the wedding cosmos

I was randomly looking through my sitemeter the other day, and came across www.omnibride.com as a referring site. I wasn't sure what it was, so with further investigation, I found out that it is a search engine solely devoted to wedding related things. Have you heard of it? I think you have to register to use the engine, but it's a pretty cool concept - I mean, it linked to one of my blog postings, didn't it?! What will they think of next?

self portrait

I'm usually too busy working on other projects to do any work for myself. Last week my wonderful cousin sent me some of her photos she took at our wedding, and I fell in love with the unique angle of the shot below. I wasn't too crazy, however, about the color and crazy carpet pattern. I got to work retouching the photo this week, and came up with two new options. Option A is a very graphic, high-contrast design, while Option B is very ghostly and vintage looking. Any thoughts? Which retouching method do you prefer?

Original Photo

Option A

Option B

Wrigley Field Wedding!

In keeping with yesterday's "baseball" theme, I thought I'd do a Real Weddings post on a couple who utilized Wrigley Field as their backdrop. Seriously, I'm pretty jealous of how cool this event turned out...I found the following photos of Kate & Ray's wedding on Angel Eyes Photography blog. The shots are great, especially inside the stadium, and I love all of the details...a Cubs jersey as their guest book, baseball themed cupcakes and "ticket-like" invitations. Reminds me of the Wrigley Save The Dates I design. Love it! Go Cubbies!









peanuts & crackerjacks...


I don't care if I never get back, Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don't win it's a shame...last weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to see the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway Park! Luke flew into Boston friday night and we crammed as much of the city into our two days as possible. Fenway was really cool, but I'm still partial to Wrigley Field. I felt a little strange sitting there, rooting for the Red Sox, but they were the underdogs...and they came through with the win! Regardless, my heart still belongs in Chicago...go Cubbies, go!





Liberty

I just returned from a week in Boston (hence the lack of postings lately). I'd never been to Boston before and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I was in town for work, so I had the opportunity to stay at The Liberty Hotel. If you're planning on going to Boston soon, I'd definitely recommend staying at this hotel or at least stopping by for dinner and a few drinks. Scampo, one of the hotel's restaurants, was voted in the top 20 restaurants in the USA (2008) by Esquire. The food was absolutely amazing - I'm still dreaming about the mozzarella bar and lobster!


The Liberty is unique because it actually used to be an old jail. Originally built in 1851, the structure is quite amazing. The last prisoners were moved out in 1990, and in 2001 construction started on the hotel. For more details on the restoration, go here. The property has played up its unique characteristics with such things as a restaurant called Clink that still has old jail bars and cells!


This past weekend there was a wedding taking place in the hotel. The Liberty's banquet room is a unique mix of old charm and modern decor (photo above). The colors are vibrant and inviting. For more details on the venue check out the hotel's website or this local Boston blog.


On top of being a great hotel (phenomenal food, service and people watching!), the Liberty sits on Charles Street at the beginning of Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill is one of the most quaint, charming neighborhoods I've seen - very European! I instantly fell in love with the cobblestone streets, cafés, antique shops and beautiful homes. I can't wait to go back!
(Photo Credits: libertyhotel.com and Keg Design)

Chartreuse Inspiration

Here's a mood board I put together for Style Me Pretty's Look Book contest a few weeks back. I used Vera Wang's hand-painted, chartreuse organza gown as my starting point. The rest of the look was inspired by my wedding style and colors. Click image to enlarge.


Dreamy Dresses - Spring '10

How is it that wedding gown designers are always out doing themselves year after year? Here are a few of my favorites from the Spring 2010 runway shows. Seriously, how much fun would it be to own your very own bridal boutique - chalk full of the best gowns around - a girl can dream, right? Even if my husband thinks I'm totally crazy...






Flower Power 2.0

I thought I would stick to my new friday plan...anything and everything about flowers! Today's posting is all about boutonnieres. I'm loving the unique flowers and materials used in the following examples.



Photos from here and here.

Unique Bridal Shower Game

Last year, my dear friend (and recent MOH) got married! Yeah! I helped plan her "Surprise" bridal shower and was in charge of the games. Trying to be different, and keeping Megan's interests in mind (SHOES!), I came up with an alternative to "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"..."Pin the Shoes on Megan"!! The game was a huge success and very easy to create. Using a full length photo of Megan, I clipped out the image in Photoshop and turned it to black and white. I had it printed on an over sized poster at Kinko's. I found colorful shoes online and printed, trimmed and adhered tape to the back of each pair. From there, I just needed a blindfold and a couple willing participants...and the fun was ready to begin!



Does anyone else have any unique shower games they've recently played?

Groovin'

Luke and I on the dance floor...

My Mom and I groovin' in our gowns! Wasn't her dress beautiful?

"All you Single Ladies" party on the stage!
(Photos by RHB Photography.)

Conversation Starter

Check out these "Date Night At Home" dinner and dessert plates from Orange & Blossom. I'm loving them! If you're looking to get your best friend a unique shower gift - look no further. Or maybe even add them to your own wedding registry via a website like MyRegistry.com. As the plate designer states, the handmade pieces are "meant to stir those butterfly feelings from your first dinners together...scoot your chairs a little closer and serve something spicy." Who knows what will happen after dessert?!


"hey, handsome" and "hi, beautiful" dinner plates, set of 2 : $70.00


"so, what's after dessert?" dessert plates (handmade), set of 2: $58.00

Flower Friday!

I thought I'd start something new...friday postings all about flowers! To start off the series, here's a beautiful bridal bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings. I love the soft colors and unique mixture of textures.

Half up, Half down

In regards to hair and make-up, the most important thing to me on my wedding day was that I ended up looking like me! I have naturally curly hair, and I didn't want it hidden in an up-do or straightened with an iron. I went with a loose half-up, half-down style. It suited my personality and complimented the grecian look of my gown. I loved how the side curls swept across my face and twisted into the barrette in the back of my hair. I wanted the hair accessory I choose to subtly enhance my hair style, not overwhelm it. The rhinestone piece I found did just that! Overall, I was really pleased with my wedding hair...





All photos by RHB Photography.