Photo love: Inspiration - colors, shadows, poses

I've only lately started to realize how much I want and enjoy quality photography. Admittedly, I don't know much about our photographer. He is more photojournalistic but I also want some posed pictures too. I won't naturally make a heart with his fingers, but it would be a cute picture!

I started collecting examples of the kinds of photos I like and divided them into outdoor/color, shadows, framing, and fun. Apologies in advance- I don't know the source of all these photos, but if you know, I will give the photographer the appropriate credit!

I loved the pops of green in these photos.
Another reason why outdoor weddings are amazing- no decor needed.Pictures from Once Wed - photographer unknown

I also love when shadows are used to create lovely depth and dimension for an otherwise simple pose. Or in the second picture - when it's just used for something fun!

Unknown source

Framing - by trees, bridges, buildings, an archway also make for some pretty great photos.LKL Photography,  Unknown

Finally, it's nice to have fun poses or the stylish magazine poses!LKL Photography, Max Wanger

Of course, per TTSB's post, I had also written down some of my "must take" poses. So what pictures have you seen that you must take?

My Island Wedding contest - cast your votes

If you love inspiration boards that are pink, glam, and tons of fun - vote for Pink Argyle! That and she is quite fabulous.

Please cast your vote here!

'70's Hit for the playlist

"Who's Lovin' You"

Designer Thursday - Lela Rose - part 2 of 2 - all about shoes!

I love the high-low designer collaborations that have become popular over the past few years.

H&M and Stella McCartney
Target & Behnaz Sarafpour (one of my jackets from this collection constantly gets compliments!)

Now Lela Rose and Payless!

How cool is it that she now has a line of bridal shoes - all under $50!

Maria - peep-toes with crystal flower details

Claudia - open-toe with pearl beads

Sophia - simple flats - plain in comparison but easily dressed up


They are the more common satin, but I do swoon over some of those crystal and pearl embellishments.
Most styles are dyeable. How cool to have one of these styles in a blue for your something blue?

Designer Thursday - Lela Rose - part 1 of 2

Delicate.

Fun.

Sweet.

Those words come to my mind when I think of Lela Rose's designs.My dad wasn't a partner of the Texas Rangers and I didn't get her dress hookup at my wedding. Well my dad wasn't president of the United States either with the connects for anything I wanted. So thank goodness Lela Rose launched her bridal and bridesmaid dresses for the rest of us. I like the sweet simplicity of her dresses.

Some of my favorites:
Cute details like the cap sleeves and vertical panels (I'm all for illusions of more height)
Can you tell how much I love texture and dimension? This is lace cut out of taffeta too!Her increasingly popular bridesmaid line would have been a frontrunner if I had the budget for it! Look at the rosettes on the necklines...dreamy...She's also designed a shoewear line which I'll be highlighting next!

Non-paper Invitation inspiration - plexiglass, scrolls (ok that's paper), and tins

So I remember meeting a graphic designer at Pronovias (wish I remembered her name) who was presenting some cool invitations on plexiglass and velvet. Seriously? The invitation could double as a coaster!

I think my invitations are cute. Not super fancy, but interesting with lots of little details (I will post soon I promise!). They were also extremely budget friendly.

I hope people will keep them because my blood, sweat, and tears went into them. Yes, the old guilt trick. I know it will be tossed anyway, especially by the single male friends. But what would make an invitation a REAL keep sake?

1. Plexiglass invitation - durable, smooth, it could even be a paperweight!

2. Fan or scroll invitation - perfect for a warm, summer night or anything else you might decree, heehee

3. Tin cover invites - both an invitation envelope and a CD/DVD case - brilliant!

4. Finally, fabric backed invites - I totally would have used alencon lace trim if I had thought of it earlier...well and if it wasn't $35/yard.  An all fabric invite would also be wonderfully eco-friendly!  Think of your guests using them around the home!

Invites 1 - 3 are from Grapevine and 4 is from Two Brunettes.

DIY - Ribbon wands for the exit - DIY the practical way

Bubbles.

Rice.

Confetti.

Yarn balls.

Sparklers.

What do you want to commemorate your exit from your ceremony?I am doing bubbles and ribbon wands because I already have materials for both projects. I also don't want rice stuck in my hair throughout the reception. Not chic.

