Weddings

Photo: Getty Images They say you're not supposed to talk about weddings on your first date, but don't tell that to current Bachelorette Hartsock is more than just a Katie Holmes lookalike and girl next door, she's also an aspiring wedding dress designer! Much to our delight, the bridal stylist has been using her TV spotlight as a prime opportunity to showcase her original designs and profess her love for wedding dresses. Photo: Getty Images We knew she needed more screen time after Sean Lowe's season of The Bachelor last season—her intro clip showed her trying on gowns at a Los Angeles bridal salon, after all. Though she didn't wear a wedding dress to meet Sean (that distinction goes to runner-up Lindsay Yenter), she stepped out of the limo in this red dress, one of her own designs. The Jenny Packham lookalike frock showcased her eye for flattering styles, which she has honed by designing for Kiyonna and working as a stylist at Serenity Bridal. Thankfully, this season has given us a more in-depth look at her passion for designing. After the show's second episode rolled footage of Desiree sketching dress designs, she disclosed her dream of becoming a wedding dress designer on her first date. In a risky date move, she and her suitor went to a bridal salon to try on a dress and suit that they wore for the rest of the day. She had some understandable hesitations about the activity that she described in a blog post on People.com. "At first I was nervous about bringing him to a bridal salon because men don't typically know what to do around beautiful white dresses, but bridal design is my passion so it was important for me to share that." The date was a success, but the real highlight so far was the self-designed dress she wore for the rose ceremony on the June 10 episode, a first for any Bacheloretteas seen on People, was translated into the showstopping floor-length blue gown with a jeweled bib. The evening wear-appropriate color didn't distract us from what hinted at a killer wedding dress idea. We love the beading and fitted silhouette for a glamorous, modern wedding. Hartsock took her first foray into design when she left her close-knit Colorado family to study Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Like fellow FIDM alum Monique Lhuillier, Desiree openly professes her dream of owning a wedding dress boutique filled with her designs. We're sure her fun bridal designs will light up future runways. And whether or not Hartsock marries one of her current suitors, she plans to sketch her own wedding dress. Until then, we're watching this season with bated breath for more bridal design fun and, of course, some romance. —Terri Pous You Might Also Like: Browse more celebrity wedding news Engagement Rings Seen on The Bachelor Celebrity-Inspired Bridesmaid Dresses

Photo by SugarLove Weddings from Ilana and Benjamin’s Vintage Glamour Wedding This post request goes way back to our reader survey last year (I haven’t written about it since 2008!) and today I wanted to dive in. Having your bridesmaids wear non identical gowns or mismatched is one of my favourite looks and can be a beautiful way to show off each bridesmaid’s individual style. For me, there is one key thing to remember when pulling your maid’s looks together. Keep one element consistent throughout each bridesmaid’s look, whether that be a floral arrangement, the colour of their gowns, a special accessory or their dress length. You might choose different colours with the same length, different lengths but same fabrics with the same hairstyle, the same designer with different styles, different patterns and textures of the same colour – the possibilities are endless! Also make sure the formality is the same- a bridesmaid in a sequin clad ball gown might not work as well as you’d like if standing next to one in a shorter cotton sundress. Let’s explore! Colour 1. Fleur Wood 50s Slip Frock 2. Alannah Hill Royalty Riot Dress 3. Jigsaw Ballet Panel Dress 4. Fleur Wood Sweet Sultan Dress You might have a green colour running throughout your wedding. You could give each bridesmaid a swatch of fabric and find a dress that suits them in that colour. Don’t limit yourself to solid coloured gowns though, think about patterns with the colour in them too. Above, I’ve chosen a group of dresses in soft pinks and blush. You could choose all pastel hues, brights and bolds or completely mix and match. Above is one of my favourite combinations – a group of pale pinks. Below, the bridesmaids wear bright shades of green- from emerald, to apple and teal. Photo by Heather P. Moore via Inspired By This Colour Palette “Bridal Veil” from Colour Lovers 1. Alannah Hill I’m Taking Over Dress 2.  Band Of Outsiders Plisse Dress 3. Modcloth Arts & Class Dress 4. NF By Nicola Finetti Gold Trapeze Dress Instead of going for “green” or “black” you might choose a group of colours that influence your decisions across the wedding- you might incorporate them into your floral arrangements, your table linens and your own accessories. So they’re a great kicking off point for your bridesmaids.  If you have a huge group of bridesmaids, selecting two gowns in your colour palette gives a traditional but mismatched look. Above I chose a colour palette and found gowns within that palette, one which draws in the other colours for a bit of cohesion. Accessories work really well into looks here too – the bridesmaid in cream might wear a mint hair flower. The one in mint might have a browney bronze belt added to her gown. Below the bridesmaids all wear gowns in shades of inky blues and purples. They keep their dress length similar, with the same hairstyle and nude shoes.  Photo by Taylor Lord Photography via Style Me Pretty Length 1. Review Clothing Sabina Dress 2. Alannah Hill My Naughty Bride Dress 3. Gorman Out Of This World Dress 4. NF By Nicola Finetti Black Trapeze Dress This look allows you to go nuts with every element of the style – from crazy patterns, to bold colours. Keeping the length consistent across your bridesmaid’s gowns can tie it all together. Below, the bridesmaids all wore gowns in shades of watermelon and coral, but each gown is knee length, so paired with bouquets there is no mistaking the bridesmaids. Photo by Kelly Hornberger via Southern Weddings Designer or Fabric Gowns by Alfred Sung Many bridesmaid gown designers will use the same fabrics across their ranges, allowing you to pick different gowns in the same fabric while still giving each bridesmaid an individual look while still keeping a more traditional feel. Also check out designer’s seasonal collections – a designer you love may use a beautiful fabric cons

