Alyssa Milano's Vera Wang Wedding Gown


I simply love her wedding gown!








Photo Credit:
1. People Magazine
2. Fanpop.com

Reaching Bride and Helpful Groom Cake Toppers
by Weddingstar


Aren't they cute? Both the "Reaching for Her Star" Bride and "Lending a Hand" Groom are selling at $19.98 each, by Weddingstar.

I will definitely want this to be on my wedding cake too!

Multifunctional Bridesmaid Dress
TWOBIRDS Bridesmaid by Ariane Goldman

Bored of having the exact same look for your wedding party? Wondering if there is any other option to dressing up each and every bridesmaid of yours? Here comes TWOBIRDS Bridesmaid. The owner, Ariane, faced the same issue - had the same problem of getting dresses where her bridesmaids can wear again and again even after the wedding - WITH STYLES.

During her own wedding in 2007, she came of with the multifunctional dresses for her bridesmaids. They had the exact same dress, however, it was up to her bridesmaids to create their own personal look that fit their style the most.

Ariane and her four bridesmaids in multifunctional dresses posed at her wedding day.


Since then, Ariane founded TWOBIRDS with a major motive "being a bridesmaid does not have to forgo personal style". Everyone is unique and should not be dressed like each other, but to show off our personality.

Twobirds had been featured in magazines, tv shows, as well as some popular fashionista blogs. Here are articles featured in bridal and fitness magazines such as California Brides, InStyle Weddings, and SELF.


To start dressing your wedding party, choose the color that matches your wedding theme color. Here are fabric colors available at TWOBIRDS.



Fun TIME - Start the WRAPPING!
Bridesmaids, are you girls ready to choose style that matches your personality/style the most?

ANNIE
CAROLINEELIZABETHISABELLA
JANEJESSICA
MARISSA
RACHEL

Here are some of the real lovely days (weddings) from brides who got their bridesmaid dresses from TWOBIRDS.

Lovely day!

Photo credit: Twobirds, www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com

Wedding Gift
Culinary Adventure: Cooking 101 For Newlyweds
by Gilda Mulero from Naturally-Tasty

Are you in search of a unique gift for your family/friend's upcoming wedding? Great! I just came across this special wedding gift idea introduced by Gilda Mulero, Natural Foods Chef (New York) in her website, naturally-tasty.

It is Cooking 101 For Newlyweds, a private cooking class given by professional chef right at the newlywed's home. Each class is uniquely customized to the couple's interests and skill level.

A professional chef will pay a visit to the couple's home and help organize their new kitchen gadgets presented by their wedding guests. The chef will teach the couple how to make good use of their available space and tools. The class includes a tour to the local market as well as to teach the couple how to choose the right ingredients to fill up their pantry and 'stomach'!

Some couples might want to be the host and throw party at their house, the chef would be able to help them by selecting the comfort menu for great family and friends memories.

Lastly, the professional chef can even help the couple to choose new culinary equipments from their wedding registry based on the couple's lifestyle and interests.

What a wonderful and thoughtful gift for the newlyweds!

I would love to have one too!

Photo credit: groomsadvice.com

New Bridal Gown Designer
Anne Bowen

A new venture into Bridal Collection. Check out the new simple silhouette wedding gowns with sophisticated structure by Designer Anne Bowen.

Anne Bowen's first bridal collection was debuted during New York Bridal Fashion Week on April 5, 2009 at The Plaza Hotel. The inspiration behind all 12 dresses in her first bridal collection came from the architecture. For instance, Chrysler Building, Status of Liberty, Empire State Building, and etc. Each piece of her artwork represented the accent of the famous architecture.

According to Lisa Palladino from luxist.com, prices of Anne's first bridal collection start at $2,500.

Sources/Photo Credits:
1. Anne Bowen Bridal Collection, annebowen.com
2. The Bride's Guide by Darcy Miller, blogs1.marthastewart.com
3. Luxist "Anne Bowen Debuts Bridal Gown Collection" posting by Lisa Palladino, www.luxist.com

Dress Up The Party
Kayla & Matthew Fall Wedding


Here's my pick for Kayla's Fall Wedding Gown.


How about the groom and his groomsmen? Let see...


Last but not least is to dress up the wedding party (groomsmen, bridesmaids, flower girls, and ring bearer) beautifully! I truly love the idea of dressing the bridesmaids with the same theme color (or come in different shades) in different styles. Every bridesmaid is unique, and therefore, they should put on dresses that flatter their body shapes the best.


I can't wait to unveil their Fall Wedding in 10.20.2010!



Happy Planning!

Wedding Favors
Kayla & Matthew Fall Wedding

Kayla and Matthew would like to send their guests home with bottles of the couple's favorite wine from White Oak Vineyards. They created their own labels for the bottles from Windsor Vineyards online label creator.

White Oak Vineyards
15065 NE White Oak Drive
Cambridge, IA 50046
515.367.7777
www.whiteoakvineyards.com/

Windsor Vineyards
9600 Bell Road
Windsor, CA 95492
800.289.9463
www.windsorvineyards.com/


Here's the actual look of the personalized wine bottles:

Image: Better Homes & Gardens

Next up, dress up Kayla & Matthew wedding party and enjoy the celebrations!

