...Pantone Tells Us Turquoise!

Brides, if there is one reliable source when it comes to predicting the hottest wedding colors, you know you can definitely count on Pantone. For the year of 2010, Pantone has chosen turquoise as it's top color! Whimsical, breezy and beautiful spells out this calming shade of love...wouldn't you say?

(Photo credits ~ Top: Etsy sellers TimelessPaper, MidwestFinds and Kainkain. Middle: Etsy sellers icing101 and redbirdink. Bottom: Etsy seller BionicUnicorn, Dessy style 2800 and Pantone Turquoise.)

Pantone notes, "For brides wanting a flattering choice for attendant apparel and accessories on their big day, Turquoise is now one of the nearly 200 PANTONE WEDDING Colors available from Dessy, a leading manufacturer of bridesmaid, social occasion and flower girl dresses, as well as destination wedding gowns under the labels Dessy Collection, After Six, Alfred Sung, Lela Rose Bridesmaid and Sandals Destination Wedding Dresses." - Pantone

Want to get started planning your Pantone Wedding? Head on over to Dessy and take advantage of their planning tools by clicking HERE. For more fabulous colors and wedding inspiration boards, click HERE. Happy color coordinating!

...Rather, All Brides! Welcome This Fresh New Wedding Blog!

Brides, have you seen the newly designed blog, So This Is Bliss, by Luxe Event Productions? It's darling...

(Photo credits ~ So This Is Bliss, bottom photo via We Heart It)

See real Real Northwest Weddings, get inspired by Luxe Style & Design Boards, find Fabulous Northwest Vendors and dream up your big day by browsing through the pages of this pretty lil' blog. Happy planning!

...For The Vintage Bride With Mad Style!

Brides in love with the hit TV show Mad Men are in for a special treat! With Season 3 scheduled to debut August 16th, Brides.com has gone retro fabulous on us with 10 Ways To Mad Men Your Wedding! To get your juices flowing, I've created this inspiration board below...be sure to click HERE to see more...

(Photo credits via AMC and Brides.com)

It's all about the short gloves, pearls, birdcage veils, prim and perfect party dresses, fancy cocktails and dare I say pointy bras?! HA HA! Oh, come on now, we're just having fun. It's all about the sexy 60's vintage right now - our (sigh...) mothers would be proud! Funny, isn't it - how what goes around sometimes comes back again? Happy planning!

...Like A Fluffy White Romantic Dream!

There is something special about old traditions and romantic French style that I just can't tear myself away from! It's like a really good dream that you just don't want to wake up from. In honor of old traditions, love and dreams, I created this wedding inspiration board...

(Photo credits: via the darling French Blue & Co. shop in CA)

For more lovely vintage wedding inspiration, visit my friend over at Vintage Glam Weddings or head over to my guest blog on the Onewed.com Savvy Scoop blog this week, by clicking HERE. Happy planning!

...It's Truly Magical!

This week, the lovely Polkadot Bride featured a wedding that I just have to, have to, have to share! Imagine walking into a wedding as magical as this one...adorned with 1,001 carefully folded, whimsical paper cranes. Get starry-eyed with me...

"Paper cranes became the overwhelming theme of the reception. From the minute they got engaged, Chelsea started folding 1001 paper cranes. The pair knew they would have an extended engagement (18 months) and Chelsea wanted to fold the cranes as a symbol of her patience and endurance to Mark. Once she’d finished the cranes, she started creating the other projects- invitations, favors, programs and more!" - Miss Polka, of Polkadot Bride

(Photo credits: photography by Renee Brazel via Polkadot Bride)

If that's not patience, I don't know what is. I cannot imagine folding that many paper cranes. Not 1,000 - but 1,001. I mean, the poor bride had to have gotten paper cuts galore, wouldn't you think? Ouch! Hey - no matter, it was worth it...their wedding turned out to be probably one of most extraordinary weddings I've ever seen. Wow.

Fear not, my fine-feathered friends, it doesn't end with these photos! To see more from this wedding, visit Polkadot Bride by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

Because Pink, It Was Love At First Site!

Brides, are you inspired by music? Maybe you feel like a song was written just for you even though a million other people might feel the same way! What if you used those inspiring lyrics from your favorite songs to help plan your wedding? One that comes to mind is the song "Pink" by Aerosmith. Oh yes, you know I'm a fan!

(Photo credits ~ Top: Flickr lilacvelvet, 2nd Row: Flickr, Flickr the other tiger, Bridal Affairs Blog, Bottom: Flickr Andicat, David's Bridal dress via Brides.com, Heather Louise Photography Heather Louise Photography)

For this inspiration board dreamed up thanks to my love for Aerosmith, I vision a retro loving rock and roll bride who loves all things pink. Maybe she incorporates pink into her wedding decor, wedding flowers or bridal gown!

