Life. Love. Lipstick.

Ok, I’m a known hater of all things purple, but it was used in such a wonderful way in this wedding.  Dare I say, I think the purple could be one of my favorite accents to black and white now?!?

This bride’s adorable look, paired with the gorgeous reception details makes for an amazing wedding!  The photography was by Melissa Jill, and I especially love the reception detail shots.

You can see Melissa Jill’s entire post about this wedding on her blog.

I am endlessly amazed by the projects that the Bees complete for their weddings.  Here are the latest two projects to impress me.

First is fortune cookie Save-the-Dates by Miss Dumpling.  Much of the reception is paying tribute to Miss Dumpling’s Southern roots, and as Mr. Dumpling is half-Chinese, the couple saw it fit to honor his roots as well.  I absolutely love the significance and the presentation!  

Be sure to check out the full post for project details and more photos.

The other awesome project is CD favors by Miss Pomegranate.  Now, I realize that CD favors aren’t exactly a fresh idea.  However, the attention to detail and awesome design of this CD warrants a little recognition for sure!

You’ll definitely want to read this full post as well!

I love, love weddings that are relaxed, fun, and unique.  So naturally I love the idea of providing fun for kids from 1 to 92!  It is becoming more and more common for a wedding to have a designated kid are, whether it’s a table or an entire room.

I say why not take it a bit further…Pinatas, hula hoops, bounce houses!  Just a few pieces of inspiration…

The idea for this post came from this photo by Katie Moos.  I love the pretty castle bounce house and the huge balls!  How fun would it be to arrive at this wedding and see this lawn packed with fun?!

And further searching led me to roughly 70 cajillion photos of bounce houses at weddings.  Needless to say, this is becoming quite a trend.

[The bottom 2 photos are from the Wiebners and Melenbacker Photography. I'm honestly not sure where I got the first one.]

Bounce houses aren’t the only unconventional wedding activity I found around the web.  Here are a few other things I loved.

Hula hoops…

Pinatas…

Karaoke…

And even hopscotch…

Some wedding guests probably wouldn’t be interested in bouncing around or shimmying around in a hula hoop.  However, having these carefree activities around those people would spread the energy.  It would really put people in a festive mood!

So, I can’t help it… I have to do this.  I have to give my company some props!  I work for WH|BM, and right now is a great time to go in for wedding items!  Whether you are looking for a wedding dress, rehearsal dress, jewelry, or just need some inspiration, you should really stop in.

Here are just a few things that I’ve seen that would be perfect for weddings.

Outfits for a rehearsal dinner or other pre-wedding parties:

The LeJardin dress, paired with the reversible croc belt.

The Houndstooth Silk dress (that has pockets.  love a dress with pockets!)

Strapless Silk Blossom dress (one of my personal faves)

Two-Tone dress – absolutely perfect in person!  so so cute.

Accessories for the bride or bridesmaids (would also make good BM gifts):

The Midnight Melange bracelet.. words can not describe how gorgeous and sparkly this is in person.  Such a dramatic piece… I’m considering it for my own wedding, even though i don’t have a date or a dress.

The Sultry Breeze evening bag

Hand-tied glass pearl necklace

Absolutely gorgeous Atelier brooches.  I would love to have this on my bouquet, in my hair, or on a sash.

And on a related note, you can host a Girls’ Night Out party at a White House | Black Market store.  You can invite 10 guests to join you in discounted merchandise and refreshments.  This is a great idea for bachelorette parties or an alternative to a bridal luncheon.  Ask a WH|BM near you for all the details.

If you live in the Orlando area, please stop by the store at Mall at Millenia and see me!  I’ll give you a discount if you mention you read it on my blog!

Wow.  What can I say about this wedding?  Seersucker suits, eyelet dresses…. It is so full of personality and even though I don’t know the couple, I can tell their wedding design totally reflects them.  

yet another stunning job by the geniuses at Our Labor of Love.

go check out the rest of the post.  You’ll be sooo glad you did!

So, we (I) changed our (my) minds again about a small wedding vs. an elopement.  

We have decided that we (I) may regret not having the whole celebration if we don’t have it.

I’m very excited about this, and eager to put down a couple of deposits so that I don’t change my mind again!  Um, I mean, so we don’t change our minds!

As for the details, we don’t really have any yet… spring or summer ‘09, 60 guests, lots of budget and DIY things going on!  Stay tuned!

I ran across this lovely wedding on one of my favorite blogs, snippet & ink. This is definitely my kind of wedding!  Simple, modern, and lots of GREEN!  I love the non-bridesmaid dresses, the spider mums, and the bride’s look.  

This wedding was shot by Lisa Lefkowitz, and I’m telling you now, if you haven’t seen her work, you’re missing out.  Check her out.

I have always loved the idea of a city hall wedding.  I love weddings that focus on what is important, the ceremony itself.  That’s what you’re there for after all, right?  to get married?

This city hall wedding, held at the famously gorgeous San Francisco City Hall, keeps things simple…. and simply beautiful.  Photographed by Ben Chrisman, the wedding photos truly have the elusive factor we all want from our photos – TIMELESSNESS.

and my favorite shot of all…

See what I mean?!  The bride’s classic, vintage-esque style is amazing.  I really love this wedding, and these shots kind of embody what we are doing for our own wedding.

Visit Ben Chrisman’s blog!

The always awesome photographer Justine Ungaro is planning what is going to be a really amazing wedding.  I read her wedding blog religiously, and was so happy to find yesterday that she finally graced the web with a new post.  She posted her completed Save-the-Dates, and they are so cool.  

If you suggested to me that I make t-shirts as part of my STDs, I would have thought you were nuts.  I would have thought, “who would want to wear a t-shirt with our names and wedding date emblazoned on it?”  But this shirt, fashioned after the famous CBGB shirt, is something I think people will actually wear!  I love it!

Okay, so I have to admit, I got sick of seeing damask.  Since making an inspiration board featuring damask when I first started my blog, I’ve noticed the pattern popping up on every wedding planning blog and website there is.

Then this beautiful wedding came across my feeder.  Black and white damask was used sparingly, mixed with other patterns and bold lime and turquoise.

LOVE IT!

Photos by Jon Koch, as posted by Southern Weddings.