THE BRIDE'S CAFE

Brandi & Steve: Part II

Welcome back to Part II of Brandi & Steve's beautiful wedding.  Angela Anderson is the amazing photographer and she captured their wedding story in these "magazine worthy" images. Make sure you check out Angela's blog...it's full of beautiful weddings and inspiration!  Now let's check out the reception decor of  Brandi & Steve's lovely wedding....Enjoy!

Brandi and Steve's saxophone serenade first dance!

The centerpieces were a great reflection of the venue....Talon Winery and Vineyard!

Great detail...the chocolate tired cupcakes!

Brandi & Steve's wedding was so charming and very elegant....thanks to Angela for stopping by the cafe today and sharing their wedding story with us and thanks to Brandi & Steve!

Real Wedding - Brandi & Steve

Guys, when I received the beautiful images of Brandi & Steve's wedding, I couldn't wait to share them with you.  I love their wedding....the decor was charming, the chocolate and green color palette was stunning and everyone looked like they were having the best time!  The oh-so-fabulous photographer, Angela Anderson captured Brandi & Steve's celebration and she tells their story in the "magazine worthy" images that follow.  Speaking of "magazine worthy", the couple's wedding is featured in Ines Del Mar Weddings, Spring/Summer 2008....congrats Angela!  First up is Part I....check back later for Part II, the reception decor...Enjoy!

 

Our featured couple....Brandi & Steve....aren't they the cutest couple!

Love the shoes!

Brandi is a gorgeous bride!

Check out the detail on her dress!

 

The girls carried these...totally out-of-the-box...so cute!  The florals were designed by Chambliss Design.

Brandi & Steve's beautiful venue was Talon Winery and Vineyard!

Thanks Angela for sharing all the beautiful images with us today.  I want to also thank Kristen Settles of Creme Planning....Kristen and her team did an amazing job planning Brandi & Steve's beautiful wedding...check back later guys  for Part II!

Christian Siriano - "FIERCE"!

I am beyond excitement about TBC's featured guest.....He's FIERCE....you guys....it's Christian Siriano from Project Runway!!!   I am truly a huge fan of  Project Runway and I along with millions of other viewers were rooting for Christian from the start.  When I received an email from Christian telling me that he would love to be featured at TBC....oh yes....I was doing the "happy dance"!  Christian is an amazing designer and such a wonderful guy...and now he can add actor to his long list of talents....Christian will make a guest appearance Thursday night on Ugly Betty....I can't wait to see him and all his FIERCENESS!!

His schedule is beyond busy , but he took out a little time to stop by the "cafe" for a chat.....without further ado...I give you...THE FIERCE ONE....Christian Siriano....Enjoy!

TBC:  Describe the Christian Siriano client.

Christian:  When I am designing for an everyday client, they are looking to be edgy and fashion forward.  The same goes for a wedding client, they are wanting something stylish and edgy!

TBC:  What are the three adjectives that describe your style?

Christian:  Detailed, Edgy, and Voluminous!

TBC:  Describe a Christian Siriano bridal gown.

Christian:  I have designed plenty of wedding dresses and they range from sleek stylish gowns to ruffled and avant-garde.  I try to please my customer as best as I can.

TBC:  Tell us a little about your time on Project Runway and what was your hardest challenge.

Christian:  The experience was amazing and I had the time of my life!  I loved most of the challenges except for the prom challenge, but I have no regrets.

TBC:  Christian, how wonderful it must be to  have Victoria Beckham as a client...who else would you love to add to your client list.

Christian:  There are so many clients I would love to dress...Kate Blanchette, Scarlette Johansson, Everyone!  Anyone who loves my work!

TBC:  How did it feel to be spoofed on Saturday Night Live?

Christian:  I thought it was absolutely hilarious.  I love Amy and I think she is an amazing comedian.  Her interpretation was so good....I can barely interpret myself!

TBC: What's next on the agenda for you?

Christian:  The future is endless for me.  I am showing in fashion week, costuming a movie, I have a new book coming out, and my celebrity clientele list continues to grow.

TBC:  Give us your definition of FIERCE!

