I’m typing this from a VERY empty Altman Building in what is likely to be the last few quiet moments of the day… For a planner/designer this is the most exciting part of the process- when the 30 deliveries and dozens of bodies all show to up bring the vision you’ve created with your client starts to come to life.  It’s also the time when if snafus come up there is still time to fix them and no one needs to be the wiser.  (Yes, things sometimes go mildly crazy at the last minute. That’s why you pay professionals so that you don’t have to deal with it.)

When you’ve been doing this for a little while, the night before a set up is a little bit like Christmas…. In our minds we know how things are going to look and we know that they are going to look fabulous… but we know that the client and their family might have a bit of trouble envisioning it. So this is the time when we get to see all the pieces come together and anticipate their reaction when they see their dreams come to life.

The next picture you see of this space expect to be transported to an intimate and glamorous 20′s era cafe.

I smell a trend… With the Great Recession came fabulous wedding inspiration from the 20′s and 30′s and now… well, I think Bridal sensibilities might just be turning their heads backwards to another time when gas prices were high and Americans were weary of war. The late 60′s and early 70′s!

I totally get it:  weddings of the 70′s seemed so much more laid back and the fashions seemed effortlessly beautiful and lady-like.  Who wouldn’t want to return to a look like that.

Here are some fabulous bridal style from the 1970′s

And here are some hints at this fabulous look popping up in contemporary bridal.

Top Group (clockwise from top left): Fabulousness with Rhinestones…, Bell sleeves and a Bouffant, Vintage St. John available NOW, Vintage Gunne Sax, Who says only Bianca Jagger could rock a wedding hat?

Bottom Group:  Dramatic tye-dye and headpiece via Stone Fox Bridal, a Real Life bouffant, Fancy Knits, and the wedding hat, re-imagined by Stone Fox Bridal.

I have had the pleasure in the past few months to register for wedding gifts. Now, the idea of having things you’ve been coveting without having to pay for them is amazing. However, you might find that it is not as easy as it sounds! You need patience, a strong sense of what you like, and a strategy. Agreeing on what you want in your home is a plus, but I figured out that sometimes you can work around it!

1. Online Versus Department Stores- If it were up to me, I would have done everything electronically. This way we could work on things as we lounged at home in front of the television or as I took a procrastination break at the office. However, some people love to walk into a store to purchase gifts, so I felt compelled to also offer that option. For my online registry I chose Newlywish and for my store option we went with Pottery Barn. Let me tell you, the experiences have been NIGHT and DAY. With Newlywish I received an email every time someone purchased something. I also got an email when that gift shipped. What an easy way to track your gifts!! And who doesn’t like things that are made easy?! My experience at Pottery Barn? Not so hot. Not only were people not able to always find the registry, but when one gift was lost, I got a card in the mail with the amount the person spent but no information as to who the person was. Calling and asking questions seemed a little like being on the phone with Verizon customer service. I would say “never again”, but since this is a one time deal I can’t really say that.

2. Register for things you love and not just things you feel you can use RIGHT now- I think that when I started off on the process I filled my lists with things I felt I needed (i.e. boring things) and made my list a little too long.  I loved my china (although my fiancee thought it was a little odd that we were registering for an AAB collection:) and wish I would have limited my options so that I would have gotten a bit more of my set.

3. Think it through!!- One of my favorite things on my registry were a set of Lucerne Flutes. Now, ask me what I was thinking when I only registered for 2? Who knows!! I love them so much that I wish I had 10 and that every person that stepped into my home could toast with one in hand. So when they arrived and took my breath away I quickly tried to correct my mistake and add more to my registry….only they were sold out! So be sure you think about realistic quantities when you are adding things. This is something that will be in your home for years to come. So even though now I can’t have more than 2 people over before feeling claustrophobic, this will not always be the case. This also might happen to you, so make sure you think ahead!

4. Thanks a bunch- Now as you sit in your home with ALL of these wonderful new things, make sure that you send out Thank you cards to thank all of your friends and family who gifted you these items. I must admit that I started strong, and then stopped halfway through my list, so this is reminding me that I need to get back to work! Check out this lovely Pattern grab bag of cards from Regas. Who wouldn’t want to get one of these cards?

Want to just drop by a store and pick up something today? Why not stop into Papyrus after work. I fell in love with this boxed set. LOVE the gold liner.

What were your favorite registry items? Maybe I still have time to add:)

Growing up deep in the heart of Brooklyn (meaning NOT anywhere that is currently chic, cool or hip today) the trend was to bestow your best-est girlfriends with golden charms.  Birthdays, graduations, any milestone, really… a charm was the perfect gift for a friend and we would wear them on bracelets, necklaces and more.  So, it’s with great nostalgia and glee that I notice the trend of charms making a comeback, and what a FABULOUS gift for your M.O.H, bridesmaids, or even for yourself to commemorate the occasion of being engaged.

