Just in case you missed the first post {here}, Suzanne and Justin were married this month at the Branford House in Groton, CT.

Mary described them as “two people who shine from the inside out” …

Suzanne’s mom walked her to the beginning of the aisle, where Justin met her.

Her beautiful bouquet was by A Floral Affair.

Seriously. I’m right, aren’t I? It doesn’t get any better.

To answer just a couple of the questions we know you’ll ask … Suzanne’s beautiful gown is from Nicole Miller. Her necklace is her something borrowed (from a friend) and something blue, by Ralph Lauren.

Next up, the details of the day … from Justin & Mary Marantz!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Floral Affair, Branford House, Connecticut, Felicia's Sweetface Pastry Shoppe, Flowergirl, Groton, Justin Marantz Photography, Nicole Miller, Ralph Lauren, ring bearer, Shawl
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style

The beautiful bride, Jenna is captured throughout the day with her gorgeous smile and that glow that you read about in romance novels!

These shots with Jenna and her Dad are priceless!

… and her grandmother … too sweet …

Jenna’s amazing dress is Priscilla of Boston. LOVE the design!

Lots more to come of Jenna & Joe’s Connecticut wedding from Justin and Mary Marantz …

{ps, the Marantz’ are featuring Jennie Fresa’s Beauty Library on their site today. Jennie is one of our fabulous Little Black Book members who specializes in wedding makeup! So while you’re waiting for the rest of Jenna & Joe’s details, take a look at Justin & Mary’s post …}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Black Lake Yacht Club, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Jennie Fresa's Beauty Library, Justin Marantz Photography, KD&J Botanica, Priscilla of Boston, Shoes
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

I think they did a great job tying together the whimsy of the carousel with the decor of the reception! Festive and light-hearted, lots of hanging lanterns, brightly colored flowers in simple antique medicine bottles that Julia & Mike found in antique stores … just so many little touches that made this space so special.

Not to mention romantic!

If you’re just joining us … Abby has given me carte blanche on the SMP blog today. And when she’s away, I feel impelled to share a secret or two with you guys! One quick, little-known fact about Abby …When Abby was a young girl, she LOVED carousels and really wanted a hobby horse in her room! They were kind of ‘pricey’ … but I honestly did look for one that, perhaps, we could refurbish. Never did find one, but to this day, carousels remind me of Abby! On one of our family vacations, we spent a few days at Martha’s Vineyard.  She was SO excited to ride the historic Flying Horse Carousel, but devastated when she dropped the brass ring!

Lots more detail shots from Julia and Mike’s wedding to come a little later this afternoon …

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carousel, Connecticut, First Dance, Hobby Horse, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Paper Lanterns, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

From polka dots and drumsticks to pick-up trucks, sassy yellow shoes and sneakers …

Gotta’ love the Chevy!

Justin & Mary Marantz are two of our favorite Little Black Bookers … We’ve featured a couple of their really great weddings (Katie & Colin, Josh & Beth). But to be perfectly honest, Julia & Mike’s engagement shoot is probably the all-time BEST Little Black Book Blog feature ever. Mary guest-blogged for us about engagement shoots {Getting to Know You!} and Julia & Mike’s was a real hoot! Take a look … {click} A 1952 Better Homes & Garden spread. Super cute. And for more of their vintage-themed engagement shoot, here’s a link to the original Marantz post.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Connecticut, Drumsticks, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Paper Lanterns, Polka Dots, Rose, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point, Truck
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Whimsical

And so, since I tend to rely heavily upon our Little Black Book members for inspiration, I turned to Justin & Mary Marantz for a New England wedding filled to the brim with SMP-styled wedding details.

Julia and Mike were married last year in New Haven, Connecticut. As a surprise for Mike {the drummer}, Julia ordered custom drumsticks with their names and wedding date on them and had everyone banging them as they ran out of the church! How clever is that …

A beautiful day, a beautiful bride … and a great pair of yellow shoes = a recipe for success!

Lots more to come from the oh-so-talented Marantz team!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Connecticut, Drumsticks, Justin Marantz Photography, New England, New Haven, Polka Dots, Yellow Shoes
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style, Whimsical

Being detail-oriented is what life … and love is all about!

Just a bit about “details” from Mary Marantz …

It’s what makes it unique. Makes it different. Makes it them. It’s the thoughtful cards for no apparent reason, the time it takes to add humor to the ordinary, the care that goes into the design. It’s flowers when you least expect it, a hug when you really need it, and doing more for the other person than you would ever think to do for yourself. It’s cooking dinner, and making coffee, and picking new paint colors for the dining room wall. It’s listening to music, and planting flowers, and working together side by side as you take on life’s chores. It’s the way he looks at you like no one in the world could ever be more loved. It’s boy meets girl. And anyone could see, it’s a perfect fit.

photography by Justin and Mary Marantz

More details from Julia & Mike’s Connecticut wedding in a bit …

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bouquet, Connecticut, Details, Justin Marantz Photography, New Haven, Sunflowers, The Carousel at Lighthouse Point
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style

Happy, Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to start out the day than with a photo of a beautiful red rose bouquet!

