WEDDINGISTAS | A Wedding Blog from Two Connecticut Wedding Planners

Inspire Me! (Yellow, Pink, Navy & Grey)

We experienced unseasonably warm weather for March this weekend and I could not be happier! All the sunshine inspired me to make a board bursting with yellows and pinks.  There's a way to incorporate these bright colors into your design and decor without it looking like a baby's birthday party. If you want to stay sophisticated with your Spring decor, add in small touches here and there.  Use base colors such as navy and grey and add pops of yellow and pink.  I love the watercolor effect in these Wedding Paper Divas invitations.  And the bold bouquet - flowers are an excellent way to bring in fun colors.  Also, I think having colorful paper-flower wrapped favors will bring in a festive Spring touch to your reception tables.

  

Bridesmaid: Evoke Photography via Love & Splendor; Boutonniere: Meghan Labarbera via Style Me Pretty; Invitation: Wedding Paper Divas; Paper Flower Wrapped Favors: Martha Stewart Weddings; Earrings: J. Crew; Rings and Sorbet: Cameron Ingalls and Cunningham Photography via Style Me Pretty; Couple: Love Life Images via The Brides Café.

 

Inspire Me! (Teal, Purple & Brown)

I think we're going to see a lot of teal in the upcoming wedding seasons. Which really excites me because teal is definitely one of my favorite colors. Add in some cream, brown and beautiful shades of purple and you've got yourself a killer wedding palette.  It's so chic, and it works with any season.  

 

Images: Personalized Jones Soda, Flowers: Jess Epstein via The Brides Cafe; Bracelet, Dress: Anthropologie; Cupcakes: Wedding Channel; Earrings: Frieda Sophie via Etsy; Cocktail: Food Network Magazine.

I love Anthropologie - so it's a no brainer to find inspiration in their stores, especially for bridesmaid dresses.  Brides are giving their bridesmaids more freedom in the style and fit of their dresses. Think outside the box and look into different stores and designers.  

I know I'm a sucker for amazing desserts, but these cupcakes look so good they make me drool! And signature drinks are still very popular at weddings.  This purple beauty pictured happens to be named 'Captain Handsome,' but we think you'll be able to come up with a more creative and personalize name.

   

Inspire Me! (Eggplant, Burnt Orange & Brown)

Images: Chocolate: Chocopologie; Skeleton Keys; Bridesmaid Dress: JLM Couture; Table: Inn at National Hall; Brides Dress: Style 812: Alfred Angelo; Flowers: Flowers by Joanne; Stationery: Smock.

On Sunday, Becky and I spent the day working with some amazing vendors to produce a vintage chic photo shoot in Westport, Connecticut. We hope to share some of the photographs with you very soon, but until then, I thought I would share our inspiration board with you (aside from the fact that it has been months since we posted an inspiration board! Shame on us...) 

Similar to a wedding or any other social event, it makes it easier to have a design idea to guide you.  That's why inspiration boards have become so popular. They help you visualize what you want for the overall style and color of your event. A board can be shared with everyone to help them understand what you want to achieve as well. For instance, when we approached a florist regarding this project, we provided a few of these photos to help inspire her. But creating a board for yourself is particularly helpful because you can keep going back to your idea and working off of it. Maybe you're torn regarding the color or style of jewelry to incorporate into the wedding.  Matching your options to your original inspiration can guide you in the right direction. 

So, I highly recommend doing some research and designing a board with all the things you'd like to see at your wedding. Anyway, that's my spiel. I look forward to showing you how we made our inspiration board into reality very soon!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Inspire Me! (Shades of Blue)

I think we are all guilty, women especially, of buying a pair of really fabulous shoes that we “needed” for a specific outfit.  The problem is that they don’t end up matching anything else aside from your one outfit. Then, they proudly join the shoe inventory, sit, and wait, until you find something else to wear them with. Please, tell me this story sounds familiar!  I am constantly on the hunt for a new way to wear my fun shoe collection.  Anyway, similar to my own personal shoe struggle, I stumbled upon these beautiful, cobalt blue satin pumps from Nina and felt compelled to create an inspiration board.  And if you read Thursday’s post, you know we enjoy when Brides stray away from the traditional white wedding shoes.

