I’m going to blame my friend, Maggie, for getting me hooked on lace lately. Since Maggie owns Maggpie Vintage Rentals, the amazing amount of beautiful stuff around her at any given time is ridiculous. Talk about stunning textures galore. (holy adjectives, dpnak). Anyway, a lacey doily always seems to be within her reach and it’s rubbing off on me. I will also say that in searching for some great inspiration for this, Pinterest search kept resulting in showing me pictures of “Michael”. No matter what I searched for, everything included the word Michael. Weird?? And nothing came up with what I was searching for. Anyway, my love for lace has been growing and these beautiful dresses have backs on them that will make any one swoon. Enjoy!
All images via Pinterest (told you, I’m addicted). Clockwise from top-left: 1, 2, 3, 4
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Hair combs are one of those hair accessories that just work. Throw them in and they immediately add a little something special to your ‘do. I stumbled onto this little cutie from Etsy owner, SchickiMickis and just had to share it with you.
By the way, we also stumbled onto Hey Gorgeous’ (a fellow wedding professional) awesome blog post today. If you’re a bride, you really MUST read it. by Danielle 1 comment 
Monday | 23Jan2012 - 3:09 pm
Oh this hair comb is so pretty. I just love it! Today, you will notice that we observing a black out, along with Google, reddit, Wikipedia and MANY more. Read more about the movement here: http://sopastrike.com/strike/ and don’t be afraid to say your peace. Thank you for your support and we’ll see you tomorrow.
by Danielle no comments I originally found these gorgeous flowers via Pinterest (have I told you I’m addicted?) and followed it back to CountryLiving where they had a basic DIY How to. Their idea for these dark beauties was for a chic Halloween arrangement, but I wanted to give them a shot for another purpose.
Now, keep in mind this tutorial is on how to make the black crepe-paper flowers. I mixed in my book paper flowers just to give it some variety (and because I thought it looked pretty). Ok, ready? Let’s get started.
To get started, you’re going to need some basic items that are fairly easy (and cheap) to find:
Note: With practice, each flower should take around 5-7 minutes from start to finish.
Start with one 18″ (roughly) wire. Bend it in half and started twisting. Try to leave a little loop at the top as I find it helps to hold the tape and paper better.
Now it’s time for that pesky double-sided tape. Begin wrapping around the looped end and working your way down the wire. I do around 3-4 inches to be safe.
Next, you’re going to grab your crepe paper (which can be any color I assume) and begin by folding over the first edge. Then, wrap the paper around the loop of the wire several times (I do around 4 or 5, but more so until I get the look I want).
Once you’ve got your base, you’re going to start wrapping the paper around and slowly start creeping down the wire. You don’t want to move down too fast or you’re flower will look more like a pine cone (trust me on that one). Try playing around with different techniques and see what works for you. I tend to hold the base of the flower in my left hand and slowly work the paper around with my right. I bunch the paper at the bottom and fan it out more at top. It definitely took some practice and getting used to.
Continue wrapping down the wire until you get your desired look and cut the end of the streamer. As in the beginning, fold the end and finish wrapping it around.
To finish, take a small piece of double-sided tape (around 2″) and wrap it around the bottom of the bloom. I find this helps to keep in place at the bottom.
And voila! I’ve taken an old card box that I found at an antique store, filled it with styrofoam and been plugging these babies into it as I go.
There you have it folks! By the way, I took all the pictures as I went, so my apologies for some that are a bit blurry. What DIY projects are you working on? by Danielle 2 comments 
Tuesday | 17Jan2012 - 12:27 pm
I think these look fab. Any problems with the crepe tearing? 
Tuesday | 17Jan2012 - 12:47 pm
None whatsoever. Lately, I’ve been hearing from a few brides that they are looking into a “one-stop-shop” company to take care of several of their needs. A “one-stop-shop” company is one that offers several services under one storefront (physical or online). For example, companies that offer photography, videography, and DJ entertainment. While a “one-stop-shop” type of business has some benefits, it is not always the best route for everyone.
Before I get too far into this post, I should say that I believe you, as a couple, should hire whomever you feel MOST comfortable with. Also, there are some multiple-service companies that do offer a high-quality service across the board. This is where doing your research will really pay-off. 1. What are they good at? And what are they great at? Did you ever hear the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none”? If you are hiring a company to take care of several of your needs, you are likely looking at your key parts like photography, videography, DJ or band, maybe even stationary and cake. On the day of your wedding, you want every single aspect to be amazing. If a company is offering several aspects, what are they really good at? More importantly, what are they offering in addition to what they’re really good at because they’ve found a way to make money on it? These are things you want to know. 2. How many clients are they working with? Most times, a company that offers several services has several employees involved. That being said, they can cater to more clients and usually do. You, as a client, can become lost in a list of other brides and grooms with often no personal attention to your wedding day. You lose that customized feeling of shopping in a boutique and find yourself more in a department store like Target, Macy’s, and sometimes… Walmart. 3. You don’t always save money this way. If you’re getting an “all-inclusive” package make sure you know the breakdown of what you’re paying for. Look at each individual service. Look at what you’re being charged for what you’re receiving in return (both in quality and quantity). Does it work for you? Are you actually saving money? Again, I’m not trying to offend anyone or their business. It’s just important to know what you’re signing up for before you agree to anything. Know your facts. Listen to your gut, heart and head. (image via Pinterest/DailyDoseofStuf Tumblr) by Danielle 1 comment
Monday | 16Jan2012 - 11:56 am
Great post Danielle! I can tell you, as a wedding & portrait photographer, I can’t even imagine doing anything else but focusing on a couple’s photography on their day and I think that’s the way it should be. A “one stop shop” will I’m sure have more than one employee to do the photography, planning, etc., but like you said…those kinds of companies will need to take on a lot of weddings to pay for all of their employees and overhead and the personal touch will unfortunately be lost. I say forget the “one stop shops”, hire your wedding planner first and they will help you hire the rest of the people you need to make your big day a success! |
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by Danielle
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