Color Themes- Blue & Yellow

Though one might think of blue and yellow as a colour combination from the 60's, it can be classic and elegant with the right mix of white.
Invitations: As featured on Martha Stewart by Jeff Canham
Bridesmaid Dress: Silk bow front shift dress by Monique Lhuillier
Bouquet: Martha Stewart

Amazing Weddings by Amorology

I absolutely love these photos of weddings planned by San Diego based designers Amorology. They're fun, fresh, sophisticated and witty.

All photos from Style Me Pretty and Amorology Weddings.

A Christmas Wedding

Red and green themed Christmas weddings dont needn't be tacky; they can be classy and beautiful like this storyboard inspired by my red and green bouquet available from the Celebrate Beautifully shop.
Dress: Lace gown with a lace caplet by Monique Lhuillier
Bouquet: Faux bouquet with a green hydrangea, and red roses by Celebrate Beautifully
Bracelet: Bow hinge cuff from Forever 21 $11.80
Shoes: We haven't had this much fun with red shoes since Dorothy's ruby red shoes! Sergio Rossi's Cannes Peacock Feather Sandal from Neiman Marcus $1495

New Year's Wedding

Planning on saying "i do" when the clock strikes 12am or going to a new years party? Here's a little fun storyboard for a New Year's wedding, inspired by the famous ball drop.
Dress: Shift dress embellished with silver sequins from Anthropologie $188
Earrings: Pave diamond Heart and Arrow 18K gold from Barneys $1895
Flowers: Gorgeous and simple calla lillies by Chestnuts in the Tuileries
Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti Pave Iridescent Pump from Neiman Marcus  $1195

Glamour Goddess

Dress: A masterfully constructed cream Zac Posen mermaid gown $3690
Earrings: H Stern art deco Starburst Earrings $4900 from Neiman Marcus
Bouquet: Traditional tied posies of lily of the valley and gardenia, tied with a chartreuse ribbon (from Marthastewart.com)
Art Deco inspired crystal minaudiere by Judith Leiber from Neiman Marcus $1995

The Modern Tradtionalist

My new bouquet inspired me to create a look of a true tradtionalist at heart, mixed with modern elements. The bouquet itself is made of traditional blush pink peonies, roses, lily of the valley and a more modern green mini calla lily. $95
The dress is a Tracy Reese 50's inspired cream lace dress with a black tie from Anthropologie. $288
The elegant earrings are pear shaped diamond earrings by Zoe, available from Barneys . $4380
The shoes are an amazing patchwork platform sandal by Rodarte from Barneys. $1645 (yes, the shoes cost more than the dress :)

Winter Weddings: Look I - Winter Glamour

I decided to have some fun with winter weddings and post two looks, featuring the work of talented floral designer from NYC, Bardin Palomo.

Dress: Monique Lhuillier. Duchess Satin gown with matching lace trimmed overcoat.

Bouquet: Bardin Palomo. Gorgeous winter white bouquet featuring peonies, French lilac and stephanotis, studded with crystals (photo from Instyle.com).Handbag: Marc Jacobs. Gilda fur & sequin bag. (photo from Saks.com)

Shoes: Christian Louboutin. "Maralena" mesh crystal peep-toe pumps with crystal covered stiletto heel. (photo from Saks.com)

Swiss Raclette (Fondue's Cousin)

Speaking of comfort foods, there's nothing like a sharing a delicious fondue on a cold winter's day with your closest family and friends. I'm also going nuts about this Swissmar Raclette grill. Traditionally a delicious apres-ski snack in the Alpines, the original idea is to put a wheel of raclette cheese on a hot grill and scrape bits of cheese as it melts, eating it with cornichons, sausages, etc. Williams Sonoma has a modern raclette grill (pictured below). It's a great way to entertain!

Really Organic Arrangements

I know i've mentioned this before, but I just love the way fruits and vegetables can make such a fresh visual impact. Here are a few examples:
Love this picture of London Restaurant, La Petite Maison. I got the photo from Gwenyth Paltrow's blog, GOOP. There's nothing simpler and cleaner than stacking up fruits and vegetables in big vases.

Forget the grocery bought veggie & dip platters. You can easily arrange veggies in a "bouquet" like manner in a basket just by bunching veggies together. The dip is nicely presented in a scooped out red pepper. Photo from LA based caterer, Joan's on Third.

I like the idea of bringing the arrangement outside the bowl. Check out how Joan's on Third catering used the blood orange peels sto create a flower.

My Bridal Shower!

I am truly so blessed to have a sister who loves to throw parties as much as I do. We have probably been planning each others showers almost as much as we have been planning our own weddings! The exciting itinerary included tea, and a "chocolate sommelier" who came in to do a very informative chocolate tasting.
I wish I had more pictures to share, as photos cannot comprehend the beautiful shower she threw. Thanks to my Sister for a beautiful event as always. Also, a big thank you to all those who helped contribute!My sister incorporated gorgeous shades of melon coloured chrysanthemums, succulents, gorgeous white dalias for centerpieces.
She also handcrafted tissue paper blooms in melon shades, using a large 24" white lantern as the form. Guests could choose from a tray of looseleaf tea bags of my favourite teas, and enjoyed them in glass tea cup and saucers. She rented white garden chairs, white linens and her coworker sewed sheer honeydew runners.
A gorgeous spread of the most delicious foods prepared by my sister and my friend Debbie. Highlights included melon coloured petit fours, miniature cupcakes with melon fondant icing (adorned by beautiful handmade sugar flowers (thanks Chris!), green tea shortbread, caramel pots de creme served in miniature ramikens and porcelain spoons, a selection of scones, endive topped with lobster & avocado, mini puff pastries with roasted tomato & basil. Delicious!!

