100 Layer Cake

28 Jun

Dear ESB: How can I involve my friends without asking them to be bridesmaids?

categories Ceremony & Reception, Wedding Etiquette

East Side Bride answers the question that lots of you might be asking too, even if you’re not in FMW’s exact situation. As always, we love her take.

Dear East Side Bride,

I really hope you can help me out. My fiance is deployed in Afghanistan, and we will get married a few months after he returns next year. Many of his closest friends will still be serving over there on our wedding day, leaving us with two groomsmen. I had hoped to have more bridesmaids, but have decided to stick to two for balance’s sake.

Is there a way for me to involve other girl friends in the wedding that isn’t something lame like standing by the guest book or reading a Bible verse? I am not tied to wedding tradition, so out-of-the-box ideas are welcome! I always imagined these girls taking a special part in my special day and thought you might be able to offer some suggestions.

Thank you!

- Future military wife

*****

Dear FMW,

Please please please don’t cut anyone out of your bridal party just for the sake of symmetry. It’s going to mean so much to you to have your ladies standing up there with you, giggling and beaming at you and crying (which, I warn you, may set you off — but that’s part of the joy of getting married).

Putting four or five bridesmaids opposite your fiance’s two groomsmen might even serve as a positive reminder of the friends who can’t be there. Why not list them as “groomsmen (in absentia)” in the program?

XOXO,
ESB

Photo by Lillian and Leonard

{you can see all of ESB’s posts on 100LC right here.}

17 Jun

A Beautiful Mess wedding: Elsie + Jeremy, and a DIY boutonniere/corsage tutorial

categories Ceremony & Reception, Details + Decor, DIY Wedding, Real Weddings

You know that binder you have with all of your wedding inspirations? We promise you’re going to want to squeeze a few more pages inside after seeing today’s wedding! If ever there was a bride who outdid herself, Elsie Larson (of the indie fashion/craft blog A Beautiful Mess) wins the prize. Her wedding is not only irresistible – it’s a DIY masterpiece. A bursting celebration of fun, colors, textures and craft. Our gal pals over at Style Me Pretty featured this wedding yesterday, but there were just too many brilliantly cute details going on that we had to share it too! Lucky for us (and you!), Elsie is sharing tutorials on how you can make your own boutonniere and corsage. Thanks Elsie!

A Beautiful Mess bridesmaids

A Beautiful Mess bouquet

A Beautiful Mess wedding

Here’s a fun video of their day:

Hello there Cakelets! I’m Elsie from A Beautiful Mess. I recently planned my own DIY wedding and wanted to share a few things with you. When my fiance and I were planning our big day we chose not to hire a florist. Not only did it save us hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, but making my own corsages, boutonnieres and bouquets is one of my happiest wedding memories! We ended up with pieces that were really special to us and better reflected our personality than something we could have ordered at a flower shop!

A Beautiful Mess boutonnieres

DIY Feather Boutonniere

Step 1: Choose feathers and accent pieces in your colors. I used some berry garland too. I ordered most of my supplies from Etsy.com.

Step 2: Gather the pieces and arrange them exactly how you want them to look on your boutonniere.

Step 3: Using floral tape (or deco or twill tape) bind your feathers together at the base. Be sure they are all secure in the adhesive and will not slip out!

Step 4: You’re done. Just use a floral pin to pin your boutonniere to a piece of paper (this way you can also label who the different boutonnieres are for). Go get yourself a treat or have a fancy dinner with your fiancè because you just saved yourself a bundle!

Making our own feather and floral pieces was one of the easiest DIY’s we chose to do! I highly recommend it and it’s a project that can be done months in advance, which is always nice!

DIY Vintage Brooch Corsage

I own a vintage boutique and we have these pretty enamel floral brooches from the 1960s sitting around everywhere. I thought it would be fun to dress them up as a special corsage for our grandmothers to wear!

Step 1: Collect flowers, berry garland and millenary leaves in your colors. I ordered most of mine from Etsy.com.

Step 2: Choose pieces to accent your brooch. Trim the pieces to about 4 inches.

Step 3: Glue the feathers and findings to the back of your brooch. I used glue dots.

Step 4: Cover the back of your feathers with some twill tape or deco tape. They are already firmly attached with the glue dots, but this just makes the back look a little bit more polished.

A Beautiful Mess wedding corsage

A Beautiful Mess wedding corsages

Have fun! xo-Elsie

What a perfect way to start your weekend, right? Call your girlfriends up, make it a girls night in, and get crafting! Elsie will be back soon, sharing her DIY flower bouquet tutorial. You won’t want to miss it!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Photography: Arrow & Apple / Wedding Reception Design: Sharon Taylor and Stylizing by Kendra Skinner of Lonie Mae / For more of the lovely vendors involved see Style Me Pretty

16 May

Parker Palm Springs wedding: Shanin + David

categories Ceremony & Reception, Real Weddings

Good Monday morning to you, cakelets! We have a small but very gorgeous wedding to share with you today. It’s stuffed full of some of our favorite creative people in the industry, including Max Wanger, Bash Please, Betsy Dunlap, and Michael and Brian of the Flashdance, and we think you’re going to like it. Like, a lot.

