Tuesday Shoesday

I can't even get over how sweet this picture is. Taking the colored shoe idea one step further by having the groom's socks match = ingenious fun. And stripes! Love everything about this.

Photo by Green Apple Photography

Inspiration Board: Moody Blues

A wintery wedding inspired by moody shades of blues paired with winter white and a touch of sophisticated black. This has a elegant, somewhat vintage feel to it - I love the romantic ruffled dress, the ice blue beaded caplet, the birds here and there in the decor, blue and white patterned china, the groom in all blue, of course I couldn't resist including the Something Blue Manolo Blahnik shoes, escort cards in hues of blue and for a grand finish, a ruffled cake inspired by the bride's dress with a chalkboard background mimicking the white calligraphy all over this wedding.

Give Thanks

I wanted to wish a very happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Even if it's not a holiday you celebrate in your country, I'm thankful for all my dear readers and blogger friends I've made through my blogging adventures. I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones, family and friends.

Photo by Jill Thomas Photography

Real Wedding: Fall Wedding at Sundance

I just know you'll love today's fall wedding as much as I do! Rebekah Westover did such an amazing job capturing this sweet couple and their fall time wedding - I especially love the bride's custom made dress by Paula Nelson-Hart, all the leaf shots and the stunningly unique cake! I adore the feel of their reception venue - perfectly rustic + elegant at the same time.

 

Photos by Rebekah Westover Photography

Thanks so much Rebekah for sharing this amazing wedding! P.S. - the groom might look familiar, he's the son of Donny Osmond, yep, as in Donny and Marie!

Tuesday Shoesday

It's Tuesday Shoesday, and I'm starting to notice a shoe trend: bows and something blue. These lovely Pour La Victoire 'Stella' shoes have both - a gorgeous pinwheel style bow and the prettiest baby blue soles. 

Love the ring shot on the heel! These lovelies come as shown in Ivory satin with blue soles, they also come in light blue satin, black satin, fuchsia satin, light pink satin, purple satin, red satin and royal blue satin. 

Photos by Divine Order Photography

Inspiration Board: Simple Winter Elegance

It's been snowing here in Central Oregon (nothing too deep yet!) and I felt like sharing this little wintery gem from the archives. Inspiration for a winter wedding that is simplistic yet elegant, but not at all overdone. Warm whites and creamy gold-caramel tones will heat up any winter wedding, a flowy white Vera Wang dress reminiscent of snow drifts, “ginger sparkler” and “blizzard” as winter-perfect cocktails, a gold invitation set, panetonne favors, and a cake covered in sparkling “snow” will provide guests with warm memories of your winter wedding.

Photo credits: Clockwise from top left - Dress by Vera Wang via Style Me Pretty, cake by Jen's Desserts photo by Rachel Olsson via Seattle Bride, "snowy wedding" church photo by James Christianson via Style Me Pretty, "Crown" wedding invitation suite by Martha Stewart for Crane & Co., panetonne favors from Martha Stewart Weddings, drink photos from Martha Stewart, flower photo from Martha Stewart Weddings.

With it snowing off and on for the last few days, its been very hard to resist decorating for Christmas, but I'm waiting until next weekend. When are you going to start decorating for the holidays?

Announcing the 2010 TWIPS Homespun Holiday Exchange

I'm so excited to announce the

2010 TWIPS Homespun Holiday Exchange!

TWIPS are Twitter Wedding Inspirational Pals, we're a group of bloggers, vendors, and brides who communicate on Twitter (under the tag #TWIPS) and above all inspire and encourage one another. It's really pretty fab. :) You can find out more about TWIPS as well as sign up to become an official Twip here.

The Homespun Holiday Exchange would involve making a homemade/handmade gift (with an $10 price limit) for another participant and mailing it by December 8th. Oh, and it will be a secret Santa type gift exchange, so you won't know who has you. Some of us TWIPS thought this would be a fun little way to bring some TWIPS love home during the holidays!

So I'm sure you really want to know "The Details" and how you can sign up:

• The signup deadline will be next Friday, November 26th.
• The shipping deadline for your gift will be Wednesday, December 8th (to make sure it has plenty of time to get there!)
• We're keeping the gifts in a winter theme that would be approprite for anyone celebrating during the holidays. :)
• There is a $10 price limit (not including shipping).
• DIY phobes welcome. It's all about doing what you do best - great at baking? Make your favorite cookies and wrap them in a cute package. Handy with a glue gun? Whip it out and go to town.
• We will all be blogging about our gifts sent and received, so you'll want to take pictures of the gift you are sending and the gift you receive.

Sound good to you and want to sign up? Send an email to twipsholidayexchange@gmail.com with the following info, and I'll send you back a confirmation with instructions.

Name

Twitter handle

Url (blog)

Email address

Your state or country

* There are going to be international participants in our gift exchange, which can cost more for international shipping. Just let us know in your email if you would be alright with shipping internationally or if you prefer to keep it domestic! (In your confirmation email there will also be some general shipping tips on how to keep costs down.)

