Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Kristin of Bellafare… During a recent site visit to Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, we were inspired to create a modern yet timeless shoot with a black and white color palette. After enlisting the help of the fabulous Jen Huang, our goal was simple — create beautiful images with a touch of fashion, going back in time to a classic New York wedding inspiration with a contemporary twist. With the space’s floor-to-ceiling windows, clean white walls, high ceilings and access to Lincoln Center’s campus and Central Park, we knew this unique, landmark venue would be the perfect backdrop for our winter “wedding.” Our bride and groom sipped on champagne from retro glassware and looked city-chic as they walked hand-in-hand through the Upper West Side. The gorgeous florals were provided by Quatre Coeur and added a bit of softness to the otherwise glitzy and modern décor. After seeing the recent Spring 2012 line of one of our favorite bridal designers, Vera Wang, we were insistent on having our bride wear a black wedding gown to add a bit of high fashion — echoing Fashion Week’s new home at Lincoln Center. This shoot is all that a New York City wedding is about – classic elements, a touch of glitz, unparalleled cityscapes and an iconic venue.

Planning + Design: Bellafare / Photography: Jen Huang Photography / Florist: Quatre Coeur / Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. / Linens + Napkins Rings: Nuage Designs / Makeup: Kerry Makeup / Hair: Once Upon a Bride / Wedding Dress: Angel Sanchez via Gabriella New York / Bride’s Accessories + Shoes: Gabriella New York / Venue: Lincoln Center in New York City, New York / Stationery: East Six / Wedding Cake: Gail Watson of A Simple Cake

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Simple Cake, Angel Sanchez, Bellafare, Black, East Six, Gabriella New York, Gail Watson, Jen Huang Photography, Kerry Makeup, Lincoln Center, New York, New York City, Nuage Designs, Once Upon a Bride, Party Rental Ltd., Quatre Coeur, White
Post categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog, Wedding Style

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Principal Planner {Azar Jazestani Events}…When Tatyana and Chris found us, she was living in NYC and he was living in London. With a wedding in neither city, they needed help to pull together the vision they had for their big day in Montreal. We designed and planned for a 4 day event with the big show happening on Saturday June 4th. Tatyana and Chris both wanted their wedding to feel elegant yet designed to make their guests feel as though they were sitting in a garden. Sunshine, a beautiful city and  friends from all over the world made for a wedding no one will ever forget.

Wedding Photography: Phototerra Studio / Flowers: Fleurs des Jardins / Event Design + Planning: Principal Planner {Azar Jazestani Events} / Ceremony Location: Notre Dame Basilica / Reception Location: Loft Hotel / Wedding Cake: Luisa Galuppo Cakes / Stationery: Lorena Rossi / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding Dress: Angel Sanchez / Men’s Suits: Ermenegildo Zegna

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Angel Sanchez, Azar Jazestani Events, Ermenegildo Zegna, Fleurs des Jardins, Jimmy Choo, Loft Hotel, Lorena Rossi, Luisa Galuppo, montreal, Notre Dame Basilica, Phototerra Studio, Principal Planner Weddings & Events, Quebec
Post categories: Canada Weddings, Québec Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations…For this romantic Tuscan inspiration shoot I wanted to combine the rustic elements of the surrounding vineyards and hillsides with the modern and fashionable side of Florence. Think Town and Country, Italian style. We started by incorporating rough woods, ceramics and raw elements such as horn  and layered on hand-painted Valentino silk fabric and 18th century china ware. While keeping in tune with the juxtaposition of styles, we incorporated modern lucite louis ghost chairs, mirrored cube risers and sleek lucite candleholders. Large and lush arrangements of white and soft peach peonies were presented in cut crystal vases while purple lisianthus and lilac garden roses were tucked into vintage gold goblets. To bring in authentic elements of Florence magenta and lilac scarves from the Florentine Markets were used to create napkins which were tucked inside of vintage silver monogrammed napkins rings.

I couldn’t possibly leave you without offering up some ideas on how to bring this marvelous Tuscany wedding on home.  There is no reason why this luxurious look needs to break the bank either!

