That gorgeous Lilly of the Valley bouquet and all the other fab florals courtesy of Beautiful Blooms.

On Friday, February 12, 2010, Scottie was on her way from New York City to meet Cooper in Greenwich, CT for a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend. Scottie was in a particularly good mood, and quite distracted, as it was her last day of work before going on vacation for two weeks prior to starting her new job. Cooper had arrived in Greenwich a few hours before Scottie because she stayed late in the city to take a yoga class, so to her – there was nothing suspicious about their mismatched arrival times. When the cab arrived at the house in Greenwich, Scottie walked to the back door and found a note saying “Follow the Candles…” Scottie proceeded to follow a trail of 5 candles that led through the house. At each candle, there was a portion of a note written by Cooper, and the last candle was located at the threshold of the living room where Scottie could see a beautiful fire had been made. The end of the note at the last candle read “Ms. Elizabeth Scott McQuilkin…” Just as Scottie finished reading the note, Cooper walked into the doorway, got down on one knee with a ring in hand, and finished the sentence “…will you marry me?” Scottie of course said yes, and immediately needed to sit down for fear of fainting!

Scottie grew up outside of Philadelphia, and had passed The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia numerous times growing up. The architecture is beautiful and the backdrop of City Hall made for excellent photographs!  We also wanted a venue where we knew we would get exceptional service so we wouldn’t have to worry about anything on the big day.  The Ritz-Carlton exceeded out expectations every step of the way and their service was impeccable.  They comfortably accommodated all of our guests and provided a beautiful central location for out of towners to reach.  The food and accommodations were great for our reception and ceremony!

The most important thing for Scottie to decide on first was the dress since it determined the tone and level of formality of the rest of the wedding….Scottie went to Vera Wang with her mom, mother-in-law to be, and a close family friend.  She tried on about 15 dresses, and when she put the last one on – she knew it was the one!  It was simple, classic and elegant.  Once her consultant at Vera Wang put on the cathedral length veil, Scottie knew her choice was made!  The dress also happened to match the PERFECT Christian Louboutin shoes Scottie had picked out a few weeks before.  After the wedding, Scottie donated her dress and veil to The Bridal Garden in NYC, which is a non-profit that benefits children in New York City. Scottie kept the sash from her dress as well as her shoes, in case there is a daughter some day who may want to wear them.  As a surprise addition to Scottie’s outfit at the end, Betteridge, the Greenwich, CT jeweler who custom made Scottie’s engagement ring and both Scottie and Cooper’s wedding bands, loaned Scottie an incredible pair of diamond chandelier earnings to complete her wedding day look!

For the photographer, Scottie immediately knew who she wanted.  Scottie’s colleague had worked with the mkPhoto team for her own wedding a few years ago, and when Scottie saw their incredible photos – mkPhoto was the only photographer she reached out to!  Scottie and Cooper were incredibly impressed with mkPhoto’s professionalism throughout the wedding planning process, and appreciated their expertise on the big day to ensure we got more great photos than we imagined!

For the flowers, Scottie worked with the team at Beautiful Blooms.  Beautiful Blooms had been recommended by a number of people, and for good reason.  Maya Shumar and her team executed perfectly on the concept Scottie outlined – white flowers of all kinds and lots of fresh green throughout the ceremony and reception combined with romantic low lighting and candles.  Scottie chose a bouquet entirely made of lily of the valley for her walk down the aisle, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen were accessorized with mini calla lilies and sprigs of lily of the valley to match.

Photography: MKPhotography / Flowers: Beautiful Blooms / Ceremony Location: Ritz Carlton Philadelphia / Reception Location: Ritz Carlton Philadelphia / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Wedding Gown: Vera Wang / Veil: Vera Wang / Bridesmaid Dresses: Vera Wang / Stationery: Dana Charette, Salt & Paper Design / Calligraphy: Mindy Mraz / Hair & Makeup: Richel D’Ambra Spa & Salon / Band: City Rhythm, Brandywine Valley Talent

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Post tags: Ballroom Wedding, Beautiful Blooms, Brandywine Valley Talent, Candles, Christian Louboutin, City Rhythm, Classic, Color Palette Navy, Glasses, Lilly of the Valley, Mindy Mraz, MKPhotography, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Richel D'Ambra Spa & Salon, Ritz Carlton Philadelphia, Salt & Paper Design, Traditional Elegance, Vera Wang, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance

Floral by Beautiful Blooms, Photography by Marie Labbancz Photography

If you missed any of the beauty, here are all the pretty posts from this week:

a sweet Save The Date film from Chicago
a cute as pie Santa Barbara wedding
a Seattle winter affair
a pretty in pink Colorado fête
an amazing Houston Highlight film
a winter stunner in Canada
a roundup of some of the best Floral Vendors
a bit of South Carolina wedding inspiration
a romantic pink affair in Half Moon Bay
a Wisconsin winter wedding
a whimsy Australian fête

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Bouquets, Marie Labbancz Photography, royal wedding, Wedding Flowers, Weekly Wrap-Up, Wrap it up Pretty
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog

Amazing, isn’t it. A HUUUUGE congratulations to Libby and Jim. You guys are so absolutely adorable and I know that if your life together is half as gorgeous as this wedding, you are two very lucky people. We love you!

