Engaged & Inspired

Should’a, Could’a, Would’a :: Stripes

Allison Silber — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:37 +0000

I swear, I look at weddings now and just think, “I really should have gone with my gut on that one!” Stripes is a perfect example. I had all the ideas lined up, but just like those games you play when you are little where you find the thing that doesn’t belong, stripes was the odd man out in my equation. It just didn’t work. But looking back, it could have worked, and I should have fought myself a little harder, gotten a little further out of my confort zone and looked a little more at HOW it could have worked. These are the little tidbits when you have your 20/20 vision looking behind.

I knew I loved the look, and it is something I should have investigated a little more. Even though you don’t see tons of photos of something doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, and if you just spread a little creativity, you might discover some awesome ideas in the back of your mind that lead to an incredibly good looking piece of decor.

Source: bow tie, hair, cake, cake, bridesmaids, table

Oh well, there are tons of other places to use stripes, right? My closet is inundated with them, and every wall in my house has the potential to become them. And I just love it.

Source: Home, Fashion

These stripes stole my heart this time around, what is stealing your heart at the moment?

China, Crystal & Silver, Oh My!

Kim — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:51 +0000

This weekend, I (finally convinced Dan to go with me and get us) registered! It was a bit stressful admittedly, but we ultimately ended up having some fun!

We started with china and crystal, which was definitely an education. Did you know that good china should be slightly translucent (you should be able to see the shadow of your hand when you hold it up to the light)? It is also really strong so don’t get too nervous about pulling out that back dinner plate (the sales woman at Macy’s startled us by smashing the dishes together!) Who knew?!

We are probably going to go with something pretty simple and classic to be sure that our china goes with anything and lasts through the years, but I can’t help but drool over these antique-styled and more ornate designs. They are great inspiration for for you wedding dinnerware too.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

We are also going to be registering for classic, causal, everyday pieces at Pottery Barn. You really can’t go wrong with white dinnerware or towels.

Sources: Pottery Barn

And when it comes to home décor, I adore West Elm and Anthropologie. Unfortunately, West Elm doesn’t offer registry and Anthropologie only has a “wish list.” Has anyone out there done a wish list as a registry? We might just let guests know that we like these stores as an option for gift cards or making their own selections. I’d love any thought or experiences on this one!

Sources: Anthropologie, West Elm

Any other registry tips are welcome!

Beach Day in February

Taya — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:00:27 +0000

Vinnie and I were engaged September 12, 2011. These photos were taken just last weekend on a sunny day at the beach in Santa Monica by our dear friend, Ricardo Bayona.

Vinnie and I met on St. Patrick’s day 2007, had our first date 3 days after meeting, moved in together after 9 months, and next month is our 5 year anniversary; hard to believe how time flies! And speaking of time flying, we are just 8 1/2 months away from our BIG DAY!

At this point in your planning, what have your checked off of your list? Is there anything you wish you would have done sooner?

Hope you enjoy getting to know us a little bit through these pictures :)

Honeymoon Shopping..

KateOHara — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:49 +0000

With our wedding just over a month away I am getting pretty darn excited about our honeymoon! Two days after our wedding we’re going to Antigua, and I can’t wait! Neither of us have ever been to the Caribbean, and since it’s finally starting to feel like winter around here a tropical getaway sounds perfect. I mean look at this, can you blame me? I can’t wait to be on vacation with my husband (whoa, ‘husband’!)!

Now, this brings up a very important wedding task: shopping for honeymoon clothes! I always like to do a little shopping before any vacation, a few new outfits for the honeymoon are a must in my opinion!

Swimsuits: I tend to buy a new bathing suit every summer, I can’t help it! J. Crew is definitely a go-to spot for pretty swimsuits. I love their simple, but stylish suits.

I love this next swimsuit, a little reto & fun.

Hats: I have never been big on straw hats for just any old beach trip - but I feel like they seem just perfect and super chic for honeymoon beachwear!

