Winter Wonderland Wedding Celebration as seen the WV Weddings Blog

Original Post on WV Wedding's Planner's Palette Blog

Dreaming of a white Christmas and planning a winter wedding? Why not unite the two dreams and plan a formal monochromatic winter affair. White, silver, and gray are perfect winter colors. They are at once indicative of the cold winter atmosphere but sophisticated and inviting. Adding natural elements like miniature pine cones and painted twigs with a little silver glitter and perhaps some shinny snowflake designs add wonderful winter whimsy to your beautiful winter wonderland. 

Happy Holidays! 

Sources:

1. Miniature Wedding Cakes   2. Silver and White Boutonniere   3. Winter Bouquet  4. Silver Bridesmaid Dress

5. Silver and White Invitation 6. Bride with Faux Fur Stole  7. All Lace Sleeved Wedding Gown

8. Snowflake Cookies  9. Winter Style Table Setting

Wooly Warm Wedding as seen on the WV Weddings Blog

Created for WV Weddings Planner's Palette Blog

Cool weather is finally here and as we pull out our wool blankets and flannel sheets we can draw inspiration from their warmth and natural origins. 

This board focuses on a wedding that is truly homegrown in the mountains of WV: unique textures,  rustic, natural bouquets, and unexpected patterns. 

Pine cone bouquets are a unique, inexpensive, DIY way to give your wedding a funky flair and with the added bonus of that "pine fresh" smell.  Wool blankets in plaid patterns can be used as tablecloths or maybe a much need cloak during outdoor photos. 

Treat guests to artisan cheeses from nearby farms and local wine, just wipe the dust off the bottle. Stick with tradition and offer birdseed for tossing and birdseed ornaments as a natural favor to send guests on their happy way. 

Sources: 

1. Dresses 2. Horses and Plaid 3. Bird Cakes 4. Centerpiece 5. Plaid Cake 6. Field Bride 

7. Fall Wedding Bliss 8.  Pinecone Bouquets 9. Cheese and Fruit 10. Bride and Sister 

11. Cedar Wedding Programs 12. Invitations 13. Birdseed Favors 14. Burberry Heels 

The Great Pumpkin Wedding Celebration - Happy Halloween

I love fall and adore pumpkins, though I find dressing up for Halloween to be stressful and not my kind of fun. So in honor of Hallow's night here is a board boasting natural and beautiful combo of the simple pumpkin, fall treats, and harvest flowers. 

Sources:

1. Orange Roses    2. Reception   3. Bottled Cider Ale   4. Copper Etsy Earrings

5. Cinnamon Bun Appetizers   6. Honey   7. Pumpkin Dessert Table   8. Jim Hjelm Wedding Dress

9. Outdoor Seating   10. Bride and her girls   11. Golden Cream Pumpkin Wedding Cake

12. Pumpkin Candle Centerpiece    13. Pumpkin Decorations 

Happy Halloween

Go on over to Green Wedding Shoes and check out the rest of this Halloween Inspired Masquerade wedding. 

Happy Halloween, enjoy some candy!! 

Friday Favorite: Blue and Gold (Yellow)

With West Virginia Football in full swing, it feel it's only appropriate to develop a board inspired by the colors I bleed during football and basketball season. 

Blue and Yellow can be powerful colors, so I chose a bright yellow with gold tones and a deep navy to sooth the accent yellow. 

This palette is perfect for any time of the year, wether is be football fans celebrating their union in the fall or sailors tying the knot during the summer. It's a versatile color palette with white and yellow florals in season nearly all year long. 

Sources:

1. Navy and Yellow Wedding Invitations  2. Navy and Yellow Menu  3. Navy ETSY Sash

4. Navy and Yellow ESTY Clutches  5. Navy Groom's Suit  6. Yellow Wedding Cake Photographer Jamie Clayton 

7. Yellow Wedding Bouquet and Tie  8. Navy, Yellow, and White Vintage Styled Wedding Cakes

9. Navy and Yellow ESTY Necklace 10. More Awesome Navy and Yellow Wedding Invitations

11. Bride and Groom Kissing 12. White, Navy, and Yellow Florals  Photographer Jamie Clayton 

13. Yellow Heels  14. Navy and Yellow Table Decor

Wild & Wonderful Wheat: as seen on WV Wedding Blog

Original Post on WV Weddings Planners Palette

Fall is West Virginia is a bright, colorful, and an inspiring experience. The mountains look like glowing embers with colors ranging from pale yellow to deep reds and displays of every tone in between. And because those colors are so magnificent we often overlook the earthy and more subtle hues of fall. 

This inspiration board is inspired by the hues found at the bottom of the mountains, in the clearings where the sun perfected a golden and tan hue on the once green grass.

