How I Tied the Knot: Cocktail Napkins

Previously in the post, Tying the Knot: The Reception Details I shared some of my favorite pictures from our wedding reception. A few of you lovely readers wanted to know a little more about our cocktail napkins.

Weren't they just lovely? Our napkins came from etsy seller Designs By Tine. Unfortunately, Tine no longer makes custom cocktail napkins. Never fear, you can still find custom cocktail napkins on this etsy listing {from a different seller}. We also purchased 300 plum napkins and 150 raspberry napkins from our local party store and intermixed them with the custom napkins. In the end, we had WAY too many napkins for our 150 guests and I am still attempting to use them all to this day. Obviously, the personalized napkins are not a necessity, but they surly were adored by all of our guests.

Don't Be Confined

As I said before, in this post, I was set on having plum and raspberry as the only two colors that appeared throughout our wedding day. If I could go back, would I change it? Perhaps. I probably wouldn't go bright & bold, but I would try not to confine our color scheme to only two colors.
Looking back now, I would love to pick two or three colors and blend them together. The colors in these photos do just that. Delicate shades of strawberry combined with mango, white and a soft green make for a beautiful palette that can be infused into the day through bridesmaid dresses, table decor, paper goods and pretty little details.

So, when choosing the colors that will be present throughout wedding day, don't confine yourself to two or three. Instead pick a few pretty hues that you adore and incorporate all of their various shades into the details of your day!

pretty pictures from chelsea fuss

Poll: The Colored Bridal Shoe

So unless you live under a rock, I feel as though you should have seen the "trend" of the colored wedding shoes. If you haven't, just read my post here. Let's just have a little chat about this "trend," shall we? I am personally a fan, as evidenced in the photo below.

I love my plum shoes more than any other bridal white shoes I found during the process of planning our wedding. They added a splash of color and an adorable detail, in my opinion. But there is a little piece of me that is secretly hoping that I don't look back on the picture above in 40 years and think to myself, "why in the world did I wear colored shoes on my wedding day!?". And then there is the dreaded point in time that I might have to tell my daughter "oh, but that was the trend/style back when we got married. everyone was wearing colored shoes!" after she flips through our wedding photos giggling about what in the world I did/wore on our wedding day.

And so, to go along with yesterdays wonderful post, let's partake in a little poll {located at the top right of the blog}. Have you/did you wear a colored shoe on your wedding day?

1. Love{d} the colored shoes. It's all about the details, baby.
2. Went with white.

3. Colored shoes weren't a trend when I tied the knot

If you would like, leave a little comment about your thoughts on this trend. Do you think it will stick around? Do you think it's overdone? Do people give you odd looks when you tell them that your wedding shoes were not/will not be white {i got those looks all the time}?!

A pretty picture {that you should save in your inspiration folder} by jonathan canalas to end this post.

Pick Your Peeps

Below are just a few of my favorite shoes snatched from photographers blogs over the last few months. Aren't they lovely!? I just can't pick a favorite. Each one is special in it's own little way. I should warn you, all of the shoes below are peep toes. I have a deep deep love for peep toe shoes, as if you didn't already know.

Pretty bows along with the detail of gathered fabric makes these shoes {above} a definite necessity if your wedding contains a hue of deep pink. The yellow shoes {below} just look like they would make your feet happy.

If I could ever pick one pair of shoes to buy {but never wear} and place on a pedestal in my closet to admire, these green louboutins {above} would be it.

What pretty pretty blue shoes {above} with adorable little ankle straps! I had a hard time putting these plum/purple shoes in this post {below}. I wanted to include mine, but I know that you all have already seen them. So I suppose these will have to do.

As if the fuchsia heels weren't beautiful enough, there is an added bonus of some rhinestone bling. Words do not describe my love for the shoes {and the shot of them}, below. I love the color {you could so wear these again}, the peep toe, the broach, the {metallic!!!} heels.....pink: divine light photography, yellow via: the brides cafe , green via: elizabeth anne designs , turquoise: travis hoehne , purple: pen carlson , fuchsia & champagne: bobbi + mike

Seldom

Seldom have I looked at a photographers blog post of a wedding and looooved every single image. Until I saw this post. I literally loved every single image. So much so that I actually watched the slide show of 100 images from the wedding. Never before have I wanted to replace my wedding with someone else's....until now.



And the best part, they had a day after shot...that was phenomenal.

You just have to see the slide show, it holds some of the best images of the day. Go here to see it.

Bright and Bold

It's Monday. Don't we all need a little color & inspiration to get us through the day? I was very much set on having plum and raspberry as the only two colors that appeared throughout our wedding day. However, I have a small place in my heart for the bride that can incorporate various shades and hues of bold and bright colors to create a vibrant and beautiful palette.

tm photography

Doesn't this picture {above} make you think of a summer wedding were the wine is flowing, the dresses are airy and the bride and groom don't have a care in the world? Take me there right about now, please!

p.s. the most amazing save the dates ever are over at penned & pretty today...check them out here.

Blush & Bashful

Normally I don't post about give aways or contests, but I had to make an exception after I received an e-mail from "longtime lurker, first time e-mailer" Emilee at blush and bashful events. In her e-mail, she told me she too is a DG and loved this this picture, of my DG bridesmaids and I. And although she knows I have a loyalty to Stephanie since she was our DOC lifesaver, she asked me to let all of you Chicago brides in on a little special blush and bashful is running: if you book a "Day Chic!" wedding day coordination package with blush and bashful events for the 2009 calendar year before Valentine's Day, you'll get a sweet little bonus. Read all about it here.

And for the pretty picture{s} to accompany this post, these lovely photos are from Pen Carlson, a Chicago wedding photographer.