Probably the best charms I’ve seen around have been from Charmco.  From the humorous to the astrological, they have an icon for seemingly everything and they are just adorable.   Here are a few under their “wedding and marriage” heading that I thought were fantastic!  The fabulous flutes, OR your own “charming” save the date!

When I got married, I had the best bridesmaids ever.  Seriously, the marriage was so-so, the wedding was fun, but the bridesmaids were AMAZING.  I wanted to give them each something that they would think of me when they saw it, and our fun time together leading up to the wedding.  I used to wear a vintage “Faith, Hope and Charity” charm all the time, and I scoured NY looking for one for each of them.  So, obviously it was the first thing I looked for when I went onto Charmco.

They also have a fantastic number of “destination” themed charms, which are a perfect way to commemorate your wedding weekend with your friends, OR, the locale of a favorite girls’ weekend, where you went to college or whatever city or place has significance to you.   For me, I’d probably give my girlfriends a Taxi charm to commemorate the many, many nights in my 20′s spent with nutty cab drivers and one or two trips to taxi court.

In any case, I realized while I was writing this, that part of the reason I do LOVE the idea of gifting charms is that it’s  a way to inject some sentiment into a gift that is sometimes a little lack luster.  After a gal has gone through the trouble and expense of being a bride made, the THOUGHT really does count.

Every bride has something during the planning process that catches them off- guard. Sometimes it has to do with what parents are willing (or not willing) to contribute financially, sometimes it is how many opinions that their significant other wants to inject into the process.

My first big hurdle was our ceremony. I was raised Catholic, my fiancee was raised Baptist, so I think that in my mind I thought we would have an interfaith officiant for our ceremony. I work with officiants all of the time, and I love that they get to know you and you work on a ceremony that is customized to the two of you. I feel that during these ceremonies, people get to feel the love that couples have for each other. However, my father had different plans.

When I say I was raised Catholic, I really mean it. We went to mass every Sunday, we confessed once a month, and we were a real part of the local church. Now, we were all Catholic, but my dad was and is the true believer in our family. So, when he heard my plans about my ceremony, he told me that I would not be married in his eyes until I was married in the church. He might have also mentioned skipping this wedding and waiting to attend “the real one”. Unfair? Maybe, but honestly much more common than you would think. I watch these struggles with families all of the time with our clients.

As an impartial bystander I am able to say to couples, “this is about you, and you shouldn’t let anyone bully you into anything”.  But I can tell you that as a bride, that was much easier said than done. So as my dad leaned over to grab his arm a-la Sanford and Sons (he suffered a stroke a few years back and this move is a sure fire way to get us to do as he says) I gave in and signed up for Pre-cana. To my surprise, my fiance and I actually enjoyed the first pre-cana retreat day and walked away feeling more connected as a couple.

Now, this was all made possible by the fact that although spiritual, neither my fiancee and I felt THAT strongly about the ceremony direction. It was easy to give in. It is not always that simple. At times, what you and your families believe are diametrically opposed, in which case it might mean that a parent won’t join you on your wedding day. Things like this happen more than you would think.

The moral of the story? That there is no “right” way. That there is no perfect road to the alter. You decide what works for you. And sometimes the process of making choices as a couple actually can help define your values and priorities- a more enjoyable process than one might think.

I think it’s because we’re working on Mayra’s wedding invitations, but I am a bit paper obsessed this week.  I can’t wait for National Stationery Show because I am sniffing a trend that we are going to see a WHOLE lot more of… and that is the RETURN OF LUXURY in invitations… I’m seeing it sneak back in in tiny details like die cut shapes and foil printing and it makes me THRILLED frankly.

In fact, what inspired today’s post was an amazing, foil printed holiday card that we received from our friend Jessica Paulen at Judy Paulen Designs that was from Spark Letterpress.   Mayra and I fell in love with Spark at NSS two years ago, and they continue to improve and expand their offerings.  Their Spark Impress line is the latest in innovative, detailed designs that are all highly customizable and SUPER versatile for any number of tastes and styles.  Here are some of my favorites.

I may have mentioned that I was going to swing by The New York Palace this past weekend for the Wedding Library/ Martha Stewart Wedding Event… It was overall a pretty lovely morning/ afternoon as I arrived early to visit with some wedding friends who were showcasing their talents and services to some of NY’s brides.

When I stopped by to visit with Margot and her husband Steven of Atelier Isabey I was thrilled with some of what I saw.  If you aren’t familiar with Atelier Isabey, they are a luxury stationer here in New York focusing largely (but not exclusively) on Custom and Couture designs.  I’ve  seen their work over the last several years, but I think that right now, it’s better than ever!  It seems strange to say, but we don’t always think about the fact that your vendors (stationer, florist, event designer) are creative people and like all people who make art, they often get better and more inspired and hit a stride. And certainly, right now, Margot has found hers.

