Eco-Friendly Bouquets: Bulsa Wood!

Bulsa wood bouquets... how did I not stumble across them sooner?! These eco-fab flowers are actually made out of paper in Thailand. They cut little shells out of the paper and assemble them to become perfect little rosettes. Finally, inexpensive, eco-friendly flowers that you can have any time of year!

                                 Photo credit: Top row- Cynthia Martyn. Bottom row- JL Designs

Inspiration Board: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn is without a doubt a classic style icon, and also happens to be one of my favorite actresses. So I was delighted today when the New York Post had an article about Breakfast At Tiffanys  ( the movie, not the 90s song) Naturally it inspired me to make an inspiration board..tada!

Images found via Martha Stewart, Bag Borrow Steal, Flirty Guide, and Retro Chic

Fierce & Fabulous Weddings: Paige & Bo

When the Walmart heiress gets engaged, you can be pretty sure her big day will be fabulous. Once you find out that Colin Cowie will be planning, it's sure to be one for the books! 

 

Paige Laurie and Bo Dubbert's nuptials were amazing, but nothing compared to their love story. The charming couple met back in high school during an ACT prep course, where they ended up studying each other instead of their academics. Here's the romantic story in Paige's own words...

“We owe it to our moms for making us take that class,” the Wal-Mart heiress says, yet the two Missourians parted ways after dating briefly their senior year of high school.Four years later, while Bo was vacationing near her college, he mentioned to a friend that he wished he’d run into Paige. The next night, at an L.A. club, “All of a sudden, I see Bo—as handsome as ever,” Paige remembers. “It was love at first sight,” she says. “I knew I was going to marry him. There was something bigger than us that wanted us to find each other again.”

During a December 2006 Whistler getaway for Paige’s birthday, the only sound was the jangle of bells until their horse-drawn sleigh—stopping. Bo got down on one knee in the snow. “I said yes about as loud as I could,” Paige says. “I was nervous and cold,” remembers Bo, who’d arranged to have champagne and a rose-filled suite waiting.

Next up was planning their wedding and they wasted no time jumping right on in. They went to meet the legendary Colin Cowie in New York, who they fell in love with immediately, and spent the next fourteen months designing all the details for their big day.

There was no expenses spared for this fabulous wedding. The ceremony and reception took place at the Laurie residence in Columbia, MO-but this wasn't your typical backyard wedding. Cowie constructed two tents-one for the ceremony, the other for the reception. As with all things designed by Colin, these weren't like any tents you've seen before.

This entire cathedral is inside of a tent!!  Colin called upon the super talented event production company  Along Came Mary, to design the cathedral and the reception area. They've produced everything from the MTV Movie awards to the Ocean's 13 movie premier party to Jaguar's Tribute to Style event. Now they can add the Lauire/ Dubbert wedding to their exclusive list of clients. They did an exquisite job of constructing this church, that looks like it's been there for centuries, in the matter of weeks!
The ceremony itself was very touching. Beside the traditional vows, Dr. Linda Garbett followed it up  by telling the couple's love story, turning the ceremony into an extra special time. The bride and groom were choked up by how meaningful it was.


Paige wanted her reception to be "formal, glamorous, and elegant" but "wanted it to be fun"  and Cowie certainly exceeded her expectations! The dining tent boasted velvet walls, a sunken floor, and the fabric ceilings. Custom lighting done by Images by Lighting- covered the pavillion in shades of purple,crystal, blue, red, and green.The evening started with a chandelier hanging above the dance floor as Paige & Bo had their first dance. As the night went on and the party really started, disco balls replaced the chandelier and guests danced the night away.

The details really made this entire wedding into an extraordinary event. Colin Cowie brought in vendors from the east and west boast to bring Paige's vision to life. Celebrity chef, Alfred Portale from Gotham Bar and Grill was the man behind to food that night. Guests feasted on a savory menu and then were treated to dessert by Perfect Endings. Many guests commented on how they thought the cake was a piece of the structural decor! The tablescapes were beautifully designed by Bardin Palomo floral designer extraordinaire and Resource One did an amazing job on the linens. Paige donned two wedding dresses (love that!) Her wedding gown was designed by none other than Carolina Herrera, with her "nightclub dress" as she called it, from Jenny Packham.  The coupled partied it up with their 600 guests who they surprised with a firework display at midnight that was said to have been "better than Macy's or Disney's"! Now thats a serious compliment!

