Up first are the geniuses of all things bridesmaid, twobirds Bridesmaid.  These fabulous dresses will have EVERY bridesmaid doing a happy dance with styles that can be worn FIFTEEN different ways AND worn again!  We love.

From twobirds Bridesmaid… twobirds Bridesmaid is a boutique dress company that marries a bride’s vision with her bridesmaids’ happiness. the line consists of ONE dress that can be wrapped over 15 different ways to flatter girls of all shapes and sizes. the dress comes in only 2 sizes {size A fits a 0 – 14 + size B fits a 16 – 24}, 4 lengths, 21 colors, and now 4 different collections to choose from.

the new Chiffon Collection consists of a detachable chiffon skirt that you can wear over one of the dresses in the classic collection. the chiffon skirt is now available in 6 of our colors {ivory, fuscia, aubergine, slate, navy, + black} and in both the short straight and ball gown lengths. you can wear it to a blacktie affair and then have a fabulous versatile dress to wear after the wedding!

twobirds Bridesmaid hopes to continue to reinvent the convertible dress that bridesmaids can wear for years to come after the wedding as they are investing in something that will last a lifetime!

Up next is the breathtaking Glacier Park Weddings at Great Northern Resort.  Set amongst the glorious Rocky Mountains, this venue is a destination paradise.  Stunning.  (PS – There’s a discount for all you SMPers!)

From Glacier Park Weddings at Great Northern Resort… Glacier Park Weddings at Great Northern Resort is a stunning outdoor wedding venue in the mountains of Montana.  Located just outside the west entrance of Glacier National Park, we are ideally situated for Montana destination weddings. The peaks of Glacier Park provide the backdrop for our intimate ceremony setting, and receptions are held in our tree-lined meadow under a classic white tent.  The simple surroundings — mountains and trees, a white tent and green spaces — offer infinite possibilities for decor, so you’ll be able to make the place feel like your own.  Our charming chalet-style lodging is perfect for housing your wedding party and guests, and we offer an exciting menu of activities to give your guests a full Montana experience during their stay.  We can accommodate weddings of up to 200 guests.  

Our top priority is your happiness, and coming in a close second: your sanity. Because we know that you want to enjoy the wedding planning process and savor each moment of your celebration, we offer an array of packages and services to take the stress out of your big day. We believe that your wedding should be exactly as you envision it, and that you should be just as relaxed and have just as much fun as all of your guests! Our wedding coordination packages promise just that.

To see our Real Weddings gallery, please stop by our website.  We hope to have the pleasure of celebrating with you here amidst the mountains of Montana!

As a special thank-you to SMP readers, we’d like to offer a $100 credit on our popular bistro lighting package for weddings booked during the month of February!  Simply mention this post when you contact us about your upcoming wedding, and then don’t forget to return here and leave a comment with the date of your Montana celebration!

And last, but certainly not least, is the oh-so-fabulous photography team of Comfort Studio!  Take just one look at all of the lovely below and you’ll be swooning through the weekend!  Trust me.

From Comfort Studio… We are an award-winning boutique wedding photography studio specializing in destination weddings, with a focus on Costa Rica and Central America. We are three American-born female photographers living abroad at the beach in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, where we have shot hundreds of weddings locally and around the world. Instead of directing the flow of a wedding, we document emotions, relationships, and details as they organically occur.

Gorgeous, no?!?  Make sure to head on over to each of their websites to show them some love! Welcome to the family twobirds Bridesmaid, Comfort Studio and Glacier Park Weddings at Great Northern Resort!  We are so happy to have you!

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Post tags: Bridesmaid Dresses, Convertible Wrap Dresses, Destination Weddings, Glacier Park Weddings at Great Northern Resort, Montana, twobirds bridesmaid
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Welcome Post

Pierre-Alexandre and I met the modern way. We found each other online. Living in the Bay Area and working in Silicon Valley for two tech titans (Google + Microsoft), it’s no surprise that the Internet would bring us together. We shared a wide-ranging curiosity about the world and a natural compatibility. A love of French language and culture from both sides definitely added to it too! After a few months of being “just friends” we couldn’t deny there was something much more, and soon after we were talking of getting married.

