Ring Eye Candy

I just loved the eye candy that was the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings. Particularly the all the diamond ring eye candy!
Cushion cut ring in micro pave, from Harry Winston.
Left to right: 1. Semi-mount with round diamonds, Peter Storm. 2. Square-cut diamond, Cartier. 3. Round Crisscut center surrounded by round diamonds, Christopher Designs. 4. Oval-cut solitaire, De Beers. 5. Emerald-cut diamond with pink-diamond pave band, Graff, 212-355-9292. 6. "Flora" wedding set from Reale Collection, Varna. 7. Purity Collection pure-platinum semi-mount, Memoire. 8. Round in Tiffany setting, Tiffany & Co., 800-843-3269. 9. Carmella Collection accented with round brilliants, Kirk Kara. 10. Four-prong High Jewelry Collection, Bulgari. 11. "Belle Epoque" band, Damiani. 12. Round brilliant-cut center stone surrounded by baguette and round pave-set diamonds, Tacori.
Left to right: 1. "Classic" band with emerald-cut diamonds, A. Jaffe. 2. White gold, Claude Thibaudeau, 877-397-9411. 3. Hand engraving and princess-cut stones, Coast Diamond. 4. Wheat band with princess-cut diamond, by Cathy Waterman, from twistonline.com. 5. "Classic Nouveau" Stardust Diamonds. 6. White gold with six-prong setting, Stuart Jewelry Designs, 212-966-4833. 7. Diamond flower cluster, Arezzo. 8. Band with round and marquise diamonds, Simon G. Jewelry, 800-627-2661. 9. Diamond with pear-shaped accents and graduated round diamond sides, OGILtd. 10. "Swan Collection" with diamond pave, Mauboussin. 11. Emerald-cut center diamond, Penny Preville. 12. Art Deco ring, Stephen Russell New York, 212-570-6900. 13. Handmade with cushion-cut diamond, London Jewelers, 516-627-7475. 14. "Repertoire Select Dream Diamond Solitaire" square brilliant-cut diamond, Hearts on Fire, 877-737-3328. 15. Band with baguette and round diamonds, Gottlieb & Sons. 16. Cushion cut, Harry Winston. 17. "Bellport," Michael Bondanza. 18. "Juliet's Court Open Fleur de Lis," Katharine James.

All photos from Martha Stewart Weddings.

"You want wedding, you go Wang."

"You want pasta, you go to Little Italy. You want wedding, you go Wang." - Anthony Marintino, Sex and the City
Vera Wang recently unveiled her new bridal collection for Spring 2010, with some welcome news for Wang loving recessionista brides. According to Kimberly Castro of the Luxe Life blog on US News & World Report, "Wang, who calls the gowns "demi-couture," has lowered her median price point 30 to 40 percent, from $5,500 to $3,800, according to the Fashion Wire Daily. She's worked to get the prices down, but says she hasn't sacrificed the quality. "There are 10 gowns at the $3,800 level," said Wang. "

"The gowns may be more affordable, but they're not exactly what you would call traditional. According to the FWD, "Wang's wedding gowns mixed and matched fabrics like silk with asymmetrically draped tulle, added mismatched bows tied in all different directions and tacked together sweeping mille-feuille layers, turning the back of one ball gown into a walking cross-section of the Grand Canyon." To those who might not touch something like this with a ten-foot pole, Wang points out that these gowns are for very specific locations, like a garden wedding. "Especially with the recession, I wanted the dresses to stand for more," said Wang." Garden wedding dresses! I love it. I think these are very dreamy, floaty, less structured and more romantic than some of her previous seasons' offerings. Perfect for a garden wedding...

Here's a few of my favorites from Vera Wang's Spring 2010 collection:A green wedding dress for a garden wedding! Somehow it just works.




I love the rhinestones on the top of this - for a bride who wants the bling while still looking romantic and not disco.
This one reminds me a little of Carrie Bradshaw's Vivinne Westwood wedding dress, only less champagne and satiny and with more bows.






And for the un-bride who can't imagine wearing white...The black wedding dress! Vera makes it look bridal somehow. And you'd be in good company - Sarah Jessica Parker was married in a black dress.

All photos from Brides

DIY: Floral Kissing Ball

Nancy of Nancy Liu Chin Designs came up with this great DIY project for making your own kissing ball! She makes it look so easy - I can't wait to try and make one for fun.
From Nancy: "I personally have a love/hate relationship with kissing balls(aka pomanders). I love making them but they aren't as easy as they appear. Even though we've made over a 200 kissing balls over the course of our business, it's still one of those pieces that we continue to finesse. For me, the trick with kissing balls is using the right flower. Many people don't realize that there aren't many flowers that work but yet they try to make a kissing ball with them. I once saw someone use a French Tulip. Sorry, but that's the absolutely worst thing you could do. First of all, the beauty of the French Tulip is its gorgeously long stem. What a shame to waste that stem on a kissing ball. Also out of water in oasis, tulips aren't very "happy"."
Bottom line: choose a sturdy, flat, round, mass flower like my two favorites:

-Mini Carnations
- Pom Pom(button) mums

We use two different methods when making a kissing ball. For mums, we like to use a Styrofoam ball. For the carnations, we use an Oasis ball. It's a matter of personal preference and ease for us so you don't have to follow this. Most people use Oasis balls because it will hydrate the flowers. We have a professional cooler. We can keep kissing balls in our refrigerator for several days so we can use the Styrofoam method. For a non-professional, use the Oasis.