 The wedding was undoubtedly an amazing success. After the fireworks, the after party started. Guests dined on good ole Mac & Cheese, mini pizzas, grilled cheese and french fried! Yum!! The last guests departed at 6 a.m. Surely, this wedding won't be one anyone will forget!

Justin Alexander...stole my heart

Every once in a while I'll stumble across a designer that makes my jaw drop...Justin Alexander is now on that short list. The team of designers there are beyond amazing. Words truly can't do them justice. The Justin Alexander Collection itself is described as "Seductive. Sophisticated. Refined. Modern interpretations of traditional silhouettes." Personally, I think that while their collection is all of those things, it should really be described as "Original. Fresh. Daring. Throwing tradition to the wind, in favor of breathtaking gowns" But hey, that's just me! Let's take a look at why I love the Justin Alexander Collection:

1. Black in wedding gowns are not only acceptable, but brilliantly designed! Not many designers can pull this off

2. Detachable gowns! Not your typical two-piece wedding dress.

3.They made the standard ballgown more trendy. What's not to love about the capulet they added to this dress? It completely changes the style and adds a modern update.

4. Vintage!! And Details!! Love it. Capulet, vintage styled dress, and that darling belt. Perfect combination. [I think it would go splendidly with the vintage inspiration board posted today]

5.The dresses just ooze sexy confidence. What bride doesn't want to feel like a goddess on her wedding day?

I could go on and on about all the different dresses in this collection. Better yet, they have two more bridal collections and a mother of the bride collections also. Justin Alexander is at no shortage of glamorous, romantic, standout gowns. Definitely go check them out...Shabina Says So <3

Inspiration Board: Purple & Yellow Vintage

Out With The Old...

The "trash the dress" phenomenon boggles my mind. I have mixed feelings about ruining one's wedding dress, maybe I'm too sentimental. But there's one trash the dress shoot that I was totally able to get on board with. Check this one out...make sure to read the bottom ;)

Amber worked with the super talented Seattle-based photographer Heather Lynn on this awesome TTD session She had been married once before and decided that she was getting remarried in a few months, it was time to get rid of the past. Heather worked with her to do a unique take on trashing her dress and came across a carnival. Luckily, they were able to get the Carnies in on their shoot (who wouldn't love to be apart of this?!) and were able to set up shop. Amber really took trashing the dress to a whole new level! You go girl! 

DIY: Wedding Luminaries

This is by far one of my favorite DIY projects! These luminaries would be perfect to place next to each row going down the aisle for an outdoors, evening wedding.You could also use them as centerpieces or try stringing them across your venue!

Shopping List:
-High-melt paraffin wax  (IGI 1260)
-Water balloons
-Double boiler
-Cookie sheet

Let's Make Luminaries!:

1. Fill the water balloons with tepid water

2.Melt your wax. Keep the temperature around 180 degree, you can do this by using the double boiler.

3.Slowly dip the balloon in the wax, to just below where the water level. If you have it go above that it can cause the balloon to pop...that's def a mess you don't want!

4. Hold the balloon in the wax for a few seconds, then take it out and dip again a few more times (allow a few seconds between each "dip" so that the wax can cool a little)

5. While the balloon is still warm, place it on a cookie sheet so it's level. This will create a flat bottom for your luminary!

6. Dip the balloons a few more time till it reaches a thickness of between 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

7. Place the balloon back on the cookie sheet again, letting it cool.

8. Once the wax has cooled, pop the balloon over a sink or bucket (make sure it's face away from you). Throw out all of the balloon pieces.

9.Time to level off the luminary! Heat a cookie sheet on the stove, place the luminary top-down on the hot sheet and allow the edges to carefully met until they're level.

10. Put a tea light or votive candle inside and burn on a candle holder.

Shabina Loves Baseball!

Yes, I'm quite the baseball fan. My grandpa has an entire section of his house dedicated to the Yankees, my dads coached baseball for 20 years, both of my brothers have played since they were old enough to hold a bat... I have no choice but to love baseball. Clearly I love events. So it's only logical that I would love baseball themed events!

Annette over at Swanky Tables did an awesome job with the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" birthday party for her twins.