My father had passed away when I was young and I had warned Pierre-Alexandre that if he wanted to marry me he should ask my mother for permission according to Vietnamese custom. On Christmas day last year, unbeknownst to me, Pierre-Alexandre had decided he was ready and was trying to find time alone with my mom to ask her but couldn’t due to all the busy festivities. So my mother – a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and a traditional Vietnamese mother ready for her daughter to be married – forced the matter in front of the whole family during Christmas dinner, “I see that you two are very close. I’d like to know where this is going.” With tears in his eyes Pierre-Alexandre calmly responded “Mrs. Pham, you beat me to it by a few minutes. I love your daughter and with your blessing would love to spend the rest of my life with her.” Luckily my mom and I are very close and I can laugh now at how memorable my engagement was as she essentially proposed for us! Pierre-Alexandre did give me a chance to actually say yes a few days later when he surprised me with a beautiful trip to Big Sur where we got formally engaged.

Then came the question of when and where. We decided to have two weddings to accommodate both of our Vietnamese and French cultures and families. We planned for a small traditional Vietnamese wedding in April in Hawaii where my mother lives and a larger wedding in France in August for our friends and Pierre-Alexandre’s family. Yes, two destination weddings! We definitely could not have managed to pull off our French wedding without the help of Marie-Emilie Mejan, our wedding planner from Mon Plus Beau Jour. We worked with her over email and Skype and we’re so glad that we found her as she was excellent in taking care of all the details and making sure our wedding was everything we wished.

Our wedding was held at the beautiful Chateau d’Esclimont. What girl doesn’t dream of getting married in a castle? And this 15th Century Renaissance style chateau came complete with towers, turrets and stone bridges that carried us over an actual moat! 40 kilometers away from Paris and enroute to Versailles, the Chateau d’Esclimont was perfectly situated for both of our guests traveling from afar and for those living in France. We also loved that our wedding package came with a magnificent newlywed suite and 13 rooms so we could invite our friends and family to stay as well.

We had a “castle casual” vision for our wedding, something elegant but down-to-earth. The vibrance and richness of a pinkish-purple (it was so hard to match and describe this color!) was balanced with more natural hues of cream and taupe. I wasn’t a huge fan of the traditional French wedding cake called a “piece montee” because of it’s drab choux cream puff color and consistency. But a modern take of it made with macarons in our wedding colors from the famed Fauchon bakery was just perfect!

We wanted an outdoor wedding and were delighted to discover a giant plane tree on the grounds of the chateau next to the pond. We knew we wanted to have our ceremony under it and trees became a central theme of our wedding. We like the symbolism of trees, as they represent having strong roots and branching out as a new family. Trees also symbolize strength, flexibility, growth and renewal through the seasons to us. We chose a different tree for each of our tables. Our wedding favors were also aboreal with plantable seed cards embossed with a tree. And of course, this being France, we had to have the traditional dragees (jordan almonds) which are always present at weddings and baptisms! We found a wonderful, unique pouch with twig branches to hold these and placed one at each seating.

Perhaps one of the most memorable aspects of our wedding was simply the fact that it actually was held outside. My heart sunk the morning of my big day as it rained heavily. At noon blue skies appeared and my hopes soared, only to be dashed again when the rain picked up after a few hours. My mom later told me that she had prayed to my father and asked him to make this day beautiful for his daughter’s wedding. I love this story, because miraculously, the rains stopped just 30 minutes before the ceremony was to start. One and Only Paris Photography did a wonderful job capturing the magic moments of the day. One of my favorite photos is of me on my cellphone making an executive decision call to Marie-Emilie that we would have the wedding outside after all and not go with Plan B! I love that our photos have a fresh, soft sunlight look to them as you would never guess that it was pouring just moments before!

Neither of us are religious but we are spiritual and we wanted a ceremony that would be meaningful in all aspects. We added a lot of symbolic touches to our wedding to involve our friends and family. We had a fully bilingual wedding with my close friend Virali officiating in English and Pierre-Alexandre’s cousin, Francois-Xavier, translating in French. We wrote our own vows and had our rings passed around to each person for a blessing. And to symbolize our “tying the knot” we incorporated a Celtic handfasting
ritual carried out by our mothers to bind the ties around our hands and our hearts. Finally, to add one more touch of magic, late in the evening (French weddings last til 4am!) we went outside and had our guests light sky lanterns that floated out ethereally into the night. It was spectacular to see the night sky lit up with the hopes and wishes from our loved ones for a beautiful life together.

