Wedding Wednesday - Website

Tonight the Mister and I are spending some time working on our wedding website!  We are having fun looking for pictures and are taking turns doing the writing... yup, that's right folks, the Mister has actually asked to do some of the writing!


According to WeddingWindow.com here are the top 10 reasons for having a wedding site:

• share wedding information easily
• save time and money
• reduce your impact on our Earth
• focus on what's most important 
• manage all of your wedding details in one place 
• provide your guests with travel suggestions 
• create something unique to you
• allow guests to learn more about you 
• communicate easily with your bridal party
• accept messages from your guests. 

The Mister and I primarily chose to have a wedding website to be a resource for our guests (to answer their questions) and as a means for RSVP (eliminate the cost of RSVP cards, envelopes, and stamps).  We looked at a bunch of different wedding website creators before making a selection.  -There are so many choices!  Our top 2 choices were WeddingWindow and theKnot.


WeddingWindow
Pros: Donne and her fiance chose weddingwindow.com for her beautiful wedding website.  Wedding window gives the bride and groom a lot of flexibility and customization options.  
Cons: Price.  The price for 1 year (their most popular package) is $79, but can cost as much as $119.

theKnot
Pros: It is free.  It is easy to use.  You can elect to password protect certain pages (like specific information for just the bridal party) And I can see and edit it at work... shhhhh! 
Cons:  Like other things in life, you get what you pay for:  this website is pretty basic. It doesn't have all the bells an whistles that some of the other sites offer.  But considering we know that some of our guest might not be incredibly computer savvy, a more basic website, like the one that theKnot offers is better suited for us.
DONE! We decided on theKnot.com!

To the other brides out there... do you have a wedding website?  What type of website did you choose?

Don't Wait til Tomorrow

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed recently: work (it's tax season), all the wedding planning details, keeping up with household chores, errands like post office and grocery shopping, planning a tea party, and being mindful of completing the items on my Thirty Before 30 list.  Sometimes after a long day at work I am so mentally exhausted I collapse on the couch as soon as I walk in the door and surrender to my looming to do list even before I get to it.
Today was one of those days: when I got home today rather than doing one of many things I should have done, I plopped on the couch and grabbed the Real Simple that's been sitting on my coffee table for more than a week.  Almost immediately one of the cover stories caught my eye "how to stop procrastinating - now."  OMG. How did it know? Strait away I turned to page 192 and used to tips in the article to attack my procrastination.

Tip #1.  Do the worst thing first I counted the number of invitations I will need for my half of the guest list (I have been putting this off): 63

Tip #2.  Start your day over at 2 p.m. I took a shower and had a bowl of cereal.  Fed and refreshed, I felt ready to tackle the second half of my day.

Tip #3.  Make the job smaller I have been desperately avoiding the task of organizing my dresser drawers and closet.  Rather than tackling all of it, I cleaned out 2 drawers.  Confession: I may or may not have stuffed some things from those drawers into the others...

Tip #4.  Create an audience Donne called and during a catch up session we discussed our wedding plans and to do lists which made me feel much better.  Talking to Donne even helped me to outline the questions plan to ask during my Thursday meeting with our event coordinator at the country club.
 
Tip #5.  Race the Clock I set my clock for 30 minutes and folded cranes (from my TB30) - I finished 3 cranes and got started on #4

Tip #6.  Don't interrupt yourself I sent the email I have been meaning to send for the last few days and ignored  the 2 incoming calls and the text too (I didn't even check the text!).

To all other procrastinators out there... it's not that bad... just get started with one thing :)

Fabulous Friday - Damask

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I always knew there was something special about damask patterns, but I didn't realize just how much I liked damask until I started going through my wedding inspiration binder and noticed oodles of damask   clippings throughout. Other than my wedding clippings, here are a few of my favorite damask images:

i'm not usually a fan of wallpaper but, wow!

taking out the trash never looked so good

a chic pop of color

inspiration to create a great office

a damask curved clutch by Judith Leiber

A Love Affair With Jewelry

Elizabeth Taylor (February 27, 1932 - March 23, 2011) was an icon and will live on through her films and charities.  She will be remembered as as an award winning actress, an 8-time bride, a social activist, a beauty, and a woman who had a love affair with jewelry.

In 2002 Dame Elizabeth Taylor shared some of her amazing jewelry collection with the world in her book, quite appropriately titled, "My Love Affair with Jewelry." She showcased some of her most famous pieces including the Krupp Diamond, La Peregrina Pearl, and the Taylor-Burton Diamond - as well as other not so famous but still incredibly beautiful pieces. 

Here is Elizabeth Taylor's stunning 33 carat asscher cut diamond known as the "Krupp"Diamond: 

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When the La Peregrina Pearl as originally gifted to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton it was incredibly beautiful but not quite the piece we recognize today.   

