These are the final words of James Joyce’s character, Molly Bloom, in the novel Ulysses. These simple words served as fascinating and romantic inspiration for Barbara and Steven’s sweetly-sophisticated wedding celebration in Philadelphia last March.

Kendall Brown of Eclatante Event Design and Donna O’Brien of Beautiful Blooms once again teamed up and helped the bride put the finishing touches on this elegant wedding filled with intimate and heartfelt details. We’re positive you’ll agree that this is a truly special wedding.

For a little bit of Steven and Barbara’s story, from Eclatante’s blog, A Designer’s Diary …

Steven was a visiting English professor at the University of Buffalo at the time that Barbara was finishing her Ph.D in Poetry/Poetics. Her dissertation was based on the “yes” and “no” in the works of James Joyce and Gertrude Stein. When Steven placed a first edition of Joyce’s Ulysses in her hands, their future together was sealed. Steven’s late father had given him the first edition novel before his death, and upon receiving it, Barbara felt his blessing on the two of them deep in her heart.

Barbara and Steven’s wedding was exquisitely planned. They designed letterpressed invitations that were hand-sewn ‘books’, sent in small boxes to their guests. Other paper pieces used throughout the wedding were also letterpressed and carried through the theme of the inspired “yes”.

More from Kendall …

The classically modern F.U.E.L. House was exactly the right setting for this elegant, vintage modern wedding.  The place settings were absolutely elegant with silver beaded chargers on stunning black matte satin linens, carefully folded napkins with Barbara & Steven’s lovingly crafted menu cards. The cake by Cake Art Studio was absolutely perfect — the lace detailing was a perfect match for the delicate lace in Barbara’s gown. Barbara and Steven also arranged to have a wishing tree — where guests could compose and hang their well-wishes to the couple on the beautiful cherry blossom branches.

From Beautiful Bloom’s blog …

Barbara’s mini calla lily bouquet was accented by a brooch given to her by her mother. Loose arrangements of white and ivory French tulips were placed on beautifully draped pedestal tables and amber lighting filled the space. White cherry blossom branches, white quince and white manzanita branches were all used … with lots and lots of candles! Donna described it as a “wintery March look”!

Every element of Barbara and Steven’s wedding was centrally focused on the oh-so-simple but very poignant words … yes I said yes I will Yes. Sooooo romantic.

Barbara wore a classic Jenny Packham gown …

Our thanks to their wonderful photographer, Maggie Wallace-Cullen for sending us all of these lovely photos from Barbara & Steven’s beautiful wedding! She was kind enough to also send us the link to their slideshow. Tons more images from their stunning affair.

Congratulations Barbara and Steven on a perfectly beautiful wedding celebration from all of us here at Style Me Pretty.

And ~ as always, a huge round of applause to Beautiful Blooms & Eclatante Event Design! For more of their gorgeous events, be sure to visit both of their websites and blogs!

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Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Cake Art Studio, Calla Lilies, Chandelier, Cherry Blossoms, Eclatante, F.U.E.L., Maggie Wallace-Cullen, Philadelphia, Wedding Cake, wishing tree
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Planners & Designers

While preparing for today’s feature, I went to check out Heather Fowler’s website. I read something in her bio that I wanted to share with you.  It said, “Heather has an eye for detail, light, balance and humor.” And then I looked through the 104 wedding images in her wedding gallery to see for myself! These images, convey all that … and more.  Here are a few of my favorites …

And then, for a peek at some of my favorite posts on her blog …

There’s Jackie and Greg’s Downtown Club Wedding in Philadelphia with these killer shoes!

Catherine and Franklin’s Merion Golf Club Wedding … with another beautiful bride and some great bridesmaids dresses …

Laura and Patrick’s fall wedding at Normandy Farm … again LOVE this shot of the bridesmaids (and the color of their dresses) and LOVE Laura’s dress …

You can see more of each of these weddings by clicking on the links above. The slideshows that Heather has compiled are loaded with images that will definitely inspire you! (AND convince you she’s one fantastic lady!!)

As always, Heather, thanks SO much for sharing these beautiful memories with us.

