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First Row: Martha Stewart Weddings | My Wedding Reception Ideas via Bronze Budget Bride
Second Row: The Complete Cupcake | Martha Stewart Weddings | Luster Studios via A Stylish Design
Third Row: HornblowerSF via The Cupcake Blog |Baby Cakes Are Us| Deviant Art
Fourth Row: The Complete Cupcake | Flickr via Top Design Mag

 With her heart in Paris and her feet in the sand, Laurie is a part-time pizza lover and full-time blogger-tutor-editor-fashionista who still believes in fairytales and happy endings.

First Row: Tinywater Photography via Style Me Pretty | Kate Harrison Photography via Style Me Pretty
Second Row: Readyluck via Style Me Pretty | Christine Chang Photography via Style Me Pretty
Third Row: sunny + scout photography via Style Me Pretty

Lexi is the Editor of a Lifestyle blog: Glitter & Pearls and a Weddings + Events blog: Glitter Weddings. She’s a part-time lawyer, part-time blogger, full-time wedding + fashion obsessive.

~ From Nancy, Director of Marketing and Design 

Color can dramatically affect moods and emotions as well as influence certain physiological reactions.  Interior Designers and artists have long understood the feelings that certain colors evoke personally and culturally.  “Colors, like features, follow the changes of emotions,” as quoted by Pablo Picasso, so if you are aware of color psychology you can certainly wow your guests!

The Psychology of Color

White: Pure, clean, innocent in western cultures; mourning in eastern cultures; creates a sense of space so consider draping a small or dark room in white.

Black: Sophistication, power, elegance; in some cultures it represents death or mourning but in others it can mean life or rebirth; appropriate color for high-end, black tie events.

Red: Excitement, passion, intensity; creates very strong emotions and attention-grabbing; causes blood pressure and heart rate to rise; great color for events where guests are encouraged to move throughout the venue.

Orange: Vibrancy, energy, excitement; creates a playful environment for your guests.

Yellow: Cheery, warm, alert; this color can also create frustration and anger and is fatiguing to the eye; probably best to use with another color or as an accent and not as a major backdrop.

Green: Natural, healthy, tranquil; creates a calming effect, relieves stress and helps heal; hence, the symbolism behind the term “green room” as a place to relax.

Blue: Peace, trust, loyalty; a popular and neutral color on a global level; lowers pulse rate and body temperature.

Purple: Royalty, wisdom, wealth; an exotic color that is associated with luxury and extravagance but also a spiritual connection; can be used in creating special effects with lighting.

1. Use Recyclables

From recycled invitation paper to decorations and cutlery, aim to use products that have either been recycled or can be used again in the future.

Intimate Weddings | Beacon Lane via Etsy

2. Friendly Flowers

Ask your florist to help you choose flowers that are grown organically, and make sure you pick ones that grow naturally during the season in which you’re getting married. Choosing potted plants as part of your decor means you can use them again! Or let your guests take them home as favors.

Weddings on Kauai | Design Sponge

3. Go Local

Support your local economy by choosing local vendors. In doing so, you’ll help cut down on excess travel and pollution. Look at farmer’s markets and other local boutiques for gifts, lace, catering, dresses, suits, and decorations.

Belle Vivir | Martha Stewart Weddings

4. Carpool!

Save time, traffic, money, and the atmosphere. Arrange for a shuttle from hotels, or designate one bridesmaid as the carpool coordinator. Tip:  make it more fun by piling up in a party bus and arrive there in style!

High End Hippy | Michelle Cross Photography via Elizabeth Anne Designs

5. Beautiful Bins

This sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s so easy to have everything end up in the garbage by the end of the night. Have bins everywhere and you’ll be surprised by how much trash doesn’t accumulate. Blue isn’t one of your colors? There’s a new trend for pink recycling bins, which help raise money for breast cancer awareness. Double win!

Poppytalk | Live Well | Casa Sugar

Go Green!

With her heart in Paris and her feet in the sand, Laurie is a part-time pizza lover and full-time blogger-tutor-editor-fashionista who still believes in fairytales and happy endings.

First Row: Anna Kuperberg via With This Ring Weddings | Corbin Gurkin via Style Me Pretty | Flickr
Second Row:  Pinterest
Third Row: Piccsy | Jennifer Smith Gallery via Etsy | Magek Photography via Trendy Wedding Ideas

With her heart in Paris and her feet in the sand, Laurie is a part-time pizza lover and full-time blogger-tutor-editor-fashionista who still believes in fairytales and happy endings.

First Row: Lily & Frank Photography via Rock n’ Roll Bride |  Marta Locklear via Style Me Pretty
Second Row: EE Photography via Bridal Musings
Third Row: Mike Arick Photography via Bridal Musings

Lexi is the Editor of a Lifestyle blog: Glitter & Pearls and a Weddings + Events blog: Glitter Weddings. She’s a part-time lawyer, part-time blogger, full-time wedding + fashion obsessive.

