Wedding Party Gifts July 6, 2009

Now that the wedding is over, I can finally rave about our wedding party gifts! Not surprisingly they were from Etsy - we knew we wanted something personalized and unique so I spent many happy hours shopping through the many vendors. For my girls I was looking for a piece of jewelry that could be customized with colors, initials, or something for each bridesmaid – Cindy V. had both! I got each girl a jewel cluster necklace in a different color with a tiny initial charm…I couldn’t resist getting one for myself too.

Shopping for the guys was a little trickier at first (isn’t it always?). We had played around with the idea of cufflinks but didn’t find any we liked until I happened upon these awesome ones made out of antique typewriter keys at QA Create. Sold! We got each groomsmen and Drew a set of cufflinks with their initials which they wore on the wedding day. I thought they looked pretty cool against the classic black and white tuxes. I’ll have detail shots from the day up in the near future!

Heaven in a Dressing Room April 1, 2009

Unfortunately, neither of my maids of honor (yes I have two) live in the same state as me. So when my best friend from college and I decided to meet in Pittsburgh which is about halfway between us to shop for her dress, I figured we should make the most of it! Drew and I are level two rewards members at Nordstrom, mostly because we bought his entire work wardrobe there last year, and the program comes with some perks. Some of them, like free shipping on all online orders I’ve taken advantage of, and others like the personal shopping service I hadn’t.

Let me just say, if you ever have the chance, a personal shopping trip at Nordstrom makes the best girl’s day ever! We arrived and were immediately ushered into a huge room filled with beautiful clothes, shoes, and accessories all in our size…of course we immediately zeroed in on the Jimmy Choo’s, and spent a blissful few hours mincing around in front of the floor length mirrors in all sorts of fabulous ensembles. Every five minutes, our man Stanley would knock on the door to bring more goodies or suggest other outfits. Heaven! Even though we didn’t end up buying her dress at Nordstrom, the experience was amazing and as always the staff was incredibly helpful. Here are some of the fun things we tried on:

One of the most gorgeous shoes I have ever tried on…the subtle tie-dye effect was so cool!

 

Robin Piccone makes very flattering bikinis. I still might have to take advantage of this one!

I couldn’t find the exact dress that was our favorite, but it was something like this - simple, a-line, classic, and gorgeous.

Net-A-Porter Wedding Boutique March 18, 2009

There is no better place for couture eye candy on the web than Net-A-Porter, and now they have a wedding boutique! I especially love that they have a stylish mother of the bride section, and a guest section split up what type of affair you’ll be attending. Of course a lot of the items are pretty pricey, but it’s worth a look all the same for fashion forward inspiration.

The deconstructed web-like look of this necklace is gorgeous and would be so pretty on an edgy bride.

A classic cocktail dress with unexpected metal detailing. I love it.

This dress is all about the back, and $895, it’s still cheaper than a lot of wedding gowns out there.

Of course I had to post some shoes. Beach wedding, honeymoon, rehearsal dinner, I could find so many excuses to wear these.

 

 

Vintage Look for Less March 8, 2009

dress belt buckle earrings shoes veil/fascinator

All of this for only $286.42? I saw this gorgeous chiffon dress with beaded cap sleeves and immediately thought what a statement it would make on a vintage inspired bride. This look would require a somewhat crafty touch, but I think fashioning a belt out of ribbon and an antique belt buckle ($14) and turning bits of rescued tulle, netting, and flowers ($12) into something like this would be so worth the challenge:

Marla J Designs February 25, 2009

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately, I have about a billion and one things going on…not only are we under the three month mark until the wedding, work has been insane, we’ve had house guests every weekend for a straight month, and I’ve started training for a half marathon (more on that later). So needless to say I’ve fallen behind on more than a few areas in my life! But I have Spring Break coming up for teaching and grad school so I should have lots of new posts up soon, including the very first BridalCheek giveaway which I’m totally excited about. Yay free stuff!

