Archive for June, 2010

Shakespeare’s wedding decorations

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Hello loves!
This is one of the lastest posts before the summer holiday (I can’t wait!), so I thought to post something bright and fresh like these recycled paper wedding garlands. I think they are just lovely and elegant ornaments! I hope you like them!

Recycled paper wedding decorations
Recycled paper wedding decorations Recycled paper wedding decorations
Recycled paper wedding decorations
They are made from falling apart copies of Shakespeare’s plays. Some of these sets include pages from The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Tempest and The Two Men Of Verona.

You can buy them from Etsy or if you are enough creative and crafty you can make them by yourself. I would go for the second choice, but I wouldn’t use my own books because I’m too jelous of them, so I would probably buy some falling apart books from a charity shop or from a second hand one.

One heart, two wheels…

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Good morning girls,
Today I would like to talk about weddings and bicycles…yes, bicycles!
I’ve always thought bicycles are quite romantic means…an idea which was confirmed a few days ago by a lovely picture I found online and which was shot in Florence in the 40′s!

I love her hat, her Chanel jacket and those elegant black gloves! Plus his retro haircut! I simply find everything spot on! 
Plus  why should not you think green and savvy and arrive at your wedding ceremony venue in bicycle? Nice and good at the same time!

And now let’s go vintage with a few contemporary shoots…

***Love, wheels and countryside!***

bride and groom on a bicycle

bride and groom on a bicycleCourtesy of Peter CagnacciCourtesy of YesBride

Bride and groom on a bicycle

***Love, wheels and a serenata (serenade)!***

wedding on a bicycleCourtesy of  Ed Visoso

Wherever you are in the middle of the hills, in a corn field, or in front of a Venitian villa or of an old town palace, your photographer will always find hundreds of ways to play with you and your bicycles!

What colour is your sky?

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Today the temperature is reaching 30 degrees and I have difficulties concentrating on my day-to-day activities.
I can’t wait for my holiday to begin and in the meanwhile my mind is wandering among blue sky, blue sea, turquoise swimming pool, blue Burano island houses, Italian blue lakes…

So I thought…what if your wedding colour theme were blue? Maybe starting from a crazy, funny and glam pair of blue shoes?

blue wedding shoesCourtesy of Kyle Igarashi and Emily McAlpine

Plenty of choices to make your feet feel right and comfortable on your day! Summer is here and I feel like suggesting the above leather sling back sandals and ballet slippers.
The Swarovski decoration on the left shoes give light and a glam touch to what I would consider traditional sandals.
I just think that the bride on the right chose some simple slippers to emphasize her blue tatoo, which perfectly matches the shoe style: easy and casual…I love it!

Courtesy of Natasha Gregoire

The above turquoise colour slippers would match your swimming-pool style wedding and the colour of the water. Hopefully the bride thought of giving her guests as a souvenir a pair of soft and comfortable turquoise flip-flops for their summer days on the beach or on the swimming-pool… Nice idea, wouldn’t that be?

blue wedding shoesCourtesy of Caroline Tran and Wendy Herrick

Photographs do not hesitate to play with all accessories they would be put in front of their camera. In both cases above, their focus is on the shoes colour. While a white shoe would have been rather anonymous, the blue ones allow the photographers to capture nice and unforgettable shots for the bride and the groom!

Courtesy of  Midiman

I simply find the rockabilly style pumps above amazing. I just wonder what does the bride dress look like! An Olivia Newton-John with classic large, short and puffy white gowns would fit perfectly! Crystals pearls details would certainly capture the light on the dance floor while bride, groom and guests party!

Italian themed cake topper

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Hello girls!
I know the World Cup started a few days ago but it’s not for this reason I chose to write something about Italian themed cake toppers.

The fact is that I met Melaina a few weeks ago and I felt in love with her diy cake toppers we posted last week. She had promised me some new pictures with Bel Paese theme and when I saw them I was almost crying!!!
Here we go! Yuhu!!!

Italian themed cake topper
Italian themed cake toppers

Again the bodies are made of wood candle holders and the heads are doll heads, painted with acrylic. Flowers and all the details are made out of fimo putty.

Italian themed cake topper

I can notice the elegance of the dresses – eh eh…everyone knows Italians are quite crazy for fashion! But what makes me laugh about Melaina’s craftworks is her humor! Have you spotted the tiny little slice of pizza the groom is hiding on his back?

Italian themed cake topper
Italian themed cake topper

Thank you again Melaina! I forgot to tell you Melaina is going to get married abroad and that’s why I met her on the Destination wedding’s forum. So good luck with your wedding!

Red for emergency…and elegance!

