Wedding Deal of the Day! Stampin' Style with Wedding Paper Divas

Doing it DIY can be the best way to go for budget brides; plus it is tons of fun not only planning but also collecting the pieces to help with you craft creations. One often overlooked goodie is the stamp -- not TOTALLy overlooked just that it can take on more of a down home, cheapish quality if not done right. 

Courtesy of Allyson Murphy

Our advice: Use stamps as an accent for place cards, out of town bags, thank you notes, return address or even on programs. Choose a simple, uncomplicated design -- initials, hearts, birds -- or custom create one with your monogram.

To help you out we have our Wedding Deal of the Day with Wedding Paper Divas -- HOORAY! 
The weekly Wedding Deal of the Day from Wedding Diva is 50% Off their best-selling signature circle design custom stamp. Love it! Wish I had had it!

This sale is only valid for one day only and ends tomorrow at 9:00am PT. Just use the promo code 50DEAL0207 to save 50%. You can also get 25% off all other stamps using the code 25DEAL0207.

Check out their daily deal page for this special offer and make your new life a little easier. 

Oh and P.S. If you haven't even started planning yet, they also have totally chic invitations, save the dates, and all of the good stuff you need for the big day. 

Have a happy day!

{Decor} Creative Wedding Lighting Ideas

With all the big decisions about venues, bridal flowers, and color palettes, wedding lighting may end up on the short end of a long to do list.  An important aspect to completing your overall wedding look, it adds character and personality, helping to create a truly unique and magical feel. Whether an indoor or outdoor wedding, there are many possibilities for imaginative, creative and crafty brides. From string lights to uplights, chinese lanterns to hanging candles, lighting can completely change a setting and create ambiance all on its own; dramatic, rustic, romantic, modern, colorful, or intimate.

Photo via Kaleidoscope Event Lighting

Here are some fabulous lighting ideas, from up on a ladder DIY to a professional job, I hope will get your wedding inspiration juices flowing. To start you off, I absolutely LOVE these hanging lanterns and large string lights. Perfect for a rustic backyard summer wedding!

Photos via Pinterest 

Chinese lanterns are also ideal for tented receptions - easy to string up, they throw off a soft, diffused glow, perfect for capturing those intimate moments.  Up lighting can give off as much or as little color as you want, adding dimension that pops against a white tent top.  I had awesome colored chinese lanterns at my Boston wedding and then up lights for our evening wedding in Brazil. It was these details that wowed our guests more than anything!

Photo via Lighting Ideas 

Photo via The Event Firm 

Photos via Swoonworthy

DIY mason jar tree for an outdoor wedding adds a nice rustic, down home feel. This picture makes me thing of a fairyland!

Photo via Wedding Social Network

Rustic barn weddings are not complete without strings and strings of twinkle lights!

Photo via Tahoe Unveiled

Photo via The Event Firm

Photo via Wedding Social Network

So many options for creative uses of ordinary everyday items that add life and personality to your celebration - ribbons, wineglasses, baskets. 

Photo Via Bridal Musings

Lighting can be dramatic or soft, funky and fun, illuminating or intimate; what ever style you choose, it completes and impacts your overall wedding theme and look. Unique and interesting lighting choices will leave a lasting impression on guests and make for some super cool and memorable photos.

What type of wedding lighting are you using? Are you going funky or traditional, DIY or professional? We'd love to hear your experiences! 

Also, we would totally dig it if you would take a minute to become a FACEBOOK fan and a TWITTER follower! If you already are, COOL, can you recommend us to a friend?

Have a delicious day!

{Real Wedding Round Up} Something Old In Italy Rustic DIY in Australia | Colorific in Mexico

Dang, I have serious wedding envy! This wedding season is simply exploding with some of the most gorgeous, unique, personal celebrations I have seen in a long time. Brides are putting their DIY skills to the test, taking on the vintage, rustic, shabby chic wedding challenge with ease. In today's Real Wedding Round Up, we are going international, Italy, Australia, Mexico, to see what deliciousness brides are conjuring up...I hope these Oh la la, bellisimo and muy bonita Real Weddings provide you with the perfect inspiration for your big day.  On top of that, hello awesome blogs, The Frosted Petticoat, Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes - remember a Round Up is profiling the Best of the Best!