Images: Groom: Jessamyn Harris via Wedding Channel, Save the Date: Minted, Shoes: Nina Shoes,     Venue/lighting: Dave Robbins Photography, Cupcake: Karen Wise, Bridesmaid Dresses: Lynn Lugo Bridal, Bouquet: Valley Floral via The Knot.

I adore this artistic Save the Date from Minted.  The design exudes a silk-like texture, which flows right along with the silky, monochromatic blue bridesmaid dresses from Lynn Lugo (you can have some serious fun online playing with their custom dress maker). Definitely be careful not to overlook the role texture can play in your wedding.  Similarly, one way to dramatically change the mood of a room is through lighting.  It makes quite the impact; plus, it’s a great way to tie in a bold color on your wedding day.  Some Brides cringe at the thought of wearing blue heels with their gown, so try exploring lighting as another option for adding color and style. 

Inspire Me! Art Deco (Black, White, Gold)

Weddingistas are offering to put together custom inspirational boards for all you lovely people out there! We reached out to our Facebook friends to see if anyone was interested. The lovely, soon-to-be bride Liz, asked to see a black, white, and gold Art Deco inspired board.  Well, here it is and we hope you enjoy it. 

Images: Dress: Manouka: Jenny Packham, Jimmy Choo shoes: Artisan Events via Style Me Pretty, Headpiece: Bethany Lorelle via Etsy, Suit: Kristin Spencer via The Knot, Invitations: Gala Designs, Room: Joel Robuchon via Lawrence K. Ho, Cake: Mishka Designs

Art Deco is incredibly inspiring.  It’s breaths chic elegance that only the 1920’s could produce.  The Bride’s gown exhibits classic flapper styling with the loose-fitting shape and structural details along the neckline.  No inspiration board would be complete without something totally spectacular from Etsy, which is where this gorgeous beaded hair piece comes in! And who couldn’t use a beautiful dose of Jimmy Choo?  

Geometric shapes, like the starburst and ‘v’ shaped patterns are very popular as well.  Which is why we think these invitations by Gala Designs are so perfect, especially with this color palette. And any baker would be thrilled to create an edible piece of Art Deco because it would allow them to display their artist talent.

You can have a lot of fun with this theme and there are so many other ways to bring an Art Deco vibe to your wedding; for instance, you can get married on the Empire State Building, rent a classic Chrysler, or simply incorporate costume or fine jewelry.

Inspire Me! (Lavender & Peach)

I’m not sure how you’re celebrating peach season, but I have been eating two a day for the past two weeks.  My body completely hates me for the influx of fruit in my diet, but they’re so good I can’t stop; besides the season won’t last much longer.  I know, it’s only mid-August, but Thanksgiving will be here before you know it! So as an ode to the last days of summer (and my peach obsession), here’s something to inspire you.

Images: Cookies: sugar and flour via Etsy; Garter: Julianne Smith; Bouquet: Lavender Hills; Dress, Heels,pocketbook: Karen Wise; Save-the-Date: PaperStyle, Rings: Ann Torrence.

Peach and lavender is a cheerful combination and quite popular among summer brides.  I found myself lost going through the online portfolio of the great, Karen Wise.  She captures beautiful moments and exquisite details like no one else.  It was love at first sight with Karen Wise’s photo of the bride’s chic wedding gown.  Of course, what’s an inspiration board without sweets? These heart-shaped cookies are a small detail that will create a BIG impact.  And incorporating fun garters is another small detail that can go a long way.  As you can see from our garter post, we are huge fans of Julianne Smith’s creations. 

