OUR WEDDING!!

Coral and aqua- great color choices right? Also, check out the starfish boutenierre! Our beach-themed wedding turned out to be quite beautiful and all we could have hoped for and more. Here are a few photos to inspire your planning. Sorry I have been MIA lately. Newly wed stuff! :)

Brides Magazine, May 2011 edition

I love wedding magazines in general, but I have to say, this month's issue of BRIDES has just about everything I could want. They list their favorite sites for buying anything from personalized gifts to napkin rings, the best (by vote) beauty products, honeymoon ideas and much more. I took a few pictures on my phone to give you a little preview! Anyways, I am not affiliated with the magazine, but I like to pass along good resources when I find them to my fellow brides!

Fabulous garters.

If you don't want your garter to look like a cliche 80s prom accessory, glad you came here.
Bridal, chic, sexy. I am thinking about order one, so thought I'd share! Enjoy!
Check out Bleu Garters.

The Royal Wedding is FRIDAY!

The world class sweetheart and commoner, Catherine Middleton, will live out every girl's fantasy of marrying a prince Friday, April 29 at the Westminster Abbey. I can't confirm that Miss Middleton will be taking William's name, but I can only assume so. William's last name? Mountbatten-Windsor.

As anticipation has built up for the big day, global fans have been grappling for every detail they could get. Miss Middleton's allure is in her mystery and her likeability reminds us of Diana. In 1997, we watched as William and his brother, Harry, trailed behind their mother's casket toward the Abbey. Now, in 2011, we will watch William walk toward the Abbey in processional once again, only this time, celebrating a new life with his love. Sources say William has been very intentional about including his late mother in the big day. His fiance wears Diana's sapphire ring and Elton John is among the attendees (John sang "Candle in the Wind" at Diana's funeral). We'll likely see more tributes to Princess Diana tomorrow.

Personalization, royal class and celebration have made this wedding more than a moderate affair. In wedding dollars, perhaps it is modest, but to the rest of us, extravagent. You thought your wedding was expensive? The Royal Wedding could cost $40 million, according to the Today Show.
Though expensive, the wedding will stay down to earth through endearing touches. The sweet couple has made a brilliant effort to weave royal tradition and heritage with modernity and personalized touches. For example, Kate has dropped the "to obey" segment of the traditional wedding vows. A special family recipe will be used to create William's favorite chocolate biscuit cake, to be created by McVitie's Cake Company. More on the cake.
The music selected will carry a "largely British theme." The offical website reads, "The Couple have put considerable thought into selecting the music, and their choices blend traditional music with some newly commissioned pieces." For details on the music selection, click here.
Coveted invitations range from royalty and superstars to close friends. The Beckhams and Mr. Bean received an invite, but the last two prime ministers did not, what some are calling a "political snub."
For details on seating arrangements, click here.
For a slideshow of guests who are invited, click here.
http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

Another blog to check out :)

Another blog...
Have you ever gone through a phase where you make a bunch of blogs because you can't decide what to blog about? Well, I've done that quite a bit. Anyways, this lovely wedding blog is really the only one I pay much attention to and that I truly love. But, as usual, I did start one up about Corey and my relationship. Mostly, it's just us writing about our random adventures. If interested, here's the link!
http://annaandcoreyshow.tumblr.com/

Today was a fairytale.

Green, watermelon, pale pink. Gardens, ribbons, vines, Romeo & Juliet, royal jewels, elegant lace and dainty details.

Royal Blue, Vibrant Orange, Yellow, Hot Pink

If you ever need inspiration, I recommend greylikesweddings.com. Sometimes I take some of the gorgeous weddings I love and try and think of ways that could be done as cost-efficiently as possible. For me, if I were trying to imitate the photo above, I'd get the vases I wanted but maybe smaller and with smaller bouquets or without flowers- maybe long, elegant twigs for a different feel.

Anyways, I simply love the bright, warm and vibrant shades of the flowers juxtaposed with the rich royal blue. It reminds me of the Mediterranean, even though I've never been. If you like the boldness but you'd like to tone it down, try this same royal blue with a marigold yellow (match the glasses with the yellow of the flowers in the center.) If you can't afford to buy all those blue glasses and your venue does not have them, consider buying pretty satin ribbon to tie in bows on the stem of each glass to add that same pop of color. If your wedding is outdoors, the clementines are neat, but if it's indoors they might be a little out of place. Instead, say for a ballroom, you could use glass beads that you'd buy at a craft store, sea glass, or decorative balls in a little vase.

