Gathering friends and family the night before a wedding is exciting….planning a party that has a whole different feel than the wedding….even more exciting! Beth Beattie recently planned and styled a stunning rehearsal dinner with sweet details that could be recreated and inspire any Fall party. The bride-to be was a Southern Belle from Alabama, so [...]]]>

Gathering friends and family the night before a wedding is exciting….planning a party that has a whole different feel than the wedding….even more exciting! Beth Beattie recently planned and styled a stunning rehearsal dinner with sweet details that could be recreated and inspire any Fall party. The bride-to be was a Southern Belle from Alabama, so she wanted to create a rehearsal dinner that reflected her personality.

The location was the outdoor patio of Mason’s in Easton, Maryland with hanging lights and farmhouse chairs. The white linens were topped with a burlap runner, vintage mason jars and votives wrapped in lace. The placecards were made with burlap and chalkboard contact paper (the perfect DIY project). Minted adjusted the color of an invitation they had to a mint green, and it reflected the feel of the intimate affair with hanging lights. They also created a menu card to match.

A cake by Bay Country Bakery was made out of the groom’s favorite Italian cookies from Mike’s Pastry of Boston.  The evening was absolutely magical….the perfect start to a wonderful wedding weekend.

Photography by Leigh Miller Photography

Image via Style [...]]]> These cakes have SO MUCH personality.  I just had to share them!

Image via Style Me Pretty

The second edition of The Party Dress Magazine launched this week and is chock full of party inspiration!  I plan to highlight all of the amazing contributions on the blog over the next month, and to kick it off today, I thought I would share the images from my sister’s bridal shower I recently hosted in [...]]]>

The second edition of The Party Dress Magazine launched this week and is chock full of party inspiration!  I plan to highlight all of the amazing contributions on the blog over the next month, and to kick it off today, I thought I would share the images from my sister’s bridal shower I recently hosted in Napa Valley.

When it came time for my only sister to get married, I knew I had to plan something special to celebrate the occassion…..not just an ordinary bridal shower or bachelorette party…..something unique, something classy that I knew she would remember always.  With her bridesmaids living all across the country, it made it simple to decide upon a destination bridal weekend celebration, and six of us headed off to a lovely weekend in Napa Valley, California for wine tasting, amazing food, and a lot of quality girl time!

We finished the weekend off with an intimate bridal shower at Domain Chandon.  Brunch and champagne tasting were on the menu, and I worked with a natural color palette of nude, rusty orange and moss green.  Seeing as thought this was a destination shower, I had to limit my decor and goodies to things that I could either carry with me on the plane, or pick up along the way.  I chose to have a local Napa florist create and deliver a centerpiece, and I packed two of my favorite mini cake stands (which I dressed up with Mokuba ruffled ribbon, to hold macaroons from Bouchon Bakery and cupcakes from Dean and Deluca, which were topped with custom fondant rose toppers by Two Sugar Babies.

Like most restaurants, I had a very basic white tablesetting to work with.  Paper placemats from our Indian Summer collection brightened up the table, each napkin was tied with a coordinating ribbon, and I finished off each placesetting with a coordinating placecard.  A “he said, she said” game brought about many laughs!

My favorite detail was the party favors: custom wine bags!  A cotton weave on the outside (with each girl’s initial on them), and our Indian Summer tile print fabric on the inside.  Perfect for summer picnics!

Whether you are planning a birthday party, a bridal shower, or an extra-special Mother’s Day brunch, this collection of ideas is sure to inspire a party that is pretty in pink.  Shimmery accents of gold and rose, crystals hanging from candlesticks, and ribbon candy with an extra special luster….these are all ideas that are making me [...]]]>

Whether you are planning a birthday party, a bridal shower, or an extra-special Mother’s Day brunch, this collection of ideas is sure to inspire a party that is pretty in pink.  Shimmery accents of gold and rose, crystals hanging from candlesticks, and ribbon candy with an extra special luster….these are all ideas that are making me swoon lately!

Images: table setting and champagne glasses (theknot.com), invitation (weddingpaperdivas.com), fondant flower cupcake toppers (etsy.twosugarbabies.com), cupcakes (callmecupcake.com), ribbon candy party favor bags (brides.com)

I’m totally swooning over this hanging placecard display from Salt Harbor Designs……..it somehow looks both classic and modern….pure perfection!

Tiny Prints has you covered this year for Mothers’ Day with their Tiny Prints Greeting Card Collection, which lets you create individual personalized cards with photos starting at $1.99. They have cards for everyone in your life from your mom, to your grandmother, sister, daughter or anyone else important to [...]]]>

Tiny Prints has you covered this year for Mothers’ Day with their Tiny Prints Greeting Card Collection, which lets you create individual personalized cards with photos starting at $1.99. They have cards for everyone in your life from your mom, to your grandmother, sister, daughter or anyone else important to you.  In a matter of seconds, you can create personalized Mother’s Day Cards and have Tiny Prints mail them directly to you or the recipient.  No more running out to your local convenience store for a lame last minute card!  Tiny Prints has removed the hassle and added the fun back into Mother’s Day shopping with a personal touch.

As an extra bonus, from April 6^th to April 12^th, all Mother’s Day Greeting Cards will be $.99 cents and you can also sign up for a Free Greeting Card Membership, giving you three FREE cards to use right away, as well as discounts on future cards.  Happy Shopping!!

How in love with these images are you?!  I sure am!  I’ve been swooning over this centerpiece idea for a while now….and I now have the perfect place to use it!  In my free time {which doesn’t really seem to exist anymore!}, I have been planning my younger sister’s bridal shower…in Napa Valley!  Say [...]]]>  

How in love with these images are you?!  I sure am!  I’ve been swooning over this centerpiece idea for a while now….and I now have the perfect place to use it!  In my free time {which doesn’t really seem to exist anymore!}, I have been planning my younger sister’s bridal shower…in Napa Valley!  Say goodbye to these freezing, grey days here in Chicago – I’m grabbing the bride and her bridesmaids and we are taking off for a sunny weekend in the vineyards.  Sounds pretty fabulous, right?!  I sure hope the bride thinks so!

In addition to a few days of wine tasting, vineyard tours, shopping in the quaint villages, and eating at some pretty fabulous restaurants, I plan to end the weekend with an extra-special “bridal shower” at a sparkling wine estate.  Champagne tasting, brunch, and a gorgeous setting….what more do you need to plan, right?!  Come on…this is me….I have to throw in a few personal touches, right?!

Throwing an out-of-town shower poses a few logistical problems, and I’m wondering if any of you have ever done this before.  Did you use local vendors for everything?  Did you ship everything in prior to the event?  I would love to hear what you all think!

The images above are a few images I pulled together to coordinate with the invitation I designed for her…..I love the way it turned out!  I think you may just see it show up as a new collection in the shop soon!

Images: centerpiece (hatchcreativestudios.com), invitation (whhostess.com), cocktails (theknot.com), small centerpiece (josevillablog.com), placesetting (saltharbordesigns.com), mini champagne bottles (brides.com), overhead champagne shot (karljuengel.com)