Inspiration: Beach Tones

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my brother was recently engaged. Well, I spoke with my to-be sister-in-law the other night and we began to discuss colors and details and the like. It was only a couple days before I couldn't resist the urge to make an inspiration board any longer.

Their wedding will most likely be at a church just five minutes away from the beach. The reception will be on the top floor of a gorgeous hotel with wide windows overlooking the beach on one side and the intercoastal on the other. To go along with this natural, beach-like feel they wanted to keep things more formal (since their wedding will not actually take place on the beach) yet incorporate natural tones. I'm thinking of a rich blue and seafoam green. And, remember that photo from yesterday? It was the perfect centerpiece to this lovely beach-like board.

Here's what I came up with...

{dress on beach, martini, lantern, invitation, bridesmaids, cake, escort cards}

What do you think?

Quest Success

Thanks to all of you who made recommendations on my previous post "The Quest." My search for gold shoes has been successful -- thanks to you! So, I just felt like I had to share the results with you all.

On that note, I have a small confession to make: I had never heard of DSW. No joke! But, what an amazing stock of shoes they have. I was certainly given plenty of gold shoe options to select from which is just what this incredibly picky shoe shopper needed!

Nevertheless, here's what I think I'm going with (drumroll please):

I know, I know. They aren't the strappy heels I thought I wanted. But, I can't resist a good peep toe and I think they will be just lovely with the dress! Plus, I can already think of plenty of other opportunities to wear them! 

What do you think?

Perfectly Peaceful

This one doesn't even need words...

Photo by the amazing Leigh Miller.

Green with Envy

Alright, alright. It's a cheap pun considering the actual topic of this post. I will even admit that. But, who doesn't love one of those? I just couldn't resist telling you about Joslyn's (from Simple Lovely) quest to be truly green by embarking on a 3-month spending hiatus. 

I like how she explained it best, "Purchasing something I don’t truly need makes a much bigger environmental impact than taking home yet another mindless purchase in an environmentally correct canvas bag." Better yet, she's convinced 30+ people to take the leap with her!  

Not only do I love her brilliant idea and ability to convince others to do the same, but I love her subsequent new "what I didn't buy" posts and her exploration of all there is to do outside of shopping.  And, while her blog isn't wedding related, she has fabulous inspiration and ideas. Check it out for yourself.

You Complete Me

What a wonderful shot! I have seen a few like this recently and love it.  Maybe it's the teamwork involved (in that 1+1=2 kind of way). Or, maybe it's the ode to childish ways of drawing on your hands. But there is definitely something romantic about it.

Image courtesy of Max Wanger Photography.

Cake in a Bite

I must say, I have heard the hype about KB's Gourmet Cake Truffles. In fact, I've heard a lot of the hype. Here. And here. And here, for example. But two nights ago, I got to actually try them. And, let me tell you, the hype was so true. In fact, I will be perfectly honest -- though I'm a choc-aholic I have never been much of a truffle fan. But these? These were so much more than truffles.

 

Imagine a gooey, moist, cakey inside. It's almost like moist and rich, fudgey brownie covered in a chocolate shell. Seriously, it is quite possibly one of the best desserts I have ever had.

  

Kudos to KB's Kakes for another amazing creation. I can't wait to try more flavors!

Less Work, More Play

In all my time enduring the painstaking process of making inspiration boards (let me clarify: the cutting/pasting/cropping part is painstaking -- I love actually making the board) I have now stumbled across two intriguing tools designed to make the inspiration board process that much easier.

Find #1: Polyvore. I was introduced to this fascinating site by Kari from Kee to your Heart first in person and then in her lovely post "I heart Polyvore!" (Board below is courtesy of Polyvore.) Basically, Polyvore allows you to pull items from all over the web to mix and match. You can move them around, flip them over, and overlap them any which way you want. What I think I love best is that these boards can be made for just about anything. You aren't limited to fashion items or wedding-related stuff. It sounds like a great way to get a vision for re-decorating a room. And, it is so much easier than manipulating the images yourself!

Find #2: Bridal Canvas. This site is very similar to Polyvore. In my opinion, it isn't as intuitive. Both of them take some getting used to, but Bridal Canvas's tools and ways to adjust and change things just weren't as user-friendly. It did, however, produce equally nice designs. It's just like making a magazine collage without all the mess!

So now that these tools exist it seems it is easier than ever to make inspiration boards. While I'm partial to doing it myself, I'm certainly going to test these out more and play with them some more, particularly for design ideas.

But, I'm intrigued. Do you all know of any others? Have you known of these? Do you use these or prefer doing it yourself?

The Quest

"...for what?" you might ask. Gold shoes. My requirements? Just that they are gold metallic. They can be any style. Flats. Heels. Sandals. Whatever.

I know this is relatively unrelated to everything else on this blog. But, I would really love some input here. So please forgive me. I'm wearing them with this dress (also see below, I am, obviously, the one in green) in my friend's lovely wedding this September.

I'm thinking something strappy and fun. Along these lines:

In fact, I really love those last ones but (a) they are Kate Spade -- and therefore probably way expensive, and (b) they are from last season and, apparently, impossible to find. 

Any ideas?

Round of Thanks

In blog news, I first off want to thank Adrienne from For the Love of Weddings for granting me the Proximidade award. I know this is so belated it might seem almost silly. But, Adrienne, I was truly honored. I hope I haven't lost the award from my tardiness to recognize it!

The award is given for meeting the following description:

"This blog invests and believes in proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

Then, I want to send a special humongous thanks to Unique Designs. 

Two weeks ago I won the giant contest they have been promoting which entitled me to 4 wedding movies (Just Married, Wedding Crashers, The Wedding Date, and Made of Honor) and 2 tickets to see Bride Wars. This is, quite possibly, the first (and maybe the last) thing I have ever won in my life. So, my excitement upon finding out was, well, a bit extreme. Anyway, thank you thank you thank you Unique Designs -- you guys are the best. Speaking of which, if you haven't been to their website and blog, you simply must!

Blogger, oh how I've missed you.

That's right. I'm back indeed my friends. Thank you for your unrelenting patience with my absence. Like many of you, I took time away to travel, spend time with family, and enjoy life outside of the blogosphere. And my is it wonderful! 

And, I've been working from a long overdue new computer and the adjusting and transferring of files that that entails. 

But now? I'm back and ready to get back to work.

In personal wedding news my brother just got engaged. So, I have another wedding to add to top off the ones I can't wait for (like this and this)! And, of course, I'm particularly endeared to the fact that one of their very first dates was my very own wedding (no lie!). Check them out below -- aren't they adorable?

Anyway, more blogging soon! I promise.