What sets Florida weddings apart from weddings anywhere else?
One of the best things about planning a wedding in Florida is that if you are set on having an outdoor celebration, you can pretty much do it any month of the year. Of course, if you’rec hoosing Northern Florida, it may be a tad bit chilly in the ‘winter’ but not unbearable. Plus,Florida has such a variety of landscapes- beach wedding? That’s a no brainer.  Southern plantation weddings?   Head on up to my hometown of Tallahassee and options abound! Always dreamed of being a princess on your wedding day? Disney is smack dab in the middle of the state. You can see in the wedding featured here on SMP that the options are endless.

What kind of weddings do you love the most and what is your favorite trend right now?
I’m a sucker for all types of DIY/handmade weddings.  I love seeing handcrafted, thoughtful details that really put that stamp of ‘this is ours’ on the day.  And those details don’t necessarily have to be made exclusively by the bride/bridal party/family/etc.  You don’t consider yourself very ‘crafty’? No problem! Surrounding yourself with great vendors and people who can bring your vision to fruition make all the difference!  Creativity and thinking outside the box would be my favorite trend right now, if you’d consider it a trend…being apart of this amazing online wedding community and seeing the ideas that some of these couples come up with to create their wedding day is truly inspiring.

What is your biggest piece of advice for people planning a wedding?
This is some advice I gave after my wedding and reading over it a year later I’m still nodding myhead in agreement. Make it yours. If you enjoy DIY, do it- if you loathe the idea of crafting for hours on end, don’t feel like you are a failure of a bride. Like I answered in the question above,there are some amazing people out there that can make your vision come alive- reach out to them! Etsy is a godsend. Take in the day- really look around and feel the love surrounding you.It’s an unbelievable sensation. Above all else, stay true to what is important to you and your fiancé. Some people may not agree with or understand your ideas at first, but wait until they seethe day unfold. Getting there can be stressful and uncertain, exciting and wonderful and sometimes just plainhard. But don’t most things worth creating take work? Creating your new family unit will absolutely be worth every minute of stress you face.

Who are your favorite vendor friends in Florida that keep your inspiration flowing?
Oh man. This one is tough. Looking through my daily blog reads, twitter friends and just general online goodness (pinterest, anyone??) there are so many wonderful people out there that provide daily inspiration. As far as some of my favorite Florida friends, Lauren over at Every Last Detail and Megan over at Glamour & Grace provide an unending source of loveliness, fun finds and great tips for brides to be on their blogs daily. If you haven’t checked them out yet, make sure to do so! And as far as business savvy, awesome invitation ideas and great design sense, Emily Ley over at Emily Ley Paper has been by far the most influential on helping me believe in myself and get to where I am today.

Well, you and your bridesmaids are in for a treat because Oatmeal Lace Designs is offering 15% off exclusively to our lucky Style Me Pretty Florida readers!  You can grab a custom clutch for all of your spectacular ladies and one for yourself as well!  Just enter in the promotion code LOVESMP when you check out!  The promotion code will be good until July 5th, 2011.

Photography: Whitney Fletcher / Memories of a Lifetime / Camille Dean Photography / Our Labor of Love

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Post tags: Bags, Bridsmaids, Clutches, Custom, Gifts, Oatmeal Lace Designs, Purses
Post categories: Florida Weddings, Round-Ups

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Our first mvp… is the one and only, Jose Villa. Now, if you know Style Me Pretty you know that we love Jose. His photographs are elegant, stylish and always unbelievably beautiful.

It’s usually us doing all the talking about Jose, so for a change, we thought we would let Jose get a word in and share a little about himself with all of you.

From Jose…

People often ask me how I developed my style, and how I create images that stand out in today’s highly competitive wedding market. Well, I am a Fine Art Wedding photographer. My approach applies fine art photography to the living, breathing, fast-moving phenomenon that is a wedding. For me, it is all about making something beautiful. Ultimately, my goal is to craft vibrant, energetic, fine art images that are as unique as the people in the photographs. Im humbled to say that I have been published in Many Magazines around the world, including Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Elegant Bride, Instyle Weddings, Inside Weddings, Brides Magazine, Modern Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, Pacific Weddings, Southern Weddings, PDN, American Photo, and many more around the world.

