Archive for February, 2012

Glitz, glamour, and fashion flops are sure to overflow the red carpet this year at the Oscars. Many women choose to watch the award ceremony simply for the exquisite fashions, and we’re right there with you on that one!

Dress Inspirations for Oscars 2012:

Pinks. This lighthearted shade is expected to dazzle the paparazzi. Brighter pinks add a youthful and exciting look to traditional dresses, while pale pinks are forever chic.

Teals. Turquoise and teal shades provide an exotic twist on blue. These shades create a feminine appeal that enhances skin tone and looks amazing among celebs with darker hair.

Bridal Worthy Vintage Gowns. Actresses are expected to choose elegant dress twists with white, ivory, and beige tones. These looks are inspired by vintage bridal trends of the season similar to designs like Jacquelin Exclusive wedding dresses.

Sequins. Colorful, yet tiny beading and sequins are predicted to dazzle form fitting looks.

Lace. Intricate details such as lace are expected to grace long, A-line dresses.

It’s always exciting to see the hair, makeup, and dresses worn by style icons. It’s often helpful for brides to receive hair up-do inspirations or makeup ideas for their big day when they watch award shows. You’re able to judge what looks pretty and what doesn’t on your favorite stars in order to find the look that’s best for you!

You want your wedding day to be the happiest day of your life, not the most stressful. Why put the burden all on you and your fiancée to plan the wedding of your dreams? Why not get help from an experienced wedding planner who takes the guesswork out of planning your big day; this way you can focus on finding the perfect Sottero and Midgley Suzette gown!

Meet Erin from Wonderfully Wed! Erin is a sweet and genuine person who truly cares about making your day special. She relates to Jane from ’27 Dresses,’ which is one of our favorite movies of all time. She met her Prince Charming at church (which we find adorable), had her dream wedding, and wants other brides to have theirs. Just like Jane always made sure every wedding she attended ran smoothly, Erin also has done it all in favor of a flawless day. Erin has fixed a cake where the icing melted, hung chandeliers from rafters, and once even broke up a fight between the photographer and videographer.

She has seen it all and her best advice is to hire a wedding planner (we agree)! She believes the bride, her mother, aunt, etc. should be able to relax and enjoy the wedding day knowing a competent professional is taking care of even the last minute details.

The wedding planner also has a network of people he or she can call on to save you money, time, and resources coming up with tips and ideas you may not even think about! We love that Erin from Wonderfully Wed has a supportive husband and that she takes the time to only plan one wedding a month. This gives the wedding she is working on the attention it deserves and still allows her to enjoy time with her children as they grow up. Weekend-of wedding packages have become popular among brides recently since they want to plan the wedding themselves and have a professional come in that weekend to make it stress-free.

One of Erin’s favorite wedding themes is a garden wedding. She has coordinated several with perfect weather and the right location and finds them breathtaking! Erin recently planned a vintage wedding in October which was beautiful adorned in unique décor. (FYI a gorgeous dress style for the vintage brides is lace cap sleeve wedding dresses!) No matter what your dream wedding entails, you want to be able to truly enjoy your big day. Hiring a wedding planner takes the stress off you and allows your big day to be truly unforgettable!

All wedding planners are not created equal! It’s extremely hard to find a wedding planner that won’t treat you like “just another bride” or force his or her ideas onto you. This is not what you want on your wedding day! You want someone who takes the time to get to know all about you. Not just about your budget or your color scheme, but about your dream San Patrick wedding dress, your vision, personality, passions, and the formality of your event. You can find all of these fabulous traits in our featured wedding planner Tara, also known as the “Diva Gone Domestic.”

When Tara meets with a bride, she knows what they’re going through. She had a romantic engagement and married her high school sweetheart, yet had a hard time trying to find a wedding planner who would take the time to make her wedding special. Tara decided to work with other brides to create her dream wedding, and now she wants her customers to have theirs! She will work together with you until it is just as you envisioned it – and in most cases it blossoms into more than you could have imagined!

Tara is a designer and crater at heart. Her blog contains awesome samples from her designs that range from invites, to fabulously unique table cards. We love her twist on the library/book wedding theme! She enjoys spending her free time discovering unique ideas to try, DIY projects and meeting other handmade artists. She also loves blogging about other small businesses and believes in helping smaller businesses grow. Tara truly believes that this is where you get the best quality and service since small businesses, such as hers, thrive on making customers happy!

Take a look at her gorgeous wedding inspirations on the Diva Gone Domestic Shoppe and pass her name along to your fellow brides!

We all know wedding planning can be super stressful and hard to juggle with everyday life. A Monique Affair is one of our favorite full service wedding planning agencies since they help you articulate the vision you have for your wedding design as well as organize and plan for your big day!

This month A Monique Affair is teaming up with Adeline & Grace Photography to give you a chance to share your wedding vision, show off your creativity, and win a little spending money all at the same time! The “Inspire Me Bride” contest giveaway focuses on creating and submitting your personalized wedding inspiration board. In case you didn’t know, inspiration boards are growing to be a popular way for a bride to collage the details of her wedding. The inspiration board showcases color palettes, theme ideas, dresses, venues, and anything else wedding related such as cake, flowers, etc.

