Archive for January 2012

Board #547: Pale Paris Morning

by admin on January 31, 2012, under Wedding Ideas & Advice

Mood: gauzy morning light
Palette: pale french blue, barely blush, soft white, gold leaf

click image to enlarge

Top row from left: Kirsten Dunst and Bryce Dallas Howard in Jane magazine (2007), photo of gold lettering on glass by liz.rusby via This is Glamorous, blush pink veil and dress by Watters (pinned by Sara Gemignani), Pale Paris Morning by Eye Poetry Photography
Row 2: vintage envelope with calligraphy from French Larkspur (pinned by Vivian Peets and Jennifer Disney), photo of Parisian breakfast by Pia Jane Bijkerk (pinned by Laura Reaux), peach satin ballet flats from J.Crew
Row 3: madeleine “pineapple” from Martha Stewart Weddings, gold rimmed cafe au lait bowls via Curate + Love, boulangerie window photo by De Vetpan via Strikes Our Fancy
Row 4: Reem Acra gowns, photo of garden roses by Lisa Warninger via {frolic!}, vintage map of Paris via Vintage Me Oh My

So. There are some things I would change next time I do a Pinterest collaboration (my apologies to anyone who follows my Pinterest feed and was overwhelmed by Pale Paris Morning pins!). BUT. I had so much fun seeing all the beautiful things that everyone shared. There were so many images that I repinned and saved for future posts – so many ideas! To create this inspiration board, I used some of my original pins, some of your contributions, and then finished it up with some that were inspired by your pins. The result is something full of dreamy morning light, barely-there pinks and blues, and hints of gold. I imagine a gorgeous display of breakfast pastries, fresh berries, and mismatched vintage cafe au lait bowls for sipping. And tons of soft, romantic fabrics and textures. And roses.

What did you think of the Pinterest collaboration idea? With some tweaks, is it something that would be fun to do again?

If you like this inspiration board, you might also like:

Board #510: French Lace
Board #456: Juliet and Blue
Board #376: French Flair
Color Board #10: French Blue & Nude

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Cake Me

by admin on January 23, 2012, under Wedding Fayre

I’ve been waiting (not so) patiently for our cake tasting ever since we made the appointment back in October (or, to be honest, since we got engaged). I mean…it’s cake. It’s hard to go wrong.

Unless you’re like Foxy and don’t eat sweets, cake included. Needless to say, this was not his favorite wedding related task. (Not to mention, we combined it with a flower consultation on the same day—poor Foxy, he’s a trooper!) However, as luck would have it, Foxy Mama was able to make the drive down from NY to meet up with us again, as she did for our linens/room assignment meeting. Having her there was a total life saver.

But back to the cake: one of the awesome things about our venue is that said cake is included in the catering cost. They commission it out to a wonderful, little local place called Desserts by Rita; thank goodness, too, because I really didn’t feel like having to research local bakers and be continuously shocked at how much people can charge per slice or as a cake cutting fee. The easier, the better, I say! I was ready to get this party started.

First things first:

flavors and the official tasting.

Cake Me : wedding cake havre de grace Cake0111 CAKE011

If you ask me, they were ALL delicious. Just.. beyond.

I clearly needed a minute alone with fiesta that was happening in my mouth.

I think we did a pretty good job, seeing as my mom and I were the only two really “tasting.” To be fair, Foxy did have a tiny bite of the red velvet, though he seemed none too thrilled. It’s OK. More for me!

Seeing as we’ll be having a three tier cake, we decided to do different flavors on each tier. The bottom/largest tier will be the raspberry devils cake (you have NO IDEA how good that stuff is), raspberry icing, and vanilla cake. The middle tier will be lemon cake, vanilla icing, vanilla cake, and the top/smallest tier will be red velvet cake with vanilla icing (Foxy’s choice). I’m so very pleased and so very excited about it all! The best part was that Foxy Mama treated us to a take home treat of cupcakes in all the flavors we chose.

You will notice how I already ate half of the vanilla cupcake, as well as took a swipe of icing off of each of the others. It was a good breakfast, let me tell you.

Now for the tricky part…what will this flavor explosion of a cake look like? I have of course been collecting inspiration pictures for months, liking this and loving that but never really making a commitment to anything. I kept leaning towards the more simplistic cakes with textured icing.

