"Handmade Paper Goodness".

I agree! Check out Inky Livie. Definitely a new bookmark for me ;). I particularly lover her work on these invites...

Sparkle Much?!

I am in love with the thought of sparklers for wedding guest and for pictures after the ceremony. I found this wonderful online store, Sparkle seems to give a great deals and free shipping (big plus), and I wanted to share. In this case I feel its the small touches that make the wedding special and memorable for your guests.

In My Purple Year...

I couldnt tell you why but I in a purple faze. I go shoping, I buy flowers for the house- Purple. I am very ok with this obsession, and even though it isnt my colors for my wedding I thought I would share with the world :c). U like?

(Image from Elizabeth Anne Designs by elizabeth)

xoxo Elle

Kinda Crazy About....

Jennifer Behr. Ladies, if you are looking for a veil alternative, I would highly suggest these beautiful headpieces. Here are some of my favorites, and it is something I am absolutely looking into. Plus, I figure I could always wear it again. Enjoy.




xoxo Elle.

Laura Hooper...

Is a must have for every wedding. She does custom maps for the cities (or countries) you want to have your wedding in. Everything about Laura Hooper screams custom and unique. I love this idea for myself because I plan on offering explanations to all the landmarks in the city where we are getting married so they can know the important places that will be involved in our wedding week. This is really special if you have friends coming in from out of town, and also if you are having multiple venues throughout your special week/weekend.

DIY Save-the-date

Elle and Mr. Elle have secured a date for their wedding! YAY!

Aaaaaaaand their reward is sifting through thousands of different (sometimes cheesy) save-the-date templates and trying to find something original to send out to their family and friends. Congrats, you guys!

Anyway, I found these DIY ideas while scouring the internet today, and I think they're cute and fun and, most importantly, different and creative. Oh, and cheap!

The first idea I came across was to make your own calendar page using a word-processing program (or printing out a template from marthastewartweddings.com...), which you then fold up, stamp, and send to your guests.


Circle your date, fold it up, slap a sticker on there to close it and BAM. DONE. You could play around with colors and fonts and really make it interesting.

I also found the image below on marthastewartweddings.com and I think all three of the ideas are pretty adorable for a destination wedding. The ones with the little maps on the front and the postcard with the state might not be completely DIY, but they're fun for a destination wedding and I think would get guests excited about traveling.



The paper airplane is my favorite (in a blue air-mail envelope, of course), and they used a custom-made rubber stamp to put the details on the back. I particularly like all of the postcard save-the-dates that I've seen because they save you the trouble of having to stuff envelopes AND they save paper. Super.

This last idea was found on elizabethannedesigns and is far and away my favorite












You can order postcards online (I found ones on zazzle and cafepress that were city specific) and then use a custom rubber stamp (check Simon's Rubber Stamps) to stamp the details on the back.

bisous,
Ali

Getting Body Ready for the Wedding

Hey Everyone,

Elle asked me to start doing weekly updates on nutrition, diet, exercise and most importantly looking the part before the big day. As all my friends know, I am very health oriented. My dad who is a doctor and mom a nurse installed crazy ideals onto my world... So needless to say, I was surrounded by health fanatics 24/7. I have already provided Elle with a 8 month countdown to get her all ready and beautiful. Every woman out there always has issues with her body. Even the most confident women have their "ugly" days. I am going to start giving tips on how to try to incorporate healthy foods and exercises into your daily routine. I'm not talking 5 hours a day of exercise, I'm talking about finding the time in your busy schedule for yourself. Our health is the one thing we need to be selfish about. Obesity in America has risen to all time heights and by finding ways to better your lifestyle, you are helping to fight such a wide spread disease. Anyways, throughout the week I will start to introduce you to my daily routines, other women's and Elle's!! I want to really press the point of this being a healthy way of gaining a better lifestyle and most importantly feeling and looking how you feel.



Peace and Hugs,

Ryan :)

Original and Delicious!

Maybe not these colors... BUT when I saw these works of art from Patti-Kakes.
They screamed centerpieces to me.

(from Cupcakes Take The Cake by Rachel)

A Million Words...

For one photo... my new favorite Phoenix photographer is Jeniffer Bowen, LOVE her talent and she is number one so far in my photographer search!

The Veil.

I do not see the rhyme or reason behind buying the $400 veil they put on you in your bridal shop while you are dress shopping. I say you do a little research and get a fab deal (while also allowing you to splurge on dress and not entering "bridal gown remorse"). I found these wonder veils on etsy.com, from a designer names Bella Bridal Veils and I am sold. I really suggest stopping by her sight before you make your potential pricey purchase!

