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From Mon plus beau jour… Montmartre is an incredible neighborhood in Paris for it is so poetic!  The Hotel Particulier Montmartre is, to me, the best location in Paris for an intimate and unique wedding. One has to take a private path and go through two gates before discovering this authentic location on top of the Montmartre hill.  I wanted to share this ‘bijou’ (jewel) with future brides who would like to get married in Paris away from the busy and well-known locations. The interior is very boudoir styled; the perfect ambiance for a bride to get ready… feminine, quiet and elegant (photos 1, 2 and 4).  Outside, the building is surrounded by a luxuriant garden with terraces and nooks.  I immediately thought about One and Only Paris to do this style shoot for I know they love these very Parisian places, so ‘Romantique’!

First of all, I knew I wanted to bring fresh- ‘acid’ colors in this decor that is mainly white (the hotel front) and green (the garden); pink, light yellow, mango and slate popped up in my mind!  I also wanted to keep the garden table, chairs to create a fresh look and find the way then to add the ‘chic touch’. I, first, set a slate grey table runner in the middle of the table, where I also displayed white china, silver cutlery and crystal chiseled glasses.  I wanted the flowers to bring a pop of color to the table; I picked only one kind of flowers; Coral Peony, they had the perfect colors I was looking for: pink and yellow.I also ‘played’ with the candles; they all had different shapes and heights but they all matched the colors of the flowers.

In each plate, there were two small chocolates that showed different views of Paris.  Place cards were hand calligraphed, either on grey butterflies or on organic paper cards.  The book (La Conversation Amoureuse – Alice Ferney) was used as the table label. As for the invitations, they were pretty, old-fashion styled post cards put in DIY envelopes.  I chose plain pink and grey envelopes.  On the grey one I put light pink Japanese tape and white lace on top.  On the pink one, I put a ribbon on the left corner with a wax seal on top.   Envelopes were hand calligraphed with white or silver ink. Camille, our model, is wearing a strapless dress, satin silk muslin, made by the French designer Fanny Liautard.  She is wearing vivid pink shoes from the French brand Les Petites.  Her hair and make up were done by Lexi De Rock.

As for myself, I am the manager of Mon plus beau jour (My most beautiful day) based in Paris and founded in 2003.  We organize weddings everywhere in France for French people but also for couples who live abroad.  We have now a consultant in NYC for American couples who would like to get married in France.  Throughout the organization they would have a wedding planner in NYC and then, when they come to France the French team would be there on their wedding day to coordinate everything.

Photography:  One & Only Paris Photography / Wedding Planning and Design:  Mon plus beau jour / Venue: Hôtel Particulier Montmartre / Dress designer: Fanny Liautard / Hair and make up artist: Lexi De Rock / Jewellery:  JEM / Pink shoes: Les Petites / Wedding cake: Jenny C. Vincent cake designer for Berko / Candles: Cire Trudon / Favor chocolate: Lafayette Gourmet / Model: Camille

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Post tags: Berko, Brights, Chic, Cire Trudon, Fanny Liautard, France, Gray, Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, Inspiration, JEM, Lafayette Gourmet, Les Petites, Lexi De Rock, Modern, Mon plus beau jour, One and Only Paris Photography, Paris, Photo Shoot, Pink, Red, romantic, Yellow
Post categories: Destination Weddings, France Weddings

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From the Bride…There was a small town girl and a city boy, but this journey didn’t have a midnight train and the city wasn’t Detroit.   It was the city of Manhattan and a hundred plane rides later that lead me married to the most amazing man I have ever been blessed enough to know.

