Pnina Tornai Fall 2013

As usual Pnina Tornai's new collection contained many "shock factor" gowns that a lot of brides wouldn't understand. Pnina's bridal collections always have a few gowns that are sexier than your average wedding dress, usually featuring a sheer bodice that is very reminiscent of lingerie. In fact the sheer bodice, combined with lace up corsets and super size ball gowns have become her signature style. This season she used less corsets on her gowns and instead many of them featured daring open backs with crystal embellishments. I guess you could say Pnina has made it her mission to infuse as much 'sexy' into the bridal world as possible. I love the first gown, that's my absolute favorite in the collection, its sexy and stylish with out being ridiculous. I would totally wear this for a beach wedding or a vow renewal..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

xoxo

DIY PROJECT: Paper Cranes

Without really planning it,  I ended up being really inspired to incorporate several Oriental elements in my wedding such as hand fans, hair sticks and of course hanging paper cranes.  I also nearly added Chinese paper lanterns to the list but there was a sudden surge in their popularity so I decided to ditch them at the last minute. I literally was seeing paper lanterns at every wedding I attended for several months in a row!  Anyway I was very intrigued when I came across the Japanese tradition of folding 1000 origami paper cranes for their wedding. I've always loved origami it's such an interesting art form; simple and yet quite complex at the same time.  I quickly became quite obsessed with weddings that featured hanging paper cranes and decided to bravely attempt to fold my own cranes. I knew I would never make it 1000 but decided to at least aim to fold 100 or more.

In the end I managed to fold a whopping 200 cranes, although it honestly felt more like 2 billion, but as with all DIY projects, patient diligence pays off! I planned to have the cranes hanging from several locations at the reception, but in the end decided to only use a few strings as a back drop for the head table hanging from a lit arch.

This is the tutorial of how I made my hanging cranes and a picture of the final result. Below my tutorial I attached other inspiration photos of hanging paper cranes.

 

 

 

Picture 4

1. Choose your paper. Although you can order special origami paper I went with regular card stock.
2. Cut the paper down to size.  Perfect squares of paper are needed for this project, but I didn't want to pay extra for that size, so I ordered colored paper in regular letter size (8.5" x 11")  and used my fiskars paper cutter to cut it down to size. Tedious to say the least.
3. Fold the paper into cranes, using a bone folder to get the crease lines perfect. If you don't know how to fold paper cranes, here is a great video that teaches how to fold them
4. Cut a long length of fishing wire. The length depends on how high up you plan to hang the cranes. I used a 9 ft length of wire, just so I would have extra wire in case I needed it. 
5. Thread the fishing wire into a large eye beading needle
6. Tie a knot at the very end of the wire
7. Push the needle through the center of one bead as if you were making a string of beads
8. Push the bead to the end of the wire and and secure it by passing the needle through the center of the bead once more. This bead forms the base of the string of cranes
9. Push the needle through the center of one paper cane and pull the wire all the way until the crane is resting on the first bead from number 8 above.
10. Thread another bead until it is resting directly on the crane ( If you look really closely at picture 4 above you will see a bead on the top of each crane, sorry for the bad lighting)
11.  Leave about an 2 or 3 inches of space on the wire and tie another knot
12. Repeat steps 7 to 12 until you have as many cranes on the wire as y
13. ou like.

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xoxo


 

Is it time for the gloves to come off?

Are bridal gloves outdated? Such a loaded question that I  get asked all the time.  I would say yes and no. There are certain types of gloves that still look stylish and chic even though they have that vintage air about them, and then there are others that need to stay put in the 1990s and never show their faces again.  Below is a breakdown of the different types of bridal gloves

[1]The gloves I like the least

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These two photos show the type of bridal gloves that are most commonly sold in bridal salons. There is nothing wrong with these gloves per se, except that they aren't the most flattering options available and here is why

•  In my opinion full fingered gloves belong outdoors in Fall and Winter.  We aren't in the Victorian era and it's never practical to wear full fingered gloves in doors especially not in satin or stretch fabrics. Full fingered gloves also take away focus from the rings, engagement and wedding rings usually look so much better on a bare finger than worn over a glove.
• Fingerless gloves with the loop for the middle finger like the one shown above, rarely fit properly. They always end up sagging, ruching, and constantly needing to be adjusted. They are also often made out of the cheapest fabrics and really lower the overall look of the bride. In addition they usually feature lace cut outs or lace trims, that have very dated patterns and exaggerated designs that look more like prom queen than bridal.