Pom Pom Kissing ball:

1 3 or 4 inch Styrofoam Ball
1 Bundle of Pom Pom Mums
1 box of pearl pins or straight pins
Assorted Ribbon
Several straight pins
Mister of Water
Large Freezer Zip Bag or Clear bag(no holes)
Bag ties
Floral Shears

Cut individual mums from their stem. Make sure that all stem are removed.
Fasten ribbon to the Styrofoam securely with straight pins.
Starting with one side, secure mums to Styrofoam using pearl or straight pins.
Poke the pin through the center of the mums.
Continue until the entire ball is covered with mums.
Mist with water
Taking a bag, blow hot air into the bag.
Place kissing ball into the bag.
Secure tightly.

With a mini carnation, you do the same thing but instead of Styrofoam, use an oasis ball. Make sure that you let the Oasis foam stand until water stops dripping. Secure your ribbon onto the ball with straight pins. Instead of cutting all the stems off the mini carnations, cut them to 2 inches. Insert stems into the ball. No need for the pins. You can also add some spray roses and little green buds into the balls like this pink kissing ball."

Thanks for the tutorial Nancy!

Real Wedding: Kaoife and Josh

I came across this wedding this weekend while browsing the blog of the amazingly talented Arizona photographer Jennifer Bowen. Kaoife and Josh were married March 28th at Sassi in Scottsdale, Arizona.

From Jennifer: "They are such a kind couple and their wedding was filled with so much emotion and fun, not to mention the absolutely perfect Arizona spring weather and that Sassi is always so great to shoot at, so it was such a wonderful day all around! Kaoife is from Ireland, so they incorporated some traditional Irish ceremony rituals and I know it meant a great deal to them that so many people traveled so far to be a part of their day."

The flowers were done by Petal Pushers (such a cute name for a flower shop) and I love Kaoife's spring bouquet with tulips. The adorable "I Do" shoe stickers are by Mindy Weiss for Two's Company.

I love the long navy dresses with the pinks of the bouquets - so stunning and flattering! The bride's three sisters were among her five bridesmaids.





"One of my favorite parts of the day -when the couple is "officially" married and the resulting expressions of emotion are so genuine."




"Kate & Gretchen with Imoni Events helped plan the wedding and coordinated their day flawlessly. These two are so on top of their game, not to mention very professional and kind, that they really made things flow well, which I think makes the day more fun for all everyone involved - exactly as it supposed to be!"


Jennifer Bowen really captured the couple and the beauty of the day so perfectly.

Happy 28th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Today is my parent's 28th wedding anniversary!! They were married Saturday, April 25th, at John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch on Camelback in Scottsdale, Arizona - my mom's father's resort. Here's some of their wedding pics!

My mom's wedding dress was by Priscilla of Boston, and her bouquet was a cascade bouquet of hand wired white orchids, stephanotis, willow branches, and greenery.
The bridesmaids wore custom made pink skirts with custom Lily of Carmel satin ribbon woven belts and white eyelet off-the shoulder tops.

I can't believe how tall this cake was! They had to cut into it early because the buttercream was softening in the Arizona heat.
I love the confetti getaway!

My parents were the first couple to get married at the Tennis Ranch, which is now the Sanctuary resort and weddings are held there all the time. People like Britney Spears stay there and Jay-Z and Beyonce took their honeymoon there. So funny, because to me it will always be my grandpa's resort where my parents got married!
Photo from the Sanctuary
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, Here's to many more - Love you!

Daily Favorite: Ruffles and Roses

Yesterday when I opened up my new issue of Modern Bride, I gasped with delight when I saw this amazing silk dupioni rosette dress by J.Crew. It has rosettes covering the whole dress, and it comes in pink and navy. I'm swooning!

It's a little on the pricey side, but wouldn't it be great for a fancy rehearsal dinner (or even a very special bridesmaids dress)??

I also spotted this pink Luisa Beccaria strapless ruffled dress that Sara Bareilles wore to the Grammys this year. So fabulous with those red shoes!
Photo from MTV

And it reminds me of one of my favorite dresses Carrie Bradshaw ever wore...her pink ruffled dress from her last night in New York before moving to Paris!Photo from HBO