And speaking of letterpress, you are going to completely fall for this next designer. I actually stumbled across Kimberly of Blue Ribbon a few years back at the San Francisco Gift Fair but at the time she wasn’t doing wedding invitations. Or at least I didn’t see them. So when she emailed me pictures of her gorgeous collection, I of course, swooned…

I can’t even tell you how beautiful her work is in person. The letterpress is deep and luxurious, the papers are thick, the designs are delicate and beautifully feminine.

Each of the designs is printed on 100% cotton paper using soy-based inks. Kimberly specializes in designs that feature botanicals and incorporate historic patterns and ornament.

More to come!

Two things that I have been really excited to share with you. First, have you seen the new Little Black Book Blog yet? We have links at the bottom of the first main page post, but I want to make sure you guys are actually checking in over there, as we feature some of the most beautiful real weddings and inspirations you’ve ever seen, straight from our Little Black Book vendors. It’s updated everyday so it’s really double the amount of eye candy!

Secondly, have you checked the Little Black Book Blog TODAY? Because we are featuring the most wonderful new vendor, Betsywhite Stationery Boutique (as well as a pretty great giveaway!)…

I am totally smitten with their simple, charming approach to invitation design. Their work is sweet in a way that just makes you smile. Plus, it’s really, really affordable, with invitations starting at around $230 for 100, which makes it even more lovely.

Bottom line…make sure you head over to the Little Black Book Blog to check out the fabulous Betsywhite Stationery Boutique giveaway that we are hosting and the dozens of real weddings that we’ve featured lately!

Oh and remember that today is the last day to get your Shabby Chic inspiration boards in for a chance to win $500!

Okay, here is a last look at Ashley and Chris’s GORGEOUS wedding reception. I tried to find a few more detail shots of the guest tables so that you could see the loveliness that Ashley and her mother designed..

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Ashley and April Smith for sharing this with us. We have never featured a wedding over a span of two days, so that should speak volumes as to just how much we love yours.

And lastly, here is a fun DIY that Ashley designed…hanging votives!

Materials:

Heavy Gauge Wire, pre-greased (found at Lowe’s)
Wire Cutters
Votive Candle Holders, different sizes and shapes
Round Nose Pliers
Pencil

Instructions:

1. Depending on the size of the votive, use wire cutters and cut sections anywhere from 18-21 inches. 18″ for the smallest votives and 21″ for the medium and larger votives.  You can use 21″ for all if you want, you’ll just have a little extra when you close the sides.

2. Cut your desired length of wire with a wire cutter.

3. Fold the wire in half and crimp just below the fold with round-nose pliers.

4. To form a hook, wrap crimped end over a pencil. Hold the base of the hook tightly with pliers, separate the two lengths of wire, then twist tightly around each other three times.

5. To form a loop, while still holding the wire with your pliers, take the “legs” of the wire in your other hand and twist one to two times.

6. To form the cuff that will hold the votive, use pliers to make a 90-degree bend, 4 1/4 inches from the hook base, on each length of wire. Situate the bends on opposite sides of the votive, about two-thirds of the way from the bottom of the glass.

7. Bring each cut end around to meet the opposite bend. With the tip of the pliers, make a tiny loop at each cut end. Hook the loops to the bends; use pliers to close loops tightly. Insert votive into the circle formed.

It’s Monday, January 26 and time to announce the winner of the Wedding Logo contest from little Black Book vendor Betsywhite Stationery Boutique!

from Gia Graham, betsywhite stationery boutique … the winners are: Christina and Chris!

Comment #114 by Christina and Chris: Wow! I was initially drawn to #9 because the damask motif is SO trendy right now, and also #6 – don’t you just think of Baz Luhrmann’s rendition of “Romeo And Juliet”? I love it, it’s whimsical, romantic and timeless. That being said! My vote is for #3 – I find this to be the most elegant and poignant to the woodland-shabby-chic wedding. My fiance and I met as tree-hugging treeplanters 5 years ago and are going to be giving tree seedlings as favors (http://www.pineneedlefarms.com). I think this logo is great for elaborate weddings as well as the understated affair. Gorgeous!!!