Winner receives:

• $100 Visa Gift Card to use however you need for your wedding planning.
• Inspiration ideas will be turned into a photo shoot sponsored by A Monique Affair and  Adeline & Grace Photography.
• Photo shoot will then be featured in a special blog post dedicated to the winner.

Pretty cool, right? We think so too. This unique giveaway not only gives you a personally designed photo shoot, but also $100 to spend toward whatever wedding item you choose! You could use your gift cars toward a breathtaking, couture midgley and sottero adorae wedding gown or a richards designs bridal veil, for example.

The contest will run until noon on February 23, 2012, and the winner will be announced on February 25, 2012. For complete contest details, rules, and a step-by-step of how to enter the contest, visit A Monique Affair’s Inspire Me Bride Contest Giveaway.

Future brides and grooms are in full planning mode, thinking about flowers, centerpieces, dresses, favors, colors, and cakes. However, let’s not forget one important detail, photography. Finding a photographer that fits your style and needs is an important task. Once you have made your selection, keep in mind there is an excellent way to get to know this person before the wedding day shoot. And I’m not just talking about a meet and greet over coffee, that’s why we love White Ivory Photography! White Ivory Photography takes the time to get to know the bride and groom and cater to their wants and needs.

Bridal and engagment photography is super important when planning your wedding day photography. Having this type of session prior to the big day will provide you both with, what Sandra at White Ivory Photography calls, the three “C’s”; confidence, creativity and composure. Characteristics you wish for and want to possess on your wedding day so that you feel comfortable in front of the camera. Have you considered this type of session prior to your big day? Surprisingly, there are many couples out there that have not even thought about doing this. Sandra was completely unaware that you could do this when she got married and its popularity was not quite at its peak yet.

Here are some really great reasons why an engagement and bridal session will help create “knock your socks off” wedding pictures.

1. You are creating a comfort zone and air of familiarity with your photographer. It’s not easy for everyone to be the subject of a photo shoot. This time will allow you to learn how to relax, leaving your nerves at the door on your wedding day. You are getting to know your photographer while he or she is getting to know you and your fiancé. There’s no better way to create that confidence you might be lacking.

2. Learning to pose and take direction from your photographer. Each photographer is unique and guides their subjects in a different manner. This is a great time to get comfortable with your photographers method(s), which will make the wedding day seem all that much easier. Working with your photographer on posing will help settle the nerves and allow you to develop the composure you need for the wedding.

3. Practice your hair and makeup. Now is the time to get creative. Waiting until right before your wedding to choose the look that’s right for you isn’t the best idea! Doing a bridal photography session is a great opportunity to test the “look” you want and see how it comes out. This will give you a chance to look at the pictures and decide if your hair and make-up works for you. The same goes for your wedding dress. You will see if it needs any adjustments.

4. Discuss the pictures from your bridal and/or engagement shoot. Don’t be embarrassed to speak up. This is your day and it is your photographer’s job to do his or her utmost to make you and your fiancée shine! Let them know if there are some unflattering angles or body parts that you want to avoid being photographed, or any skin imperfection(s) that you would like removed in post production.

5. Use the images from your engagement session for save the date cards. There are so many uses for your bridal and engagement photography. You could also enlarge a picture to use at your reception, welcome table and/or simply to have people sign the mat surrounding the picture that you will have framed. These are some ideas that add great finishing touches to your wedding day! People always love to look at beautiful pictures and receive them as gifts.

We hope this information will help you in your journey towards your wedding. Like Sandra always says, practice makes perfect, so why not take advantage of the trial run beforehand? Most of all have fun with it, and let your personalities shine through! Call your photographer and schedule that engagement or bridal session today. You won’t regret it!

The delicate, bridal-inspired dresses were brilliant  at the 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Julianna Margulies, Kelly Osbourne, Viola Davis, Naya Rivera, and Kristen Wiig were among the stars that chose to dazzle in bridal inspirations on the red carpet. These ladies wore minimal jewelry and simple hairstyles to complete the elegant bridal look.

Wedding-Inspired Stars:

• Julianna Margulies looked chic in an off-gray strapless gown with intricate embroidered detail.
• Kelly Osbourne rocked the Old-Hollywood look with a cream-colored ensemble with embellished cropped sleeves.
• Viola Davis stunned in a cascading, white gown with a sweetheart neck and gold bead details.
• Naya Rivera donned a silver, glittering style with a plunging neckline.
• Kristen Wiig’s off-white halter-neck gown was paired with a choker necklace which created an edgy-look.

If you’re searching for a wedding dress inspired by any of these fabulous styles, San Patrick wedding dresses are sure to turn heads just as these actresses’ looks did at the SAGs. San Patrick Couture Gowns are known for their unique laces, silks, and breathtaking embroidery which looks great paired with effortless hair and jewelry. These gowns mirror those of the wedding looks that were popular at the SAGs such as an off-white, halter, or embroidered finish. If you want to own an A-list style as you walk down the aisle, a San Patrick Wedding dress may be your ideal dress!