Michelle and Spencer's Italian Wedding

First stop, something very old from The Frosted Petticoat who brings us the vintage, old country wedding of Michelle and Spencer. Complete with an ancient church and 1920's inspired wedding dress, I'm not sure how much more perfect and personal you can get. You have GOT to see her stunning dress.  This intimate celebration was captured by wedding photographer Rosapaola Lucibelli.

For the rest of the story and photo gallery, head over to The Frosted Petticoat and remember to give her some blog love! I seriously LOVE this blog, from its chocolaty whimsy right down to its Unlikely Pairings wedding boards! A must check out!  

Caitlin and Steve, Rustic Wedding in Australia

Pretty perfect pinwheels were the decor of the day at the rustic Australian wedding of Caitlin and Steve, featured over on Green Wedding Shoes. The bride went DIY with Mom and maids in tow adding just the right amount of color, personality and fun! I adore the burlap reception decor, the cheery color choices and flower petal cones for a memorable exit. Their tablescapes were simple, clean and green, with recycled bottles as centerpiece vases, while their branded pinwheel theme can be seen throughout the entire celebration.  You will love all the little details, captured perfectly by wedding photographer Louisa Bailey! 

To see the rest of Caitlin and Steve's adorable wedding details, head over to the gallery at Green Wedding Shoes. BUT not before you peep this last stunning international wedding...you'll be happy you did!

Destination: Sunny Mexico with Elizabeth Lloyd Photography

Bright, bold color choices make this wedding stand out from the rest for me. You take seemingly opposite colors, purple, teal and lime green, add sand, surf and the gorgeous destination wedding location that is Puerto Vallarta and you have the perfect modern, chic, DIY wedding, featured on Style Me Pretty. It's full of small touches paying homage to Mexico, as well as snippets of home. Family and friends were treated to a tropical outdoor ceremony and reception, complete with comfy lounge areas, family style tables draped in luxurious teal silk, and Corona as far as the eye can see! This destination wedding makes you feel as if you have been whisked away on a fabulous Mexican vacation.

I think this last photo is probably my favorite, possibly because I just spent 3 months down in Mexico and Central America and this image is so iconic and familiar! For more of the story around this visually pleasing, swoon worthy wedding captured by Kiersten Rowland of Elizabeth LLoyd Photography, head over to Style Me Pretty.  BUT FIRST...

What are your wedding suggestions for our next Real Wedding Round Up? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think. These may be pretty hard to beat but with the creative crop of brides out there, I am sure something equally stunning is right around the corner.

May you always be inspired,

 PS: Would you please take a minute to LIKE our FACEBOOK page and FOLLOW us on TWITTER? You really don't want to miss out on the rest of the great stuff we have to offer you!

{Guest Post} Planning a Unique Vintage Wedding

Art Deco Gal’s Guide to Planning Your Unique Vintage Wedding 

Once upon a time, the ‘something old’ in that familiar wedding adage may have meant an inherited brooch sparkling on a shoe teamed up with a brand spanking new, budget-busting, blingtastic dress. More recently, a global trend has taken place with more stylish brides choosing to reject the shiny new and instead rediscover the charms of the past with a full-blown Vintage wedding theme. Vintage, it would seem, has become the new black, evoking the beauty and glamour of days gone by.

Photo by Simon Clubb

For me, styles of yesteryear offer a timeless elegance that some modern weddings would find hard to beat, so I decided to go vintage and opt out of a big fat white wedding.  I also felt hypocritical going traditional with my wedding; the virginal white dress, a veil covered face just weren’t me. Once we meet “the one”, are we suddenly expected to change our personalities and care about a big expensive ring, an even bigger white dress and spend a fortune because it’s our ‘big day’? 

