I love statement necklaces! J Crew is one of my favorite places to find awesome necklaces for every outfit, let alone for your wedding day. If you are looking for something huge and blingy, here are a few of my favorite pieces from J Crew's newest collection.
SHOP: 1. Deco Pendant 2. Piled Stone Necklace 3. Crystal Venus Necklace 4. Technicolor Floral Necklace 5. Butterfly Wing Necklace
I can't believe this week is finally here! After a year and three months of planning, we leave for our wedding weekend today! I'm so excited for it all to come together and have my family and friends in one place for an entire weekend.
Here are some of the images that have inspired me and shaped our wedding over the past year...
Source: top, bottom three
Sources: top left, top right, lower left, lower right
It's been so much fun being a part of the E&I community! Thank you for following along on my journey to the alter. Cheers!
Rachel
I think it takes a lot of guts to elope. I just love the idea of eloping and today we have a super one good one here on the blog. The couple sought out Michael and Carina Photography to shoot some photos and Storybook Events to officiant their ceremony.
From The Photographer: "Pilar and Jarad eloped last December. They decided it was time to tie the knot after 7 years. They wanted to ring in the new year as a married couple - and surprise their friends and family with the news on Christmas day. As they have close ties to William and Mary, they decided to elope near the William and Mary Campus in Colonial Williamsburg. Only the officiant and the photographers joined them on the warm December afternoon. They wanted their big day to be simple and all about them. They are perfect together, so laid-back and fun."
My bridal shower is this weekend! I know that seems crazy because I'm not getting married until April. But in Seattle, when you really only get 2 months of solid sunshine, you want to take advantage of it. This will likely be my only outdoor wedding event, so we figured why not have it early and just prolong the celebrating. My girls have put together what I'm sure will be an amazing afternoon - I can't wait to share. Since they haven't let me lift a finger, the main thing I've been focused on is finding a cute dress to wear for the occasion. Originally I was leaning toward finding a pretty white or ivory dress, because I figure this is the one time in your life you can unabashedly wear white. After sifting through a few options, though, i just wasn't thrilled with anything. I went back to the drawing board and noticed that there are a ton of styles right now to choose from in our colors. So, instead of traditional bridal white I'm looking to pick up a summer frock that mimics the motifs in the pattern we had designed.
Here are a few of the favorite affordable options I've found and loved:
Sources (Clockwise from top left): One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Whats your shower style? Does it have to be formal bridal white, or can you get into the theme of the big day a bit?
I'm excited to share one of our blogger bride's weddings with you today. Kim & Dan were married at the Vine Hill House in Northern California on a beautiful day with an even more beautiful sunset. Kim designed her own wedding invites and various paper products all around. After her wedding she opened up a Graphic Design studio and specializes in wedding invitations.
Wedding Photography: Ken Kienow Wedding Photography | Wedding Venue: Vine Hill House in Sebastopol, California | Floral Design: BV Florals | Catering: Park Avenue Catering | Wedding Cupcakes: Foxy Cupcakes | DJ: AMS Entertainment | Wedding Stationery: Bright Room Studio | Wedding Dress: Ivy & Aster | Bride’s Shoes: Elie Tahari | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Asos | Groom’s Attire: Joseph Abboud | Groomsmen Attire: Calvin Klein
Signature cocktails are a little more work, but aren't they just so fun? Choosing a his & her drink selection is a fun way to get guests in the mood right away. And of course, there are plenty of fun things you can do with the design. Straws, personalized napkins, fresh fruit, and of course an awesome sign. The options are endless, choose whatever drink you want!
A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I threw a rooftop brunch for our friend who is getting married in August. One of the hosts has an amazing spot in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, so the backdrop was taken care of.
*Note the bus/boat going into the water in the background. We got to watch it drive right into the water about every hour. :-)
Inspired by our bride-to-be's french roots, we served dishes like quiche, and, of course, kept the champagne flowing. Fresh peach and strawberry purees (courtesy of my new Vitamix!) made for colorful bellinis. It was a hot day so we also served french press coffee on ice.
Homemade quiche, apple french toast, cheeses, fruit, and fresh beignets. Delish.
We decorated with pictures of the bride and groom-to-be. We also had guests bring a few pictures of themselves with the bride so she could go home with a little keepsake. In our world of digital pictures, it's fun to have a good, old-fashioned photo book!
One of our guests got married last month and had collected assorted china and goblets for her big day, which we were lucky enough to use for the brunch. My friend whose rooftop it is is also a hobby florist and arranged this awesome centerpiece. We tied the napkins with lavender and billy ball sprigs.
It made for a really fun day in celebration of a great friend tying the knot with her sweetie next month!
I can't believe I'll be leaving for my wedding weekend in a week from today. It has really flown by. See you all here next week for my final post before the wedding!