By the way, if you’re wondering… that’s our friend Jose. Right there. ↑ Hi Jose!!

Besides the fact that Jose Villa is one of the most brilliant photographers we know, besides the fact that American Photo Magazine named him 1 of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world in 2008, besides the fact that he is the genius behind some of Abby’s favorite weddings…he is hands down, one of THE nicest guys we know. Make sure to check out Jose’s gorgeous website and blog for even more wedding perfection.

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It’s no longer so much a question of if you’ll do a wedding website (seriously it makes so much sense) it’s more a question of how to choose one! Enter, Wedding JoJo. You can easily create your own personalized wedding website faster than you can say “i do” (well, close anyway). You and your fiancé can choose from several free wedding templates and then customize each to match your colors and style. Wedding JoJo’s websites are fun, easy to use and will make the daunting task of managing your wedding a cinch.

In addition to their fresh, stylish themes, Wedding JoJo has a great little blog. So, not only will they help you organize everything form your registry to your guest list, but they’ll also share clever wedding projects and ideas to make that whole planning-a-wedding thing truly stress-free.

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Okay, so I LOVE the sparkler send off. It’s the perfect way to make your first exit as husband and wife a memorable and picture perfect event. Our next advertiser is the charming little store, Sparklers Online. Not only do they have the longest lasting, highest quality sparklers around, they have the cutest website that will make getting a hold of these dazzling goodies as easy as pie. Oh, and FREE shipping too!!

Your venue doesn’t allow sparklers? No problem. SparklersOnline.com also has wedding poppers. These little confetti filled cannons are a great way for your guests to shower you with love on your way out the door. Plus, Sparklers Online also has an adorable blog of their own with even more cute ideas and “sparkling” brides.

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We all know that one of the keys to a successful marriage is communication… well, Bed Hog has made the message clear… “honey, please stay on your side of the bed”. With Bed Hog’s ingenious sheets and pillowcases, the age old question of, who’s hogging the bed will finally be answered. Three cheers for marital bliss!

The clever His & Hers design works no matter who sleeps on what side of the bed. Made from luxurious 300 count, 100% cotton sateen, these sheets are a dream come true. Not only do they make a fun wedding gift, but they’re also perfect for showers and anniversaries… After all the 2nd anniversary is traditionally the “cotton anniversary”. It was meant to be.

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Be sure to show our newest advertisers some love and head over to their sites and see what they have to offer… we already know it’s good. Thank you to all of our fabulous advertisers. We really appreciate you being here. Welcome to Style Me Pretty!

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Post tags: advertisers, Bed Hog, Gifts, Jose Villa, Sparklers, Sparklers Online, Wedding JoJo
Post categories: The Blog

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Let’s face it ladies, helping your fiancé find unique gifts for his groomsmen can be a pretty daunting task. Today’s Round Up is here to lend you a helping hand. We’ve covered the basics of groomsmen gift giving starting with the personal and the practical, but for those who want to go the distance and add a bit of cool man stuff, this is the collection for you.

Credits: Spoon Sisters, Mountain Smith, Spoon Sisters, Revolve Clothing, Jack Black, Stirtified, Garrett Wade, Barneys New York, Theory 11

Row I: For the guy who likes to know how to do just about everything (which I think is just about every guy), this book is a great little extra to add to any groomsman gift. Not just for the outdoorsy guy, Mountain Smith makes great coolers that any guy would be happy to tote. Make this a complete gift by filling it up with some fancy beers (or Natty Lights, whatever your style is) and throw in The Walley, quite possibly the most ingenious little wallet sized bottle opener EVER.

Row II: Get a little techie with a cool fish-eye camera. A great gift if you’re looking for something a little artsy for your groomsmen. Concerned with your friends appearance on the day of? Jack Black products make it easy for men to look good with their ultimate man grooming kit. A sleek way to keep all of your tools in one convenient spot, gift this wine accessory kit with a good bottle of wine to go the extra mile.