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Inspired by a painting of Mary Queen of Scots, the team at Cartier created sketches that helped to transform the La Peregrina Pearl into the amazing piece we recognize today. 

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Voila! Here is La Peregrina Pearl after the Cartier transformation, as it is recognized today.

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... and here is a sampling of other pieces from Elizabeth Taylor's collection. Bling!

Wedding Update! High Tops & High Heels

For those who didn't know, the Mister and I are planning a non traditional cocktail-esque wedding reception.  We plan to have a mixture of lounge seating and traditional round tables as well as high top cocktail tables sprinkled around the reception area.  

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As we continue to iron out the details, particularly linen selection, we are trying to decide whether to have the linens for the high tops tied or not tied.  Here is the dilemma: We really like the polished look of the tied linens but don't want to worry about the legs of the table possibly showing...  thoughts anyone?

-I think we will probably end up choosing black tied high top linens.  

 

Oh! And a couple of weeks I told you all that I picked my shoes and guess what?! Thanks to Nordstrom.com my BLUE shoes are here!

I love these shoes!  The French Blue Satin is as vivid in person as it looks online, and the crystal detail on the vamp is attached well and has a great sparkle.  And there is an added plus: there is a built-in pad at the ball of the foot, which is great considering the shoe has an approximate 4 1/4 inch heel.  The only catch is shoe is smidge on the small side so yesterday I have ordered another pair a half size bigger, just to compare.  :)

Happy 1st Anniversary to Queenie and G!

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary to "Queenie" and G! 

They were married at the Hyatt Waikiki on March 20, 2010.  This wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings the Hyatt had ever seen!!! -Their wedding was even featured in a local magazine.

This was the view from the Penthouse of the Hyatt on the morning of the wedding; what a beautiful day. 

Done with hair and makeup... now it's time to get the bride ready! 

Pretty pictures of the bride. 

The bride and groom had one of the banquet rooms transformed into a tent for an intimate ceremony.  A structure had to be created around the chandelier to support the draping that wrapped the entire room giving the tented effect.  Candles and uplighting helped to give the room a polished and romantic effect.  

The banquet room had a combination of round and rectangular tables covered in either black or white linens.  There were also an array of amazingly beautiful floral arrangements.  The arrangement below was created to look like a lamp: it was even lighted from its base. 

Here is another amazing arrangement of orchids, roses, hydrangeas, and lilies... 

 The dessert bar featured mini cupcakes, fresh (super salty) potato chips, popcorn balls, and bananas foster!  Nom nom nom.  

 The bride and four of the bridesmaids. 

After the ceremony, the ceremony room was transformed into a lounge with couches, a lit bar, and DJ station, and dance floor. 

The Mister and I wish Queenie and G a Happy 1st Anniversary!  

Fabulous Friday - Chandeliers

chandeliers are so pretty

I love chandeliers!  I think most are so beautiful on or off, and can transform almost any room in a house by adding light and style.

Molly Sim's Office

adding an air of elegance to meal preparation

a chandelier can transform an ordinary tent

Barovier & Toso Taif Chandelier in White

Florence Collection by Savio Firmino

glamming up a bathroom 

Barovier & Toso Taif Chandelier in Black

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wedding Wednesday! - Wedding Binder

I have learned that it is incredibly important to be organized when planning a wedding.  A few people have asked me how I keep all of our wedding contracts, contacts, budget, and schedule organized - here is the answer: Russell+Hazel!
Shortly after the Mister and I got engaged, Sister sent me be the most wonderful wedding planning organizer!  I love that the organizer comes a bunch of goodies including pre-labeled (and a few blank) pocketed tabs, different sized sticky notes, and a variety of page protectors: single page, multi-page and my favorite, business card pages.

Russell+Hazel Wedding Organizer & Recipe Binder

My organizer is a constant work in progress.  In the beginning, our binder had only inspirational magazine tear outs; now each section has a contract copy, notes from vendor meetings, and an edited number of pictures.
For other brides-to-be, whether you choose R+H or a different organizational method, you might want to take a look at the R+H website and check out the wedding templates they have checklists, worksheets, and much more!

PS. Thank you Sister!

Fabulous Friday - Belted Fashion

Who What Wear

Belts aren't just for ill fitting pants, they're a fashionista's friend! Belts can create a waistline, add some visual interest, and can transform an entire outfit...

Casual:

Casual

Winter Coats:

coats

Party Chic:

Jessica Alba

 Swimwear:

Burberry Swim Suit

Office Wear:

Catherine Malandrino

Award Show Formal:

SAG Awards 2011

Oscar Ball Gown (oooh! so pretty):

SJP @ 81st Oscars