Fall-inspired Wedding Cake
Kayla & Matthew Fall Wedding

Kayla and Matthew always wanted an unconventional wedding. With that, there is no exception for their wedding cake too!

They especially attracted by two cakes we found online.
First, a fall-inspired cake designed by Pink Cake Box. Thanks to Anne, the pastry chef and founder of Pink Cake Box (established in 2005).

This cake is highlighted with pumpkins, deep burnt orange and red fall leaves, and light brown branches curving along each tier. A "Just Married" wood sign on top of the 2nd tier tops off the autumn feel. The flavors include white cake with alternating layers of oreos and cream and peanut butter filling, and red velvet cake with lemon cream cheese.

Their wedding cake prices start at $5.00/serving for round buttercream cakes and $6.00/serving for round rolled fondant. Prices range up to $15/serving depending on detail work and design of the cake.

Don't stop here...if you are just like my wedding couple who fell in love with their cakes. Visit Pink Cake Box wedding cake gallery for more wedding cake inspirations.

Pink Cake Box
18 E Main Street, Suite 101
Denville, NJ 07834
Phone: 973.998.4445
Email: cakeorders@pinkcakebox.com

Since the couple is going to hold the wedding in their hometown, West Des Moines, we found them a local bakery - Glorious Desserts, LLC.

Glorious Desserts is a small business found by Gloria Olson, she is the cake designer. Her cakes have been featured in American Cake Decorating, International Cake Exploration Magazine, Mailbox News, Chicago Sun Times, Des Moines Register, Des Moines Business Record, Honolulu Advertiser, The Californian, Clarion-Ledger, Reno Gazette Journal, USA Today, KKCI 8, WHOTV 13, and WOI 5.

Glorious Desserts has done a similar cake as the one we found from Pink Cake Box. By looking at so many wedding cakes they have done in the past, I am sure Glorious Desserts will be able to create an unconventional festive fall wedding cake for Kayla and Matthew. Can't wait to discuss further with its owner, Ms. Olson!

Their wedding cake prices start at $3.60/serving for buttercream and $4.50/serving for fondant. Pricing is based on the shape of the cake, color, type of icing and complexity of design.

One is not enough and you want more of their cakes? Visit their wedding cake gallery!

Glorious Desserts, LLC
Phone: 515.279.4944
Email: info@gloriousdesserts.com



Now that we have talked about the wedding cake, what's next?
Shall we move on to wedding favors before we start with the wedding party attire?
Stay tune.

First Signature Drinks as Husband & Wife
Signature Cocktails/Mocktails
Kayla & Matthew Fall Wedding

Kayla and Matthew visited Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) and instantly fell in love with two signature drinks featured in its website. They are Autumn Punch and Sparkling Cranberry Rose - fit into their fall wedding perfectly. A mixture (wine) in both drinks can be altered to cater for younger wedding attendants, where we can substitute wine with ginger ale soft drink (most children love ginger ale, including my 12-year old cousin ^.*).

Here are the recipes from BHG.

Autumn Punch
Fresh-sliced plums garnish a blend of apple-cranberry juice and sweet white wine*.
*For younger attendants, we will substitute white wine with ginger ale. So they can enjoy the party with their special drink too!

Sparkling Cranberry Rose
A fizzy blend of sugar cubes, cranberry juice, and rose wine* makes a delightful pre-dinner cocktail.
*For younger attendants, we will substitute rose wine with ginger ale.

If you have the budget to go for personalized napkins, why not?
We found this personalized party accessories website - www.foryourparty.com - Launched in June 2004 by Sari. You will be the "napkins designer" to design your very own custom-made napkins - *like I did for Kayla and Matthew* see below...

Kayla and Matthew personalized napkins from foryourparty.com



Next
Thinking of cake - make it unexpected one!
Stay tune for our next posting.

"Dress up" the Reception Hall
Kayla & Matthew Fall Wedding

Here's the exact mood inside the banquet hall (left picture) and the table setting color combo (right) we found from The Knot Real Weddings that matched Kayla and Matthew's Fall Wedding Reception. They are going to use wooden garden-style chairs, red linens, pure white dinnerware, orange napkins and lanterns to dress up their fall-inspired wedding theme.


How about the centerpieces?
Kayla and Matthew's fall centerpieces were inspired by Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) holiday decortations series.

There are three major centerpieces for alternate tables in the hall:
1. Display different shapes of white gourds on tiny pedestals as miniature sculptures. DIY? Where to find those tiny pedestals? Cut from old table legs and balusters (good suggestion from BHG)!
2. Arrange 4 orange gourds and 6 red dahlia blossoms symmetrically in a flat tray like the one in picture below. Floating gourds and dahlias will be nice too! Remember to show off your inner creativity to make your wedding day a memorable one!
3. Fill an assortment of glasses with water and float mini pumpkins, gourds and mum (chrysanthemum) inside.

Wow...I really like the idea of having "floating" centerpieces, instead of the conventional floral decors!



Now, let's complete the look of each table with a mini chalkboard as table numbers. Be sure everyone finds the right place to sit in and enjoy the rest of the evening!

Image from: Maria McBride
Celebration Designs for Holidays and Every Day



Are you ready? We are going to explore Kayla and Matthew's first signature drinks as husband and wife in our next posting!