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

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

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.

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?

All In the Details...Memorable Napkins

Cocktail napkins have certainly gone through a tough roller coaster ride over the past few years. One year they're super popular, the next people cringe at the thought of them. Personally, I thought they were on the "total waste of money" list. That is, until I came across a wedding that made them super cool again! Lisa was a bride on a mission to make her wedding all about her & her groom...and she succeeded! She brought D.I.Y. to a whole new level.
Instead of just putting their names, wedding date, or monogram on the cocktail napkins, Lisa opted to put memorable moments from their relationship on them. She printed the sweet facts of their courtship herself!

I really love this idea!! Most people just throw away the cocktail napkins and their a total waste. But by putting meaningful quotes, funny stories, or quirky facts about your relationship or each other, it brings an extra memorable details to your big day!

P.S. If you're a bride in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, be sure to check out Jeff Tisman Photography! He does such an amazing job at not only capturing your big day, but also brings something extra to the table by shooting the little things that make your day truly yours.

Don't Go Naked

When working with your wedding budget it's so easy to assume you don't need to splurge on the *extras* like custom table linens & chair covers. You'd be totally wrong in making that assumption though! You can easily cut back on floral arrangements and other types of decor simply by using an overlay on your tables and caplets on your chairs. Let's do some comparing and contrasting shall we?

                                                             From 100 Layer Cake

Now obviously there's nothing wrong with using the linens provided by your venue, but does it really give to "ooh la la" effect you want?  You can just as easily go with more simple centerpieces and rent linens through a local vendor. Linen vendors have so many options, it's amazing! You can keep your standard white linens and opt for an overlay to add a little bit of color. You could go ahead and get a totally new tablecloth. You can mix different textures by using a standard tablecloth, adding an overlay, and then using a table runner. And that's just for the tables!

Then there's chairs...bet you never thought about the chairs very much. You could leave your chairs naked but what's the fun in that? You can use the standard chair covers and use a bow around it which have become popular over the past few years. If you want to stay ahead of the trends, go for a chair caplet, or use flowers to decorate it!

                                         Phenomenal chair coverings from the God of event design Mister Preston Bailey. Oh how I adore his inventive, over the top, on the cusp of edginess designs. He truly is amazing!

Whether you choose to use coordinating tablecloths, napkin & chair bows...or go for something a little more elaborate like flower-adorned chairs, don't leave your chairs & tables naked!