A kaleidoscope of fashion

I plan to give the bridesmaids an opportunity to choose their dress style and color. Since each girl has a cute sense of style, I feel giving them a sort of free range, with light guidelines/dress code, can help orchestrate the individually conclusive look we are going for. It would also allow their beautiful personalities to shine through.

At first I considered the same bridesmaids dresses for a uniform look, with punches of individuality through accessories (shoes, jewelry, clutches) but after viewing wedding parties with such inspirational looks (The Everyday Bride and Style Me Pretty) I was convinced to go towards a free style look. The objective being, if they chose something they loved then they would be able to wear it again :)

Guidelines weren't really prepared, instead I put together a sort of look book of fashion trends for the end of summer/early fall they could reference and work with. These styles include: sweet strapless, over the shoulder, flower detail, ruched, and maxi.

Sweet strapless. Lela Rose. Rebecca Taylor. Jenny Yoo.

Strapless dresses with sweetheart necklines and flirty lengths would be perfect for plenty of nights on the town :)

Over the shoulder. Adrianna Papell. Teri Jon. Nicole Miller.

I'm in love with the over the shoulder look. It's really flirty and shows off a toned upper body. Two of my bridesmaids have tattoos just under their shoulders so these dresses would be a fun way to showcase the tats.

Defined waist with flower detail. Lela Rose. J.Crew. Lela Rose.

For a more classic look, I like the defined waist and flower/rosettes. Both details are very feminine and sweet.

Ruched dresses. Shoshanna. Banana Republic. JS Boutique.

Another dress detail I love is ruching because it can be forgiving. The dresses usually flow nicely and are reminiscent of greek goddesses. In vibrant colors the dresses would stand out nicely.

Maxi dresses. Laundry by Shelli Segal. Jenny Yoo. Adrianna Papell.

Maxi dresses have great flow, too. I'm really happy to find such pretty purple patterns in this dress style.

The colors and styles could be mixed and matched to fit fashion mandates like: fit and fun, soft and flirty, joyfully bold. With these choices I'm sure they'll find the perfect look :)

How did you decide on bridesmaids attire?

Blog title is from lyrics by Gwen Stefani

"Air is getting warmer
By the day
As the thaw begins
So put a corner on this page
The leaves are green again
And cloudy skies
Are lifting away
Right in front of our very eyes
And we will be together
At the first sign of spring."
Michelle Lewis

Long for the flowers, part II

We had two floral consultations yesterday. Our first was with an established floral and events designer who has done countless of high-budget, celebrity weddings but, with the current economy, is taking budgets of any size. The second consultation was with a younger floral and event designer with lovely style. Both had beautiful ideas and great experience at our venues and with our other vendors. I think once we meet with our last florist and receive all the proposals, the decision will get easier.

Before the consultations I read this article by Weddingbee PRO Nancy Liu Chin and this one by Offbeat bride as preparation. I also brought our floral inspirations, noting that they were just a starting point and we were open their ideas. We also provided a checklist of the flower peices we need.

Our checklist of florals we require are:
Bride's Bouquet
Bride's hair flower (gardenia)
3 bridesmaids bouquets
Groom's boutonniere
3 groomsmen boutonnieres
1 father boutonniere
1 grandfather boutonniere
2 mother corsages
1 grandmother corsages

3 arrangements for the ceremony (36" x 36")

20 table arrangements for the reception

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As a money saver, there were good ideas about using carnations. Tightly bunched carnations in small, white vases have a cute look. Their bright colors would give tables a vibrant look.

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Carnations could also create great ceremony arrangements. I like the look of the above photo, and would add some gerbera daisies for extra detailing.

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Boutonnieres were also a popular topic since we wanted a uniform look: gardenia bouquet for the bride and one gardenia boutonniere for the groom; carnation, rose, and gerbera daisy bouquet for the bridesmaids and carnation or rose boutonniere for the groomsmen. We also wanted to make sure the boutonnieres would last the night and not get squished by excess hugging.

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There were also the mothers' corsages to consider. We wanted a pop of color and since the mothers would be wearing purple, yellow flowers would be perfect.