Dresses: I am looking forward to our relaxing (and delicious!) dinners, maybe even one on the beach! Our resort has 11 restaurants, so obviously I’ll need a few new summery dresses for these dinners. I love this striped maxi dress, it seems casual and very beach-appropriate.

I recently read an article here that says packing in a specific color scheme for your honeymoon makes things easy, so you can just mix and match most outfits. I thought it was a pretty good tip! I always like blue, so I might try to keep most items in the blue color family. Although a LBD couldn’t hurt, and still matches everything!

And of course a cute cover-up (or two) is always fun. I like these two a lot.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 11

Are you doing any honeymoon shopping? I would love to know where you’re going on your honeymoon, and what you’re packing!

The Cake {table}

Taylor Chatfield — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:47 +0000

There are a few wedding traditions that I’ve never cared much for, the garter toss, receiving line and…the cake. I know that might infuriate some people, seeing as that most people would give their left arm for cake, but I’ve just never really liked cake. Unfortunately (for me…not for my guests) JB LOVES cake, so although I’ve tried many times to talk JB in to having a stacked cake made from cheese wheels and an array of mixed berries (cheese and berries are my favorite indulgence), it looks like we’ll be having a cake.

Although I don’t really like eating cake, I do love the way some cakes look which is why I am most excited about working with whoever makes my cake to design their look and feel (I want to do a few small cakes rather than a large stacked one). I am ESPECIALLY excited about the cake table. Being only 21 means that my furniture collection is rather limited, so I would love to buy a piece for the cakes that i could have in my house after. Some of these are WAY out of my price range (see the west elm dining table), but a girl can dream.

Here’s what I want my cake table to be like…except with cakes, of course:

Pottery Barn clockwise from top left: one, two, three

World Market clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four

west elm clockwise from top left: one, two, three

What are you doing for your cake table? I need some affordable ideas!

{Crafty Details} Glassine Bag Inspiration

Allison Silber — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:00:33 +0000

I’m a little obsessed with glassine bags. These are my new muslin bags (although, I will always have a soft spot for muslin bags). Invitations, business cards and favors are just a small number of ways glassine bags can be used to make you look like you tried real hard to create something epic. Truth is, they are so easy-peasy and your options of decorating them are just endless. I tried all the different ways these little guys could be used, but boy, there were just so many. Here are some of my favies.

Sweet Treats: Love the stitched bag with mini donuts. This is probably my favorite of them all.

Source: Eat, Fabrics

Again with the stitched. I seriously love the idea of stitching these little guys, no matter what you plan on putting inside.

Source

Custom calligraphy, oh boy, this photo below is from Etsy and is offered at an awesome price. Only $6 for 20 of these. So cute right?

Source

A very popular use seems to be a little foodie bag to give guests little treats from your wedding. I can’t say I disagree with this use, in fact, I love it.

Source

Mixing muslin and glassine? Well there we go, that is all I need. Such adorable packaging inspiration.

Source

The ways are endless, just look at each of these, such a fabulous way to personalize each bag and mix things up just a little bit!

Source

Anyone adding these little bags anywhere in your wedding?

Dream vs. Reality

Madeline — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:00:08 +0000

Some brides have dreamt about their wedding day since they were a little girl. While I don’t remember doing this, I have put a lot of thought into it the last year or so. I think one of the hardest things about wedding planning is seeing all those pretty pictures, and turning them into your reality.

When I first started looking at wedding blogs and magazines, I was like a kid in a candy store. I want this, I want to make that, I want to have this…. but then you start thinking about how to implement it. Who is going to man that photo booth? Where are you going to get and transport 3 foot balloons? How are you going to make yard games? Who is going to hang and light all of those hanging lanterns.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that having all of these pretty pictures to look at is great for inspiration. But turning inspiration into reality can be hard. The logisitics of the wedding day are key- if you have yard games that arent set up, a photo booth that no one can figure out how to use, and hanging lanterns that are falling into peoples’ food- your wedding dreams become a nightmare.

