Happy Saturday, my dears! Now, take a second, get cozy and grab a big mug of coffee, because I’ve got some amazingly exciting news to share with you. Our friends and paper mavens at Minted are hosting a fabulous Dream Wedding giveaway with some incredible prizes that just may make your wedding planning a bit easier! With goodies such as a full letterpress invitation suite, bridesmaids dresses from Weddington Way, wedding rings from Brilliant Earth, suits from Indochino and much more, this is a giveaway not to be missed! How’s that for starting the weekend out on the right foot?!

The Grand Prize winner will win: 1) A full letterpress wedding invitation suite, day of pieces and thank you cards from Minted (a $2,500 value) 2) Two 18 karat white gold wedding rings from Brilliant Earth (a $2,575 value) 3) Three bridesmaids dresses for your wedding party from Weddington Way (a $1,000 value) 4) Three custom suit packages from Indochino, including a two-piece suit, shirt and two accessories (a $1,608 value).

Runner-up #1 will win: A  flat-printed wedding invitation suite and accessories from Minted (a $500 value). Runner-up #2 will win: Three Silver Initial Pendants made of recycled sterling silver from Brilliant Earth — a perfect gift for bridesmaids!

Weddington Way and Minted are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Weddington Way

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Minted

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After a nice, long week of the loveliest real weddings, I think it’s time we step back and soak in the beauty of love before the big “I do.” I’m talking about an engagement session so gorgeous it could bring you to tears and give you goosebumps. It’s that pretty. On a chilly winter’s morning this couple set out for Sullivan’s Island to sip hot cocoa on the beach with Kelly Sauer there to capture. The result? Something straight out of e-sesh heaven. Enjoy the full gallery and scroll on down for this week’s lucky winners!

 

From Kelly Sauer… The engagement session happened on a cold January morning on Sullivan’s Island, with “hot chocolate on the beach” for early spring – complete with fine hot chocolate and gourmet marshmallows in Norpro My Favorite Mugs, blackberries and homemade French Baked breakfast donuts (recipe available) white tulips and pretty peachy-pink roses, seagulls and sand, a straw hat and oversized sweater, and so very much sweet love it warmed everything up. We wanted a pretty-but-casual feel for this down-to-earth bride-to-be who loves dreaming, and came up with a shoot that crossed sweet with a little French and a little homey relaxation at the sea.

Emily is a kindergarten teacher, Andy is in the army. She’s a sweet southern girl from North Carolina; he’s from California. She’s petite and energetic, he’s a well-built movie buff. They met at church, where Emily watched Andy for a year while she listened to her brother talk about him, but he didn’t make a move on her until a game night at her house, when he started subtly flirting with her. Flirting soon turned to Facebook messaging, and before they knew it, they were closer than they had imagined they could be. They started dating, knowing that it was going to land at marriage, but the ring he’d ordered didn’t come when he thought it would. This couple has a habit of being romantic in the cold – Andy took Emily to the cold beach anyway and they had a blast. A few days later, the ring arrived, and he scheduled a date. It was a teacher workday for Emily, and she wasn’t about to get proposed to in her all-day attire, so she hit a local consignment shop and dressed up for their evening walk to the gazebo, where he proposed as they gazed up at the starlight.

Wedding Photography + Floral Design: Kelly Sauer | Location: Sullivans Island Beach in Charleston, South Carolina | Floral Source: Tiger Lily Florist | Food: DIY, Recipe from Camille Styles | Hot Chocolate: Silly Cow Farm Hot Chocolate | Homemade Gourmet Marshmallows: Haypenny Confections | Bride’s Hat + Necklace: Old Navy | Hair: Self

You know what’s up next…we’re announcing this week’s winners!

Angeline and Cari are the lucky duck winners of four place settings of Noritake Colorwave in the shape and color of their choice (valued at $320) Congrats, ladies!

And guess what, Lauren? You get to snuggle up in one of Doie Lounge’s Lillian or Bettina robes. So fun!

Cheers to the weekend, and we’ll meet you back here on Monday! XOXO

I’ve been dreaming of Palm Springs ever since my husband and I left California three years ago. It has this certain desert je ne sais quoi that pulls lovers of poolside glamour and warm temperatures in by the droves. And Palm Springs also happens to be the most perfect destination for a wedding getaway with a little vacation time mixed in for good measure. From the luxe digs of The Viceroy, comes this gorgeous happy dance of a wedding captured by Melissa of Happy Confetti Photography. Fitting name, don’t you all think? See even more right here.

 

From the Bride…The reason why we wanted to celebrate our love in Palm Springs aside from the beautiful weather is that we fell in love with the retro look of the town. Both of us loving vintage 1960s decor we thought the viceroy was chic elegant and providing us with an intimate setting. We love California, for that is where we fell madly in love with each other! As we started being romantic and dating in California in 2009, we thought it would be a great homage to our love to get married under the sun, also the breath taking hotel of the viceroy seemed to be exactly what we wanted since we had a small intimate outdoors wedding with NO RAIN in mind! My mother and I did most of the planning. For the theme and the color I wanted something fresh but not too feminine, I went through a lot of wedding blogs for inspiration and created my own vision around tones of lavender and purple.

The ceremony was short and intimate. My sister, the made of honor read this small poem: “A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.” The best man read this passage of the bible in French 1 Corinthians 13. Alexander and I went for both traditional catholic vows and also wrote each other some personal ones, it was very important to us to make these promises twice.

