Vendor Spotlight: Smitten Sticks!
I came across these colorful and playful photobooth props via Southern Weddings and had to post! For my wedding I had something similar but have to admit, they were totally bootleg. These are fun and sassy — and had I known about them — they would have totally rocked out in our photobooth!
Smitten Sticks are handmade paper expressions, mustaches and the like, mounted on a stick for easy handholding. They’re simple, playful and perfect for creating those fun moments! They are available on Etsy, sold in kits and are easily assembled. Perfect for wedding photobooths, favors or polaroids, Smitten Sticks are for the couple who are planning a unique, imaginative and most importantly, a fun-filled celebration.
Don’t you love them? Enjoy! Happy weekend!
xo
Chalkboard Wedding Decor Details
I think everyone appreciates chalkboard. I’m not sure why – it must hearken back to our elementary school days when getting called to write on the chalkboard was fun (at least it was for me!). I love the way chalkboard has been utilized at weddings and thought I’d give you a bit of chalkboard inspiration.
The obvious is chalkboard-turned-menu. I love how this couple used an old surf board as their surface to paint. Since chalkboard paint can go on virtually any clean surface, you can make anything your chalkboard menu. You can do a traditional bistro-style chalkboard menu, or maybe hang chalkboard tiles from clothes line strung between two trees. There are a million opportunities here to be creative and the best part: it is super expensive and easy to do!
In my search for this post I came across this fun and innovative chalkboard vinyl wall decals from Spell It Out Designs on etsy.com. To say I love these vintage / Victorian-inspired chalk frames would be an understatement! Vinyl is easily removable from any surface and leaves no trace that it has been there. While it is great for using on the walls, doors, or windows of your venue you should inquire first whether your location will allow you to do it. If they do, great! You can use these again as menu cards, place card displays, wedding signs (“wedding this way!”), inscribe a quote, thank you, note. Leave it blank and allow your guests to leave you messages! The possibilities are endless. And if you can’t put it on a wall, simply build a surface to put it on.
I’m also totally loving these chalkboard plant stakes used instead as a place card. These are from Crossroads Cottage, but you can easily make them yourself with a little time and energy. They’d be perfect for a smaller wedding! I also love them used in the tablescape design, tucked into a floral arrangement. They would also look perfect tucked into your stationary hors d’oeuvre display, or if you can, on your passed hors d’oeuvre trays.
This isn’t done often enough, probably because it isn’t that simple, but I love the look of these giant chalkboard seatting arrangement displays from a fete event. The key is to have a wedding planner who not only has gorgeous handwriting, but write in a straight line!
This fun and thoughtful idea comes from a wedding featured on one of our favorite blogs, OnceWed. The bride got the idea from Wonderful Graffiti to have a word search at the reception to entertain guests. If anything, it is just pure beauty, and makes for a great photo op. I’m sure her guests had a fabulous time using it, too!
Last but not least, why not add a chalk board (or dry erase board) to your wedding’s photo booth? You never know what message might turn up! Just be sure to have something handy to wipe all the chalk that is bound to rub off on everyone’s black clothing. This is where we tell you that the dry erase board might be a better idea!
Bridesmaid Bouquet Accessory
So I love the idea of having each BM have their initial in their bouquet but they are ssoooo expensive. . .something like 30 each. . .um with 7 BM’s that was NOT in budget. So if you couldn’t guess this to begin with. . .UMMMMM DIY! So I went to Michael’s and hit the floor running! I found what is called “eyelet alphabet” which is little metal letters in script. I wanted some bling so I also found Swarovski crystals and got a special type of glue and here is what you will need in addition to the letters. . .
and here is the finished result. . .
The Hottest Colors of Spring
Sweet! I can’t wait for spring and I know all of our spring brides are itching for a little inspiration. Pantone released its spring 2009 color report late last year and I have to say I am a bit surprised at the color choices. Fuscha Red, Salmon Rose, and Rose Dust round out the pinks (you can see our use of some of these colors in our recent Preppy in Pink color palate / design board). I absolutely LOVE Super Lemon and Lucite Green — yellow is going to be a hot color for 2009. Other colors include Palace Blue, Dark Citron, Lavender, Vibrant Green, and Slate Gray.
Which colors are your favorite and are you incorperating any of them into your fabulous fete? Please dish!
Spotting Trends: What is New in Food
There was a lot of yummy food on display at BizBash by some of Manhattan’s top catering companies. We got to sample a variety of signature drinks, chocolate confections, and petite appetizers. The main trend? Food as art.
I think a lot of couples underestimate the impact that food has on your event. We all know it is the largest expense and the single element guests are guaranteed to remember from your wedding day. Still, people tend to neglect the idea that food can be as much a part of your wedding day theme and décor as flowers, candles, and table linens. If you are having a French country themed fete, why not serve a variety of French food and wine? A rustic, evergreen style wedding could serve these petite paper cones filled with a variety of nuts and a spring of evergreen as garnish.