I was on a media tour for work that took me to very talented talk radio for guys on SiriusXM, the Covino and Rich Show.  The interview was fun, flirty, and some question asked that left me praying my father didn’t happen upon that channel at that moment in time.  After the interview was over, a cupid named Allie, also known as my marketing director and dear friend, invited a certain show host, Rich Davis, to dinner with us later that evening.  I won’t lie, the thought of continuing the flirtatious banter and getting to see more of his smile that night gave me butterflies.   But when dinnertime came, there was no Rich Davis to be seen.  Now I’m not one to be forward, unless it is for something that I want.  And at that moment this southern girl wanted to know more about this city boy who gives false acceptances to a dinner invite.  Turning to Cupid, I asked her to relay a message to him.  And within minutes I received a text from the missing radio host.  The rest of the night we were glued to our phones exchanging texts. It didn’t stop until 5 a.m. when he had to leave for his morning radio show, the Morning Mashup, and I had to leave for my next media stop.  Later that same day, he showed up to my last appearance before I left for the airport.  Those final five minutes were the most hilariously awkward moments that left me loving his inability to be this smooth talking playboy, and his sheer cheese ball way had me hooked.

Photography: Forever Photography Studio / Bouquet: Hair Bows Wonderworld

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chic, Day After Photoshoot, Forever Studio Photography, New York Weddings
Post categories: New York City Weddings, New York Weddings, Photo Shoot

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From the Bride… Jason and I had a specific vision for our wedding from the start. We knew right away that Public, a Manhattan restaurant with both a chic and vintage setting, would be the perfect place for our quirky style. After a few persuasive conversations and begging, we even convinced them to lets us bring Foxy, our beloved dog, to the ceremony!

We then approached Mekala of Tie That Binds with the task of creating the invitation I was imagining. Together we shaped the paper materials to fit exactly what I dreamed of. The custom matchboxes were a charming detail at the dinner reception, along with the city-chic place cards and table numbers. She also produced a custom New York skyline stamp and we used it throughout the wedding, and stamped every menu at each place setting.

When it came to coordinating the rest, I was surprised to find that I could do it myself! We didn’t have a huge budget, but I knew it would be important to find someone to run the show… wrangle parents, deal with flowers, and all of the complications that come with the wedding day. Keri Clavin from Clavin|Kelly Events is truly a gem, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her. As our day-of coordinator, she really got her hands dirty and made sure everything was in place that day. Not only was she highly organized, but she took the bumps of the wedding day in stride and her wedding and event expertise put our entirely family at ease.

Of course our photographer, Erica Berger, was one of the best choices we made. Her photography style was exactly what we needed for our venue and personality. She did a fantastic job capturing the moments that ended up being the most memorable. I really wanted a photo booth at the wedding, we created a space that turned out to be a HUGE guest hit! My mom and I simply hit the party stores, and found the bells and props used to add flair to the booth. It resulted in TONS of images chuck FULL of personality. We still laugh out loud when we look through them!

In the end, Jason and I got what we wanted- to be happily married to each other. But the journey of creating our wedding was wonderful, and we couldn’t be more thankful for the family and friends that came to support us. You really can keep costs down by doing things yourself, and I hope brides out there believe they can do it, too!

Wedding Invitations & Paper Products: Tie That Binds / Wedding Photography: Erica Berger & David Dooley for Erica Berger / Wedding Venue & Catering: Public / Wedding Cake: Public / Day of Coordination: Keri Clavin of Clavin Kelly Events / DJ: DJ Duane Harriot with 74 Events / Floral Design: Color of Magic / Hair & Makeup: The Bride + Simone St. Laurent of Laicale Salon / Wedding Dress: Palazzo via Veka Bridal Couture / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Hair Pin: Jennifer Behr / Groom’s Suit: Paul Stuart / Groom’s & Best Man’s Shirt & Tie: Custom by Lord Willy’s / Ring Bearer’s Suit: Little Marc Jacobs / Ring Bearer’s Shirt: Ralph Lauren Kids / Ring Bearer’s Sneakers: Converse / Ring Bearer Bowl: Paloma’s Nest

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Post tags: 74 Events, Black, Chic, Clavin|Kelly Events, Color of Magic, Converse, Erica Berger, Jennifer Behr, Jimmy Choo, Laicale Salon, Little Marc Jacobs, Lord Willy's, Manhattan, New York, New York City, Palazzo, Paloma's Nest, Paul Stuart, Photo Booth, Public, Ralph Lauren Kids, Red, Tie That Binds, Veka Bridal Couture, Vintage Chic
Post categories: Casual Elegance, New York City Weddings, New York Weddings

