sophisticated southern style

I'm just in love with the polished elegance of this Tennessee wedding from The Knotty Bride and Kristyn Hogan {Nashville Photog}! I've featured so many wildly unique weddings, but I wanted to make sure to show you how gorgeous simplicity can be! This is a gorgeous example of how a theme can be as simple as a color! But please notice how strong of a statement one color can make! You just better make sure you love that color and it says everything you want it to say about you and your wedding, because there's a WHOLE LOT OF IT! 

Okay back to this wedding! First of all, the dress if to die for! So so stunning and simple, then she turns around and BAM! That bow!!

Amazingly stunning drama of the dress to match the stunning bride!! She used one of my favorite wedding colors- navy - a gorgeous and regal color that is bold enough to stand out, but feminine enough for a southern wedding! And those ginormous columns on the venue only adds to the wow factor!

The navy theme carried through {like it always should} to the reception! With draping and lighting, you couldn't help but say WOW when you walked in that room! I'm in love their initials on the curtain! The perfect way to personalize your wedding for not a lot of money- and its so easy to do!! If your reception venue doesn't have a curtain, shine the light on your dance floor! So simple, but such a unique touch!

The couples exit down the mountain of a building was lit by sparklers! The color and warm glow that sparklers give off make me so happy! And who doesn't love a little dangerous fire? {the answer is: the wedding planner! but the guests always have so much fun!}The perfect ending to a perfect night for the perfect couple! 

 I think this picture is just amazing! What a unique and memorable photo of the LOVE at the wedding!

Sounds like I really like this wedding huh?! 

See the rest of the goodness on The Knotty Bride- and trust me, its worth the trip to their site :)

officially royal

The official royal wedding photos have just been released! Hugo Burnand received the honor of capturing the royal wedding day on camera and he did an amazing job! With his many assistants and stop watch in hand, he captured every second of the royal wedding day! As if you needed more proof that this couple is in love, check out the official bridal party shots  compared to Princess Diana's!

These pictures may have been taken in the same room, but they portray totally different marriages! Notice how Kate sits with her hand on Will's leg! They are leaning into each other and glowing with love! Princess Diana's official portraits paint a different picture. The couple is sitting with a large gap between them and on different levels depicting Prince Charles' dominance. Thank goodness that Prince William didn't follow in the arranged footsteps of his parents!

Kate's official portrait also shows the amazing lace detail on her train that wasn't obvious in other photos! The intricate lace on her train featured an emblem from each of the states in the UK! So special and shows that she had the kingdom in mind when designing the dress! She really is going to be a Queen for the people! 

royal wedding reality

OH MY GOD!

Those are the only words to describe this wedding fit for a future queen! I'm speechless {well I'm not really speechless}! Ever since I got word of the engagement, I was infatuated with the royal couple and their upcoming nuptials! Call me a hopeless romantic, but what girl doesn't dream of marrying a prince one day?! 

I started studying the royal couple since Waity Katie received that amazing sapphire from her prince. Everything about their childhoods, their college lives, their first meeting, the engagement and everything in between! So I needed to know everything about the wedding!

Here are the deets:

While enjoying tea and lemon cookies at 5 am in our hats, I sat anxiously awaiting the future princesses arrival! The most talked about detail was her DRESS! Everything had been kept secret until she literally stepped out of the car! Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen had partnered with Kate to design her dream dress, a dress reminiscent of Grace Kelly! It was a dream of ivory satin and lace! The padded hips paid homage to the Victorian era and the pleated detail on the back symbolized a budding flower {a love in bloom}! The Cartier tiara was an understated and modern nod to the traditional British tiara! It literally was the perfect dress for Princess Catherine, but I only have one complaint, it didn't scream QUEEN! I wanted more drama and more glam, but that wouldn't have been Kate's dress {it would've been mine}! Pippa and the bridesmaids also made amazingly glamourous statements in Sarah Burton dresses. All wore white in keeping with the customs of bridesmaids to distract the evil spirits from the bride! LOVE