In the meantime, let me start with a long overdue post about Marla J Designs, yet another fabulous Etsy resource for the vintage-inspired bride. I found Marla’s page in my quest for vintage jewelry, and she has some fabulous and affordable pieces, not to mention handmade birdbage veils and flower/feather fascinators. Here are some of my favorites:

More Wedding Shoe Shopping February 2, 2009

Yes, I am addicted to shoes. And so far I think I’ve done pretty well by only using the wedding to rationalize  buying one pair of shoes for the the day of…but there’s still the rehearsal dinner and honeymoon to think about right? Here is my current shoe-lust list:

• flat gladiator sandals (but nothing too bondagelike)
• a new pair of Chucks, since mine from high school are getting a little worn out
• a pair of high wedges 

The wedges will probably be the hardest to find since I want something that will be comfortable enough to walk to dinner on the honeymoon, won’t sink into the grass at the rehearsal dinner, and of course something with a high cuteness factor. So far I’ve found:

These Enzo Angiolini wedges come in a bunch of colors and are on sale for $42.90 at Nordstrom…too bad they’re out of my size.

I love Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. line, and you can find the shoes for a lot cheaper at Amazon including the Sandra for $100.

Chunky wood heels, two tone woven leather, what’s not to like? You can find these Colin Stuart wedges at Victoria’s Secret for $99.  

These I may just have to buy whether I wear them to the rehearsal dinner or not. I love the adorable ruffle and they’re only $29.99 at Target!

Art Deco Earrings January 19, 2009

I’ve always loved Art Deco anything, so pretty early on I planned on keeping my eye out for jewelry (vintage or reproduction) from that era. My dress has a 1940s Hollywood vibe, so I figured some semi-dramatic earrings would be perfect since the rest of my jewelry is pretty minimal. I already snagged a fabulous citrine brooch from the 1940s to pin the sash at the back of my dress, and these are a few options I’m considering for earrings:

 

So pretty, and I love the baguette shapes at the bottom. These are $120 at Jardin Jewelry.

These Gwenyth earrings from Anna Bellagio are probably my favorite right now. I love the delicate shape they have and they’re the cheapest at $68!

Oh, Isaac Manevitz I love pretty much everything you design, and these are no exception.

Of course, I could always be a little more authentic with vintage screwback earrings. These are currently up on Ebay for a highest bid of $9.99!

 

West Elm January 7, 2009

Our six month quest for the perfect dining table finally ended this weekend! It seems like there is a big void in the furniture market for moderately priced, non-ugly, modern style furniture. We do love Ikea, but for certain pieces we wanted something a little more permanent, which is why we were excited to find West Elm. Their decor is crisp, modern, with the occasional Asian/ethnic influence, which I love. They’re also having an awesome sale right now, and there are definite wedding decor possibilities!

Pretty purple and white centerpiece vases for $6.99 to $7.99!

How cool would these crystal stands look draped from trees for an outside ceremony?  Or for $9.99 a strand, you can afford to bling out your centerpieces. If the natural look is more your style, they also  have river rock strands for $4.99 apiece.

Ok, so these lanterns aren’t a total steal at $29.99, but if you have a small number of tables to decorate for a rehearsal dinner or reception they could really make a statement.

Vintage Jewelry November 28, 2008

I’ve been on the hunt for vintage or vintage inspired jewelry since my dress has a definite 1940s flair. Amanda at VintageGlam turned me on to Ben Amun, which has some absolutely gorgeous pieces (check out her gorgeous earrings on the site) but I’m never one to stop shopping!

I love the idea of finding a parure (matched set of jewelry) since I want earrings and a brooch to wear on my dress. Thanks for the Memories doesn’t have a lot of those, but they do have an absolutely incredible selection of individual pieces that may end up being too tempting for me to resist.

One of the many gorgeous Art Deco brooches.

I love this era of jewelry because it manages to be girly and geometric at the same time.

One end of this pin unscrews so you can wear it in your hat, your clothes, or your hair.

Yay shoe clips!

Deals at Net-A-Porter November 24, 2008

I’m giving you fair warning, if you love shopping and don’t want to be in serious danger of credit card debt don’t click on this link. I adore Net-A-Porter, but usually the four digit price tags are enough to discourage me from even entertaining the idea of buying anything. But just in time for the holiday season (when I should be looking for other people and not myself coincidentally) they’re having an enormous sale with designer items half off…and they have some gorgeous stuff.

Hello?!? Only the most fabulous something blue ever…you would have to wear a short wedding dress to do these beauties justice. The Louboutins are still $500 with the discount, but even just looking at them is fun.

Yes, I too have a love affair with damask. I could see wearing this to our rehearsal dinner or on the honeymoon.

Speaking of honeymoon…$70 isn’t bad for a silk and lace chemise.

Check out the sale for much, much more!