Gown Friday!

yay, it's friday!! i love these simple yet stunning cakes from Real Simple Weddings. it's important to match such modern confections with a complementary dress--you don't want your cake to look like an afterthought :) enjoy your weekend and see you on monday!






{gowns from Brides.com & Martha Stewart Weddings}

Biker Chic

these leather lovelies are from Sakura Urban by tmStudio Designs. biker chic and ideal for a rocker chick bridesmaid or bride, don't you think?

Blusher

lately it seems a lot of brides are looking for a more traditional approach to their wedding veils, but they still want a modern style to not feel so stuffy or outdated. Weddings Fresh is all about that, and so is Twigs and Honey. ooh, i love these blushers. the one below can be tied to stretch down over your face to create a beautiful, ethereal look. gorgeous!

Hollywood Glamour

i'm back! the weekend turned into a week, and it was a nice, needed break from the wedding world :) but lets get back to business!!

looking for a little vintage glam for your wedding? Yulia Kunze's 1920's inspired accessories gives you a little piece of history with each design, using vintage jewelery and salvaged antique embellishments to create gorgeous, one of a kind pieces. the one below is a fabulous art nouveau design--love it!!!

Sustainable Beauty

handmade using sustainable products and practices, The Garbologist's Wife designs fun, flirty pieces perfect for your bridal party or any appearance you will be making as the bride-to-be :) who knew sustainable knit fabric, like bamboo or modal could be so beautiful?

sweet romance

well, my hubbie and i are off for the weekend to relax a bit without the kiddos. so excited! happy valentines day! i saw these from Vicente Villarin on {this is glamorous} the other day--perfect, sweet dresses for a romantic night with the one you love...

a tropical celebration

feelin' a little tropical today, ladies.
{source}

THIS MONTH'S VIVA LA WEDDING Q&A

Q - We have a four year old son and can't imagine not having him at our wedding. There are also a lot of young children in our family and we would love for them to be present on our wedding day as well. Can you give us a few tips on having a child friendly wedding that will help make it more enjoyable for the kids (and their parents too)?

A - Take a child out of his or her normal surroundings, dress them in uncomfortable formal clothes, break their routine, place them in an adult setting - it won’t be long before they are tired and bored. They also have a short attention span and may need a little help if you want them to make it through the day. How can you keep them entertained and having fun? Here are a few tips so that not only will they enjoy themselves at your wedding, but their parents will be able to enjoy themselves too.

Offer a kids meal - While you may be excited for your guests to try the oven roasted AAA rib eye served with exotic mustards and creamed horseradish that melted in your mouth at your food tasting let's face it, the kids at your wedding probably aren't going to be all that excited to eat it. Offer them something that will please their palates like pizza, chicken fingers or mini hot dogs and make sure to ask your venue/caterer if they can be served first. Especially at an evening reception seeing as it will probably be well past their normally scheduled eating time when you sit down for dinner.

Arrange for childcare - Having someone on hand to watch over the kids, making sure they're not getting into the wedding cake before it's officially cut or dipping their little fingers into the candy bar and overdosing on sugar before the night has even begun, can be a real life saver. If your wedding is taking place at a hotel/resort they may already offer this service on-site.

Hire a professional magician, balloon artist or children's entertainer. Not only will this keep them entertained but it adds a fun aspect to the day that's especially for them, and can sometimes be fun for the adults too.

Create special areas with activities for the kids - Set up a children's table using butcher block paper as the tablecloth with crayons for colouring. A children's wedding activity book is a great way to keep them busy and they can take it home afterwards as a memento of your day. The book can include colouring pages, crosswords, and word searches depending on their age.

Goodie bags for each child are a nice touch. Fill the bags with bead sets, bubbles, colouring kits, pipe cleaners, disposible cameras, juice boxes and a few little snacks.

If your venue allows for it, set up a dvd in a separate room along with puzzles, board games and crafts to keep them entertained.

Great find!! - These stuffed paper dolls from Anthropologie are super cute! Included are five water-based markers kids can use to create their own unique dolls. The cool thing about them is that when they get home and days later decide the doll needs a new look, simply throw it in the wash and start all over again.

Gown Friday: Couture Spring 2010

{the cinderella project, armani prive}

good morning! it would seem nothing can contain these show-stoppers (minus the red carpet) but i thought we could attempt it for this friday--armani prive and elie saab were my personal favorites. though very different from each other, modern curves vs. a slice of fantasy, they are both absolutely stunning!!

{this is glamorous, elie saab}

{kate french, elie saab}

{merci new york, armani prive}

{style me pretty, armani prive}

{style me pretty, chanel}

{anna kern interior, givenchy}

{100 layer cake, armani prive}

VIVA'S BOOK CLUB - FÊTE THE WEDDING EXPERIENCE

FÊTE is a dynamic New York City event planning and design production firm led by Jung Lee and her husband Josh Brooks. Their website is filled to the brim with inspiration and eye candy of the most opulent and over-the-top events (you could really get lost oohing and ahhing for hours).

Jung Lee and her team design weddings that seem bigger than life, but are thoughtfully produced down to the smallest detail.

In her book FÊTE THE WEDDING EXPERIENCE, Jung Lee uses 9 very different weddings as examples of how you too can plan a truly unforgettable wedding. Follow her advice and your wedding will have the energy, soul, and authenticity that makes a wedding truly fantastic.

A KINDERGARTEN WEDDING

As told and photographed by 6 of Four

Every year the Kindergarten class at Berry College’s Elementary School (in Mount Berry Georgia) puts on a Kindergarten Wedding. They study a letter a week. For M they study marriage and have a wedding. It’s the highlight of the year and it’s exciting to have your name drawn as the bride and groom.