1. Of course, my favorite dress needs to make it into this buying guide.  All you lucky, engaged ladies in the market for a gown can pick up this beauty from BHLDN for under $1500!  It doesn’t get much better than that!

2. Decorating with lucite candelabras might be breathtaking but not quite so budget worthy.  That’s where Z Gallerie comes to the rescue.  I love scouring their website for unique decor ideas for weddings and my house!  This white candelabra and matching chandelier would be perfect to create an elegantly modern ceremony site similar to the draped alter in the photo shoot.

3. OK, I know that ghost chairs may not be the must budget-friendly item in the world.  They are, however, available to rent from some rental companies now which is all kinds of awesome.  Plus I love the look of just two special ghost chairs for bride and groom combined with gold dining chairs for the guests.

4. Monogrammed napkin rings for all your guests?  A little excessive.  Monogrammed napkin rings for just the two of you?  A nice touch that you can bring home with you.  Jamali Gardens, a fantastic wedding resource, has a set of four silver napkins rings for under $10!

5. The gilded, opulent look of this shoot is easy to replicate with just a couple of simple touches like renting gold-rimmed china.  I would feel like royalty even eating a burger and fries off of these beauties!

6. Lisianthus is one of my absolute favorite flowers.  They are oh-so pretty in white or purple and a very wallet-loving alternative to roses or other expensive blossoms.

Photography: Mike Larson Photographers, Inc. / Design, Styling + Coordination: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations / Invitation + Stationery Design: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations / Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Durante / Floral Design + Furniture Rentals: Floralia / Table Settings: Small Masterpiece [ We Set The Table ] / Wedding Cake: Erica OBrien Cake Design / Venue: Villa La Selva / Bridal Gown (white): Angel Sanchez via M Bride Salon / Bridal Gown (cream ruffle): BHLDN / Jewelry: Rachel Leigh Jewelry

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations, Angel Sanchez, BHLDN, Erica O'Brien, Floralia, Inspiration Shoot, Italy, M Bride Salon, Mike Larson Photography, Rachel Leigh Jewelry, Small Materpieces, Tuscany, Villa La Selva
Post categories: Destination, Photo Shoot, The Blog

And so, hand in hand we’ll lead you into the new year with another stunning Sun Valley Resort wedding from the ever-fabulous  Tana Photography …

From Tana Photography:
This was a stylish and casually elegant wedding that brought friends and family from all over to famous snow ski destination, Sun Valley, Idaho. It’s a gorgeous place to hold a wedding and give guests a true taste of the Pacific Northwest.
Natalie’s an outdoor Idaho girl at heart, who works as a stylist for Ralph Lauren in NYC. Natalie really wanted to bring her NYC businessman fiancé, (whom she met on a blind date) to her home state to share it’s rustic, outdoor beauty at their nuptials.
As the photographer, I was really excited to see how Natalie would combine her designer style with her laid-back outdoorsy attitude for this event. I know she wanted to bring the couple’s personalities together and show their guests an unforgettable time. The night before, the couple hosted a cowboy-themed costume party at the local “saloon” for their guests and on the wedding day, the ceremony gave everyone from NYC to Florida to Boston a breathtaking view of Sun Valley’s famous ski resort mountains.
Natalie’s co-workers custom made her Ralph Lauren wedding shoes, covered in Swarovski crystals, which the bride wore dancing up until the end of the reception. The groom wore a navy RL suit and groomsmen sported navy suits with purple ties. Natalie wanted bright, fun and colorful flowers in the bouquets and decor. She used mock ski-passes, with quirky facts about the couple, hanging from small evergreen trees to guide guests to their tables. Mini vintage SV posters showed the table numbers, and SV chocolate bars with colorful orchids were at each place setting. Local birch trees were placed inside the reception tent to bring the natural beauty indoors.
A sweet gesture (and great idea) came at the end of the evening when Natalie presented her grandmother a special gift bouquet before the official “toss”.

