Fun Facts Friday!

Here are some fun wedding facts for you all on this Fun Facts Friday! Featuring the world’s most expensive wedding dress, cake, bouquet and shoes! Enjoy!

The most expensive wedding dress was $12 million USD from jeweler Martin Katz and dress maker Renee Strauss. The dress has about 150 carats worth of diamonds and as of now it is still for sale.

The most expensive bouquet, 90 gemstones, 9 diamonds, a star shaped ruby and entry in the Vietminese in the Guinnes Book of World Records, valued at $125,000 USD.

The most expensive cake was unveiled in 2006 at a luxury bridal show in Beverly Hills. It was created by Nahid La Patisserie Artistique along with jeweler Mimi So.  It is decked out with jewels both exclusive and priceless. Estimated worth of about $20 million USD. I wonder what they did with the cake after the show...

Certaintly not the most expensive, but a very expensive pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes with Jewler La Vain cost about $2 million and feature 185 carats of museum-quality tanzanite gemstones and 200 carats of other precious stones. 

Not very practical for your wedding but I thought they were fun facts to share ! Happy Friday !

Love,

Charley

Beautiful Gowns For Under $5,000

Every girl dreams of looking like a princess on her wedding day, but sometimes you just have to be a little creative with your wedding dress budget. Here are some really beautiful dresses that I have found for under $5,000 that will most definitely make you feel like a princess with out breaking the bank. 

Here is a beautiful ballerina inspired dress from White by Vera Wang for David's Bridal, $1,000

Love this elegant fun figure hugging dress from Maggie Sottero via Best Bridal Prices, $1,129

Such a dreamy romantic dress from Jacquelin Wedding Dresses, $1,035


I love the black sash accent which you could add for the evening reception, by Modern Trousseau via PeriDress.com, $199

 Simply stunning dress and the back (below) is to die for from Priscilla of Boston $4,375

Get creative girls and look around, you might be surprised at what you find!

Love,

Charley

Escort Cards

Why not think of a fun and different way to help your guests find their way to their seats for dinner. The escort card may seem like a small detail but like the invitation, it's the entre to the next fabulous part of your wedding. Here are some lovely escort cards from various weddings I planned that I thought you might enjoy.

 (Photo by Ben Hoffman at Two Sparrows and flowers by Flower Dec)

 (Photo by Robert Evans Photography)

 (Photo by Paula Luna at Luna Photo and dogwood branches by Bobbe Vagel)

(Photo by Anthony Elgort)

(Photo and flowers by Lilla Bello)

I love how each individual bride's style and theme was followed through to the escort cards, it just ties it all together. Have fun thinking of ways that your personality can shine through your escort card table.

Love,

Charley

50th Luau Birthday Party

I had the great pleasure of being asked to design a very special client's 50th birthday party and I was so excited when she said she wanted a tropical Caribbean and luau celebration. I had such fun designing the bright and vibrant decor and lighting. Finding the perfect entertainment was also the icing on the cake. Fortune Entertainment provided us with  an amazing show featuring fire dancers, limbo dancers and dances from Hawaii to Tahiti! I loved finding the Tiki God heads from Bob Gail, he has some great props and also Lenny Marvin Prop Heaven had the wonderful Caribbean bar stools that we used as well. I just wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the event.

 

 

 

I love to carry through the decor design with the buffet as well. I complemented the fabulous food from Good Gracious! Events by wrapping the buffet table in thatching which also wrapped around the bar. Speaking of the bar, our most popular hang out during the night featured some delicious Tiki cocktails mixed up by Good Gracious' mixologist Dan Smith. It was very exciting to transform my client's stunning backyard into a Hawaiian paradise. Happy Birthday Terry!

Love,
Charley


Catering: Good Gracious! Events
Photography: Ben Hoffman from Two Sparrows Photography
Lighting: The Lighter Side
Rentals: Town and Country 
Flowers: Mark's Garden
Props: Bob Gail and Prop Heaven
Entertainment: Fortune Entertainment
Margaritas and Pina Coladas Machine: Margarita Man

It's All In The Kiss

Ahhh the kiss :)! The sweet, delectable, spine-tingling first kiss as husband and wife. The moment that all your guests have been waiting for and the million dollar money shot that will be framed and placed in your living room for all the world to see. Even though you kiss your guy everyday and don't even think twice about it, once you have a hundred pairs of eyes watching you, it's amazing how anxious this first kiss can make you feel. So here is my advice to all you beautiful brides, practice your first kiss! You're not going to hear your fiance complaining about this part of the wedding!

