Style Me Pretty

Vendor Spotlight: dejarnette new orleans

February 8th. 2012 by Mallory | 9 comments

With Valentine’s Day less than a week away – and the excitement building – we figured it was about time to show off one of our favorite LBB Jewelers, because, as she says, I’ve never met a woman who doesn’t like jewelry! dejarnette new orleans is a boutique jewelry designer out of – you guessed it – New Orleans and we can’t get enough of her dainty detailed pieces. So we asked her to sit down and answer a few questions we were dying to know. Don’t forget about dejarnette new orleans’ portfolio where you can get the lowdown on this talented lady!

How did your passion for jewelry grow into dejarnette new orleans?

dejarnette new orleans is the name of my company (dejarnette is my middle name). I design and create handmade jewelry. I’ve been designing jewelry for myself and close friends for many years. I began selling my pieces at local boutiques in 2004. I then decided to launch a website and offer my jewelry to those outside of the New Orleans area in May 2006.

What kinds of pieces do you just love?

I love super girly pieces with a little bit of quirky. I get so excited when I find unusual vintage bits or things that I can transform into a necklace -everything from vintage mardi gras doubloons to antique hardware to delicate lace. I love being able to throw on some jeans and a t-shirt and add a statement piece of jewelry to make my outfit special.

What is your favorite part of a wedding?

For my wedding it was the ceremony. I walked up the aisle with my Mom and Dad and the aisle was lined with candlelit lanterns. To see all of my family and friends as I walked down the aisle and then see my handsome groom was a magical moment. When I’m a guest at a wedding, I appreciate all of the little details. I know first hand the time and effort that is involved in each and every aspect of the planning process.

 

Does the city of New Orleans every influence your work ?

Absolutely! Mardi Gras is just around the corner, which is my favorite time of the year in New Orleans. The costumes, floats, themes – it is unbelievable the intricate details involved in every aspect of this holiday.

What advice to you have for brides & grooms to be?

To relax, have fun, and enjoy your special day-it goes by so quickly!

How about any advice for our readers with Valentines day just around the corner?

I’ve never met a woman who doesn’t like jewelry!

Jewelry: dejarnette new orleans / Photography: Jennifer Zdon, Twirl Photography + Elizabeth Ray Photography + dejarnette new orleans

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Chrysler Museum of Art Wedding from Isha Foss Events + Jeff Greenough

February 8th. 2012 by Mallory | 13 comments

Modern day fairy tales are the absolute best. This Virginia wedding is just that – a soiree fit for Cinderella, Snow White, or this lucky, beautiful bride and her Prince Charming. Everything about the day was stunning – but to really turn up the grandeur, the ballroom was dripping in pretty in pink petals from Isha Foss Events. Jeff Greenough | Photographer captured the magic wonderfully, and was fabulous enough to fill an entire gallery with more – just for us!

When Matthew proposed, he worked hard to surprise me (not an easy task to surprise a nosey girl like me!). One night, Matthew told me that he had to work late in Maryland and would not be able to come visit for the weekend. I made dinner plans with my friends at the Blue Talon in Williamsburg. During dinner, Maddie told me that she just received a text message that there was a research group at the Williamsburg Lodge and she really wanted to go get their autographs. After dinner, Maddie, Kaci, and I drove to the Williamsburg Lodge until Maddie stopped her car and asked me if she knew of a garden near the Lodge because that was where the group was meeting. I, still oblivious to what was going on, said “Well there is the rose garden where Matt’s parents got engaged to your left.” Maddie swerved her car to the front of the rose garden and Kaci and Maddie both screamed “Get out of the car!” while speeding off with me still thinking they were playing a trick on me. I decided to walk down the stairs of the sunken rose garden only to find no one there. I kept walking until I saw Matthew come out from behind an archway with a huge smile on his face. Matthew walked toward me, knelt down on one knee with an open box in his hand, and asked me to marry him in the same spot that his father asked his mother to marry him. Matthew then told me that he planned a weekend for us in Ocracoke, North Carolina to celebrate our engagement!

While planning our wedding, I knew I wanted our personalities to shine through in every aspect. Both Matthew and I have traditional, classic taste with a modern twist. We decided to have our wedding ceremony in the Catholic Church where my parents were married and where I grew up. Matthew’s father is an Anglican pastor, so we wanted to incorporate both of our families’ religious traditions. He gave a memorable and personal sermon that made the ceremony seem intimate even with a room full of 400 people. The ceremony music was also very important to us. We had a trumpeter, organist, a string quartet, and a soloist who all beautifully performed songs we selected together. As I walked down the aisle, I wore my great grandmother’s diamond and sapphire ring as my something old, borrowed, and blue. My grandmother passed away one month before my wedding, so honored her by carrying her handkerchief in my bouquet.