Wheat is a unique take on a fall theme, it certainly celebrates harvest, abundance, and wealth, but in a slightly less traditional manner. Dried wheat and grasses can be used for centerpieces, aisle decor, and even a modern bouquet. Sage, emerald, and dark brown are perfect accent colors to the golden wheat. 

Serve some good 'ol wheat beer and carmel apples and your Fall Wheat Theme will be hit with everyone.  

Sources:

1. Ceremony Decor   2. Fall Wedding   3. Dark Green Jim Hjelm Dress 

4. Wedding Dress with Sweater  5. Fabric Napkins   6. Bride & Bouquet 

7. Wheat Centerpiece  8. Wheat Bouquet   9. Wheat Invitation 10. Ceremony Aisle Decor

11. Eco Friendly Wedding Earrings from Wear Think Now 12. Wheat Table Decor

13. Table Inspiration  14. Place Setting  15. Carmel Apple Favors

The Radiance of a Sunflower Wedding

The Sunflower signifies the end of summer and start of fall in my mental calendar when I start seeing their bright and large blooms fill bouquets at the local farmers market. All though the flower is now widely available all year long the growing season is typically July to September in the US. If you are an eco-minded bride and want the shine of these flowers in your wedding consider timing your nuptials with the sunflower growing season. 

The Sunflower is a wonderful choice for a wedding flower and ultimately, a theme. Mini sunflower blooms range in width from 1.25 inches to 3.5 inches, while large sunflowers range from 3 to 5.75 inches. If you are looking for a dominate flower and are on a limited budget, consider the sunflower for it's strength, beauty, and of course relatively cheap price. Stems run from $3.50 down depending on how many you order (whole sale prices from Whole Blossoms 9/2011). The great thing about a large flower is that it takes less blooms to make a statement in a centerpiece or bouquet. 

Are you a DIY bride? Make sure that the sunflowers have plenty of water. The article titled "How to Arrange Sunflowers" gives some great tips on how to preserve cut sunflowers up to two weeks. http://www.ehow.com/how_5108149_arrange-sunflowers.html

My inspiration board takes advantage of the early fall season to incorporate the golden beauty of the sunflower with dark sage green, and brown accents. Sunflowers and barns go hand-in-hand in my head so a rustic, barn reception complete with tubs of beer gets the party started! 

Photo Sources

1. Sunflower Wedding Party

2. Rustic Barn Open Bar

3. Sunflower Bouquets with Twine

4. Sunflower Table Settings

5. Sunflower Cupcakes

6. Simple Sunflower Cake

7. Sunflower Bride's Bouquet

8. Moss Wedding Initials

9. Bridesmaid Attire

10. Sunflower Invitations

11. Sunflower Boutonniere 

12. Sunflower and Candle Centerpiece

13. Sunflower Place Card Decor

14. Sunflower Couple Photo

15. BBQ Buffet Line 

Late Summer Peach: as seen on WV Weddings Blog

Find this inspiration board at the WV Weddings Planners' Palette Blog 

Need a little wedding inspiration? Your simplest pleasures can be your greatest guide. This board of Peach, Orange, Pink, and Ivory was inspired by enjoying my mother's summer peach cobbler. 

The tastes, the colors, and the smell took me back to my years in West Virginia when September brings the end of  peach season and the Appalachians begin to change color. Thus the idea for  a peach inspired theme was born; one last hurrah for summer and a season opener for fall. 

Serving Bellini cocktails, peach tarts, and a peach inspired wedding cake create for a sweet start to a peach-themed wedding celebration. Bountiful crate centerpieces filled with peaches, orange spray roses, ivory garden roses, and  pink and deep orange dahlias accented by terra cota pots lend bright, rustic charm to each table setting. 

The gown is a throw back to a vintage era with a high lace neckline and belt, made modern by the addition of deep pockets and pleated ball gown. Dresses for the 'maids are a simple and flattering v-neck dress in hues of peach, pink, or light orange. 

Send guests home with market bags of local West Virginia peaches or homemade peach preserves . Yum!

Do you love peaches or perhaps you grew up with an apple orchard in your back yard? Whatever the passion or experience, think about what really pleases you and your significant other. Getting inspiration from your daily pleasures is a way to make your wedding a uniquely personal celebration that you and all your loved ones will never forget.  