Row III: The ultimate gizmo for your groom’s favorite men, you can’t go wrong with the pocket tool by Garrett Wade. Any good host needs to have a copy of The American Bar, an impressive resource for beverage connoisseurs. Add a pack of the most relied upon cards in casinos world or a set of personalized poker chips. With any of these gifts, your groom’s best buds will sure be happy you choose them to fill the groomsmen role.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carrie Moore, Gifts, Groomsmen Gifts
Post categories: Round-Ups, Wedding Favors & Gifts

Hand calligraphy is a big part of my business and I recently had the pleasure of working with a couple (Janet and Ethan) on the calligraphy for their wedding. After the invitations went out, Ethan asked me to create a design that he could frame and present to Janet on their wedding day. Pictured below is the artwork that I created for them. It is hand calligraphy in multiple colors of gouache on archival cotton paper. The text is a reading from their wedding and features their names and wedding date at the bottom. It was gratifying to work on such a project and inspired me to offer a giveaway to a Style Me Pretty couple to remember their special day. I’m offering a hand calligraphed design using archival inks and paper of a poem or reading from their wedding (maximum of 12 lines of text, maximum overall size 15″ x15″) featuring their names and wedding date.

That’s such a great thing to do … either for your own home or as a gift to one of your loved ones!

Deborah has lots of examples of her work on her website along with examples of the monograms and logos that she creates.

To enter this contest, please leave a comment below giving us an idea of what reading or poem you will be using in your wedding ceremony. Please remember there are text and size limitations. If you’re not sure what you’ll be using just yet … that’s OK. Just let us know you’re interested!!  We will announce the winner on Monday (July 13th) on this same post entry.  Good luck!

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MONDAY JULY 13th UPDATE

And the winner of the contest?

Melissa’s July 9th entry was the one that made Deborah’s heart melt …

It’s you I like, It’s not the things you wear, it’s not the way you do your hair– But it’s you I like The way you are right now, the way down deep inside you– Not the things that hide you, not your toys– They’re just beside you. But it’s you I like– Every part of you, your skin, your eyes, your feelings Whether old or new. I hope that you’ll remember, even when you’re feeling blue That it’s you I like, it’s you yourself, it’s you, It’s you I like.

~ a Mr. Roger’s song

Please see the LBB Blog on July 13th for the complete winning announcement.  A huge thanks to ALL for entering!!!

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Post tags: Calligraphy, Deborah Nadel Designs, Gifts, Give Away, Giveaway, Poem
Post categories: Contests, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Favors & Gifts

Are you dying to know what each and every little goodie is? Well, here’s the low-down from the girls at Melangerie…

In May 2009, Eve & Peter were married on the bride’s family farm in Litchfield, CN. Inspired by their lush wedding location, we created this welcome gift featuring a variety of organic and locally sourced products.

These items were all packaged together in a silk-screened burlap sack we designed to reference farm grain packaging. A coordinating hang-tag with a note from the bride and groom attached on the outside of the bag, welcoming guests to the wedding weekend.

So stinking cute! And, if that wasn’t enough, the girls are also starting to craft details for the chic bride that they are selling in their etsy shop. Take for example this RIDICULOUS “Dirty Laundry Kit”…

Love, love, love!!! I completely heart Melangerie and find so much inspiration from the work that they do. They often work hand in hand with some of the best planners, florists and designers to craft wedding accoutrements that are unbelievably thoughtful and unique. Check out their site for more eye candy!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Gifts, Melangerie, Welcome bags
Post categories: Wedding Favors & Gifts

I mean, seriously. How great are those pencils? Perfect for a rustic, chic affair. Love the mini lanterns, which can serve as both decor and a great takeaway for your guests. Love the flowers in a bag (particularly the lavender). Love it all really. And, if packaging is everything…they have you covered!

Okay, so I know that today is all about favors, but after spending WAY too long on the Estilo Weddings site yesterday, I really just had to share a few more of my favorite non-favor picks, as well…

This shop has it all…from ring pillows to cupcake wrappers. From pashmina’s to gorgeous candle holders. And the best part? Their product line is really edited so that they only feature the really good stuff. Happy shopping!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Decor, Estilo Weddings, favors, Gifts, Wedding Favors
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Details, Wedding Favors & Gifts