Happy New Year!

May you all enjoy a fabulous New Year's Eve! Cheeeeers!

{Image: J. Mendel Spring 2010 via A Glamorous Little Side Project}

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Wednesday Nesting: Greenhouse glam

I've been developing a slight obsession with greenhouses and these gorge images certainly aren't helping me shake it ... It would be such a dream to find a house with a small greenhouse tucked away down a mossy path ... I would immediately get to work on converting it into a Rachel Ashwell-inspired oasis. Wouldn't it be the most inspiring place to blog?

{Images via Country Living magazine}

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Clouds of tulle

It's a massive-amounts-of-tulle kind-of-day, you know?

{Images: 1: SJP via Google images; 2: Ballerina via here via here; 3: Martha Stewart}

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Vintage finds: Clawfoot coolers

Have you ever seen such a beautiful bath?!? I've long been a fan of vintage clawfoot tubs but this one puts all others to shame - how cute is that French cherub? Love the idea of re-purposing these darlings into wine chillers, whether for a simple soiree at home or a lavish garden reception - Just fill with ice and voila!

{Image via French Blue}

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A Sunday kind of Love ...

Loving this {faux} fur for a New Year's Eve night out ... maybe the fashion gods will cast a cold spell along the coast for me. ;o) Happy Sunday!
{Image via This is Glamorous}

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Chris and Emily's vintage-themed wedding

Emily and Chris threw a gorgeous Southern wedding with loads of divine vintage details in beautiful Knoxville, Tenn., on November 7. The ceremony and wedding took place at the historic antebellum Bleak House (a Confederate home) located on the Tennessee River, with five tiered gardens -- you can still see the bullet holes from the civil war on the home! The couple had appetizers served all evening along with old-fashioned soda, a wine bar and a yummy candy buffet. 

Personal touches ... :
Lots of DIYs - including our sign post [my husband made] which had arrows on it that indicated all the places my husband and I have lived. We also created all of the signs throughout our wedding and spray painted the frames antique gold. The bride's birdcage veil and fascinator were done by Gagavida (details below) and the double strand of pearls was borrowed from [my] Oma (German for grandmother). We also designed our wedding invitation from scratch. I made it look like an old-fashioned poster and then found a graphic designer who could print it out for us on a high quality printer and with nice paper. We had so much fun doing this.


Favorite Part of the Wedding:
Since our wedding took place in a historic home, it wasn't set up like a traditional reception with tables all around the dance floor. We actually transformed the patio off the back into a tented dance floor, with the DJ sitting in the parlor with the windows open. My favorite part was making our entrance for the first time onto the dance floor. When we came into the patio, all of our family and friends were filling every square inch of it, smiling and cheering. You could feel love pouring out from every corner! It was amazing!


Advice to Fellow Brides:
Both of our families had to travel in for our wedding, so I depended on my husband to help me with lots of the planning and decision making. We recommend that before going to parents or seeking out other advice, really think, dream, and envision your ideal day. Think about what is most important to you and make those things priorities. When the big day finally arrives, allow your family and friends to do what they most want to - make your day fabulous! On your wedding day, don't focus on anything except having fun!
 
Details on Vendors:
Jennie Andrews is an amazing photographer. She not only took amazing photos, but did things like tie the bow on my sash for my dress, put bobby pins in my hair and had me laughing all day long! She has an amazing energy about her! I told my husband that I wanted to be Jennie's friend outside of our wedding, and since the big day we've hung out!

Gaga Vida - Birdcage veil and fascinator: GaGaVida @ www.xxoogagavida.com "Handmade custom pieces for wedding & wardrobe" I've always wanted to wear a birdcage veil, and GaGaVida worked with me to personally design the one I dreamed of! My original idea was to just wear the veil during the ceremony, and then keep the fascinator (the flower piece) in during the reception. I and everyone else for that matter loved the veil so much that I ended up leaving it on the entire evening!

Catering: Rex Bradford Jones Catering - http://abnersattic.net/ Rex's style fit the general vision of our wedding to a t. Besides catering, he actually runs a quaint restaurant (open for lunch) out of a two story colonial home in Knoxville. I loved the fact that Rex present at our reception. His staff was so professional, that we hardly even noticed they were there.