From the Bride ~

Paddy proposed just before our 6th anniversary and a week before he was leaving for a month long work trip. We were on a mini vacation at a small lakeside cabin on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington when he popped the question. He had been holding on to a classic Tiffany engagement ring for three months, waiting for the right opportunity. One of the first things he said about our wedding was “can we get married in Tahoe?” He had spent summers there at his family’s house as a child and we had made many trips there with our friends over the years. A lakeside wedding in September sounded perfect. We asked our two siblings to conduct the wedding ceremony itself. It was immensely personal, funny, heartfelt and a nice surprise to hear what they had to say about us and to us. Paddy and I decided to do some “repeat after me” vows, but not the traditional ones. We wrote 3 vows together the night before, and then we each wrote 3 more vows on our own the day of our wedding so there was still an element of surprise. All in all, the wedding went off without a hitch. We danced and hung out fireside late into the night—some people had been there for 10 hours! It was quite a celebration of us, the reasons we love each other, and all of the things we love. Of course no wedding is complete without the amazing friends and family that help you celebrate your day. We both expressed a huge sigh of relief when it was all over and done with, but all the planning was worth it!

Vendors:
Venue: Meeks Bay Resort and Marina
Photographer: Heidi Huber Photography
Catering: Men Wielding Fire
Florist: Blossoms Flower Shop
Musicians: Tahoe Bag Piper
DJ: Lake Tahoe DJ
Rentals: Camelot Party Rentals

First Row: Kat Braman Photography via 100 Layer Cake | Kat Braman Photography via Wedding Chicks
Second Row:  Girl versus Dough for Betty Crocker | Small Shop Studio
Third Row: A Lovely Escape

Lexi is the Editor of a Lifestyle blog: Glitter & Pearls and a Weddings + Events blog: Glitter Weddings. She’s a part-time lawyer, part-time blogger, full-time wedding + fashion obsessive.

First Row:  Wedding Clan | Beautiful Beach Weddings 
Second Row: Pastry Chef Central
Third Row: Pink Gypsy | Bippity Boppity Boo
Fourth Row: Wedding Belle Favors
Fifth Row:  Lula Kate via All Weddings Are Beautiful | Martha Stewart Weddings
Sixth Row: Style Art Life via Style Me Pretty | Harbor Island Event Management
Seventh Row:  Weddingstar

With her heart in Paris and her feet in the sand, Laurie is a part-time pizza lover and full-time blogger-tutor-editor-fashionista who still believes in fairytales and happy endings.

Stephanie Anderson (founder of One Fine Day Events and Tahoe Unveiled) from The Wedding Chicks feature ~ 

Matt Theilen, Bellissima Floral and I teamed up to create this romantic Bohemian dinner party photo shoot. The color scheme and theme were both inspired by an awesome striped shower curtain I stumbled upon in Cost Plus World Market. I fell in love with the blues, turquoises, and the texture of the fabric – I just had to make this work for a table linen. After developing the theme a little more and incorporating gold and wooden accents, we couldn’t think of a better location to house this lovely soiree than the West Shore Cafe. The lakefront venue has an amazing “Hamptons-meets-Tahoe” vibe with the deep rich wood, Moroccan chandeliers, intimate atmosphere, and a jaw dropping view of the lake. We incorporated rental items from Celebrations Party Rentals, linens and chair covers from La Tavola, and amazing flowers from Bellissima to complete the entire ensemble. The chair skirts added an entire note of whimsy and elegance to the look, as the wooden table brings you back to the mountains and nature.

Throughout the design process, we really wanted to create a romantic nook for a couple to enjoy a cocktail with floating lanterns and unique decorative elements. So, we produced the lounge area under the canopy! Bellissima Floral dyed the water in the vases blue to bring an extra pop of color to the palette and we covered the furniture in pillows to bring out the deep blues, turquoises, purples, and brown hues. The chest came from the West Shore’s cozy sitting room and it was the perfect finishing piece to the entire look!

For the dinner table, we paired Celebrations Party Rentals’ farm table and chiavari chairs with La Tavola chair covers and a long wooden bench! All of the dinnerware and glassware had a hint of gold to complete the color scheme and blend with our mercury glass and gold vessels. Instead of using napkin rings for their traditional purpose, we turned them on their ends and placed a fuchsia dahlia-shaped candle on top. Mercury Glass is so hot right now, but we didn’t want to over do it….so we paired the mercury glass with gold wooden candle sticks and colored glass vases. The whole theme really ties together to make the perfect Spring or Summer soiree!

Vendors:
Venue | West Shore Cafe
Flowers | Bellissima Floral
Prop & Furniture Rentals | Celebrations Party Rentals
Linens | La Tavola