Oncewed.com featured a wedding in my absolute favorite city in the United States......being a wannabe wedding planner of course this city is, Charleston, SC.  The wedding took place at Magnolia Plantation; a very popular and historical venue.  The bride wore a Claire Pettibone dress which was absolutely antique fabulous.  The dress is called Queen Anne's Lace and rightfully so it is couture at its finest.  Ivory cotton into a tulle Empire silhouette with an English lace bodice and hem.  The beaded applique is my favorite part of this dress forming the neckline, sleeves, and train of the dress.  The champagne colored silk ribbon ties everything together showing how truly delicate and finely put together this dress is.  Her Bridesmaids were absolutely beautiful; made by trendy knitting and star knitting on Etsy.com. I love how individually unique each of the girls dresses are but they almost look exactly the same.  The Bride actually designed her own invites which looked as rugged and lowlandish as the actual backdrop to her ceremony.  Her invitations were beautifully rustic and her calligraphy was outstanding.  The Flower arrangements, Bouquets, and Boutonnieres were designed by fiftyflowers.com; which won the Bride's Choice Award from weddingwire.com.  All of the Bride's family and friends pitched in to help get the flower arrangements put together and decorate the ceremony and reception area.  This is truly one of the most beautifully simple, elegant, vintage wedding's I've seen.  I love Charleston and the romance that it brings to any occasion.  You can have the most simple ceremony or reception and it will be so beautiful and romantic because of the sheer beauty of the city and countryside.  It is rich and alive with historical places and people everywhere you go.  There are cobblestone streets, outside open air markets, and beautiful gardens anywhere you turn.  However there is also a lively night life, incredible shopping, and the city definitely isn't lacking beautiful people.  Don't ever pass it up if you get a chance to go there. :)

Photography by: Jose Villa

Creative Direction by: Joy Thigpen - Oncewed.com

URL: http://www.oncewed.com/57960/wedding-blog/real-weddings/lowcountry-charleston-winter-wedding/

Succulent Succulents!!

I am absolutely loving the use of Succulents in Bridal bouquets.  There are so many different types of succulents. Succulent plants are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions.  The most common and popularly know succulent plant is the cacti.  Aloe is another more commonly known succulent as well.  However, most brides are not putting cacti in their bouquets.  The Sempervivum Succulent is a flower shaped succulent that ranges from a light pale blue color into shades of violets.  Some of these even have a pink or orange tint on the edges of their leaves.  Another great thing about succulents is that they mesh well with pretty much any color and give a refreshing look to bouquets.  Mint green is a color that I've always really loved and seems to be a growing trend this year.  Its soft, whimsical, relaxing, and looks amazing paired with not only pastels, but jewel tones; and black as well.  The best thing about succulents is that there are so many shapes, sizes, colors, and textures to choose from.  If you are trying to think outside of the box for your bouquet but don't want to get too crazy Succulents are a great way to add uniqueness. Below are some examples of just how many different types of succulents there are and how many different shapes and sizes there are to choose from.  :)

Classic Countryside Bridal Shower

4.21.12 This is a sneak peek of Sara Modrall's Beautiful Tangerine and Aquamarine Classic Countryside Bridal Shower.  More pictures to come soon!

Drink Station

Pink Lemonade

Nana's Homeade Fruit Tea

DIY Vintage Mason Jars filled with Daisy's

The Full Brunch Spread

Cake Pops by "Party Pops by Julie"

Welcome to Sara's Shower

Burlap Backdrop with Ribbon banner and Custom made Initial Frame. DIY at its finest

Bridal Shower Inspiration Board

This is the inspiration board I created for a Bridal Shower. My best friend Megan is the Maid of Honor for her friend Sara. She came to me seeking help to throw Sara a Bridal Shower. We decided to come up with a color scheme of Tangerine and Aquamarine AKA - Orange and Turquoise. We've decided to use oranges in our decorating, along with beautiful Orange colored Peonies, wood frame chalkboards, mason jars, and DIY Tissue Paper Pom Poms. Instead of a cake there will be Cake Pops of different shades of Turquoise with patterns; the flavors will be Vanilla Cream, Red Velvet, and Death by Chocolate. We're going to set up a buffet of delicious brunch hors d'oeuvres. There will be a beautiful fruits shishcabobs - featuring bananas, pineapple, apples, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, and cantaloupes. There will be Bagels with butter and/or cream cheese, an assortment of Muffins, Homemade Powdered and cinnamon-sugar Donuts, and a Waffle Bar. We will have a few waffle irons set up with pre-poured cups of waffle batter. There will be strawberry and blueberry compote, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and brown sugar/cinnamon toppings for the waffles. There will be Mimosa's, Champagne, Coffee, Orange Juice, Fruit Tea, and Milk served as libations.

"Cottage Chic" My new Place

In a few months my lease on my house will be up and I will be making the big move from Murfreesboro to Nashville, TN. It isn't a far move but a very necessary/exciting one. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I am moving into a house with my best friend and 3 of her friends; all of whom I've known for years.  This whole bedroom design started when I got the opportunity to keep my best friends cast iron bed and antique dresser.  She is going to be traveling for the next year with her new job and is allowing me to store the bed for her while she is gone.  This will save her money by not having to rent out a storage unit and will save me some money; not having to find a bed or dresser for another year.  It is a brownish/bronze cast iron bed, beautifully detailed and designed.  The dresser is short with a very large mirror on top of it, it is a creme/egg shell color, with gold handles. I want my new bedroom to be comfy and welcoming for myself and any guests... ;) I want a fluffy textured white duvet comforter/an oatmeal colored woven throw on the end of the bed//Brownish Faux fur pillows behind the Large White Pillows/Burlap curtains hanging from a black cast iron curtain rod/a distressed light mint green Vanity/an old door painted and distressed a darker mint green to go above my bed horizontally/cast iron lanterns and light fixtures/my distressed antique vanilla colored dresser/beautiful antique mirrors/a large trunk at the end of my bed/mason jars of light pink flowers to give another pop of color/and brown woven baskets for storage and decoration. I guess I would call this theme or idea, "Cottage Chic," or "Country Air." These pictures will give you an idea of the look I am going for. Hope you enjoy my design. :)

I'm back.

Sorry I've been away from my blog for a while. But I'm back and have so many new things to share. I now work for a catering company called, "The Chef & I." I love it. My title is currently, the "Strawberry Queen," due to the fact that I inject chocolate covered strawberry's with liquor. We use actual injectors to inject your choice of liquor-Jack Daniels, Cointreau, Red Stag, Kahlua, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, St. Germain, etc.-into milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate strawberry's. The Chef and his wife (the I) are 2 of the best people I've ever met. They are so kind, they care about all of their employees, and have the most positive and inspiring attitudes. I am so lucky and couldn't ask for better employers. The opportunities I've received working along side them have been many. We cater to the Nashville Predators, some of the largest businesses in Nashville, celebrities, award show after parties, Tennessee Titans, and our many loyal clients. We are receiving an opportunity to be on a TV show on GAC - Great American Country- called Daytime jobs. We will be paired with a celebrity, whom will work alongside us, providing funny and interesting material for the show. The company is currently looking to expand from their home kitchen to having an office space. This would put me working in the office, which I would love. All in all I have been truly blessed to receive this position, to have met Chris and Erica, and to be a part of this team.