Emily's Shower

Love is in the air, summer is officially around the corner, and we're on the brink of wedding season.  A such, tis the season for bridal showers!  I co-hosted a bridal shower for my dear friend Emily last weekend and thought I'd share some of the details.  

In keeping with Emily's wedding colors; rose quartz, eucalyptus green, champagne, and gold, we opted to play up the pink with accent colors throughout the brunch spread.  We kicked off our planning with formal paper invitations (always a must in my book), and Tiny Prints must've read my mind as they had many options featuring my preferred color of rose quartz AND invites indicating brunch.  We settled on this invite as it was simply perfect, though we considered these beautiful contenders.

I had a friend who dabbles in cupcakes help me with fine tune a perfect shade of rose quartz frosting to match the decor.

We played a fun "how well do you know your fiance" game, followed by presents and dessert.

What a lovely day!  Cheers to Emily!

How Many Bridesmaids?

Have you been a bridesmaid before?  I've had the honor and privilege of standing up in three weddings and I'm on deck for three more in the next year.  But this story takes the concept of bridesmaids to the next level!

A 26-year old dance teacher in England recently got married, and standing up beside her were...80 BRIDESMAIDS!!  80?!?!  WHAT?!  Granted, she's a dance teacher and many of the bridesmaids were her students, but dang!  Do you think they even all know each others names?  This makes 27 Dresses look like nothing!

How many bridesmaids did you have?

image/nydailynews

Wedding Weekend

Happy early weekend!  My husband and I are off to Michigan tonight for his cousin's wedding this weekend.  Looking forward to cruising Ann Arbor for the first time, soaking up some Mid-western sunshine, and celebrating Alan & Lindsay with his family.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

image/bloom

Seeking Sonoma Tips

Dear Readers,

I am the matron of honor in my best friend's wedding this fall, and I'm in the process of planning a rockin' bachelorette party for her this summer in lovely Sonoma, California.  Picture this: ten lovely ladies hitting up the wine country for some quality girl time!  Can't wait!! We already have a superb pad rented as a home base...however, since I'm a novice in the region, I'm having a hard time discerning one winery from the next.  Having never been to the illustrious wine country myself; Napa, Sonoma, or elsewhere, I am in need of some guidance.

So I ask...Have you been to Sonoma?  

If the answer is yes, I'd LOVE your help, advice, and suggestions... What TO do, What NOT to do...  Hit me up!  We're in the mood for wine tasting, dining out, and other night life activities that ten lovely late 20's-early 30's gals can enjoy while sending their single friend out in style?  

Thank you in advance :)

image/bing

A Musical Weekend

Whew!  We just arrived home after a whirlwind wedding weekend in California.  In two days we flew to Los Angeles, drove north three and a half hours, celebrated a rehearsal dinner + wedding with family, drove back to LA to fly out of LAX and just returned home...(and the weekend after the first day of school, no less!  Needless to say, I'm a wee bit tired.  

On Sunday, my cousin Michael married his fiance Tamara at Santa Margarita Ranch, just outside San Luis Obispo, California.  The venue was beautiful, a restored barn tempered with twinkly lights, a novelty train ride, and one stunning shabby chic barn bursting with rustic charm.   While the temperatures were scorching (105 degrees at one point), it was a lovely, heartfelt ceremony and a lively, musical reception.  My cousin is a musician, and his band, The Leftover Cuties played (you may remember their song from this commercial that played during the Olympics).  Since most of Michael & Tamara's friends are also musically inclined, there were many impromptu songs where people just pulled out instruments and chimed in, contributing to the entertainment of the evening.  It was quite the event!

Pictures to follow, bed time now...

image/erineverafter

Cake Pop Wedding Cake

I'm constantly amazed at what creative minds dream up to outfit a wedding. First there was the cupcake wedding "cake," then the Rice Krispies wedding cake, and now, fitting with the new cake pop fad, behold...a cake pop wedding cake!

image via pinterest

sweetlaurencakes

Save the Date Videos

Have you ever seen a save the date video? A modern alternative to the traditional mailer card. Kind of a fun concept, right? I just stumbled across this lovely save-the-date video for an acquaintance of mine who is getting married today!

Would you do a save the date video?

image/youtube

Guest Post: Tales of Me & The Husband

It doesn't sound super romantic, does it? Choosing your love and loving your choice doesn't really leave room for serendipitous-love-at-first-sight moments. But, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's actually pretty romantic. Deciding to love whether or not you feel it, committing to making that choice when it's not rainbows and sunshine, when you might be really pissed, but weathering the storm despite the fact that you might want to hit the road... I think it is romantic. Cause, let's face it, rainbows and sunshine don't last forever (and these days so many people are hitting the road), but if you keep choosing love, your relationship has a good chance of lasting forever. And I think what's better than rainbows and sunshine is a long history together. One full of memories and laughter and joy... mixed with a few I-want-to-kill-you moments. That's romantic to me.