Christian:  The up most high point of being FABULOUS and FLAWLESS!

And now, let's take an up-close look at Christian's amazingly beautiful and FIERCE collection from Project Runway!

 

All I can say is WOW...this is my favorite piece from Christian's collection...truly STUNNING!  Check out the details.....Christian you are AMAZING!

I loved all the pieces in Christian's collection....it was so exciting seeing each model come down the runway and every design was just flawless!

Christian...I can't thank you enough for stopping by today...we all wish the very best for you and we can't wait until the new book comes out....and Yes.....YOU ARE FIERCE and we love ya!

Real Wedding: Marni & Eric

Happy Monday Guys!  I am so excited about today's featured wedding...Marni & Eric.  They are such a beautiful couple and two very sweet people!  Their story is one of romance and it is truly reflected in their majestic wedding.  Marni & Eric's beautiful wedding was captured by the amazing and talented photography of Susan Bordelon.  Susan's work is truly "magazine worthy" and she tells Marni and Eric's story so beautifully through her images......Enjoy!

Our handsome couple...Marni & Eric!

I have to tell you guys the story of how Marni (a Voice Over Artist and Fitness Entrepreneur) and Eric ( Film Director and Producer) met...It was at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.  Eric's movie, "WORD WARS" premiered there and Marni snuck into a press screening that she wasn't supposed to be at...she saw the movie and loved it!  As the credits rolled, she recognized Eric's name on the screen and realized he was the same person that several people had tried to "fix her up with".  Marni never met Eric before the festival, but she ran into him that night...."and the rest is history"!

Marni shares their wedding vision with us:  "We wanted our wedding to be elegant, fun, loving and unforgettable.  We wanted it to be a different and unusual expression that was a true expression of who we are as people and artists.  It was very important that it didn't feel like a "typical" wedding experience.....no ballrooms, no tuxedos and nothing stuffy.  We wanted people to feel comfortable and have a good time.  I wanted the look and feel to be enchanting, rustic, majestic......it was multi-sensory"!

Marni's beautiful dress was specially designed for her by Ali Rahimi...his couture shop is in Hollywood....Marni tells me that he ended up naming the design...the "Marni" dress!

WOW...LOVE THE SHOES...from Mon Atelier!

What a gorgeous bouquet of peonies, roses and stephanotis .....Flower Dec designed all the beautiful florals!

I love this black and white image of Marni....great shot Susan!

Marni is truly a beautiful bride!

The girls wore beautiful light brown silk charmeusse dresses from the Jenny Yoo Collection and the guys wore ties in the same color!

I love the bright colors of the parasols....they were also given as favors as well as beautiful shawls for the ladies.

The vibrant colors of the florals are simply stunning...such happy and fun colors!

WOW.....Simply Stunning and so Elegant!

The beautiful reception venue is the Saddle Rock Ranch in Malibu, CA and it was held in the "Garden Setting"!  How beautiful with all the lighting and the chandelier is amazing!

Such an elegant cake....designed by Layers Cake Design...you can reach them at 818.784.3918.

I LOVE this photo of Marni & Eric...it has that "Hollywood Couple" feel and vibe to it and the lighting is amazing!  I can tell  they are having so much fun...I only wish I could have been there to hear the music!

Thanks Susan for sharing Marni & Eric's beautiful wedding with us today....and a huge thanks to Marni & Eric for having a beautiful celebration....and I'm happy to tell you guys that Marni will be back at the "cafe" soon with a wonderful feature for us...stay tune!

"Wishing Well Winner"

Hi Guys....I want to thank everyone that left a "Wish" for the "Wishing Well" contest....my wish for all of you is that all of your Wishes come true! 

The winner of  the Wishing Well is...........Stephanie!  Here's Stephanie's wish:

My wish for the wedding is that I don't cry during the ceremony! It's three months away, and I've already teared up twice as I thought about how amazing it's going to be to be married to the most amazing man in the entire world!

Congratulations Stephanie...please email me at janie @ jmflora dot com with your mailing information.  TBC has another contest coming up soon guys so stay tuned!