The above photo from prettychicky.com. Thought I'd share some more pretty inspiration for you! If I find more helpful websites, I'll letcha know ;).

As you plan your wedding, if all else fails...

All about the shoes.

Perfecting your wedding look is all in the details. What makes you different from the next bride is your personal flare. One way brides are making their statements are through shoes- colorful converse, sparkly flats, cowboy boots, & flirty heels.

Home-spun wedding: dare to add crochet?

I fell in love with that crochet coral flower (first photo above) on Etsy. The artist is kindly making 5 with pearl centers, instead of rhinestone. I ordered them for my bridesmaids, to glue onto thin headbeands. The dresses are a light tiffany blue, called "seaside," and I have been wanting to add more coral to the wedding, so I thought a hair accessory would add the desired pop of warm August heat. I love the hand-made, homespun look, so, what do you think? Does it look too childish? Or feminine and earthy, home-y? Anyways, they were very inexpensive (great deal!) so if we don't use them for the wedding, they'd be nice gifts anyways. I like the look.  

Shades of coral.

Weathers getting warmer and that means... summer colors!
 ...Or of course if you live in South Florida (eh hem, me) then you don't appreciate the season transitions quite as much as you did when you lived in New England... but nonetheless, spring is still my favorite season. And I do love summer and am very VERY much looking forward to my August wedding! Eek!
Anyways, my colors are coral, aqua and accents of silver. So, with aqua bridesmaid dresses (Alfred Sung- color "seaside," knee-length, duponi fabric), I am trying to find more ways to incorporate coral. Here is my "shades of coral" collage. J'espère que vous apprécierez! :)

**Photos are not my property, taken from browsing the internet to find wedding inspiration. Not for commercial or profit.

Lilac and grey inspiration for you!

So victorian, graceful, feminine, dreamy... anything but cliche. Lilac and grey. Hope you enjoy the collage! I like the splashes of silver and sequins, adds a lil more glam to the mellow tones.

** I do not own these photos, simply made a collage for fun with what I found online.

Get the look for less- how to emulate your favorite vibe in a more affordable way.

So, if you want your reception to look like this (see below), but you are a budget-savy bride (or groom), you gotta figure out what concepts you love and why, and how you can make those concepts come to life in other ways. For example, what I love about these photos are the bright pops of color, the votive candles to accent the centerpieces and the unique vibe. Here are some very simple ways to emulate what I liked.

Anna's version:
No floral centerpieces needed. Really, they die and they're expensive as heck. Choose your style- I've included several to achieve that chic, colorful look on a budget.
1. Rice paper votive holder: just google rice paper votive holder and you will find a plethera of affordable and cute, chic votice holders. Try here. Only like 3 bucks I think.
2. Blue votive, only 2.75.
3. Wholesale votive holders: You pay $33 for a box of 72. Awesome!
4. Pier 1 Imports- cute lanterns, now on sale for less than 5 bucks each! Fabulous centerpieces. These are not votive sizes; they're probably 7-8 inches. I have one.
5. Thank you again, Pier 1, for being so addictive. Mercury Glass Star Tealight Holders- normally 10 bucks, now only 2.48.
6. Yes, Pier 1 again. 4 bucks for this pretty starfish ceramic tealight holder. Precious, elegant, laid back at the same time. Delicious.
7. Get a satin table runner at wholesale prices. There are a bunch of websites that offer this, here's one. 35 bucks for 15 table runners... seems too good to be true!



Trend alert: Grey and yellow!

Time to get inspired ladies! The yellow and grey look is very indie, down to earth, DIY, homemade... and kinda edgy and fresh at the same time. It transitions effortlessly from a high-class Palm Beach affair to a low-key barn wedding in Oklahoma. Look, drool, enjoy. xx -Anna

Coral, grey/gray (however you spell it), aqua!

I am going to be posting more on color schemes.

This is mine here! Gorgeous, right? It's perfect for summer- the warmth of coral, the cool laid-back feel of aqua, and the trendy sophistication of grey accents.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these photos. Just simply sharing what I've found. I did make the collage though. :)

Also, if you are throwing a beach-themed wedding, there are some steals at this site. I believe my sister in law (to be) sent this link to me a few months back. Also, the bridesmaid dress featured in the center of the collage is Alfred Sung.

Comments?