(Photo credits: Blooms By Martha Andrews, Alison Ulshoffer Events)

Pink white-chocolate covered cherries are served as dessert or favors. Instead of bubbles, guests are given pink kites to fly or helium balloons to dance in the wind.

(Photo credits: Flickr jek in the box, Team Thomson Photography)

The sidewalks leading up to the wedding reception are graffitied with words in hot pink chalk, sharing lyrics of their favorite couple songs. Even better, this rock and roll bride uses the sidewalk as her wedding guestbook which guests can sign with the chalk! Come on - how cool would that be? Maybe you can't take a sidewalk home with you, but you can surely have your photographer take a picture of it to later frame and remember forever!

(Photo credits ~ ceceyy Flickr, Erin's Camera Blog, im on tambourine Flickr, rahxy Flickr)

Pink.

(Photo credits: Aerosmith, beth retro {break} Flickr)

Happy planning!

(P.S. Thank you Sean for inspiring me.)

...Inspired By Indian Culture!

Vibrant colors, luscious details, the long celebration of Indian Weddings that can last up to days...I'm in awe! Every time I see pictures from one of these gorgeous celebrations, I wonder - who couldn't be inspired by the beauty of it all?

(Photo credits: Birch Design, brides via Wedding Sutra)

To see more Indian inspired wedding inspiration and get help planning, visit my guest blog post from this week on OneWed.com by clicking HERE. Cheers!

...So Fitting For The Soon-To-Be Wife!

Sure, times have changed. Much of what used to be tradition had gone out the window. Poof, gone! Just like that. However, nothing says we can't bring a little bit of it back, right? I mean, they do it all the time when it comes to fashion, so why not bring it home too?

This week over at the OneWed Savvy Scoop Blog, I guest blogged about a theme to bring out the pinup housewife in all of you...so of course I had to share! If you're planning a bridal shower, get ready to get girly...

(Photo credits ~ Top L: LB Event Couture, Bottom L: CookingLight.com, Bottom M: Head Of The Table, Right: Anne Taintor)

Consider serving cherry pie instead of cake and grab some Coca Cola inspiration from my friend Kim over at Head Of The Table. Or, customize your own bottles with Jones Soda! To personalize, use similar sayings like shown on the gift bags above or even upload vintage themed photos to your bottle labels.

Thank your guests or pamper the bride with pretty little pinup style bath products from one of my favorite stores, Margarita Bloom!

(Photo credits ~ Left: Beauty goodies from Margarita Bloom, Right: Vanity Girl of Vanity Fair)

When it comes time to decorate your shower space, mix your retro theme up with this unique turquoise and red Modern Kitchen Theme by Hostess With The Mostess!

(Photo credits: Flowers, tablescape via Hostess With The Mostess, Cherry apron via The Merry Martini)

I especially adore how serving utensils were used for the centerpieces - what a great idea! After the shower, let the bride take them home so she can work on becoming her own domestic diva self. Don't forget the apron!

Craving more retro? Click HERE or visit a few of my favorite vintage loving peeps at Glamourville, The Glam Guide, Vintage Glam Weddings, Rock 'n Roll Bride, GaGaVida and Pin Me Up Photography. Happy planning, beauty girls!

More From My Sister's Bridal Shower...

Looking for ideas to quench any bridal thirst? For the bridal shower we recently hosted for my sister, we decided to have a little fun with the cocktails and beverages by dressing them up a bit!

Take a look...

(Majority of photos thanks to Denise Johnson of Bellis Studios)

Previously, I showed you the fabulous customized Jones Soda bottles we served. Well, as if they weren't adorable enough, we also decorated straws with white paper confetti flowers for guests to drink with! I cannot take all of the credit for that idea, however - as the crafty ladies over at Prim & Pixie originally inspired me to create with images of their butterfly straws. It seemed like an easy enough DIY project, so you know I had to do it!

Beverages also included a pink grapefruit champagne punch and a bowl of mimosas. Flutes were rimmed with pink sugar and filled with cotton candy, which dissolved as guests poured their punch ~ for a little added sweetness! We also created pink and orange beaded wine charms for each flute glass, with a heart-shaped charm in the middle that said, "LOVE".

Keep checking back, as I'll be posting more pictures and details from the bridal shower! If you've missed the previous posts, you can find them HERE and HERE. Cheers!

...In Passion!

I've always been drawn to the color red. Mixed with black and white. Those were actually the colors of our wedding, almost 6 years ago! That was before I was introduced to the world of wedding blogging.