Chenin Boutwell Photography

Happy Friday Guys!!  I thought I would end the week with a beautiful wedding sent to me by my wonderful and amazingly talented friend Chenin of  Boutwell Studio.  I am happy to say that Chenin has visited the cafe before and I absolutely love it when she comes by.  Her work is truly beautiful and she always tells  the couple's wedding story in her images.  Please check out her awesome site to see more of her gorgeous work....Enjoy!

Guys, I love this wedding, you can truly see the love between the couple in the images.

Fabulous shoes!

Classic bouquet of beautiful roses...very elegant!

The girl's dresses are beautiful...love the chocolate!

Check out the handsome gents!

Great shot Chenin!

Guys check out all the details....favors, signature drink, flowers.....all so perfect!

Thanks for stopping by Chenin and sharing your beautiful images with us today....have a great weekend everyone!!

Get Married Giveaway!

Hi Guys....The wonderful folks at Get Married contacted me and ask to share some exciting news with you....Get Married is giving one lucky couple a honeymoon fit for a princess and her prince charming......where at you ask....at Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World Resort!

The wedding couple will enjoy a 6 night stay at the Walt Disney World Resort including: round trip airfare for two, round trip limousine transportation to and from the Orlando International Airport, two 7-day Magic Your Way Park Hopper tickets, and 6 nights at a Disney Resort Hotel which includes one special night at the Cinderella Castle Suite.

To enter, contestants register on GetMarried.com.  The contest period runs from April 18, 2008 to May 26, 2008.  Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to begin your "Happily Ever After" with a Dream Fairy Tale Honeymoon at the Cinderella Castle Suite!

Ulrica & Craig: Part II

Welcome back to Part II of Ulrica & Craig's beautiful wedding.  The wonderful ladies, Heidi and Judy of Gertrude and Mabel Wedding Photography captured the couple's wedding story and is sharing it with us today......please make sure you visit their site to see more of their gorgeous "eye candy".  Let's get started with Part II....Enjoy!

Check out the "circle of carnations" surrounding Ulrica & Craig...great detail!

Everyone one at the wedding received their own stone with a special "wish"!

I love the charming arrangements of floral and wheat....so simple but so very elegant!

A wonderful Eco-friendly detail with the wheat...each guest had a special wish!

I loved the simplicity of Ulrica & Craig's wedding....they truly made it their own and it looks like everyone had fun at their celebration.  Thanks to Judy and Heidi for stopping by the cafe today...your work is amazing!  No worries guys....the ladies will be back soon!

 

Real Wedding: Ulrica & Craig

Today TBC is taking a trip to Sweden!! Guys I am excited to share with you the beautiful wedding of Ulrica & Craig.  Their wedding story was captured by the oh-so-fabulous ladies Heidi and Judy of Gertrude & Mabel Wedding Photography....you must visit their site....you will totally love their style!  When I received the images of Ulrica & Craig's wedding from Judy, I fell in love with every detail.....and to make it even more special, yesterday, I chatted with Ulrica...yes, she's from Sweden and guys...she is such a sweetheart....thanks Ulrica...it was wonderful to "girl talk" with you!  Let's begin with Part I....Enjoy!

Our beautiful couple....Ulrica & Craig!

Ulrica shares their wedding story with us....."Our wedding took place in Sweden at a beautiful lake front private estate.  Craig and I wanted our wedding to be a celebration and we wanted it to be non-traditional.  Our wedding was full of simplicity, yet elegant and Eco-friendly.  The flowers were all locally grown and the vessels we used for them were all from a local antique shop and we returned them after the wedding.  I didn't have any bridesmaids and Craig any groomsmen.  My best friend, Eden Rodriquez, owner of End Design, helped us to make our wedding day vision come true.  We had a beautiful and fun celebration with our family and friends and we even had a singing contest between Sweden and the United States...."who won" you ask....Sweden, of course"!

Ulrica wore an Italian Couture wedding gown by Domo Adami....Ulrica told me that she went barefoot at the wedding...love it!!

I adore this image....how fun....great shot ladies!!!

How cute are they....love the outfits...little divas!

Beautiful shades of pinks and I love that they used carnations!