More from Gia~~ We also tallied all the votes and actually decided to launch 8 of the 10 designs (there were so many popular ones, it was hard to only choose 6!). The 8 new designs are now available in our online store and we just published a post on our blog about it. We must say a HUGE thank you to all the Style Me Pretty readers who helped us choose our new wedding logo designs!! We absolutely loved reading your comments and feedback – you are all so smart, stylish and insightful! Our plan was to launch 6 of the 10 designs but we had such an overwhelming response, we’ve decided to choose 8. Please head over to our blog { betsywhite flights of fancy} to see which 8 made the cut! Also, don’t forget we’re offering 20% off all logo designs to Style Me Pretty readers until February 28th! Just use coupon code SMP0109 at checkout to redeem the discount. Be sure to send us photos to show us how you used your logo to brand your event!

Thanks to you ALL for your votes and comments!! These were the choices.  Go to betsywhite stationery boutique to see the top 8 vote-getters!

This contest in now complete! Thank you for your participation!

Previously on the Little Black Book Blog …

The Little Black Book Blog has arrived!  Today is a banner day … our first giveaway from an incredible invitation designer, betsywhite Stationery Boutique For all of you Style Me Pretty DIY fans, you’re going to love it! First of all, if you’ve never seen their work, you really must … betsywhite stationery is an incredibly stylish source for affordable wedding invitations and stationery. So, when Gia Graham contacted us and asked for our help in choosing their final new 2009 spring collection of Wedding Logos, we jumped at the chance! Wedding Logos ~~ a modern take on the wedding monogram.

Priced at just $50 ($75 for a one-color version), these wedding logos are a fantastic way for you to personally add that special chic flair to any of your DIY projects and can be used to create a unique wedding “brand”. Seriously, these logos are a great way to personalize anything and everything.

And then, for those of you who aren’t big DIY fans, betsywhite stationery also offers full stationery suites featuring each of their logo designs.

So…….(drumroll…….) today, the designers at the betsywhite Stationery Boutique have offered Style Me Pretty readers a chance to claim their very own wedding logo! They’re are adding 6 new logo designs to their Love Logo Series for Spring 2009 – but they’d like our help in choosing which 6!

They sent us 10 great designs and have asked SMP readers to vote for their favorite.  (Logos shown above)

All you have to do to ‘vote’ is to leave a comment letting them know which logo is your favorite, and why! Numbers are on the right-hand side of each logo. We also included larger versions of each (below).

On Monday, January 26th the designers at betsywhite Stationery Boutique will select one lucky winner to receive a free wedding logo (black & white, $50 value)!!

Furthermore, they’re offering a 20% discount on all wedding logos to Style Me Pretty readers! Just use coupon code SMP0109 at checkout to redeem the discount (offer expires 02-28-09).  In addition,they’ve launched several new invitation and save the date designs this week which you can preview on their blog, Flights of Fancy. There are also color palette ideas, invitation wording advice, tons more inspiration for planning your wedding invitation needs!

Thank you, Gia, for allowing us to help with this decision.

Wedding Logos (Enlarged):

Letterpress. Everyone loves it…not everyone can afford it. So, when I received an email from the designers at French Press, an affordable line of gorgeous letterpress, I had to share. Based in New York, they will work with you to design the invitation of your dreams, whether you start from scratch or put your own spin on an existing invitation. Oh and to make it even sweeter, you can even pick from their “tree free” line of environmentally sustainable papers.

So many of you wanted to see more pictures from yesterday’s featured wedding, so I thought we could start today with a few additional shots of the lovely bride and the gorgeous bridesmaids. I’ll post more from the reception next…

All photographs were taken by April Smith Photography. The bridesmaids dresses were designed by After Six and the bridal gown was by Augusta Jones (style Tiffany). The bride, Ashley, made quite a few changes to the dress…removing the ruffle at the bottom, adding a foot more to the train, removing the beading down the front, adding buttons down the back and adding additional rhinestones to the remaining beading pattern. Her shoes were Pelle Moda, style Romance, found at Zappos. The junior bridesmaid dress was designed by Little Flowers by Odyssey. Hair and Make-Up was done by Trisha O’Connor in Santa Rosa.