You can create a fusion of food to suit your theme and stylize it in a way where it fits in with your décor. It is an inexpensive way to continue your wedding style into other elements of the day. I recommend that you sit down with your caterer or chef and discuss options to liven up your dishes and add an artistic flair. Think about shapes, color, taste, and texture. Here are a few ideas:
Going Old Hollywood? Stick with classic cocktails (which are making a huge comeback) such as the classic martini, gin and tonic, or whiskey sour. For food, serve canapés with different spreads (avocado, blue and cream cheese spread, ham and olive), welsh rarebit toasties, cocktail sausages, and silver dollar hamburgers. For dinner, serve wedge salad or classic cob salad with a classic steak, chicken, or Italian dish.
For a rustic, late summer evening wedding outside, consider serving a variety of chilled wines or sangria’s in pitchers. Champagne flutes served with a few blueberries, raspberries or blackberries for flavor and color. As an appetizer, antipasto platters with cured meats, cheeses, peppers and mushrooms. Parmesan stuffed mini artichokes, crab cakes with tarter dipping sauce, and dates stuffed with goat cheese. For dinner, a light cesaer or garden salad with braised lamb shank with rosemary, beef tenderloin with port and chestnut sauce.
Another trend that is evident already in recent weddings are miniature foods. Shot glasses filled with bisques, soups, and little deserts. Tiny french fries, burgers, sandwiches, and cheesecakes. I love the idea of miniature foods, especially deserts and hors d’oeuvres; it allows your guests to sample a lot of food without getting too full!
Often times these are more of a customized menu verses the wedding package variety. If you can’t stray from your prepackaged meal, ask the chef if they would be willing to plate the food in a unique and artistic way. Chefs are artists by nature and most of them welcome putting new spins on the same old dishes!
Emmy Style 2008
Want an inkling into the hot colors and fashion designs that will hit your bridal magazines next year? Look no further than the Emmy awards on Sunday night! I feel as though a lot of the elements of these gowns are emulated in bridal fashion already, but they will be more pronounced for next year. Here are some of my Emmy favorites:
Olivia Wilde in Reem Acra
Many internet fashionistas are already pinning Miss Wilde as the top dressed star, and I tend to agree. This gown is so gorgeous and can immediately translate from the red carpet to the alter. I love the incredible detailing and vintage style. Everything on her is flawless; from the hair to the jewels and the bag.
Teri Hatcher in Monique Lhuillier
I chose to feature this gown because of the color and ruffling, both of which are very hot right now. Yellow, especially in this vibrant color, is so chic. The mermaid fit and ruffling along the back (which you cannot see) and the front are just gorgeous. I think the ruffling trend will carry through into next season, too, which excites me because I love its femininity!
Mariska Hargitay in Carolina Herrera
Again, this yellow is a bit deeper but so popular right now. I chose this gown primarily because of its style. It is so modern yet classic. I love the Roman vibe it gives with the over the shoulder. As a bridal gown I think it would need a bit of detailing in the back and perhaps something sparkly along the waist line to pull together the sash.
Brooke Shields in Badgley Mischka
The color of this gown isn’t my favorite for my own personal taste, but it is really prevalent right now in fashion (in smaller doses I can wear it). I chose this gown because I felt like the style could go straight from the red carpet and right to the aisle (sans color). The ruffling is so beautiful and the sweetheart neckline? Sexy! I would wear this gown on my wedding day if given the chance.
Reinventing the Guestbook: Platters, Quilts, Canvas and “Wish Jars”
I was thinking yesterday about the traditional wedding guestbook. I want to ask all my married readers: what did you do with your guestbook after the wedding? My guess is you need a super-sized swifter to lift all the dust off. Most couples file their guestbook away somewhere and never open it again, which is unfortunate, especially for those who spend good money and thought on custom designed covers and binding. So why should you purchase something that will serve little-to-no purpose after your wedding? Sure, it is a keepsake, but what is so great about a bunch of signatures? Nothing. Does that mean you should give up your guestbook? No, not at all! What it means is you should think outside the box, reinvent what the guestbook is at your wedding, and figure out what purpose it will serve after.
Some of my favorites are items that guests sign: platters, a canvas engagement photograph, a quilt made for the couple. These are all reusable items that won’t be gathering dust somewhere or stuffed in an old shoe box. Some of my favorite platters are featured below. I’ve never had a thing for gimmicks or themes, so I wouldn’t recommend your standard platter with a bride and groom in the center. To me, that won’t translate well while entertaining for thanksgiving dinner. However, a platter with your married monogram, initials, or an excerpt from your vows is extremely beautiful!
