Kate Spade's New Wedding Belles Collection

 Kate Spade Debut Dress

Rise and shine, lovers! I just spent the better part of the morning chasing my kitten off the kitchen table, the kitchen counter and away from the house plant. I think someone slipped somethin' in her coffee this morning because she is literally scaling the walls. I did, however, have a quick second to click open an exciting e-mail from Kate Spade. Her new Wedding Belles collection is out and I am thrilled to see so many lovely white party frocks and darling accessories for brides and their maids. I wish I could go back and give my friends these stunning Idiom Bangles. The dress above is one of my favorites with its frilly, feminine skirt. It is perfect for a rehearsal dinner, but I can totally see a city hall bride rocking this look with a birdcage veil for her big day, too.

Have a look at the rest of the Wedding Belles collection. Which styles are your favorites?  

Will You Be My Vintage Valentine?

We are quickly approaching our first Valentine's Day as a married couple and I want to do something special for Keith this year. Since I find drug store cards to be very uninspired and impersonal, I thought I would look for something a bit more unique. I found what I was looking for at the English Building Market, a charming antique store in downtown New Haven.

Behold my Vintage Valentines...

I fell in love with the quirky sayings on these post cards and thought that Keith would get a laugh out of them. I love the bored expressions on the faces of the couple in the card that boldly states, "There isn't anyone but you." And I laughed out lout when I saw the card that says, "What makes you think I like you?" There was another that I didn't bring home, but thought was wildly appropriate for some of the conversations we've had here. It said, "Won't you let me change your name?" and had a picture of a man climbing through a giant wedding band holding a bouquet of flowers. How'd you like to be proposed to with that beauty?

What are you giving your sweetie for Valentine's Day? Are you newly wed or engaged couples doing anything special this year?

Wedding Details: Secure Your Card Box

When it came the details, I agonized over every single one. Besides one. Our card box. I found a lovely floral box at Home Goods and that was it. I was pumped for a second that I would be able to use it after the wedding and then I stopped thinking about it.

Now, my lovely blog readers, I’m urging you to not be like me and think about your card box. Is it fabulous? Is it a representation of you and your fiance? Does it fit with your theme? Yes, great! Now, is your card box secure?

What? No, you didn’t think about that? You didn’t think that at a thing so glorious as your wedding day you had to consider the awful notion that some of your wedding gifts may grow legs and walk away?

I hate to burst your wedding day bubble. Seriously, I feel bad putting this terrible thought in your head, but sadly I've heard several stories about stolen wedding gifts. You have no idea how much this hurts me. I do not want any couple to go through this. I want you to all have covered card boxes, so I scoured the web for these secure options. Have a look:

It’s pretty and it’s personalized! Buy it here.

Simply elegant. You can buy this beauty here.

Attention all you DIYers. You MUST check out this how-to I found on Pinterest from Amandita Designs. I just love this one! 

Source: amanditadesigns.blogspot.com via Susan on Pinterest

Do you love these card box options as much as I do? Tell me, what will you use to hold cards and wedding gifts? 

I Broke a Wedding Gift

I want to discuss a serious topic this morning--broken wedding gifts. I was putting a wine glass away on the top shelf and accidentally bumped it into another wine glass, which then came crashing down into the sink. It smashed in a million pieces. It was so sad.

This is the wine glass I broke if anyone wants to get me a Christmas present.

If you were a fly on the wall in my kitchen this morning you'd probably find the sight of a bathrobe-clad woman vacuuming her sink pretty hilarious. I, however, was not amused. I dislike cleaning shards of glass off the floor that I normally walk barefoot on. Lesson learned, I won't do the dishes before I've had coffee!


Aside from the mess, it really stinks that I broke one of our wedding gifts. In only six months of marriage, no less. Luckily I have seven other wine glasses, plus eight for red, (we're serious about our Charles Shaw in this house.) And I registered for an extra set of dishes for this very reason. But I'm afraid at the rate I'm going, I'll have nothing left in 30 years!


Have you broke anything off your registry? And if so, do you replace it right away?

Bridesmaids Gifts

When you're a bride, finding the right way to thank your bridesmaids seems impossible. At least it did for me. These girls went out of their way to do incredibly nice things for me during my engagement and wedding. I thought I'd never be able to fully express how grateful I was. With that, picking out thank you gifts turned into one of the hardest parts of wedding planning. I know I'm not alone. Several brides-to-be have told me they are struggling to find a gift that hits the right note.

Well, luckily I spent all of last year (literally, all of last year) racking my brain for the perfect bridesmaid gift. Here are some guidelines I followed to help narrow the search down.

1.  None of my bridesmaids had similar likes, interests or styles, so getting identical gifts was out.
2. These are supposed to be gifts expressing my gratitude, not one more excuse for me to style the bridesmaids in the theme of my wedding. I decided jewelry or clutches were out, too. I wasn't confident that my friends would like the accessories I picked out. (Plus I already picked out their dresses and advised on the shoes. Isn't that enough, already?)
3. Every. Single. Bridesmaid already had a monogrammed L.L. Bean tote bag from the last wedding they were in. Those were out, too.


Once my gift requirements were narrowed down, shopping became a little easier. I started thinking about robes, and here's why: I wear a bathrobe every morning. It's covered in bleach stains, coffee stains and has lots of holes in it. But since I never wear my bathrobe out of the house, I'm reluctant to replace it. I would absolutely love if someone gifted me a new robe and I hoped my bridesmaids felt the same. Plus, robes would be perfect for them to wear during the getting ready portion of the day.

After some serious Google searching I found these beauties from Plum Pretty Sugar. The robes are affordable (cotton knee-length styles start at $65) and you can place special group orders for bridal parties. I also have to add that I contacted the company because I was nervous they would not arrived in time and I heard back from a real nice person almost right away.

I honestly I haven't kept tabs on my bridesmaids' robe wearing habits since the wedding, but I can say that I wear my new robe (I was gifted one at my shower--bye bye ratty old robe.) every night. If my lounge wear could talk it would tell you it's been terribly neglected since this new robe arrived.
 

Did I really just write an entire blog post about bathrobes? Yup!

If intimates aren't your flavor consider these ideas:

-Custom address stamps. via Etsy
-Birch Box subscription (beauty samples delivered right to their door for $10 a month.) via Birch Box
-Ballet flats in a fun color. via Endless.com

Now stop worrying and enjoy shopping! What gift ideas are on your mind these days? Share your ideas with me. And what's your take on buying wedding day accessories for your girls? Love it or leave it? 

Photos by Cynthia Brown