Now, the ideas for that color scheme continue to push through the crevices of my happy, wedding-obsessed mind and onto this blog, for you...

(Photo credits: Top ~ Cake photographed by Erin Hession, Birdcage veil by Castle Bride Couture. Middle ~ Flowers by Elements In Bloom, Chase Court in Baltimore, Maryland via Intimate Weddings. Bottom ~ Dress by Melissa Sweet, WildHibiscus.com, Sterling silver "Keep Me" bracelet from Bestow Boutique.)

I recently created this board for a bride who was searching for old-world, vintage Hollywood wedding ideas. While I personally think each photo above deserves applause for it's lusciousness, I especially love the bracelet. It reads, "Keep Me".

To the bride planning her wedding, keep the fond memories of your past. Keep some of the traditions passed on through your families. Keep the wonder of childhood and remember it's innocence. Keep the hopes and dreams of your future, the love you have for each other strong...and keep your vows! No matter the years that go by...always, always keep the passion.

...This Bride's Wedding Style Is Jammin'!

Recently, Courtney contacted me looking for some Caribbean themed wedding inspiration, so I've decided to share my findings. Brides, if you're planning a similar wedding, grab yourself a margarita, sit back and enjoy some island inspiration! In this first board, I put together some of the photos she emailed me...

(Images emailed to me by Courtney . If one of these images is yours, please let me know and I will gladly credit you.)

On her blog, she writes:

"An afternoon/evening sipping tropical cocktails and nibbling tasty Caribbean delights! The mood is enthusiastic among the varieties of orange and red flowers both in the garden and under the tent...the sun sets and the flowers glow even more radiantly than before. There is a tranquil blue that contrasts with the abundance of the fiery orange decor...calming our senses...the perfect combination." ~ Wow. Sounds amazing, Courtney!

Check out part of her awesome save-the-dates, which she created herself! So cool. Her colors are a very vibrant red-orange and navy blue...love it! I love her entire theme...which is why I couldn't help but create a few boards...

Below, I've featured some unique ideas for festive decor, drinks and more. Consider serving Red Stripe (Jamaican beer), pineapple martinis and creative drinks to add a little bit of Caribbean flair! Why not take it a step further and apply the Red Stripe labels over glass votives? Just take the labels off the bottles by placing them in hot soapy water. Once it's soaked for a bit, gently peel back the label. You can then Modge Podge it to your glass candle holder!

Hang placecards from flowers elegantly hung with string! Or, use small wooden ladders decorated with big, bright paper flowers for a Caribbean market feel. Hang brightly colored party lights all around to set the mood, along with candlelight. Adorn your cake with tropical flowers and use baby pineapples for the place settings...

(Photo credits: First row ~ Lazy Bride Blog, The Knot, Flickr. Second row ~ Hostess Blog, photo sent via Courtney, The Knot, Lazy Bride Blog. Third row ~ Flickr, The Knot, photo via Courtney, Etsy seller NightOwlCraftWorks, The Knot. Last row ~ Save On Crafts, Weddings The Island Way, Lazy Bride Blog, Etsy seller SpiceBerryCottage.)

Courtney was hoping to somehow turn her pink pineapples into centerpieces. Ideas? Carve the centers out of your pineapples and place a tealight inside. You could also cut the tops off and scoop out the center to make room for a pillar candle. Or, simply line them down the middle of the table with votives and rocks all around the bases. Another bride offered her pineapple palm tree idea on Twitter...what a sweetie!

(Photo credits: Mishka Designs, The Knot, Birch Design Studio in Chicago)

For her bridesmaids' bouquets, she has chosen pincushion proteas, ginger, red-orange dahlias and red-orange ranunculas. Bride on a budget? Choose more affordable flowers for the tables. Find out which ones are local and in season, to help you save big by clicking HERE.

(Photo credits: First row ~ Photo via Courtney, The Knot, photo via Courtney, Hostess Blog. Second row ~ Save On Crafts, Urban Outfitters, The Knot, Urban Outfitters, Emilie Duncan. Third row ~ The Knot. Last row ~ Hostess Blog, Save On Crafts, The Knot, Save On Crafts.)

One last thing I can't help but share...pineapple shaped cookies! I'm all about the cookies! Did I mention I love cookies? Ok, sorry...I know, going a little cookie crazy here but how sweet would these be as favors for guests? I especially love that palm basket weave box. Too adorable...

(Cookies from www.honolulucookie.com)

Hope that helps, Courtney! Happy planning my dear...I'm off to go dream about pineapple cookies and becoming a local on some fabulous island...husband in hand, of course. Cheers!