In February 2008, I was thrilled to blog about Myra Callan from twigs & honey, a sweet little Etsy shop with fabulous hair pieces to wear on your big day. Since then, Myra has launched an official website, and sweet blog, which has been an asset to the sea of wedding planning blogs. If you're looking for a truly unique hair accessory to pair with the dress of your dreams, check out Myra's work.
[photos copyright Elizabeth Messina]
As couples plan their wedding, attire is a pretty big deal. Not only is the bride searching for her own gown, but she must decide what her bridesmaids will wear. Long or short? Formal or casual? Colorful or neutral? Print or solid? And as for the groom, he not only needs to decide if he prefers a tuxedo to a suit, but also consider just a shirt and tie, or maybe no tie at all, and then what the rest of the guys will be wearing.
Liz & Don, above, took the less formal approach. And although their wedding was formal overall, Liz encouraged her bridesmaids to wear any chocolate brown, knee-length dress they were comfortable in, and Don asked his friends to wear a suit in any shade of brown they owned. Liz gifted teal shoes to each bridesmaid, and Don gave the guys matching ties & pocket squares to pull the entire look together.
I love this laid-back, non-matchy-matchy look they accomplished for their wedding day. It certainly is an updated look for a contemporary wedding party!
[photos copyright Lisa Kae Photography]
Grand Rapids wedding cake baker, Ken Stevens, created this dreamy white chocolate dress for a recent wedding show. I was dying to get some images of it, and Meg of Goodman Images was kind enough to send these over. Ken & Alex, of MiraBella Confections are two of my favorite people to work with in my local wedding industry and I was so happy to see Ken's chocolate dress finally happened. What a show stopper!
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I am a lover of Target. I know that I am not alone and many people love Target, however I go in there for almost everything - hair products, laundry detergent, orange juice, baby gifts, makeup - seriously, anything.
It may not surprise you that I often shop their clothing section for fun pieces to add to my seasonal wardrobe. To be honest, the quality isn't the best and most things don't wash too well and I end up purging at the end of the season, however their private label, Merona, seems to have some great pieces this spring.
Above is a great dress I spotted on my most recent visit. It caught my eye because the fit would be perfect on me. With it's fitted bodice, A-line skirt (it's more A-lined than in the above photo), bust darts and fun stripe print, it'd be perfect for a casual bridesmaid look. I love adding a fun necklace to the v-neck top, and keeping the earrings simple with the fun necklace. A great, neutral shoe lengthens the leg and doesn't compete with the gown's stripes. It's a great look for around $100!
The Kennedy Dress also comes in a lavender print, which would be great for spring celebrations, such as Easter or bridal showers.
Kennedy Dress, Merona Collection, $39.99
Smokey Topaz Necklace, $39.99
Strappy Heels, Mossimo, $19.99
Ruffles, ribbons, and crystals seem to be huge this season - from cardigans and blouses, to necklaces and shoes - we are seeing delicate details just about everywhere. From Claire's to Chanel, soft colors and fun findings, plus oodles of textures, are in full swing for 2010.
Naturally, these details would make their way to bridal wear, as most trends do. Check out April Foster's blog about ruffled wedding cakes, the follow up post about ruffled wedding shoes & wedding accessories, and her final post about ruffled wedding gowns. I love the ladylike details myself, and am happy to see bridal leaving the "plain" side of things for a little more fun to make things interesting and unique.
[all images via J.Crew]
While planning a wedding, couples will soon realize that every single guest added to the list adds cost to the bottom line. Back in November of 2007, I shared this image and list, courtesy of Jennifer at Earth Friendly Wedding.
Everyone seems to love a vintage-inspired wedding, especially right now, but what makes a wedding "vintage"?
Stephanie, the bride above, wore a vintage gown. The rest of her wedding was absolutely delightful - filled to the brim with vintage-inspired goodness. But, does her vintage equal your vintage?
Meaghan Magritz, of The City Bride Blog, tweeted the other day, "Breaking News: the word vintage has replaced the word J.Crew in the vocabulary of brides...I mean in the sense of how much it is used. Every bride now wants a vintage wedding....well all the brides I talk to anyway."
I agree with Meaghan - I have heard the word vintage thrown around more lately, even more than the notorious wedding word, classic. Vintage weddings are popular, and my favorite part is seeing what each bride-to-be deems "vintage".
There are no rules for wedding styles like there are for cars, for example. A vehicle needs to be 25 years old or older to be registered as historical in the state of Michigan. For clothing, Wikipedia states, "Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments, originating from a previous era."
