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

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

Friday Favorites - Chrysanthemums

Photo Source: brideorama.com

Chrysanthemums remind me so much of fall and fall is definitely in the air! My father is a very passionate flower gardener, certainly where I picked up my love of all the things floral, and he adores mums. 

Each fall he has half dozen or so pots of gold, fire, and crimson mums gracing the steps of not only my childhood home, but the church steps he and my mother attend, my sister's home and I am sure my father's next visit to my apartment will bring a mum or two in tow. 

So why did the make my Friday Favorite list? Of course the reason above is simply enough, but I know everyone doesn't share the same sentimental memories as I do for this flower. The Chrysanthemum is in season during the fall and is an economical flower, huge benefits to your wallet and the environment. The mum is also a sturdy flower all the do-it-yourself brides that will be tying their own bouquets and comes in a large array of colors. 

Friday Favorites - Judd Waddell

Fall 2011 Collection

I, of course, must pay homage to the dress that made Judd Waddell one of my favorite designers:

The story behind this is something of an epiphany as I am preparing this blog. I have long praised any designer for simplicity and classic design, as I am not a trendy nor frilly critic. But this dress wins my praise and adoration for something that Judd Waddell could never control, sentimental value. 

Imagine walking into your beloved grandmother's home. When I do this much practiced visualization, I enter through her backdoor, which opens to a narrow kitchen; I see an apple crisp cooling on the counter and hear a Pittsburgh Pirates game droning on in the background. As I bypass the kitchen and walk through the "piano room", I pass four sets of wedding portraits. One portrait is of my mother and the other 3 are my aunts. And this is where the realization hit me; I adore the above dress because it mirrors the dress my maternal Aunt Mary Edith wore in her wedding during the 1950's. 

Not only is the dress and shape very similar, it's the models pose and backdrop complete with monochromatic chairs that instill love of this dress in my mind. 

In conclusion to this little epiphany, I have to praise not only the designer for this dress, but the art director and photographer, who understand the long standing classic style of this particular dress collection. To be so spot on with their understanding of the woman that would see herself in this dress, speaks to the experience and excellence of all involved.