They learn about loving one another and take vows to be friends forever. It’s simply adorable. It includes a first dance, cake, and bouquet/garter toss. It’s just like a real wedding... only miniature. Each child brings in a picture of their parents at their wedding. They learn about commitment and the love their parents share. Each child has a role. Whether it’s a reading, a song, bridesmaid, minister, or ring bearer. Everyone is involved.

This wedding feels like it’s in fast forward speed. From getting ready to the end of the reception, it all happens in about two and a half hours so we were running around as fast as we could to capture the day.

For more pictures of this adorable kindergarten wedding check out 6 of Four's blog

Need a Honeymoon?

anyone out there looking for a free honeymoon? yeah, i thought so :) check out this fabulous giveaway hosted by PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. oh how i am longing for warm weather and beautiful sun! rain, rain, go away...

Enter our Luxury Included® Honeymoon Giveaway with Sandals Resorts – and you could win a romantic 6-Day/ 5-Night Caribbean honeymoon!

With a Sandals Resorts vacation, everything you could want for your perfect honeymoon is included. Luxuries like exquisite accommodations, unlimited gourmet dining, anytime snacks, unlimited premium brand beverages, state of the art fitness centers, round-trip airport transfers to and from your resort, gratuities, daily and nightly entertainment, and an endless variety of land and water sports including snorkeling and scuba diving (for certified divers).

Sandals Resorts are in gorgeous tropical settings and on some of the world’s most exquisite white-sand beaches. With locations in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia and the Bahamas– the hardest part about winning might be deciding where you want to go.

Enter with our online entry form. There is a limit of one entry, per person, per day. Contest is open to legal residents of the US and Canada (excluding Quebec) only. See our terms and conditions for full contest rules and regulations. The contest closes on February 28th and the winner will be selected on March 2nd.

Good luck!

WILL YOU MARRY ME? SAY CHEESE! (#3)

Here's #3 - (as told by photographer Mike Allebach)

I'm rarely ever nervous as a photographer. I can't remember the last time I felt nervous before a shoot but this past Friday I was nervous. Dan and I stood outside the Phoenix in Center City by Love Park waiting for Jackie to make her appearance. She had no clue what was about to take place.

Jackie came out of the Phoenix from a spa visit that Dan had secretly scheduled for her and she walked across 16th street towards Love Park. At the corner stood Dan smiling, knowing full well what the next 10 minutes would hold. I stood in the bushes, more nervous than Dan, snapping photos at machine gun speed playing paparazzi.

For more pictures of this surprise proposal check out Allebach

WILL YOU MARRY ME? SAY CHEESE! (#2)

Here's #2 - (as told by photographer Laurel McConnell)

Lets set the scene: Nick is an illustrator for a hot gaming company. Danni has a huge following on her design blog, Oh Hello Friend (it’s yummy, check it out!). They met at art school 4 years ago. His plan: surprise Danni with a flight from their sunny and “everyday-is-70-degree” Orange County home to the rainy “every-day-is-a-crap-shoot” Seattle getaway.

The other day, some pictures of a very special nature arrived in my inbox: I was to magically get these to appear on the back of my camera (you’ll see, just wait for it!).

Now, cue the actress, Seattle’s own Darrah Parker (wild applause emanates from the audience). At 1pm today, Darrah and I boarded a ferry to Bainbridge Island, and found ourselves snapping pictures of each other on the windy deck while crossing Puget Sound. Okay, Fib #1…. I was REALLY snapping pics of Danni and Nick, acting all cute-like in the background. Nick not only woke up his sleepy girlfriend from her short snooze on the relaxing ferry, but dragged her out to the violently blustery (um, understatement of the year) deck to watch the silly girls shooting pictures and take in the sea air. He gets an A+ for his mad setup skills- he kept pulling her into ideal spots for us to snag some shots no matter what her agenda was!

Nearly an hour later, we found ourselves in the gorgeous Bloedel Reserve, a historic, well kept, private park on the island. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I kept saying to Darrah, “What if he changed his mind and he’s not coming? What if they got lost in the 150 acres? What if we are at the WRONG “Waterfall Lookout By The Historic House?” Sure enough, here they come, meandering down the path. Seriously, Danni, could you walk any slower? Didn’t you know there were three people screaming silently in their minds with excitement with what was about to happen? Of course not. She was sightseeing and leading their self-guided tour, map in hand, having a grand ol’ time, mostly oblivious to Nick’s scheming.

Enter Darrah, stage left. Laurel wanders off to check her cell phone and “look busy with something else,” while actually getting into position. Mini-fib #2.

“Oh my gosh! Hey! Weren’t you the guys on the ferry?” chimes Darrah. Luckily, Danni totally remembered us as being the silly tourist girls on the deck getting blown over by the wind, and being all smiles, greeted us like old friends as Nick gave “The Look” to mean it’s “Go Time.”

“I saw you guys, and I took some really cute pictures of you. Wanna see?” Fib #3. Danni and Nick agree in unison. Nick reaches into his pocket. Here it comes. Darrah flips through some of the cute (stalker-like!) images we snuck of them on the ferry. Then she gets to the REAL images.

She turns around, and Nick is on his knee, holding the sweetest ring I ever saw, barely able to hold those four words in his mouth before they gushed out in the most beautiful sentence a girl ever wants to hear.

For more pictures of this surprise proposal check out Laurel McConnell