We are skiing north of Montreal at Mont Tremblant this week, so I am posting light. The past two days on the slopes have been so fun, but I haven't been on skis for a while so my muscles needed a break today. I opted to hit the internet cafe. It's cozy and warm in here and I have a delicious cafe americano beside me, so instead of skiing I will spend the morning surfing!
I found these, new from J. Crew. Love the one shouldered one, but not sure about the other one. I sort of wish the bodice fit better on the top, and while I like the lace, the trim looks a little like curtains to me. Opinions?

Just something I'm working on lately, thought you might like to see what I'm up to. Not sure what these are for yet, but I'm really digging making them. Obviously they are still a bit rough, but I'll see where the wind blows before I finish them up! Love to hear feedback!

Some days I spend hours and hours looking at my hands and what they are doing, (mainly folding, gluing, and tying ribbon). The view today is nice! My nail polish (Plum Seduction #917, Revlon) looks great with the ink color (Pantone 583) on the folders I'm building for Krista and my Becky Kelso ring just looks great with everything.

A sneak peek at our new Los Angeles wedding invitation design, which will be released next week on the Kenzie Kate site. I'm super proud of this one! The casual feel, the colors... everything about it screams "FUN WEDDING, GREAT COUPLE!" to me. I love the lack of fussiness, it's just so... relaxed. Like a happy couple!
I was so excited after getting these samples built that I had to share them right away, just a couple quick snaps with the camera phone and thru the magic of the internet... there you have it! You saw it here first!

...are over at the BHLDN website right now, so it's running ve r y s lo w l y. At one point I think it actually went down completely, so if you didn't get a chance to see it, I grabbed some images.
I knew I would love it! My favorite surprise is that some of the gowns are very reasonably priced... my least favorite surprise is that some of them are not. Most run somewhere between $1000 and $2000, (not an unreasonable amount in my opinion). Then there are a couple in the $600 range, and a couple in the $5000 range.
I found lots of the accessories, cover-ups, shoes, bags, etc. to be things that can be found elsewhere... not in exact replica, but similar. The images I chose are of things I felt were fresh (at least to my eyes).
I was slightly underwhelmed by the bridesmaids dresses. I was expecting a little less J. Crew, a little more... something else. I also think that if the bride is wearing a $1600 dress, the bridesmaid isn't - so the prices seemed off kilter to me in relation to the wedding gowns.
I really loved lots of their hair accessories and the shoe selection was right up my alley. Aesthetically, I loved all of their lingerie. It was a nice combination of sexy and feminine without being vampy. Most of it was very boudoir though, not a lot of shaping or supporting going on.
I loved the jewelry. Lots of the BHLDN stuff seemed to be very similar to things you'd find at the Anthro site, but I like that we are getting away from so much glitz and bling and into more eclectic stuff for weddings.
All in all, I could see saving up my money for some of the more unique pieces. What is everyone else's take? I'm so curious to know what you all think.

Looking for finger candies this morning, inspired by these from Harvest Gold. Not for everyone, but for me, these are gorgeous engagement rings.

I like these dresses from Saja. They're different, there's a certain sweetness to them that I love. If they speak to you too, consider dropping in on their semi-annual trunk show:
March 19th-20th
250 Elizabeth Street, NYC
Call 212-226-7570 to reserve yourself a spot.

Loving this combination of pattern and realistic flowers! From Elegantly Iced.

If you have some time today, read this blog. It's hilarious and it just may prepare you for actual marriage. Written by Kendi Lea, also of Kendi Everyday, which is also a favorite of mine.

One of these things is doing it's own thing!
Can you guess which of these amazing (and very similar) gowns costs less than $1000? Less than $700, actually?
One costs $695, the other two will run you upwards of $5000 each. Guesses?
Answer below!






Dress #1: Theia Beaded Silk Chiffon Gown $695!
Dress #2: Marchesa "Lola" - as near as I can tell, about $8000
Dress #3: Jenny Packham "May Blossom" - Can't find the price, but I assure you, it's not $700.

*As an aside... it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find out how much designer dresses cost! After speaking with one very curt and tight lipped receptionist at Marchesa, an unanswered call to Jenny Packham, and google search after google search, I gave up trying to find the exact prices for these designer gowns. So frustrating! If anyone happens to know, please post it here!

Valentine's Day is coming up! Or if you don't do Valentine's Day, maybe Date Night? My friends Jason and Deirdre have L.A.R.D. (Love And Romance Day). Whatever winds your clock!
Black lace lingerie is for beginners, how about the whole dress? Half the dress? A classy red one? The strapless one looks to me like a pink heart tucked into a red envelope! How perfect?
All from Mod Cloth.