We have so much more of this wedding from Justin and Mary Marantz coming up a little later today. In the meantime, if one of your “searches”  is for drop-dead gorgeous wedding dresses … head over to Justin & Mary’s blog to get a sneek peak at the 2009 gowns carried at The White Dress by the shore,  Beth Chapman’s elegant bridal salon. Many of the wedding gowns at The White Dress are exclusive in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

About a month ago, we showed you the Themed Engagement Shoots that Justin and Mary do … Josh & Beth’s Theme was “My Heart’s In San Francisco”.

And now, as promised … more from their wedding!

Their Asian-inspired red/black/white wedding was gorgeous against the brilliant green of the outdoors!

So many great details went into planning this day. Love, love, love the roses.

The story from Beth & Josh’s engagement shoot kind of sums it all up:

“It all started with a pony tail. A pony tail, and a summer camp over a decade ago. It was one of those quick fleeting, almost trivial moments that could have easily been lost in time. Trivial, except that it would change everything for the rest of their lives. She had just casually pulled her hair back into a pony tail as she walked out of her cabin, but that was the moment that Josh looked up and saw Beth for the first time. Sure he had seen her before, but this was the first time he really *saw* her and knew his heart would never be the same. “It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.” Over ten years later they were reunited in San Francisco… and he’s still saying the same thing.”

Thanks to Justin & Mary Marantz for always sending us such great love stories!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Color Palette Red Black White, Justin Marantz Photography, Maggie Sotterro, Oriental Inspired, Red Rose Bouquet, The White Dress By The Shore
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography

Maybe it’s because I love gorgeous rings … or maybe it’s because of the unbelievable creativity of wedding photographers. I just think ring-shots are so artistic.

So … when we posted yesterday’s LBB Blog with the cute-cute little man RING bearers … it just seemed natural to follow-up with our first Little Black Book Ring-Shot Gallery.

Wait, though. There’s more to the story. About two weeks ago, I saw a post on Carla Ten Eyk’s blog that made me realize I wasn’t alone. There’s an entire website devoted to amazing photographs of wedding rings. And Carla has twenty-one (*21!) featured on it. Take a look at just a few of hers …

Carla rocks the ring shots! And you should hear what her brides (& fellow-photo buffs) say about her {inspiring, generous, awesome, genuine, creative, passionate, encouraging, amazingly talented … just a few of their words}. Carla’s studio is based in Hartford CT, but she’ll travel anywhere! We can’t recommend her highly enough.

Now, back to the ring-shots. The site is ROCKTOGRAPHERS … and I seriously spent a couple of hours mesmerized by the beauty in these images. I found more of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book members featured and started ’snipping’ photos left & right. I was on a roll! Once again, I turned back to the LBB photography blogs, and voila’ … a virtual smorgasbord of fabulous ring-shots …

Ring-shots (above) by Little Black Book photographers StudioFoto, Hollye Schumacher, Daria Bishop, Mark Garber, and another by Hollye.

Ring-shots (above) by Jeremy Hess, Justin Marantz, Orchard Cove, StudioFoto and Daria Bishop.

Ring-shots by StudioFoto, Walters and Walters, StudioFoto, and two more from Daria Bishop. I LOVE Daria’s Ring/Ant-Shot!!

This last shot from Hollye Schumacher has a great story behind it. We’ll save that for another feature!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carla Ten Eyck Photography, Connecticut, Daria Bishop Photography, Hartford, Hollye Schumacher Photography, Jeremy Hess Photography, Justin Marantz Photography, Mark Garber Photography, Orchard Cove Photography, Photography Blogs, Rocktography, Studio Foto, Walters and Walters, Wedding Rings
Post categories: Jewelry, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

Row 1: Left: Justin Marantz Photography, Right: Submitted by First Class Weddings

Row 2: Justin Marantz of Justin Marantz Photography

Row 3: Michele Devries of IN Photography

Row 4: Left: Submitted by Events by Evonne-Photography by Tad Craig Photography, Right: Submitted by Anne and Bill Holland of Holland Photo Arts

Row One: Submitted by Our Labor of Love Photography

Row Two: Left: Michele DeVries of IN Photography, Right: Submitted by Events by Evonne

