Stealing the Show: Bridesmaid Dresses that Impress

Gone are the days of finding that perfect shade of plum, peach, (insert other "oh so flattering" color here), dyeing shoes the same exact shade, and then shoving all of your very best friends into the same shape and style dress.  This is the unfortunate road that made relatives, sorority sisters, and childhood besties squirm when they were asked to be in a wedding, and spend precious dollars on a dress that will then be shoved into the back of a closet (did the scene from "27 Dresses" pop into your head too?)

Source:  www.movies.nytimes.com

We are happy to say that we have come a long way, wedding world.  From transitioning shades in an ombre fashion, to styles that actually work with different shaped women, we are making serious strides.  (Can we get a hallelujah, bridesmaids to be?) 

Bridesmaids are stepping out of the shameful shadow into the chic spotlight, and it's about time.  Below we have shared some of our favorite looks for 2013.

White Lace

Source:  Lovewell Design

 

Coral Ombre

Source:  Cordially Creative

 Flattering Shapes and Styles

Source:  Via Pinterest, Dresses by Lula Kate

Long and Glamorous

Source:  The Lane

 Maid of Honor in a Stand Out Color

Source:  Via Pinterest, Dresses by Lula Kate

Black Lace

Source:  Style Me Pretty

 Color of the Year: Emerald with an Ombre Twist

Source:  WedBits, Photo by Jose Villa

 

Jewel Tones

Source:  Via Pinterest

Mint Hues

Source:  Style Unveiled

Love,

The Emily Weddings Team



Mason jar heaven

For all of you rustic, country, chic, backyard, picnic-loving brides or for those who find themselves somewhere in the mix or middle we have discovered Mason Jar Heaven.

"2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the first series of jars designed by Ball brothers, each jar intended to be better than the one before. 1913 saw the launch of the launch of the first true"Perfect Mason" jar. These limited edition jars are a celebration of the heritage featuring period-correct blue color and embossed logos on the front and back. These vintage-inspired jars maintain all of our modern standards for quality and reliability. Perfect for all of your home canning needs... or as a collectible item!"



Yes, ladies. These limited edition blue tinted Ball jars are on sale: six pint-sized jars for the lovely little price of $12.99.

Buy them today.

Use them tomorrow... flowers, showers, weddings, whatever.
Sell them later.
Everybody's happy.

Ball Geritage Collection Pint Jars

Chelsea & Andrew's Wedding Video

We have the opportunity to work with some amazing couples every year but we are also humbled by the talented professionals who join us along the way. Jeremy Mitchell is one of them, and today we're featuring a video he created of Chelsea and Andrew's wedding from last summer. His sentiments about this special couple reflect our own - they were an absolute joy to work with and we felt so lucky to be a part of this beautiful day.

Here's what Jeremy had to say about Chelsea and Andrew's wedding day:

"There's always those times when thinking about a couple when you realize how perfect they are for each other. It could be a simple statement, a look across a room that you catch, or they way they speak about their significant other when they aren't around. I found myself pondering this point during Chelsea's and Andrew's lovely ceremony, trying to pick out the moment in the back of my camera that he looks at her just right, that fraction of a second where it all makes sense. Then I realized I was looking for something that didn't exist, something actually impossible.
The real challenge at hand was to find a moment where you couldn't tell that Andrew and Chelsea are absolutely nuts for each other. Every second I spent with them apart they were talking about the other. He was constantly gazing at her during the ceremony, shooting looks and smiles of love. Even during the reception, surrounded by loud music and friends wanting their piece of the dance floor with either the bride or the groom, you could still catch them looking across the room, hoping to catch a gaze of their new spouse. Chelsea and Andrew have truly taught me that life is far more the journey than the outcome. That as people and more importantly as people in love, life isn't about the best moment, but the best life; made of those moments."  J

We hope you enjoy Chelsea and Andrew's wedding video. It was a pleasure to spend the day with them and also with Jeremy Mitchell.

An Australian Sing-Along

Today we met with another potential 2014 bride who was a bridesmaid in Lindsay and Shaun's wedding which took place last fall at the Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach - "the Australian wedding" as it is lovingly known among the members of the Emily Weddings Team.

Having never experienced a guest list made up primarily of Australians, we could've never expected the fun that was in store for the night of Lindsay and Shaun's wedding. I guess when you fly all the way across the world for a 6-hour event, you tend to take it all the way and make it worth your while. We can't even begin to explain our surprise when a certain song came on and all of the Australian men linked arms in a circle on the dance floor then immediately dropped their drawers revealing a rainbow of multi-colored and patterned men's underwear. Woah.

