TO DO: Tuesday Wedding Aisle Decor

So many times Brides spend a ton of time (and lots of MONEY) on decorating their receptions.  We then get to the ceremony (arguably what the entire day was created for!) and there is little to no decor.  A well place flower arrangement at the front, some programs at the back and call it a day.  You know, I think your ceremony should be just as magical as the rest of the day… it is, after all, what the ENTIRE wedding is about!  MARRYING the man of your dreams!

I understand not wanting to spend an arm and a leg on decorating your aisle (wherever that might be) but a bit of well placed decor and a few pops of color can go a long way!

Take Ryan and Rachel, for example.  They were married at Talon Winery, here in Lexington.  Talon is a BEAUTIFUL location, yes, but they chose to use a few pops of color in the form of dangling flowers under the gazeebo and a few tucked into the shrubs.  They also hung old glass jars with bunches of daisies from shepherd’s hooks and lined the aisle with them along with piles of yellow and white flower petals.

But their wedding was outside… Mine is in a church!  No problem… you CAN be creative with pews!  I promise  One of our brides from last year, Kelsey, decorated her aisle with bunches of Kentucky wildflowers in baskets that hung from the pews.  It was soft, subtle, homey and made a big impact!

Or you can do something that requires NO florals at ALL.  Here are some simple ideas I found on Pinterest:

From : atwestend.com but could easily be hand crafted for very little money!

Or instead of expensive chair scarves and covers, order large rolls of ribbon in a single or multi colors and use them to spruce up the chairs at the ceremony / reception.

Idea from: United with love

Or maybe a cute vintage sign denoting the spots for the parents to sit at the wedding like these we found on Etsy:

However you choose to do it, DO put some thought into the aisle you will walk down toward your new life.  It will be the last things you see as a “single” lady and those moments should be just as beautiful as the rest of the wedding day!

Cool Spaces and Places: Events with Design Rustic handmade Wood tables

We really enjoyed getting to see some GREAT ideas at the Art of Entertaining this year. One of our FAVORITES was this rustic barn table from Events with Design.

Now… the coolest thing about this table is that Shannon (one of the owners) hand made these tables!!! Is he fabulous or WHAT?!

The tables are 5 ft squares and will seat 8 people.  They rent for $35 per table plus $100 setup fee.  BUT… you don’t even need LINENS!  These tables are beautifully constructed and would definitely make a statement at your reception or event.

For more information on renting these tables (or any of their other fabulous rental choices), call Carrie at 859.260.1456.

IMAGE COURTESY: Honey Heart Photography, Lexington

We also love that Events with Design has VINTAGE China available for rent.  Vintage is HOT for weddings this year.  I LOVE this particular pattern:

For more information on the other items they offer for rental visit their website: http://www.eventswithdesign.com/rentals/

Prince William and Princess Kate… let’s talk about the Wedding Dress!!!

If you had to ask me to sum up the Royal Wedding of William and Kate in one word I would say: “STIFF” pretty much describes it!  So yes, I see tons of nontraditional ceremonies.  I see tons of CHURCH weddings too and this was one of the most stiff and orchestrated one I have ever seen.  Barely even spiritual if you ask me.  While I was happy to feel a small part of it, and enjoy the time with my daughter, I was sorely unimpressed and definitely think that my brides could whip up on some “awesome wedding” day rankings over these two ANY DAY!

So lets discuss… the dress.  Personally… I call it Classical elegance but honestly I think it was a bit STIFF.  I honestly thought that Kate would be enough of her own woman to pick something a little more stylish.  I saw her wearing something more like what her SISTER Pippa wore honestly!  I would love to know if she had a more stylish dress for later in the day.  I guess my question was answered though after William refused to wear a wedding band… Something about that just doesn’t sit right with me. 

According to Harper’s Bazaar : “Kate Middleton is wearing an Alexander McQueen wedding gown. The Arts and Crafts-inspired design was specially made for the princess-to-be in silk gazar. The Royal School of Needlework, based out of Hampton Court Palace, crafted the intricate lace bodice and sleeves, and created the veil as well. We love the McQueen signature corseting and the long sleeves; both are sure to set trends. Her tiara, which has also been the subject of much speculation, is a Cartier “halo” tiara, previously worn by the Queen Mother. Her diamond oak-leaf earrings are by Robinson Pelham and were a gift from her parents”

Image Courtesy: Harper’s Bazaar

Now… here’s the fun part.

I want to know what YOU think about Princess Kate’s Dress…

Weigh in with your opinion in the comments below and you could win a complimentary 11×14 portrait to use on your Engagement, Bridal or Wedding Day images!!!

I will choose a winner from the comments on Monday morning!

HOT Wedding Trend Alert: Belted Gowns!

These are NOT your grandmother’s belts.  (well maybe they are if your grandma was a chic happening lady!  It could be totally cool to wear a piece of her life with you!)  I am talking some seriously cool, beautiful, amazing, totally fabulous, sometimes “bling”ed out, always stylish belts!  A really amazing belt or sash can make even the simplest wedding dress look F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!!!