Source: Friend of the Bride
Well, I've found a dress! And in an unlikely place (I think) - at a Charity Sample Gown Sale. I don't remember exactly where I first heard about this particular sale, Brides Against Breast Cancer, but I remember thinking how fun it would be to make an event out of it even if I didn't find a dress. I reached out to a group of my friends, and my mom, and it turned out a bunch of us could all make the 3 hour trek down to Portland the weekend of the sale, so we decided to make a little trip out of it.
Approaching the weekend of the sale, I was excited and optimistic about finding a gown. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have been. The sale was popular, and I'm not a teeny size, so my selections were more scarce than other girls. There were a lot of gowns, but some of them were pre-owned and not in great shape, so the options that were still pristine were even fewer. However, with a few tips, I found a gown I love that just needs a bit of seamstress alterations to make it perfect for me. I would totally recommend at least trying one of these sales because you can score an amazing deal. Here is what I would recommend:
- Go shopping ahead of time. This was so so important because it let me figure out not only what styles I liked, but also what looked good on me. As many brides experience, the style that you see pinned and LOVE may not be the best for your body type. Shopping at a couple salons gave me the chance to get some of my "dream dresses" out of my system and to realize that something else may be perfect fo rme.
- Make a cheat sheet. If you have friends and/or family shopping with you, create a cheat sheet of styles, fabrics, colors, etc to help them know which options to pull for you. This gave everyone a great start to know what I was looking for, even though I ended up trying on many many dresses and not every one stuck exactly to my guide. But, it also helped eliminate some dresses I knew weren't me at all.
- Go back one last time. I was about to throw in the towel on my search at the sale when we all decided to walk through the racks one more time. And I'm so glad I did, because after having seen a few good contenders, one caught my eye that I hadn't seen before. I don't know if another girl had been trying it on and it had just been put back on the rack, but it was just different enough to be perfect for me. I'm so glad I made that last lap.
I can't wait to share more about my wedding day look, but for now I'll share some of my favorite inspiration gowns from my Bridal Attire pinboard. They all have a romantic silhouette, sweetheart necklines, off-white color options, and architectural detailing that I love.
Source: Brides - Dress Nouvelle Amsale for Nordstrom
Source: Paper & Pearls
You can always read more about my wedding journey at my personal blog, The Ravenna Girls.
I just love the idea behind this shoot. An intimate get together with the members of your bridal party to get them acquainted before the wedding day. And who doesn't love a good excuse to entertain? The idea behind this shoot was to give the most important people in the bride & groom's lives a chance to get to know each other and have a good time before their big day.
We teamed up to create a very intimate engagement dinner party. We know that when a couple gets engaged and they choose their bridal party, it sometimes consists of people that have never met. Most of the time, the bridal party doesn't meet until the rehearsal dinner. So, we created a dinner party to introduce the whole gang!
We were inspired by the classic black and white theme and added a sweet touch of honey! Vases were filled with honey and hand painted gold honey jars held informal posies. A ruffled cake added a modern touch, while still being very classic. The wedding party also got a chance to practice posing and getting comfortable in front of the camera.
Coordination and Florals: PEPLUM events&design Table Styling and Vintage Rentals: Dishie Rentals Photography: Jessica Bennett Photography Invitation: Rifle Paper Co Menu: Lalita Paperie+Design Cake: Buttercream and Roses Women's Wardrobe: Other People's Property Women's Styling: Dana Roquemore Men's Wardrobe & Styling: Josh Owen Hair & Make Up: Sarah Willis Models: Dan Risen | George Rutsyamuka | Josh Owen | Toya Ashayla | Courtney Hill | Dana Marie Roquemore
I have quite the treat for you today. Remember our oh-so-fabulous bride blogger Kalista? She was filled with so many ideas and had quite the vision for her wedding. Today we are here to share everything that came from her oh-so-special day and I promise they don't disappoint.
Kalista chose the most perfect Jenny Packham dress with a Sarah Seven hair piece. She DIYed so many beautiful things to make their special day unique. Get those Pin buttons ready because you're going to want to save tons of these ideas!
Photography by Sequins and Candy • Bridal Gown by Jenny Packham • Bridal Shoes by Beyond Skin • Bride’s Headband by Sarah Seven • Bridesmaids Dresses by J. Crew • Makeup by Pretty by Julianne • Hair by Sproos Salon • Flowers by Gorgeous and Green • Officiant: Alison Hurwitz • Ceremony Music: Michael Stadler • Men’s Attire by J. Crew • Desserts by Fat Bottom Bakery and Cinnaholic • Catering by Katie Powers Catering • Reception Music: Fil Lorenz Orchestra • Venue: Headlands Center for the Arts