Photography: Hoffer Photography / Cinematography: Well Spun Weddings / Flowers and Event Design: Beautiful Blooms / Ceremony and Reception Location: John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove / Invitations: Sarah Drake / Dress: The Gallery by Lela Rose / Caterer: Jeffrey Miller Catering / Makeup: Jill Fulop – Face The Occasion / Hair: Natalie Pagano – Hair By Natalie / Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff / Music + DJ: Craig Konowal – Circle of Sound DJ’s / Favors: Etsy Vendor – 2 Birds In Love / Watercolor bird table markers: Christina Galagarza – C2G2

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2 Birds in Love, Beautiful Blooms, Bill Levkoff, Birdcages, Birdhouses, Blue, C2G2, Circle of Sound DJ’s, Etsy, Face The Occasion, Garden, Hair By Natalie, Hoffer Photography, Jeffery Miller Catering, John James Audobon Center, Lela Rose, owls, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Sarah Drake, Well Spun Weddings
Post categories: Wedding Cinematography

click here to see the full wedding gallery!

Libby’s wedding is also being featured in The Knot Pennsylvania & Delaware, on stands February 7th!!

Pinch me! We’re on SMP. I have been faithfully devouring Style Me Pretty for 4+ years and couldn’t believe my good fortune when I was asked to become part of the team a little over one year ago. What could be better than planning your very own wedding, while looking at other gorgeous weddings all day long? Not much, I say!

I met the handsome man above in a limo (!) during a mutual friend’s birthday celebration, while attending the University of West Chester, just outside of Philadelphia. After relocating to the Boston area, we entertained the idea of a New England wedding but decided to come home to beautiful Pennsylvania, where so many of our family and friends still live. We instantly fell in love with the John James Audubon Society at Mill Grove as we drove up the long, tree lined drive. This venue exudes Pennsylvania charm and has everything that we were hoping to find. Fieldstone barn (check!), Pavilion with huge fireplace (check!), Classic old estate (check!), Porch with rocking chairs (check!), Owl at the cocktail hour (BIG CHECK!) The owl definitely sealed the deal…

I never anticipated how tough it would be to nail down the overall feel of our wedding, since I see so many wonderful ideas day in and day out! Our “Love Letter” invitations by Sarah Drake set the tone for rustic romance and as the weeks went on, I also found myself incorporating vintage and woodland elements as well. While my mom and I are pros at “hunting and gathering,” we’ll be the first to admit that we sort of lost track of our vision as we got closer to the big day. How were we going to incorporate all of this goodness into one cohesive style? And when I say “goodness” I mean 300+ bud vases, 20+ mason jars, 25 birdcages, an old typewriter, blue/white hankies, family love letters – you name it, we found it.

We chose SMP Little Black Book member, Beautiful Blooms in Philadelphia to discuss a plan of attack. With their help and ideas, we were able to incorporate all of our treasures throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception and it just flowed perfectly as our guests moved from one event to the next. My personal favorite was their idea to paint all of our birdhouses blue and hang little vintage bird playing cards inside of them with ribbon, along with lots of flowers. To Maya, Donna and the team at Beautiful Blooms – we cannot thank you enough for your creative, over the top, amazingness!

We also had a lot of help from our family and friends, which showed in everything from the programs, the ceremony music, hand painted table markers, sweet little bird nests with ferns from my mother’s garden, wooden table pedestals, down to the microbrew selection. We are lucky to know so many crafters, musicians and brewers! Speaking of music, one of the highlights of the night was when my adorable father surprised me with a song/toast called, “A Song For My Daughter.” Waterworks! Well Spun Weddings turned this into the sweetest video for us to keep forever.

