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Fashion & Florals Part 1

For those of you who weren’t able to join us on Wednesday night at Gabriella’s, I’m so excited to share Carlos Andres Varela’s pictures from the fabulous event. I hope that you are as inspired as we were by these amazing bouquets and stunning gowns. The concept? We invited 12 of our favorite, most inspiring floral designers to create bouquets for one of 12 fabulous gowns at Gabriella’s salon!   I have to say a HUGE thank you to Rebecca here in our office who REALLY worked super hard to pull this event together while I run around like a chicken with no head.  Here are some fabulous images.  I’ve linked each florists image to their website, so you can easily explore more of their work.  Thanks to everyone who participated, especially Gabriella for having us to her salon!  More images of the rest of the bouquets coming later today!

Blossom & Branch

Blossom & Branch's sultry, fun bouquet

Belle Fleur

Belle Fleur

Fleurs

Fleurs inspired by Matthew Christopher

Gardenia Organic

Gardenia Organic

Stacey from Once Upon a Bride with our co-hostess, Gabriella

Stacey from Once Upon a Bride with our co-hostess, Gabriella

Dj JVC kept the tunes flowing

DJ JVC kept the tunes flowing

Me, Meredith from Regas, Mayra and Annie from Daughter of Design

Me, Meredith from Regas, Mayra and Annie from Daughter of Design

Marc Wilson side by side with design from Takashimaya

Marc Wilson side by side with design from Takashimaya

Close up of Marc's amazing bouquet

Close up of Marc's amazing bouquet

The Ultimate Engagement Event

Wedding planning should be a relaxing, luxurious experience.

Next Sunday, March 14th will be a day that raises the bar for bridal events everywhere.

The Ultimate Engagement is the first ever complimentary bridal event that allows brides-to-be the opportunity to meet with the premiere experts in the luxury bridal industry. Not only will brides be able to access the extensive experience, knowledge, passion and talent of these individuals, but you get to do it all in a stress-free one-on-one setting.

Think of the crowded booths, lines, frustration and general mayhem of the typical bridal show, then imagine the exact opposite; a relaxing, sophisticated one-on-one sit down where you and the expert vendors of your choice chat about YOUR wedding and yours alone. Participating is as simple as visiting The Ultimate Engagement website, completing your free registration and scheduling appointments with the hottest high-end wedding professionals that you have watched, read and heard about. Have the opportunity to sit with the most sought after photographers, florists, caterers, venues, planners… the list goes on.

While you plan your stunning event, enjoy designer trunk shows, book signings, food & wine tastings, educational sessions, chic pop-up shops and more!

Our own Xochitl Gonzalez, Blogsmaid Extraordinaire will be on hand to help you turn your luxury wedding dreams into realities – and blogging LIVE throughout the day! Xochitl will be joined by other notable wedding experts such as Marcy Blum, Sylvia Weinstock, Lisa Johnson of Ceci NY, Ines de Santo and many more.  This amazing event was put together by the wonderful Maya Kalman of Swank Productions and Elizabeth Beskin from 5th Avenue Digital.

To ensure each bride receives the personal attention she deserves, space is limited. Please register today to take advantage of this one-time experience that will help you create a day of memories that will last a lifetime.

WHEN: Sunday, March 14, 2010

9:00AM – 7:00PM

WHERE: Gotham Hall, NYC

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

xx

-Sal

JAM at BAM

Before the Oscars, I’ll be kicking it with Anna at the Bridal Event at BAM. This will mark Anna and my 2nd time at BAM together this week!  This is the first event that Just (About) Married, our Day-of Coordination service will be hosting and Mayra and I are excited to offer them some moral support.  So if you are in Brooklyn and feel like swinging by, I’m happy to offer up advice and ideas and answer any etiquette questions while I keep Anna company.

It’s going to be an FABULOUS event- Bride’s Magazine and The Knot will be there.  Fabulous Florals from Root Stock and Quade and Blossom and Branch will also be on hand and of course, the wonderful tastes and smells of Great Performances plus tons of other amazing Brooklyn based vendors.

I would make a day-of it and hit up the Brooklyn Flea Market at One Hanson before heading to the bridal event and then maybe grabbing lunch at Chez Oskar or iCi!

