Inspiration #156- Purple and Gray City Inspired Wedding

The girl who contacted me to make this board is actually a friend of the bride, how nice of her to help her out!  The bride wants to use a range of purples and a gray color palette.  She loves the architecture of her city (Pittsburgh) and wants to incorporate elements of that into her wedding.  Using the skyline on your paper products is a nice way to do that, and a wedding map is a fun touch as well.  Also, that bridge looks like an awesome place to get some great wedding portraits!

sources:  Architette on Etsy, Randi Voss Photography, Elizabeth Anne Designs (2),  

Gresham Photography,  Tec Petaja Photography, The Knot, Glamour, LaBelle Bride

Monday Funday #9- Fly Away With Me...

How much fun is this board? I was inspired by this really great hot air balloon dessert table I spotted on The Sweetest Occasion and the hot air balloon honeymoon pictures from Jose Villa.  I just knew I had to make a board filled with great hot air balloon elements.

sources:  Jose Villa, Etsy, Green Wedding Shoes, The Loveliest Day, Style Me Pretty, Mint Design, The Sweetest Occasion

Details I Love...

this really fun wine bottle seating chart!

Adrienne Gunde Photography

Inspiration #155- Bright Aqua and Yellow Backyard Wedding

This is my absolute favorite color palette!  When I get married aqua and yellow will definitely be involved in the color scheme.  The different shaped aqua vases are lovely for a centerpiece and I really adore the idea of the groom wearing a plaid shirt.

sources:  Wedding Chicks, Project Wedding, Edison Photography, Once Wed, Green Wedding Shoes

*Don't forget to enter the contest!  Tomorrow is the last day to enter, the winner will be announced on Tuesday so remember to check back to see if you've won!!!

Inspiration #154- Lovely Pastels

This was another requested palette from the contest (I'm slowly working through them along with the requested boards)!  Someone suggested a palette of greens, pinks and butter yellow so I went with pastels.  I especially love the colorful petal cones and the silhouette paper suite.  

sources:  Southern Weddings Magazine (2, 3, 4, 5), Belle Viver, Style Me Pretty (2)

Favorite Photo Friday #19- Love Letters

Happy Friday!  I love beach pictures in the winter, especially since NJ is covered in snow!  It's such a cute idea to bring some letters to your engagement shoot to spell out things like love, thank you, a favorite phrase or even your initials.

One Love Photography

 

 

*Don't forget to enter the contest!

Inspiration #153- Pretty Outdoor Hydrangea Wedding

Vintage bicycles and hydrangeas are a few elements the bride who requested this board wanted to add to her summer wedding.  She also wants to use a color palette of shades of purple and light greens, which is a great palette for an outdoor summer (or spring) wedding!  Her fiance is a competitive cyclist so the bicycles are a really nice way to incorporate her husband-to-be, I especially love the chalkboard seating chart with the hand drawn bike at the top.

sources:  Elizabeth Anne Designs, Flickr, The Knot (2), Bride on a Budget, Aisle Style, Snippet & Ink

Theme Thursday #25- Glittery Glam!

Oh what fun glitter is!  And its really easy to add to your wedding day look as well as your decor.  I adore the glittery table number (which would be an easy DIY project) and of course the ultra glamorous glittery gold bolero.  The soft pink skirt of the bridal gown is really sweet too.  So here is a gold, ivory and soft pink board for you today!

sources:  Southern Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Martha Stewart Weddings (2), Jen Vandervecht Photography, Zinke Design, Etsy, Wedding Bee, Project Wedding

Inspiration #152- Sunset in Savannah

A nice color palette for a sunset wedding!  A fellow blogger requested this board for her upcoming wedding.  She wanted an aubergine and burnt orange inspiration board to compliment her "secret garden at sunset" theme, this is what I came up with!

sources:  Bohemia Jewellery on Etsy, Wedding Unveiled, Martha Stewart Weddings, Get Married, Jessica Frey Photography, Shannon Lee Images, The Knot (2)

Alternative Wednesdays #12- Farmer's Market Wedding Favors

I have a fun and eco-friendly favor idea for you today!  Edible favors are definitely a hot trend but why not go with some local produce?  It's affordable, easy to DIY, good for the environment and supports your local economy... plus it gives out of town guests a taste of your hometown.  And if local produce isn't available (which is possible for cold weather states in the winter months) you could always go with locally made jam or honey.  I think the last example I posted is really cute, a small jar of honey and some homemade or locally made granola!  Also loving the third option where they offered strawberries, locally baked bread and fresh cut flowers with a handmade tote to carry them all in!