From Natalie, the bride:
“East meets the Pacific Northwest”. That would be the perfect description of our wedding. More that half of the wedding guests traveled from the East Coast to celebrate with us on our big day. Growing up in Idaho, I have always loved Sun Valley and for my family, it’s very special. Getting to share this magical place with our closest friends was the best part of our event! Many of our friends are looking to return to Sun Valley again!

Venue: Trail Creek Cabin, Sun Valley Resort / Photography: Tana Photography / Décor: The Sun Valley Company / Coordination: Bliss Events / Accessories: Ralph Lauren / Gown: Angel Sanchez / Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale / Bride’s Shoes: Ralph Lauren / Cake: The Sun Valley Company / Florist: Sue Bridgman / Music: The Big Wow Band / Makeup: Gabrielle Marcantonio for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amsale, Angel Sanchez, Bliss Events, Bobbi Brown, Gabrielle Marcantonio, Idaho, Ralph Lauren, Sue Bridgman, Sun Valley, Tana Photography, The Big Wow Band, The Sun Valley Company
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Destination, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

click here to see the full gallery!

Karen from Volare Events…When the Bride and I first discussed what she pictured for her wedding, she said she wanted it to feel like a relaxed afternoon bbq while she also wanted the event to be elegant and sophisticated.  She loves Anthropologie and described herself as “simple.” We zeroed in on the styles that best suited them – shabby chic, vintage and rustic.

From there we came up with colors and materials to tie those styles together. For colors we chose shades of purple and periwinkle accented with a soft gray and crisp white. We also chose materials such as twine, mason jars, modern clear glass, soft white embroidered fabric, vintage picture frames, hand made tree branch table number holders, white linen & textured artist paper and simple chalkboards.  

Flowers: For floral styling, we enlisted the incredibly talented Holly Vesecky of Holly Flora. Holly used loosely gathered collections of showy large flowers – hydrangea, peonies, dahlias, ranunculus, alyssum, freesia, delphinium, tulips, china mums, garden roses, stephanotis and lavendar herb – in purple, periwinkle, grey and white displayed in a mix of modern glass and mason jars. Ceremony aisle and bride’s bouquet were decorated with grey swiss satin and the pathway, stairs and fountain were highlighted with groups of pillar candles. Again, shabby chic to perfection!

Linens: For the table linens, we chose Natural Flax (think burlap, only soft and refined) and periwinkle napkins that we folded and tied with twine and placed on top of white plates.{Dare we say shabby chic inspired?}

Custom Printed Items: Design goddess Christina Reinersman created the custom print materials – wedding programs, escort cards, table numbers and favor tags. The setting and florals provided lots of color (energy) so it was important that the printed materials touched on the natural side. Understated and varying shades of  violet, perwinkle and charcoal in custom water colors were hand painted on highly textured artist paper to create a hand-crafted, natural feel to items guests would have their hands on (programs and escort cards).

Escort Card Table: For the escort card table, sandblasted manzanita branches were arranged in a simple large glass cylinder and we hung guest escort cards from the branches. The escort cards were longer in shape and featured the hand painted watercolors, providing a ‘floral blossom’ touch to the arranged branches.  This arrangement was placed on top of a custom made table covering by Christina made out of a beautiful white on white embroidered fabric.

Guest Favors: Bottles of agave nectar were placed at each place setting with a tag tied to the bottle with baby twine.  The favor tags featured the bride and groom’s names and wedding date and when removed and unfolded, revealed a favorite margarita recipe of the bride and groom’s using the all natural agave which guests would take home.

Food and Drink: Guacamole, chips and margaritas (the bride and groom’s favorite cocktail) set the tone . . . followed by a sit-down dinner served family style.