Photography: Hoffer Photography / Cinematography: Well Spun Weddings / Flowers and Event Design: Beautiful Blooms / Ceremony and Reception Location: John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove / Invitations: Sarah Drake / Dress: The Gallery by Lela Rose / Caterer: Jeffrey Miller Catering / Makeup: Jill Fulop – Face The Occasion / Hair: Natalie Pagano – Hair By Natalie / Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff / Music + DJ: Craig Konowal – Circle of Sound DJ’s / Favors: Etsy Vendor – 2 Birds In Love / Watercolor bird table markers: Christina Galagarza – C2G2

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2 Birds in Love, Beautiful Blooms, Bill Levkoff, Birdcages, Birdhouses, Blue, C2G2, Circle of Sound DJ's, Etsy, Face The Occasion, Garden, Hair By Natalie, Hoffer Photography, Jeffery Miller Catering, John James Audobon Center, Lela Rose, owls, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Sarah Drake, Well Spun Weddings
Post categories: Casual Elegance

photography by the equally fabulous Heather Fowler!

from Claudia …
Our family is sort of like The Brady Bunch, circa 2010. Scott has 3 kids and I have 2 and we are a modern blended family, complete with all the joys and challenges! We are happy to report that embarking on this wonderful journey has allowed us ALL to grow and blossom as a family and individually and we know the best is yet to come! We wanted an intimate wedding with only our family and close friends. We chose the beautiful & romantic Spring Mill Cafe as our venue because when we walked in to the candlelit byob owned by renowned French Chef Michele Haines and her son, Ezra, one winter evening to have dinner, I immediately I knew from the expression on Scott’s face that we had found our place…

I quickly got to work on creating the vintage vibe for our special day and as an interior decorating consultant no detail “stone” would be left unturned. I designed a lot of the decor myself with the help of my seamstress of 15 years, Elaine, who is just amazing! She sewed all the linens, cushions and pillows. I even pulled out my sewing machine and made a pennant to string on the farmhouse porch, using my luxurious Bella Notte Linens swatches…I fell in love with Abby’s inspiration boards and Style Me Pretty became my go-to source for EVERYTHING, I couldn’t get enough of all details galore featured on her gorgeous space. Her vendor guide led me to my amazing photographer, Heather Fowler and my creative floral designer, Donna O’Brien of Beautiful Blooms, both top-notch talent in their fields. Heather then led me to the stylist (and magician) Claudia Seyler, for hair and make-up. I also bought tons from Etsy, my favorite place to shop now, you will undoubtedly unearth treasure each time you sign on, no lie!

One of the most enjoyable parts of our day was our photo shoot with Heather Fowler and her 2nd shooter Misty Dawn (yes, her real name). They are amazingly talented and creative and the photos simply blew us away…Scott and I had lots of fun shopping for all the props that we used on the shoot site at the Cynwyd train station, right near our house in the charming town of Bala Cynwyd, PA, part of Philadelphia’s historic Main Line.

I love the hunt and shopping for all the details was delightful: vintage containers for the florals, textiles, ribbons, beautiful papers, corkboards, antique furniture, props, etc. and on that special sunny 10th day in September 2010, with the help of many people, it all came together in an unforgettable celebration of love, happiness and beauty…thank you everyone for our perfect day…Scott and I will forever be grateful and our beautiful memories will never be forgotten. xocc

See the whole wedding here and Heather’s blog feature here!

Claudia Clobes is a Philadelphia decorating consultant and editor of the lifestyle blog, STONEHOUSE LOVE.

Our congratulations to Claudia, Scott and their family on a delightful wedding!

And, as always, our thanks to Heather Fowler Photography for sharing!!

Photography: Heather Fowler Photography
Floral Design: Beautiful Blooms
Hair & Makeup: Claudia Seyler

Etsy Shops
Flower Girl’s headband: Be Something New
Favors & tags: pinkcherrymama
Vintage Heart Confetti: ddeforest, ScrapShoppe
Pompoms: PomLove
Table numbers: The Back Porch Shoppe
Hand-written invitation suite: baumbirdy
Caketoppers: pammaro
Save-the-dates: SunshineandRavioli
Ribbons & twine, clothespins, guestbook: 5dollarfrenchmarket

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Claudia Seyler, Heather Fowler
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Vintage Chic, Wedding Photography

photography by Art of Love /cookies by Whipped Bakeshop -   click here to see all of the gorgeousness!

So hold on to your hats, kids. We’re doing Halloween SMP style…with the most gorgeous details you can imagine and weddings that are as whimsical as they are chic. Back in a flash!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Donna O'Brien, Halloween
Post categories: Wedding Details, Wedding Flowers

see the full wedding here!

From the Bride…

We met through a mutual friend after I graduated from college and he proposed (with a beagle puppy!) 2 years later in August 2009. A few weeks after the engagement, I began graduate school and my mom, Dale Lippart began wedding planning/directing me on what to do and when. With lots of family traveling from upstate New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, The Conservatory in Morristown, NJ was an ideal location. I am Jewish and although Erik is not, we decided to have a nontraditional Jewish ceremony at The Conservatory. We stood under a chupah and Erik broke a glass after we are pronounced husband and wife, and we were married by my step-dad, who happens to be a judge in Pennsylvania.