Wedding Resource

Green Wedding Shoes

Black Eiffel

Botanica Floral Designs

Tailored Engagements

Smart Bride

Inspiration #151- Classy Black, Silver and Pink Wedding

I am having a lot of fun creating the boards for the color palettes suggested in the contest comments!  This is a great classic color combo, I decided to stick to mainly black and silver details with a few pops of pale pink mixed in.  The cake and the brides accessories are my favorite details on this board.

sources:  Style Me Pretty (2), Evantine Design, Southern Weddings Magazine, Jose Villa Photography, Elizabeth Anne Design

Inspiration #150- A Small DIY Backyard Wedding

I love it when brides request boards for two different color palettes that they are deciding between!  The bride who requested these boards is having a small backyard wedding that she plans on having a romantic and artsy feel with DIY details.  The two color sets she was deciding between were a more vintage pastel yellow, green and robin's egg palette or an artsy lemon, cherry red and turquoise combination.  I truly love both of these boards and the fun elements they contain, I would have a hard time picking between the two!

Pastel Sources:  Dana Grant Photography, Wedding Chicks, 100 Layer Cake, Apartment Therapy, Green Wedding Shoes (2), One Love Photography

Artsy Sources:  Green Wedding Shoes (2, 3), Once Wed, 100 Layer Cake, Ruffled, K Holly Studios, Martha Stewart Weddings (2)

Inspiration #149- A Very Round Board

This color combo is another one that was suggested in the contest entries.  I decided to have a little fun with it and incorporate a circle 'theme' along with the orange, aqua and blue color palette!

sources:  Style Me Pretty (2), The Knot, Hitched Weddings + Events, Wedding Wire, Momentville, Ruffled, Etsy

Monday Funday #8- Starry, Starry Night

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!  Today I have a board for a bride who is trying to combine her fiance's likes with hers.... he's into space and science fiction while she is into art and retro things.  She wants her wedding to be classy, unique and a bit DIY and was thinking of going with an artsy star theme.  So I took her ideas and came up with this board, inspired by Starry, Starry Night by van Gogh.  I used a blue and yellow color scheme but you could definitely add different shades of blue and green in as well.

sources:  West Aussie Weddings, Paloma's Nest on Etsy, Ashita on Etsy, DIY Union, Wedding Wire, Southern Weddings Magazine,  Ritzy Bee

PS- Don't forget to enter the contest... one week left!

Inspiration #148- Neutral Winter Wedding

I have a lovely neutral (a big request from the contest!) wedding board for you today.  The suggested color palette was cream, gray and a touch of rust which I thought would be lovely for a winter wedding.  Of course, this palette could work anytime of the year, that's the beauty of neutrals!

sources:  A Stylish Design, Calla Evans Photography via Little Winter Bride, Ritzy Bee (2, 3), Style Me Pretty, The Plunge Project

Budget Saving Tip #1- Beautiful + Affordable Wedding Dresses

This is going to be a new feature on Inspiring Brides!  Every Saturday I am going to post a budget saving tip, from DIY projects to affordable wedding attire and probably a bunch of other ideas!  First up is wedding dresses which usually cost over $1,000 and it just goes up from there.  All of the dresses below are under $850, some are under $200!  All of the links below the dresses will bring you to where you can purchase them (all at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales or Neiman Marcus).

Tadashi Shoji Organza-Bottom Silk Ball Gown

Dalia MacPhee Taffeta Mermaid Gown

Nicole Miller Beaded Drop Waist Gown

Sue Wong Chiffon and Organza Sheath Dress

Adrianna Papell Beaded Neck Gown

Tadashi Shoji One-Shoulder Silk Gown

Adrianna Papell One Shoulder Rosette Dress

Favorite Photo Friday #18- Stripes!

Happy Friday everyone!  I love this bride's style, super cute!  Check out the rest of this amazing wedding on You Can't Be Serious Photography's blog, and the rest of their blog.  They are photographers in Australia and they have lots of amazing, inspiring weddings.

