Would it be too much?

... to wear this gorgeous bolero over my dress, which also has a ruffle around the halter neck?

Too many competing ruffles?

What if it were blue?


Though summer has finally come to the Bay, I'm starting to worry about the brisk wind off the ocean...

A wedding fort

That's apparently what we're building in our dining room, with the boxes of wine (BevMo's half price sale prompted me to be more ahead of the curve than I've ever been in my life!), vases from eBay, vases from the 99 Cent Only store, paper lanterns borrowed from friends, and vintage mini mailboxes to go with the postcard decor. And we're still five months out...

For the Mother of the Bride?

My mother has been asking with increasing frequency and urgency what she should wear. I've been putting her off because I honestly have no idea! It's a fine line to tread between refined elegance and looking matronly.

Though I have strong opinions about fashion, some days I have trouble dressing myself. At those times, dressing - or guiding - a whole wedding entourage feels like a bit much. But then my control freak/ wannabe fashionista tendencies kick back in, and I realize that if I have strong feelings about the 'look', I've got to speak up.

These two looks offer the simple elegance that I think would flatter my mom (unfortunately, I saved them ages ago, and have no idea where they're from.)

Anyone have a good source for stylish Mother-of-the-Bride dresses? Bonus points for natural fibers, US-made or eco-friendly dresses!

Again

This shrug from Elizabeth Dye...



hinted at a month ago, has come to life.

And continues to haunt me.

Is it possible to be haunted by fashion?

More hair wear

From Handle & Spout, via Mighty Girl.

So cute, fun and festive!

Maybe I should have the wedding entourage wear these, rather than carry flowers?

Anyone every DIY something like this? It seems like it wouldn't be too hard...

Then again, I'm all about getting other people to do things for me, and they are certainly not expensive.

A Tranquil Setting

via SMP, by Elizabeth Messina

This is exactly where I want to get married. We've got the beach.*

We weren't planning to do much in terms of decoration on the beach: maybe a few chairs for folks who can't stand very long, maybe a few rugs or blankets for people who want to sit in the sand.

I think flags like these would be perfect for identifying the spot where people should gather.**

*Wikipedia warns "There is a risk of shark attack, however."

**(with their shark repellent, of course.)

Darling dresses

from Saks

Totally perfect! But at $320, perhaps a little steep for some of my gals.

I'm beginning to have a vision of the Wedding Crew. We've decided to involve a bunch of people, in various roles. I think we'd all look a bit more organized and coordinated if we had similar dresses and colors, so I've been hunting for reasonably priced cocktail dresses that would echo the v-neck and ruffles of my gown, in bright punchy colors.

Calvin Klein, from Bloomingdales. So cute, and only $130! That will make me popular :)



Bloomingdales, my go-to place for party dresses, has Amsale dress I've been looking for. I love the color and flowy-ness of this one.



Another possibility, also from Bloomies.



*******

Eds. update: My BFF thinks that these floaty no-waist dresses will make her look pregnant again, which, after 2 kids, she has no intention of being! Mmmm... yeah, that was my lame-ass way of asking her to be in the wedding: asking her what sort of dress she'd like to wear. We both knew that she'd be standing beside me - we've been friends for more than 20 years (um yeah, I'm that old) - but I wish I'd done something a little more special. There's still time, I suppose. Thank goodness I didn't settle on one of these dresses!

Flowers and branches and yellow and blue

source

Yes, these are the colors! With a bit more blue. Like this...

source

Yellow flowers, blue vases -I'm really liking the contrast.

And like these flowers seem pretty perfect for our season and locale:






Love the lavendar! All four above from Style Me Pretty

Thanks to these stellar tips on how not to get screwed by a florist, I'll know what to say when I eventually go to talk to someone.

Especially key:

5. Have a fairly solid idea of the blooms and styles you want. DON'T be talked down unless a reason sounds completely legit. Stuttering, "well," and other insincere answers means that you might need to find a different florist.

I'm thinking of going to San Francisco Flower Mart, and trying to DIY. I have no experience with this, but I'm inspired by these folks, who created this beautiful centerpiece.



I've ordered a bunch of blue vases... and -- ooo! wheat sheaves look nice, too. Also fits a fall harvest sorta theme. (But I'm pretty adamant that there will be no pumpkins. Just too, too.)

source

And then I really love the branches in vases. Manzanita grows all over Marin, and is such a pretty tree. It looks great with the candles, here, or maybe we could put white lights in the branches. Too Christmas-y?

source

Scheming about color

Ok, I love color. I've been known to wear a lot of black in the winter, and/or when living on the east coast, and/or when I'm depressed. Fortunately, none of those things are happening right now. I usually have some red or blue or green or purple or even orange in just about every outfit.

But the question of a color scheme for the wedding has been stressing me out. My brother and super-stylish sister-in-law had a spectacular wedding without dictating a color scheme. All the family members showed up in shades of pink/ red/ grey, just through intuition, and looked amazing.

How to pick a few colors? How to dictate what others wear? I know the photos will look better if we put a little thought into this... but really? A color scheme???

Then I saw these the other day at Brooklyn Bride. They're bold, hip, sophisticated, not pastel. They do give a unified feeling to the proceedings. Maybe we can develop a color scheme. Cobalt, pomegranate, persimmon... these colors speak to me.... Maybe Chrissy over at the Perfect Palette can help me convert these musings into concrete ideas.

Power flowers and pretty tables

Ooo, I love these flowers! Vibrant, bold colors, big blooms.



Found at A Practical Wedding

These might look good on the long dining tables in blue glass vases, like this. I'm trying to track down a bunch for cheap on ebay and/or the Dollar Store.



We've budgeted only $250 for decorations. We'll be outdoors much of the day, so we won't need much. But the interior is a renovated army building, and, as you can imagine, is pretty barebones. Some flowers and perhaps paper lanterns will warm it up a bit.

This is the other idea I like for the tables: manzanita branches in glass vases, maybe with some cranberries filling the bottom of the vases.
via Brooklyn Bride

More blue...

Another blue dress option, via Stupid Wedding Crap.


I've suggested it to my friend, Dr. Cowgirl, since she's getting married in Idaho. Might be just the thing at a ranch along a river. Anyone ever worn denim at a wedding?

**Update**

Apparently a friend of a friend wore this at a wedding, and it was awesome. So shut me up. I won't knock denim 'til I've tried it.