Wedding: Haley + Austin

Aside from being utterly beautiful, the reason I loved working with Haley to create such a picture perfect wedding is simple… there were no rules or restrictions. Haley supplied me with photos, an overall vision of her wedding and two simple key phrases: Shabby-chic and Natural {two words I just love!}. And then we just ran with it.

{Shabby-Chic: The tables were dressed with an ivory gauze material, gathered in the center and decked out with mismatched votives. Natural: In mint julep cups and tarnished metal pitchers, decorative kale, garden roses, succulents, kangaroo paw, brunia, purple majesty and foliage became the hub and source of many ooooos and ahhhhhs.}

It was simply gorgeous, the kind of wedding that makes you cringe with envy and cheer with glee at the exact same time. Which doesn’t come as any surprise considering the photographer behind the lens was Nathan Russell who has a knack for taking some of the greatest shots ever {For real... Just check out his blog for yourself!}. This just might be my favorite wedding yet. Congrats you two!

Photographer: Nathan Russell Photography
Venue: The San Gabriel House Bed and Breakfast
Cake: Paige's Bakehouse
Event Styling and Florals: Sweet Sunday Events

18 days and a password later

18 days since my last post and I forgot my password. Ridiculous, I know. But let’s not dwell on the past, let’s catch up…

-Haley and Austin got married! More on that manana...
-Baked the most amazing rainbow cupcakes.
-Live, in concert: Dwight Yoakum, check. Lyle Lovett, check. Willie and Dolly still remain.
-Raised a little cain, Fredericksburg style, with my favorite girls from college.
-Networked and made some really great {new} friends in the wedding world.
-Made some major moves toward our next business venture.
-And most importantly, since the last time we spoke, there’s been breaking news… of a royal engagement. I’m so excited I could squeal like a little school girl… wait, I already have!

You see, in my world, there are two types of famous people:
1. My BFF Crushes: Those I know I could be BFF {and Ever} with. Consisting of, but not limited to the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mandy Moore and Ross Mathews.
2. My Style Infatuations: Those I can’t help but to want to steal everything {and I mean EVERYTHING} out of their closets. Consisting of and pretty much restricted to Rachel Bilson, Reece Witherspoon and, of course, the soon to be Princess, herself, Kate Middleton…

busy bee

Over the past two days I’ve been here, there and everywhere, or so it seems. Booking holiday parties {can you believe it?! It’s that time again}, working to create wonderful wedding designs with super exciting {and creatively open minded} new brides and prepping for this weekend’s absolutely gorgeous shabby-chic wedding. So clearly, I don’t have much time for anything else… so as usual {and to no big surprise, I’m sure}, my blog is the first to suffer. But maybe these stop motion save the dates will keep you busy for the remainder of the week, until I return on Monday :)  

a slice of invite from Jodi Miller on Vimeo.

a+a's save the date from Courtney Brooke on Vimeo.

Save the date! 31 july 2010 from Kishi-Grover on Vimeo.

favorite {wedding} friday

Let me break it down. The furniture selection, quirky. The landscape/scenery, natural and free. The vibe, rustic-urban-casual-chic. At first glance I was H-double O-K-E-D. The awesome selection and combination of flowers and, my goodness, the massive amount of mismatched chairs and the details, details, DETAILS!… everything, simply perfect. 

See more here. Here. And here.

a touch of country

Shootin’ the breeze {usual topic of choice: hunting or fishing}, the sound of hog- dogs barking in the background, BBQ and a cold one, hand canned pickles and an endless supply of sweet tea are just a few of the reasons why I love visiting my Dad’s huge family.  Humbled and proud, simple and chic with a touch of country… there’s no better combination.

a-list gowns go mainstream

Mondo was robbed! I could have sworn someone punched me in the gut and knocked the wind out of me when I heard that Gretchen {really, Gretchen!?!} was given the title of Project Runway Season 8 Winner. Soooo very, very disappointing. But you know what’s not disappointing? Vera, Vera Wang.

Hey, listen up, you high-style bride on a tight budget: you will be thrilled to learn that starting in early Spring 2011 Vera Wang will release a collection of bridal gowns exclusively for David’s Bridal. And wait for it… all of which will be priced under $1500 {commence squealing now} the line will also include accessories and bridesmaid dresses {the non-tacky kind} and shoes. Rumor has it, she won't be skimping on her fabulous fabric selection or those important little details that make Vera so sought after. Not too shabby, I’d have to say!

new month, new calendar

So long Halloween (you were good), hello Thanksgiving (my favorite time of year)! It may be silly, but at the beginning of each month I get a little too giddy while searching for the perfect free desktop calendar to grace my computer screen. And this month is no different. How freakin’ adorable and girly is this calendar?! Download it here, you know you want to…