London in Love

Photo Credits:  Delightfully Engaged, Segerius Bruce, World Tourism Place, Masterfile, Sodahead

Our inspiration board in honor of the royal wedding tomorrow!  The first image (one of our favorites) is from a fabulously fun photoshoot featured on Delightfully Engaged blog - visit their site to check out the rest of the amazing pictures!

Will you be one of the expected 2 billion people to watch the royal wedding live?  Are you getting up at 5am (earlier CST time!) or DVR'ing it?  Any special parties or celebrations?  Let us know how you are commemorating this historic event in the comments!

Tuesday Shoesday

We've been on a weather roller coaster lately in the DC area with tornado warnings, ungodly amounts of rain and freak thunderstorms.  Needless to say, we're beyond excited about the sunny, 90 degree days we've had yesterday and today.  These super cute sparkly Kate Spade flats are getting us in the mood for gelato and convertible rides along the coast :)

Nell flats by Kate Spade

These would make such a fun switch for the wedding reception - either peaking out from under your gown or paired with a shorter, flirtier second dress - let the dancing commence!

Meg + Alan's Love takes Flight

Happy Friday pretties!  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big fan of vintage style and I absolutely LOVE to travel.  So imagine how excited was I when one of my brides told me she wanted to combine the two into her upcoming wedding!  Alan, the groom-to-be, is a flight test engineer...so incorporating planes into their wedding festivities was such a cute, personalized idea for these two lovebirds. Here is a sneak peek of the photo they used from their vintage inspired e-session to create their adorable Lucky-Luxe save the dates: 

Photography Credit:  Nikki Davis

Adorable, right??  Well, while their engagement session is decidedly all-American, their reception is taking on a bit of a different twist.  We are still in the design phase, but it's looking like their vintage travel vibe is crossing borders for a bit of an exotic feel, as well as infusing lots of old world glamour with beautiful jewel tones for the fall.  I can't wait to share the finished product!

Tuesday Shoesday

Via Etsy

Today we are featuring an embellishment to dress up any shoe...this could also double as your "something blue," depending on what color you select.  We think it makes for adorable detail/shoe shots!

Red + White Inspiration

It seems people embrace the color red more often during the latter part of the year - first with the changing of the leaves during fall and Thanksgiving, usually paired with caramel and burnt oranges.  Then comes Christmas where our beloved red shares the stage with emerald green.  The holidays are shortly followed by Valentines day, where it's perfectly paired with pink.  However, I think red makes for fabulous summertime soirees too.  It's such a bold, vibrant color and I created this inspiration board to show how lovely it is when paired with crisp, stark white.  I have a thing for stripes and think red and white stripes easily pave the way for such a nostalgic, carnival-esque affair :)

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Tuesday Shoesday

All of these April showers can only mean one thing - plenty of May flowers!  In that line of thought, we're featuring a peep toe ankle boot by Rosa Clara from her 2011 collection....so dainty and feminine in vintage style lace.

Source

It's my party + I'll cry if I want to...

Happy Monday darlings!  Today officially marks the anniversary of my birth and this is the first year that getting older is starting to not be so fun anymore.  Albeit we celebrated over the weekend with some fun distractions (cirque du soleil, cherry blossom tea at the Willard, a little trip to VA for dinner with friends - including brunch and exploring an Alpaca farm in charming Middleburg...) but the bottom line is I'm still older.

However, I have realized that birthdays will always be good for one thing, and that is CAKE.  (Especially cute little pink ones....and NO, I'm not telling my age ;)

Glitz and Glam: Lofty Inspiration

When I spotted this dreamy photoshoot designed by Elissa Keno and photographed by Kellie Kano over on Elizabeth Anne Designs, I almost asked someone to pinch me.  Absolutely loving the girly, airy color palette of shell pink, ivory, bronze, gold and a whole lot of glitter.  The designer stole this straight out of my fluffy, cotton candy dreams...and it was too good not to share!  I simply cannot believe the whole concept was created for a mere $205 - just goes to show Goodwill, a can of gold spray paint and a little DIY can go a long way!  Enjoy the original post as seen on EAD :)

There are many places in the world with a tradition of attaching a strip of fabric or ribbon to special trees for good luck, good health, or simply for a man to share his love for a special woman. Painted white and adorned with lovely ribbons in shades of silver, gold, rose, and cream, the May Tree takes on an ethereal quality perfect for a spring wedding day.