And for any newcomers to Style Me Pretty, if you haven’t seen Heather’s own vintage-style wedding … you have to take a look {here}!

photography by Sarah Miller

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Post tags: Downtown Club, Heather Fowler, Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Vintage Chic, Wedding Photography

And if you’re fortunate enough to book Fiore Films, you will be forever blessed with a masterpiece! Because Sharrone is a master … a master at creating intensely romantic, edgy, cinematic-style wedding films.  Her dramatic style pulls you to the edge of your chair, waiting to see what happens next! True, passionate storytelling at its best.

We have a trailer from Andree and Bryan’s stunning spring wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia to prove our point. See for yourself …

See what we mean? Fiore Films is phenomenal!

ps … just as a follow-up on a previous feature {Sivanne & Omar’s Save The Date}, their Engagement “Hot Shot” is super-steamy {see it here}

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Post tags: Fiore Films, Four Seasons Hotel, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography

Little Black Book Photographer, Amanda Kraft McGary sent us their beautiful wedding photos to share with you today!

LOVE the LOVEBIRDS!

from Amanda …

Jennie and Rob met in college while working at a local radio station. They exchanged vows on the terrace overlooking Independence Hall in the distance. Jennie wore a Pricilla of Boston gown paired with blue Jimmy Choo’s. Rob opted for a black tux and bow tie.

During the ceremony, Rob performed a song entitled “The Book of Love.”  The ceremony was performed by Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia.

Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed the cocktail hour before transitioning into dinner and dancing. The lovely floral decor was by Petals Lane.  All paper products {invites, programs, escort cards,etc.} were via the enormously talented ladies at bird and banner, based here in philly. The cake was from the brown betty dessert boutique.

How cool (ha!) is this dachshund ice sculpture … {in honor of their beloved dog, Leo!}.

So beautiful!

Congratulations to Jennie & Rob … and a HUGE thank you to Amanda Kraft McGary for sharing their day!

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Post tags: Amanda Kraft Photography, Bird and Banner, Brown Betty Dessert Boutique, Cake Topper, Color Palette Yellow Gray, Hairpiece, Ice Sculpture, Jimmy Choo, Lovebirds, National Constitution Center, Pennsylvania, Petals Lane, Philadelphia, Pricilla of Boston
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

Isn’t that bouquet to-die-for! Beautiful Blooms is one of Philadelphia’s premiere floral design firms.  And now, they have a brand new retail location that is just fantastic! Janie has a great write-up about Beautiful Blooms’ new boutique over on The Bride’s Cafe.

To see more pics of the beautiful bouquet and the luscious florals (above), take a look at the complete  April Color Story.

Kendall and her team at Eclatante are responsible for some of THE most extraordinary events in and around Philadelphia. Their website is full of gorgeous photos (thanks to the awesome Marie Labbancz) as well as some truly great advice from Kendall on creating the wedding of your dreams. And just a heads up … Eclatante will be moving into their own new space (across the street from Beautiful Blooms) in the next few weeks. We can’t wait to tell you more about that!

We’ve just given you a quick peek at the photos from the April Color Story … but you really, really, really need to see the real deal {click here} for the whole story … the bridesmaids dress, the City Garden backdrop,  the fabulous linens from The Total Table, and so much more!

Remember those china plates that everyone fell in love with on the  Pennsylvania Appleford Estate wedding (Amanda Kraft) last month … the mismatched antique china? They were provided by Party Rental Ltd., and you’ll see them again in this month’s Color Story.

So definitely check it out! April Color Story from Eclatante

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Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Color Palette Pink Aqua, Eclatante, Marie Labbancz Photography, Party Rental Ltd., Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Table Settings, The Bride's Cafe, The Total Table
Post categories: Color Palettes, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Resources

From the fabulous team at DollFace…

After a short ceremony outside the guests enjoyed cocktails before heading into the tent for dinner, dancing and toasts. While the cocktail hour was in full swing Darah and I took Anne and David all around the property as the sun was setting for their portraits. There were so many awesome details to this wedding, the paper lanterns in the tent, the tables that were each named after the bride and grooms favorite restaurants, off the hook cupcakes from one of the best bakeries in philly, her Monique Lhuillier wedding dress with bolero jacket, her Gucci heels….so much attention was put on everything and it really showed. One thing that everyone couldn’t help but notice was how much these two were in love…they had such a sense of calm about them when they were together and looked at each other with so much affection.

More to come!