Well, it would seem that we sistas are increasingly doing it for ourselves and turning towards alternatives – vintage weddings, arty, thrifty, personalized affairs,  DIY weddings, or a small service somewhere obscure, all seem to be exploding back into fashion. And going vintage could range anywhere from Rockabilly 50's to the Roaring 20's, Art Nouveau to Art Deco and everything in between!

Photo via One Wed

Whilst researching for my wedding, I did find myself combing through far too many cute, froufrou sites urging brides to spend the equivalent of a mortgage that seemed to dominate the wedding blogosphere. Thankfully, vintage wedding blogs are now appearing in droves, offering women a real alternative to the traditional budget busting white wedding. This can only be a positive move away from the traditional glossy magazine shoots, with the perfect decorations and reception, piling even more pressure on the bride. 

Here are some top tips for organizing your own budget vintage wedding that I discovered while planning my own celebration! Imperfections and all.

• Decide on a general theme and colours: Art Deco focuses on bold colours, strong outlines and geometric designs for example. This lends itself well to a striking motif for a wedding. The Fifties/Rockabilly styles call for lovely bright candy cane colours and cherry reds.

I love the Rockabilly boldness, the red pops and the hairstyles ROCK!

Photo via Sad Man's Tongue Rockabilly Bar & Bistro

• Pick your Location: Try to find a building from your time period, as it will act as a perfect backdrop for your wedding/reception. You could start by researching historical cinemas, cafes, restaurants, hotels or bars. It doesn’t have to be an expensive hotel or castle; sometimes there are little gems right under your nose! The right place will most likely still have internal architectural details from the period including designs on the walls and floors.

Union Train Station in Santa Monica, CA 

Photos via Ruffled Blog

• Design your Wedding Stationery: The wedding invitation sets the tone for your celebration, so you want it to be overtly linked to your vintage theme to prepare guests for the style of the actual event. You could select a simple invitation portraying signature designs of the era, or a single image of a person or people dressed glamorously in the clothes of the time.

A perfect example of classic an Art Nouveau wedding invitation suite.

Photo via Invitation Crush

• Be creative with decor- For my Art Deco wedding, I opted for a few relatively cheap decorations such as peacock feathers, mirrored vases, faux pearls, calla lilies, vintage handheld fans, paper parasols, old photographs of past family weddings in black and white supermarket frames and some retro champagne posters to name the tables, printed and laminated myself. Try vintage postcards or luggage labels as name tags.

Photo via WeddingBee

• Make a statement with your wedding cake: Use the cake to reflect your theme in an unmistakeable way. To save money, I would avoid going to an official wedding cake shop and go it alone;  t can be so much fun! You could simply buy or bake some lovely cupcakes and then add a fabulous unique topper.  My husband and I love cheese and opted for a black and white tiered wedding cake made entirely of fine cheeses from Somerset in England. We decorated it with peacock feathers and pearls and it was a real talking point, costing a fraction of the price of other cakes that had we had seen. Also look for period textiles or unique patterns of the times when choosing cake decoration.

An Art Deco Cheese Wedding Cake - classic!

Photo via Art Deco Gal

• Dress up! For a 20s style, look for drop waist wedding gowns with vibrant patterns or geometric designs. Designs can be sleeveless, have capped sleeves or long sleeves narrowing to the wrist for a slim fit. For that 30s look, at the end of the art deco period – women’s dresses were a bit more figure hugging, with a narrower waist but wider sleeves.

If your man wants to get into the spirit, he can wear a double-breasted suit with suspenders underneath! Also, a hat of some description is a must. If going for a 1950s style wedding, which is very popular – wear a short wedding dress (much cheaper too ☺) and groovy bright shoes – the possibilities are endless and your unique style can really shine through. Head pieces were very popular in the past, so go with a bird-cage veil, flowers in your hair or peacock feathers- a nice alternative to a princess tiara.  

Itching to get started? Why not create a wedding mood board? They can be a super useful thing to send to florists, photographers, the bridal party and you can make your own online at the Dessy Group website or on Pinterest. This is after all, your wedding, and not a fancy dress party. Make sure to include little touches that only you and your partner hold dear for this is what will make your special day unique. 