We look back and feel again the awe, beauty and happiness of that day!

Photography: One and Only Paris Photography and Le Secret d’Audrey / Wedding Planners: Mon Plus Beau Jour / Gown: Marisa / Shoes: Nina Shoes / Location: Château d’Esclimont / Hair and Makeup: Lexi Derock / Wedding Cake: Fauchon / Invitation Designer: My Gatsby / Favors: Plantable seed cards from Botanical Paper Works / Candy: mariages.fr

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Post tags: Botanical Paper Words, Castle, Chateau, Chateau d'Esclimont, Color Palette Blue Pink, Destination Wedding, Destination Weddings, Fauchon, France, French Chateau, Le Secret d'Audrey, Lexi DeRock, macarons, mariages.fr, Marisa, Mon Blus Beau Jour, My Gatsby, Nina Shoes, One and Only Paris Photography, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Weddings, Wedding Photography
Post categories: Destination, Little Black Book Blog

We’re not really sentimental types, so I never thought I would say this, but our wedding felt like pure magic that whole evening. It is the most incredible feeling to be surrounded by people who love you so much you can actually feel it in the air. Our ceremony took place overlooking the vineyards in the (hot!) late afternoon and the light was incredible. It was so bright, which was great in a way, because all we could really see was each other, the Rabbi, and those who came to the chuppah to speak. With all the craze of wedding planning and wedding weekend festivities, it was wonderful to have those moments to remember exactly why we were there.

The party got started immediately – we all sat down for an incredible wine country dinner under the trees and twinkly lights and that part was the biggest blur of the whole night because we were trying to relax and take in everything but we also wanted to speak to everyone individually. Because we kept the guest list somewhat small and it was a destination wedding, we both knew everyone there well and knew how much everyone had wanted to be there to celebrate with us. I think we started dancing before we were technically scheduled to start the dance portion of the evening, but that is the best part because we wanted the night to be organic and for everyone to enjoy all the moments. The dancing is what was really memorable to me, because it felt like it was on the dance floor that everyone was having the most fun, catching up with old friends, and meeting new ones. I have to give it to our DJ – Josh Dukes – for knowing exactly what everyone wanted to hear, even though the crowd ranged from ages 10 to 78!

We were planning from afar, so almost everything we saw at our wedding, from the centerpieces, to the escort cards, to our cigar and truffle bar, was new and exciting. It would not have been half as memorable, beautiful, and enjoyable without the help of our amazing vendors, and the support of our incredible friends and family.

Planner: A Savvy Event / Brunch: Eldorado Kitchen / Rehearsal Dinner: Scribe Winery / Wedding Venue: Gundlach Bundschu Winery / Photographer: Jessamyn Harris / Florist: Fleuressence / Catering: Girl & The Fig / Wedding Cake: Inticing Creations / DJ: Josh Dukes / Rentals: Wine Country Party & LaTavola Fine Linens / Hair & Make Up: It’s A Date at The Powder Room / Save the Dates: Lilikoi Design / Invitations: Golden Rectangle Press

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Post tags: A Savvy Event, Alfresco Dining, California, Casual Elegance, Chuppa, Destination Weddings, DJ Josh Dukes, Eldorado Kitchen, FleurEssence, Girl & The Fig, Golden Rectangle Press, Gundlock Bundshu Winery, Inticing Creations, It's a Date at the Powder Room, Jessamyn Harris, Jewish Weddings, La Tavola Fine Linens, Lilikoi Design, Outdoor Ceremony, Outdoor Wedding, Scribe Winery, Sonoma, Wedding Photography, Wine Country Party, Wine Country Wedding, Winery Wedding
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

With a passion for creativity and design, and a strict attention to detail, you can rest assured that Karla Casillas will go above and beyond to create a magical day that fits you and your hubby-to-be to a T. From selecting your location to choosing just the right florals, she’ll be by your side, ensuring nothing but perfection.

And for all our readers, Karla Casillas is offering a 10% discount off the wedding investment fee. Click here for more information and happy planning!