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My husband, Morgan, and I were married this past August 2010 at Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, CA.  I was never the girl who pictured or planned her wedding growing up, but sure enough, soon after we got engaged, we had a very clear picture of the wedding we wanted.  We are natural party hosts; one of our favorite activities is having people at our home.  We wanted the wedding to feel like our parties do:  free flowing, fun, and filled with lots of good music, food, and drink.  With that image in mind, we began planning the wedding design and style.

As soon as we moved to Manhattan Beach after college, I fell in love with Shade Hotel.  It is modern, clean, and simple—a style that describes our taste perfectly.  Shade’s unique layout made us think differently about the flow of the wedding.  We had no assigned seats, all different types of seating, and stations all around the courtyard for the food.  We had rented the entire small hotel out, so the weekend felt like a long slumber party with our closes family and friends.

Shade had recommended Carissa from JL DESIGNS for our florist, and she really helped my vision come to life.  Not only were her florals gorgeous, she really took the role as the event designer and helped us get the right rentals and linens in place.  We went with green and white flowers and included some of my favorites, tulips, cala lilies, orchids, and succulents.  One of my favorite parts is the fact that each of my bridesmaids carried a bouquet of a different green flower.  They looked beautiful held against their gray J.Crew bridesmaid dresses.

As for the other details, design-savvy Morgan designed our invitations, website, and paper goods, we used our friends at Jamaica’s Cakes for our delicious cake, bought tons of details from different Etsy vendors, had the same ceremony guitarist from my parents’ wedding (with some of the same Cat Stevens songs.)  Luckily, our wonderful photographers, Erin Hearts Court, beautifully captured all of it.

Wedding Venue: Shade Hotel / Wedding Photographers: Erin Hearts Court / Wedding Cinematographer: Living Cinema / Wedding Florist: JL DESIGNS / Lighting and Rentals: Level 4 International / Linens: Wildflower Linen / DJ: Aaron Massey from VOX DJs / Officiant: Greg Mohr from You May Kiss the Bride / Ceremony Music: Marty Kaniger / Hair and Makeup: Nicole DeAnne Bridal Hair and Makeup / Bride’s Hair Accessory: 5eizen / Bride’s Dress: Modern Trousseau from The White Dress / Bride’s Shoes: Charles David / Bride’s Shoe Clips: bpoetic / Bride’s bracelet: emin jewelry / Bridesmaid Dresses and Shoes: J. Crew and Nine West / Groom’s Suit: J. Crew / Groomsmen Accessories: The Tie Bar, Express, and Converse / Flower Girl Tutu: tutugirl / Wedding Bands: Pasha Fine Jewelry / Wedding Cake: Jamaica’s Cakes / Wedding Cake Toppers: RedLight Studio / Favors: Gotta Have S’more

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Chic, Erin Heart's Court, Gotta Have S'mores, JL Designs, Living Cinema, Manhattan Beach, Modern, Modern Trosseau
Post categories: California Weddings, Contemporary, Los Angeles Weddings, The Blog

Eclatante’s Kendall Brown and Donna O’Brien of Beautiful Bloom collaborated with today’s stunning bride, Roseann and her mother, Rosemary to create a super-chic, super-warm, super-fabulous wedding and reception … and they sent it to us … to share!  The day was documented, forever, by the amazing photography team at Marie LaBanncz Photography.

And now … Plan B! It rained buckets on Roseann & Paal’s wedding day. Thanks to the quick-thinking Kendall Brown … their post-wedding shoot turned into something that we will never forget!!

from Marie Labbancz … at Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia … Roseann & Paal.

A huge thanks to Becky at The Fawcett Group!

Kendall & Donna … unbelievably chic!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Chic, Eclatante, F.U.E.L., Fawcett Group PR and Marketing, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Signature Cocktails
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Resources