Okay...now I'm telling my age because when I first saw this image I thought about the opening of the show "Green Acres"....I know some of you are thinking the same! 

Thanks Judy and Heidi for sharing the beautiful images with us today and a special thanks to Ulrica & Craig....come back later guys for Part II...more charming details!

"Lite-Green Wedding Tips"

TBC is going "Green" today....my wonderful friend, Kendall Brown of Eclatante Design sent me some cool ideas for a "Lite-Green Wedding" to share with you.  Kendall is an amazing event designer and I so enjoy talking with her...I always learn something new and interesting...so without further ado...check out these great tips from Kendall!

Kendall:  The trick is to not give up just because you're not doing the whole carbon footprint calculation thing.  It's really not hard to make some easy smaller choices that, in the aggregate, make a big difference.  Sometimes, it just requires a teensy bit of additional planning.

And don't think you have to do every single thing on this list - anything you do is a good choice!  Plus, there are lots of  other little things you can do that aren't on this list.

It has become abundantly clear to me there is a huge amount of waste associated with weddings.  Here's one example:  A couple of weeks ago, we did a wedding filled with gorgeous stems of lush cherry blossoms - we had them everywhere.  They were expensive but were fresh and stunning!  The next day the bride's mom went back to the venue to pick up some items we stored there overnight and she saw those beautiful branches sticking out of the trashcans.  It just sent a horrible message.

Those occurrences have inspired Eclatante to come up with a strategy to eliminate the waste of beautiful flowers who have a lot left to give!  We are teaming up with different charity organizations in the Philadelphia area to have volunteers come in and rearrange flowers in their own vases and take them to hospitals and retirement homes or anywhere else where there are people who would really appreciate having beautiful flowers around them.  It's a great thing to do and it doesn't cost a thing!

So, really, it comes down to anything you can do to minimize waste.  I've put together a little list of ideas to cut down on the amount of waste at a wedding:

• Substitute some disposable decor with live plants, then give them away to your guests or to charities.
• Substitute some of your decor with beautiful, colorful food.

• Suggest to your guests that they take candles home with them.  If not taken home, they will be thrown away.
• Consider donations instead of guest favors - better yet, as a favor, plant a tree; there are organizations that do that (and tell them so on their seating card).
• Look for a reception site that has a recycling plan.
• Send response postcards instead of response cards that require envelopes (you'll reduce the cost of postage, too!)

• Using herbs or flowers as seating cards.
• Recycle those Styrofoam peanuts you'll get in your huge  presents by taking them to your local UPS store.
• Send a one-page front and back save-the-date card that directs people to a website where they can get all the information you would have sent on multiple cards.
• Set up a donation plan for leftover food and beverages.

Here are some ideas to cut down on carbon emissions:

• Offer locally brewed beer.
• See if you can use a caterer that will provide some food choices made up of locally grown ingredients.
• Hold the ceremony and reception in the same location.

• Have your wedding outside.

• If  many of your guests are driving to your wedding are from the same vicinity, direct them to a parking lot near their homes, then shuttle them to your wedding or offer carpool information on your website.
• Shuttle guests from hotels and back.
• Shop on-line as much as possible for your attendant gifts, accessories, etc.

Here are some proactive steps:

• Offer your guests cocktail napkins made from recycled paper with energy saving tips written on them.
• Ask your decorator to use soy base candles rather than candles made of petroleum based wax.
• Ask your floral designer about using locally grown flowers or even using flowers from growers who do not use harmful pesticides.
• Register with an organization that will direct a percentage of your registry sales to the non-profit of your choice.  Check out IDoFoundation for more information.  It doesn't add to the cost of the gift and the money goes to the organization of your choice.
• Ask your make-up artist to use mineral-based makeup.
• Consider using farm tables and cotton or other natural fiber table runners that won't need to be dry cleaned.
• Here's a really fun one - environmentally sound honeymoons! Check out REI Adventures... it's a great source of Eco-friendly and exciting honeymoon destinations.

Thanks Kendall for stopping by the cafe and sharing these wonderful "green tips" with us today and perfect timing.....in celebration of Earth Day...let's keep the celebration going!