Fabulous Frocks For Your Bridal Fete: Bettye Muller

I think any gal could live happily ever after if she had these shoes in her honemoon suitcase!Or even on her feet at an island beach wedding!


Behold, Camellia Espadrilles by Bettye Muller. Image courtesy of Anthropologie.


Still drooling??

EcoChic - Going Green can be Couture!

Mark your calendars now ladies and gents, brides and grooms! The Connecticut EcoChic Wedding & Home Show will be taking place on May 2nd at The Hotel Chesterfield in Stamford Connecticut.

From the Green Scene Website:

GreenScene LIVE™ and The Green Bride Guide have teamed up to bring you eco-chic wedding solutions--from formal wear to jewelry to favors to invitations to honeymoons--all from wedding and lifestyle vendors who have a commitment to the environment and whose products and services are a part of a national shift toward sustainability.

Here are some of the great things you will find, if you attend this fantastic event:

ECO-COUTURE FASHION SHOW on a RECLAIMED RUNWAY & CIRCULATING MODELS so you can see how beautiful "green" can be!

MINI SEMINARS outstanding posture, poise and panache for the big day; energy efficient mortgages and finding a "green" home; DIY ecochic weddings and more...

FREE ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHS by notable photographers

LIVE JAZZ by The Pierce Campbell Jazz Duo & a sound system that's OFF THE GRID by Solar Jam Productions

FOOD and BEVERAGE tastings...organic, local and delicious

CARBON CALCULATOR in partnership with BRIGHTER PLANET to see how much carbon the type of wedding you're planning produces, and how you can offset it

ORGANIC COTTON GOODIE BAGS, RAFFLE PRIZES, music and fun!

The cost is $25 at the door or $20 in advance, and can be purchased at their website here.

Fabulous Frocks for Your Bridal Fete: Christian Louboutin Biba

If ever a time to wear the most stunning of white shoes, your wedding day should be that time! Allow me to introduce you to Christian Louboutin's white crepe 'Biba' d'orsay pumps. Acclaimed designer Christian Louboutin designs shoes that embody the romance and glamour of Paris. I can feel the love just by looking at this pretty, I can only imagine if I was to slip a pair on for my wedding day!

You may want to head on over to Shop Style which is a fab website that puts you in touch with the brands you are looking for and the stores that carry them!

Happy Friday!

Talia

Stream me up, Scotty!

Photo credit: Carla Ten Eyck

Due to conflicting comittments, age and travel requirements, it is unlikely that absolutely everyone on your guest list will be able to attend your wedding in person. This can be particularly devastating, especially if is a close relative. After all, guests are invited for a reason! When one of our clients faced this exact situation, we were determined to find a way for those not attending to still be part of the ceremony.

Enter "I Do" Stream, of Tolland, Connecticut, a vendor offering event streaming for any occasion. They supply a streaming service to any veiwer in the world so that guests who cannot be at your wedding can re-live the special moments real time. "I Do" Stream creates a chat room, wedding guest book and will evite friends and family to watch the live broadcast. The video is also on On Demand for the next 30 days, superb for those that would like to see the event post, including the bride and groom!

This service is surprisingly affordable, with packages starting at $349. You have the option to use your own equipment and do the filming yourself, have them provide the equipment and you doing the filming, or them doing it all from soup to nuts. All packages include live technical support on your wedding day. No wireless internet at your church or venue? No problem! All you need is Verizon's Mobile Broadband card, or one like it.

Interested? Call (860) 684-5414 and ask for Phil.

Cheers!

Lindsay

Sprinkles Delivered!

It's true, everyone loves a cupcake. Fun to eat, fun to look at; the perfect proportion of cake and frosting.

So, imagine my pure glee to sample one this weekend from the fabulous cupcake delivery service Cupcakes Gourmet. We send flowers, fruit and cookies, but cupcakes??? Genius!