So excited to have a very, merry TWIPS holiday season with all of you!

photos via Martha Stewart

Marry You Me Exclusive Free Download: Preppy + Mod Invitation Suite

If you loved yesterday's Inspired By: Kate Spade wedding inspiration style guide, then you will really love today's free download by J.Bartyn Design and Manufacturing exclusively for Marry You Me. Cambria Evans of J.Bartyn Design was awesomely sweet enough to design this adorably preppy + mod Kate-inspired {free downloadable} invitation suite just for my lovely readers (because that's how much we love you!!). There is a confetti dot invitation, a striped menu card and a floral card for escort or place cards. The best part? Did I mention these were free!?!

How cute are these? Thank you so much to Cambria of J.Bartyn Design and Manufacturing for creating this adorable suite to go with yesterday's guide to having a Kate-inspired wedding. Due to popular demand, we've made it so you can simply open and put in your own text!

Get the {free} invitation suite download here

Instructions:

1. Imput your own text

2. Print on cardstock

3. Hand trim with an xacto knife and metal edged ruler, using the crop marks as a guide.

4. Enjoy!

New reader to Marry You Me? Check out these past J.Bartyn for Marry You Me exclusive free downloads: The Garden Stripe Invitation Suite (comes in 4 colors)

and these adorable Vintage Lemonade Labels

Inspired By: Kate Spade

Today's post is all about celebrating and getting inspired by the fabulous and incomparable Kate Spade. Her fun, bright + colorful, peppy + preppy, chic + mod take on tradition has won her millions of devoted fans. I've collected a little cache of photos as a case study of inspiration for a wedding infused with Kate style, along with some tips on how to have a Kate inspired fete. It's all about the polka dots, stripes, ribbons, bright + bold colors, glitter, sparkle and fashion.

Mixing bright reds and pinks is a must, never a faux pas in Kateland! Bouquets and centerpieces are a great way to add these bright, bold + cheery colors to your wedding.

1st photo by Max Wagner + flowers by Flowerwild Designs via Martha Stewart Weddings, 2nd photo by Char Beck Photography from coco+kelly

Ribbons over plain white linens are an inexpensive way to add a preppy punch of color to your table. Go tamer with a monochromatic color scheme, or go bold with rainbow colors.

1st photo via Martha Stewart Weddings, 2nd photo via 100 Layer Cake

Ribbon belt details, like this placecard napkin ring (above), and the ribbon belt detail on the menu card add some preppy chic-ness to the place setting.

1st photo via Martha Stewart Weddings, 2nd photo by Tina Bass via Every Last Detail

Books are such a hallmark of Kate - colorful books add charm and interest to a space.

photo by Tina Bass Photography via Every Last Detail

Carry a book inspired fashion statement, like these adorably chic Kate Spade "Book of the Month" clutches

Use books (or fashion magazines!) underneath centerpieces or table centerpieces. Mini blank booklets with guests names on them serve as perfect place cards and double as favors.

Photo by Tina Bass Photography via Every Last Detail

Go for a whimsical look with mismatched china, gold striped linen placemats, and gold flatware with a bright "bow tie" napkin, or keep it classic with bold striped linens and gold flatware .

1st photo by Char Beck Photography via coco+kelly, 2nd photo by Max Wagner via 100 Layer Cake

A fun and unexpected bold print tablecloth paired with bold mismatched china

Kate Spade ad photo via A Sprinkle of Sugar

Going with plain white linens to save money? A confetti strewn tabletop is festive + fun and inexpensive way to add pops of color.

photo by Char Beck Photography via coco+kelly

Mismatched china, gold chargers, bling-y napkin rings, gold table numbers, colored glass votives and white footed bowl centerpieces are classicly Kate inspired

photo by Tina Bass Photography via Every Last Detail

Champagne is an absolute must for any Kate Spade-inspired fete. Serve it with a twist - like a brightly colored striped paper straw, or a maraschino cherry plopped in for color.

1st photo by Char Beck Photography via coco+kelly, 2nd photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

A smorgasbord of delicious cakes and cupcakes adds color, gives guests a variety to choose from, and just looks oh-so-decadent (but could actually cost less than serving one big cake)

Kate Spade ad photo by Sivan Lewin via A Sprinkle of Sugar

A brightly colored print dress, a gold sequin bag, and finger food that never needs a fork

via Martha Stewart Weddings

Coordinating bold black and white striped ribbon accents for bride and groom

Erin Hearts Court via Once Wed

Bright colored dresses and prints like strips and polka dots for your bridesmaids

Bridesmaid's dresses by Kate Spade, photo by Max Wagner via Martha Stewart Weddings

A classic dot bow tie for groomsmen

via Martha Stewart Weddings

Add bright pops of color to your ceremony with umbrellas as props (and shade for your guests)

photo by Max Wagner via Martha Stewart Weddings

A cheeky, preppy fun take on a traditional garden wedding with boxwood initial ceremony markers and aisle topiaries = very Kate (see below)

1st photo via Martha Stewart Weddings, 2nd photo via Erin Ever After

Make sure to stop by tomorrow for some free downloads by J.Bartyn Design exclusively for Marry You Me inspired by today's post!

Tuesday Shoesday

To get you excited about what's coming at you tomorrow and Thursday, I had to share these sparkly, sequin-y Kate Spade 'Carly' shoe shots. That's all I can tell you for now!

How unbelievably dreamy is this shot? The wispy tulle with the sparkly shoes, lying in the grass with groom = heaven.

Sigh. Complete perfection! Photos by Jagger Photography.

Stop by Love and Lavender to check out the entire feature of this lovely wedding!