Henna Ceremony: The henna ceremony is traditionally part of the rituals that take place on the eve of a wedding. The dried green henna leaves are ground and soaked in water, which turns them red, and then cooked into a thick paste. At the ceremony, the paste is placed in the center of a decorated tray. The henna tray (as well as trays of sweets) is passed from hand to hand, above the heads of all the women. The whole time, the guests dance to the beat of the drums and are swept into a state of ecstasy. It is meant to be a joyous celebration with sweets and desserts, which symbolize a sweet life for the couple. Each time the tray is lifted over the head of the chosen woman, the guests erupt into a joyful “Kululululu!”. After all the women have received the blessing, an elder woman dips her fingers into the paste and paints a circle on both of the bride’s hands. The circle is meant to ward off the evil eye. Then the grandmother does the same for all the other women. While in some cultures women were the only ones invited to the henna, nowadays, the henna ceremony is a large celebration with many guests of both genders. Everyone is welcome!

Wedding Design and Planning: Karen Oliver – Volare Events / Photography: Sarah Yates – Sarah Yates Photography / Floral Design: Holly Vesecky, Holly Flora / DJ and Dance Floor Lighting: Lee Dyson – courtesy of DeBois Entertainment / Ceremony String Quartet: Fiddle Stix / Custom Printed Materials/Linens Design and Production: Christina Reinersman – maré c (no website yet) / Specialty Linen Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Chivari Chair Rentals: Fusion Linens / Bride’s Make-Up: Robyn Fisher / Bride’s Hair: Leah Vautrot / Bride’s Dress: Angel Sanchez / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Groom’s Suit: Isaia / Valet: Premiere Valet Services / Henna Ceremony Planning: Moroccan Party Planners / Guest Shuttles: Corporate Coach Charters

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Angel Sanchez, Backyard, Badgley Mischka, California Weddings, DeBois Entertainment, Henna, Henna Ceremony, Holly Flora, Lee Dyson, Malibu, Residence, Sarah Yates, shabby chic, Volare Events
Post categories: Cultural Beauty, Traditional Elegance, Vintage Chic

How amazing are those earrings!? Those gorgeous shoes!? And the deep purple bridesmaids dress!? Every single element of this wedding is so lovely. So full of life and beauty. I am going to see if Tracy will stop by for a bit in our comments section to share more about her beautiful wedding.

I have more pictures to come!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Angel Sanchez, California Weddings, Kris Nations, Mi Piaci Design, Murrieta's Well, Northern Lights, Studio AYT, Sugar Rush Events, Verite, Wedding Shoes
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

One of my readers asked if I would do a little round-up of some of my favorite gowns for 2007….Um, of course!!! I still honestly believe that my wedding gown is the most beautiful gown ever in the history of wedding gowns, but I suppose there are some pretty ones out there this season. Just teasing. To me, a wedding gown is a lot like a child. Yours is always better.

Here are some of my favorites for 2007…

Okay, let’s discuss. The top row are gowns that are a little more traditional. With that said, each one is completely infused with a contemporary style that I love. From the left, the designers are Melissa Sweet, Jim Hjelm and Amsale. I loooove the Amsale dress. It reminds me of something that Chloe from Project Runway would do.

The second row gowns are all a bit more flowy…almost grecian. This style, for now, is more of what I gravitate towards. It just feels whispy and romantic. I envision a low, very loose bun and antique gold earings to complete the look. I am still kind of obsessed with lace and I love that these designers brought in a very sexy appeal to such a traditional fabric. Designer on the left is Oscar de la Renta and the center/right are Badgley Mischka.

The gowns on the third row are sweet, almost innocent. And yet, they seem so timeless and elegant to me. I absolutely love the detailing on each of these gowns…the first has such a pretty silhouette, the second has gorgeous lace detailing without seeming over the top and the third has such beautiful layering. You don’t see gowns like this often. From the left, the designers are Angel Sanchez, Carolina Herrera and Angel Sanchez again.

If you know about my love affair with all things Vera, you are probably wondering why I don’t have any of her designs up here. To be honest, it’s a totally different beast. Tomorrow, I am going to have my new favorite Vera dresses…I thought they deserved a post all on their own.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amsale, Angel Sanchez, Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrara, Chloe, Jim Hjelm, Melissa Sweet, Oscar De La Renta, Vera Wang, Wedding Gowns
Post categories: Wedding Dresses, Wedding Fashion