We both have large families so almost 100 out of our (approximate) 138 guests were relatives. Planning went smoothly, thanks to my mom. Everything seemed to fall into place exactly as I could have dreamed. My dress couldn’t be more “me” and I had complete confidence in every vendor we chose. I am a big believer in hiring a person because they are good at what they do, not so I can micromanage. I found them all through referrals and had complete confidence in their talent – not a single one let me down that day.

My bridesmaids were my sister, my cousin, and my 2 best friends since kindergarten. I couldn’t ask for better women in my life. Erik’s groomsmen are his brother, my brother, and his 3 best friends from college, one of which was the guy that introduced us. They are all amazing people and incredibly helpful and supportive. Invitations were little funkier than the traditional invitation and really represent Erik and me as well as an invitation can. We had them custom made – purple paisley border on cream, lined in bright yellow; cream envelopes lined in bright green, pink, yellow, and purple stripes. Erik and I are classy and classic, with a twist of trendy. I love pushing the envelope and my goal was to throw an amazing, “funkified-garden party.” The room was bursting with color! The ceremony was suppose to begin at 11:30 a.m. but we didn’t get going until about 11:45…and it technically ended at 5 p.m. – at which point, we had shuttles running every half hour from the hotel into Morristown. It was a fabulous celebratory day filled with everyone we love. The icing on the cake? Everything went off without a hitch!!

Photographer: Julia Newman / Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Conservatory at The Madison Hotel / Bride’s Jewelry: Adorn / Caterer: Rod’s Steakhouse / Florist: Beautiful Blooms / Stationery: Kramer Driver / Dress Designer: Jim Hjelm / Bridesmaids Dresses: Adrianna Papell from Nordstrom / Groom and Groomsman Suits: Joseph A. Bank / DJ: Matt Bowyer from Synergetic Sounds / Make-Up Artist: April Landrum-Johns / Hair Stylist: Meg Henderson of Caru Salon / Wedding Planner and Cake Designer: Dale Lippart (mom) / Officiant: Jack Lippart

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Post tags: Adorn, April Landrum-Johns, Beautiful Blooms, Caru Salon, Jim Hjelm, Joseph A. Bank, Julia Newman Photography, Kramer Driver, New Jersey, Nordstrom, Rod's Steakhouse, Synergetic Sounds, The Madison Hotel
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

images courtesy of atlas wedding photography

From Kendall ….. at Eclatante Event Design …

Kelly & Josh were two of the most wonderful people we have ever met. Very urban, very chic and very unusual, they had definite ideas about certain things they wanted at their wedding.

First, Josh is a true connoisseur of cocktails – an expert, of sorts, on the prohibition era. Which we loved, because it created an extremely interesting backdrop for the design and details for their wedding. We brought in a stunning solid wood bar that was created for a speakeasy. Josh carefully chose the drinks that would be available at the bars – there were only four of them. We arranged to have the specially chosen bartenders attend a dress rehearsal where they learned, not only how to make these very special drinks, but how to move, how to speak to the guests and how to dress. We provided them with the authentic details that dressed them up that day. There were “House Rules” as there were in the Chicago Speakeasies and recipe cards for the guests for each of the four drinks. The guests were totally charmed by all the details. It was truly amazing.

The tables, too, were designed to reflect this very specific era. Rather than have typical centerpieces, we created, instead, a look that incorporated lamps and ashtrays and other elements that you might find on the table at a Speakeasy. Inside the ashtrays and other vessels, Beautiful Blooms placed absolutely amazing freeze-dried and hand-painted green roses. We also used pheasant feathers because it just seemed to work! And, if you look closely, you’ll notice that some of the tables are parsons tables covered with faux ostrich leather.

One more little tidbit – Kelly & Josh met on Craig’s List. We thought it would be charming to print their initial emails to each other on cocktail napkins.

So, so, so charming!

See the whole gallery here …

Thanks to all for sharing!!

Event Design and Planning: Eclatante Event Design
Photography: Tiffany Atlas, Atlas Wedding Photography
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms
Paper Goods: Creative Montage
Venue: TRUST
Catering: Max Hansen Caterer
Cake: Whipped Bakeshop
Hair & Makeup: Kelley Hughs

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Atlas Wedding Photography, Beautiful Blooms, Creative Montage, Eclatante, Feathers, Kelley Hughs, Max Hansen Caterer, Philadelphia, Signature Cocktail, TRUST, Vintage Chic, Whipped Bakeshop
Post categories: Centerpieces, Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Vintage Chic, Wedding Planners & Designers