Wedding Coordinator: Kelsey Dotson of the Bleak House. Kelsey was fantastic. The week before the wedding she was in communication with all of the vendors, and made sure everyone was ready to go and on the same schedule. The day of the wedding, every time I would say "Oh Kelsey, we need to..." she'd finish my sentence and say it's taken care of!

DJ: Jim Ogle of Ogle Entertainment was great to work with. In fact him and Jennie, our photographer, have worked together before. This made execution of events seamless, as they had little cues and signs for each other in terms of timing. We joked with both of them that we had the hybrid of wedding vendors team!

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible day with us, Chris and Emily! Congrats!
 
{Photos: Jennie Andrews Photography of Knoxville, Tenn.}

*update: Monogram Cake toppers created by Kate Miller Events

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Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a very merry day!

{Image: Country Living magazine}

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Merry Christmas Eve!

May you all have a warm + wonderful evening filled with laughter and love.

{Image via J. Crew}

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Wednesday nesting: Holiday style

I vow that someday my home will look this fabulous with freshly cut swags of greenery accenting the staircase and mistletoe hanging from just one of the many chandeliers ... hah! Isn't the gray somehow calming against the heavenly glitz and glam of all the crystals and ornaments? Like a breath of fresh air, I love it. Merry Christmas eve's eve! May you feel as festive as the feelings these photos evoke! Cheers!

{photos via Veranda magazine}

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Photo-stylist love

Let's enjoy some more from Shana Faust's incredible portfolio ...

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Fresh seaside air

First, a note to my dear readers: The post I previously had up today {and tomorrow's sequel to that post} had to sadly be removed due to a miscommunication with the coordinator regarding the photos. Instead, let's move on and enjoy some fresh seaside air:

{All images from Charleston Weddings Magazine}

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A Sunday kind of Love ...

This house was located a few blocks away from mine when I was in elementary school and I always loved how enchanting it seemed ... the natural and lush foliage ... the fairytale turret ... even the stacked stone mailbox exudes natural charm. I don't know what the backyard holds but I'd love to imagine an intimate wedding on a stone terrace surrounded by woodlands.

Would you have your wedding here if you could? How would you decorate?

{Image found here}

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SP: Pretty invites

Did you know David's Bridal sells wedding invitations? I just recently found out and I have to admit, I was impressed by the wide selection of styles {and extremely affordable prices}! The two beauties above are from their line and don't they just shine? What do you think? Where do you plan on ordering your invites?

*Sponsored Post

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Matt and Blair's West Village engagement shoot

I always enjoy checking in on Missy's blog and this time, I was in for a big treat with a cherry on top! Matt and Blair's West Village shoot is just phenomenal ... The photos make me want to grab J and jump on my old Schwinn to enjoy the crisp winter air ...

Check out more on Missy's blog here. And may you all have an engagement shoot as fun as this one looks. :o)

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Mylien + Nick's California Autumn wedding

Mylien and Nick wanted their wedding to embody the colors of fall and they couldn't have done a better job! The rusty oranges and reds look so dreamy mixed in with the softer cream accents. Love it! To see more from their lovely wedding, check out the slideshow here.

And now for a little insight on the day from the bride herself ...

Personal touches ... :
Both Nick and I made so many things for our wedding ... Branch centerpieces, hanging lighted columns, and [a] fall leaf chandelier. Both Nick and I made all the decor decisions to bring the room together. Also, our main color was orange and "Orange" is one of the many nicknames I have for Nick.

Favorite moment ... :
The vows. I couldn't wait to share my journal entry with him and finally commit our lives to one another.

Advice to fellow brides ... :
Don't procrastinate and plan ahead, RELAX, let it go and enjoy the actual wedding day, and lastly, make decisions in advance! I had a hard time making decisions and sticking to them which led to the worst case of procrastination with everything flooding in on the last few days.