Like this silvery gray stunner from yanethandco on Etsy:

Or this totally bling belt to add a little sparkle to your dress by IngenueB on Etsy:

Or maybe you are inspire by a softer satin look like this stunning satin sash with just a bit of bling by Untamed Petals on Etsy:

Then there is elegant, yet whimsical with something like this Vintage inspired satin flower and sash creation by GracefullyGirly on Etsy:

Or maybe you would think of using a belt / sash as a pop of color to tie in a colorful wedding theme with something like this stunning Teal Rhinestone Flower sash by peaceandglorydetails on Etsy:

Or MAYBE your dress stands on it’s own but you would rather wear a belt in your hair!  Today’s headbands seem to be the love child of the headbands we knew and loved as kids and a satin ribbon!  Something like this could be perfect from LoBoheme on Etsy:

At any rate I truly do this that this trend of belts and bows is fabulous.  It is the perfect way to add a little extra sparkle and pizazz to your wedding attire without altering your dress design.  Oftentimes, custom alterations can costs many hundred of dollars when adding a belt can cost as little as $25-100.  Not only is this cost effective but it could make the perfect heirloom.  So yes, let’s face it our daughter will be very unlikely to want to wear our dated gowns when they get married but these stylish belts can be added to their dress, hair or bouquet in the future to allow them to keep the tradition going in their own weddings.  Or better yet have a belt made from YOUR mother’s 1975 lacy number!  It’s puffy sleeves may not be cute but it could be the perfect “old” in your new, borrowed and blue repertoire!!

Hot Wedding Trend Alert!! : Decorate the aisle with a monogram

I have to say one of those things that I think is a REALLY neat idea and something that I would like to see a LOT more of (hint hint brides!) is a monogram on the aisle.  Whether it is a monogrammed aisle runner in a church or a neatly placed FLOWER monogram in the grass for an outdoor ceremony, they add such a pop of color and a touch of class to ANY ceremony.

This monogram (above- “P” monogram) was created with Rose petals by the fabulous Suzi Hjorth at Magnolia Floral Design for Mackenzie and Chris Powers’ ceremony at the Andover Country Club in Lexington.  A simple drape between the chairs was a gentle urging for the guests to enter the aisles from the exterior so that the monogram would stay in place until after the bride walked down the aisle.

This aisle was done in Daises for Chelsen & Dackery Larkey’s Wedding at Cumberland Falls.  Their ceremony overlooked the falls and this monogrammed aisle was among MANY sentimental parts of the ceremony.

Or… if you are not that crafty you can always just fill the entire aisle with petals like Ruth at Carol Lynn Originals did for Kimberlee and Denver Haddix’s ceremony at Talon Winery.  It was also elegant and added just the right pop of color to the aisle!  A lot of people forget that the AISLE will be in ALL of your wedding ceremony so it really is important to decorate it if you can.

Here are some other great ideas from the web:

Images courtesy: the knot . wedding by color . explosions 500 . beautiful beginnings events . jose villa . wedding on the brain

via: utahbrideblog.com

Image Courtesy: IDOweddingdetails.com

Image Courtesy: lovelyweddings.com

Image Courtesy: Kio Kreations (on Etsy – follow link to purchase one of these fabulous pieces!)

Image courtesy: N&L Notes.com

Hot Wedding Trend: Using antique jewelry to jazz up your bouquet

Recently I had the privilege of photographing a very thoughtful (and beautiful!) wedding.  The bride had put beautiful sentiment into every single inch of her wedding and I was truly touched by so many things that it is hard to highlight just one.  Although, I literally welled up with tears when I saw her bouquet sitting on the coffee table of her hotel room.  It was stunning!!!  See for yourself :

Gorgeous right?  Then she laid it on me… the jewels inside the flowers, are pieces of antique jewelry from her grandmother’s collection.  The stems are also bound with a bracelet.  Instant tears… how special, and beautiful!!!  I SO wish that thoughtful things like this had been trendy years ago when I was married.  I have always kept a few pieces of my grandmother’s jewelry and will continue to in hopes that Kyleigh may want to use it when she is married.

So how does one go about attaching these pendants?  These were actually attached to SILK florals and arranged sporadically with her beautiful fresh flowers.  The floral design was created by Suzi of Magnolia Floral Designs here in Lexington, KY.

Thank you Kristen for allowing me to share your creative efforts!!  Your wedding was truly gorgeous and I count it my honor to have been there to capture the day!  Congratulations and Best Wishe as you celebrate your new life with Alan!

The bridesmaid dress that they really CAN wear again!

I was perusing Etsy the other day and stumbled across this….

Did you know that each of those bridesmaids are wearing the EXACT SAME DRESS????  HOLY crap!  I thought to myself… now THAT is a bridesmaids dress that you really CAN wear again!  I was even more shocked when i saw this:

There are only about 100 different ways to wear this dress… SERIOUSLY.. brides out there… hop on over to Etsy and pick these up for your maids.  They will thank you when they see the price is extremely reasonable and the dress is friggin fabulous!  I mean, really, I want one for myself!

Erin Leigh Heart on Etsy… today you rocked my world!