Hi. My name is Miss Waterfall and I’m a shoe-aholic. Yes, it’s true. I have a bit of a footwear substance-abuse problem (but I can stop any time I want!). I blame HBO and little Miss Carrie Bradshaw for brainwashing me into this whole mess. Image via It’s Geek Chic! My personal favorite, Carrie’s blue wedding Manolos: Image via Bergdorf Goodman Anywho, yes, I admit it. I have a lot of shoes. A. LOT. OF. SHOES. Some of my shoes / Personal photo Over the last few years I’ve amassed quite the collection. But it’s not my fault, seriously. We have to deal with serious weather issues up here in Canada, we have to be prepared for all four seasons! You need cute strappy sandals for summer and adorable Wellies for spring showers. You also need some gorgeous boots for the fall and not-so-gorgeous but practical boots for when sh*t gets really serious (AKA winter). I have my sexy clubbing heels and my work appropriate lawyer heels. Then, I have flats for when said heels start to make my feet bleed. Really, these are necessities… Yes, I love shoes. But they don’t love me back. I pretty much have the worst feet of all time. I have flat feet AND I had to get bunion surgery on both my feet a few years back, and ever since then my feet are extremely sensitive. I’ll put on heels and be perfectly fine wearing them for a while and then, all of a sudden, they become incredibly painful and I can’t stand them for another second. Since I am essentially required to wear heels as part of my everyday work wardrobe, I have designed several ways to get around this problem. I wear flats in the subway because looking fabulous is SO not worth having my feet aching by the time I make it to the office. I also have about four or five different pairs in my office at any given time so that I can switch them around when one pair starts to hurt, along with some comfy flats stashed under my desk for when nobody’s watching. But what’s this all got to do with the wedding? Why, wedding shoes, of course. After giving it much thought, I decided that my foremost priority in wedding shoes is comfort, and I’m willing to accept it if they’re not the cutest shoes ever because, frankly, they’ll be hidden under my dress for most of the day anyway. I just want to be comfortable and happy and not thinking about when I can finally kick them off. Barefoot, Mr. W and I are roughly the same height (I may be an inch taller, but if I throw on heels, I’m a good five inches taller than him). And while I try not to let the height difference bother me normally, I don’t think it will look nice for our wedding photos if I’m towering over him. Therefore, I’ve decided I will stick to a fairly low/kitten heel and maybe get some shoes with added height for Mr. Waterfall to compensate, which most men’s dress shoes already have anyway. To top it off, we are getting married in Old Montreal, and it’s recently dawned on me that while cobblestone is gorgeous and romantic, it’s also hell on heels. I tried wearing different types of shoes to church this summer to test them out on the cobblestone and am sorry to report that the experiment was a colossal failure. Not only are there pesky grooves in between each stone, but the actual stones aren’t even flat! Speaking of flat—flats are not an option because of my aforementioned flat feet. I cannot wear them for a whole day without getting huge cramps in my arches from lack of support. So I guess you’ll have to wait for my recaps to find out what I decided!