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Post tags: Cabo San Lucas, Destination Weddings, Karla Casilla Weddings and Events, Mexico, Mexico Wedding
Post categories: Destination Weddings, Mexico Weddings, Sponsored Posts

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From AndySeo Studio… This lovely & gorgeous looking couple knew that they were such a blessed couple, pulling everyone’s soul and hearts to be connected, creating such a wonderful wedding day with plenty of unique moments and emotions. It almost felt like everyone was under Sommer & David’s magic that they are shedding tears of joy and smiled.

I wasn’t able to stop thinking about the movie, ” Like The Water For Chocolate” in a good way that Tita has this very strong connection to food, making everyone to share Tita’s hearts.

I’d like to thank God that I was able to find the most suitable place of my heart and document Sommer & David’s wedding like a beautiful love story.

Wedding Photography: AndySeo Studio / Wedding Venue: San Ysidro Ranch / Wedding Coordinator: Tess Greenburg / Event Designer: Dan Radjeski / Musicians: Vincent Zorn / Make-up: Kali Kennedy

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Post tags: AndySeo Studio, California Weddings, Dan Radjecski, Destination Weddings, Kali Kennedy, San Ysidro Ranch, Santa Barbara, Tess Greenburg, Vincent Zorn
Post categories: Destination, Destination Weddings

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…Tom and I ‘met’ over ten years ago when we both worked at Marks and Spencer while at university. The inverted commas are intentional – we actually ignored each other for the six years we worked there! One fateful night in the local nightclub, over four years after we’d left M&S, Tom uttered the immortal words “do I know your face from somewhere?” After much eye-rolling on my part, we got talking…and the rest, as they say, is history.

We always knew we’d get married overseas. We’d been to a couple of friend’s weddings abroad over the past year and loved the chilled-out, relaxed, holiday vibe that was created the minute you get off the plane. Plus, how often do you get to go on holiday with ALL your friends and family?! So the planning literally started on that beach in Krabi, Thailand, where Tom had proposed.

Ibiza was not our first choice if truth be told – initially we had our heart set on Italy. But numerous inquiries and weeks of research left us feeling somewhat underwhelmed. It just didn’t feel like “us.” One night after chatting about our frustrations, Tom showed me some pictures of a venue that took my breath away. When he said it was in Ibiza, I was probably a little sceptical (as indeed were our parents!) Was the ‘clubbing capital of the world’ really somewhere were we wanted to get married?! Plus I hadn’t been there before. But it ticked all the boxes; it was a short flight away to make it easier for family and friends to travel; we were guaranteed better weather than England; accommodation and flights were plentiful, and above all – it was the perfect place to have a damn good party.

We went out to the White Isle shortly afterwards to look at venues, and I instantly fell in love with the place. It’s hard to describe exactly, but the island is astoundingly beautiful, spiritual, and multi-faceted – from the world-class clubs in the south that pull no punches, to rural untouched beauty in the north. I think we’d both envisioned getting married on the beach – but when we saw Atzaro (in the middle of the north part of the island), with its distinct ‘oriental look’, we knew it was the one.

The wedding day itself was a complete dream from start to finish. As we got married relatively late (6pm) due to the heat, I happily whiled away the day ‘preening’ with my amazing bridesmaids, while Tom chilled with his best man and ushers recreating the video from Club Tropicana in his family’s pool! The relaxed vibe carried through to the wedding, and as the sun just started to go behind the palm trees, we said our vows in front of our wonderful family and friends. It was spine-tingingly awesome!

Our wedding undoubtedly had a lot of traditional elements to it, but we were adamant from day one that we would make it personal to us – and hopefully memorable for our guests. From the music we picked to walk down the aisle to (One Day Like This by Elbow – and then back up the aisle to The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News!) to my feathered fan in place of a bouquet, we stuck by our guns and truly did things ‘our way’. We’d also made sure that there were surprises for our guests, who’d traveled so far to be with us – from the first dance that we’d had lessons for, to the personalized menu cards with descriptions of everyone on the back, and the ‘bride’s speech’– that only Tom and I knew about. We have so many magical memories of the day that it would be hard to list them all here – but the vows that we’d wrote ourselves, the amazing food we ate, and the final ‘hip hop’ hour on the dance floor at 4am were among the best!

Finally – we also have to shout out to our AMAZING suppliers who all exceeded our expectations in the lead up to, and on the day. We couldn’t have asked for a better team and we’d recommend each and every one in a heartbeat.