Cupcakes Gourmet, based in Malvern, PA, serves up a variety of different mini cakes for delivery including mouth watering flavors such as cafe au lait (which I tried), dark chocolate mint and peanut butter. You can deliver a dozen of these bad boys nationwide for $24.99 plus shipping. Tell me what person wouldn't be totally ecstatic by this box of pure happiness:

But the fun doesn't stop there! Cupcakes Gourmet also specializes in weddings and special events. Regular cupcakes are $3.50-$5.00 each and mini cupcakes are $1.50-$3.00 each, before set-up and delivery. I know the obvious idea is to use cupcakes in lieu of a wedding cake, but my favorite idea is to wrap the minis individually as favors!!!

Cheers!

Lindsay

Vendor Spotlight Updated

From time to time we like to rotate our Vendor Spotlight section of our blog. We enjoy featuring vendors we have developed relationships with, ones we feel are superb in their field and ones our clients are sure to love (or already do!).

Our latest featured vendors include the following:

Coastal Gourmet Caterers

Creative Image Collections

Dragonfly Floral

Visit their websites to check them out and enjoy! We know we do!

Fabulous Frocks For Your Bridal Fete: Green with envy!

Photo credit: Jim Bastardo

Whenever someone mentions green wedding shoes, all I can think of is the custom dyed pair of Manolos that Ilene Rosenzweig sported on her May 2003 wedding, as featured in the Spring 2004 issue of In Style Weddings. Doesn't matter that this wedding was almost six years ago - they are forever fabulous! Seriously, I have yet to see a green shoe to compare to these pretties.

So let's face it, not all of us have $700+ to spend on our wedding shoes. But that doesn't mean you can't get the look for less! Take these simple slingbacks, for instance. The could easily be dyed an apple, chartreuse, leaf or kiwi green to get the look of the ones featured above. Even better, they are on sale for $39.95 at Dyeable Shoe Store & More. Further, you can dye any pair of shoes for about $12.

$52 vs. $700. That's a good deal to me!


Happy Friday!

Lindsay

Shop and Save . . .For a Cause!

In need of that perfect shower dress, engagement shoot outfit, honeymoon clothes or wedding shoes, but a little tight on cash??? If so, you are in luck!Save money with Gap Inc's nationwide Give & Get coupon which will support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

This Thursday March 12 -Sunday March 15 - Gap Inc's 30% discount coupons will also provide a 5% donation (of LLS coupon-holders' net purchases) to LLS.

Gap Inc stores include: Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. The coupons are for in-store purchases only and they are good in both the USA and Canada.

Simply go to the Give & Get coupon page, print a coupon and go shopping! Share the link as widely as you wish. You can print as many as you need, to shop at different Gap Inc stores.

I've supported the Leukemia & Lyphoma Society for the past three years through Team In Training as both a runner and fundraising mentor for the Hartford Marathon. It's a wonderful organization!

Here are our picks -

The perfect spring summer shower dress from Banana, topped with a classic trench:

Something light and easy for the honeymoon from GAP:

Engagement photo outfit from Old Navy:

Fabulous anytime shoes from PIPERLIME:

Happy Shopping!

Lindsay

Drama Queen: Palace Theater

Two weekends ago, I volunteered my services at the multi dress shop sample sale at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. One of our favorite brides owns one of the boutiques that participated, (The Wedding Embassy), and I had the best time catching up with her as well as taking in both the draw dropping venue and the gown sale. It was so much fun to witness girls fall in love with such gorgeous and affordable gowns and to hang with some of our favorite vendors. In particular, there was a fabulous Eve of Milady gown marked from $4k to $1k. HELLO. I really hope someone walked away with that dress. It did not deserve to be left behind!

While there, I became *immediately* smitten with the drama and history of the space, which was recently renovated. Of course I began dreaming of glam weddings of all kinds! Here is a shot of the grand foyer:

Check the ceiling detail and the chandys!! Swoon. Rainy wedding day? No problem! There are loads of incredible photo opps within!

Two of our favorite caterers had set up some amazing booths. I loved the fun splash of green against the swanky black and white linens from BBJ that Emily's Catering had set up. Tara Coakley, who we have worked with on many events, did all the flowers herself!