Custom Stamps by This Is Just to Say is a shop featuring awesome personalized rubber stamps designed and hand carved by Tyr, a graphic artist and printmaker based in Stockholm, Sweden. Each and every stamp is truly a work of art, and can be shipped any where in the world. How fabulous is that? View all of the magnificent designs here and don’t forget to take a peek at their Wedding Chicks vendor page. Join us again tomorrow for another Wedding Chicks vendor happy hour. To get information on becoming part of The Wedding Chicks and join all the fun email us by clicking here. The post Custom Stamps By This Is Just to Say appeared first on The Wedding Chicks. The content in this post is for personal use only and may not be syndicated on other blogs. If you see this content on a URL other than The Wedding Chicks, please send an email to info@weddingchicks.com with the infringing URL.

We love a good Michael + Anna Costa wedding for so many reasons. But the two that stand out time and again are 1) They’re always filled with the loveliest light and 2) They endlessly pack a good dose of California flavor. Now add the design and styling of Joy de Vivre + Florette Designs and the always beautiful backdrop of Sunstone Winery and I promise you, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Have a look at the full wedding right here. ColorsSeasonsSpringSummerSettingsVineyardStylesTraditional Elegance From the Bride…We wanted our wedding to be a casual but elegant weekend where our guests were well taken care of.  With many friends traveling from out of state, and the groom’s family flying in from Wisconsin we wanted to host everyone for a weekend of celebrating and have time to enjoy every minute possible with our guests.  We chose Santa Ynez wine country because it is a place special to us and a place we wanted to share with our friends and family.  Sunstone Winery is a beautiful family owned winery that we felt combined all the elements we wanted to make for an intimate and relaxed wedding. We tried to incorporate traditional touches with a modern twist throughout all the planning.  I worked closely with Melissa Copeland of franny bee designs who designed our Invitations and most of the day of details including the programs, placecards and menus.  We also wanted to mix in fun handmade touches throughout the ceremony and reception to compliment Melissa’s work.  Luckily, I had some pretty awesome bridesmaids who helped handwrite table numbers, stuff gift bags and make signs.  Our florist, Kelly Kaufman, brought the vision to life with her gorgeous arrangements and beautiful tablescapes filled with lanterns and candles.   The groom is a writer and my father is a judge, so my hubby worked with my dad to write the entire ceremony from scratch with lots of personal touches and special meaning for us.  My dad officiated the ceremony and we wrote our own vows which made for an amazing and intimate ceremony.  The groom’s sister read the lyrics to Jack Johnson’s “Better Together” as our reading, and the bride’s grandparents read the traditional Irish Blessing.  Music is important to us and, so the groom worked with a traditional string quartet to develop a music program full of re-imagined rock ‘n roll songs and unexpected music choices for our ceremony.   We wanted our reception to feel more like a dinner party.  We served cocktails in a candlelit wine cave and then escorted our guests outside for a family style dinner under the stars.  A touching bridesmaid toast, was followed by one of the best groomsmen speeches I’ve ever heard, and a heartwarming tribute from my father.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We ended the emotional celebration dancing the night away under a full moon.  My only regret is that the night couldn’t last longer…… Photographer: Michael + Anna Costa Photography | Design + Planning: Joy de Vivre | Floral Design: Florette Designs | Venue: Sunstone Winery | Catering: Duo Events | Rentals: Town and Country | Cinematography: Amari Productions | Officiant: Father of Bride | DJ: Gavin Roy Presents | Ceremony Music: Aurora Ensemble | Cake: Enjoy Cupcakes | Transportation: Santa Barbara Airbus | Limo: Limo Link | Linens: La Tavola | Invitations + Stationary Details: franny bee designs | Hair & Makeup: TEAM Hair and Makeup | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale | Grooms Suit + Tie: Theory | Groomsmen Suits + Ties: Kenneth Cole © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2013. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Al Fresco Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

