My First Real Wedding: Connie & Henry by Moy Photography

You may have already noticed that I am partial to orange by now... I think I go through phases of "color lust" and maybe it's because it's fall and the leaves are turning and the pumpkins are out, but I just love seeing events featuring orange. That is why I am so excited to be featuring the wedding of Connie & Henry by Moy Photography.

This wedding took place in October at the Palo Alto Hills Golf Club. Outdoor weddings this time of year sometimes lead to worries of rain, and this wedding happened to be one of those. Connie & Henry decided the wedding would be happening rain or shine however, and I just loved the way the weather pulled through for them! Who could ask for more than a pristine blue sky dotted with milky white clouds? I mean look at that ceremony photo! Gorgeous!

I loved the colorful combination of orange flowers and teal bridesmaid dresses and vests, and it looks like it was a great party! You can see more photos here.

Thanks so much to Kenny at Moy Photography for sending me these images, as well as more that are to come. Starting out a blog like this is a little scary and I'm thrilled that he was willing to help.

DIY Idea: Tissue Paper Flowers

Call me a geek but I love anything to do with paper projects. I remember being a kid and creating paper chains and paper ornaments for holidays, making my own envelopes and beads out of magazine pages, creating collages from interesting images I found, the list goes on and on. One of my very favorite projects growing up was tissue paper flowers. Every Mother's Day my sister and I would go to work creating a paper bouquet for our Mom... we used tissue paper of all colors and created the craziest bouquets, and every year Mom would fawn over the silly things and display them prominently, whether she liked them or not. (Aren't Moms the best?)

Anyway, all ranting aside, tissue paper flowers can be a great DIY project for your wedding or event. They are inexpensive, fairly simple to make, and last forever so they can even be brought home as favors.

The premise behind the flowers is simple, use tissue paper and floral wire to create a pop of color. When we were kids we followed the steps below. But there are lots and lots of resources on the web for different options and uses, and a great tutorial here on eHow. You can also find premade kits at places like Michaels and Paper Source. I have borrowed some images from Martha Stewart for the use of this post but there is also great eye candy on the Project Wedding Blog.

Materials:
Floral Wire and Floral Tape
Various Colors of Tissue Paper
Scissors
A little imagination.

1. Lay multiple sheets of tissue paper on top of each other, using multiple colors in the same shade. I would use squares between 8"x8" and 12"x12" depending on the size of the flower.
2. Accordion fold the paper (fold it back and forth) until it's one long, skinny rectangle.
3. Wrap your floral wire around the center of the paper and twist it off, be sure to have plenty of room for the stem.
4. Cut the edges of the paper into shapes depending on the look you want, maybe a scalloped edge or a deep triangle for a more ragged finish.
5. Carefully separate the layers of paper from each other, fluffing and arranging the pieces as you go, be sure to separate the left and right sides toward the center.
6. Finish the flower off with scissors, trimming where appropriate. 

 All images are the property of Martha Stewart Weddings, Inc.

Pure Glamour: Amy Kuschel

San Francisco designer Amy Kuschel brings to mind feminine elegance. With designs named Hepburn and Garbo you automatically conjure up scenes from old Hollywood movies, but she has put contemporary touches on every piece.

What I love about these gowns is that they are all handmade her in San Francisco design studio, one by one. The fabrics are imported from France, Italy, England and China and span the gamut from  lightweight and lustrous silk charmeuse to decadent french chantilly lace. The best part is Amy strives to create dresses that are affordable! What bride wouldn't want to put on one of these dresses?

The images above are property of Amy Kuschel Bridal.
The designs are Hayworth, Carmen, Ingrid and Hepburn.

You can find Amy Kuschel Bridal at 23 Grant Ave in the heart of downtown San Francisco, and this weekend (November 20th and 21st) she's featuring a Carrie Mader Trunk show with discounts on the beautiful jewelry line. Go check it out!

Twobirds Bridesmaid

I have two words for twobirds; absolutely stunning. This bridemaid shop, located in Manhattan was started by Ariane Goldman. She had the idea of creating convertible bridesmaid dresses after asking her bridesmaids to wear similar dresses to her wedding. The dress comes in 14 colors, 4 lengths and 2 sizes, and the bridesmaid gets to choose herself which of the 15 ways they want to wrap the dress for the big day. I love the idea that the maids get to choose a style that works for them, and have a dress they will be able to customize and wear again.

Along with a fantastic idea, twobirds has some gorgeous photography on their site. Check out their gallery for more gorgeous photos and ways to wrap the dress.

All photos featured here are property of Twobirds.com

Pocket Fold Wedding Invitations from Minted.com

If you haven't checked out the wedding invitations from Minted.com, you probably should. Their tagline is "the Freshest Designs on Paper" and after spending some time on their site I can definitely see why. They have a huge variety of invitations, announcements and cards and a unique approach to the business: they partner with smaller designers to offer a large selection in one place, giving us the opportunity to see the work of talented people that we might otherwise overlook.

Today I'm showcasing a few pocket fold wedding invitations. I love this idea because it goes a little further than the simple card in an envelope, but it's not too over the top. It's also a great way to start building a theme and showcasing your wedding colors.

 I just adore beautifully done invites, and I think it's great that these are all so different in style! They are from B.T. Elements, photographed by Minted. The styles from top to bottom are Gramercy, Barcelona, and Kapalua.

Easy inspiration: Create a board at Style Me Pretty

I mentioned the Style Me Pretty website was my inspiration for starting Lovely and Gracious, so I thought I would share one of the wonderful features of this site. Not only is Style Me Pretty a great resource for all things wedding, but there is also a community on the site created for brides and "wedding junkies" called the Style Circle where people can toss around ideas and learn from each other. One of the greatest features of this site is the Inspiration Boards area, where you can not only create your own board but also see other brides inspirations as well. All of the images from SMP are at your fingertips and it's easy to make a professional looking, impressive board that you can bring with you to appointments or look back at later.

This is the board I created. I called it "Whimsical Country Wedding" and tried to incorporate some of my favorite colors and ideas, since it is my first post and all. I love the idea of using lemons as place cards and vintage tins for flowers. Take a look.

Seriously. Check out the inspiration boards... It's a great place to get started.

Every good thing starts with an idea

Hello World! My name is Hilary Fruiht and I am a bit of a wedding junkie. It all started when one of my favorite food blogs (I'm a bit of a food junkie too) Eating/SF posted about her wedding. She mentioned a site called Style Me Pretty and I couldn't help but look. I literally spent four hours sitting on the couch while my boyfriend watched football devouring this website. It is appropriately named, because if you're looking for pretty, you will find it here. The site design is clean and fresh, and the images are so SO beautiful. I got to thinking that I might be able to create something that I could put my own spin on as a creative outlet for me.

I am a 27 year old commercial printing salesperson. I grew up a yearbook geek and studied graphic communication at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Somewhere deep down there is a graphic designer, but lately that part of me has been squashed by my need to make money. I would love to get back to my love of beautiful color, aesthetic and design through this outlet. I am not yet engaged, but I am very in love with my boyfriend of almost 5 years, and I'm hoping to have the chance to plan my own wedding in the not so distant future.

I hope to post on this site images from weddings and events I have found, concentrating on Northern California and the surrounding areas, as well as creative ideas for event planning. There is so much eye candy out there, and I'd like to make this a resource where people can find everything from great invitation ideas to floral designs to DIY projects. I would love to hear from anyone that is interested as I begin this journey, so feel free to email me at lovelyandgracious at gmail dot com.