Image via The Bridal District

Image via Style Me Pretty | Photo by KT Merry

Image via My Sweet and Saucy | Photo by Frenzel Photography

However, I wasn’t quite sold on just having a textured cake with a flower or two on it. While I adore the look, I was just looking for something.. more. Which is exactly what I found on Pinterest, the night before our cake tasting.

Image via My Sweet and Saucy | Photo by Gabriel Ryan Photography

How unbelievably cute is this cake?! I think I love it even more because the petals are conveniently more or less our colors. When I saw this picture, I just swooned. And I just knew. It was seriously like the feeling I had when I tried on my dress. Is that weird…?

Either way, I am thrilled to announce that our cake will ultimately have the best of both worlds.. a nice, textured buttercream icing with colorful fondant petals on each tier. Now to decide on a cake topper!

How did you decide on the look of your cake? Did you eventually “just know,” or was it a process?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

DIY Friday

by admin on January 20, 2012, under Wedding Ideas & Advice

Check out these great projects hive members have uploaded to Weddingbee’s DIY section! Click on the title of each project for tutorials.

If your project is featured in DIY Friday, you’re eligible for a special Weddingbee badge for your blog or website! See instructions on how to grab the badge here!

Zombie Cake Topper by vctrshaul

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Silk Flower Bouquets by makemefancy

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Chair Escort Cards by nikkiboo

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Wood Letter Guest Book by Wannabe-diy-bride

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“I SPY” Cootie Catchers by tommy6_girl9

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For more great DIY projects, be sure to visit the Weddingbee DIY section, conveniently organized by type of project. Submit your own, complete with tutorial, and you may see it featured here on the blog! If you’ve seen any great DIY around the hive and think it should be featured, feel free to email us at cathy at weddingbee dot com!

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Making the Invite: Paper Samples Are Here!

by admin on January 14, 2012, under Wedding Stationery

After working with my Lil Boa on a couple of drafts for the invites, I started hunting down the paper I would use for them.

Cue Cards & Pockets—I loved their large selection of colors and immediately ordered a couple of free samples to get to see the colors up close.

*Personal Pic

I ordered six samples in white, light purple, and dark purple in both the shimmer and matte types of paper. My actual selections were: matte (Snow White, Grape, and Purple) and shimmer (Crystal, Amethyst, and Violette). I would like to pick one white shade, one light purple shade, and one deep purple shade.

Matte shades are on the left and shimmer on the right.

*All images via Cards & Pockets unless noted

I really liked all the colors I had chosen but LOVED the Violette shimmer sample! I’m definitely including it on the invites, either as an invitation mat or in the envelope. I’m unsure of whether to print the invite on the shimmer or matte white. And have yet to pick the other purple colored paper (it will be either the Grape or Amethyst).

Should I go all shimmer or all matte on the invites, or should I mix it up using matte invites and envelopes with a shimmer mat, or shimmer invites and envelopes but a matte backer, or…etc., etc.

Have any of you used Cards & Pockets supplies for your invites?

Did you use matte or shimmer paper? A combination of both?

Help?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

The Minks Pull a 180 (Goodbye Cupcakes, Hello Cake!)

by admin on January 12, 2012, under Wedding Fayre

There’s no point in dragging this out. Yesterday, I wrote about trying to decide between cupcakes and mini cupcakes for our wedding. It all sounded so cute and fun, but we changed our minds. We want cake. Wait. I want cake.

This is one of those situations where Mr. Mink has been totally easy-going. He doesn’t care if we have cupcakes or a traditional cake. He just wants to get to the part where we have a couple tastings! Every time I started taking about cake and cupcakes, Mr. Mink would joke that we were going to have his mother’s red velvet cake for our wedding cake and we could smoosh my mother’s chocolate chip cookie fingers (almost shaped like biscotti) into the sides. I finally stopped talking and just looked at the inspiration pictures I saved to my Pinterest boards. Almost every image was of a cake.

I think I was swayed by two things. First, the pictures of couples cutting their cakes are appealing to me. I know we could cut a one tiered cake or a cupcake, but amidst the non-traditional decisions we’ve made, I like the idea of doing something traditional. Second, I love the variety of cake designs. Some of the cakes out there are works of art.

From Style Me Pretty / Cake by Tallant House / Photo by Red Box Pictures

Between us, we know quite a few people who make cakes, cupcakes, and all sorts of sweet treats. Deciding against cupcakes simplified the dessert decision in a big way. Our list of bakers to investigate shortened dramatically.