With so many options out there for creative guestbooks, it’s easy to fall into option overload and not be able to decide. This is where having a theme or overriding idea can really help narrow the options to the ones that really drive that home. In our case, I was looking for something easy to sign and collect that suited our vineyard theme. It’s not exactly a big leap to corks, now is it? Recycled corks / Image via Amazon Depending on the size of your wedding, your drinking habits (and those of your friends and family), and how much time you’ve got it’s not unreasonable to collect all the corks yourself. Of course, as the wine industry goes to synthetic corks and screw-top bottles for various reasons that might get a little tougher, so lucky for us that plenty of places sell both used and unused corks. Now, having crafted with corks before, I think it might be easier for folks to sign fresh corks as opposed to used ones that might be brittle or uneven in shape. We’ve got quite a collection already going, but there’s also a home-brew shop just down the road that sells fresh corks by the bag-full for not very much cash. That’s good no matter how you slice it. Corks on their own will roll around if not corralled, so the next decision was how to hold them—both before and after signing. Image via Replacements.com For before, a bowl or vase with a large opening works best, allowing for people to easily reach in and grab one without too much fuss. Several years ago I was gifted a lovely Block Tulip Garden crystal vase that I think will fit the bill nicely. Image via Winestuff.com Once signed, the corks will go into this wire cork cage shaped like a wine bottle. Mr. Road Trip actually gifted me (us) this for our first engaged Christmas, so it’s been sitting patiently in its box for over a year now, waiting for its day in the spotlight. Add a couple of fine-point permanent markers (possibly painted or beribboned to dress it up a bit) and a sign and you’ve got our guestbook. We could just leave the corks in their cage and set the whole kit and caboodle on the mantle or some place and let it collect dust. Or we could use the signed corks to build a frame around one of our wedding photos in a shadowbox. In other words, I’ll have my wine-themed, semi-unique guestbook and my displayable photo mat all at one go! How did you solve your guestbook dilemma?

Amber is selling a Cara Mia all lace wedding gown. She is asking $875 for the size-2 dress. Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee Classifieds, and you might see it featured on the blog! Other great items for sale: 47 flameless tea candles, asking $20 Green hydrangea silk flowers, asking $150 Bill Levkoff navy bridesmaids’ dresses, sizes 2 through 6, asking $120 each 300 black and 140 white chair sashes, asking $0.55 each

Swapping vows amongst the beauty of Belgium sounds like the perfect plan in my book. And that, my dears, is precisely what these New Yorkers did. With Stoffer Photography by their side, they managed to pull off one of the dreamiest “I dos” EVER (did I mention the ceremony was held at a 10th century castle??) It’s woodland whimsy meets European charm, and it’s all waiting right here. ColorsSeasonsSpringSummerSettingsCastleStylesDestinationRomantic From Stoffer Photography….Jordan and Chloe are two beautiful New York souls that invited us to document their wedding in Bouillon, Belgium. Chloe’s sweet Belgian relatives invited us all to stay in family owned bed and breakfasts nestled at the foot of the hill where the tenth century castle topped and the ceremony was held. We then drove to a breathtaking lake property where we celebrated. Simple, handmade florals that were picked during the week covered the tables and local Belgian beers were served. While every detail was perfect, it was the intimate and selfless love that the family and friends displayed throughout the week that was most beautiful to see. Photography: Stoffer Photography | Floral Design + Decor: Samantha Sleeper | Ceremony + Reception Venue: Château de Bouillon | Hair: Mikaela Blumberg, friend of bride | Music: Colin Killalea + Robby Sinclair (of Yost) | Wedding Dress + Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew | Groomsmen Suits: Theory | Jewelry: Made by the Bride | Shoes: Badgley Mischka © Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2013. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Post categories: Destination, Real Weddings, Romantic