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Post tags: Dollface, Gucii, Monique Lhuillier, Philadelphia
Post categories: Cultural Beauty, Traditional Elegance

A really great little tidbit…as you know, the GORGEOUS photographs are by the fabulous DollFace in Philadelphia. Well, believe it or not, they also did all of the bride’s make-up! And the crazy part is…both the make-up and the photography are as good as they get. LOVE that, as photographers, they saw just how important bridal make-up is in taking beautiful images. Genius.

So much more to come!

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Post tags: Dollface, Monique Lhuillier, Philadelphia
Post categories: Cultural Beauty, Traditional Elegance

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!

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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

Roseann searched far and wide for the perfect locket to be attached to her bouquet that would contain photos of herself and her late father, so that, in this small way, he would truly be with her as she walked down the aisle.

This entire day was filled with so much love and so many exquisite touches! But as you all know, for each and every Plan A, there should always be a Plan B … and that is when the blissful newlyweds must roll with the punches, and allow the experts to step forward! On this particular day, it was simply rain. The planned post-wedding shoot was out, and Plan B implemented. You won’t believe where Kendall arranged for Roseann and Paal’s photo shoot.

Roseann & Paal’s luscious letterpress invitations were by the fabulous Elum. {If you’ve never actually felt one of Elum’s invitations, you should. To die for.)

We’ll be filling in more of the details and lots more photos from this amazing wedding in a bit …

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Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Eclatante, Elum, Monique Lhuillier, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, St. Augustine's Catholic Church
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers

Two of the finest wedding professionals and truly talented women in Philadelphia are Kendall Brown and Donna O’Brien. Together they create the most amazing, modern-day fairytales … just wait and see for yourself!

But wait … I digress … We must first visit the bride in her suite to see an awesome transformation of one lovely gown into an entirely new gown, in a matter of minutes . Watch this sequence …left to right, row by row.

Voila’. Simply perfect.

photography by Marie Labbancz

So much more of Roseann and Paal’s wedding from Eclatante and Beautiful Blooms to come …

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Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Eclatante, Marie Labbancz, Philadelphia
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography

Kendall Brown owner and principal creative designer of Eclatante sent us the photos from her February Color Story shoot… and we just had to share! Each month on her blog,  A Designer’s Diary, she features a Color Story that will truly inspire you and leave you asking for more!

We hope to bring you many more of Eclatante’s COLOR STORIES … but for now, let us know what you think about this one~~~

FEBRUARY COLOR STORY from Eclatante

When we think of February, our next thought is, naturally, Valentine’s Day. And our favorite February parties are bridal showers and girls’ soirees we get to throw for our brides with upcoming weddings. So, this month, for our fantasy party, we decided that our color story would be hot and cold running PINK!

The team totally outdid themselves this time! And, once again, our praise and thanks go out to Marie Labbancz, our wonderful friend and photographer. It is truly rewarding to see one’s work so perfectly captured.

We shot this gorgeous color story at the enchanting Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park.

(The Septa bus Oksana is exiting from is actually part of the “Roadside Attractions” exhibit!)

Now, let me tell you how our February story begins – paper flowers. I’ve wanted to have a party with paper flowers forever. So, Beautiful Blooms indulged me and created these really pretty flowers out of white iridescent and soft pink paper that we strung from strands of peach and white pearls over the table. Vic and the boys from VU-Events masterfully hung all the paper flowers and lit our pretty pink table perfectly!

For the centerpiece, Beautiful Blooms filled apothecary jars with layers of rose petals, hydrangea petals, light pink cut glass, white sand, dried ivory roses and pearls. They also filled glass vases with swirled pearls and floating candles. Light pink tapers in footed candleholders completed the centerpieces perfectly.

The gorgeous linens came from our friends at The Total Table. The darling favor boxes were created by our favorite geniuses at Two Paper Dolls. We filled them with a mix of Good & Plenty, Hershey’s Kisses and a variety of pink and ivory candies from The Lil’ Candy Shoppe in Northern Liberties. And the stunning place settings (notice the great glassware), table and chairs came from Party Rentals, Ltd.

Max and Me Catering did a fantastic job of of coming up with food and drink that was coordinated perfectly with the décor. Just look at those irresistible cosmos and glasses of pink champagne and wonderful white wine. They also created a beautiful entrée of Diver Scallops with a Celery Root Puree and Citrus Beurre Blanc. Our kudos to David Robison, Max and Me’s Executive Chef and Theresa Linskey, the Sous Chef. The Girls Only Party was not only gorgeous, it was also incredibly yummy!