Here is this amazing invitation that STOPPED me in my tracks for a destination wedding in Florence.   Having lived in Firenze for a bit (and gone there on a very awkward vacation with my now Ex-husband and Mayra and her now-fiance) I IMMEDIATELY knew it was Florence as soon as I saw the marble paper on the cover.  The inside, a bilingual invitation, was even more stunning with a view of the skyline one might only see from the hills of Michelangelo Square.

And here is the fabulous inspiration board.

I also loved this subtly Halloween-y, Halloween invitation. I love the black on black pattern on the outer cover… notice the little witches? And the Gothic fonts on the interior are just perfect!


Check out their website for more about their company and to see some more of their delightfully detailed invitations!.

Earlier this month Mayra and I decided to host a little dinner party.  Because our guest list was a bit bigger than what either of us could manage at home, we turned to our home away from home: The Creative Edge tasting room.  The food is always amazing, the service exquisite and, we’re there so often with clients we feel right at home.

I thought I would share a few images taken by the lovely Heather Waraska of our table top because, while simple, I did think it showcases how going with one clean idea can have big style impact without necessarily being overly expensive.  A lot of times a rehearsal dinner locale may need a little sprucing up and, while you don’t want it to take away from the “main event” the next day, a look like this is elegant, while not overdone.

For our little dinner we decided to go all winter white.  We selected a silver weave linen- which is kind of bleached burlap with silver threads.  Since we were whipping up these flowers ourselves, and wanted to get the most out of our “monochromatic” look, we kept clusters of flowers together.  It kept it simple to produce while also making a statement. White tulips, White Ranunculous, white hydrangea, baby’s breath and  lamb’s ear.   For an added detail, Laura Hooper was able to design these lovely menu cards that we placed at each guests setting.  And, because we subscribe to the school of thought that assigned seating makes people feel special, we had Laura create some place cards as well. Hope you enjoy!

So, while I thought Darcy’s apartment WAS really awesome, it was totally NOT my intention to leave that post up there all week.  We HAVE been a little bit busy though over here, and not just with weddings.  We are thrilled to announce our NEW name and brand identity:

After 8 years of being “Always a Bridesmaid”, the truth is it was hard to pull the band-aid off and CHANGE OUR NAME.  Mayra and I really liked our old logo with the little lady.. but, it was a name and a logo for a company very different than who we are now.  When our friend designed that for us and we came up with the old name, we thought it would be “cute” and “catchy”.  There weren’t a lot of wedding planners then, and a lot of them were more seasoned than we were at the time (we were only 25 when we started this ol’ thing).  So the idea of being like a “professional bridesmaid” seemed apropos.  But then we started really PLANNING big parties and then we started DESIGNING tablescapes and roomscapes.  And then we started working in just CRAZY places like Ellis Island and remote day camps and beach boardwalks.  And we realized we were many steps away from being “helpful” bridesmaids, we were really CREATING experiences for our clients.   Suddenly, it felt like we’d outgrown the old name; like seeing a grown man walk around in short pants and a propeller hat…

So it was time for a change, but it took us 2 whole years to figure out what and how.  We toyed with totally different names, but ultimately decided an abbreviation was in touch with the past, while the Creates was actively speaking about what we do.  Being visual gals, we knew the right logo was really the trick, so we turned to the best-  Meredith at Regas New York.  She walked us through the whole process and listened to our company life story of how we started the business and it’s various iterations and where we are now and where we wanted to go.  And she came back with the brilliance you see above.  And, wait till you see the business cards! Wowza! As soon as we saw it we KNEW this was the way to go.  There was no hemming and hawing. We knew this was the right way to go.

Next up was the web site.  So we turned to Brent and Teresa at Mimo y Mima to revamp our website and they, too, blew us away!   I hope you will check it out at AaBCreates.com
And keep your eyes open for some changes on the blog too!(don’t worry, we’ll still be Blogsmaids)

I thought we’d be a lot more wistful about the name change, but it actually feels exciting and invigorating….  Here’s to a creative 2012!

While I love wedding magazines and blogs, in my personal time, I find myself seeking inspiration for our client’s weddings from other sources.  Lately, since my Man Friend is about to buy new dining chairs and I’m desperately trying to convince him against going with dark leather upholstery on this set, I’ve been scouring design mags.  So, it was fun/ and striking when I saw a VERY familiar wedding face peeking up from my ipad this morning from a non-wedding site!

The fabulous Darcy Miller Nussbaum and her husband were profiled after finishing a massive renovation and re-design of their apartment. The result is amazing.  Since Darcy is the EYE of Martha Stewart Weddings, and her own wedding launched a million trends, it was super exciting to see what her home space was like.  It’s as perfect as you might imagine, and delightfully serene and neutral.  I can understand… after spending each day inundated with images and inspiration, it must be lovely to come home to such a fresh, sophisticated space.  Here are a few pics of my favorite parts, while Architectural Digest shows off the rest including the delightful play room! Get ready for some eye candy!