There may or may not have been photos taken during that performance; however, we'll keep it clean on the blog and share this one instead. The photo below shows the scene at the end of the night. Dinner was served, cake was eaten, drinks were poured, more drinks were poured, and these guests - a healthy mix of American fun and Australian rowdy - had the most amazing sing along we have ever witnessed.

Thanks go to Lindsay, Shaun, and their guests for reminding us that even when the music stops the party doesn't have to.

Grouponing for the Big Day

Welcome to the world of weddings, Groupon. Well... I guess we can't really say welcome because we all know Groupon has been involved in wedding planning since their deals started hitting smart phones and computer screens. From hair and nail appointments to honeymoons, Groupon has provided soon-to-be brides a variety of options to help ease the stress of that daunting wedding budget.

Groupon now features a new tab that makes our hearts flutter with even more wedded bliss. That tab is called "Occasions" and today, every deal listed under this tab is related to... you guessed it. Weddings.

Oh Groupon, how we love you.

Favorite Pins of the Week

You may be seeing some snow flurries if you're near us in Hampton Roads but we're looking forward to a warm spring and summer and a season full of weddings. (At least we're trying to think about warm weather... in hopes that the promise of sunshine can get us through these last few weeks of up and down temperatures.)

To get us in the spirit of the upcoming seasons here are some of our favorite warm-weather wedding pins of the week!


Choose-Your-Own dress/suit for the wedding party. We love the coordinated yet not so matchy-matchy look of this large wedding party and also how the variations in each person's outfit allows a little of their own personality to shine through while still highlighting the bride and groom. Not to mention, who wouldn't love the blush pink of these dresses. From theknottybride.

An outdoor ceremony is always a beautiful venue, but it's great to see that couples are also bucking tradition with the set up of their ceremony. This circle arrangement still allows the bride to walk down the "aisle" but also puts all of their guests up close to the couple as they say their "I do's". From Mywedding.

Let's face it, guys don't like wearing tuxes or suits. We know this, but we make them do it anyway.... cause they look so nice right?  If your wedding allows for a somewhat more relaxed feel, maybe we can consider letting the guys out of the hot sticky suits for the day?  We love this look of vests with rolled up sleeves. Nothing says warm weather more than rolling up your sleeves and your guys will thank you for skipping the polyester. From onetowed.

You can't have a spring or summer wedding without a good cold drink! There are so many ways to make your drink station and beverage bar unique, fun, whimsical, elegant, or just flat out awesome. The most tried and true favorite is still the signature drink. Whether it's nonalcoholic or with just a little added kick (maybe even just a flavored water?) you can make it yours with a fun name or by incorporating your favorite elements to the recipe. From hatunotblog.

Biking, or should we say "beach cruisin" is one of the basic parts of life at the Virginia Beach oceanfront and we are still waiting for that couple who will recreate this bike parade... maybe toward the after-party after the reception?  Or from the ceremony to the reception? Either way, we love it. From thebridenextdoor.

Happy pinning!

Tyler & Jennifer's Wedding Video

Happy Saturday to all you Emily Weddings blog readers and facebook followers!

Delta Studio Productions shared a video with us highlighting the most beautiful moments from one of our 2012 weddings at the MOCA in Virginia Beach. Yes, they're good looking. Yes, their wedding party was gorgeous. Add in a touching ceremony and a sunglass-surprise daddy daughter dance and you've got Tyler and Jennifer's wedding day celebration awesomeness.

Tyler and Jennifer: The Best Thing.

Lauren & Jordan's Save-the-Date

We are so excited for Lauren and Jordan's summer wedding... they couldn't be more adorable together and when we saw their video save-the-date we knew we'd just have to share it!

See their awesome rendition of a "save the date" here and let us know what you think!

Uncommon Gifts

Every bride is looking for that perfect gift for her groom-to-be.
Every groom wants to find something special for his future Mrs.

Every wedding guest sees that list of towels, kitchen utensils, and home decor on the registry and wishes they could find something that the couple will open and think "Oh wow!  This is perfect!" and not just because they picked it out at the store 6 months ago.

Enter Uncommon Goods - the ultimate destination to fulfill all your gift-giving dreams.  This website has more unusual gifts than your little heart could ever desire, so we'll highlight our favorites!

Custom Fingerprint Wall Art

This beautiful piece of art is a customized piece which features the bride and groom's individual thumbprints, names, and a delicate heart at the center or you can choose to add their wedding date.  Each piece is hand-cut with a craft knife (believe it or not!) and is a beautiful representation of each person's individuality while still showing their unity in such a simple and elegant way.  With such a simple design, it would look beautiful in any home or apartment and will surely find a place in their home for years to come. (You really have to see the larger print on their website to get a full appreciation for the effort involved.)