Mary Helen Raneiri, the owner of Suky Occasions came by and styled Oksana in a scrumptious pink party dress. Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Beauty did a fantastic job on Osaka’s hair and makeup. Beautiful Blooms created the perfect nosegay of peach spray roses with pearl accents for our guest of honor.

A huge thank-you to Kendall ~ Eclatante … Donna ~ Beautiful Blooms (we LOVE the paper flowers!) … and Marie ~Marie Labbancz Photography for this fabulous February eye-candy. We can’t wait to see “March”!

So, what do you think … more Color Stories? We hope so!

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Post tags: Beautiful Blooms, Claudia Seyler Beauty, Color Palette Pink, Eclatante, Lil' Candy Shoppe, Ltd., Marie Labbancz Photography, Max and Me Catering, Paper Flowers, Party Rentals, Philadelphia, Suky Occasions, The Total Table, Two Paper Dolls, VU Events
Post categories: Color Palettes, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Resources

from Heather: The ceremony was in Rittenhouse Town, part of the Wissahickon woods. We could only invite immediate family and a handful of our oldest friends. To see every one’s smiles after the ceremony was the best part of the day!

My stepfather, Paul, drove me up to the ceremony in a 1932 Ford pickup he built himself from pieces. I was so proud to ride in it and loved that it matched the time period. He started building it while my mother was still alive and she never got to take a ride, so getting into it for the first time on my wedding day was an emotional roller coaster, so happy, but also sad. We were both bawling when I arrived to the sounds of the bagpiper playing “Here comes the bride.”

Did I mention everyone was crying at the ceremony!? My best friend Sarah read a passage from the Velveteen Rabbit about what is “real”. Jason, Shawn’s brother, read the last paragraph from “The Road” by Cormick McCarthy. After the ceremony Jason said a beautiful toast about how I have always been a part of the family, but it was good now to make it “official” and again I cried!

The reception was at the Sedgwick Theatre on Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy. It is an art deco movie theatre built in 1928. I love the fashion and styles of that period so it was really important to me to have “vintage” hair and a cocktail dress.

The reception was a blast! I did not want a formal wedding reception, just a big party. It was a representation of us and our loved ones. We had a pool table and games for the kids. I also had a dress up photo booth for guests to take their own photos. On the center stage, there was a slide show running of my photographs from the past 14 years of our friends and family. The kids had fun jumping around on the stage and dancing in front of the photos! There was theatrical lighting to add to the ambiance. We had an Irish trio play at the cocktail hour who actually knew my mother, she played traditional fiddle in her life time. I also had the redware pottery she made put out on the tables. After cocktails the dj took over with a great assortment of country, indie rock, 80’s music videos played on the screen, hip hop and lots of dance music from our generation. It was overwhelming seeing every person I know and love in one room, all there just for us! I am so lucky to have met Shawn 14 years ago and gained so many friends and family.

These fabulous photos were taken by Sarah Miller, her friend and frequent second-shooter. For more of Sarah’s work, check out her website and blog!

LOVE the vintage-styled wedding touches that Heather executed flawlessly! Isn’t she totally gorgeous!!?

Heather has written about her wedding on her own blog and has provided a list of recommended vendors. It’s a really comprehensive list with great comments about each one. She’s also included the sources for her veil, shawl, dress, etc… There are a few photos taken by other photography friends of Heather’s and their names are also credited on her blog.

True vintage glamour ~~~

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Post tags: Art Deco, Bagpipes, Birdcage Veil, Hair Accessories, Heather Fowler Photography, Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Photo Booth, Sarah Miller Photography, Vintage Hairstyle, Vintage Style
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic

Top Image: A pretty candy bar in your wedding colors is the perfect way to add a huge splash of color, while offering guests (especially the little ones) something fun to do!

Second Image: This bride served soft pretzels between the ceremony and the cocktail hour…Philly Pretzels are such a cute and appropriate touch!

Third Image: These paper bags were perfect candy containers…cheap and super cute!

Last Image….Placecards set in wheatgrass and contained in an incredibly chic pink lacquer container. Love it!

Thanks Heather!

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Post tags: Heather Fowler, Philadelphia, Photography, Place Cards, Wedding Favors & Gifts
Post categories: Wedding Details, Wedding Photography