Venue: Agroturismo Atzaro / Wedding Planning: Boho Wedding and Events / Wedding Photography: S6 Photography / Celebrant: Hedley Paul Spargo / Wedding Dress: Kate Sherford via Dreamcatcher Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Headband: Ivory & Co / Veil: Imogen’s Imagination / Fan: Dragonwings / Groom’s Suit: TM Lewin / Groom’s Shoes: Kurt Geiger / Usher’s Ties: TM Lewin / Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon / Bridesmaid Shoes: Next / Wedding Cake: Ibiza Cakes / Floral Design: El Ramo de Flores / DJ: Brian (B!) Beezwax / Singer: Jude Elliot / Stationery: The Bride / Happily Ever After Bunting: BekahDee

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Post tags: Agroturismo Atzaro, BekahDee, Boho Wedding and Events, Brian Beezwax, Destination Weddings, Dragonwings, Dreamcatcher Bridal, El Ramo de Flores, Hedley Paul Spargo, Ibiza Cakes, Imogen's Imagination, Ivory & Co., Jimmy Choo, Jude Elliot, Kate Sherford, Kurt Geiger, Monsoon, Next Shoes, S6 Photography, TM Lewin
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Destination Weddings

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…James is Australian and I am French. We met three and a half years ago in Sydney, and we now live in New York. He proposed to me during a romantic weekend getaway in Aruba. While discussing our wedding plans, James told me he wanted to get married in France. He thought a wedding in a French chateau would be a fantastic experience for his friends and family from Australia, and so much more fun and original than the beach wedding that is so common in Sydney.

We picked a beautiful old castle near Paris. James was crazy about the idea of a castle with a moat, and I was just worried that one of the Aussies would fall in the moat! Planning a destination wedding forces you to make practical, fast decisions. Since you live far away from where you’re getting married, you have to trust your local vendors and sometimes let go, even just a little. We added a few details to make our wedding feel more personal. Our invitations, designed by James’ sister, showed a frog (for me, the Frenchie) and a kangaroo (for my Australian groom).We wanted to have a travel-theme reception that would reflect our international backgrounds and travels. Each table had the name of a place that is dear to us: Sydney, Paris, NYC, Aruba, Stradbroke Island, etc.. The menus were vintage postcards, with the same blue line from our invitations and place cards.

Cocktail hour had an Australian touch: flip flops as wedding favors, Australian beer, kangaroo-meat on a skewer, oyster bar… The sit-down dinner in the castle was delicious French cuisine. I didn’t want flower centerpieces, just a beautiful candlelit dinner. For our photobooth, we mixed (stereo)typical French and Australian props. If I had to do it all again… I would do it just the same! The day was full of happiness, it was magnificent, fun and just perfect all the way! 

Wedding Photography: Mademoiselle Fiona – Wedding Photography / Reception Location: Château de Lésigny / Wedding Dress: Alita Graham via Kleinfeld Bridal / Men’s Suits: Les 2 Oursons / Invitations + Paper Goods: Emma Patterson (Groom’s sister) / DJ: Isa Music / Hair Stylist: Guillaume Viat for Coiffirst / Make-up: MakeUp Forever

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alita Graham, Chateau de Lesigny, Destination Weddings, Emma Patterson, France, Isa Music, Kleinfeld Bridal, Les 2 Oursons, Mademoiselle Fiona Wedding Photography, Makeup Forever
Post categories: Destination Weddings, France Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Moving on to a fun and festive Florida DIY beach bash by Dorothy Gautreaux Photography. Our local wedding blogs truly have something for everyone and you don’t have to be getting married in that state to steal all the swoon worthy inspirations! See the full post here.

We’re rounding out our mini tour with this stunning Aruba destination wedding by Alexandra Meseke Photography. The gold Gucci wedges, the deep blue bridesmaids dresses, and one cute flamingo all add up to one fabulous soiree. See the rest right here!

And just in case you’ve been living under a wedding rock, we have a fab line up of ten local blogs in California, New York, Florida, Texas, Destination, Illinois, Australia, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Canada guaranteed to inspire you for days, with many more to come.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Destination Weddings, Florida Weddings, Illinois Weddings, Local Blogs
Post categories: The Blog