Inspiration #147- Lovely Jewel Tones

Here's a bright and fun board for Friday!  Another color suggestion from the contest was bold jewel tones, I went with a deep amethyst and a bright sapphire for this board and it sure is lovely.  I am extremely inspired by brides wearing fun, bright boleros, sweaters and jackets.  It's another great way to add a pop of your wedding colors to your outfit.

Sources:  Wedding Chicks, Paris Parfait, Wedding Wire, Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever,  

Monica Z Photography,  Weddings Unveiled, Things Festive, I Do Inspiration, Inspired By This

Theme Thursday #24- Storybook Wedding

Ok, this board is totally awesome.  A book theme wedding with a blue color palette that is unique, fun and a little bit vintage.  This was a requested board, the bride asked for a range of blues with a book theme and I think I totally pulled that off!  My favorite details (well, they are all my favorite, but my top favorite) are the escort cards held in the library card catalog, the "This is How Our Story Begins" sign and the ring bearer book, instead of a pillow!  I also love, love, love the book page vase.

sources:  Green Wedding Shoes (x2), Spoonfulofchocolate on Etsy, Once Wed, Daily-Craft, Snippet and Ink, Oh Lovely Day

Inspiration #147- Lovely Teal and Bronze

Wow, I LOVE this board.  I think if you read through my blog you will notice my obsession with everything teal and turquoise, so that's probably why.  Bronze is a nice warm compliment to the cool teal, this would be an excellent color palette for a fall or winter wedding!

PS:  I love the bride's style in the bottom left corner!

sources:  Bride, Frames & Bouquet, Groom & Pearl Candy, Bridesmaids, Cookies, Invites,  Shoes, Candy

Inspiration #146- Eco-Friendly Raspberry Wedding

Eco-friendly weddings are becoming increasingly popular, which is awesome! The bride who requested this board wants to have an organic, eco-friendly wedding with an raspberry and cucumber color palette. Since one of her colors is "cucumber" I thought it would be a fun, eco-friendly favor to give cucumber and dill seeds so their guests could grow and make their own pickles which I saw on Green Wedding Shoes. I think using a chalkboard for the wedding program (as well as menu and seating chart) is also a great eco-friendly touch. She also plans on including lawn games, lemonade and a parade to reception in her wedding, which are all fun touches!

sources: Green Wedding Shoes (2, 3), This Next, The Knot, Wedding Inspirasi, Brides, Recycled Bride, Once Wed

Inspiration #145- Chocolate and Gold

This color palette was one of the ones suggested in the contest entries. I love the rich combination of gold (proving to be a VERY popular color this year judging from the requests I'm getting) and chocolate with a hint of soft cameo pink.

sources: Green Wedding Shoes, The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings (2), Style Me Pretty (2, 3)

Inspiration #144- Southern Hydrangea Wedding

Here's a new requested board for you today! This board incorporates purple and blue hydrangeas as well as dogwood blossoms. The bride who requested this board wanted her wedding to have a simple, elegant Southern charm.

sources: Wedding Blossoms, Elizabeth Anne Design, Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty,
The Knot (x2), Project Wedding, Green Wedding Shoes, Flickr, Wedding Chicks

Monday Funday #7- Mojito Inspired

This is definitely a fun theme! A mojito inspired wedding, with mint boutonnieres, mint centerpieces, mint seeds as escort cards, mojito flavored cupcakes, and of course... mojitos!

sources: Good Food, Bits of Carey, Green Wedding Shoes (x2), Anna Kern, Once Wed, Magnet Street, Project Wedding

Inspiration #143- Modern Gold and Spring Green

Metallics are a hot wedding trend for 2011 so I thought for one of my guest posts I'd do a metallic inspired board! I think gold looks pretty next to a light spring green, and this is a unique palette I haven't seen done yet!

sources: Caroline Ellen, My Personal Artist, Style Me Pretty, Faye and Greer, The Knot,
Martha Stewart Weddings, Snippet & Ink, SD Wedding Style, Discount Bridesmaids Dresses, Joliette

Inspiration #142- DIY Coral and Yellow

This is one of my guest blogging boards. There are a lot of cool DIY elements on this board :)
I've received a lot of great ideas for boards in the contest entries so look out for those coming up in the next few weeks! The color palette for this board is coral, yellow and craft paper.

sources: Style Me Pretty (x2), Elizabeth Anne Designs, Etsy, Martha Stewart Weddings (x2, x3, x4)

Inspiration #141- Winter Wonderland Fun

I was contacted by a slightly confused/overwhelmed bride for an inspiration board. She had a lot of ideas on what she and her fiance liked but not a clear vision for her wedding. So I came up with a board focusing on some of the elements she wanted to incorporate including Christmas, winter wonderland, red and purple. She also mentioned that she liked urban settings like factories and old buildings and I think that this bright palette would really pop in a venue like that. Plus, purple is a fun twist to add into a Christmas-y wedding, especially one taking place in Texas!

sources: Becca Dilley, Style Me Pretty (x2, x3), Green Wedding Shoes (x2)

Valentine's Day Contest!