Congratulations Michelle! Enjoy your newest chapter!

I'm over at Tales of Me + the Husband if you'd like to stop by sometime.

Guest Post: Mo Pie Please

Hi everyone! This is Meagan from Mo Pie, Please, and I'm thrilled to be here today while Michelle is basking in the afterglow of her incredible wedding. Michelle asked me to put together a little something about what I learned from my own wedding to share with you all and I couldn't resist indulging :)

My wedding took place last August in a lovely Napa Valley town named Calistoga.

{we held a rehearsal/welcome dinner at Calistoga Inn for our guests who traveled so far to be with us on our big day. The restaurant took care of all the food, drinks and intimate decor. The ambience was perfect for the occasion and my heart swells just looking back on it}

50 of our closest friends and family members flew out to celebrate with us and every last bit of the entire trip was magical. We spent the week leading up to the big day galavanting around the San Francisco/Sausalito/Point Reyes/Napa Valley area, with a friends camping trip, a romantic rehearsal dinner at a local brewery and a morning-after-the-wedding brunch in a petrified forest. Honestly, I wouldn't have changed anything about those experiences for the world if I could. And I can't, so that's great, right?!

If I was forced to change some things about the wedding, here's what they'd be ::

• I love, love, loved my Lela Rose gown and am so thankful for my parents helping me out with it. It was a splurge and I will cherish it forever. But if I had to do it all over again, I think I might choose one of these inexpensive gowns instead ::

1 / 2

Not for any particular rhyme or reason, just that ever since I've been thinking about how much we spent on it and how much that money sounds really nice right about now. Also, I remember the night of the wedding, I nearly cried when I took my dress off. I knew I was never going to wear it again, at least for the purpose it served, and it made me incredibly sad.

• Our wedding venue was absolute perfection, but because we decided to take the Friday package, the wedding had to end earlier than everyone would have liked. I was ready for it to last many hours more and we were all sorely disappointed when they shut us down.

{some of my favorite shots of the beauty at Hans Fahden Vineyards}

• So much of the day was a blur for both of us. I don't think there's anything you can do to really prevent that from happening, but asking your photographer to capture things that you want to experience for years to come is a great idea. Ask for shots involving the two of you but also make sure they capture the moments you're not around to fully savor. When we took or photos in the vineyard, it was after we had served dinner but right when the dancing began. While we were away, we missed some memorable dance moves from my nephew and our best man. Plus, I have seen pictures of other guests dancing that I don't recall having seen, so that's nice to look back on and know they were having fun. Just be prepared for a confusing feeling when it's all said and done with :)

{our first dance was to Sam Cooke's I Love You for Sentimental Reasons}

• Two things I learned - if you are dead set on having a specific detail look a certain way, don't be afraid to quadruple check to make sure it's been done right. A friend's mother made me a cake stand out of a tree log and I was so excited about that little touch. The bakery put the cake on top of the tree log but didn't remove the sheet it was originally sitting on, which was bigger than the tree stand. I was very disappointed when I realized that. It's a good thing that cake was the best I'd ever had...

• Never expect the ceremony to start on time. Remain calm, have a glass of champagne to calm your nerves and just let the little things slide.

Moments before our ceremony began, the coordinator came to tell me that one of our ushers had left to hunt down some lost guests. Since there were only 50 guests, they decided to push the ceremony back until the lost guests arrived. I just let it slide, just went with the flow. Apparently she had been nervous to tell me about it but I didn't let it get me down. As they like to say, "don't sweat the small stuff."

• Most importantly, just be you and have a ball. Show gratitude to each and every one there with you, have your cake and eat it too, drink champagne, but also drink loads of water throughout the day. And maybe pass on the raw broccoli for lunch. I almost made that mistake.

Congratulations, Michelle! I'm so happy for you, your husband (eeps!) and your new life together. And to all of you reading, thanks for having me! Hop on over to my corner of the web - I'd love to have you!

Guest Post: Beaktweets

Hi! I'm Claire. You can usually find me writing about my husband and daughter over at Beaktweets. I was so excited when Michelle asked me to guest post on her blog with something wedding related. I am hoping Michelle is off having a wonderful wedding weekend. In the meantime, I have a quick bit of advice from one bride to another.

I have been married for almost five years and the thing that I held onto throughout our engagement and have encouraged other brides to remember is this: No matter what, at the end of the day, you will be married.

