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The River Room Open House, Strawberries!

For the River Room Open House on Sunday January 16, we decided to work with the architecture of the building and the exposed brick and design a darling strawberry-inspired wedding setup.  Check out the pics! Thanks to Baca Photography and A Beautiful Event!

128 South Open House!

We were thrilled to be invited to the 128 South Open House on January 16.  We went with a Tuscan kitchen theme, complete with darling garlic on the tables!  The linen and napkins were custom made, our signature!  Check out our photos, by Kristin Goode Photography!

Wedding Blogs

Some of the best wedding resources are wedding blogs.  For part of our 30 Days of Inspiration blog series, we want to share some of our faves.  What I like most about wedding blogs is that the posts come from real people...not arbitrary photos strewn about from high up executives in a magazine or a national wedding website.  You can find some of the coolest and most innovative ideas on these blogs.  

One way to get to know these blogs is to subscribe to their RSS feed in an e-reader or in your email (which is what we do).  You can easily access these blogs and stay up-to-date without actually doing anything.  Who couldn't love that?!

Here are some of our favorites:

bklynbrideonline.com

100layercake.com

twigandthistle.com 

oncewed.com

stylemepretty.com

weddingchicks.com

Cheers!

Courtney Shaver

Inspiration on Display

If you had a shopping spree at any store, what store would you choose?  Tough question, I know.  The stores you frequent gives insight to the style you're attracted to, so use it to your advantage!  Grab your camera, put on comfy shoes, and get shopping!  Wander around the store paying particular attention to what makes you go "Ooh!" and "Ahh!" and snap a pic.  

When you get home, look at what you've captured.  Did you gravitate towards an industrial-style table with cool galvanized steel accents and warm-colored linens?  Or did the display of dark wood, cool white cable-knits, and gleaming glass accents catch your eye?  The design of store displays are carefully thought out and coordinated to make it pleasing to the eye, so take notice.   

Williams-Sonoma

Red, Orange, and Yellow.  Organic Citrus.

Photos: Williams-Sonoma, Skye Blu Photography via The Knot (rings), Luster Studios (boutonniere)

Until Tomorrow,

Kate Matthies

Pomp and Circumstance

With a personal love for the city of London and British history, I'd like to take this opportunity to address the wedding of Prince William and Kate. From the dress design to the horse-drawn procession, their day will be nothing less than spectacular.  In the midst of the political implications surrounding the union, it is easy to forget that aside from the pomp and circumstance it is just another celebration of love and dedication.   

I'd like to share with you a story recently sent to me by a very close friend.  For Dr. June Davison, the royal wedding represents more than just the joining of two lovebirds.  These are her words.

Now that there’s word of a wedding this summer in the family, my little granddaughter is ecstatic about ALL THINGS WEDDING. Today, as we spent the afternoon, what captured her imagination was the news about the Royal Wedding of William and Kate. When she tired of her dolls, she turned to me to say,

“I wonder what a Royal Wedding would be like…”

With that, I was able to say to her, “Lillian, would you really like to see one?”

Without any further prompting or delay, I pulled out a VHS from 1981 entitled “The Royal Wedding” from Thames Televison and plugged it in to our last remaining compatible video machine. Any excuse to watch this tape will do……

For an hour my sweet little girl and I sat enchanted as Lady Diana Spencer floated through magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral. We loved the wedding sermon—slow and elegantly pronounced. We loved the tropical-bird costume of Dame Kiri te Kanawa as she sang in superhuman range. We shouted out to the bridesmaids to –quick—catch the train as it floated in the wind and—quick-- stuff it into the coach after the ceremony

Lillian sat entranced, while I must say, I felt nostalgic about how young both Charles and Diana seemed so young, and, with the retrospect of history, how naïve it all was.

For Lillian, as for every little girl, it was pure magic, all the better for being real. And for me, well, I grabbed a Kleenex. Why oh why do I cry at weddings? …..

Another Generation

It's no surprise that weddings evoke strong emotions from those who are in the audience.  From complete elation to the ping of nostalgia and every emotion in between, weddings are strong emotional beacons.  Think of the last wedding you attended... how did it make you feel?


Cheers!
Kate Matthies

Your Love Story

   When creating your inspiration board, its important to gather influences from within your own life and the life you've created with your fiancee. Even long after you are married, people will always want to hear the story of how you first met and more importantly, how you got engaged. 

Usually, the spot chosen for popping the question is no trivial location. It was chosen for a reason, whether it be the first place you kissed, or your spot at the beach where you carved your initials in a bench. Wherever you got engaged, the significance of the place is meant to enhance the impact of the ultimate question: Will you marry me? 

Not only is it to be remembered by the both of you for the rest of your lives, but if its the perfect spot, a 'yes' is thus guaranteed. 

If your man did his homework and knocked you off your feet when he proposed, why not give him some credit and draw inspiration from where it all started?

Provence, France

This couple met in Paris during a study abroad program and took a weekend trip to Provence...

Four years later, they were married where their love story began.

Photo Credit: FranceVacationVilla.com, OneandOnlyParisPhotography via Style Me Pretty

Where did your story begin?

Until Tomorrow,

Kate Matthies

Magazine Scrapbook II - Inspiration Boards

Happy Holidays!

Here are some examples of what you can find from online magazines.  Although I love to flip through a photo-filled magazine, I really don't like having stacks of them just collecting dust when I'm done ripping out the pages I find inspiring.  There is a solution!

Many wedding magazines have full versions or previews available to view online.  Some of my favorites include: Weddings Unveiled, Well Wed Magazine, Wedding Style Guide and Get Married Magazine.  While some magazines compile full inspiration boards for you, others will have plenty of pics you choose from to make your own.  

White Glam

NY Well Wed Magazine, Jessica Claire Photography

Winter White and Navy Prep

Well Wed Fall/Winter 2010, Zophia Photography

Weddings Unveiled & Wedding Style Guide

Photo Credit: Jen Fariello Photography for Weddings Unveiled Magazine, Project Duo Photography for Weddings Unveiled Magazine, and Chris Court Photography for Wedding Style Guide

Wedding Styles

Photo Credit: Nautical, Love Bird, and Glam pages from Get Married Magazine, Winter 2010.  Summer board by Sungold Photography for Well Wed Magazine, Winter 2010.  Fall board by Well Wed Magazine, Winter 2010.  Sugar High board for Well Wed Magazine, Winter 2010 by: Cunningham Photo Artists, Brian Hutson Photography, Mark Leet, and Donna Von Bruening.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and safe travels during this holiday season!!

Cheers!
Kate Matthies

Get Inspired by Great Interior Design

I love interior design.  I get a lot of inspiration from non-wedding related things, mostly housing and interior design.  I have so many favorite websites and catalogs that I look through to get some great ideas.  It is really a great way to discover your personal style as well as design your wedding.

Today I'm going to do a similar blog post to yesterday and share some websites that you can browse to get some ideas.  Martha Stewart does have great ideas, but we're going to branch out and show you some other sites to feast your eyes on.

Get inspiration from bathroom design, textures, colors, wallpaper, furniture, molding, you name it...you'll be able to find it on these sites.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Courtney Shaver

designspongeonline.com

design-milk.com

dwellinggawker.com

habituallychic.blogspot.com

materialgirlsblog.com

apartmenttherapy.com

freshome.com

thedecoratingdiva.com