Thank you Carla + Pete!

Thank you so much for sharing the amazing details of your wedding with us!

{photo by Beth Beljon}

Carla + Pete: Flowers and Cake

From Carla Lane:
My only bouquet request was to "Make it big." Jennifer Katz of Fiore Designs created these lush bouquets with green roses, gardenias, white spray roses, scabiosa pods, preserved white hydrangeas, and feathers. The bridesmaids wore matching print dresses from BCBG.

{photo by Beth Beljon}

The cake was inspired by a Jonathan Adler piece of pottery, and we used a tiny Adler vase filled with lisianthus as a topper. The fondant cake by Exquisite Desserts had a ribbed effect that mimicked the vase.

{photo by Beth Beljon}

Carla + Pete: Ceremony, Cocktails, and Reception

More from Carla Lane:
It was so HOT the day of my wedding I provided parasols with a tag that said "stay cool baby it's hot outside" and we served lime smoothies in champagne glasses as they waited for the late bride.

{photo by Beth Beljon}

I used white chivari chairs with black cushions for the ceremony (I hung simple green tassels on each chair down the aisle) and reception, then switched to black chivari chairs with white cushions for cocktail hour. It didn't add a lot of cost but it added a lot of style.

Ceremony

{photo by Beth Beljon}

Cocktail Hour

{photo by Beth Beljon}

Reception

{photo by Beth Beljon}

For the reception, Cheree Berry used a different clip art design for each table (here you can see zebras, candelabras, parasols, bumblebees, and bicycles). We put it out on tablecloths I sewed for the cocktail hour and used black and white striped ribbon to hold them down, which matched my invites. On the escort-card table was a glass jar containing river rocks, dahlias, and succulents.

{photo by Beth Beljon}

Check back later for flowers and the cake!

Carla + Pete: Jump Photos

We are so excited about the next few posts! Carla Lane is an extremely talented interior designer who, lucky for us, was also recently married. The pictures from her wedding at the Parker Palm Springs (also featured in Brides California) are equally as creative as her work, so we can't wait to share them all over the next few days.

Carla and Pete had a digital photo set up against a huge backdrop and the guests all jumped! Carla said that this series of photographs is "hands down the best pix from my wedding", and we can see why! In the first photo, the guy in the seersucker suit and matching seersucker Converse sneakers is Carla's brother and that's the same outfit all of the groomsmen wore. Carla's now husband, Pete, is a professional photographer, which she says can keep the costs down for setting up these "Jump" photos.



{photos by Roman Cho}
***please note***
The majority of Roman's work is in the commercial and entertainment field and his website reflects that. Since he does not shoot weddings on a
regular basis and does not advertise myself as such, the weddings he does
shoot tend to be of friends and acquaintances (such as Carla and
Pete's). Depending on what the bride and the groom are looking for, Roman says that "I can
shoot either in a very simple manner- photojournalist-like,
fly-on-the-wall, observer telling the story of the wedding or I bring
in my studio experience and build a complex studio-on-location and
capture high-quality photos with sophisticated lighting a la Carla's
photos. Please let your readers know that I am available for weddings
and while they are welcome to look at my website, if they want to see
wedding-specific images, they should contact me directly."

Check back with us over the next few days to see more of Carla's pictures- the cake, the escort cards (by my own stationer, Cheree Berry)- more to come!

Inn at Palmetto Bluff

Taking a break this week to catch up on some projects that need lots of attention, so we will leave you with pictures from one of our favorite weddings at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina. We love the ceremony options- either a sweet white chapel by the riverside or the village square surrounded by towering oak trees. See more pictures here.

{photos from Palmetto Bluff}

Mark Staff Photography has several beautiful slideshows from Palmetto Bluff weddings on his website, but this one really stole our attention- yes, that is Reese Witherspoon as a beautiful bridesmaid in yellow (top right photo, far left). And the cake looks inspired by Martha's dogwood cake! See more pictures from the wedding here and here.


{photos from Mark Staff Photography}

Blueberry Wedding

Just saw these wedding photos by Stacey Kane (via The Preppy Wedding) and fell in love! We love all the blueberry details on the stationery and especially on the cupcakes, all designed by Kate Parker of Kate Parker Weddings...see the full slideshow here.

{photos by Stacey Kane}

Athenaeum Press

Love this slightly retro/slightly preppy letterpress wedding invite from Athenauem Press, thanks to Little Lined Notebook for introducing us! Especially love the red and blue, the letterpressed houndstooth pattern, and the argyle monogram- it's like modern Charlie Brown chic!

{photos from Anthenaeum Press}

Checkerboard Ballrooms

There is something so appealing about a black and white checked floor- in my old apartment my kitchen was checked and I think I rented it based on that alone! Love the contrast also of the black and white with tiffany-blue fabric on the left (a Soiree event, of course!) and the turquoise walls in the middle. We tend to like bigger squares in wedding pictures- they immediately make a dance floor look more fun!

{L to R: Brides, Brides, Soiree Charleston}

Nautical Details

We are loving these nautical details for a wedding- the little white chocolate flags on the cake, the flag escort & place cards, the cupcake flags- and cute sailboat sugar cookie favors to send off the guests! The contrast of the primary colors looks so fresh amongst all the soft pastels we normally see at weddings (which we love also- don't get us wrong!)...

{Left column from Brides, middle and right columns from Rebecca Thuss}

Love, Freddy & Ma

A few days ago we posted about the new service for brides at Freddy & Ma, and now they are offering our readers 20% off any of the bags on their site from now until the end of September with the code FAYEGREER. And brides always get 20% when you order 5 or more of their clutches. If you are stumped on which bag to go for, check out their blog for some great ideas- we especially love the "Bag of the Day" where Freddy & Ma style a whole outfit around one of their bag designs!

Albertine Press

Based out of Boston, this letterpress design and print shop does everything from save-the-dates to baby announcements- all of it unique and just a little eccentric. We especially love the escort cards on the top right, where each table featured a drawing of a favorite place in Central Park like Bethesda Terrace and Alice in Wonderland.

{photos from Albertine Press}

Orange and Chocolate

So it definitely doesn't feel anywhere close to fall yet for us, but it seems like after Labor Day everyone is in the mood for fall. While we are not huge fans of orange and black for a Halloween-inspired wedding, we do love this combination of orange and chocolate, in cakes as well as flowers. The bouquet and table centerpieces of orange dahlias and chocolate-brown cosmos are just a perfect color combination for a modern fall wedding. Also check out the orange dahlia wreaths worn by these flower girls (photos by Liz Banfield).

{L to R: bouquet from Brides, cake from InStyle Weddings, reception from The Knot}

Faye is a favorite!

Although the inspiration board contest over on Style Me Pretty is over, Faye still feels like she won because her board was picked as one of Abby's favorites! Read more about it here and here.

{photo from MS via Brooklyn Bride's flickr pool}

Needle + Thread Invites

We are loving all of the stitched details that keep popping up on invitations lately. Fabric envelopes and pockets allow you to add pattern and color without muddying up the actual invite, so you can mix the formality of a simple invitation with the casual warmth that comes from the handmade detail. Even though they are intended to look handmade and sweetly imperfect, they can still set the tone for a rustic wedding, a modern garden ceremony, or even a more formal event.

{Clockwise, L to R: Brides, Bird & Banner, Gingham invite by Chelsea, Bird & Banner}