Row Three: Submitted by Elegant Engagments-Photographer Christopher Dumas Photography

Row Four: Submitted by Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore-Photograper  Julie Harris

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Christopher Dumas Photography, Elegant Engagments, Events by Evonne, First Class Weddings, Holland Photo Arts, IN Photography, Julie Harris Photography, Justin Marantz Photography, Our Labor of Love Photography, Tad Craig Photography, The White Dress By The Shore
Post categories: Bridal Party, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Fashion

Katie’s mom, Brenda and Traci Romano planned this sensational event and Yumiko of Hana Floral Design is responsible for the unbelievable flowers. We are so happy that so many of our Little Black Book members had a hand in this amazing wedding!

from Yumiko:  We used antique green hydrangeas, various hot pink garden roses, magenta stock, pink phlox and orchids for the centerpieces, as well as for the bridemaid’s bouquets. While the maids wore a gorgeous Amsale dress in a muted plum shade, the bride really wanted pink flowers mixed with greens.  The bouquets
definitely popped against the dresses.  Katie carried a muted ivory, blush and green bouquet, with her
Grandmother’s rosary attached to it.

This may well be our new favorite wedding … (am I allowed to say that?) …

Photography by Mary and Justin Marantz … we think you are true artists … and love your blog!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bridesmaids Dresses, Color Palette Purple Green, Connecticut, Flowergirls, Hana Floral Design, Inn at Mystic, Justin Marantz Photography, Mystic, Stonington, Traci Romano Events, Vera Wang
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

Here is a sneak peak!

The photography was done by the oh-so-talented team at Justin Marantz (seriously one of our favorite photographers who just happens to have one of THE best blogs). To see the entire wedding and hear all of the beautiful details, check out the Little Black Book Blog!

More wedding eye candy is on the way!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Justin Marantz, Justin Marantz Photography, Little Black Book Blog
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

Katie and Colin were married in September at Stonington, Connecticut. At this point in the story, we would usually quote from the bride. Today, though, we want to share a few words from Justin and Mary, today’s featured Little Black Book photographers.

from their blog … through the course of the day I heard her ask this question of no less than twenty other people surrounding her- the proof and possession of a true giver’s heart. And one by one they would each just smile and shake their heads, too overcome by the generosity and thoughtfulness that one single person could possess. She is elegance and grace and goodness defined. A timeless iconic beauty- think Hepburn meets Holmes- mixed with just enough witty banter to make everyone around her just want to be her friend. Because you can just tell that she’s the kind of friend who loves with her whole heart and hugs like she means it.  But that’s just Katie.  And Katie would not be complete without her Colin. Because while Katie gives to take care of everyone else, Colin is the one who takes care of her. And you only have to see him look at her once to know that he always will.

Wow …

Here are a few pre-wedding photos of the so-so beautiful Katie.

Join us back in a bit for more of this special wedding.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Color Palette Purple Green, Connecticut, Hana Floral Design, Justin Marantz Photography, Stonington, Traci Romano Events, Vera Wang
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

Row One: Orchard Cove Photography; Row Two: Photography by Walters and Walters

Row Three: Michele DeVries (left), Elegant Engagements/Cape Wedding Planner (right)

Row Four: Jennifer Davis Photography - ABC Dragoo Designs (left), Cake Lava - Visionari (right)

Row Five: Kristin Vining for Weddings And The City

But then … we saw the next shots taken by Robin Dini  (row one) and Kristin Karzmit (rows two and three). Pictured is one of SMP’s Little Black Book members, Steve DePino … composing a couple of tricky shoe-shots … (found ‘em on Steve’s blog). Wow, we knew that being a photographer took true creativity, but this is a whole new perspective!

ooooooohhh….so that’s how they do it! Isn’t art grand? Seriously, Steve’s work is grand.

Here are a few more great shoe-shots.

Row One: Justin & Mary Marantz (left),  Walters & Walters (right); Row Two: Holland Photo Arts

Row Three: Karen Wise (left),  Walters & Walters (right)

Many thanks to the SMP-Little Black Book photographers and event coordinators who sent us their favorite shoe shots!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ABC Dragoo Designs, Cake Lava, Cape Wedding Planner, Elegant Engagements, Holland Photo Arts, Jennifer Davis Photography, Justin Marantz Photography, Karen Wise Photography, Kristin Karzmit, Kristin Vining, Michele DeVries, Orchard Cove Photography, Photography By Walters and Walters, Robin dini, Steve DePino, Visionari, Wedding Shoes, Weddings And The City
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Shoes, Wedding Style

photography by Mary Marantz.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Justin Marantz Photography, Mary Marantz, The White Dress By The Shore, Wedding Dresses
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Fashion