Indian Influenced Weddings

One of the best parts of designing websites for wedding professionals is all the gorgoeus images I get to see. Lately I have found myself immersed in the culture of South Asain Weddings.

One of my photographers has one on her front page, a planner friend just completed a huge one this fall, a floral designer friend and client has one coming up in the spring. Plus I just finished a site for the grand master of the style, Anais Events.

While a full on Asian wedding may not be in the cards for everyone, they are certainly a place to find some fabulous touches to inspire your own wedding.

Please enjoy these bright,bold bursts of color in the cold, gray month of January. All images courtesy of the lovely and talented Amrit Dhillion-Bains,  Anais Event Design.

Fun Feathers for Your Wedding

You know I love ‘different’. Why do the same old thing when there are so many wonderful ways to make your wedding as unique as you are?  Feathers are one fun way to do that.

You can put them in your bouquet.

Wedding Bouquets with Feathers{source}

Brown Blue & Bronze Bouquet{source}

I loved these because the are full of color but it is softer and more subdued than the colors we have been seeing over the last few years.

Not into subtle? How about red with a pop?Blue feathers with red roses wedding bouquet{source}

From your head…

Feather fascinator with red flowers and feathers{source}

…down to your toes!

abby miller shoes in red with feathers and flowers{source}

By all means, we can not forget the boys, don’t they deserve a little fun too?Masculine Boutonieer with Feathers and Eucalyptus{source}

peacock-bout{source}

the-agency-blogdoc

Pearls for Your Wedding

Pearls have long been a traditional accessory for a wedding look. That’s easy to understand; with their soft lustrous finish they add a certain understated glow.


Pearls today are not your Grandmom’s single little conservative strand. Why not go large, funky or outrageous?Pearl jewelry for your Wedding

clockwise from top left.

1. Haute Bride

2. Snippet & Ink

3. Nothing But Pearls

4. Haute Bride

5.& 6. Wedding Bee


Another Clever Guestbook Idea

I am always on the hunt for something besides the boring plain guest book that gets packed away in a closet never to be seen again. This may be the coolest one yet!

Calligraphy Wedding Certificate/Guest Book

I have long been a fan of really fine calligraphy and especially illuminations.

This marriage certificate is truly a work of art. All of the certificates are hand made and custom designed to your individual specifications. Size depends on the amount of copy and the number of guests. You can choose between multiple paper types, choose from their borders or have them create one specifically for you.

Illumination by Toucan CalligraphyI have long been a fan of really fine calligraphy and especially illuminations. In the true style of illumination you can have 24kt gold accents added.

Having discovered these I just can’t imagine not having one done if I ever take the plunge again. Check them out at Toucan Calligraphy.

Word of warning. This isn’t a last minute thing; allow a minimum of two months.

DIY Madness

Every now and then I run across a DIY project that makes me nuts. This is one of them. It is a ring bearer’s pillow made of stephanotis. Yes it is beautiful. Yes it will smell fabulous. Yes you CAN do it yourself. Should you? Well let’s take a little look at what they don’t tell you.

First off the let’s look at the flowers themselves. Stephanotis is beautiful alright but they are one of the most fragile flowers out there. They must be handled much differently from other flowers. As cited in the article there are special cotton tipped stems that must be used to keep them fresh. First you remove the natural stems and insert the moistened cotton tipped wires which you then wrap in floral tape. That is not as easy for a novice as it sounds since steph’s will discolor from the slightest touch. A florist knows to only touch them on the back side of the bloom. It’s also very time consuming.

The article calls for 150 to 175 blooms. I checked yesterday and the current wholesale price is $1 per bloom. Unless you have an inside connection to the floral wholesalers they aren’t going to sell to you. That means you will be paying retail, more like $2 per bloom. I’m betting that you aren’t going to find these bad boys at Costco either; so be prepared for a bit of sticker shock.

The second glaring inconsistence in the article is the use of floral foam. Makes sense on the surface but falls apart in reality. Literally. A 6” x 6” x 1” block of floral foam, once soaked will snap in half from its own weight. So now your little 5 year old nephew is carrying a very fragile, heavy, drippy thing that turns brown where ever he touches it. Good times.

Not only have you got a mess on your hands but it’s a mess you didn’t need in the first place. Remember all the work you did to remove the stems and replace them with the cotton tipped wires? Think about this for a minute; if the blooms have no stems how are they possibly going to soak up water from the foam? Besides, wasn’t the whole point of replacing the stems to give each bloom its own water source?

There are a lot of wonderful DIY projects out there; this my friends, isn’t one of them. Save your money and your sanity and find one that you can do in advance. In fact, this one might just be do-able out of silks. Now I’ll bet that is something you never thought you’d hear your Wedding Diva say. I did kind of shudder as I typed it.

The article is in the Aug Sept 2008 issue of Modern Bride, page 178. Sorry guys, but you know I call them as I see them.

Treats for Your House Party

Come on. You all know how much I like swag. Nothing beats a fun creative swag bag as a way to remember an event, double score when the bag is a cool as the swag in it.

At last weeks conference in Celebration, Fl, Rebecca pulled in a favor from a friend from the neighborhood to put together the fabulous swag bags for the guests. WOW. Cindy Folak has created Tulla Belles as a one stop destination for posh presents and trendy swag.

Tulla Belles has some of the most beautiful bags from the b.happybags line. On top of that they will source your swag and fill your bags for you. One less thing you have to think about amid your busy pre-wedding schedule.

The bags we received were the Victoria Bag shown above with the addition of cute little monogrammed luggage tags. Lovely.

As you start to think about how to tell the girls in your house party how truly wonderful they are, pay a visit to Tulla Belles for some equally wonderful swag bags to put it all in. While you are there, check out the too cool hostess aprons Cindy has. Ooooo, I covet them.

$1000 Tigerlilly Jewelry Giveaway


WooHoo! My favorite jewelry designer, Mandy Greenan is giving away $1000 of her fabulous bridal jewelry to one lucky bride.

Tigerlilly is looking for its Bride of the Season for summer. Not only will the winner receive a gift certificate for Mandy’s beautiful bridal and bridesmaid jewelry and hair accessories; she will be featured on the Tigerlilly website complete with pictures and details about her wedding. How great is that.

To enter, brides should visit www.tigerlillyjewelry.com/seasons.html and tell Tigerlilly a little bit about themselves, what designs they would choose if they won, and why they are Tigerlilly’s Bride of the Season. The winner will be announced on Monday, June 2.

If you are not familiar with Tigerlilly, they are a couture jewelry design house that has been featured every where from the Knot to Modern Bride to Lifetime TV to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Mandy’s unique designs set her apart in the bridal industry. These are most definitely NOT your mama’s tiaras.

Since I am obviously not eligible, I certainly hope one of you win it. I just know you will love her designs as much as I do.

Read more here and here.

Tigerlilly Speaks!

Friend of the Dish, Mandy Greenan, has started a blog. You may recall, Mandy is the designer behind Tigerlilly. She is renowned for her bridal jewelry and accessories. Her real masterpieces are the convertible tiaras she creates; tiara one day and choker the next.

Tigerlilly has graced the runways at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week as well as the pages of Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and the Knot Magazine just to name a few. They have even dressed me on a more than a few occasions.

Mandy’s blog is brand new and is already full of interesting ideas for wedding hair. She also has some insider tips on how to keep these beautiful hair toys in place as you dance the night away.

Pop on over and tell Mandy I said “Hi.”

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