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Platter #1: Serendipity Crafts | Platter #2: Say Anything Ceramics
I’ve also seen a bride and groom ask married couples to send in a photograph from their wedding with the R.S.V.P card. At the wedding, the photographs were displayed on card stock which was removable from a book or hung on a tree. The couples left beautiful messages and words of wisdom next to their wedding photograph, and it was used as a keepsake for the bride and groom. Here is an example from Room Service Home:
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Another idea which has become really popular over the years is to have a “Wish Jar.” This is what I prefer best, because if you’re craftly like me, you can take all those wishes from your wedding guests and display them. You can have them mounted and framed in a fun collage or you decoupage them on canvas , using glazes and paints to infuse some personality. Another idea? Place them in your wedding scrapbook! What is great about the Wish Jar is you can customize the jar and use it in your home for décor or as something functional. Also, don’t get hung up on the word “jar.” As long as you can place a card in it and remove the card with ease, you’re good to go. So vintage jewelry boxes or hat boxes made a unique spin on the “jar”, as do bird cases, ice buckets, and glass bowls. You can also have fun designing the wish cards where your guests will write words of wisdom! You can tie in the design of your invitations, place cards and menu cards, or go for something completely unique. Here are some ideas for your “jar”:
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
1: Birdcage from Anthropologie Home | 2: Crate & Barrel | 3&4 Pottery Barn
Having a fall inspired wedding? What about a pumpkin for your collector, or even some fun hollowed out gourdes.
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Image from Better Homes and Gardens, but thanks to Jamie for posting it on her blog.
Wedding Gown Style: Old Hollywood Glamour
For the past few nights I’ve been entrenched in finding some old hollywood glamour inspired wedding gowns. I really love the classic silhouettes of screen sirens past, and fully believe that it is every woman’s right to channel Rita Hayworth or Marylin Monroe on her wedding day! Some elements you should look for in a gown if you are planning an old hollywood based soiree are sweet-heart necklines with mermaid, drop-waist, and curve accentuating gowns. Stick with satin, Silk-charmeuse and Chantilly lace. Delicate bead work and crystals are also a signature component of this style. I also recommend a faux fur or feather shawl to add an extra bit of glam!
For more inspiration, read our post on Dita von Teese , the ultimate fashionista who infuses the glamour of the 40’s and 50’s into her style.
Vendor Spotlight: Wonderful Graffiti
Click the image to view the larger version!
As an event and wedding planner, you often have the opportunity to “test drive” a lot of products that vendor’s market to brides. We enjoy this process and find it helpful when recommending quality products and vendors to our brides. One company, Wonderful Graffiti, recently sent us sample swatches of their product and we instantly fell in love! What is Graffiti? From the experts themselves. . .
Wonderful Graffiti is very thin pieces of matte vinyl that look “printed” when applied to most smooth surfaces. Your entire wedding Graffiti design arrives on one sheet of transfer paper. Just tape the transfer paper into place, burnish it down and peel it away. Only the individual letters and graphic elements remain. Wonderful Graffiti removes quickly, and won’t harm underlying surfaces.
The possibilities for using Wonderful Graffiti are endless, truly. Since it is nontoxic, easily removable, and doesn’t leave a residue, you can use it anywhere. On the doors of the church, your dance floor, reception walls, or even your “get-away” car.
Personally, I love the element of using typeface and words as a design element in your wedding. With the right font, monogram, poem, and design, you can add a unique piece of art which will act as a focal point to your wedding! Its totally original and something you can customize to suit your style, personality, and individual love story.
Browse their website to view real weddings that used their product. They have hundreds of examples, prefabricated items, and the ability to customize your wedding graffiti into your personal monogram, favorite verse or poem. Wonderful Graffiti can also be used to decorate your home, office, or add an additional element of decor to the next event you throw (we especially liked the Americana themed graffiti in light of Independence Day!).
Old Hollywood Glamour: Dita von Teese
I love to look to fashion forward celebrities to find inspiration on wedding day style. If you admire the look or persona of a celebrity, you can really find some creative ideas to use for your wedding day look or to enhance the décor. No matter which celebrity style you idolize, remember to remain true to your own personal style. You never want to look back on your wedding day pictures and feel like your day followed too many fads or trends (giant poufy sleeves from the 80’s anyone?)
A look that is really hot right now is “Old Hollywood Glamour.” Taking style que’s from screen siren’s like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Rita Hayworth couples are incorporating retro styles into their wedding. Along with the famous beauties of the past, you can also look to modern day Hollywood for inspiration. I love the style of Dita von Teese and I believe she marries “old Hollywood” with the new millennium beautifully. Check out the slide show I’ve compiled that showcase some of my favorite red carpet looks of hers.