I have a problem.

I have a disease, and the only cure is more inspiration boards.

I spent a nice chunk of the afternoon last Thursday browsing wedding sites, looking at things for Elle's wedding. And that slowly but surely devolved into looking at things for my own, completely imaginary wedding. After half an hour debating the subtle differences between Air Force Blue and Marine Blue (PotentialHusband wants to be a pilot but is not definite on which service), and hoping Navy White never has to enter the equation I realized just how crazy I am and gave it a rest.

For about an hour. Then I started talking to my bestie J (who happens to live in the same city as Elle, btw) about what she wanted for HER completely imaginary wedding and we had such lovely ideas I had to do something about them. So below is an inspiration board dedicated to her. Things we know for sure about her wedding:

It will definitely be outdoors, most likely in the summer, and pink will for sure be a color. She is a pink, summer, outdoor bride through and through.

It will probably also be more on the formal side, but also fun. I'm calling it lighthearted formal. I'm thinking evening ceremony, cocktail hour on some beautiful lawn (perhaps with badminton and croquet?), and then into the tent for a candle and lantern lit dinner at sunset. With dancing under the stars. And lots of champagne.

Details Details Details

Ali here!

I've been slacking in the blog department but I had some down time last night and of course I started browsing wedding sites and ... well, you can see where that led below (beeteedub if you click on the image it should open larger in a separate window).

In case you can't tell the more I look at that JCrew dress the more I fall in love with it. It also comes in a halter style, and I'm putting in a call to their wedding specialist to see if more silhouettes are on the horizon. The earrings are from Anthropologie. I found the shoes at Nordstrom and think they might be a good choice for Elle because they're a fun non-white option but the pink isn't TOO obvious. Oh, and they're faux snakeskin! So appropriate for a Southwest wedding and a fun touch under that virgin-white gown.

I was checking out the InStyle wedding site and found some interesting alternatives to the traditional guest book, including the one pictured above. Here multicolored cards and envelopes are set out and guests are encouraged to write notes to the couple and leave them in the bowl, making for a very pretty centerpiece. I love this idea because people can take the cards back to their tables and take their time writing a note instead of queing up for the guest book. Also, because they can seal the envelope people might be more likely to get sentimental (or silly).

Dream Cake.

Annie sent me an email that included this picture of this cherry
blossom wedding cake, and I literally dropped my jaw. I am personally
using cupcakes for my wedding but I thought that this style for the
top tear I the cake layers would be amazing. It's simple, clean and
elegant. Tri-fecta.

Toss this!

I LOVED this idea when I came across it. Something different, but beautiful. Tossing lavender buds, instead of rice.

Something Old, Something New

Now, I know purple isn't a color considered, but I found this site where they have dried rose petals/buds:


And the cones are all easy to make since I know Elle is all about easy crafts :-)

"Lyssa" here!

Heyyo!
Well I have to say I'm completely honored to be a part of Elle's wedding. I've known her the least of everyone here, so I must have done something right!
I remember meeting Elle the first time and thinking she was crazy! (Not in a bad way!) Within a few days of meeting her, she said "Let's go to Vegas!" And we did! It was an amazing time with Elle and the future Mr. Elle ;-)
Back in the day, I spent many of hours looking at wedding stuff and some of the things that really popped to me, I saved, and I'll be looking for new ideas for Elle, too!
Those will be for another post.... which one will be in a few minutes :-)

Beyond Inspiration.

Good Morning, you though you were in love before...

Images from The Brides Guide

Is the big day approaching?

Do you need to change your name, and everything else that has to go along with the new nuptials? Well, MissNowMrs, is the place to go to handle it all. It is like your personal assistant; all you have to do is give your info once and it will plug in, and submit all of your paperwork for you! All you'll have to worry about is if your tan is even on your honeymoon.

Here are all the services they provide, and honestly just looking at this list gives me a headache... so for $30 I will gladly hand it all over to the pros.

Social Security
IRS
U.S. Passport
U.S. Postal Service
Driver's License
Voter Registration
Bank Notification Letter
Credit Card Notification Letter
Mortgage Notification Letter
Utility Notification Letter
Medical Notification Letter
Insurance Notification Letter
Professional License Notification Letter
Investment Notification Letter
Other Notifications
Certified Marriage Certificate(s)

Intimate Setting.

I have an un healthy obsession with this wedding posted by snippet & ink: daily wedding inspiration by Kathryn. The Nicole Miller dress is to die for! Click here to read the rest of her article.