Cash Register & Typewriter Key Cufflinks

Dear Bride, We know that you've spent hours upon hours planning all the perfect little details for your wedding. You have the shoes and the dress, flowers and earrings, and maybe even a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.  But your groom? He's probably renting a suit that he'll pick up from the store a couple days before the wedding then return it just hours after wearing it.  The poor guys needs and might we even say, DESERVES something personalized, something all his own, something he can actually keep after the rush of the day has ended.  These personalized custom typewriter cufflinks are the perfect addition to your groom's snazzy suit, and unlike most bridesmaid dresses, he can actually wear them again - always a bonus.

Mini Ice Cream Sandwich Press

The traditional 3-tier cake will never go out of style, but as we've seen with many recent weddings, the new and improved cupcake and push-pop phase has arrived and is still in full swing this season.  While mini ice cream sandwiches would also be a welcome treat at any outdoor wedding this summer, we would recommend that you leave the food-preparing to the professionals and instead add these little gems to your registry!  Perfect for any summer gathering or a fun date night at home, the ice cream sandwiches in this photo look so good that you might not be able to wait for the wedding and just order them yourself... we might even buy them for the "team" because you never know when you'll be in the mood for a chipwich!

Personalized "Love Will Find a Way" Wall Art

We're meeting more and more couples who have roots in different parts of the country and each of them brings a special part of their hometown traditions and upbringing to the wedding, reception, and to the relationship. Whether they met on a dating website, through mutual friends, or because of a work transfer, love brought them together.  This custom graphic piece commemorates the distance love traveled to bring one individual to the other, and is available in three different colors to coordinate with any home interior.

And did we mention that it's super cute? Oh, we just did that. Good.

Date Night Idea Cards

We love the idea of these "idea cards" and how they give you so many... well... ideas! They come in three decks: Family Time, My Time, and Date Night.  We recommend the Date Night cards for the happy couple; however, the bride may enjoy and appreciate her own set of My Time cards after the wedding craziness has finally ended and she's settled into her new life as wife. Some ideas from the deck: (1) Do a food crawl - have appetizers at one restaurant, dinner at another, and dessert with drinks at the last stop.  (2) Prom in the living room, complete with decorations, the dress, the music, and of course the dancing! (3) We won't even mention the rest of them... the website does say "adults only" so we'll just leave it at that and let you use your imagination!

Handmade State Quarter Ring

Is your man just slightly obsessed with his hometown?  I know a few grooms who would've just died at the altar to see their homestate appear on their wedding band.  Ok, maybe they wouldn't have died. That would probaly be bad. And maybe they would've wanted something a little more special for their wedding band, but what guy wouldn't love to have a ring that's such a conversation piece?  We think it's a cool idea and your groom might, too.

Face Mug

This last item should probably fall under the category: Things You Don't Need... but you just have to have!  Just imagine, you're sitting on the back porch drinking your morning ritual hot cocoa.  You look down and see that you have eaten ALL of the mini marshmallows... Oh no!  What's a girl to do?  Have no fears, there is a secret stash of extra marshmallows just inches from your fingertips.  We found a solution. The world will continue to turn.

See?  You need this mug. Oh, and it's available in white, too.  As if you needed more reasons to buy it.

With Love and Gifts,

The Emily Weddings Team

Real Wedding Spotlight: Brigitta & Jason

Recently, one of our weddings was featured on Emmaline Bride, a popular website for creative DIY weddings and so much more! We're thrilled to also see another great vendor featured as well, Isha Foss Events, who was responsible for the gorgeous floral arrangements and decor. This wedding was nothing short of fabulous and Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a stunning venue.

Vendors:

Norfolk Botanical Garden Wedding Planner: Emily Weddings
Wedding Flowers + Decor: Isha Foss Events

Photos Courtesy of: Jan Casper Photography

 

Love,

The Emily Weddings Team

Mint Julep

There's no denying that Mint is a popular color these days. Everything from skinny jeans to nail polish, mint is making a comeback from it's retro days of the 50's and 60's (how could we forget those mint green refrigerators?) Along with the many other breathtaking pastels sweeping the industry, this color is by far our favorite!

This tone of green can compliment any style of wedding from elegant and traditional to boho and shabby chic. It's refreshing palette is not only wonderful to work with, but appealing in the most creative ways.

Love,

 

The Emily Weddings Team

Photo Credits: weddingchicks.com

revel-blog.com

nextexitphtography.com via smartbrideblog.com

marthastweartweddings.com

marenkathleenphotography.com

weddingpaperdivas.com