When planning our wedding, we decided to make it all about us, incorporating some old and new traditions that fit our Celtic heritage but also embraced my love of Art Deco. I wore a gold satin dress and a peacock feather headpiece. We drank whisky out of a Quaich during the ceremony and had a cake made entirely out of cheese. We served up bacon rolls at the evening Ceilidh dance, where the men looked great in kilts. I did not agree to obey my husband, we didn’t have traditional pretty candy favours – instead we donated money to a cancer charity. No top table; just lots of small, round, sociable tables. A small rebellion, but it was our rebellion nonetheless.

Photo via Art Deco Gal

My final thoughts; when planning your vintage wedding - stay true to your ideals, don’t worry about mixing elements of the past with modern things you love. Just remember your strength as an individual, your love as a couple and your priorities; it is your life and your choice after all.

Happy Planning!

Art Deco Gal

PS. You can find out more about Art Deco Gal on our Guest Blogger page. Also remember to Like us on FACEBOOK and follow us on TWITTER for all the latest good stuff!

{Real International Wedding} A Rustic Italian Wedding with a Little Glam

Hello de Lovlies! Well it is about time we got off our keesters over here and brought you the good stuff...yeah some more awesome Real Wedding eye candy. Since we focus on multicultural and international weddings, you know this has to be a good one; full of color, romance, in some far flung exotic destination....well ok, Italy, not so far flung but still totally awesome! We found this little gem over at Boho Weddings, sent to them by photographers Bayly and Moore and we send a heap of thanks for letting us show off this wedding deliciousness.

This is a story of a boy and a girl in love, a gorgeous wedding location, and simple yet stunning style that sets us all a-flutter. You have to see it to believe it! I know this wedding has made the blog rounds but I can't not share the important wedding message it inspires: When you allow your personality and passion to dictate your path, wedding magic will happen. 

This super cute couple is Graziano and Jenny and they were married on the 23rd of July 2011 in Italy with 80 guests in attendance. The two met while working in Rome and took a year to plan their very traditional Italian wedding. They describe it as ‘A day full of emotion and laughter. It was the wedding we wanted!’

The centerpiece of this celebration was naturally the breathtaking location, the beautiful region of Veneto, rich in Renaissance and Palladian villas and clearly the perfect choice.  But first prize really has to go to Jenny's daring dress choice, Valentino, dotted with tiny flower appliques and cinched with a black bow.  Add those spectacular shoes (you know I love shoes) and you've got Best In Show! 

The wedding details were simple: black and white to mirror the dress. Jenny's baby's breath bouquet was light and delicate, a perfect match for their simple, traditional, and elegant approach. Graziano was dapper in his black Prada suit.

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I love the fact Jenny and Graziano stayed true to Italian tradition when choosing a location . The festivites were held in Jenny's home town where her father walked her through the streets on the way to the ceremony. It helped that the region is also rich in history and culture, filled with classic architecture and breathtaking vistas. 

The reception was simple and elegant with black and white decorations and simple white hydrangeas as centerpieces and venue decorations. They served traditional Italian fare; pasta, seafood and meat with vegetables and a lovely three tiered cake for dessert.

Planning Advice from the Newlyweds:
"Don’t believe people when they tell you that 'details are not so important', because that day you won’t notice anything. You’ll notice everything but you just won’t care You can't change them and you will be too tired and excited. But take care of details anyway." Jenny

Vendors:

Photographers: Bayly&Moore www.baylymoore.com
Venues: www.villazasso.it
Dress: http://valentino.com
Suit:  www.prada.com

Congratulations to Jenny and Graziano on their stylish, personality filled wedding celebration. We wish you wealth, health and happiness in the years to come! Thanks for letting us share your special day and for reminder us of the importance of planning with passion. And Jenny, can you tell us WHERE you bought that dress? We are having a swoon-athon over here.

What is one aspect of your personality that will definitely be included in your wedding? Leave us a comment below. If you like this and all our other ideas, come over to FACEBOOK and Like us there too!

Make it a de Lovely day,