Think ahead for fall!

Today, my friend and I spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around the First Annual Restaurant Festival in Phoenixville, PA.  One of my favorite parts of the experience was discovering the one of the coolest jewelry stores I've been to in a LONG time!

Romantic Jewelers on Bridge Street has gorgeous, mid-priced, one-of-a-kind new, vintage, and custom-made jewelry, and I must say, I wanted to buy everything!  But even with my meager jewelry budget, I still walked away with a fabulous new item!  Behold:

 These gorgeous beauties are made from casts of once-real leaves in all types, colors and varieties.  And at a mere $13.49, they are a totally affordable, unique idea for earthy bridal jewelry, bridemaids' gifts, or even stunning bouquet accents!  Imagine 2 or 3 of these shimmering babies nestled into a bouquet with some classy pearls or ethereal feathers.  :) 

I simply fell in love- not only with these charming leaf pendants, but with the entire store! 
If you're in the market for wedding jewelry (or ANY jewelry, for that matter!) please check out Romantic Jewelry, in Phoenixville, PA.  You'll fall in love, too!

They'll be Green with Envy...

This spring, nothing is fresher than GREEN! Be it Spring Green and Yellow, Olive Green and Champagne, or Green Pea and Blushing Sweet Pea (think "Peas in a Pod" theme!), green is versatile, relaxing and creates a feeling of lush natural beauty.  I am currently working on a wedding this June using green as a main theme with pears and green hydrangea ("A Perfect Pear!" theme. :) and since pictures always speak louder than words, I thought I'd share some of our inspirational photos with you.  Enjoy!

p.s. I particularly love the idea of the green wedding dress and the mini cabbages in the bouquet! :) What do you think?  Comment!

Sweet Treats

Many brides struggle with finding the perfect wedding favors.  Craft stores and wedding websites everywhere offer thousands of cheap little trinkets that catch the eyes of the indecisive bride.  But I implore you- DON'T DO IT!

In my time, I have been to dozens of weddings where the favors elicit an "Oh, that's nice," response and then immediately get thrown on a shelf or in the junk drawer to collect dust until they are finally thrown out.  Don't let this happen to you and your favors!

There are two rules to selecting fabulous wedding favors that your guests will love:
1.) Choose something that reflects either your personality or your wedding theme.
2.) Choose something guests can eat or something they can use again.

Within the context of these two rules, the creative bride can find countless possibilities for favors that guests will love.  Favors that WON'T end up in a junk box at the next garage sale.

Personally, I am a huge fan of favors you can EAT!  :o)

Think about it from your guest's perspective: You have been sitting through a boring ceremony, surrounded by people you don't know.  You have been waiting patiently, since the wedding started late, and you're starting to get pretty hungry.  By the time you finally reach the reception, find your table, and grab a seat, the smells wafting from the caterer's kitchen have your mouth watering ravenously.  But NO- you still have to sit through the first dance, multiple parent dances, and all those over-drawn toasts from weepy friends and family.  Wouldn't it be nice to have something to snack on while you're waiting?

Edible favors are a great opportunity to showcase and support local artisans, or introduce your guests to personalized goodies from your hometown.  They can even be used to celebrate your hobbies!  For instance, if you or your fiance are a craft beer aficionados, why not tantalize your guests taste buds with Chocolate Beer and Pretzel Brittle made from Rogue Brewery's Chocolate Stout? (Buy it now at www.truffletruffle.com!)

Blood Orange Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies? Sea Salt Butter Caramels? Is your mouth watering yet?  Fresh fruit jams for laid-back country weddings?  Gourmet truffles for posh affairs? I've even seen a couple hand out TastyKakes to guests at their Philadelphia-themed wedding!  The possibilities really are endless, and your guests will not be left wondering, "Now what the heck am I going to do with THIS?" on their way home.

My Color Pics for Fall 2010

COPPER AND PLUM

Dark Purple was all the rage last fall, and couples it to be extremely flattering for bridesmaids of all colors, shapes, and sizes.  Not only that, but it's also a color that your girls can wear again and again throughout the year.  This year, I'd love to see the trend continue in a plum hue with copper and brass accents. 
This combo is simply stunning and oh-so-elegant for a fall wedding! Great for vineyard weddings too!

