A few months ago I mentioned I was starting my own wedding planning and coordination company. Take a peek at my first wedding with Rachel & Joe at Vineapple Cafe in Brooklyn Heights a few weeks ago! (Check out the rest of the website, too!).
Photo by Zack DeZon.
I started this blog in fall of 2009. I can't believe that was two years ago. We are nearing the 6 month mark of our wedding day, and I've been looking at these wedding pictures for months. It's been SO HARD picking out my favorites, but I've narrowed them down to a few...hundred...or so.... :)
Way back when I was thinking about what it might all look like I created a mood board. Okay, many mood boards. I worked with the colors already present in the Cavalier Hotel. Teals, blues, golds. Pinks and whites. Amazing fabrics and wallpapers. Black and white tiled floors. It didn't take much to turn it into a fabulous party space. Especially when our focus was on keeping it classic and insuring our guests ate well and had fun!
Let's just say we were both absolutely amazed with how everything looked, felt, and how much fun it actually turned out to be. Here are a few detail shots from April 30, 2011, including glimpses of my dress and "something blue" shoes, the cake, the vintage owl bank that we used as a place for our guests to leave us a bit of advice for our married life ahead, the vintage chalkboard we used at the bar, and oh, the gorgeous flowers!
All photos by Eleise Theuer.
Last weekend we celebrated my sister and her fiance's couples shower in our hometown of Erie, PA. Because we all live in different parts of the country, we have to make the most of long holiday weekends for events like these!
Lots of DIY fun in this one. Handmade pom-pom napkin rings, hand-drawn wine labels, handmade flower pot nametag/picture holders, homemade cookies and cupcakes, the list goes on! For a door prize we had everyone submit their birth month and day (not year) when they first arrived and later in the event we gave a gift to the person with the birthday closest to their wedding day. And what a wonderful, colorful locale. The service was amazing and the food was delicious.
Here are the details:
Location & Catering: La Bella Restaurant in Erie, PA
Music: Ipod mix of the standards
Games: Wedding Shower Mad Lib & the "Shoe Game"
Cupcakes: Liz Freeman of Cakes & Bakes by Liz in Erie, PA
Assorted cookies: Ye Ole Sweet Shop and The Magic Cookie Company
Design Planning & Coordination: me & our mom, Maria
I am gearing up for my sister's wedding shower this weekend back home and have been having fun planning various activities and decor elements with my mom. I got the idea to do napkin rings for some kind of occasion after seeing the how-to across various blogs. So easy and cute!
I tried them with both soft, light-colored tissue paper as well as heavier metallic tissue paper. The results are both amazing but strikingly different. The lighter colors appear weightless and pretty; the metallics have a structural element to them that is really cool. Given this is a couples shower for both Amanda and Tom, maybe we'll use a little of both! Can't wait to post how it all turns out.
Instructions (from Martha Stewart):
Napkin Rings
1. Stack four sheets of tissue. Cut a 10-by-5-inch rectangle, going through all layers. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.
2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue.
3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.
4. Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.
Note, for the above I adapted her directions a little bit, making them 6 x 6 squares, not 10 x 5.
Pinterest. It's been blogged and tweeted ad nauseum but that's because it's so freaking useful. Especially for those who are bringing a vision to life -- whether you are planning a party, redecorating your home, or strategizing about your new fall wardrobe.
For more snippets of inspiration check out what I'm pinning here. I find it a nice complement to this blog as it allows me to capture ideas in almost a "pre-" phase before they become true ideas, fully gelled.
Abbey & Dick live in Virginia Beach and got married in the Outer Banks. I love the way they really had fun with the setting and emphasized the beach elements with DIY touches throughout the reception -- including the cake! The flowers are gorgeous, mixing soft and bold colors together. So many wonderful moments -- you can tell this one was a lot of fun. Read more from the bride below!
What if you have a heart for gold and white but your date is in the summer? It can often come down to textures and materials that make the difference. Think light and airy over heavy and dense. Think about adding another pretty color to the mix that softens the weight of metallics -- pinks, lavenders, corals and earthy greens all work well, among others. I made this board thinking about a special family member who is on her path to planning a golden summer wedding, herself!
Dress: J. Crew, Shoes: Nina, Flowers: Saipua, Invitations: Minted, Decor: Etsy
This past weekend Jedd and I walked past a fabulous window display at Bloomingdales in midtown (image below.) I tugged on his sleeve with a childlike "look, look!" and we both ooh-ed and aah-ed. I'd love to see what fun could be had styling a wedding around not just music but the iconic guitar itself.
