Interesting Reception Decor

While cruising Pinterest yesterday, I found some of the most amazing ideas that I have ever seen! It just inspires me to think outside the box, and so should you! 

How about a swanky outdoor cocktail area...

Or a nice walk under the greenery...

Or staring at the beautiful floral arrangement with cascading crystals...

Or some wisteria...

Pretty globes?...

Fairy Tale Romance...

What about framing it?

A romantic night under the stars...

my personal favorite--- This bride below decided to rent a parachute and it only cost her $35!!!

I hope that this has inspired you to think outside of the box when thinking of awesome reception decor! 

Being a Princess on Your Wedding Day

Have you seen the commercial for the Beautiful fragrance by Estee Lauder?  It pictures a bride getting ready for her wedding and the dress that she is wearing is simply stunning!  I have been searching for this dress for quite some time now, and I could not find it!  I ended up emailing Estee Lauder last night, and this morning I had a response!  The gown is by Oscar de la Renta, and its from the Spring 2011 line.  The stunning Oscar de la Renta  gown is silk taffeta, with a gorgeous sweeping skirt, and a draped sleeve.  Talk about elegant!

Here is the advertisement, just in case you havent seen it...

and her is a still picture of the gown from the commercial...

and here is the runway shot...

I just love this gown. This gown reminds me of a princess, which is why I named this posting, "Being a Princess on Your Wedding Day."

Here are some more princess gowns, from one of my favorite designers: Allure Bridals

Their gowns are some of my favorites because of the quality of the gowns, and the romantic fabrics that they use.  Their designs are timeless, and sleek.  Their new 2012 line is really stunning, and you can see why.

Speaking of Princess gowns, I suppose it is only fitting to mention the Alfred Angelo Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Gowns. They have completely redone their princess gowns, some even in other colors other than white or ivory.  Here is the link to their site:  Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Gowns by Alfred Angelo

They are romantic, and for the right bride, they are the perfect dress!  Remember, find the dress that "speaks to you" and makes you feel beautiful.  Once that wedding gown is found, everything else will fall into place! 

Call Me Old Fashioned

Call me old fashioned, but I have seen a trend in bridal gowns that I am not too fond of.  There is a growing trend in slits in wedding gowns.  Yes, I did say a slit in a wedding gown.  I don't understand this mentality of looking sexy on your wedding day. On your wedding day, you want to look classy, and sophisticated, not immortalized with a picture of your leg hanging out there!  Leave that for your wedding night, not for the ceremony!   I think that a slit is a great idea for the reception, but not for the ceremony!

While I think that these gowns are very pretty, I do not think that they are appropriate for a wedding.  I think that they could be more appropriate on the red carpet in another color.  

There is one exception to this rule, in my opinion.  There is a gown by Casablanca Bridal that includes a "zipper-slit." I LOVE THIS DRESS!   The BEST quality of this gown is that for the ceremony, you can have the zipper down, and then let loose and unzip it for the reception.

Here is the beautiful gown...
By the way- it is Casablanca 2022. :D

In my opinion, I think that Casablanca bridal got it right, they knew that the slit needed to be hidden for the ceremony and then letting it loose later!  

Embracing Your Collection

For those of you who know me well, you will know that I have a LOVE of Christmas Ornaments.  I have been collecting them for years now, and have quite the extensive collection.  I have about five boxes to be exact, of which are all organized.  One box is hand-made ornaments that were made from my grandma.  Each year, grandma asked me what I would like, among the most recent ones include Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants, Boo and Mike from Monsters Inc.  Call me a child, but I love them!  Two boxes are dedicated to Hallmark ornaments, while another box is dedicated to just barbies. The remaining boxes are dedicated to glass ornaments. I have twenty four barbie ornaments to be exact.  They range from barbies in ball gowns to cute little bikinis.   This year's Hallmark ornaments are so adorable and I want them all! Check them out...Awesome Barbie Ornaments

On a side note, I found online yesterday the Kate Middleton bride barbie doll.  Needless to say, I love her, and I want her!  I found her on the Bradford Exchange website.  

Check her out!  

I have had a love of fashion since a little kid, and it really shows.  The majority of my ornaments include heels, and other girly things, with an abundance of glitter. I just picked up some lace a couple days ago from a antique store, and I thought it might be cool to use as garland one day.

So what does this have to do with my bridal blog you ask?  Well, my thought was that you could incorporate your collection into your wedding.  Maybe when I get married, my favor would be a Christmas ornament.  That is something I would like to leave you with.  

Do you collect teapots?  Why not use them as a centerpiece so that you don't have to purchase centerpieces!  Or what about vintage cameras, purchase some vintage cameras and give them as favors. 

Be creative and embrace your collection! 

Oh for the love of cake!

I was in the grocery store today picking things up for home-made pizza, and I always make my rounds to the magazine section.  I saw the January edition of Brides Magazine and I was so intrigued. the cover dress is a Carolina Herrera wedding gown, valued at over $8000.  It was so stunning, and so un-traditional, that it piqued my interest and I had to open the book!  (guess that's what they want you to do)  Although it didn't have any of the "cake-like" qualities such as pickups or organza flowy parts to the skirt, I couldn't help thinking of cake.  (Maybe it was the brownies in my cart!"