BLUE AND TEAL

Blues and Teals are also going to be very big this year with bright cobalt blues for the summer, and a more jewel-toned teal for the fall.  This opens up fantastic opportunities to work with one of my recent favorite decorating accessories- Peacock Feathers!

As you can see there are opportunities for a lot of plum and copper accents here as well.   So let your mind run wild, and enjoy these gorgeous color combos this fall!

While we're on the subject...

Since we were just talking about Fantasy Faery Weddings, I wanted to share some really gorgeous photos with you! Unfortunately, this was a professional photo shoot, not a real wedding, but the pictures provide endless ideas and inspirations if you're interested in a Faery theme. Enjoy!

All Things Faerie

Anyone who knows me, will tell you how in love I am with the concept of faeries and the medieval fantasy world. I taught myself how to draw and paint many years ago by studying the art of Miss Amy Brown, and I have been mad about faeries ever since. (God bless my poor husband who puts up with my obsession.)

Since it has always been my dream to have/plan a faerie-themed wedding, I figured that it was only fitting for me to discuss the myriad of possibilities as my first blog post. There is a surprisingly large (and growing!) community of fantasy fanatics out there. You know, the kind who get dressed up to the nines to go to the Renaissance Faire? (I am SO guilty as charged) With the help of the internet, many of these creative people have gotten entrepreneurial, resulting in brides being able to find just about any fantasy item they could dream up.

DRESSES, WINGS, AND ACCESSORIES

There are some fantastic dresses to be found on Etsy.com. Romantic Threads was a seller who really caught my eye:
Rivendell Bridal is also a great site for handmade attire, but they are located in the UK, and so there's always the exchange rate to keep in mind.


However, if you're looking for something a little more designer (and a little less over-the-top), Designers like Vera Wang and Amelia Casablanca have even made their own lines of fairy-tale inspired dresses such as these, inspired by "A Mid-Summer's Night Dream"


If you're thinking wings might be your thing, there are some great wing craftsmen out there as well offering wings from $12.99 (Kohls) and up for the more custom sets. I liked Art of Wings and Enchanted Costumes, who even offers pointed ear tips, if you're feeling adventurous!


However you chose to express your faerie theme- be it full blown, over the top drama, or traditional formal with small hints of magical - remember that the mood you're trying to create should be dreamy, magical, romantic, and delicate.

Here Comes the Bride! The Origin of many Classic Wedding Tradtions

Here Comes The Bride

....run while you can!

The next time you go to a wedding and well up tears during the father-daughter dance, think about this: not so long ago, he was probably saying his last goodbyes before he ponied her up to his bookie. Mental Floss did a curious exposé on the archaic traditions of wedding ceremonies and their patriarchal beginnings. I'll provided a truncated version of the most shocking:

Giving Away the Bride
Remember that “Women’s Studies” class you considered taking in college? Allow us to summarize what you would have learned: All of our society’s gender issues stem from the fact that fathers once used their daughters as currency to a) pay off a debt to a wealthier land owner, b) symbolize a sacrificial, monetary peace offering to an opposing tribe or c) buy their way into a higher social strata.

And that veil she’s wearing? Yeah, that was so the groom wouldn’t know if he was stuck with an uggo until it was time to kiss the bride and too late to back out on the transaction.

The Wedding Party

Talk about your runaway brides—the original duty of a “Best Man” was to serve as armed backup for the groom in case he had to resort to kidnapping his intended bride away from disapproving parents. The “best” part of that title refers to his skill with a sword, should the need arise.


Garter and Bouquet Toss

It used to be that after the bride and groom said, “I do,” they were to go immediately into a nearby room and “close the deal” and consummate the marriage. Obviously, to really make it official, there would need to be witnesses, which basically led to hordes of wedding guests crowding around the bed, pushing and shoving to get a good view and hopefully to get their hands on a lucky piece of the bride’s dress as it was ripped from her body. Sometimes the greedy guests helped get the process going by grabbing at the bride’s dress as she walked by, hoping for a few threads of good fortune. In time, it seems, people realized that this was all a bit, well… creepy, and it was decided that for modesty’s sake the bride could toss her bouquet as a diversion as she made her getaway and the groom could simply remove an item of the bride’s undergarments and then toss it back outside to the waiting throngs to prove that he was about to, uh, get ‘er done.