Sources:

1. ETSY Necklace

2. Simple Invitation

3. Bouquet

4. Orange Spray Roses

5. Rings on Peaches

6. Peach Place Setting

7.  Flower Girl's Dress

8. Heart Shaped Cookies

9. Bellimi

10. Pretty Peach Heel

11. Peach Colored Rose Cake

12. Peach Crate Centerpiece

13. Peach Colored Bouquet 

14. Lace Detail Cakes

15. Vintage Wedding Dress

16. Bridesmaid Dress

17. Peach Cupcake

18. Peach Tart

19. Peach Accents

20. ETSY Peach Colored Rose Necklace

21. Groom's Attire

22. Peach Favors

Friday Favorites - Simple, Unique Wedding Cakes

I really enjoy baking, decorating, and eating cake. But I am not a big fan of huge, overly perfected cakes. Why? Because they just don't taste as good. I don't like the taste of fondant and prefer the homey look of a whipped buttercream iced cake. 

The trend of having multiple small cakes of different flavors appeals to me as well. Guests can pick and choose, and guess what? So can you! I can never ever decide between a good dense lemon cake with thick lemon icing, the airy yellow cake with decadent chocolate buttercream, or a good red velvet with homemade cream cheese icing. I'll take all three! 

And I must mention that I adore cake stands. I like flea market finds and the adventure looking for a specific item leads you on is always zany and entertaining. 

Wedding Cake Photo Sources:

1. Homemade Vanilla Cake

2. Fluffy White Icing

 3. Three Yummy Cakes 

4. Flavor Variety is Always Good 

5. Martha Stewart Single Tier Initial Cakes - my personal favorite

6. Vintage Green Cake Stands 

7. Plain Jane and Delish 

8. Multiple Pastel Cakes 

9. Swirl Iced Cake 

10. Vintage Cake colors, wedding cake toppers, and stands

11. Tall Iced Single Tier Cake

12. Coconut Wedding Cake  

Friday Favorites - Aquamarine Rings

I adore the color of the Aquamarine Gemstone. The pale blue translucence exhibits a calm that almost seems to transcend to the lucky owner.  Perhaps the age-old associate with the ocean lends to it's peace-inducing aura. 

However, this beautiful gemstone comes with mixed warnings regarding the daily wearability of the gem. It rates as a 7.5 to 8 in hardness on the Mohs Scale, less durable than the top dog, diamond at 10 and a ruby at 9.  

Making the decision to have an aquamarine rings depends on your specific tastes, uses for the rings, and daily activity. If you tend to be hard on your hands and want to wear a ring daily, do not choose an aquamarine. However, if you are willing to do occasional wear or are gentle on your hands and  are prepared to clean the ring consistently and often, aquamarine can be a enchanting choice. 

Additional Aquamarine Tips:

Aquamarine Gemstone Information

Suitable Gemstones for Engagement Rings

Ring Sources

Top L-R:  

Seed & Pod Eternity Band, Sterling Silver $373 | Simply Princess Solitaire, Sterling Silver $871 | Stackable Marquise Leaf Ring, 14K White Gold $511

Center L-R:

Two-Finger Vine Ring, 14K Rose Gold with Sapphire $9,256 | Natalie Ring Round Cut Ring, 14K Rose Gold $2,061 Princess Aquamarine Ring, 14K Rose Gold $1,153

Bottom L-R: 

Samantha Emerald-Cut Ring, 14K Yellow Gold with Diamonds $1,138 | Solo Oval Ring, 14K Yellow Gold Ring $885 | Button Band, 14K Yellow Gold Ring with Diamonds $636

Official Contributing Blogger for WV Weddings- First Post

I am supremely excited for my latest blogging adventure. I am a contributing blogger for the West Virginia Wedding Magazine's "Planners Palette". The inspiration board below is my first submission of many. 

West Virginia Late Summer Wedding Inspiration 

Cream, Dusty Rose, Sage, and Wheat

The thought of a late summer wedding in West Virginia brings images of heirloom treasures, family traditions, cool mountain breezes, and a celebration filled with the closest of friends and family. 

As summer comes to an end and gives way to cooler evenings and golden hues in the fields, celebrating outdoors will provide the perfect backdrop for an casual chic wedding. 

With a palette of cream, rose, sage, and wheat, your celebration expresses an air of country charm and understated elegance. 

Off-white and flowing the empire waist gown dances in the evening breeze. A light, effortless dress speaks to a bygone era but is made unique and modern by combining a mix of rose, cream, and ivory colors and figure-flattering styles among the ‘maids.

Bouquets and floral arrangements of antique hydrangeas and ranunculus, sage table linens, and burlap accents add the finishing touches to a simple, elegant celebration of love.  

Photo Sources:

1. Dresses

2. Table Setting

3. Invitations

4. Wreath

5. Belle Fluer Jewelry Necklace 

6. Bouquet

7. Sweet Pea Gown by Ivy & Aster

8. Cake

9. Bridesmaid Gown

10. Bride

11. Menu

12. Outdoor Ceremony Decor

13. Reception Décor