Here's the gorgeous dress!

Carolina Herrera "Eva"

Pretty huh?! I thought so! :D

Anyways, Brides.com has this amazing tool online called Design Your Dream Cake, and you can find it here.

You can get a general gist of what you are looking for in a cake with this great little tool!  I love it! 

Then I stumbled upon some pix of cakes on their site, and here are my favorites. Although I am not fond of the color choices of the cakes, the general concept of them is impeccable!

and then I stumbled upon the Piece de re'sistance

("showpiece" in French)

This is my favorite!

When thinking of ideas for a cake, think of something that is not only going to compliment your personal wedding style, your theme, time of year, etc, but also make it reflect you and your groom to be.  It will always look classy if it reflects you! 

It's Been A While....

WAY too long, to be honest with you, BUT I am back!  I promise to make a conscious effort to blog at least a little somethin, something every day!

I have a lot to blog about right now, but I will keep it to a minimum... otherwise we might be here all day!

Couple of updates on me, before we start.  Since last blogging, I started working at another location, and I got into school!!! I applied at a university down here in NC, and got in!!! Majoring in Communications Studies with a focus in Journalism and Mass Media.  What do I want to do with that you ask... WELL, Ultimately I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to work for Brides Magazine, that would be incredible!  I have also found a couple other dream jobs that would be fabulous!   I start school on my 25th Birthday which is in exactly 25 days WOOHOO!

Now onto the really really good stuff...
My facebook friends already know about this AHHH-Mazing find, but I thought I might fill in my blog followers as well!

I stumbled upon this fabulous pair of shoes on Brides Magazine's website, well not their website per say- actually the UK's version of Brides Magazine!

These shoes are called Sakura, and I am pretty much in LOVE with them.  I have never seen a pair of shoes that are this exquisite, and just simply amazing.  Words really cannot describe how amazing these are.  (and yes, I know how many times I say amazing!)

Without further ado...

Aren't they amazing... ps, they make gorgeous wedding shoes!!!

Ya know, I have some really good friends, and fabulous brides too! I thought I should mention that because they have told me about this incredible site that is just...wow.  You may or may not know about this site and if you don't, well I am so excited to tell you about it.  It is literally a virtual pin board, so that you can organize all of your awesome pictures that you look up online! You can literally organize your favorite things, "these are a few of my favorite things... (AWWW)" into an online database, without taking space up on your computer! This is a really good thing for me, because for one, I already have a ba-gillion pictures saved on my computer,  and its already online, you can just go there anytime, and look it up!

Anyways, heres the amazing site called (drum roll please!)-----Pinterest

It works a little funky when you first want to join however... You can get a board immediately if you are invited by a friend (you can send me your email, and I will invite you!) or you can sign up, and then it will send you an invite when there is space.  Its that exclusive, don't you just feel special!  haha!!!!!!

For now, that is all, I hope that I have inspired you today with the amazing shoes, and pinterest... just get an account with them, and waste your day away- its so possible! 

More to come! 

You can try it too!

So Brides.com launched an amazing tool to help all brides out there...its a virtual makeover tool, you just upload a picture, and you can see various makeup techniques, and also different dresses on your body! How cool is that!

http://www.brides.com/makeover

Next item of business is of course: the dress of the week...

Yet another Judd Waddell gown. Its a ball gown featuring a lace bodice with a gorgeous beaded ribbon accent belt. The skirt features luxurious pleating complimented by a full ball gown skirt.

Personalizing Your Bridal Look

One of the things that brides ask for most is for something that is unique to their bridal look. They always want something “different” and unique to their style. There are many ways that you can customize your bridal style, just some are more noticeable than others.

One of my favorites: Adding a custom monogram to the inside of your gown.

Another way, is to monogram the bridal veil, which is so amazing in my opinion.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/26589824/bridal-veil-monogrammed-fingertip-length

You can also customize your gown, and I am very surprised that it has finally surfaced...

A fun way, that has really started catching on is to slip your tootsies into some fabulous shoes! Wedding shoes are not only in white or ivory anymore either, they are in full color!

Have you heard of dying your crenoline? You can!!! Dye it the color of your bridesmaids, or whatever color you want! 

I hope I have helped in personalizing at least some of your bridal look...more to come!

ugh! my internet isnt working!

So my internet isn't working and I can't post! I promise as soon s its up, posts will be plentiful

Spotlight: Ines di Santo

Today I wanted to spotlight yet another wedding gown designer, whom I really love. I think that the gowns are feminine, romantic, vibrant, unique, and they are very structured. Her gowns are manufactured in Canada, made at the atelier in Toronto. Brides have two options when purchasing their gown, they can either customize a signature design, or have something made that is original, and only for the bride. The gowns are made one at a time, by professionals that hand bead, pleat, etc. to make every dress special.

The collection is highly recognized and is carried in luxury retailers including Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Without further ado, I introduce the incredible, Ines di Santo.

Here are just some of the dresses from the amazing site.

"Adrienne"

"Aurelie"

"Etienne"

"Jewel"

"Jolie" 

"Noemi"

"Olivie"

"Opal"

"Solange"