Inspiration Board #6 – Yellow, Green, Grey, and Chevron

So…I’m so obsessed with my own wedding, that I decided to make an inspiration board with 100% of the images pulled from our day. Special thanks to Stephen DeVries for the amazing photos.

1. Koozies – Corey designed the koozies, and Personalized Drinkware printed his custom design on their neoprene koozies. We loved them!

2. Save the Dates – Corey and I designed the save the dates, they are printed on paper from Paces Papers, and we got them printed and cut out at Sam Flax. We loved the fun quirkiness of postcards! Read more about our paper products here.

3. Initials – My mother sewed the ‘placemat’ under the letters, assembled the letters on the base, and Corey spray painted them. The letters are plain cardboard from a local craft store. This was a $5 project.

4. Shoes – Kate Spade’s ‘Crown’ – you can read ALL about them on this post.

5. Straws – We already had the straw holders and mom printed paper labels to cover the Coke labels on them. The striped straws are from Kikkerland.

6. Cake – I loved loved loved my wedding cake. I designed it and Hilde from Magnificent Cakes brought the design to life. It was delicious too! The bunting cake topper was from an Etsy store called domesticcharm. Katelyn, who owns the store was so great to work with!

7. Bridal Clutch – I ordered this custom clutch from Waterpath Designs on Etsy. I loved how I was able to customize the fabric and they even sewed a grey lining on the inside for me! It was only $30!

8. We collected glass bottles from EVERYWHERE. Ikea, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, antique stores, relatives’ attics, you name it! All in all, there was about 150 bottles! The great thing about the bottles was that they were high impact, so we didn’t have to have lots of flowers to make an impression.

9. Bridal Bouquet – I asked the florist for dusty miller (how appropriate), coral colors, succulents, billy balls, and something white and fluffy. This is what they came up with and I ABSOLUTELY loved it. The florists were Rachel Gaudel and Andy Boyles. I told the florist to wrap a swatch of the leftover chevron fabric around the base. It turned out adorable!

10. Bridesmaids’ bouquet – I love it just as much as mine. The white tulips were such an elegant addition!

11. Boutonniere – The florist wrapped the fabric around his bout and used succulent, dusty miller, and billy ball.

12. Bridesmaids dresses – I let the girls all pick out their own Lula Kate style and choose from three colors I thought looked pretty together. The dresses are all from Bella Bridesmaid in Birmingham. I thought they looked gorgeous and the Silk Shantung fabric coordinated beautifully with my gown.

Inspiration Board #2 – yellow, coral, and white

ImageClockwise from top left:

1. Coral Ombre birthday cake - I really love this style of cake – I bet it’d be very expensive for a whole wedding cake, but super cute if you were doing multiple cakes.

2. Centerpiece with coral peony - I also love the milk glass arrangement, colorful and fun!

3. ‘Eat, Drink, They’re Married’ sign - Perfect signage for a reception!

4. My floral bouquet – picture by Stephen DeVries Photography - It was fun taking my bouquet and applying it to a very different color palette than what I had at my own wedding! That’s what I loved about my bouquet, it was so versatile!

5. Yellow bridesmaids - I have liked this bridesmaid’s dress assortment for a very long time, one of the weddings I saw early in the process and it’s just stunning.

Hope you enjoy!

Met Gala Red Carpet

I have decided to stray from weddings today to work on a post about red carpets. If you know me at all, you know that this is my true passion and obsession. The Met Gala red carpet often has some of the most fun and daring looks of the season – which is why it’s one of my favorite red carpets.

I’ll start with the bad:

Kirsten Dunst in Rodarte – no ma’am, a suit gown with greasy hair? You are NOT Tilda Swinton

Hailee Steinfeld in Miu Miu – the color is wrong, the makeup is very wrong, the hair is too plain

Beyonce in Givenchy Haute Couture – Is it really necessary to show that much skin after having a baby. Don’t even get me started on the feathers, ma’am.

I just, no. It’s okay to show a LITTLE skin.

Jessica Chastain in Louis Vuitton – She’s SO beautiful and this dress just makes her look, well, chubby. And the lips are too dark. And the cleavage is funky.

Kristen Stewart in Balenciaga – there is literally nothing right about this look!

Now onto the trends of the night: peplum, metallics, and citrus colors. There are some notable overlaps here – I’ll post those pics only once, but the caption will remark on the overlap!

I’m not saying I love this outfit, but it’s fun, it’s yellow, and I love that she’s wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s garment. Makes it pretty special.