Friday, June 18th, 2010

My dear friends,
This year will be very challenging for me! I’ve got three Italian weddings to attend and the first one will be this week end.
So I don’t even have to mention the stress I’m going through to find the right dress, the shoes which match the dress and bla bla bla! :-)

So here we go with the details of the wedding.
When: this week-end of June
Where: in Italy, religious celebration first, reception to follow
Who is going to get married? An unknown cousin of my boyfriend
Who is going to be there? The whole family of my boyfriend
Level of difficulty: HIGH!

Even my boyfriend, who usually doesn’t care to much of my shopping, is expecting something special from me (the only reason is because his mother will be at the party and he wants to impress her! Tipical Italian eh!?) 
So I thought of a proper nice and essential look for this wedding – which is like a “debutantes’ ball” for me – without renouncing to espress my personality. That’s what I come up with!

guest dress for a wedding in Italy

I will wear a sober but elegant silk dress by the Italian company Stefanel. It is a black and white polka-dot, armless dress, knee-long and shaped on my figure. I will cover my shoulders with a red taffeta stole (for the church!) which I bought in an open market (cheap and cheerful!!!)
As for the accessories, the red colour rules!

Red open toe shoes with 8-cm-high heels and a 70’s style little bag, both from a second-hand market.
I will have a little red rose in my blond short-cut hair from Bijou Brigitte (by the way, flowers are very trendy in Italy at the moment).

Last but not least, the final touch: a pair of butterfly shaped sunglasses straight from the 50’s! Sorry, I can’t help falling into retrò!

So, what do you think? ;-)
I will post details and pictures of the wedding next week! In the meanwhile wish me good luck!

Pinky shoes, that’s amore!

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Sometime I take a pause and smile remembering childhood times when we little girls were surrounded by pink! Pink was everywhere! A pinky world made of pinky Barbie dolls, pinky princesses, pinky houses, pinky trousers and also pinky shoes. A colour we probably loved and hated at the same time.

Today I really feel like posting some pinky stuff…because I think this colour can become one of the main element of your wedding day in an elegant and unusual way!
Pinky shoes?!
Italy is famous worldwide for its shoe production and ateliers will more and more offer brides to have their own bespoke wedding shoes that would match the theme of the wedding!
So here we go with some random ideas! I hope they will make you rock!

wedding pinky shoesCourtesy of Gritz Photography

Bridal specialized literature would recommend that a bride does not fall in love and purchase her wedding shoes before she actually chooses her dress! But honestly, I’m a shoe-aholic and when I come across the market offer in term of fabrics, models and style, I hardly resist the temptation to buy them! What’s the problem then?! They will certainly match my dress!

Strappy sandals, sneakers, boots, pumps or flip-flops… A great choice of models that would perfectly fit with your wedding theme!

Courtesy of Woodstove

Courtesy of Jamie Becca

I love flat shoes and the above old rose colour slippers give the bride white dress such a romantic touch! I particularly love the small rose decorations on the slippers. The bride wearing them must have a rafinated and sensitive taste… At least this is the impression it gives me!

Courtesy of Lynn Deidre Photography

Summer is almost here! Yuhu! Sling back sandals are with no doubt a good option for your feet! Satin, silk or velvet: up to you choosing the fabric you are more in love with – without forgetting though how comfortable your feet must be throughout the day!

Pinky wedding shoesPictures Courtesy of Ellys Photography , of Kari Renée , and of The Feds Photography 

A long journey with you…

Monday, June 14th, 2010

It’s Monday, 30 degrees outside. Like all mornings since the last six years I’m on my way to work, on the train which will reach Venice in an hour.
I’m thinking the train has been a quite important element in my and my husband’s story. It reminds me the old times when I and Gianluca were traveling around Italy from North to South to meet each other at anytime possible. A journey that still continues today, because we both go to work by train every day!

So I thought to start this week with a few pictures inspired by the “train theme” around Italy. I think train stations could be a fantastic place to take some romantic and creative shots during your wedding day! 

Manuela and Carlo have just got married and they are kissing each other while waiting for a train…

Wedding in an Italian train station - matrimonio alla stazioneCourtesy of Mauronster

I simply felt in love with Mauro’s picture! I particularly like the photographer point of view: a stranger’s eye capturing this intimate moment – from a train which is leaving an anonymous Italian station - without the couple even noticing him…

Courtesy of Victor Babintsev

The above bride and groom play with the train station scene in the background. The vintage style is fantastic!
It seems the bride is telling you something funny like: “Shhh, this is a secret. I won’t tell you where I will take my husband, but it will be a fantastic place!”