Dream big, but remember, having a few details you love executed perfectly is much better than trying to do it all. Remember, your wedding is about you- make sure that your details reflect that and everything will turn out beautiful.

All images via StyleMePretty

The Little White Dress (LWD)

BrianneDonahue — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:00:48 +0000

In looking through my closet last night I realized that I don’t own a single little white dress (LWD). And that’s likely because a white dress is tough to buy. So tied to the tradition of getting married, white is not a color us ladies tend to gravitate toward when purchasing an ensemble for a special event. Unless you are the one getting married, you can’t really where white to a wedding without a lot of “What was she thinking” stares, which of course lessens the re-wear value of a dress. On top of that, it’s hard to look good in white this time of year when the short winter days prevent any kind of sun from touching your skin (even here in California!).

Despite this, I decided that as a bride-to-be, and since I have several events leading up to my wedding, I really want to take advantage of this time to where lots of white! There’s really no other time that I can easily get away with wearing a color out of season (although I don’t exactly believe in that rule). And maybe purchasing a LWD well get me primed to actually pull the trigger on buying THE dress.

I will be having a traditional shower back East – likely an afternoon with a lot of ladies – and I think these white frocks will be perfect.

Credits: 1, 2, 3

I will also be having a Jack & Jill shower here in SF that likely will be held at night, so I think I can get away with something a little more cocktaily…

Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4

And then of course I will need a fun white dress for the bachelorette!

Credits: 1, 2, 3

And then maybe one more for the rehearsal dinner.

Credits: 1, 2, 3

Finally, to extend the bridal feeling just a bit, I’ll pack one more in my suitcase for the honeymoon.

Credits: 1, 2, 3

What about you? Did you go out and splurge on a white ensemble when you got engaged?

A Whole Lotta Color

Allison Silber — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:20 +0000

The original inspiration of this post came from the concept of color blocking. It isn’t something that we have fully seen transition to weddings just yet, but it is all over the fashion industry and well, it is only a matter of time!

Source

What started as a post in color blocking simply turned into a whole lotta color and some of the fabulous things you can do with it. I swear, I used to be all about white, cream and ivory when it came to weddings (yes, I know those are essentially all the same color) but I feel like I have become infused with color after a long dry spell.

Source: Flowers, Card

You want to know why I didn’t want a whole lot of color in my wedding? I was seriously afraid of it. Seriously and truly afraid. When you have the options of color, ummm you have like a ga-jillion options! How do you choose? How do you pick colors that match with other colors? I know this sounds kind of dumb, but it really what went through my head.

Source

I stuck to what I knew, white was what I knew, and I had muted tones everywhere. I kind of wish I spruced things up a lot more, but at least I had some fabulous florals to brighten things up. If any of you brides are feeling how I felt, don’t let it stop you from creating something fabulous. Because as pretty as white is, color is much more fun.

Source

If any of you agree with me on being scared colorless (I just made that up…and I really like it!) then please do let me know and I can help you with some colorful details that fit your style and plans. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on some colorful additions because you felt like I did.

The Wedding Cake

Keri — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:19 +0000

In the spirit of Valentine’s week, how could I not write about our wedding cake today? In some ways, we are lucky that our wedding venue includes the cake in our package cost. On the other hand, that gives me less control over what our cake looks and tastes like. Luckily, we have already attended a cake tasting and while they are all delicious, they are somewhat generic looking. I have a few ideas to personalize our cake to match our wedding vibe- flowers and/or cake toppers.

Here are a few cakes and details I love.

{Floral Additions}

one, two, three, four

{Cake Toppers}

one, two, three, four

I love the floral cakes, I just don’t know if our caterer will allow it or how to execute it. Are the flowers real or sugar? I have a second meeting with our florist this week and hope to gain some insight then.

*Which do you prefer? Think there is anyway to do both?