More to come based on your own questions!

Thank you so much to Ashley and Chris for sharing their big day with us…needless to say, it was absolutely spectacular. Knowing that you designed and crafted so many (or rather all) of the details yourself is well, inspiring. And thank you to April Smith for capturing the wedding in all its beauty…allowing us to see the outpouring of love and laughter behind every shot.

A few last words from Ashley, the lovely bride…

So, aside from the special things that happened in our ceremony, I think what made our wedding special was the love.  We had so much love on that day. Not just between Chris and I, but with our families and with our friends.  You can see it and feel it in our pictures.  Everyone worked so hard to put together this wedding.  My mom and her girlfriends with their master creative minds and their abilties to execute everything to a T, the bridesmaids wrapping ribbons around their bouquets before the ceremony.  Everyone came together to help and to celebrate our marriage and it made Chris and I feel so loved and so honored to have family and friends like we do.  It honestly felt magical and the only regret I have is that the night had to end!

I have way more photos than I actually put on the blog, so if there is anything that you’d like to see more of, let me know and I’ll get them up tomorrow!

Here are few more pictures of the gorgeous, straight-out-of-a-magazine reception that Ashley and her mother designed. The photographs, shot by April Smith, show the details in the most beautiful way…

I have a last look, as well as a few more details from Ashley on the way!

And finally…on to the RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous reception. It’s one of those, jump-for-joy, make you want to rethink your entire wedding style kind of receptions, so brace yourselves.

photographs by the ever talented April Smith

From Ashley…

My mom and I really tried to keep a shoestring budget for our wedding since Chris and I paid for everything ourselves.  We handwired every votive (the votives of which we scoured Dollar Stores and Big Lots!), I made my own Save the Dates, Rehearsal Invitations, Favor tags, my mom sewed every table topper, made every centerpiece, hung every crystal (you have to love the $1 bins at Michaels!), made every arrangement for the ceremony.  All the flowers were done by my mom and her two girlfriends (my mom went to the SF flower mart the day before).  All the drapery was made and put up by my mom and her girlfriends, all votives were hung by them, all lumianaries were cut and set up by them, you get the idea.

More to come!

When I first saw today’s featured wedding, I knew that I would get it up on Style Me Pretty for all of you to fall in love with. What I didn’t know, was how intimate and completely focused on love, on friends and on family the affair actually was.

photographs by April Smith

Every detail was thought of, every inch of this wedding was lovingly designed. And, there were a few surprises that even the bride didn’t know about!

From Ashley…

Also, my Aunt and my cousin (who was one of my bridesmaids) surprised us both by having a butterfly release.  They released 4 butterflies, each representing someone very special to either Chris or myself.  This was really meaningful to us.  Especially in my family, the butterfly has long symbolized my grandmother who passed from cancer.  The butterfly has since come to also symbolize my grandfather and a dear family friend who I considered my “dad” who both also passed from cancer.  I didn’t see it, but I was told that a couple of the butterflies landed on my veil and dress and just hung out there for a while.

More to come!

On to the ceremony…it’s so lovely, so incredibly romantic. And Ashley has shared with us some of the details that made the ceremony not only beautiful, but unbelievably touching.

photos by the lovely and oh-so-talented April Smith

From Ashley…

For the ceremony, my mom walked me down the aisle, which is fitting since it has always been me and her.  We really wanted everyone to be involved in our ceremony since each person we had asked to be there was special to us.  To do this, we asked our parents to stand and pledge their support to strengthen our marriage by upholding us with their love, concern, counsel and prayers.  To involve everyone there, we had a wedding blessing where our officiant asked all of the guests to offer their blessing to us and pledge their support and protect our relationship.  Everyone said, we do.