In honor of fast approaching Valentine's Day I am going to hold a contest for my readers! The winner will have a choice of one of the three prizes pictured below which are all from Etsy and include: a custom ring bowl by Paloma's Nest, a personalized wedding tree print by fancyprints or a custom pillow with a tree and heart design that includes your names made by cozyblue. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out how to enter!

The bowls come in assorted styles and are customized how you like!

The color of the birds is customizable, there is also the option of having owls!

This would be so cute in your new home!

how to enter:

1. leave a comment on this post telling me how you are going to spend Valentine's Day this year. 2. earn another entry by leaving a comment telling me what color palettes you would like to see.
3. earn another entry by mentioning my contest on your blog, come leave a comment with a link to the post. If you add me to your blog roll tell me in your comment and earn another entry. If you link to one of my boards or re-post one of my boards (with proper credit of course) on your blog, leave me another comment with a link to the post to earn another entry.
4. earn another entry by looking through my past boards and commenting on your favorite one, tell me why its your favorite in your comment on that board.

So you can earn SIX entries! The contest ends January 31st so hurry up and get entering!! Also the winner will be announced January 31st and will be drawn at random, make sure to stop back and see if you won!

Inspiration # 140- Romantic and Soft Pink Wedding

Oh this board is so PRETTY! This was a requested board, the bride who requested it asked for a pale pink, pearl white and silver board that was very romantic and incorporated small touches of butterflies. What do you think?

sources: Boutonniere, Bridesmaids, Shoes, Paper Butterfly, Bride, Chair Decor, Cake, Earrings, Flowergirls

New Wedding Boutique!

Hi Brides-to-be! I wanted to share with you a new wedding accessory and decor boutique that was brought to my attention by the creators. The ladies behind Le Chic Wedding Consulting have created Le Chic Boutique (click the name to go directly to their shop!). They were inspired by the unique accessories and wedding decor that they came across while planning weddings. Their shop has accessories for the bride and groom as well as wedding ceremony and reception decor, so be sure to check it out!

Inspiration #138 & #139- Which Will They Choose?

I am getting back into making requested boards again! The bride who requested these boards is deciding between two very different themes. The first is a vintage sand and star theme. For this board I went with a aqua, teal, midnight blue, sand and gold color palette. I really, really like the way this board turned out! The second theme is Rasta. Which is totally cool and definitely fun! I went with the Rasta color scheme of red, yellow and green. I think it would be awesome to have a Rasta band at the reception too.

sources for the Rasta board: Jamaicans, Flickr (*2), Nandyala, De leukste Taarten, Green Wedding Shoes,
Firefly Cargo Bay, Must Love Weddings, Garden Party Sisters
sources for the Sand & Stars board: Sidney Chang Photography, Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty,
The Wedding Decorator, Ruffled, Delovely Affairs, Martha Stewart Weddings

Inspiration #137- Modern Gray and Purple

I feel like I tend to do a lot of rustic an fun boards so I wanted to do something more modern and urban. The cake in this board is really cool and different, and I like that it mimics the brides bouquet. I like the idea of the bridesmaids and groomsmen having purple flowers and all the other flowers are white giving the reception a clean, crisp feel.

sources: United with Love, Vera Wang, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding, The Knot, Style Me Pretty (x2, x3)

Inspiration #136- Transitioning to Spring

This was my other guest blogger post! I think this color combo would be great for a wedding in ealy spring, the combination of the darker teal and robin's egg is not too bright for late winter but also not too dark for spring. This also includes a J. Crew wedding dress and I think all white or ivory flowers would go the best with this color palette!

sources: Manolo for the Brides, Southern Weddings, The Green Vase, Flights of Fancy, Hitched, Brides, Momental Designs, J. Crew