"I think I'm turning Japanese..."

Adding a bit of color to your wedding shoes is the all the rage, but Hetty Rose of the UK adds an interesting twist: pattern!

Hetty specializes in custom made shoes using vintage kimono fabric, which has stunning results. They're perfect for adding some pizazz to your wedding attire, and even more perfect if you're trying to tie in some Japanese culture to your wedding.

Hetty's shoes are not cheap (running up to £350 or $555 US), but they're shoes that you can definitely wear over and over again.

Can't make it to the UK to get these beauties made? Have no fear- Hetty has just released an affordable (£180 or $285 US) ready to wear line that are just as lovely. Browse her online shop here. A couple examples of her ready to wear shoes are featured below:

Wedding Signage

Signage actually plays an important role at weddings. They direct, instruct, inform, and can even help contribute to the overall look of your wedding.

In my search for things that would help pull in some subtle vintage touches to my wedding, I found a great Etsy seller that makes hand painted "shabby chic" signs that can allude to French Provençale or Main Street U.S.A.. They're beautiful, sturdy, and they add a great touch of whimsy.

I bought the "Love is Sweet" sign for my candy buffet:



Here are some other examples from "The Back Porch Shoppe."

Retro Wedding Video

Happy Friday everyone! Last Saturday, I attended The Wedding Party, hosted by The Wedding Library and Martha Stewart Weddings. There were lots of impressive vendors there, but one that really stood out to me was Hello Super 8. They film weddings using real, vintage Super 8 cameras to achieve that retro look! It's a fun way to shake up traditional wedding videography- and for those of you (like me) who cringe at seeing themselves on film, the retro coloration seems much more forgiving than modern HD videography! Check out their cool website: http://hellosuper8.com/

Not Your Average Engagement Ring- Part II

If you're as big a history nerd as Madame G and I, then this is the post for you! Following up with our second part of unusual and interesting engagement rings, I bring you the antique, vintage magic that is- Doyle & Doyle. While their store is located on the Lower East Side, their website (http://www.doyledoyle.com/) is a great way to see what kind of fanastic pieces they have available. See above for some of my personal favorites, and definitely check out their website for lots more sparkly awesome-ness. Guaranteed, whatever you find there, it will certainly be unique, if not one-of-a-kind.

From Top to Bottom: 1. Vintage "sono il tuo Dodo" Rose Gold Band ($595); 2. Victorian Wide Tri-gold Wedding Band ($1,200); 3. Victorian Diamond Ring ($685); 4. Rose Cut Diamond Ring ($2,500); 5. Art Nouveau Diamond Chrysanthemum Ring ($2,800).

Happy Hump Day

As we drag ourselves through to the second half of the work week, I'm happy to bring you a weekly dose (if I can remember to do this once a week) of wedding porn! What is wedding porn you ask? Here at NB we like to think of wedding porn as anything insomnia-causing and green-eye inducing. While Madame G and I would both have loved to break the bank on our weddings, pawning the entire contents of our apartments wasn't an option. So, (sigh*) we can only live vicariously. Today, I am happy to bring you Lanvin's mind-numbingly awesome pale grey, silk mousseline gown. This thing is embellished with real Swarovski crystals- they don't mess around over there at Lanvin. Of course it will set you back over $10,000. But we can still dream... Find it on Net-a-Porter's fantastic bridal boutique:
http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/65377

Not Your Average Engagement Ring- Part I

Yes, I admit it, I'm a control freak. Before I got engaged I made it perfectly clear that I wanted to pick out my own engagement ring. It definitely wound up being the right decision for me because I couldn't explain specifically what I wanted, but I knew I'd recognize "the one" when I found it. A couple of weeks after I got engaged, I found it in this fantastic little boutique in Brooklyn called Cat Bird. It's not your average engagement ring- although it does have diamonds, they're this beautiful shade of blue-grey. I think the thing I love about it most though, is that it doesn't look like a regular engagement ring. I love that it's unexpected and much more "me." Cat Bird has loads of other great rings for brides who want something unusual and unique. And even better, many if not all are made by local, independent designers! Check out these great options above! They can all be found on Cat Bird's website http://www.catbirdnyc.com/



From Top to Bottom: 1. Yayoi Forest Knot Ring in Gold, (from $240); 2. I couldn't resist- I have a feeling Madame G will like this one ;) Digby and Iona Big Bunny Ring (from $180); 3. Satomi Kawakita Hexagon Ring, 18K Gold (from $700); 4. Polly Wales Empress Ring (from $1,650); 5. St. Kilda Endless Love Ring with Diamonds (from $1,292).

Unique and Useful Bridesmaid's Gift Idea

Finding a good bridesmaid’s gift is often a terrible struggle for the bride to be. You want to get your ladies something thoughtful, cute, and unique as a way of thanking them for standing by your side on one of the most important days of your life... and you want them to actually *like* the gift too. It's a tall order! Most brides opt for giving jewelry that the girls can wear the day of the wedding and treasure forever, but what if their tastes range from J. Crew to Betsey Johnson?


I recommend getting custom made jewelry rolls from Punchella. Everything there is hand made and can be customized using the wide variety of cute fabrics offered. You can use the same fabrics for all of them or play around with different patterns to match the personality of each girl- it’s all up to you. They’re useful, durable, and most importantly… adorable!

Madame G's NYC Wedding

I decided that it would be most appropriate for my first contribution to this blog to be about my own wedding that took place last August. Unlike most brides, I did not come into wedding planning with a set "theme." Instead, I found it best to find the venues first and then let everything inspire me from there.

The church (Our Lady of Peace, NYC):


The reception venue (Guastavino's, NYC):



I ended up choosing chocolate brown, blue, and bronze for my colors since they were prevalent in both of these spaces, though I made sure that they appeared throughout the wedding in very subtle ways so that it wasn't necessarily obvious what my "colors" were.

The reception venue, by the way, is underneath the Queensboro Bridge in Manhattan. The brick work seen in the ceiling vaults was done by a famous Spanish architect named Rafael Guastavino whose designs are found in many NY Beax-Arts buildings. Because of this, I pulled in subtle vintage elements, seen most expressly in the script I used for all printed matter like invites, save the dates, place cards, etc. For the cocktail reception, I hinted at some Art Deco designs in the floral arrangements, which I will discuss in a future blog entry!

I opted for creamy orchids for the dinner table centerpieces with some light greenish-blue succulents poking through the arrangements. I also alternated between high and low centerpieces to create a nice rhythm in the room:


Oh, and since the lighting people were able to change the space's colors throughout the night at no extra charge, I decided to switch to a twilight blue color for dinner so that it would feel more like a sky canopy (also the blue *was* one of my wedding colors, afterall!)

Enjoy some more pictures!
































Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier
Bridesmaids Dresses: Priscilla of Boston
Flowers: L'Oasis
Photography: Love More Photo
Reception Site/Catering: Guastavino's

London Calling

For those of you who love bright floral patterns as much as me, I'm sure you'll find yourselves drooling over Liberty of London fabrics. Available at one of my favorite stores (with a great crafting blog too!) Purl Soho (http://www.purlsoho.com/), the fabric is generally priced around $35 a yard- a little pricey for big projects such as table overlays, but perfect for smaller DIY things like:

Fabric backings for handmade invites: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/special-touches-invitations#slide_4

Fun and different escort cards:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/hoverson-escort-cards

Favor Boxes!

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/yellow-and-white-favors-inside-and-out

See above for some of my faves! (N.B. The last one would be great for the Nantucket Reconfigured Wedding)