I decided that it would be best to show potential bakers some pictures of cakes I liked and realized that there’s another decision to be made: fondant vs. buttercream.

I’m sure you know the pros and cons of using fondant. Fondant provides a smooth, even finish. It’s a great base for flowers or intricate designs. Some say they hate the taste of fondant, but I read that there are different kinds of fondant. Apparently, the most readily available brand is the one that doesn’t taste great.

From the Mod Wedding Blog / Cake by the Vanilla Bake Shop / Photo by John & Joseph Photography

Buttercream, on the other hand, is soft and often allows for texture on cakes. Plenty of bakers can smooth buttercream into looking a lot like fondant, though. I think most people agree that buttercream tastes pretty great.

Cake by Maggie Austen

I loved many of the sleek, simple cakes I saw that were covered in fondant. I definitely wanted something that looked sweet and not too fussy.

Cake by Maggie Austen

I loved the idea of being able to add a design that might get lost on a buttercream cake.

Cake by Sweet and Saucy

On the other hand, I find the texture on buttercream cakes so appealing. I think they look romantic and they’d fit into the look of my vineyard wedding beautifully. In most cases, it seems as though buttercream cakes are less expensive.

From Love and Lavender / Cake 1 by Sweet & Saucy / Cakes 2 and 3 by Maggie Austen

I might wait until I see some local bakers’ portfolios to make a final decision on this one, but I’m curious about taste.

Have you had a good tasting fondant cake? Do you have a preference when it comes to fondant vs. buttercream?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Honeymoon Ideas from Here Comes the Guide

by admin on January 11, 2012, under Honeymoon

When wedding planning started to make me crazy, I would daydream about our honeymoon. There were so many places we could go! If you’re spending time fantasizing about the perfect honeymoon, then you won’t want to miss the new honeymoon planning tools over at Here Comes the Guide.

(St. Regis Princeville Resort, Kauai / Smoke Tree Ranch, Palm Springs)

Each hotel has been hand-picked, and with well-organized information and beautiful photo galleries, Here Comes the Guide makes it easy to search and compare your options. Want a full spa on-site? Or maybe you’re looking for pet friendly locations. You can even search by what view you want from your room! Here Comes the Guide will help you narrow it down to the perfect place.

(Lucia Lodge, Big Sur / Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort, San Luis Obispo)

Some of the places on my wish list? St. Regis Princeville in Kauai (of course – that’s where I honeymooned!), The Ahwahnee in Yosemite, and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

(Hotel del Coronado, San Diego / Casa del Mar, Santa Monica)

Where are you going for your honeymoon? Need more inspiration? Check out Here Comes the Guide’s staff favorites right here. So many amazing California and Hawaii locations to choose from!

Post sponsored by Here Comes the Guide.

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Beautifying My Hands

by admin on January 7, 2012, under Wedding Ideas & Advice

Hive, I have to tell you that I have never for a minute cared about my nails. Sure, I’ve gotten some manicures in my life for special events! But on a daily basis, my nails are not treated with respect. If I’m being 100% honest, I’m a nail picker. I say this because I don’t really bite my nails (although I will if they are breaking). Instead I pick at the cuticles (I know, gross). It’s a bad habit that got started during stressful schooling.

So I don’t know what has happened to me lately, but I have become completely and utterly obsessed with my nails! Like, I have literally acquired about seven new nail polish colors in the past two months. And not only have I been playing with color, but I’ve been playing with techniques as well!

Thanks to my obsession with Pinterest, I have discovered crazy techniques to make your nails over-the-top ridiculous, like water marbling (as you can see modeled on my hands above).

Currently, my favorite color has become Mink Muffs by Essie (shout out to Miss Mink!). It’s the perfect combination of darkness for the winter with a hint of taupy lightness.

via Simply Said

All of this unexpected nail obsessioness has created a positive outcome—longer, thicker, beautiful nails! You see, every time I do my nails (which is becoming a biweekly event) I use Rejuvacote nail growth system as my bottom and top coat. I know many hive members are true to Nailtiques, but Mama Elk used Nailtiques for a decade and now swears by this.

via Amazon.com

Now that I have beautiful nails, I can’t help but think, what the frick will I do with them for the wedding? I know most brides pick a pale pink color that is almost natural, and I’m definitely leaning towards the natural route. But every time I think I’ve decided, I get blindsided with a gorgeous picture of a bride with bright nails! I mean blue? how awesome are those?