Courtesy of Margagv and Plasticcoatedcoulours

Simple but always of great visual effect, pictures combining depth of field and bride and groom walking together on the railway towards their future… Your wedding, a long journey which starts from a train station!

Feeling crafty!

Friday, June 11th, 2010

I’ve to confess since I’ve started this wedding blog I’m surfing the web day and night looking for inspiration.
Sometimes it happens I’m lucky because I come across such lovely ideas like this diy cake topper. 
 DIY cake topper for your wedding destination

The creator of this happy couple is Melaina Haas (from Victoria, BC, Canada). I met her in the Destination Wedding‘s forum and I completely felt in love with her pics that I couldn’t resist. So I asked her if I could use them and she has been so kind to let me post some pics in our blog. Yuhu!!!
The bodies are made of wood candle holders and the heads are doll heads , painted with acrylic. Flowers and all the details are made out of fimo putty.

DIY cake topper for your wedding destination
DIY cake topper for your wedding destination

And have you spot those two funny details? Take a closer look at it…

DIY cake topper for your destination wedding

Yes, that’s an XBox controller in her husband’s hand and shoe bags behind her back – how typical!
Melaina has been so kind that she has promised me to make something with an Italian theme! I can’t wait to see it!
In the meanwhile, have a lovely sunny week end and see you on Monday!

Love promises under an ancient chestnut tree…

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Where shall I start from?
Well, I’ll tell you the whole story of this Venetian villa, just in case you are planning a small wedding in Italy.

I had seen this Venetian villa many times from the outside, while walking around my boyfriend’s little village which lays at the foothills of the Dolomites.

So last April, when I went back to Italy for our Easter holidays, I asked my mother-in-law if she knew something about it.
Never underestimate your mother-in-law initiative, expecially if she is Italian! In a couple of hours and with a few calls to her Italian amiche (female friends) she managed to get the name and the contact telephone of the person I had to call.

Venetian relais

It was too tempting to resist! I called that number and arranged a viewing.  I took Mr B with me (poor and devoted boyfriend!) and off we went!
We were friendly welcomed by Ghislaine, the owner of this luxurious 15th century estate which has been property of a noble family for hundreds of centuries.
She was an exceptional host! She showed us all the hidden corners of this fairytale venue, a magic place where you can still find traces of the family’s noble past with portraits, paintings, antiques and ancient books.
We entered the building from the main entrance and the view was stunning! Two living rooms, two dining halls and a fully equipped designer kitchen with a traditional Venetian open fireplace.

Contemporary kitchen in Venice

Dining room
The kitchen opens up to a newly restored portico and has a view to a rose garden and to a relaxing 18-meters swimming pool.  During the summer you can enjoy lunch or dinner alfresco under the monumental chestnut tree.

You should have seen my heart shaped eyes! I was already dreaming of an intimate wedding reception under the ancient tree and I also thought it would be the perfect location for a romantic wedding photo reportage!!!

Venetian Villa in the Dolomites
Ghislaine told us the family has turned this private villa into a chic relais which has accomodation for a maximum of 16 people. (more…)

Masquerade wedding in Venice

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Today it’s Monday and we need something strong to start the week with energy!
So I thought to spoil you with a real fairytale wedding with three days of celebrations and…three different dresses for the bride!!! OMG!!!
She is American while he is Italian and they chose the romantic city of Venice as their wedding destination. They wanted something elegant so they asked for the help of the well-know Italian wedding planners Enzo Miccio and Angelo Garini.

Thursday evening: welcome cocktail party!
The event was held at well known Caffè Florian. For her a champagne coloured wedding dress by Giorgio Armani Privé.

Wedding dress in Venice

Friday: wedding and reception
New dress for the bride…WOW…and then a very simple marriage celebration at the Venice town hall. In the evening an elegant dinner at the Hotel Monaco & Grancanal.

White wedding dress with strass in Venice

white wedding shoes in Venice
Saturday evening: Masquerade dinner and ball
Apart from the new gorgeous dress of the newly bride, the entire location was arranged with a perfect attention to all details.

Silk avory wedding dress with strass in Venice
Wedding hairdresser in Venice
Masquerade dinner table in Venice
Wedding table decoration with feather and initials in the napkins
All the guests had to wear antique costumes for the regal ball, the tables were decorated using antique silver cuttlery and the “dj” played classic music from the 18th century. A real revival!
If all this was not enough to make the week end unforgettable for everyone, the couple wanted to give their guests a little symbolic present, a Venetian mask favour.

Venetian mask favours

If you are planning a wedding in this wonderful city, have a look at our weddings in Venice!
We can also provide Venetian wedding masks like the ones you see here with a minimum order of 20 pieces.