For those of you who've been to the Jimi Hendrix Experience Museum in Seattle, the "cyclone" of guitars and other stringed instruments gives a similar amazement factor.
How great is this? Windows and frames have been a standard for many a vintage- or farm-inspired wedding from upstate NY to southern VA (and beyond). The idea of using the windowpane as a palette for messages is such a sweet idea. This and others can be found via this Southern seller on etsy.
It's been hard to know what the right next post should be after something as amazing and surreal as ones wedding.
I am so thankful for so many things, especially the sheer bliss in the days that followed the big day. We reveled in the feeling that we had really pulled it off. Something that fun, that filled with people we care about, that "perfect" wedding that was everything we imagined -- and all the things we never could have imagined we'd feel during that special time.
I think it's because our definition of perfect emphasized everyone just having a really relaxing, fun time. We didn't want anything to feel overly scheduled. We didn't want it to appear as though we had focused on frivolities. So we made it that way. We focused on the fun.
We had a key requirement -- a solid level of quality from all of our vendors. I can HIGHLY recommend the following folks if you are planning an event of any kind in the Hampton Roads area:
Planning & Coordination: Weddings by Michelle. In a word -- amazing. They worked with me for more than a year (we had a very long engagement) to help bring the ideas I had on paper to life in a seamless, natural way. I can't say enough about Michelle & Kim and wish I had another reason to work with them again! They are simply the best.
Ceremony, Reception & Catering: The Cavalier Hotel. The space was classically Southern (we used the Raleigh Lounge & Porches in the old Cavalier on the hill); the food was outstanding. The entire staff was lovely to work with.
Photography: Eleise Theuer. She was everywhere while also being totally under the radar -- I can't wait to see the pictures!
Cake: The Magic Cupboard. Simple, beautifully crafted, delicious.
Flowers: Bloom the Art of Flowers. Gorgeous variety, lush arrangements.
Make-up: Kim Porter. She did a fabulous job enhancing everyone's beauty!
Lighting: Blue Steel Pro Lighting. I can't say enough about how the lighting enhanced the mood. Loved it.
DJ: Arch Entertainment, DJ Seamus. Kept us dancing -- so easy and professional to work with.
We also imported a couple of folks --
Hair: My friend Daniel from Salon 2b in NYC created my stunning updo.
Band: The Stooges Brass Band from New Orleans performed during the second half of the reception. We've known these guys for a long time and they were kind enough to come up to play the wedding. Amazing performance, so much fun. See them if you are ever in the Big Easy!
This special group of people helped us make the day all that we wanted it to be.
It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway -- the greatest ingredient was the collective of friends and family who came from all over the country (and even a few from Mexico) to share this weekend with us. We could really feel the joy and positivity from everyone and that made it so very special. We loved it.
Last evening I had the fun (can I have my two hours back?) of watching SATC 2 at my friend's place. While the story left me wanting so much more, I was strangely drawn to the amazing stemware throughout the movie at the party scenes in NYC and across the ocean in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
I'm on a quest to create a great bar set-up at our apartment. We're making good headway on the wine and spirits, but I crave more fun baubles to drink from. The above are a couple of selections etsy sellers -- lots of fun finds on etsy actually. I'll also check out the flea markets in the city come summer.
BTW, if these are the things I am thinking about just THREE WEEKS away from our wedding day, clearly everything else is well in hand!
Looove this Southern-style decor idea from Martha. A crafty yet stunning way to perk up your tablescape. (Not just for wedding receptions, either!)
What better way to spend the Sunday of a long weekend than having friends over for brunch, a little Daytona 500 and then some personal arts and crafts time?
I have seen this idea all over the wedding blogs and wanted to try my hand at them, too. I ordered the hot pink swizzle sticks from eBay (I admit, I'm a little embarrassed that they shipped all the way from England....no one in the U.S. sells them?!) and found fun origami papers at my local art shop. Just add one glue stick and a pair of scissors and a couple few hours later you are....not quite finished!
These puppies still have some trimming and stamping left to go but they sure are cute.
I love this image. I can just imagine a soft breeze in the evening seaside air as you say your vows and these pretty fabric streamers wave in the background.
From The Merriment Blog via 100 Layer Cake via W. Scott Chester.
I think I've found my floral palette. Gorgeous!!!