Enter the code “Brooklyn Bride” for a free tickets!

100lc_eventbam1

Shakespeare and Love

The Q: We’re having a cocktail reception with dancing and I’m finding a lot of tension between my mother and I about the “tone” of the wedding.  She’s very concerned about her friends and our family feeling comfortable.  She’s also obsessed with there  being music that they will dance to, etc.  I don’t want a cheesy wedding and I’d like it to be more modern. I also want to be sure that my friends are having a good time.  Any tips?

The A: I’m going to start on a seeming tangent, but I swear,I’ll bring it back to your question. The other night, I went to see As You Like it at BAM with Anna from JAM (Just About Married… once we realized the anacronym, we’ve been making JAM jokes non-stop).  I’d never read or seen this particular Shakespeare play, so imagine my surprise at the fact that the entire play culminates in a quadruple wedding.  This being Shakespeare and the play being over 400 years old, I don’t think that qualifies as a “Spoiler”.  In actuality, As You Like It is a really old Romantic Comedy.

Aside from the play containing this elaborate wedding scene, it struck me as related to this situation for another reason. One thing that made Shakespeare so very rich to watch and enduring is that each of his plays contains a rich tapestry of ages, characters and personalities.  He wrote characters that were young and pretty and naive and in love. He wrote characters that were wise, sickly and always with a bit of spunk. He wrote middle age, parental and protective.  And while mixing all these things creates some tension (especially in the lead up) it is exactly these things that make his stories so enduring and memorable. 

In the moment, it got me thinking how many Rom-Coms I’ve watched are literally disposable stories about two pretty young people with their pretty sidekick friend thrown in for antics and the story is enjoyable, but not “sticky”.  But insert tension between siblings and the love of cousins and family arguments and suddenly it’s all more funny and more durable.

A wedding is much like the Shakespeare play.  One of the things that makes a wedding such a memorable day is that it ISN’T another night out with all of your friends at a bar.  While that is fun and funny, it’s all the more fun and funny when suddenly your 70 year old uncle is yuking it up with your roommate from college. 

To your mother’s point, ALWAYS think about guest comfort.  Especially with a cocktail party- be sure to have some reserved seating for older guests. Make sure that everyone, especially your older guests will have enough food and get access to it (tip: stations HELP with the feeling of having eaten).  These are the things that help them feel relaxed and in being relaxed they will then ENJOY.

To your point, we don’t give other generations quite enough credit. You don’t need to pander too much.  Your older guest aren’t 25 or 35, and may not have Lady Gaga on their ipod (or, have an ipod in some cases) BUT they aren’t too old for fun. One of my best memories EVER is my grandfather and I dancing to “Vogue” at my cousin Regina’s wedding. He actually Vogued.  This was long ago enough that Vogue was a relevant song, btw.

AABNJ & The W Hoboken Have Moved In!

There is nothing more inspiring than to see the best of the best coming together to create something even better. On Monday night, I was privileged enough to spend a few hours with some of the most talented and engaging industry professionals I have ever met. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked with and crossed paths with truly amazing individuals, but there was a special energy in the air at our Hoboken Housewarming. I wholeheartedly believe that birds of a feather flock together.

A HUGE thank you to Vivian @ the W Hotel for co-hosting this wonderful event with AABNJ. When you’re new in town, what better way to get to know your neighbors than inviting them over for cocktails! The W Hoboken is breathtaking and the NYC skyline was the perfect backdrop for such an exciting evening. The fireplace, delicious hors d’ oeuvres and specialty cocktails were EXACTLY what we needed to end a Monday and start the week. Fernanda @ Petali, thank you for creating such wonderful floral designs to help set the mood.

Colleagues, friends, brides, grooms & everyone who is ready to make it happen… Here’s to a bigger and better 2010.

Below, top left: our own Xochitl Gonzalez, Judy & Bob Paulen of Judy Paulen Designs

Below, bottom right: Fernanda Coutinho of Petali & Rodolfo Goncalves of Bem Me Quer Desserts

Big thanks to Robert Wagner @ R.Wagner Photography for capturing the below!

Hoboken Housewarming
xx,
Salome

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