We also had a checklist of questions we asked that include the following:
-What is your design style and what styles do you like to work with?
-Will you be creating our arrangements or will your assistants take charge?
-Will you check that the arrangements are perfect before the ceremony and reception?
-Are you available to do a walk through before our event?
-Will you label the bouquets, bouts, and corsages?
-How many weddings do you do per weekend? Per season?
-Do you prepare floral mock-ups or trial runs?
-Do you have a minimum requirement or are you open to any budgets?
-Are you flexible with smaller budgets?
-Will you add delivery and set up fees to the proposal?

Now we wait for proposals. The proposals, answers to our questions, and their style & personality will all affect our decision.

How did you choose your florist? Do you have any tips?


Blog title is from lyrics by 311

Long for the flowers

I love flowers. I love looking at them, stopping to smell them, getting them, taking photos of them. In photographer blogs, I am always drawn to the flowers brides choose for their day. The overall organically artsy, modernly classic look of flower arrangements make me fall in love with wedding flower details over and over again. I really believe that a reputable florist can do no wrong.

With my very open take on flowers, it is hard to come back to reality and resist the temptation to splurge. We have a nice amount budgeted, but nothing lavish. In a dream world I would have bushels and bushels of flowers arranged as centerpieces, around the guest book, and all over the ceremony venue. My bouquet would overflow with orchids and fragrant gardenias, petals would be scattered around, and bouts would be stylishly bold. But with the budget comes compromise and I think with some creativity we'll be able to pull this off :)

Here are some inspiration photos I'll be showing the florists we will be meeting with this weekend.

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A classic bouquet is perfect for me. Nothing too big or small.

Row 1, Row 2, Row 3
Vase 1, Vase 2, Vase 3

The idea of various vases in different size and height, filled with a nice variety of flowers is what we are going for. Row 1 are the inspirational photos. Row 2 and 3 are purple and yellow flower arrangements, via theknot, that I love. Row 4 are white, milky type vases that would be perfect. At the end of the night I hope to give the centerpieces away to guests to enjoy in their homes.

Gardenia, Carnation, Hydrangea
Iris, Yellow Gerbera Daisy, White Gerbera Daisy
Rose, Daffodil, Aster

My favorite flowers include:
gardenias - my favorite flower. I love the milky texture and fragrant scent.
carnations - the ruffly look of their petals allow depth and add texture.
hydrangeas - shape and little blossoms make me love the look of these.
irises - my birth flower and mom's name :)
gerbera daisies - love the open face, soft petals, and range of vibrant colors.
rose - a classic flower
daffodil - love the star shaped petals and vibrant yellow color.
asters - the mister's birth flower.

Other flowers I would love to have:
camellias - so delicate and classically chanel
orchids - remind me of my grandma's garden, I would want to have just a few of these as a 'shout out' to her

How did you put together inspiration for your florist? What are your favorite flowers?


Blog title is from lyrics by 311

You know I need someone...

I've been wrestling with the idea of hiring a day-of/month-of coordinator, or just tackling the day-of details with a little help from my friends and family. In a perfect world, I would love for someone to take charge of the day, oversee the time line, account for all the details, and work towards our style/design vision. It's no problem for us to set up contracts and figure out the overall style, but I just want someone to execute wedding day details without me even mentioning them. I would not want to burden any of my family or friends to take charge of organizing the guest book, putting together centerpieces and table numbers before the reception, or making sure everyone receives something from the candy buffet. Although there have been some volunteers, which I am quite thankful for. And yes I can assign different tasks to different people, but I just want them to enjoy themselves without worry. So the coordinator conundrum still dances around my head. Do I or don't I hire one? What makes this decision even tougher is that we had accounted for a coordinator in our budget, but the price we estimated is only a fraction of the prices we have been quoted.

To assist in the decision making process, listing pros and cons to organize my thoughts on the subject was necessary.

A coordinator would easily help in handling:

• the day's time line for vendors and the bridal party
• a final checklist of all the details
• collaboration between all of our vendors for a smooth day
• set up escort card table, guest book, lay out candy buffet favors, arrange centerpieces
• each guests' questions
• guest traffic towards the photo booth
• organization of all vendor contracts
  
• the flow of the reception
  
• also, they do this for a living making them experts
  

Ease the pressure of:

• thinking about what comes next on our wedding day schedule
• hoping the vendors arrive on time and everything is set up before the reception
• worrying our family and friends are working too hard an not able to enjoy the day
• quirky requests from guests

There are things we can do on our own:

• create menu and table numbers
• put together escort cards, alphabetize
• book vendors
  

I'm giving myself a few weeks to make this decision. I have a few coordinators whose style I love and would really enjoy the opportunity to work with. It may mean tweaking the budget a bit, cutting down somewhere else, but I think it will be definitely worth it to have someone facilitate a smoothly run day.