Once Wed featured easy DIY ribbon wands. Jess at Project 10k wedding also featured them recently. Love her multiple ribbons.

But I am not handy and don't know what a dowel is. I also don't want to buy random screws.

Mr. Chic 'n Cheap went to Beijing last year and had a great time with the ribbons used for Chinese dances. He gleefully demonstrated with our prototypes.

So here is my super easy DIY for ribbon wands:

1. Gather materials:

• fabric or ribbon at least 30" long/at least 1" wide (I think 2" looks better)
• double-sided tape (yes my Hollywood tape is my double-sided tape, too many boxes)
• chopsticks
• fabric scissors if you are cutting from fabric

2. Put some double-sided tape about 1" from the tip of the chopstick.

3. Gather your ribbon and fold if more than 1"and tie around the tape. Leave at least 6" if you want to tie a bow.

4. Tie the bow and voila - ribbon wands!
If you make it longer, it definitely makes for a more dramatic effect. - these were a bit less than two feet long  I had about a dozen random old lacquer chopsticks with gold detailing. I was totally thinking of using take out chopsticks though.

It ended up looking like this...

The best part is that you can take the ribbon off and use the chopsticks again!

Love detachable things!

My final invite...Mr. and Mrs. Commander-in-Chief

Ok, I've FINALLY put together all the invitations (more than 60% already mailed and waiting for one mailing address).

The final invitee: President and First Lady Obama of course
I had heard that you will receive a signed response in six weeks. That's one for the scrapbook.

Mail your invitation to the Obamas here:

The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama
The White House
Greetings Office Room 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500


Prefer to fax it over? Use: 202-395-1232

Designer Thursday - BCBG MAXAZRIA

Chic.

Edgy.

Fun.

If money were no object, I would get all the bm dresses from this label. "Bon Chic Bon Genre" or "good style, good attitude" is the loving creation of Max Azria, a French transplant to the US.
I love the interesting embellishments on BCBG clothing - lace, three dimensional flowers, and multidimensional pleating.

Here are a few favorites I would consider for myself or the bms:
Floral chiffon pleated dressSilk belted tank dressPleated sateen floral one-shoulder gown

Sigh...

Priscilla of Boston Sample sale nationwide - Friday, June 19

Wow.

Behold the Melissa Sweet Olan. Love the three dimensional flowers on silk and lace.
Head over to a local Priscilla of Boston store this Friday nationwide for a deal on beauties such as the one above.

Wedding theme - vintage, cultural, or Star Wars?

So in my typical multi-tasking nature, I've started a few projects, but haven't finished anything yet. I want to work out all the kinks so I can post something useful for you. :)

My projects include my own alencon lace trimmed veil and feather fascinators - all a nod to my pseudo vintage theme (with lovely color too of course).

I've also seen (and may incorporate) cultural themes. Have you seen Lisa Ling's Vivienne Tam wedding dress?Cool, no?

She also had the increasingly popular paper lanterns...and other Asian decor such as a sushi boat and sake cask from a friend...
But what if you wanted your wedding to pay homage to your favorite movie?

Well Star Wars fans, how about dressing in the traditional Star Wars era attire?Dressing the little ones in similar sinister garb?Don't forget the cake!Now that is a wedding theme!

What are your wedding themes? Do we even need themes?

Bridesmaid's dresses - same, same, but different

"I love it."

"I look great."

"I'm totally going to wear it again."

These are the comments I imagined my bms would say after I gave them their dresses. Like every reasonable bride, I want my girls to like their dresses. So I asked them what they wanted to wear.

"Oh, I'll wear anything!"

Then I asked again and said I was going to have a seamstress make it so they had free rein.

"I don't like my legs and need a full length dress."
"I would look a lot better in a tea-length dress."
"Sleeveless sheaths make my arms look not as toned."

Sigh.

So I let them pick their top 3 dresses from various sources. I headed over with a MOH today to visit the seamstress. I bought some beautiful dark red silk/cotton fabric from India and we collaborated to see which of each girl's top 3 styles would work with the cloth.