I also had a blast chatting with Debbie & Audra and of Jordan, who set up a divine breakfast in the entrance. We are looking forward to seeing them a few times this year at our GYC weddings! They used Party Rental for their set-ups and got the job done right with their cheeky display!

We also caught up with Sweet Maria herself (couldn't miss a chance to sample one of her out of this world cakes!) and Aurora photography. Check her blog; she has some amazing shots of the fashion show that took place later on that day.

Both caterers spoke of the incredible architecture and how much they loved doing weddings at the Palace Theater, whether full out on the stage, or with mixed locations between the grand foyer (for cocktails and dancing) and mezzanine upstairs for dinner. The Poli Club is also sweet for smaller parties.

I left the event truly captivated on how different and fabulous the space is and how much I would love to do a wedding there, so of course I called to get all the info. Rental fees range from $2500-$9500 depending on the day of the week and space desired. For specifics, see the on-line brochure or contact Mike Cammelletti via email or at 203-755-8483 x 108.

Here are some great shots of the specific locations (all photos provided by the Palace Theater):

Orchestra Lobby:

Mezzanine:

Poli Club:

Last but not least, the STAGE!

Take that Broadway!

Lindsay

Fabulous Frocks for Your Bridal Fete: Kate Spade Gracious

On a fun Friday morning, I am excited to bring you our second installment in our series devoted to fashion forward wedding footwear! Allow me to introduce you to Kate Spade Gracious! Hello beautiful! And is purple not one of the hottest colors of the year? I think so!

While browsing My Glass Slipper, a great resource for traditionally styled bridal shoes, I happened across Gracious, but in color! I was so excited to see their introduction, but then read that they will be stocking this shoe in white and ivory only...but of course. Fear not ladies, Gracious will be available in June, so keep your eyes out for these pretties.

What I love most about Kate Spade is the attention to detail and feminine designs. I just happened to wear a pair myself for our recent headshots (which we will be blogging soon!). The Gracious, in particular screams "Perfect for your Purple Wedding" to me as it's use of various shades is exactly what we aim for in wedding decor. Eggplant, Lavendar and Plum, the complimentary mix in a color palette gives depth and variety.

Swoon away ladies!

New vs. Vintage Bling

Source: Tiffany & Co. and 1stdibs

Today on the radio, Gary Craig and his morning team talked about new vs. vintage/estate sale engagement rings and opened the phones for comments as to whether or not it was appropriate for a bride to be presented with a ring that was pre-owned or not designed specifically for her.

Although I knew my answer immediately, I increased the volume and anxiously awaited for them to take the calls.

In the meantime, I thought about the last 80+ weddings I have attended in the last five years either as coordinator or guest and thought futher about all the rings the brides have worn. They have really been across the board: family heirloom, designed from scratch, designed to copy a designer ring, chosen directly from the case as is, setting chosen from case or on-line, but with different stone, and some have not even worn an engagement ring at all.

A lover of all tangible items with history, my personal answer was, "Absolutely!" My sister in law, in particular, has a gorgeous vintage Harry Winston setting, and mystery behind the ring made me love it even more. And who could forget the simple engagement ring Annie Banks and Bryan MacKenzie picked out at a flea market that "was at least 100 years old" in the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride!?!

In particular, many of our brides have rings that were designed to look like estate pieces by such designers as Tacori, Ritani, and Daniel K. Although that doesn't necessarily answer the question, does it matter if it was previously owned?

When the calls came in, the answers that I heard basically said the same thing, albeit in different ways:

1) "You should happy with any ring you receive!"

2) "I have an estate piece and I love it. As long as it didn't belong to a former girlfriend or wife, it's fine."

3) "Depends on the size of the diamond within the ring."

Of course, if you do in fact choose a vintage ring there are some things to consider, such as the cut and quality of the stone, as diamonds were often cut differently back then, as well as the strength in the prongs of the setting.

And for what it's worth, even if you do have a brand spanking new ring, there is always the chance that diamond has been used in a different piece of jewelry before it ultimately came your way.

So, I pose the question to all you readers. What do you think?

Happy Wednesday!

Lindsay