I just wanted to share some of my couple's beautiful first kiss moments, I dare you to even do the dip kiss like Anya and Josh!

 

(Photography by Eric Curtis)

(Photography by Mark Kuroda)

(Photography by Ben Hoffman from Two Sparrows) 

(Photo by Amy Williams Photography)

(Photography by Docuvitae)

Seriously, practice the way each of your heads will go, I know this sounds silly but nothing's more silly than a teeth-clashing head-butting, awkward first kiss photo that you know will show up on Facebook.

Love,
Charley

Too Hot to Handle!

Watching the Emmys this past weekend started me thinking about bridesmaid trends for 2012 and with all the fabulous red and coral dresses that were on the red carpet. I'm thinking that perhaps brides might be bold and go for these gorgeous hot, vibrant, and oh so pretty colors. 

Best dressed at the Emmys for me was Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang. What a stunning bridesmaid dress that would be!

 

(via bellasugar.com)

Here are some other pretty and a bit more non-scene stealing bridesmaid dresses in my trend prediction colors for next year.

 

(via morilee.com)

(via FashionClothing.com)

 (via bestbridalprices.com)

(via frenchnovelty.com)

Is hot red and coral too bold for you or do you think you can handle the sizzle?

Love,
Charley

Tantalizing Tuesday: Headpieces

This year I haven't had a lot of brides wear the princess tiara. At least 50% haven't even chosen to wear a veil. I have noticed that the trend has been more towards the headband and even the fascinator with the birdcage veil. Even the stunning Cartier "halo" tiara that Kate Middleton wore was beautifully understated and more like a headband. Its fun, its modern, and can be worn at the beach or at the palace. I also love anything with feathers and sparkles. Here are some fun and fabulous hair pieces that I am loving right now.

$89.95 from USA Bride

$165 from ban.do

$129 from Etsy

$130.95 from Erica Koesler via Advantage Bridal

$119.95 from Advantage Bridal

What do you think the trend for 2012 will be? Will we keep this fun trend or revert back to the classic veil and train? I love both looks equally.

Love,

Charley

Great Gatsby Inspired Wedding

While I was at Good Gracious Events, I had the great fortune to work with Josh and Anya on their Great Gatsby/Prohibition Era Wedding.  I love it when a bride comes to me and says she wants to do something that is "outside the box." So when my beautiful bride said she wanted to find an antique door and place it in the middle of her wedding location to symbolize stepping into their new life together. It became a great adventure trying to find it.

The wedding took place at the gorgeous Chateau Le Dome at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu. The 360 degree views of the mountains and vineyards are breathtaking. We tried all the rental houses to find the perfect door and we ended up finding it on Craigslist of all places! We didn't want to overdress it and just wrapped it in vines and leaves to match the ceremony site.

Another wonderful detail were the escort cards, which weren't actually cards but bottles of beer that the groom lovingly brewed in his garage. We had to find an interesting way to display the beer and keep it chilled, so we found a vintage bathtub at the Silver Lake Salvage Yard.

We also wanted to bring the couples personalities and heritage on to the tabletops. With Josh being a Director of Photography and Anya a beautiful actress originally from Russia, we used their collection of vintage cameras and Russian antique samovars as part of the table centerpieces. The table also features beautiful goblets, handmade by the groom's mother.

I also had to share this fabulous cake topper with you. Which was placed on top of a delicious cake from Le Provance adorned with antique broaches.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Fritts, a truly beautiful couple inside and out!

Love,
Charley

Photography: Eric Curtis Bouquet: Lilla Bello Flowers: Flower Dec Catering: Good Gracious Events Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Destination Wedding in Greece

Having a destination wedding is a wonderful way to celebrate your special day and also have a vacation with your family and friends, making it a wonderful occasion for everyone. I loved helping India and Leander plan their beautiful wedding in Santorini, Greece. What a gorgeous couple! Here is a stunning shot of their ceremony site overlooking the Mediterranean Ocean.

I loved how the bridal party walked through the streets to get from the ceremony area to the reception, cheered on by all the locals.

See how much fun a destination wedding can be for everyone! Where would be your favorite location for your destination wedding?

Love,
Charley