Upon first sighting, I was slightly disappointed with the small and simple bouquet, but after researching about it, I realized how much thought went into the flower selection and how special it was!  Vera Wang stated that the size of the bouquet was perfect and small not to overpower the delicate lace detail of the dress. Each flower chosen had symbolic meaning to the British monarchy. The Lily of the Valley's symbolized the return of happiness to the kingdom. Sweet William flowers showed gallantry. The Hyacinths represented the consistency of love. Ivy's stand for fidelity, marriage, friendship and affection. The Myrtle was the most significant flower which is an emblem of marriage and love. It was also Queen Victoria's royal flower, the same Queen who started the tradition of bride's wearing white :)

After the wedding ceremony, the couple made the 4 minute procession down the aisle of the Westminster Abbey and got into the royal carriage. The carriage was constructed in 1902 and has been used for every royal wedding since. The future king even hired a few of his friends to ride in the carriage brigade and accompany the couple to Buckingham Palace! Such a sweet and personal touch!

After Princess Catherine and Prince William arrived at the Palace, we anxiously awaited {an hour} for their first kiss! Not only did the couple give us one kiss, but FOUR kisses- a record for British royalty! I think this speaks volumes about their relationship! They are really and truly in love! This marriage is the first marriage in British history that was not arranged-eeeekkkkk! I'm in love with their love :) {also note the precious little bridesmaid who didn't like all of the loud cheering}

My favorite touch, and one that shows they are just like you and me, is their Buckingham Palace exit in the blue Aston Martin! No guards, no protection, just them in love! The car was loaned to them from Prince Charles's personal collection! The royal blue car was decorated with balloons, streamers, and bore the license plate that said "Just Wed" :) I am so in love with their choice to leave like a normal, modern, real couple! Princess Diana did such a great job to raise him in such a humble way! She would be so proud of them!

Tonight will be the celebration of the century! They will have so much fun that they couldn't even invite the Queen! I cant wait to see what Pippa and Prince Harry have planned for the royal reception! One detail we do know is that the cake is HUGE! It is an 8 tier cake meant to feed the 650 guests in attendance! And the coolest part...it's a fruit cake! Shocker, I know but I have read that the cake was deliciously moist and in the traditional British style! And for the first time, the prince will have an American grooms cake! It is an unbaked chocolate cake with chocolate cookie crumbles- YUM!

Also just in! Kate has slipped into a SECOND royal gown, also designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen! This gorgeous strapless, satin gown has beautiful diamond detailing! So modern and sleek! Prince William also slipped into something more comfortable! He's looking so dapper and regal in his tuxedo!

I told you I did my homework! This is truly such an exciting day for me and I love it so much because I love their love! I'm so proud that Prince William listened to his mother and followed his heart to find true love! Such a beautiful thing and I don't know one person that didn't cry!!

royal wedding dreams

Just 4 days until the wedding of the century! I hope you're just as excited as I am about the royal festivities! We've have been following every detail and it's sounding more and more fantastic with every day! 

Since the engagement announcement, people have been in a royal frenzy! Every one is wondering what her dress will look like, which crown will she wear, what will the reception look like, etc. Every channel has a show about it, a reporter in London, a style report, or a blog about the detail developments. Photographers and planners are even staging receptions that they want the royal wedding to look like... this one is my favorite!

Photographers MIMMO & NAZ and Principal Planner Weddings and Events Weddings and Events shared their vision of the royal wedding with this amazing inspirational shoot! Using the elegant and royal color of blue, this reception space screams elegance and old money, but with a modern flair. Kate Middleton has made it clear that she will maintain tradition but she will push the envelope to bring the British royalty into the modern age! This inspirational shoot uses touches of feathers and lace {details that are so HOT right now} with all the gorgeous gilded gold details!

