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.

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

Silk Flower Bouquets by makemefancy

Chair Escort Cards by nikkiboo

Wood Letter Guest Book by Wannabe-diy-bride

“I SPY” Cootie Catchers by tommy6_girl9

~~~

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.

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.

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

Burlap Covered Wedding Invitations by grouch29

Paper Flower Shower Favors by SimplySab

Just Married Burlap Banner by adreynolds

Twine-Wrapped Initials by SarahSmilesDec28

~~~

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.

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.

Looking every bit the vision of a winter wonderland, Marilyn Monroe embodies the over-the-top allure many winter weddings strive for.  Find your very own Monroe-like wedding with layers of faux white fur, glittering crystals and endless strings of lights.  And, of course, nothing takes your breath away quite like the cobalt blue sky of an evening wedding.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

Favors pretty much always look the same around my neck of the woods. It’s some type of candy wrapped up in some kind of fabric. It’s a great choice, but it’s just not us. So I started to do some soul-searching as to what I wanted our favor to be.

Mr. D voted for something practical (this is coming from the man who once bought me a comforter for my birthday!). When I asked him to elaborate he said maybe we could do bottle openers or beer coozies. Yes, I come from a population of perdy hard beer drinkers so Mr. D wanted to help them open them or keep them cool. I wasn’t so down with that. I mean these are cute and all:

Image via Wilton

but just not what I was looking for.

Then I started considering something eco-friendly.

I love giving back to the earth, so what if I could do something that would give back to the planet and serve as a favor? I saw these while perusing the internet and really loved them:

Image via Elizabeth Anne Designs

Unfortunately, they are just too out of our price range to pull them together. Not to mention, pretty time consuming, since I would have to care for them until they are given away. Oh, and did I forget to mention the fact that I kill anything that is green? This became a big fat no. Le sigh.

I still wanted to do something eco-friendly and something that I was passionate about. That’s when I started to consider combining a favor with something else that I love to do: give back to charity.

One of Mr. D’s grandfathers passed away from lung cancer, as did both of my grandfathers. So we have decided to make a large donation in honor of our guests to the American Lung Association. We also want to give something tangible to them, so I’m going to make “Seeds of Hope” packets.

I’m going to take some of these:

Image via Etsy

And fill them up with some wildflower seeds. And I’m going to print this on some labels and stick them on said envelopes:

personal

And, BAM! We’ve got our favors that I think that fills both of the criteria we were looking for. I can’t wait to actually get the favors put together so I can show you all the outcome!

Are you considering any charitable causes for your wedding favors?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

To round up our gift guide, we picked out some of our favorite fun things for the littler folks at your wedding – flower girls, ring bearers, junior bridesmaids. And of course, we hope these ideas might inspire should you be searching for that last minute holiday gift for the kids (or young-at-heart) in your life.

Bee’s Knees Print by The Black Apple, $16 / Gold Glitter Ballet Flats from J.Crew, $58 / Glass Jewelry Box from ABC Carpet & Home / Pearl Bobby Pins from J.Crew, $12.50 / Drumstick Pencils from Fred Flare, $12 / Miniature Automoblox, $10 / Comic Strip Bandages from Spoon Sisters, $6.25 / Super Powers Poster from Popchart, $25 / Animal Hands Temporary Tattoos, $10 / Magnetic Color Cubes from Urban Outfitters, $16 / Finger Printing Art Set from Uncommon Objects, $10

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Mr. Unicycle had a good laugh when he saw “Moo Cards” on our wedding to-do list, but Vistaprint got the last laugh because I ended up just ordering 250 business cards through them FO’ FREE. Let me back up. I’d seen several other bees use mini Moo cards featuring engagement pics that direct guests to a public Flickr account where they can share pictures they take at their wedding. I love this idea because I know I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for our pro pics to come back, so having guest photos all in one place = winning.

Image via T-Shirt Guru

My first step was to create a Flickr account. I ended up first creating a Yahoo account, since Flickr is through Yahoo. I didn’t want to go through my existing Yahoo account because then I’d have to give guests my real password. And it’s kind of an embarrassing password. It involves a certain man with Jheri curls. We debated whether to upgrade to a pro account or not and eventually decided…(drum roll please)…to wait until we get closer to the wedding to actually make a decision. Then I dabbled in Picnik for the first time ever and came up with an overly cutesy design:

Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography / Design by me

Then, since Vistaprint was running a “limited time,” which is to say “all the time” sale of 250 free business cards, I pounced on it. Slowly. Since I knew it would be around…forever. Seriously, Vistaprint is always giving away everything FO’ friggin FREE. I don’t know how they stay in business. I did have to pay a small upload fee to use my own lovely design, and of course shipping, but the business cards themselves were free. I was so anxious to see them when they arrived that I mutilated the cute little box.

Personal pic

But then I remembered my camera.

Personal pic

Personal pic

They look perf! Well, the yellow isn’t as vibrant as I’d hoped, but other than that, perf. I’m planning on tucking them into the invitation suite (once I finish start it). And since I have more than I need, perhaps I’ll tuck some into the thank you notes as well!

Do you think our guests will use our Flickr account after the wedding? What’s a good way to encourage people to use it?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

The other day an inspiration board over on Flights of Fancy caught my eye, and inspired me to create this pink and gold Christmas board. Gold and silver, pale pink and almost-red pink, ribbons ornaments, glitter. Wedding or no, this is a party I would love to attend!

Mood: festive and feminine and fun
Palette: berry and blush pinks, vintage gold and silver

Top row from left: vintage pink ornaments from Better Homes and Gardens, photo by Johnny Miller, Christmas carols songbook from Martha Stewart, striped bow from Better Homes and Gardens
Row 2: veil headband with organza bow from Ban.do, cocktails with gold swizzle sticks from The Crafts Dept. at Martha Stewart, fondant covered cake with candy ribbon bow from Martha Stewart Weddings, gold dress by Kate Spade
Row 3: Deck the Halls greeting card by Lola Nova via sfgirlbybay, gold and silver ornament “tree” via From Me To You, peony bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings, gold garland via From Me To You

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

Board #245: Hot Pink & Gold
Board #448: Poinsettias in Pink
Board #503: Vermillion and Blush

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.