[2] The gloves I like the most 

The stunning crystal encrusted cuffs by Ines Di Santo shown below just blow me away. They are a hybrid between a bracelet and a fingerless glove, and they are just fabulous. I have been crushing on these gloves for going on 3 years now and they still have not lost their appeal.  

Aren't they dreamy? Yes I thought so too and actually planned to buy a pair for my wedding. I called them up to order a pair and was told they start at around $500. That was my wake up call! $500 for a pair of cuffs? No thank you. Okay I understand that the crystal embellishments are expensive, but that is still way too much for a humble bridal writer like myself to spend on just an accessory! There are wedding gowns that cost less than that!

Regardless of the price, this style of glove is currently my favorite for a wedding. The sheer fabric gives it a "barely there" feel so it compliments the gown in a subtle way rather than loudly clashing with it. It also leaves your fingers bare for easy access to the rings.

[3]The gloves I like a little bit 

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Vintage looking gloves made out of delicate lace or crochet have the potential to look sweet and endearing and can add a romantic air to the outfit. I'm not in love these but I do like them depending on the style of dress and the theme of the wedding. The third picture with the delicate buttons on the inside of the wrist are my favorite in this category.

xoxo

  

Head table or sweetheart table?

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Having a hard time deciding between a head table or a sweet heart table for your wedding reception? Read all about the pros and cons of both here.  I adore the look of sweethearts but love the practicality of a head table. My ideal situation is a head table with a maximum of 8 people including the bride and groom. ( bride + groom + maid of honor + best man + parents of bride & groom) Because honestly what good is it to have a maid of honor if she is sitting on another table from me! The most stylish sweetheart tables are half rounds although some rectangular or round tables can look just as good. The glass sweetheart table above is just too beautiful for words albeit not very practical since the table is tiny! I especially love the bride and groom chair covers; simple, chic and perfect!!!

A happy compromise between a head table and sweetheart would be a sweetheart table sandwich; ie a small sweetheart table with two round tables on either side seating the bridal party and parents.

Draped fabric and table skirts are the most common options for decorating the head table or sweetheart table combined with flowers, lace and even lights. The photos below show many different style options for sweethearts and head tables

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Stay stylish!
xoxo

Confessions of a DIY addict

I simply love DIY projects. I just love seeing the transformation from every day items into beautiful crafts. The DIY weddings series will feature tutorials on how to make or customize certain elements of your wedding decor.  First up in the series is DIY pomanders. Pomanders are beautiful and so multi-functional! Some of the many ways they can be used are as folllows

• Carried by flower girls in place of the traditional basket of petals
• Carried by bridesmaids in place of bouquet
• Aisle decoration
• Centerpieces
• Ceiling decoration
• Arch decoration

The sky is the limit on how these can be used.  I posted this tutorial of how I made my DIY pomanders and here are the photos of my first attempt and the final result

A couple of things to keep in mind.
- Dont bother buying a mini glue gun, it is much better to buy a full size one. The mini guns can get annoying to use and constantly need to be refilled with glue.
- When working with styrofoam, ALWAYS turn the hot glue gun down to the lowest heat setting.  I learnt this the hard way when I melted the entire center of one ball by using glue that was too hot. The rubber band was eventually replaced with ribbon!
-You dont have to use flowers in your pomander, you can also use tulle, or even ribbon.

For insiration on how to incorporate pomanders in  your wedding check out the photos below.

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