I don't normally go for big glitzy earrings... but then, your wedding day is no normal day! My attention was grabbed by these elegant earrings from Design By Kara, I thought they looked expensive, kind of like something you'd see Keira Knightley or Natalie Portman wearing on the red carpet. But they're actually not expensive at all (yahoo!). I don't think anyone is pretending that they are 100% precious metal and gem, but I do think they look it. Judging by the over 500 (!) positive ratings in Kara's Etsy shop, seems like lots of her customers think so too. In fact, 100% of her customers were pretty darn pleased with their purchase and that says a lot to me. Most of Kara's comments seem to be along the lines of "They look even better in person! I can't wait to wear them on my wedding day!" and on that alone endorsement alone, I am excited to share them with you. I think the opal ones would look amazing with a 20's/30's vintage style dress! Something blue?

Just got an email from the ladies at Anthropologie entitled, "What if Anthropologie did weddings?" Surely if you know me, you know that the only other sentence that could possibly grab more of my attention would be "What if Anthropologie was giving stuff away for free?". So naturally, I had a look.
Turns out, that February 14th, Anthro is launching BHLDN (i'm pronouncing it "Beholden"?) presumably a wedding shop (online? physical stores? don't know). That's virtually all I know. There wasn't much to the email other than a bunch of gorgeous pictures of wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, wedding shoes, accessories and all manner of other loveliness.
I will BHLDN my breathe until I see more!

Sage advice on planning a stellar party from the uber creative Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day, applicable to everything from a birthday party to a wedding. I chose this photo from her post simply because it fits in with my recent rainbow infatuation. Seriously, I am obsessed. I shall blame it on the dismal weather.

Taking it to the next level are these gorgeous beaded and bejeweled sashes and belts to jazz up your ensemble from Bridal Couture Girls. I think these could really give a homemade/handmade dress the extra polish that comes with a little sparkle.

I want one in every color! I might even wear two to a finger if I were feeling crazy. Ever since subscribing to Lisa Eldridge on YouTube, I am obsessed with finding rings like hers (albeit less expensive). I found two sources, Robindira Unsworth, who makes all of the horizontal rings, and Pradman, who does the vertical ones. These are all sterling with gold vermeil and precious/semi-precious jewels. I think Lisa's are probably solid gold. A girl's gotta start somewhere!
Perfect gift for bridesmaids, by the way.

A couple of beautiful tea length wedding gown options from The English Dept. The one on the right is called Beatrix. Bea's golden embroidery is right up my alley!

The rainbow obsession continues. As I sit here, camped in front of the heater with two sweaters on, sipping coffee and looking out the window at about 7 inches of old snow now covered by a crusty "wintery mix" of freezing rain and slush, I am struck by how over winter I am and how much I would welcome the colors of spring.
Linda of Craftaholics Anonymous posted a wonderful tutorial on how to make your own cheerful pom pons from scraps of knit jersey. How fun would it be to decorate with loads of these in every color of the rainbow? Linda recommend making your poms out of old tee shirts - I usually give my unwanted or ill-fitting stuff to a clothing drive, but if I had tees that had holes or ones that were too worn out to donate, this would be a great use for them. (Not that I have worn a tee shirt in months... I forget what mine look like). I might also head down to my local bargain fabric store, where they sell loads of knit jersey fabric for $1 a yard. (Yeah, Lorraine Fabrics!) I love that these are made out of fabric and they could be reused, much nicer than tissue paper in my opinion, and just about colorful enough to make me forget about the wintery mix.

My newest obsession is Project Wedding's DIY section, Jordan Ferney (of Oh Happy Day) has the best ideas! These mobiles make me smile, could be because they are rainbow colored (yet another recent obsession) or could be because they cost less than $25 to make... You can decide!

Came across this yesterday on Design*Sponge... I can't tell you how much I wish there was a book like this on the shelves when I was getting married back in 2004. If you're interesting in this DIY, creative, everything meaningful, nothing glitzy, low-key, high energy vibe - this ones for you!
Handmade Weddings, by Eunice Moyle, Sabrina Moyle, and Shana Faust available at Amazon.

I love these for their wear-me-everyday-forever-effortlessness. Some are diamonds, some are not. I personally love a colorful stone, but they are all so simply beautiful! Anyone in the market for an engagement ring?
From One Stone.

Fun new game! I'll find two bridal gowns that are super similar, and you guess which is the more expensive one. And let me know which you like better.
Answer below:



Left: Aidan Maddox Strapless Beaded Gown, $279
Right: J Crew Taryn Gown, $495

Fellow Rhode Islander Gleena makes cute little pots! Great for Valentines Day or your bridesmaids!

One of my favorite wedding accessory shops, Little White Dresser, is starting the year off with a BOGO! Buy an exquisite headband, get a cute pair of earrings, or a belt, or another headband (for yourself, or maybe as a gift for your maid-of-honor?) FREE.
Let me know if you take advantage of this, I'd love to see what you picked! Everything is so gorgeous!

I have been gone for so long, I feel I owe you a little visual of what we have been up to! We had a wonderful (if sickly) holiday of stomach flus and sinus infections. Time was spent with all manner of loved ones, two and four legged. It was a beautiful Christmas. Niko found his belly button. I cut off all my hair (inspired by the beautiful Emma Watson). I also have taken up stone carving (didn't see that one coming did you)? More tomorrow, but for now I will leave you with these family pics.