Vendors ... :
Ceremony: St. John Vianney Church in San Jose, CA

Reception: Villa Ragusa in Campbell, CA (Alison was amazing!)
Coordinator: Adrienne Lee Tickled Events
Cake: Goldilocks
Lighting: Got Lights!
Photography: Alfred & Emma Salom (absolutely wonderful to work with and amazing pictures!)
Day Of Wedding Coordinator: Tickled Events, Adrienne Lee (she was awesome!)
Ice Sculpture: Ice Illusions
Make-up: Aimi Duong (better than I ever imagined!!!)
Hair: Alicia, Rootz Salon in Los Gatos (OMG, the best up-do hair style ever! My hair is hard to work with and she made it phenomenal.)
Wedding Dress: Jin Wang (True Couture Wedding dresses; she personally works with every client and is super sweet. Hands down the best wedding dress I've ever seen... and it happened to be mine!)

Thanks to Mylien + Nick {and Alfred Salom photography} for sharing this beautiful day!

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Wednesday Nesting: The Houmas House

I'd love to call this sweet nest known as the Houmas House in Houmas, La., mine ... then again, I'd be happy having the little West Garconnierre tower on my lawn {if I had a lawn, that is!} ... Wouldn't it be such a dreamy venue for a spring wedding? I can already imagine the twinkling lights in the trees ...

{Images found here}

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Gorgeous inspiration from Shana Faust

L-O-V-I-N-G Shana Faust's gorgeous portfolio documenting her work as a photo-stylist! So many beautiful things artfully arranged in such perfect yet natural ways ... it's like choreography for still objects! So inspiring. See more here.

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Vintage Finds: Typewriters

The thing I love most about vintage typewriters has to be, hands down, that satisfying ding of the return bell ... The sound alone conjurs up so many great images from the past ... busy, chattering newsrooms before deadline, an oak-paneled college library filled with co-eds and coffee ... or my favorite, a sweetheart carefully typing out a secret love letter to his beautiful bride-to-be.

What's not to love, right? That's why I get so excited to see more and more couples including these gorgeous relics of the past in their weddings either as guestbook stations or just as fabulous decor.

Let's take a look at some examples ...

I just love the fun interaction that follows when guests get to crowd around a guestbook/typewriter station and leave words of wisdom and love for the couple. The sentiments they leave on paper make for an inspiring and beautiful piece of art to frame and hang in the newlywed's nest!

Loving the idea as much as I am? Here's the sweet gem I have for sale:

About the typewriter:
This is a gorgeous Tiffany blue-colored Smith Corona portable typewriter from the 1960s - really the laptop of its day! It is a Cougar model and comes with its original hard carrying cover/case and has a cute handle that makes transporting a cinch.

This deliciously retro typewriter is in excellent vintage condition and has no chips or cracks. The only visible wear is found on the outside of the carrying case - there are a few minor dings and scratches along the exterior and base feet but overall, it is in superb condition. All keys are working and the return bell lets out the most delightful ring. It measures approximately 12" wide x 12" deep x 4" high.

Note: The typewriter ribbon has dried out a little bit, so it will need to be replaced with a universal ribbon before using.

Price: $248.00 + shipping SOLD

If you're interested in the typewriter and would like to request a shipping quote, just message me your zip code at theclassicbride@gmail.com! First come, first serve.

ps. The candy-apple red stack of books and the Typewriting Technique manual shown in the photos are also for sale! I love how they match the few red keys on the typewriter! The Typewriting Technique manual has a copyright from 1936 and I think it would be charming sitting next to the typewriter to create some more vintage visual decor! It also has some very cute illustrations inside:

If you're interested in any of the books, message me at theclassicbride@gmail.com for pricing and shipping information.

Finally, I just absolutely adoooooore the Tiffany blue shade of my typewriter and couldn't resist placing it in this Tiffany Blue wedding board I created awhile ago:

Doesn't it just look like it belongs? Love it! It would be perrrrrrrrfect if you're throwing a Tiffany blue wedding. ;o)

{Images: 1-4: taken from a Flights of Fancy board; 5-6: Style Me Pretty; 7-11: Style Me Pretty; 12-17: taken by me; 18-22 from a past board I created}

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