Pottery Barn Party Ideas

If you're ever stuck for a party idea, visit Pottery Barn's brilliant "Entertain" section on their website. There are tons of helpful ideas like how to create extra seating. Here are some of my favourite ideas:
Wine Tasting Party

I love this "How to throw a clambake" article. I love the idea of each person getting a personal "clambake kit" with lemon, colanders and other tools.

These chalk covered pots are a great twist to the traditional printed place cards.

Chinese Weddings By The Knot

For everyone who has opted to have Chinese wedding details incorporated into their wedding, you have to go to the Knot's new site, Chinese Weddings by the Knot. There are elegant decor ideas as well as info about traditional Chinese customs and dress. Though the site is still small, it will most likely grow as fast as the market.

"Prince & Princess" First Birthday Party

A couple weeks ago I attended an adorable "Prince & Princess" first birthday party. The birthday boy's aunt prepared little magnet invitations and carried the logo throughout the whole party. (Notice the little fondant crowns atop carrot cupcakes!). Fare also included a buffet of healthy salads and baby burgers, of course. Another great idea were these printed "cutlery envelopes", pre-stuffed with cutlery and coloured napkins. Happy birthday Caleb!

Ribbons Crafts from Martha

Ok, I admit, i'm not getting much work done because i'm totally in Weddings mode because my friends' wedding was just this weekend (which I will share about later). I found these totally cute ribbon crafts from the Martha Stewart Spring 2008 issue and I really had to post.

Party Theme: Think Green

I know that people have been buying from Jamali Garden for years, but I wanted to post a source for some of the latest 'green theme look' that i'm seeing everywhere. Whether or not the items are actually "eco-friendly" is another topic!

Fruitwood finish vases
Mangowood vases mixed with delicate hydrangeas.

Natural bamboo cylinder vases.

The now ubiquitous L.E.D. lights sell for about 2.99ea depending on the size.
They've got runners and placemats made from woven pebbles and stones. Perfect for completing the "green look".These cloche vases remind me of the mini-ecosystems you created in 5th grade. Jamali Garden also sells an assortment of shells, starfish, artificial grasses and moss.
Moss flocked rocks!

Party & Shower Ideas Inspired By Packaging

For all those who are crafty, you'll definitely love Garnish's concept. They sell empty packaging (boxes, containers, etc), ready for you to put together kits, like this adorable smores kit above. How cute would this be to give as a host gift?

Some Baking Activity Ideas for Parties you could do with this type of packaging:

Baby Shower Idea: Bake bread or buns to celebrate a "bun in the oven". Have boxes ready so guests can take their baked bread home. If you dont know the sex of your baby yet, have pink and blue ribbons ready to tie their box, for guests to help guess.

Birthday Party: Bake mini birthday cakes together, and prepare icing so guests can decorate their own. Or bake pies (like below) and have personal cake boxes to take their baked goods home. You can also pre-print labels with the date and the birthday girl or boy's name.

Wedding Shower Cookie Idea:
Have a basic cookie dough recipe ready, and divide the cookies into small batches for each guest. Have an array of different ingredients ready for guests to experiment. Some ideas might be: chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, m&m's, coconut, lemon rind, nuts, rosemary, mint, etc. Bake the cookies and have each guest write down their ingredients on a tag. You can exchange cookies and even vote on the best cookie. Have empty jars ( you can get great ones at IKEA) or boxes for packaging.

Spring Bird Themed Party

Being surrounded by such a gloomy winterscape, wouldn't it be cute to have a Spring Bird Themed Party? Throw a shower, or a "pick me up" party with this Martha Stewart Crafts kit above or create your own spring inspired theme.

Saima Says Invites

I've been admiring the work of Saima Says Design for a long time but just got the chance to put up some pics of some of my favourite designs. I absolutely adore her colour combinations- from the punchy red & teal accenting pink for a baby invitation (above) to the muted sage & brown invites below. In my opinion, great invitations should always set the creative pace and "brand" of the wedding or event to come, and Saima's invites are totally exemplary of just that.

I'm so in love with this lime green, turquoise & emerald green combo! Notice how good saturated, bright hues look on white.

I love the look of this suite- eggplant & magenta on kraft colored paper. Genius!

Martha Stewart Portfolio

For all the wedding enthusiasts out there that love Martha Stewart Weddings, you'll definitely enjoy Rebecca Thuss's website, which displays the wealth of creative ideas she contributed as the former style editor. To the left is one of my many favourite candy buffet editorials she has created.

Indoor Garden Party

I found these great whimsical vegetable motif invitations from Kates Paperie, and was inspired to put together a bridal shower (or any party!) inspiration board. Here are some ideas:

Venue: There's nothing prettier than a glass greenhouse or solarium to house this party, especially if it's during the cold weather months.

Decor: Create simple centerpieces from potted herbs (the ones featured here are from RedEnvelope.com), potted baby veggies such as tomatoes. Or, fill a galvanized tin watering can with fresh flowers.

Food: Serve vegetable sandwiches, organic fruit spreads and preserves, farm cheeses and tea.

Cake: A while ago, Martha Stewart made the most adorable Peter Rabbit's garden cake. She has a similar one online now, called the secret garden cake.

Party Favours: Enclose the seeds of the bride's favorite vegetable or fruitin a pretty envelope. I found these from Paper-Source.