Parker Hotel Palm Springs wedding

Air plant Betsy Dunlap calligrahy

The ladies of Bash, Please made all the decorative touches, like this adorable “here comes the bride” sign with calligraphy by Betsy Dunlap (carried by their wedding attendants – David’s daughters).

A delightful installation of fabrics, ribbons, tulle and silk triangles were fringed for a fancier type bunting. We absolutely adore how this turned out!

fringe bunting flags

The reclaimed wood table runners were washed in bronze paint, then adorned with vintage bottles, milk glass vases, and compote dishes stuffed with succulents, craspedia, peonies, ranunculus, chinese bells, heather and kumquats. Perfecto!

Bash Please florals

The guests waved these adorable “hooray” flags made from muslin and a custom gold stamp.

Betsy Dunlap calligraphy

Max Wanger Photography

Isn’t it so cute? The perfect amount of detail. Not totally over the top, just sweet and festive and wonderfully romantic. It was a super small wedding, only 37 peeps including the bride and groom, which sounds so nice and intimate, doesn’t it? You can get so much more fancy with your decor when you only have one big table to keep in mind. As favors, they gave each guest a teeny airplant as a thank you for attending their celebration. Simple and sweet. Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks when we’ll be sharing their wedding video!

Nice work everyone! So pretty. And big congrats to Shanin and David. Thanks for letting us share.

venue (both ceremony and reception) – The Gene Autry House at The Parker, Palm Springs / catering – The Parker / dessert table – The Parker, candies sourced by Bash, Please / event design, florals, and day-of coordination – Bash, Please / photography – Max Wanger / videography – Brian Morrow of Shark Pig / DJ – Michael Antonia / invites and calligraphy – Betsy Dunlap / groom’s suit – hugo boss / bride’s dress – vera wang / flower girl dresses: Crewcuts /
Illustration on invitations – Kathryn Hunter

Be sure to check out more gorgeous work from Max, Bash Please, Michael, Brian, and Betsy in our A-list!

12 May

California sunset vow renewal on the beach

categories Ceremony & Reception

The sweet family behind Enjoy Cupcakes recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a pretty, simple vow renewal on the beach. Of course it’s as lovely as their shop and their sweets (would you expect anything less?), and was beautifully shot by Jennifer Young. Sometimes simple is the most meaningful of all.

Thanks for letting us share your special evening, Kevin, Amber, and Opal!

Photos by: Jennifer Young / Flowers: Renea’s Bouquet / Hair & Makeup: Team Hair and Makeup / Amber’s dress: RiverOfRomansk / Opal’s dress: Little Maven by Tori Spelling

You can see more of Enjoy Cupcakes yummy treats in our guide!

10 May

Kumquat + peach Tennessee wedding inspiration

categories Ceremony & Reception, Details + Decor, Pretty Paper

How about this absolutely beautiful backyard Tennessee wedding shoot, styled by Shanna of Ruffles & Rouge and shot by La Dolce Vita Studio. It’s earthy, romantic and vintage-y, with a dose of warm, vibrant peach + kumquat hues and some very pretty cameo graphics. Maybe the best part about this is that much of what was used for props was actually found in thrift shops and yard sales, right in Shanna’s own neighborhood… seriously! Combined with a few brilliant and easy DIY projects, this is the perfect inspiration for an rustic, laid-back summertime wedding.

The gorgeous cameo stationery by Erin of Be True Designs really set the tone for the entire event with those pretty colors and the simple, elegant cameo icons.

Most everything you see here at this absolutely adorable drink and favor station was assembled from furniture & accessories found in a family barn. The silver tea set and concrete urn (used as a vase) were found at a garage sale of all places! Even the “Wet Your Whistle” sign was made from salvaged barn wood and hand-painted.

Those pretty fabric flowers on the back of the chair were also a very affordable DIY project, using inexpensive materials like cotton, lace, and burlap (all found at a local fabric/craft store). Without using a pattern or guide, Shanna cut them into floral shapes and used cameo buttons from a local thrift store to finish off the center. Aren’t they so pretty? Love the plush fabric chairs, too.

She grabbed some antique silverware from local shops for this rustic, mix & matched look – so much more affordable than buying a complete set. To tie in the wedding colors and give it a more modern look, the handles were hand painted using acrylic paint. It almost looks even prettier than new silver!

This beautiful garland you see strung between the chairs was made from coffee filters. Two & a half packs of brown and white full-sized, coffee filters. Such a thrifty & adorable project.

Muslin bags filled with salt water taffy & kumquats from the local farmers market were created for favors, with the extra kumquats put to good use in the centerpieces and in the hollow base of the cake stand for a little extra splash of color.

Even the cake topper was a (cleaned up) thrift store find. And how cute is that??

If you’re willing to get out there and hunt around, it’s amazing for what you can find at your local thrift stores. Thanks so much for letting us share this pretty shoot!
Photographer: La Dolce Vita Studio / Hair Stylist: Salon Visage / Caterer: Sean Wren Personal Chef / Event Planner: Ruffles and Rouge Events / Floral Designer: Echelon Florist / Reception Venue: Concord Presbyterian Church / Invitation Designer: Be True Designs / Dress Store: White Lace and Promises Bridal Boutique / Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Joseph A. Banks   / Muslin Favor Bags: Massage Warehouse