Did you have, or are you planning to have, a coordinator? Do you recommend we have one? Have you worked with awesome LA or SB coordinators?

Blog title is from lyrics by the Beatles

This is my retreat, we're together

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Engaged Encounter is a weekend retreat for engaged couple planning and preparing for the sacrament of marriage. It gives couples the opportunity to have an open and honest dialogue about their future lives together, touching on subjects like ambitions, goals, strengths and weaknesses, and relationship with each other and with God.

Having been raised by religious parents and gone to Catholic high school, religion and faith have played very big parts in my life. When one of St. Barbara Parish's requirements for marriage was an Engaged Encounter weekend, I was very happy to be able to go on a retreat (which I use to attend yearly for school) and for the opportunity to grow in the relationship between me and the mister.

Well the mister has never been religious or gone on a real retreat. He's been a bit apprehensive about the entire weekend. But since it's a requirement and since he's respectful of my faith, he's going along and trying to keep an open mind.

I have never thought of retreats as solely religious events. They were more a chance to get away from the norm, experience solitude and serene calm, think about current and future plans, and concentrate on making yourself better. The prayer is like the sprinkles on top of an already yummy cupcake.

I found wemetinabar's posts on EE very helpful when I was trying to research topics covered in each EE. Values, children, finances, spirituality, expectations, arguments, backgrounds are just a few topics on the discussion block. We have discussed some of those subjects before, and some we've just skimmed through. Each subject is important, and to discuss this without any distractions will be a nice change :)

The best review from the EE weekend has been, "You may believe in/have two different ideals, but there is only one love." So true.

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Have you gone on an EE weekend or done another type of pre-marriage counseling?

Blog title is from song by Diana Ross

"There's only one thing to do,
Three words for you, I love you.
There's only one way to say,
Those three words and that's what I'll do, I love you"
Plain White T's

The aster and... drops of morning dew still linger on the iris leaves

Through my research of flowers and local florists I learned about birth flowers. Similar to birthstones, a flower is assigned to each month, represents significance to the month, and is called a birth flower. While the subject is quite new to me, I'm glad to have learned about birth flowers because we can now try to infuse them into our wedding floral details.

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The February birth flower is the iris. It represents faith, hope, and wisdom.

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Iris flowers are so perfect for my bouquet and the centerpieces. I was born in February, the purple and yellow colors match our wedding colors, and my mom's name is Iris (such a fun coincidence).

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The mister was born in September, our wedding month, and the September birth flower is the aster. Symbolizing love, faith, and wisdom, the aster can have a yellow center and purple petals. It's so pretty and also our wedding colors!

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I love how the above arrangement contains both iris and aster flowers.

What is your birth flower? Will you use them in your wedding?


Blog title is from lyrics by Dolly Parton

With a goodluck charm like you

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Last week I got this charming email from T&Co. I love how the charms complete each sentence.

Seeing the delicate charms reminded me of some that the mister bought to go with the bracelet I received as a bday present last year.

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I love the idea of a charm bracelet because it allows you the opportunity to style your bracelet, adding the charms best fit you. Charms are such cute and unique characters, displaying a story/noting special events while hanging around your wrist. Maybe a diploma for a graduation, a heart to symbolize love, or a cross for religion. Whatever you chose, whatever the style or design characteristics, those charms define you.

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And that's how I view my bridesmaids. They're lovely individuals that come together to complement me. So it may be fitting that each bridesmaid receives a charm from me. Something that reminds me of them. I am lucky to have such charming ladies in my life.

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Blog title is from lyrics by Elvis Presley

Turtle Power!

Turtles are my favorite animal. I really don't know how my love of them came about, but I think they're cute and started collecting all kinds of turtle figurines years ago. Oh, and who can forget their childhood love of TNMT? I love turtles so much that they've even made an appearance on my save the date map :) So it would be natural to want to integrate them into other parts of our wedding details.