photo by Project Duo Photography

And have a look at these stunners. Ummm can you say GORGEOUS? Honestly, I adore this!

photo by Gladys Jem Photography

So now, I am utterly confused! I don’t really think a dark color would suit my more pastelly color scheme, but I can’t help but be intrigued by a bright splash of color. As a reminder, this is my bouquet inspiration:

via Flora Fauna

And here are just two of the colors I’ve been considering…

Essie Island Hopping:

via The Beauty of Life

OPI Samoan Sand

via Everere

What do you think? Brighter is better or almost nude for the win? What shad will you be painting your nails on your wedding day? Oh, and do you have any color suggestions?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

DIY Friday

by admin on January 6, 2012, under Wedding Ideas & Advice

Check out these great projects hive members have uploaded to Weddingbee’s DIY section! Click on the title of each project for tutorials.

If your project is featured in DIY Friday, you’re eligible for a special Weddingbee badge for your blog or website! See instructions on how to grab the badge here!

Fabric Rosette Bouquet by caitlin.lawson

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Burlap Covered Wedding Invitations by grouch29

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Paper Flower Shower Favors by SimplySab

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Just Married Burlap Banner by adreynolds

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Twine-Wrapped Initials by SarahSmilesDec28

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This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Flower Workshop with Ariella Chezar

by admin on January 5, 2012, under Wedding Flowers

Ariella Chezar is far and away one of my all-time favorite creative people ever of all time. Ever. Her work is one of the reasons I fell in love with weddings, and every time I see a photo of her flowers, it’s like a little gift. And if you feel that way, too, then you’re really going to love this: Ariella is hosting a floral design workshop in Maui!

The three-day class will focus on color, choosing the right flowers, and of course creating jaw-dropping arrangements and bridal bouquets; plus a field trip to a flower grower, and a party to wrap it all up. Be sure to check out all of the details right here.

Remember Serena and Matthew’s wedding at Haiku Mill…?

The workshop will take place at Maui’s Haiku Mill, February 22 – 24. If you love Ariella‘s work as much as I do, and you want to learn how to create floral designs that look like they grew that way, then don’t miss this chance to learn from the ultimate flower goddess herself. And if you don’t know about Ariella’s work (impossible!), then head over to her website immediately and immerse yourself in all the gorgeousness.

Top image by Meg Smith. Ariella Chezar is a sponsor of Snippet & Ink.

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Board #544: Me Ke Aloha

by admin on January 5, 2012, under Wedding Ideas & Advice

Mood: romantic, breezy
Palette: white hibiscus, sand, palm leaf, beach house blue

Our first inspiration board of 2012! And since it’s the midst of winter, I thought some of you might be craving a little destination inspiration. So we’re off to Hawaii! And as much as I love bright colors, I wanted to give you something light and breezy here. Neutrals like white and tan, greenery, and a bit of sun-bleached blue. I’ve drawn inspiration from things like palm trees, pineapples, and white hibiscus flowers, and added a few vintage touches like a retro fan, toy airplane, surfer postcard, and a darling Hawaiian quilt cake (I love Hawaiian quilts!).

Top row from left: palm tree on beach photo by You Look Nice Today, hibiscus embellished envelope with calligraphy by Laura Hooper, Saipua pineapple centerpiece photo by Justin & Mary, Hawaiian quilt wedding cake from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: photo of bride by Beloved Photo Boutique, vintage Waikiki surfer postcard, orchid and fern bouquet by Ariella Chezar
Row 3: photo of vintage fan by Jose Villa, white hibiscus, photo of leather strappy sandals by Garance Dore, photo with vintage toy plane and brass pineapple by Emma Mitchell via sfgirlbybay

Love Hawaii? Love gorgeous flowers? Check back in a bit for an exciting announcement!

If you like this inspiration board, you might also like:

Board #531: Castaway
Board #524: Southern Comfort
Board #484: Beach House Blue

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

From Wedding Stationery to Bridal Wear

Archive for January 2012

Board #547: Pale Paris Morning

Cake Me

DIY Friday

Making the Invite: Paper Samples Are Here!

The Minks Pull a 180 (Goodbye Cupcakes, Hello Cake!)

Honeymoon Ideas from Here Comes the Guide

Beautifying My Hands

DIY Friday

Flower Workshop with Ariella Chezar

Board #544: Me Ke Aloha

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