We also had a family medallion ceremony.  Chris has an 11 year old daughter and we wanted to involve her in the ceremony.  So, the officiant asked Mackenzie to join us. We then gave her a gold bracelet with a charm that had three overlapping circles, which symbolized our love and support.  Chris was a little too teary to put the bracelet on her, so I did. :)

So much more to come!

I am super excited for today’s post! Not only do we have some truly gorgeous photos for you to feast your eyes upon, but in the process, we’re going to learn the difference between digital photography and film photography. Our friend Rob Culpepper, of A Bryan Photo in Birmingham Alabama, was kind enough to step in and write a lovely and super educational guide to photography style and how digital and classic film can play a part in that. So without any further ado, I will let Rob do the talking!

“When Theresa asked us to write a blog on Film vs. Digital photography, we couldn’t have been more excited. Shooting film is one of our loves and it sets A Bryan Photo apart as a wedding photography studio.

First off, I should acknowledge that we’re actually a hybrid company, meaning that we shoot film and digital on any given wedding day. Generally speaking, we use digital (because of the extensive control it gives us with adjusting color) when shooting with a flash or under artificial light. Take these preparation shots, for example:

We would have a hard time getting these looks with film. In fact, digital is an important part of the look we aim for with receptions because it allows us to create a juxtaposition between images without changing cameras.

However, we love film for its romance, texture and feel. Check out this shot of one of our grooms, Geordie. There’s no way we could get an image this classic from a digital camera:

And look at these shots of his bride, Darby. One is film, one is digital. See the difference? (film is on the top):

Shooting film also affects how we approach a wedding day. When you can’t see the image in the back of a camera, you’re forced to visualize it before you take it, adjust the camera accordingly, and make the shot. Then you have to wait a couple of weeks to get the film back to see how it came out. While it may seem like this would be a weakness of film, we’ve found that not being able to see the image right after it’s taken helps us engage with the subject rather than with the back of the camera. Film teaches us to see better and to be more intentional. And because every shot costs something (processing and scanning), it forces us to make better decisions about which shots we take. And better decisions lead to better photographs.

Film also gives us the benefit of using different cameras, which can totally change the mood of a shoot. The Rollei, which is probably our favorite camera, looks like an old camera (it is!) and it feels like it’s taking classic pictures. It’s an instant connection to the 1950s, to black and white movies, to Richard Avedon’s work. The Mamiya RZ67, on the other hand, is a fashion and editorial camera (a lot of pictures you see in Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Bazaar, etc, are shot with a camera like this one). It has this great “cuh-chunk” sound that it makes when the shutter snaps, and it elicits a completely different response from the Rollei. Then we have the T4, the Holga, and Bryan’s favorite, the Lomo–all of which have their own idiosyncrasies.

Also with film, the need to reload keeps us from constantly shooting, so we have more time for conversation and interaction. Again, it may seem counter-intuitive, but this approach actually leads to more natural pictures, less stress, and more fun. We never want our brides and grooms to feel rushed or pressured, and the pace created by shooting film helps achieve that.

Lastly, we like film better than digital because, well, it’s just more fun. We get film in every Wednesday and it’s like Christmas. Seriously. We spend around $500 per wedding for processing and scanning (that’s for about 20 rolls), and it’s worth it every time. Our friend Jose Villa, a wedding photographer in California and a film shooter, said that digital is the best thing that ever happened to his business because it allowed him to create a niche in the wedding market. We’ve found the same. For us as photographers and for brides and grooms who want the look of film, it’s a great fit.

Ultimately, the film vs. digital debate is about comfort and style of shooting. While we see the value of both based on the situation, we love film!“

Thank you so much, Rob!

To see more images from Darby & Geordie’s wedding, click here.

Today, we are featuring a wedding that I have literally been DYING to post for a long time. April sent me a high resolution CD of the images and it’s taken me a little while to sift through and choose the photos that really reflected the wedding to perfection. Now that it’s finally up, it’s nice for me to take a little break and just gawk at what a beautiful event this was…

More to come!

