New Color Combo: Charcoal & Emerald

I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a September wedding in which one of the wedding colors is charcoal. While the bride is doing a lovely combination of charcoal against soft pastels, I also love when this dark neutral is expressed with bright pops of color, such as canary yellow, featured in the image below.

However, lately I prefer unexpected color combinations. So I came up with an emerald green and charcoal palette, offset by the cool crispness of white.

What are your favorite unexpected color combinations for a wedding?

Engagement Rings With A Conscience

A friend of mine recently became engaged. When I saw her to celebrate this milestone, she showed me her lovely ring. What made it so fabulous was that she chose an eco-friendly, uncut, natural diamond for her stone. Not only is it really unique and fits her personality, but she can feel good knowing that she did not select a "blood diamond."

Her ring inspired the present post on conflict-free engagement rings and wedding bands. All of the rings below were found on Etsy using the search term "conflict free engagement rings." While some are a bit pricey, most are quite affordable, another benefit of going green in your engagement ring selection!

I also chose a wide variety of stones in an array of settings. While not all of them are diamonds, there still are some "classic" engagement ring styles for the more traditional bride (e.g. large center picture).

Now aren't these something you can feel good about?!

The Best Wedding Decision I Made

This week, I decided to take a break on doing inspiration boards and give some wedding advice to those in need (but don't worry, I will be back with plenty more boards soon!).

I was recently reminiscing about my wedding with a friend who is soon to be married. She asked me for advice on how to deal with the pressures of the big day. I told her that the best decision I made was getting a good night's sleep the night before my wedding.

It sounds simple and quite practical, really. But I almost passed up my chance to get a peaceful slumber due to what I thought I "should" be doing as a bride. Our original plan was to keep with tradition and spend the night before the wedding apart. My groom would stay at our swanky hotel, and I would stay at my parent's house.

But suddenly as we thought about leaving each other on the eve of our big day, we thought it was silly to spend the night apart. I knew I would not get a good night's sleep at my parent's house, and we felt that the only person we wanted to share our pre-wedding excitement and jitters with was each other. So instead we both stayed at our lovely hotel, slept in together in the morning, and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for our wedding. It seriously was the best choice we could have made, and I'm so glad we followed our hearts and heads!

Our suite at Chatham Bars Inn

Thus, I now tell brides that the important thing to remember is that your wedding is a special event for you and your hubby-to-be to embark on the rest of your life together as partners. So do what makes you feel comfortable (even if that means going against tradition!) and you will find yourself as stress-free as possible on your  big day!

The Ultimate Prep: A Seersucker Wedding

Nothing says New England preppy like seersucker. This fabric is perfect for summer or beach weddings due to it's breathable, light cotton composition. While it's traditional color is blue, seersucker can now be found in an array of pastels, as well as neutrals such as khaki.

As soon as summer rolls around, I love pulling out my seersucker clothing and accessories, such as my vintage Kate Spade purse (also great for a bride on her wedding day!).

Seersucker would also be great as a wedding theme for brides looking to host a classic, preppy wedding. If you're fiance objects, just tell him that real men wear pastels, and he'll be thanking you when he's not wearing a traditional tux in 90 degree heat!

Finally, find some creative ways to incorporate seersucker into your wedding theme, such as customizing your wedding cake with stripes:

Cake by Cake Girls

Natural Inspiration

For the 4th of July, I was fortunate to spend a long weekend at my in-law's lake house. While there, I felt really inspired by all the earthy colors that surrounded me, such as the bright yellow flowers, deep purple berries, woodsy bark, and forest moss. Here is an inspiration board for brides who want a green, organic, and natural wedding palette :)

Products clockwise from top left: Any outdoor bride must remember sun protection! Stay chic with cute sunglasses by J.Crew. Arrive on your honeymood in style with this canary suitcase (J.Crew). Make a statement with plum heels under your dress (J.Crew). Put nature on your table with topiary centerpieces and placecard holders. Carry a bouquet of colorful wildflowers. Bridesmaids can don a lovely moss green frock (J.Crew). Create a custom logo in your wedding colors. Let guest cool off during your ceremony with a natural woven fan. Have a sunny cake for a pop of color. Instead of a long veil, go for a more practical birdcage veil that won't blow away in the wind, such as this one from Etsy. Use a plum lip tint for a natural, flushed appearance (by Fresh, available at Sephora). Go green with pretty invites printed on recycled paper!

A Pink Palette

Much to my dismay, I am almost out of my favorite perfume, Flowerbomb (which I of course wore on my wedding day). So I decided to turn my obsession with this pink perfume into an inspiration board for all you brides. This board combines a few of my favorite things (J.Crew, peonies, candy, and horses).

Happy weekend everyone!

Hello Again!

I'm sure my readers probably thought I had given up on this blog. Perhaps part of me had. But I decided that this is the only thing in my life that allows me to express and explore my creative side. So I'm not going to give it up! I plan to return with more posts to inspire all you future brides!

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some tidbits that might help those of you who a) are chronic worrywarts like myself b) have just turned into one since getting engaged or c) can officially label yourself a bridezilla :)

Here is what I've learned in my absence:

• I know everyone says it, but the marriage is much more important than the wedding day! As much as you are stressing about centerpieces and stationary, try to accept the fact that it won't be perfect, but that's what will make it memorable.
• I miss creative blogging. Looking at pictures of pretty things is very relaxing and a good form of stress relief. So current bridal bloggers - don't feel bad about spending so much time blogging/swooning over wedding collages!
• I realized that blogging doesn't have to be all or nothing. I used to be obsessed with ideas for my next post and felt like I constantly had to be an "idea machine." Now I realize it's ok to blog less frequently whenever I'm feeling inspired.
• Nostalgia is nice. I'm glad I created this blog about a major life event. I'm happy I have something tangible that allows me to look back on my journey and reminisce. I think you will feel the same way after your wedding.
• Wedding blogs are like a built in support group. Having a group of women to commisserate with over inane wedding details that no one else cares about is a great form of therapy. The fact that most ladies manage to stay interesting, funny, and kind while planning a wedding is the best reason I can think of to keep blogging!

So to those of you who have gotten married since my last post one year ago - congrats!!! And to the rest - don't stop following wedding blogs, they will help keep you sane :)