I'm obsessed:

You love it huh?! Thought so :)

a gorgeous affair

When your a wedding planner who has seen wedding after wedding every weekend, you set the bar so high for your own! You spend years collecting pictures and ideas from all of the weddings you plan and you try to top them all! This one did just that! I want to thank one of my favorite bloggers, Hey Gorgeous, for allowing me to share her gorgeous wedding with you! Everyone, take notice of every little detail because they are fabulous- and frankly, details are what wedding planners specialize in! 


I am so obsessed with the belt on the dress, the black lace accents, and those gigantic balloons! What I love most about it is that all of these unique touches aren't overpowering. She used the perfect balance of trendy and traditional!


I am also a huge huge fan of the candy bar! More to come later on this growing trend, 
but I LOVE.

To die for... I'm going to let these pictures speak for themselves :)

Ahhhhhmazing huh?! So sweet and romantic!

For the full details and pictures, visit one of my other fave blogs The Knotty Bride Blog!

Gorgeous photography by Amanda Wilcher

p.s. I'm sorry for the overuse of the word GORGEOUS- it's not only the name of the brides event planning company, but it describes this wedding so well :)

perfectly vintage

I have the pleasure of sharing this BEA-utiful vintage chic wedding with you! This love story was all captured on film by Courtney Dellafiora, a wedding/boudoir/portrait photographer based in Baton Rouge! She is absolutely amazing at capturing every special moment in the most creative and unique ways! These pictures were so amazing that this wedding was featured on RUFFLED- a wedding blog of all things vintage!

This wedding linked the past, present, and future! The bride not only wore her mothers wedding dress, but also married her fiance Joe at the same house that her parents were married! Truly a meaningful day for everyone!

The theme was- All you need is love- and what more could you ask for! You could see that love in every single detail! Remember when I blogged about executing a theme- this wedding did just that! All of the dresses, flowers, cakes, and pictures screamed vintage chic! And you can do this too! 

I hope you enjoy these beautiful photos from such a special day! Make sure to visit Courtney Dellafiora's blog for the full wedding and many many more beautiful weddings too!

must love weddings

 Elizabeth Taylor. Icon. The world is so sad to hear about her passing, but she will continue to live on in our memories. Especially the memories of her 8 weddings. Mrs. Taylor was married 8 different times, twice to the same man! She must've loved wedding so much she planned 8 of them! Here are the gorgeous pictures from each of her wedding days! You can view all of the hubby details in this Instyle article! Enjoy :)

gaga for wedding themes

There are so many ways to make your wedding unique to you and your personality, which I think is a MUST for every wedding! A theme is the perfect way to do that, whether it is simply a color palette or a full theme like Vintage Romance, Old Hollywood Glamour or Peacock Chic. What is most important is carrying your theme through every detail of the wedding! When making decisions for the big day, ask yourself if  that item, vendor, or venue fits the theme. If not, find something else that does! There is nothing worse then a theme that isn't carried through!

So for example, if your wedding is New Orleans themed, then everything should say Nola with fleur de lis, streetcars, and second lines-- invitations of a black and white sketched cathedral, cake with fleur de lis accents,  fun flowers with feathers, second line umbrellas and personalized second line napkins. Theming your wedding is a great way to give your guests that "one-of-a-kind" feeling. 

One of my favorite themed weddings is this lady gaga inspired wedding by Ashleigh Taylor Photography that was posted on Wedding Chicks (one of my new favorite daily wedding blogs)! I know this is a lot of theme for New Orleans, but it is perfect for Los Angeles and a great example of how to pull off an amazing theme! They incorporated black lace, geometric shapes, and chunky statement jewelry! Love how they carried the STUNNING blue color through all of the details! 

Everything about this wedding screams GAGA! 

Anyone can do this! All you need is a vision!! 

You can see more pictures from this gaga inspired shin dig HERE at the full blog on Wedding Chicks! I definitely encourage you to go look at the rest of them :)