Before we dive into today’s wedding, I thought that these images from April Smith of Ashley, the gorgeous bride, getting ready were absolutely beautiful…

Just wait until you see how beautiful this wedding turned out. Check back in a bit!

Found via Oh Joy, I fell completely in love with this flower shot by the incredible Denise Grunstein. It could inspire an entire wedding style…a romantic, almost eclectic bohemian style complete with huge floor pillows for guests to lounge on, a cold sangria for guests to sip and a solo guitarist setting the mood. I love that one single picture could literally be the jumping off point for an entire look. Thanks Joy for sharing!

I have been waiting and waiting to show you today’s real wedding. It’s spectacular. And that just might be an understatement. It’s honestly right off the pages of a magazine…a stunning bride, a location that almost looks fake, wedding details that will make your heart skip a beat and photographs that you just might want to print out and hang on your walls. It’s that beautiful.

The rehearsal dinner alone is enough to make me want to get married all over again…

I have so, so many pictures to share with you today, so make sure you check back frequently. I promise, it’s worth the extra visit or two. April Smith, the wonderfully talented photographer who shot this wedding, has provided us with enough eye candy to keep us happy for many, many days. But, I’ve picked the best of the best and can’t wait to show each and every one!

A few words from the bride, Ashley…

Chris and I were married at Chateau Felice’s private estate in Healdsburg, CA.  We had a small wedding of 41 guests.  We really wanted to focus on what weddings are really about, the coming together of two people that really love each other and having those that are closest to us to share it with. We were told by numerous guests that this was the most elegant, intimate and wonderful wedding they had ever been to.  My mom told me that the husband of one of her girlfriends jokingly said, where are the jerks? She asked what do you mean? And he said, well, usually at weddings there is usually a jerk or two, but not here. Everyone is so nice and friendly, its just really is amazing.

And the winners are (after MUCH anticipation)…

Manders, who said, “Oh My! Everything is beautiful, as always! I adore the “Sweet as Honey” ring bowl! The fiance is a beekeeper, how adorable would it be to display our rings in that sweet little bowl. If I don’t win I may have to order one anyway!”

AND

Sharon, who said, “Oh, everything they make is gorgeous! My favorite are the custom ring bowls, and I want to imprint the words, “Be happy, be loving, be true” on the bowl. We had this quote on our engagement cake from his mother. Simple words with a lot of meaning for us.”

I’ll be in touch with the winners very soon!

Here is a last look at today’s wedding…as the sun goes down and the reception begins. Thank you so much to Michelle and to Lisa at Ooh Events for sharing this wedding with us. For me, it was a lesson in editing. Finding just the right pieces to create a sophisticated, Southern style without seeming at all contrived or over designed.

all photographs by Marni Rothschild Pictures

Creating little seating areas might seem way out of your budget, but this is one of those times where you really figure out what you want from your wedding and splurge. For example, you can create an ambiance that guests will always remember with seating areas like these, serving heavy appetizers that trim the budget and hiring a DJ to play as opposed to a band. Skip the favors and open bar, opting instead for a signature cocktail that tell guests a little about yourselves.

Bottom line…there is usually a way to create high style on a budget, you just have to know how to edit your “loves” a little bit.

* * *

PS – We’re FINALLY announcing the Paloma’s Nest Giveaway winner next, so stay tuned!

Here are a few details from today’s featured wedding that I thought were really striking…

all photographs by Marni Rothschild Pictures

Lisa Thomas of Ooh Events carried the insignia from the invitations over to the custom matchbooks. Such a lovely touch. I also love the chic simplicity of the butter colored linens and the small, but beautifully designed centerpieces. There is a sense of order that really makes a statement here…with each table almost exactly like the one beside it, the entire look really pops.

If you’re just now joining us, we are featuring another absolutely gorgeous Charleston, South Carolina wedding…with details that will literally make you swoon. Perfectly chic seating areas, a color palette that is all style and a simply stunning backdrop. The event was planned by Lisa Thomas of Ooh Events and just like every other wedding she touches, it’s magical…

More details and pictures of the gorgeous bride are on the way!