What I mean by this is that all the little things like decorations, weather forecasts, seating charts and who wears what doesn't affect the outcome of the day. A sunshiney day might make things easier. A perfectly executed wedding theme might get a few oooohs and aaaahs out of wedding guests. But really? Those aren't the things that matter.

What matters is that you are marrying the man of your dreams. At the end of the ceremony you will kiss your groom and embark on the most exciting adventure as partners in life.

With so many wedding blogs, magazines and websites I think it is so hard to remember what is really important about our wedding day. So my advice to you would be: remember. Remember that even if things don't go quite as you had planned, at the end of the day you will have yourself a husband. And really? What could be better?!

Guest Post: The Soho

Thanks to my blog friends who are helping me out with some guest posts while I get myself ready to get married!

First up, thanks to Natalie of one of my daily reads The SoHo...

If I had one piece of advice for a bride on her wedding day, it would be, "Let go."

You've worked and planned and obsessed for months and months, focusing on fun, dreamy aspects like a wedding gown and flowers and tedious tasks like RSVPs and seating charts. But when the day comes, there's nothing left to do but enjoy it.

Appreciate the biggest celebration you'll ever have, bask in the love of your family and friends, and take in every moment with your groom. Something will inevitably go wrong, but it doesn't matter.

Trust me. You're the only one who will notice, and you'll be too happy to care.

Congrats, Michelle! Happy Wedding and Happy Marriage!

photo/kelliekano

Let the Countdown Begin!

I know it's not official yet, but I can feel fall in the air. The wind feels a little chillier, the air is slightly crisper, and the leaves, they are a-changing.

My fiance and I had a fabulous fall-feeling weekend back in Michigan for his sister Kristyn's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and everything went off without a hitch. I flew in at 6AM Friday morning for a 3:00 PM wedding (which lasted until 12:30 AM the next day). Fueled by coffee and champagne, we danced the night away and had a fantastic time.

Before flying out for the wedding, many people had suggested that attending a wedding so close to our own might be stressful. I had totally disregarded this thought since I LOVE weddings, and in reality, everything was totally fine. In fact, the excitement of partaking in the wedding festivities made me even more excited our wedding is NEXT! I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are that our wedding is just around the corner!

image/freckledandfree

Weekend Wedding

Tonight I'm off to Michigan on the red eye for my future sister-in-law's wedding. She's getting married Friday night! It's a busy wedding season for my fiance's family, can you tell? Both my fiance and I are doing readings in the wedding, and we're looking forward to dancing it up with his family.

Here's some of my favorite links from the week:

I'm intrigued by this cake flavor.

Love this lace vase.

Stylish cuff.

How to make spiced thai concentrate.

Sweet Target bike.

Aren't these wooden envelopes cool?

Have a great weekend!

image/bloom

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend

Phew...this past weekend was a busy one! We had back-to-back weddings, first my fiance was a groomsman in a wedding on Friday, and then on Saturday, my good friend and coworker got married. Busy busy! I've never done back-to-back weddings before, and while we had an amazingly fun time, it was also utterly exhausting.

Sunday morning, we grabbed brunch at this new brunch spot, and relaxed for the remainder of the day. After two nights of nonstop dancing, drinking, and celebrating, it was pretty awesome to kick up our heels and relax.

image/bbb

Chalkboard Hearts

Love this blackboard engagement photo shoot. Can you tell one of the engaged is a teacher?

images/stylemepretty

Wednesday Pretty

I love how this photograph! Bride and groom, engaged in a memorable moment amid a dance floor ringed in sparklers, twirling underneath a canopy of umbrellas. How creative!

photo credit unknown

{please email me if you know!}

Confetti

What are your thoughts on confetti? I know rice is taboo, but there are plenty of other viable options; rose petals, paper squares, bubbles? These pictures make me want to have confetti just so I can capture that first moment as husband and wife amid a shower of celebration!

Update: Thanks for the idea of sparklers! So clever!!

images 1&3/snippet and ink

Engagement Photo Shoot

Loving this carnival engagement shoot! Wouldn't that be a fun way to spend a day (and have it all be photographed)? Popcorn, cotton candy, and ferries wheel kisses. :)

images/100layercake

Engagement Inspiration

Another beautiful engagement photo shoot. What a blissful day; biking to a lovely little picnic in a field, fresh cheese, lavender, and French whimsy. Love it!

images/stylemepretty

Picnic Wedding

What a brilliant idea, a picnic wedding. While it's not exactly traditional, I appreciate the casualness of this ceremony. Love the wicker picnic baskets topped with fresh flowers lining the aisle. If only I loved in a city with consistently sunny weather, I think this would be a sweet idea...

image/wisheskisses