January Jones in Versace – one of my favorites of the night. Sexy, bold, and rocking the necklace, yellow, AND the peplum. Get it girl.

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuillier – I love this gown on her and the gown’s details. I always love her short hair too. If we could just get her to smile…

Emma Roberts in Escada – This look is simply stunning on her. One of the best she’s ever worn. The color of the dress, styling, and hair are spot on. Notice the peplum-ness too. Best dressed nom for sure.

Kristen Bell in Tommy Hilfiger – She has the effortless beauty look down pat. Perfection.

Solange Knowles in Rachel Roy – Absolutely love this color on her skin tone. Her hair is rocking, the peplum is darling, and she TOTALLY beats her sister tonight.

Jessica Alba in Michael Kors – I love this color on her. Het styling is stunning and she knows how to accentuate curves. She’s not a best-dressed nom tonight simply because I’ve seen her look better. (2006 Academy Awards, 2011 BAFTAs)

Sofia Vergara in Marchesa – she always looks good, even if she’s a little predictable with her mermaid silhouettes.

Nina Dobrev in Donna Karan – This dress is stunning on her and her styling is spot-on. I love the mix of silver and black and I LOVE her hair. Best dressed nom.

Leighton Meester in Marchesa – While I appreciate her bold fashion choice, her skin tone and styling looks terrible with this gold-hued dress.

Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren – Everything about this look is perfection except the lip color. She is always stunning.

Lana Del Ray in Altuzarra – I actually quite like this look for her. The dress is flattering and the hair looks great, just not a fan of the cape. It is apparent that dark lips are hot right now.

Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe – I’m sorry but I love this. It’s so bold and daring and she looks incredibly confident in it. The ‘swim cap’ is my favorite part!

Carey Mulligan in Prada – Another favorite. Carey Mulligan has the newlywed glow and her dress is playful and gorgeous. The hair adds the right amount of elegance and the cat eye black liner is perfect. Best dressed nom!

Now on to the peplum ladies – don’t forget that Solange, Emma, Sofia, and January also had peplums and they are shown above!

Amy Poehler in Fotini – This isn’t one of my favorite gowns of the night, but only because of the feathers. I love the styling and the fit and the smoky eye with bright pink lip is adorable on her.

Elizabeth Banks in Mary Katrantzou – She will probably get a lot of heat for this dress, but I find it truly couture and appropriate for the occasion. I think her toned down styling does the unique and beautifully patterned dress justice. Props to her for her bold fashion choice!

Dresses I just like or appreciate -

Dianna Agron in Carolina Herrera – Love the jewel tones, the hair and the belt. Shout out to my wedding dress designer!

Diane Kruger in Prada – This dress is so hippie chic and relaxed. The jewelry she chose is PERFECT and I love her hair. Best Dressed Nom!

Jessica Biel in Prada – I love that the dress has a menswear feel to it. I also love her hair and the lime accents on the soft pink dress. The length of the dress is slightly awkward.

Emma Stone in Lanvin – This is fun and flirty. Does my girl Emma ever look bad?

Claire Danes in J. Mendel – Claire always looks good and always keeps it simple. I love this drapey white dress, with turquoise clutch and sleek updo.

Marion Cotillard in Dior Haute Couture – While this isn’t my fave of the night by a longshot, I do appreciate the lines of the gown and the boldness of it. Her hair is a no-no though.

Leslie Bibb in Zac Posen – I always love a print on a ball gown. This color is great and the neckline is fun. Her hair, makeup, and nails are perfect! Glam alert.

Amber Heard in Zac Posen – Another great look by Zac. Gorgeous color, gorgeous lines and draping, gorgeous hair and makeup. Glam alert two!

Kate Bosworth in Prada – This is the only girl I truly think pulls off the dark lip. She looks gothic sexy in this feathery frock. Love the blinging clutch and dark nails, but not a huge fan of the hair bun.

Christina Ricci in Thakoon – She will catch grief for this dress but I find it stunning and bold. The proportions and length really flatter her figure and the tone down styling and shoes make the dress work.

Rooney Mara in Givenchy Haute Couture – I love this dress so much. I wish Rooney would wear a color besides black, but this is one of her best looks of the season. The hair and makeup are beautiful and she shows just the right amount of skin.

So my best dresses of the night are – Emma Roberts, January Jones, and Diane Kruger.

Worst dressed has got to be poor Kristen Stewart.

Who are your faves and least faves of the night? Are there any on here that I should have put up?