Wedding motif: Retro chic

My inspiration for this wedding board is Birnbaum and Bullock's Audrey-inspired wedding gown.  When I was starting to collect images to support the dress, I realized that I wanted something that was retro-fun without the diner look.  And so to achieve the wedding look that I wanted, I incorporated vintage elements that will still keep the ambience fun and chic rather than formal or too casual.  I think I managed to create a wedding board with such a mood. *Hopefully, you guys agree too.*

{Click to enlarge}

The choice of transportation of course will be a fab top-down vintage car that will take you to your retro-vintage inspired wedding reception.  I imagine a wedding with this theme in mind will be done in an open grass area with white tents and tables with light gold tablecloth and decorated with pink roses placed on antique-finished teacups.  Lately, I have been loving lounge setups during cocktail hour wherein instead of chairs and sofas, there are blankets and pillows strewn on the ground.  For your entourage, the bridesmaids can wear different style of dresses in monochromatic shades of pink.  You can also gift them with pearl-accessorized jewelry on a gold chain.  This they can wear on your wedding day.

You may also apply touches of pink or gold in other small (but definitely not insignificant) details like ribbons for favor tags, hair accessories for even the littlest of guest (that cute 1-yr. old niece of yours will look adorable in a pink rosette headband as pictured above), or even to accentuate the food labels in your buffet table.  Other colors that I think will help highlight this particular wedding theme are bronze and cream.

Sources (clockwise from top-left):
Birnbaum and Bullock Audrey-style cocktail wedding dress
Unknown Flowers on vintage teacups
Etsy: briguysgirls Pearl earring and necklace set
Snippet and Ink Outdoor wedding lounge
Etsy: BannerBoutiqueOnEtsy Pink rosette headband
Amy Atlas Dessert bar
Elizabeth Anne Designs Vintage car
Olive Manna Twill tape fabric ribbon

Wedding motif: Tiffany blue

Source: Tiffany & Co.

I was once that girl who dreamed of an engagement ring that comes in a box that is a shade of light aqua blue and wrapped in a white shiny ribbon. Truth be told, I am not sure which I like more back then: a Tiffany & Co. ring or the box that came with it. I was so charmed with the color of the box (may be used as a fabulous wedding favor box) that I have decided to make a wedding inspiration board with this color in mind.

Gone are those days when I pine for wedding rings that come in a Tiffany box. However, my love of all things pretty is still there and so has my liking for the Tiffany blue shade. There is just certain chicness to it. May it be a cosmopolitan wedding (think New York penthouse, cocktail dresses, and blue martini) or a beach-themed wedding; I can really imagine using this for a wedding motif. For this post, I've decided for a beach-chic look.



Sources (clockwise from top-left):

pompandplumage (Etsy seller) Garter with Tiffany blue cameo set
Amy Kuschel Wedding gown
Millie Holloman Photography French macaroons
Style Me Pretty Groom's suit
buttongrass (Etsy seller) Pillow
J. Cogliandro Photography Couple on the beach
Jennifer Cress Photography Reception decor
GallaJewelry (Etsy seller) Pearl bracelet

Wedding motif: Forest, Forest, Forest

When I think of wedding motifs, a forest theme seems to always manage to make it to my list. For such a simple (and I don’t mean that negatively) color combination, when done correctly, it will never fail to illicit that “awww, shucks…so pretty” reaction from people.

Here’s my attempt on a forest-themed wedding inspiration board. Truth be told, I am considering this theme for my own nuptials particularly with my wedding reception layout. And once again, I’m featuring my Etsy finds… not just one but three!

Feel free to leave a comment as I’m always delighted to hear feedback of my works.

Sources (clockwise from top-left):

The Cupcake Forest Carrot cupcake
Betsy White Ecru dinner menu stationery
Braggingbags (Etsy seller) Flower girl basket
Good Earth Floral Design Studio Wedding bouquet holder
Braggingbags (Etsy seller) Woodland lantern
Badang Rueda (Philippine-based stylist/florist) Bride's bouquet
David’s Bridal Mikado gown with ruffle details at the back
Wandaandkrystyna (Etsy seller) Brown favor box

Wedding motif: Just like a strawberry sundae

I’m going to be away for awhile but before I temporarily sign-off, I’ve made another wedding inspiration board: pink and brown wedding.

 

I’ve always loved pink but I admit that it can be a little girly at times.  And this is why I just ♥ pink + brown.  I like that the chocolate brown color balances and takes a little off the sweetness of the color pink.  When I imagine these two colors together, I imagine sweetness but just the right amount.  Just like a strawberry sundae.