Matthew and I chose the Chrysler Museum of Art for our reception venue not only because we loved the Renaissance style of the museum’s atrium, but also because I studied Art History in college. For the flowers and décor, I wanted a romantic atmosphere with blush tones, ivory, and metallics. My team at Isha Foss Events transformed my vision into a breathtaking display of draped arches, cascading crystals, and various tones of pink flowers.

While our wedding was a formal black tie affair, Matthew and I wanted our reception to be a party for our guests to enjoy good food and great music. For this reason, we decided to do heavy hors d’ ouvres instead of a sit down dinner. We had themed food stations around the museum with our favorite cuisine including fresh seafood on the rocks, a southern fare station, a beef carving station, and a chocolate bar. Instead of assigned seating, Isha Foss designed a lounge-like cocktail set up that outlined the dance floor and gave a contemporary spin on the traditional black tie affair.

My two favorite memories from our wedding day were our First Look and walking down the Chrysler’s marble staircase into the reception for the first time as husband and wife. Matthew and I met in the museum’s garden before the ceremony. I loved being able to share a quite and private moment with my soon to be husband before our night of craziness ahead. I will never forget the look on his face when he first saw me (luckily, my photographer Jeff Greenough captured this moment on film). My second favorite memory from our wedding day occurred when my father introduced us to our reception. I felt like royalty on my new husband’s arm as we walked down the staircase and moved straight into our first dance. The entire day was the perfect representation of Matthew and me as a couple, and it could not have been possible without the hard work of our family and all of our fabulous vendors.

Ceremony Venue: Sacred Heart Catholic Church / Reception Venue: Chrysler Museum of Art / Photography: Jeff Greenough | Photographer / Event Coordinator: Daylily Weddings / Floral Design: Isha Foss Events / Catering: Cuisine & Co. / Entertainment: Right On! Band / Lighting: Blue Steel Lighting Design / Cake: Glenna Cason, Sugar Art / Videography: Digital Dreammakers / Rentals: Distinctive Event Rentals, AFR Furniture Rental, & Isha Foss Events / Transportation: Royal Coach / Hair: Al Kelly from Changes Salon / Makeup: BridesMade by Kim Wadsworth

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Atlanta Old Hollywood Engagement Session from Our Labor of Love

February 7th. 2012 by Mallory | 9 comments

Mmm… is it too early to mix up a cocktail to enjoy with this Mad Men inspired engagement shoot? This session, captured by Our Labor of Love, is cool, mod, and ultra sexy. The Atlanta couple wanted something completely different – but equally fabulous – from their upcoming nautical nuptials, and I’d say the result is smashing. Click here for the rest!

Engagement photos were such and important part of the wedding planning process to me – when else in life do you have an excuse to be professionally photographed in a stylized, romantic, intimate setting with the person you love? Since our wedding (this summer) is going to be a super casual, nautical affair on a marina, I wanted our engagement photos to be the opposite: indoors, more formal, and a little sexy.

As I brainstormed about possible themes and locations, I found myself drawn to classic-Hollywood photo shoots and Mad-Men era sleekness and style. (This came as no shock to my fiance, since I’m a big classic film nerd AND made him dress up as Don Draper to my Betty last year for Halloween.) I just love the richness and darkness and vintage feel of that time, the simmering elegance of men in suits and women in cocktail dresses meeting in hotel lobbies.

With this idea (and an unbelievably good sport of a fiance), I started shopping for photographers. Heidi Geldhauser of Our Labor of Love (based here in Atlanta, but traveling all over the place if you’re interested!) had photographed a friend’s wedding and her photos were some of the loveliest I’d ever seen. As you can tell, we are extraordinarily lucky to have found Heidi — she took my little kernels of ideas and locations and made them into these fantastically beautiful photos. She suggested things we’d never have thought of in a million years, like abandoning the marble staircase to take tons of photos in an empty office in front of some white plastic vertical blinds! It totally worked, and those are the best photos we have.

As a final note, since we were paying homage to a bygone era, I wore jewelry in each setting owned by either my mother or my grandmother. The white bracelet, the black beaded necklace, and the tri-color gold necklace are my little tokens of the women who lived (and dressed) like classic movie stars for real.

Photographer: Heidi Geldhauser, Our Labor of Love / Orange Dress: Zara / Black Dress: Ralph Lauren / Green Dress: Studio M by BCBG

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