BHLDN On A Budget!

Like many women, my heart swoons whenever I step inside Anthropologie. Sadly, I cannot afford to shop there regularly, especially on a grad student budget in the middle of a recession! However, I was thrilled to recently learn that the team behind Anthropologie decided to venture into another one of my passions, the wedding world, with their new store, BHLDN.

A great feature of the BHLDN website is that it offers more than just a shopping experience for brides. It includes free interactive experiences to help inspire you while planning your wedding, and provide another great way to procrastinate ;-) For example, I took a fun quiz called "What Kind of Bride Are You?" and discovered that I am a Romantic Nostalgic bride, which was a very accurate portrayal of my vintage Cape Cod wedding. The website also offers MoodBoards, aka inspiration boards, where you can view their products based on themes or color palettes, or even create your own board!

Disclaimer: I guarantee you will love everything BHLDN offers, but like it's sister store Anthropologie, products from here do not come cheap. Since one of my goals is to provide wedding inspiration for brides on a budget, I have scoured the site and chosen the best wedding attire and accessories for budget-minded brides.

Here are 2 boards featuring my favorite dresses, that are all an amazing steal at $1600 or less!

Finally, another great way to incorporate the romantic, unique, and vintage products BHLDN offers while not breaking the bank is to carefully choose more affordable accessories for your big day. Here are my top picks:

Images from center, then clockwise from top left: Choose a lovely silk hat/birdcage veil for a vintage vibe ($120); Love coasters provide a romantic touch ($14 for 10); Don polka dot gloves for a unique look ($40); Brighten up your fete with colorful straws ($6 a pack); Eat your cake with a pair of engraved love forks ($24 a pair); Serve treats on lovely pedestals ($68-$88); Statement earrings are great bridesmaid's gifts ($66); Accessorize your cocktail hour with love stirrers ($22 for 24); Use adorable mini teapots as escort card holders ($52 for 6); Glam a simple pair of shoes with colorful pom poms! ($25 per pair); Choose simple but sophisticated letterpress invites ($26 for 8); Chalkboard vases make unforgettable table numbers ($18); Faux flowers are a great way to save money without compromising on style ($32 for 5).

Announcing My New Company: Viator Gear!

Hi blog readers! Today's blog post is very exciting for me. My husband, Toby, and his friend Nolan have created a new company called Viator Gear, of which I am officially Vice President of Public Relations!

Toby and Nolan have collectively traveled over 1 million miles by land, air and sea. They know how difficult traveling can be, especially these days. That's why they decided to make a new website that sells products that they know are essential to improving your travel experience. 

So how does this pertain to all you brides out there? Well most brides I know travel for their honeymoon, and have several out-of-town guests/bridal party members attend their nuptials. With all the stresses associated with planning your wedding, worrying about traveling should not be one of them. I can fully support this statement having planned a destination wedding myself!

Check out this nifty mosaic I made featuring some of the products our new site sells. Some of these products would also be great in a gift basket for out-of-town guests, or as attendant favors!

Photos from center, then clockwise from top left: Ladies, nothing is more exhausting than your wedding day, trust me. When you arrive at the airport and grab your post-wedding cup of joe, don't worry about spilling on your cute honeymoon outfit. Put in a convenient luggage cup holder. All you germaphobic couples will love a toothbrush sanitizer. A colorful jewelry organizer is a must for your honeymoon, and also makes a great bridesmaid gift! A travel steamer is a must for keeping your date night outfits wrinkle-free, while saving precious time to spend with your new spouse! Also, don't forget to weight your luggage before heading to the airport, so you don't get slammed with extra baggage fees!

The green wallet is not your average wallet, it actually blocks RFID's, protecting you from people trying to scan your personal information off your license/passport. Protect your iPad/latop with a cute white patent case. Gift your new hubby with a trendy monochromatic passport case. No these, are not coloful light bulbs. They are 3 ounces containers, perfect for carrying on your fave shampoos, body washes, etc. Hotel rooms never having enough outlets is no longer a problem with this USB Power Pirate.

Finally, a tolietry organizer is a must for ensuring that your essential beauty products do not spill all over your suitcase. Ever notice how planes are freezing? Nothing is better than a microbial fleece blanket to help you arrive warm and healthy to your destination! If you're going out of the country for your wedding or honeymoon, don't forget electronic converters, so you can use all your devices without frying them!

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!