Kendra & Justin celebrated their marriage with a four-day destination affair in Mount Washington, New Hampshire. ~~~ The Details Bride’s Name: Kendra Groom’s Name: Justin Venue(s): Omni Mount Washington, NH Wedding Date: Sept 2, 2012 Bridal Gown Designer: Maggie Sottero from I Do Bridal in Seattle Florist: Sara, Omni Mt. Washington Photographer: Kim Chapman Videographer: Elena of Lobster Wedding Cake: Candy buffet and mini desserts Wedding Coordinator: Kerra Lynch Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Mori Lee Honeymoon: Southern Caribbean with Carnival Cruise Lines The Story Our theme was “Elegance” and our colors were black, ivory, and charcoal gray. We had 21 people in our wedding party—so much fun. All nine bridesmaids wore dresses by Mori Lee, each in the style she wanted. I coordinated their jewelry. We had three days of events planned including bach parties Friday night, golf/rehearsal & karaoke on Saturday, and then the wedding Sunday. Everything about the week was perfect including the weather. We called it a total love fest. I actually have started planning weddings since I had so much fun and success with mine. Most Memorable Moment Marrying the love of my life of course was number one. Our wedding was a four-day affair and no one wanted it to end! It was a destination wedding and people came from all over the US and Canada—it was a love fest. We had the best group on the planet with us that week! I would do it all again in a second, if my husband would let me! Would You Have Done Anything Differently? I would have started earlier so that we would have had more time to party with everyone and celebrate. Advice for Future Brides Be sure and give yourself enough to time do EVERYTHING and take small moments to “take it all in” because it will be over before you know it. ~~~ Want to see your wedding featured on Weddingbee? If you had a fun, unique wedding, we’d love to feature you! Check out our Real Weddings submissions page.

Lara and Steve put together a gorgeous Minnesota Flower Farm wedding that we had featured earlier here. They were kind enough to share all of the details of their budget with us. It’s nice to see that they were able to have such a beautiful celebration with such a smart budget! Budget Breakdown: Venue & Rentals: $5000 Florals: $1375 Food: $1875 Photographer: $2500 Drinks: $875 Stationery: $1250 Dress: $625 From the bride, Lara: I would recommend every vendor we used. We definitely splurged on our wedding site because we felt like it was the most perfect place to have our wedding and we were willing to spend less for other details. We did our own invitations and programs. We also did a buffet, picnic-style dinner that included compostable dinnerware. We also tapped people we knew to help out with details like the music and my hair. I would say a photographer is a priority because it’s one of the only things that lasts beyond your wedding day itself and a bad photographer can really feel like it puts a damper on your special day. Our “splurge”: Our wedding would have truly been a budget wedding had it not have been for our location. Our location, Camrose Hill Farm, was to be used for both the ceremony and reception, but having our wedding there meant we had to also rent the semi-permanent tent erected there, provide our own rentals (chairs, tables, speaker), and use the owner of the farm as our florist. These costs added considerably to our budget, but we feel it was money well spent. Cost cutting tips: - Ordering food for ten less people with our final count for our caterer. - Ask around for people you know that might have things you can use or borrow. - We had 2 iPods we could switch between for the music which saved us money for the dance. - Choose only 2 or 3 details that you want to add for a personal touch. View all images from this wedding in the gallery Wedding Location: Stillwater, MN / Wedding Photographer: Jeff Loves Jessica Photography / Wedding Venue and Flowers: Camrose Hill / Wedding Dress: Sue Wong / Bride’s Hair: Samantha Palumbo / Bridesmaid’s Dress: BCBG / Groom’s Outfit: Reyn Spooner / Wedding Caterer: Divine Swine / Ice Cream Dessert: Sebastian Joe’s / Wedding Invitations: Mara Mi © Ruffled, 2013. | %%postname%% | One comment | Posted under: Budget Weddings | Topics: farm, jeff loves jessica, Minnesota