it. We always encourage them to reevaluate this decision based on prior experiences with past clients. For quite some time clients have chosen to go without a video and to this day it tends to be one of their number one regrets. We now suggest at the very minimum having someone document the raw footage from the day. In the past several years, clients have taken our advice, hired a videographer for the day and have been beyond pleased in their decision.

One thing to note, their is a substantial difference between a wedding video and a cinematography styled wedding film. One of our favorite companies, Charles Lauren Films, recently spoke on some of the major differences between the two styles and why your video really is an investment for your future. In the video below, Kelsey Pluskat explains how the post-production process is truly what separates a cinema film from what she calls "your mother's wedding video".

Another incredible element to add to your wedding video is a highlight reel or even better yet the signature "same-day" edit created especially by Mr. Daniel Boswell of Imagique Cinema. Both the highlight reel and the "same-day" edit capture the most memorable moments of your day and feature them in an edited version synced to music. Sometimes they can also take words from speeches or vows or just special things said and edit those in as well.

The primary difference between the highlight reel and the "same-day" edit is the date it's shown. A "same-day" edit is created and shown live on-site at your wedding! Yes, this is actually possible and truly amazing. Guests are shocked and ecstatic to see all the details behind the scenes they didn't get to see during the day like getting ready moments or the minutes leading up to the ceremony. Typically we like to schedule the "same-day" edit for immediately following the cutting of the cake. This usually gives pros like Daniel ample time to setup an edit station in private and really go above and beyond with the cutting and mixing to your preselected song.

Here is an example of one of those magical "same-day" edits by Imagique Cinemafrom our Platinum Wedding. This happens to be one of our most favorite of all time! Not only do we love Alicia Keys but we also adore Kristel and Jason!



If you have additional questions in regards to Wedding Videography and the difference between Cinematography, please don't hesitate to ask.

If you are in search for a stellar videography team here are three of our personal favorites.

Daniel Boswell of Imagique Cinema

David and Kelsey Pluskat of Charles Lauren Films

Jason Garner Young of Garner Films

These companies are the best of the best and working with any of them will present you with an amazing video!

Happy Viewing!

Shoe Shot Sunday: VIcky + Mike

We have only one picture for this weeks shoe shot but we absolutely adore this image taken by Rob Greer Photography. It's such a timeless pair, that one image is just enough to capture how magical this shoe truly is!


These amazing Manolo Blahnik's are oh so elegant, and really are a favorite! They are so sleek and classy, we love the shape and way it frames your foot!

Happy Feet!

Festive Fridays: Celebrate your love with Confetti!

Super busy around the office today as we have our final wedding of the season tonight. Before we left, we wanted to shower you with a little paper magic... Confetti!

Such a fun and festive way to celebrate! Amy and Jamie did this right and this photo makes you feel like we are there too! Photography courtesy of Peter Kelk Photography!


We love the expression on Susie's face on this confetti filled photo by Chris Giles Photography too!


Happy Confetti Friday!

Shoe Shot Sunday: Helen + Danny

It's no secret we share a secret love for shoes, especially hot pink ones!

Check out this totally sparkling set from Helen's Big Day! Furious photographers captured the day and we love some of the other details posted from this wedding at the Universal Hilton. Check out their blogto view more!


Happy Feet!

Festive Fridays: Something Sweet for Two Sweethearts!

We totally fell in love with these images when we saw them on Jenny Evelyn's blog! Adding festive and fun things to your special day representative of your personality are always the best details!



A few other sweet shots we found that we had to share were these ice cream truck themed shots by Solar Photographers!




After finding those we got a wee bit curious about what other couples can do with ice cream and came up with these awesome photos by Hope Photography!




Anyway, just a couple festive shots that can be done with everyone's favorite frozen treat!

Happy Frozen Friday!