DIY-projects we tackled: I made some shirts for the bridesmaids, groomsmen, the groom and I. We had put a nice bowtie to the ‘viceroy’ emblematic greyhound dog. Me, my sister, my mother and best friends have decorated the aisle with pomfettis. I also had made as wedding gift to my parents handkerchiefs with personal notes to have them remember this day and thank them for this beautiful wedding. I wanted to let them know I will always be their daughter and how much I love them.

For my wedding gift to Sasha I had a ‘love map made’, small heart with roadmaps representing all the key moment of our relationship. The last one said: ‘This is the beginning of our forever.’ Finally my mother did a fantastic job with the men’s boutonnieres I did not want flowers for the groom and his wedding party therefore we had oversize hearts in the colors of the wedding made by my mother instead of boutonnieres. Our wedding cake was very simple but rather hard to execute. All white with 3 tier cake with a ‘waterfall’ of white petals on the front. I had given a picture to the baker they did an AMAZING job.

Photography: Melissa of Happy Confetti Photography | Ceremony + Reception + Catering: The Viceroy | Coordination: The Bride and I | Officiant: Pastor Mike Coppersmith | Hair: Topper House | Makeup: DIY | Invitations + All Paper Products: Alexandra Castonguay, Formidée Communication | Guest Book: Smythson | Ceremony + Reception Music: DJ Chris Paul | Cake: Jeannette at Juliette Bakery | Favors: Donation to a foundation very dear to my heart, this is the foundation of my best friend who passed away 4 years ago: Valérie Castongay Scholarship at the University of Montreal | Wedding Dress: Anna Maier Ulla Maija “Anastase” | Reception Dress: BCBG | Veil: Gabriella New York | Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Jewelry: Ogilvy | Rings: Chateau d’Ivoire | Mother of the Bride Dress: Jenna les Collections  | Groom + Groomsmen attire: Me [4] You Menswear

Jenny Yoo and Gabriella New York Bridal Salon are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Jenny Yoo

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Gabriella New York Bridal Salon

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Have you heard? Organic is the new black; especially when you set your eyes on this photo shoot infused with earthy greens. If you prefer sandals to sky-high heels, terrariums to vases and fresh air above anything and everything else, then this shoot is right up your alley. Crafted by and Anastasia Marie with greens galore by Captivating Floral Design and photography at the hands of Angela Shae, this takes wedding inspiration and infuses it with a healthy dose of nature. See even more right here in the full gallery.

 

From Anastasia Marie…The weather took a turn for the worse the day the shoot was scheduled to happen, so the whole team was out there in freezing cold and rain to make it come alive. But the gloom almost added to the charm of the shoot since I wanted it to have an organic, earthy feel to it –  absolutely perfect for spring time or fall. The shoot had a mix of various shaped terrariums filled with an array of succulents and moss, dripping candles twisted into jars full of dirt, sequins and lace, white burlap, bouquets of succulents and herbs, the cutest little cupcakes, and the list goes on. The goal was to balance natural, earthy details with man-made tidbits for something that looked rugged, yet put together.

Photography: Angela Shae | Design + Styling + Stationery: Anastasia Marie | Floral Design: Captivating Floral Design | Cakes + Dessert: Sweet Lane Bakery | Dinnerware + Linen Rentals: Style Your Event | Makeup: IDMakeup + Styling | Hair: Anna Rubanenko | Dresses: Free People (lace)  H&M (ivory)  Max Studio (beige) | Location: Lewisville Park

We’ve been getting the most a-maz-ing feedback from y’all on our new sister site SMP Living. And for good reason. It’s a site devoted to all things before and after “I do”, and we’re giddy as a school girls to hear the reader love pouring on in. So to celebrate some of our favorite features from the week we’re going to take a quick breaksy from the real wedding world and highlight the happenings over on Living. (And if you still have yet to check it out, get your cutie patootie over there, stat!)

By now it’s probably no secret how much we heart Molly Sims. Last week we swooned her rehearsal dinner and wedding to bits, and this week had the chance to snag a sneak peek inside her baby Brook’s nursery. Designed with the help of Kishani Perera and captured by Gia Canali, it’s inspiration overload for any mama-to-be in the best way possible. But that’s not all. Molly also spilled  her top 10 must-haves from mommy-wear to beauty products and slim-figure secrets. Get the full scoop here.

With summer so close I can nearly taste it, the time has come for outdoor gatherings and seasonal celebrations galore (BBQ or picnic, anyone?!) But if you’re anything like me you may be a little stumped when it comes to summer entertaining ideas. *Cue* this Farm-to-Table feature from Alicia K Designs and Jessamyn Harris to show us all the al fresco planning blueprints.

Braids happen to be one of those hairstyles that’s perfect for summer. So Living put together a step-by-step tutorial for three new ways to rock the look. From the braided bun to fishtail and the crown, each style is exactly what you’ll need for the warm-weathered days ahead.

And if that’s not enough to convince you SMP Living is the new bomb dot com, I’ll let you in on a little secret. They’re giving away a $100 gift card to Anthropologie. That’s right, a shopping spree that’s totally and completely up for grabs. Head on over, and get your entries in now! XOXO

Jessamyn Harris Photography, Gia Canali Photography and Alicia K Designs are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Jessamyn Harris Photography

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Gia Canali Photography

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Alicia K Designs

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