Some of my turtle figurine collection

Turtles drawn on our save the date map by LH Calligraphy

Right now I'm looking at Laura Hooper's invitation designs. Hopefully she can incorporate the turtles she drew on our maps to our reply postcards, programs, or envelopes.

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Place card turtles would be too cute as well and go with our beach side location. Or shiny place card holders that guests can take home.

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I'm also very open to yummy turtle inspired food (I wouldn't eat a real turtle). Turtle shaped chocolates, cupcakes, and cake would be super sweet to look at and equally sweet to eat.

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Turtle cake toppers make such a cute keepsake.

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And you can't rule out a turtle flavored cake topped with pecans and caramel. Mmm.

What is your favorite animal? Will you incorporate it into small details of your wedding (leopard print shoes, puppy as ring bearer, bird cake toppers)?

Blog title is from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song

Purple n gold with the Lakers part III

Table scape, Dior heels, Elie Saab dress, LV dress.
Chuck Bass, bouquet, lemon centerpiece, programs, Kobe.

The yellow Dior heels mentioned in an earlier post inspired me to create another inspiration board. Well that and the beautiful ready to wear dresses by Elie Saab and LV, the fact that Gossip Girl is finally showing a new episode on Monday, and the Lakers win tonight :) It's actually good that I'm collecting more inspiration because we meet with our caterer in a few weeks to discuss table scapes, meet possible floritsts to discuss all things floral, and start the search for the groom's suit.

Happy Friday!

Blog title is from lyrics by Nelly

Sport that fresh attire

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In honor of NBA player Caron Butler's birthday and since I've been brooding over invitation wording, I'd like to highlight a line on invitations that is sometimes overlooked: the attire line. At the end of most wedding invitations you can read the following "semi-formal attire" or "cocktail attire" or "black tie". It gives guests an idea of the formality of the wedding and leaves their clothing choice up to their interpretation of semi-formal, cocktail, or black tie. Although I'm confident that our guests will respect the attire line/dress to impress, I kinda love the attire line written on Caron's invite, "Dress code restrictions are at management's discretion and pertain not merely to articles of clothing, but more importantly to style and execution."

How funny would it be if our invitation ended with "Attire restrictions are at J&M's discretion and pertain not merely to articles of clothing, but more importantly style and execution."? It would be a great way to challenge everyone's notions of style, push them to clothing options that best suit their personalities, and be a fun fashion show. But, it wouldn't be in good taste and I'm sure wouldn't be well received by guests. Yes it's a way to get the message across that personal style trumps fashion trends and you must dress to impress, yet guests should be given the benefit of the doubt that they'll dress nicely. We have no plans to go this route, and may refrain from mentioning attire altogether, yet I wonder if anyone has put a similar attire line on their invites. I would love to see it!

How did you get your attire message across?

Blog title is from lyrics by the Beastie Boys

Walking on sunshine

I love fashion week because it gives me a chance to scout the upcoming trends, and also inspires with everything that comes down the runway. Inspiration found in the cuts, colors, styles, and especially all of the details. My favorite details from the Paris RTW Fall 2009 shows have been the shoes. Amazing shoes! And while I don't have the bankroll to purchase any of these lovelies, I can't help but look and be happy. Whoever has the opportunity to walk in these shoes must definitely be walking on sunshine!

Blue lace and an amazing heel. Louis Vuitton from Style.com

Black with white pearls. Louis Vuitton from Style.com

Pink pattern. Louis Vuitton from Style.com

Two-tone. Louis Vuitton from Style.com

Louis Vuitton from Style.com

Fluffyness by Givenchy from Style.com

I like the zipper detail in these. Givenchy from Style.com

Givenchy from Style.com

Study heels by Givenchy from Style.com

Mustard yellow and strappy heels by Dior from Style.com

Something blue? Dior from Style.com

I love pink shoes! Dior from Style.com

The shape of these are amazing. Dior from Style.com

Dior from Style.com

Chanel from Style.com

So many little details in the heels. Chanel from Style.com

This shoe is amazing. A ring in the heel? Oh my... Chanel from Style.com

I am in love. Chanel from Style.com

Amazing. I wonder what it's like to walk in. Chanel from Style.com

What is your favorite fashion inspiration?


Blog title is from lyrics by Katrina and the Waves