The Royal Wedding Watching

The excitement of the Royal Wedding caught up with me eventually as I was suffering yesterday after staying up late to watch the preparations, I should know better really!
But what fun we had watching this beautiful and meticuously planned event unfold yesterday in London and go without a hitch apart from the slight wedding ring potentially not fitting (always a good tip for a wedding planner to carry a handcream with them!)

We loved everything, the trees in the Abbey were a highlight for me (albeit lacking in fairy lights!) along with the abundance of lily of the valley. The dress was exactly as I imagined it, with the Grace Kelly style and I loved the sister's dress, it was to die for but then so was her figure.

I do think the Middleton girls need to give some style lessons though to the two princesses, what a mess they were, I thought one looked like an explosion in a paint shop and the other looked like a giant pretzel! Apart from this style disaster we loved the day :)

Pomp & Plumage (& Pearls).

Photo: Irene Suchocki

A little bird sent me this listing on Pomp & Plumage's Etsy shop--is that an Oysters & Pearls dress? I do believe it is.

A Perfect Present for Your Hubby

Buying a present for your man can be tough, no less a wedding gift. I struggled with what to buy The Big A but(perhaps luckily) we decided not to buy each other a gift. But if I had my time over, and had discovered this little beauty I would have popped over to Paloma's Nest and gotten a pair of customised cuff links. Check out their Gentlemen Collection for this and other cute ideas.

Source: Paloma's Nest

A Cinco de Mayo Party Inspiration

Any excuse for a party and Cinco de Mayo is no exception with this gloriously brightly coloured Mexican theme to have fun with.

We found these lovely styling ideas on Celebrations using a riot of colours, margaritas in both forms, the daisies and of course the drink, chillis, a photo booth and lots of tasty Mexican food ideas so when we are all finished with the traditional Royal Wedding parties with our scones and tea, we can move on to the maracas!

A big thank you to one of my lovely couples this year for bringing me some official Royal Wedding tea to celebrate in style on Friday.

Staircase Art Wall

Loving.....

Source: Coco + Kelly

We have moved (about 10 feet).

If you've been on our block lately, you may have noticed the mysterious workings in the space to our west--it's our new home! The English Dept. has officially relocated one door down to 1128 Alder. Our old space will be home to Lille Trousseau, a branch of our most favorite-favorite lingerie shop. In addition to their always-lovely selection of underpinnings, you'll find wedding-appropriate accessories (shoes!) curated especially to coordinate with our gowns. We couldn't be more excited. Lille Trousseau is set to open early May--watch this space! Now, on with the show...

Clara and Lauren will not let window vinyl get the best of them!

Love This

Chevron Fringed Backdrops .... Easy to make for your next shindig.

Source: A Beautiful Mess

Sophisticated Floral Table Arrangement

Eeeep. You know sometimes you can think little vases of flowers on table arrangements can be cute....but can they be sophisticated? Well the answer thanks to Sofia Crokos via Camille Styles is a resounding yes! Just check out this soiree Sofia did recently - for me, its the elements surrounding the florals that bring everything up a notch. From the silver plates to the white linens to the frosted vases. I. Love. It. All.

Source: Camille Styles

Wedding Dresses

Wedding Dresses

Over the centuries wedding dresses have changed, but a bride has always wanted her dress to be special, to make her look more beautiful. Centuries ago, only the rich could afford materials of red, purple, and true black; therefore, the wealthy brides would wear dresses of color adorned with jewels. The bride would actually glitter in the sunshine. The dress with flowing sleeves or a train was a status symbol, for the poor had to use material as sparingly as possible. Factory-made materials, with their lower costs, caused the lost of the original meaning of the train of a wedding gown, but it became a tradition over time.

Fashions changed from gowns of color to ones of white, or a variation of white, but since it wasn't a practical shade for most purposes, blue became another favorite, as did pink. In the 1800's, gray became a color for wedding gowns for brides of lower classes because the dress became re-used as the bride's Sunday best. For those who had to wear a dress that would be used for regular occasions after the wedding, many brides would decorate the dress for the special day with temporary decorations.

The History of Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands

The History of Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands

These days, many people take wedding bands and engagement rings for granted, and although they give these beautiful items of jewellery with integrity and love, they are often given with no real knowledge of the meaning behind them.

Both wedding bands and engagement rings are very special items of jewellery; in fact, they are more than just jewellery - they are the symbols of many emotions and promises such as:

• Love
• Commitment
• Fidelity
• Eternity
• Honour

But where - and why - did these popular and sentimental pieces of jewellery stem from?