 

Inspire Me! (Tan, Yellow & Purple)

If you know anything about me, you won't be surprised to hear this post was inspired by food. Last week, I was motivated to make lemon ice cream sandwiches with blueberry swirl from Gourmet magazine. In case you're wondering, it's an easy recipe, but a little time consuming.  Besides, it's all worthwhile the minute you taste them.  Anyway, I feel in love with how pretty there were. Something about the white, tan, yellow (it's hard to see, but the vanilla ice cream is speckled with lemon zest) and the varying shades of purple that came out of cooking the blueberries, look beautiful together. 

This all got me thinking, who wouldn't want ice cream sandwiches at a wedding?! They would be so perfect during the warmer month celebrations. If your wedding is relaxed and playful, offer your guests samples before heading in for the ceremony.  I think it would be a BIG hit.  So, what's not to love about khaki suits, Coach jewelry, and (let's not forget) ice cream sandwiches for summer weddings? It makes me sad to think the season is almost over!

Images: Church: Plum Tree Studio; Lemon-Blueberry Ice Cream Bars: Gourmet; Ring: Coach; Floral Heart: Woodward + Rick via The Knot; Boutonniere: 4165 Flower; Bouquet: Flowers Photo Gallery; Couple: Jack Looney Photography via The Knot.

Inspire Me! Beachy Blue

Recently, one of my close friends, Brad, proposed to his lovely girlfriend, Sarah, in Nantucket. And, of course, she said yes! I have since been inspired to put together an inspiration board around a shoreline theme with lots of shades of blue. It just looks so soothing and relaxing, perfect for a summer wedding!

Images: Dress, French Connection, Place Cards, Brides, Sailboat Tealights, My Wedding Favors, Sand Sculpture, Brides, Water Bottles, Brides, Table Setting, Brides, Invitations, WeddingPaperDivas, Nantucket Tie, Vineyard Vines, Cake, Brides, Starfish Necklace, Amazon, Placecard, Brides, Nina Electra Heels, Zappos

There are so many things about this board that I just love. First, the Spring Frills Dress from French Connection is to die for! It is so chic and flattering. It is actually on sale, right now. Remember, when looking for bridesmaids dresses, you don't have to be locked into a bridal salon. Look at regular retail stores too. The prices tend to be more reasonable. The Nina ankle strap heels and the starfish necklace complete your bridal party's look without breaking the bank.

As a nod to Brad and Sarah's engagement location, I found this great Nantucket patterned tie from Vineyard Vines. I picked this light blue for the groom, but there is also a darker navy, or other colors that would work great for the groomsmen. You can mix and match if needed.

That's all! Oh ya, a big congrats to Brad and Sarah!

Inspire Me! (Green, Black & White)

Okay, so MAYBE I was inspired by the black, white & green color combo from an old Kate Spade tote... but come on, don't you think it just works? It's a beautiful bag, but what's more exciting is that it was a freebie! One of those rare mistakes made by the shipping department.  

Anyway, I think this board exudes fresh, fun, classic style.  The simple contrast of the black & white with strong pops of green is brilliant!

Images: Apple Cookie: Cookies by Candace; Glass: Replacements; Bridesmaids Dress: Jennifer Bowen Photography; Ceremony Fan: Etsy; Flowers: GRDN; Invitations: Linda and Harriet; Bride and Groom: Style Me Pretty via Orchard Cove Photography, Table Setting: The Marriott

The Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July to all of you, especially to those about to wed on this lovely day.  We're sure you'll celebrate our Independence Day to the best of your ability!

 

  

 

Images: Sparklers: Sparklers Online, 'Love' with Sparklers: Grant Oaks Photography via Sparklers Online

 

If you’re not attending a wedding today and want to get in on the action, check out our Red, Silver, & Blue color inspiration board, which features Sparklers Online.  It’s a fantastic place to purchase sparklers for any event and they are very reasonably priced, so there’s really no excuse not to have them! They bring so much light to a party (pun intended) and make a great send-off.