 Sweetest Occasion and I challenged wedding vendors to get together to create unique and inspiring wedding concepts using one of 2011′s best trends – Glitter and Glam! Everyone was free to infuse their concept with as much creativity as possible, but there was one catch – items purchased could not exceed a total of $500. This means that each and every idea that they are bringing to you is completely approachable for all budgets, and to sweeten the deal even more, several of these fabulous and talented vendors have included DIY instructions for their creations too! Incredibly, Elissa and Kellie pulled together this fabulous concept for a mere $205.

How did they do it? Chairs, china, glassware, and silverware were purchased from Goodwill. In lieu of linen, gold glitter paper from Michael’s topped the modern, elegant table, which was dressed with crisp white dinnerware, pale pink napkins, and a blush glass centerpiece. Tissue paper pomanders hung from the rafters, and of course the striking focus of the decor is the gorgeous May Tree, which was created by Elissa and her husband and dressed with ribbons in shades of pink, champagne, white, and gold.

No wedding is complete without sweets of course, and Elissa and Kellie created a delectable dessert display featuring a gorgeous three-layer white and pale pink wedding cake from Maxie B’s.

You can view even more of the gorgeous images in the gallery!

The following North Carolina wedding vendors contributed to this inspirational wedding concept:

Photography and styling – Kellie Kano \ Styling – Elissa Keno \ Bakery – Maxie B’s \ Gown – Pronovias \ Shoes – Nine West

DIY resources: Fabric for tree – JoAnn’s \ Vase – TJ Maxx \ Chairs, glassware, silverware, votive holders, blush glass vase – Michael’s \ Tissue paper poms and burlap bags for chairs – Etsy

Tuesday Shoesday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cerise Heel by designer Aruna Seth is our featured shoe this week.  There are several color options (in addition to what is shown here) as well as patent vs. satin finishes.  It also comes in a regular pump style heel, but we love the wedge which is bit more conducive to dancing the night away.  There's some speculation that Kate Middleton may commission this London designer to design her very own royal wedding day shoes.  Hey, if it's good enough for Kate...it's good enough for us!

 

DC Welcome Basket Ideas

After traveling so far to support your union, there's nothing nicer for guests than checking into a hotel and finding some thoughtful (and tasty) goodies.  After one of our DC brides asked us for welcome basket suggestions for her out of town guests, we decided to make it a blog post topic just incase there are other couples out there wondering the same thing!

DC Welcome Basket Ideas

(some items should be packaged as pairs)

• “Hubbies Virginia Peanuts”, Chesapeake/Old Bay Seasoning, local honey, Virginia wine, Old Dominion Root Beer, Rock Creek Soda, “Route 11” Potato Chips
• Recipe Cards printed with recipes for specialty foods in the area, from well-known restaurants (Old Ebbitt Grill, etc.)
• Cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake 
• Agenda for the weekend/itinerary, city map
• DC-themed cookies from Capital Cookies 
• Plastic Metrocard/Smart Trip Card
• Bottled Water (fiji or voss)
• Morning After kit (mini bottles of champagne & OJ w/asprin; labeled “hang-over cure”)
• Morning After kit (Bloody-Mary recipe + ingredients; mini v8 or mrs t's can + mini absolut; aspirin)
• Guides/Suggestions for independent excursions (museums, sights, etc.)
• Washington post newspaper, Washingtonian Magazine
• Apres Peau (gourmet chocolate bars & notecards with graphic wrappers…wrappers have quotes from formed first ladies + cute pics of DC)
• Cherry blossom items (soaps, hot teas)
• Suggestions/addresses to visit trendy DC food trucks (Belgian Waffle Truck, Curbside Cupcake Truck, DC Slices Pizza Truck, Red Hook Lobster Truck, Fojol Bros. Indian Truck,  Sweetflow Mobile, etc.)  Keep track of locations here: http://foodtruckfiesta.com/

Apres Peau Chocolate Bars, with DC inspired wrappers

Old Ebbitt Grill, Downtown DC

Hangover Recovery Kit

Virginia Wildflower Honey

Georgetown Cupcakes

Route 11 Chesapeake Crab flavored Potato Chips

Fojol Bros. Truck

Red Hook Lobster Truck

Designer Spotlight: Maria Lucia Hohan

The MLH Atelier

Pleats, bows and mousseline...oh my!  When I stumbled across some wedding dresses by Romanian designer Maria Lucia Hohan it was love at first sight.  The vintage touches, the ethereal romance, the ultra feminine details...the whole collection just captured me.  Surprisingly, they are very reasonably priced - most bridal gowns under 700 euros.

 

And what about the maids?  MLH has some beautiful gowns that are great alternatives to what you typically find offered for bridesmaids in the stores.

 

Some of these shorter, flirty dresses would also be perfect for an engagement party, rehearsal dinner or night out on the honeymoon.