The verdict:
MOH 1

MOH 2BM 1

BM2
I really liked picking the fabric and letting the girls choose exactly what they wanted. If I had more time, I would have looked for fabrics with great patterns or tried to copy a BCBG design. Oh well, I hope everyone likes their dresses!

Designer Thursday - Tacori

Vintage.

Refined.

Beautiful.

I've always loved the intricate detail on Tacori's jewelry. Alas, they are not cheap, but I did discover that they can be discounted through e-tailers like Overstock. So I may get that Tacori anniversary band some day.

Here are some favorites from their current collection:
Pearl and sterling silver hair clips

Oval with cadillac diamonds and Crescent Silhouette (love the side views on their rings)
My friend's ring (awesome right, pave on all sides)
I'll get you some day my pretties!

Brooklyn Bride Blast - Saturday, June 13

Do you like any of the following?

• Dancing it up?
• Giveaways from Ban. Do, Nelle handbags, and NY's top photographers?
• Giving to charity?

Well then, get to the Brooklyn Bride Blast this Saturday, June 13. Your $5 ticket will benefit the I DO foundation (part of your registries proceeds can be donated to charity, nice!).

RSVP by today to brooklynchapelrsvp@gmail.com
Hope to see you there!

Ticking at less than 60 days

Wow.

I have officially hit the 59 day mark.Time really does fly!

I still have these to do:

• Programs
• Fascinators (in progress at least)
• Veil
• BM dresses (meeting with seamstress this week)
• Pictures for a welcome scroll
• Video corner sign
• Out of town tags
• Recipe card
• Candy tags
• Tea tags

Breathe.

Carolina Herrera & Rena Lange Sample Sale

Carolina Herrara clothing - elegant, refined, beautiful!

Sale this week as posted on Topbutton.

Carolina Herrera and Rena Lange collections are all well known for their sophisticated style and glamorous design. At this private sale, find women's clothing and bridal at up to 85% off retail. All sales are final. No exchanges or returns. Absolutely no strollers or children under 12. Call for more information.

The spring 2010 is inspired by famous paintings.

Two of my favorites:
6/14 - 6/18 - Sun-Wed 9am-6:30pm, Thu 9am-5pm

317 West 33rd - Soiffer Haskin
(btwn 8th & 9th Aves)
New York, NY 10001
(718) 747-1656

Designer Thursday - Christian Louboutin

Louboutins have swept women off their feet in an oh so glam way.

Like how many girls swoon when they see Tiffany's famous blue box, many fashionistas likewise gasp when they glimpse that famous red sole.

The Christian Louboutin shoe du jour (especially for weddings) is none other than the petal shoe. Unfortunately, this style is sold out.

Interestingly enough, the Alternative Bride posted about a DIY version of said shoe. How cool would that be?! I love my shoes already and have too many projects so alas.

But I would say the lace and ribbon should be close behind and it is oh so wearable. It is for sale by the owner at TPF (marketplace, access by application only). Very tempting...

This season, my favorite style is the Carnaval Nodo Satin d'Orsay pumps. Ohh lala. Though, at $795, this will remain a dream shoe. Dreamy indeed...

Doh! Be careful in planning postage

So Mr. Chic 'n Cheap and I compiled the first batch of 23 invites to be mailed. But I just realized that my ribbon might be considered a rigid object (thus, extra postage). I was going to pull these ribbons out of the invites (there only because I had some cute grosgrain ribbon) but he already dropped them into the mailbox.

I wish there was some way I could get the invites.

Alas, crossing my fingers and hoping they get delivered. Otherwise, they will unfortunately bear an ugly return mark and a new set of stamps (I don't have enough extra envelopes). Oh well.

Remember to check the USPS postage calculator here when estimating postage (if it's a few ounces bring it in to be weighed).

DVF Sample Sale in NYC

The iconic wrap dress can be had for $150 at this week's DVF sample sale in NYC. I went today and it was pretty darn crowded. I was looking for a fun dress like this:

The pleated dress would have been awesome too though for a formal event.Here were the prices at the sale:
DVF wrap dresses and vintage: $150
Dresses: $125
Jackets: $125
Blouses: $80
Skirts: $80
Pants: $80
Samples: $50

Through Saturday, June 6
260 Fifth ave b/w 28th and 29th st