 

 

Sources (clockwise from top left):

 

Kaboodle Flower girl dress

Blog: Odi et Amo Ruthie Sommers Room 

Blog: Such Pretty Things Haircomb with vintage flowers

ShySiren (Etsy seller) Four leaf clover earrings

Sophies Favors Pink and Brown favor box

The Dessy Group Espresso swatch

Wilton Paper cups

Wedding motif: Mint for each other

My 8-10 hours job (depending on work demand) keeps me busy from Monday to Friday.  And since I’m really a nocturnal person, I tend to sleep late even after getting home late.  On those hours, I am kept busy by only two things: wedding stuffs and/or Facebook games. =P

And of the zillions of FB games out there, I am most addicted with Restaurant City.  I will not bother to explain what this game is all about because if you don’t know yet, count yourself lucky as this game can be very addictive. *grin*  Now, you’re probably thinking what the heck does a Facebook game have anything to do with weddings, right?  Currently, there’s this ingredient that I badly need so that I can upgrade a Kiwi drink to level 10.  If you guessed Mint, then you’re right.

Since mint has been on my mind lately, I figured I’d make a mood board of some sort with the green color in mind.

Green and gold works well together.  I added the red cake to give this motif a bit of a bolder tone since this color combination would work well if you keep both green and gold on the lighter/paler shade.  Too dark of a green will give it a woodsy feel to it and that’s not what I envisioned here.  The gold is meant to be an accent so it needs to be on a lighter shade like champagne.  This could be a nice, festive but not that loud motif.  I would suggest that you use red only on one statement piece like your wedding cake.

Sources (clockwise starting from leftmost image):

• Monique Lhuillier Bridesmaid dress style no. 0904
• Martha Stewart Wedding Ikat and French Silk Ribbon Wedding Cake
• Monique Lhuillier Style BL0901 from her more affordable wedding gown collection, Bliss
• The Knot Champagne mojito
• Tamar (Etsy seller) Two 22K Gold Plated Headbands

PS.  You can find the mojito recipe here.

Get inspired

There's something about weddings that have always managed to make me smile (on some rare occasion, cringe, but that's for another blog entry).  It may be the gown (oh those ruffles!), the jewelry (unlimited sparkle.. no one can possibly resist this), the event styling (from a simple English garden to an extravagant 'Alice in Wonderland'-inspired theme), the flowers (a rose is never just a rose), and everything else in between.  I suppose it's a grown-up version of playing dress up and throwing a party.  You get all of it in one big event.. and it's for you and your partner!

And because I have been surfing the 'Net for years and years now just ogling at all things wedding-y, I might as well share my finds with everyone else.

Here are several inspiration boards that I've adored over the years:

   

 

   

If you feel like creating your own board, Dessy makes that task easy.  The site also has a lot on its gallery of finished boards depending on the color motif.

FINALLY.

This is what most of the people in my life said.

 

Finally, Mr. J and I are officially engaged. Even though I knew this was coming already (just didn't know when and exactly where and how), it still is a different level of happiness once he finally slipped the ring in my finger.  I can't divulge the details of the proposal as it is something we would like to keep a secret.  But I can tell this: it happened in Mandarin Oriental Singapore.  For this, I will forever ♥ Manda SG (this is how Mr. J and I usually refer to the hotel that we've been staying in every time we go to Singapore).  Just for the record, even without the proposal happening there, we have always loved the hotel with its excellent customer service and beautiful rooms.  No wonder it's usually #1 (or #2) in TripAdvisor ratings.

 

Speaking of ring, I highly recommend Vivo Diamonds Singapore. This is where my now-fiancé (i just love being able to call him that.. my fiancé) Mr. J bought the e-ring and I am way more than happy with the service and the outcome. The quality of the ring? Let’s just say that it was so gorgeous that my Mom is seriously considering having one made for her. And between the two of us, it’s really my mom and sister who are into jewelries.

 

Just a brief background on Vivo (located in Singapore); it’s an online jewelry retailer (similar to Blue Nile) except that they have an actual office wherein you could view the stones and setting first before purchasing it. Also, if you pay in cash, you get a discount. Plus, Isaac Poh, is super nice and very knowledgeable when it comes to diamonds (he's a GIA-graduate gemologist).

 

My ring 's center stone is a 0.60 carat round brilliant with HCA score of 0.9. Color is E with clarity of VS2. All the other round brilliant stones have the same clarity and color.

 

So, there we go. I will now have to put a strikethrough in my profile description.

 

I’m engaged.

 

Finally.