Personally, I am a fan of the 1950's and 60's styles. We live in a Cape Cod-style home built in 1950. Our kitchen table, found on our local Craigslist, is an old yellow diner table, complete with red diner chairs. I'm fond of our Fiestaware, and also enjoy collecting kitschy aprons. I love photos of my grandma rockin' her beehive hairdo and (not-so) secretly wish people went to sock hops and the drive-in movies. Yes, you could pop me right into Pleasantville and I'd be a happy camper (in my Airstream, of course...)
If you're having a vintage-inspired wedding, what style are you leaning towards? The more more fun you have dreaming up unique elements for your wedding, the more it will reflect your favorite style for years to come.
[photo from Eye Candy feature, copyright Amy Carroll Photography]
Wishing everyone a fabulous Valentine's Day from Pearls Events! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!
Ben and Mindy Peterson of Studio 6.23 are one of the coolest husband wife photography teams I've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past year-and-a-half. Mindy and I met over lunch at Marie Catrib's one afternoon, before visiting her favorite Grand Rapids antique shop searching for a dollhouse, I believe. After spending just the afternoon with her, I felt like I had known her for years.
Ben and Mindy stopped by the Pearls Events office one afternoon last winter to talk shop, and although we haven't had the opportunity to work together, I know we will soon enough! Their style is vibrant and full of life, just like they are.
They have been designing their home studio for a while now, and they are finally open for business. I love their entire space (above is just a snippet of it!) and am SO happy for them - congrats Ben and Mindy!
Well, at least I am consistent. Each week I look through my archives to find a post that I loved for some reason or another, and this week I found a post from two years ago I wanted to share. I was doing the same thing then as I am now - dreaming of spring.
It's the classic Case of the Grays. West Michigan has very few sunny days throughout February, and I'm constantly looking for spring inspiration to brighten my weeks. Plus, I'm getting SO excited for our upcoming May events, I cannot help but look for fresh ideas for clients.
This was a favorite post of mine because I love the images!
[images via The Knot and J.Crew]
Fresh flowers are commonly used for significant events - weddings, birthday & anniversary celebrations and funerals. I believe the average consumer is baffled by how costly fresh flowers add up, especially with wedding magazines and television programs showcasing very high-end weddings. Brides-to-be fall in love with thousand-dollar-centerpieces before they even walk through the florist's door.
When we first started discussing wedding flowers, Jammie told me she loved a white silk peony in a small vase, which always sat on her nightstand. I didn't need to help Jammie dream up her wedding flowers - she had already done that - all-white, tons of texture and luscious blooms. But I did help her find the Grand Rapids florist perfect for her June 2009 wedding.
Stems Event Design owner, Natalie, recently shared Jammie's entire flower budget breakdown in Brides Michigan. If you're planning a Michigan wedding, the most recent edition is literally chock full of amazing content - more than any other issue I've seen. I would highly recommend getting a copy of it in your hands!
[images copyright Amy Carroll Photography]
In 2009, April clients Deanna & Ryan had their mothers join two bunches of flowers together to signify the unity of both families. I thought this was a fabulous idea and when I was asked to contribute a unique ceremony idea to Brides Michigan it was perfect, however it did not include all of their guests, so it was back to the drawing board.
I was chatting about the idea with Melissa of Telltale Photography and she shared with me that her clients, Seth and Amelea, did the same thing that Deanna & Ryan had, except with all of their guests! I thought it was a brilliant idea and sent it to Brides Michigan, with Melissa's permission. They ended up choosing to use it in their article, above, however I wanted to share the photos of the wedding Melissa shared with me. If you're looking for a way to include all of your guests in the ceremony, I absolutely love this idea!
And a big shout out to fellow Michigan wedding planners Amanda Freeman and Lindsey Nartker for contributing to the article as well. Both of these ladies are respected wedding planners in the Detroit area and I'm happy to be able to call them colleagues & friends.
Because West Michigan got a ton of snow last night, I wanted to share the recent winter wedding of Katie and Luke, photographed by Kristen of K. Holly Studios. There are so many great details woven throughout their day!
I love all of the handmade details the couple designed themselves. I also enjoy all of the candle light they decided to incorporate at the reception. With a December wedding in Michigan, the sun goes down before 5pm - you need some candlelight! I am looking forward to working at both the chapel & reception venue in 2010 so this wedding caught my eye when Kristen sent it over. Also, all those lush floral arrangements caught my eye too. They were made by the talented Alison of Events by Ludema's and she is wonderful to work with!
Ceremony | Dimnent Memorial Chapel
Reception | Harbourfront Grand Hall
Photographer | K. Holly Studios
Floral Designer | Events by Ludema's
Makeup Artist | Julie Strating