The History Of Wedding Bands

These items of jewellery have a history that spans many centuries and passes through many countries from all around the planet. Below, you will find a brief history of the wedding and engagement ring, as reported from country to country.

You Won't Believe What This Lamp Turns Into

This little beauty was bought at a garage sale for $3. Yes $3!!!! With a lick of paint just look at what it turns into. The lesson? Always check the bones of a piece, because it it has good bones you can work it into something special!

Source: Me You and a Wiener

Giselle in Brides Magazine.

 

At the shop we call Brides "the mothership" because it is the biggest, bride-iest, most venerable wedding publication on newsstands. So I was awed and proud to see Giselle in the March issue. Paired with a big splashy peony, which tells me that Brides gets Giselle. All hail Brides!

SDSW Feature: Sarah + Kenan

We are so honored to have Sarah and Kenan's gorgeous wedding featured in San Diego Style Weddings. Here's a sneak peak of all of the wonderful things that were created for their big day...

We were lucky to have such a fun and unique venue, The Birch Aquarium, to help us get swept away with all of the beautiful details.

We had such a great time helping create this sweet couples' special day and can't believe how many gorgeous shots that Hugh Forte captured! Well, actually we can...Hugh is that good : )

Beautiful Fairy Lights

Fairy Lights. Can't get enough of them at the moment.........

Source: Cox and Cox

An antidote for wedding anxiety...

 I LOVE Carrie's story--such a breath of fresh air, and a reminder that you really can get married your way:

Hello Elizabeth and ladies of The English Department!

I have been meaning to write since I got married in February, but haven't had the chance. I was originally going to get married this summer, but wedding stress made us get creative. My fiancé (Martin) and I ran off to New York City, and on February 18th we had a fabulous guerilla wedding inside MoMA (in front of our favorite painting, Vincent vanGogh's Starry Night). We're both artists, and not really the most conventional couple. So to scrap the big wedding and do something crazy suited us well. We did have a few family members show up to be a part of the fun. It was really the best day of our lives.

You made me a Giselle dress with a matching bolero, and I actually also ended up wearing a Twigs & Honey custom headband. I've never felt more lovely in my life. So again thank you, and I am attaching a few photos of our special day for you all to see.

 I didn't even know you could have a guerrilla wedding inside a museum! This changes everything. Thanks, Carrie! You look so happy.

 

Thank you, Lovely.

I truly had a magical time at Lovely last weekend. Thanks to all you ladies who came and played dress up at my trunk show!

 

Thanks also to Cassandra, Lanie, and the smashing Lovely crew for making me feel so welcome. 

It's great fun for me to see dresses from my collection modeled by honest-to-goodness brides (left: "Tempest," right: "Honeychurch")...

...and I always like to bring a few new things (left: "Tea/Blush" gown, right: "Lizzie Swift" gown). So nice to see my work come to life! Now back to the studio...

A Beautiful September Wedding in Mijas

All of our weddings just ooze style and Katie and Scott's wedding at the end of last year was no exception. It was a delightful day in one of my favourite venues here in Mijas and beautifully organised as always by our 5 star Carla!

Sometimes we have photographers that do not send us photos despite much nagging!

It is always a huge disappointment for us but it is normally because they are just busy and moved onto the next wedding, so it is delightful when we do hear from our couples, whom after the wedding excitement has settled down, like to share their wonderful memories with us.

Katie and Scott recently sent me over their wedding photos, we were so excited to see them as we had planned, organised and decorated this fabulous wedding with the brightly coloured bridesmaids and their gorgeous bouquets to providing lots of details for the wedding day
at this very stylish villa in Mijas. The handsome men in kilts were a bonus as well!

With our ever super efficient Carla planning and organising the wedding details nothing could go wrong, apart from the weather of course. Unfortunately as this was a late September wedding the summer broke here and the storms started to arrive. It was on and off all day with dashes in and out the villa and me scowling at the black rolling clouds.

Luckily the rain stayed away for the ceremony and it went ahead as planned in the gardens with the wonderful violinist Naiara.

However once the ceremony was over it was a quick rethink and the whole wedding had to be set up inside the villa, but all was not lost as the guests got a Masterchef class from the talented Alex from Fiestasol along with drinking lots of cava and cocktails!

The rain, thunder clouds and lightening eventually stayed away for the guests to mingle back outside later but our beautiful Moroccan chill out was soaked and had managed to die the poolside purple. Katie and Scott are coming to meet up with us again next week, we cannot wait to see them again, I will always remember Katie for buying me a box of chocolates as I was so upset at the weather, I do always think it should have been the other way round!

Perhaps next week I can return the favour to Katie!