Then there's the beyond words wedding that Amorology carefully put together. I'm in awe of their creativity! They really are such an inspiration.

Weddings that are over the top and all about little details are the best kinds there are (in my lovely opinion) They really took having a wedding theme to a new level. Instead of having a guest book to sign, people signed baseballs..how cool is that?! Having tickets as the place cards was brilliant. And did you see those tables?! Baseballs filling up the centerpieces, glass soda bottles at each setting, tables labeled by sections...swoon.

Thoughtful Day

For awhile I stopped being so obsessed with wedding invitations and stationery in general..until I came across Thoughtful Day.  They certainly have me in love with paper goods all over again!

                                            They did an awesome job of designing these invitations for Jenna & Jon's circus wedding..which can be seen this week on 100 Layer Cake (you must check it out!) They are even featured in the new issue of Martha!

                                  Pink and orange just scream "summer!" in my lovely opinion. Tara and Scott asked Erica to design something that was bold and included lots of fun flowers because their wedding was going to be at vineyard. Erica hand drew all of the details included in everything from the save the dates to the paper goods for the day of the wedding.

                  I love how elaborate this Save The Date is! 3 different layers, each revealing information about a different part of this couple's wedding weekend.

                                              The couple's theme was "Fiesta Fabulous"...enough said.

                                                  I can't get over how seriously talented Erica is! The couple wanted a program for their wedding that was inspired by the "Steamboat Bill Jr."s film poster, so Erica made some changes to make the couple in the poster look like the bride & groom. Simply brilliant!

50,Nifty, United States..

For some reason today I'm feeling extra patriotic. We have fifty states, each with their own natural beauty, talented professionals, and beautiful weddings. So, I've decided to take on a different state each day and showcase a wedding/event from each. On top of that I'll be featuring photographers, bakers, florists, etc from that state. A lot of other wedding sites feature gorgeous weddings but only from the popular states like California, Florida, New Jersey, or Texas. They don't always give ample love to weddings in Kansas, Wisconsin or even Montana. I want to change that!
So get ready this summer to tour the good ole USA with Shabina Says So!
Now I just have to figure out where to start. As always, if you want your wedding or other event to be featured on Shabina Says So, email ShabinaSaysSo@yahoo.com with photos and your story (and your state!)

Candy Cake? Yes Please!

Anything with candy makes me weak in the knees (if you haven't noticed already). Anything that puts a spin on a classic element sparks my interest. So when I came across Philadelphia Magazine's  article on candy cakes, well let's just say  I was smitten.

The Sweet Boutique sparked up a boring white fondant cake by draping it with rock candy pops.

    

  

Who said pound cake had to be boring? Lochel's Bakery brightened it up by covering it candy dots

This saltwater taffy cake, courtesy of Ocean Studios, is perfect a beach wedding.

 

 Confectionary Arts really takes the cake (no pun intended) They combined key lime curd & chocolate ganache with buttercream, then outlines the whole thing with gumballs!

I'm pretty sure Willy Wonka would be super proud of all these baker's with their extraordinary, candilicous cakes.Which ones your favorite?

Let's Go to the Carnival!

I came across a super sweet, sweets table on the fabulous blog of Amy Atlas -aka the goddess of the dessert world. This fresh take on a carnival theme came from the wonderful people over at Culinary Crafts in Utah! They really did a stellar job of incorporating a ton of favorite carnival foods with the bright colors that are reminiscent of those you expect to see at the Big Top.

                           They incorporated the carnival theme from the beginning with "Ticket" invitations!

                                             There's no such thing as a carnival without cotton candy...true story.

                                         


That right there was a serious dose of color, textures, and creativity! Riley was certainly one very happy birthday girl. That dessert table is sure to satisfy even the sweetest sweet tooth! Can you believe that cake?! Circles, stripes, stars AND gumballs?? Oh my! And those little tents...are they not the coolest things ever?!

I'm amazed at how they were able to carry the theme throughout, from the invitations to the sweets table. The stripes on the invitations were also used for the labels on the candy jars. The colors are seen in the different types of candies, the linens used for the table and the cake! Seriously, there's nothing to not love about this birthday party idea. Plus it can easily be transformed into a baby/bridal shower, or even a fun wedding theme.