Let’s face it – some of you want kids at your wedding and some of you don’t!  It’s pretty much one or the other.  If you fall into the “Well – we don’t want kids at our wedding,  but my brother has a baby and a toddler that I really want to be present” category – then there will be at least some kids at your wedding.

No matter what – kids somehow make it to weddings – either with babysitters at hotels or just at the rehearsal.  Here are a few gifts for the little ones that are coming to your wedding that are easy on the environment and will show how much you love the little ones that do come!

(above is our favorite little organic grape plush toy from Pure and Little!

Having an outdoorsy wedding?  This cute wooden tractor from The Wooden Wagon is perfect for the little guys!!!

We love these bags and bean bags from Cocoon Couture!  Handmade and perfect for your flower girl or Junior Bridesmaid!

Of course with the holidays here – you can always send  a gift like these in the mail reminding them about how excited you are to have them in your wedding!
Tell us what you are planning for your ring bearer or flower girl gifts!!

A few of our favorite drinks from over the years…

Ginger lime mojitos from Design Cuisine with our straw escort card tags in Stewarts Soda Bottles – Photos by Kathy Blanchard

Wonderful Cocktail concoctions from Farmers & Fishers from our article in Eco-Beautiful Weddings – Photos by The Obsvervatory

Cucumber water station from Main Event Caterers (photo by K. Thompson Photography) with sodas from our Green Wedding Giveaway (Photo by Documentary Associates + The Observatory)

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/wedding-drink-style/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/harvest-wedding-style/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/harvest-wedding-style/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:43 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=5842

Credits – Top to bottom, Left to Right

Margaret & Patrick’s Wedding with fun pumpkin “love you” by Kathy Blanchard and one of our signature candy bars at Woodend

Mini Pumpkin Soup via Elizabeth Anne Designs with one of our favorite bouquets we made for Ashlee & Tom’s Wedding (my brother and sister-in-law) at Decatur House – photo by Documentary Associates

Cotton Bur Wreath via Etsy with an escort card display we did at GW River Farm

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/harvest-wedding-style/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/black-and-white-wedding-style/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/black-and-white-wedding-style/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:30:15 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=5826

Our “black and white” bouquet with Picasso and Eggplant toned mini calla lilies, deep purple ranunculus with fern curl accents – Photo by Documentary Associates

Black and White Cake Inspiration via Wedding Place

Our pretty corsage and lapel flowers with lisianthus and phaleanopsis orchids

Our Luscious Verde Black and White Invitations

French Maid Garter from The Garter Girl

Lelah Shoes by Badgley Mischka from Zappos

Black and White Linens from Table Manners

Black and White Tags for your candy bar via Etsy

There is nothing better than the best band ever for a wedding!  Golem, from New York, kept everyone on the dance floor at Decatur House for Mari and Josh’s wedding reception!  Can’t you tell by this photo above?  Take a look:

Don’t you want to get up and dance right now?

If you saw the post yesterday – you also saw this gorgeous quilt made by Mari’s mom.  We were able to bring it over to the reception in between the ceremony and reception to hang behind the escort card table.  Just beautiful!

Mari and Josh chose beautiful fabrics from Africa to place on each table.  Every table had a different fabric accent that our seamstress customized for them from the bolts of fabric Mari brought back from Africa.  We then had several fun ceramic square white vases filled with herbs for the guests to take home.  As always, Design Cuisine did an amazing job.  You can’t tell from these photos, but Mari’s family owns cattle and Design Cuisine was able to use cuts of meat from her own family’s farm for the dinner!  Just an over the top amount of work and wonderful customer service!

We loved Mari’s beautiful bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquet – a fun and whimsical bouquet with peonies, delphinium and belles of Ireland.

Her bridesmaids bouquet complimented so wonderfully with the peonies, delphinium and dianthus!

Stay tuned tomorrow for our final installment from Mari and Josh’s wedding…incredibly fun photos!!!

Photography by Documentary Associates

I love Back to School themes and here are a few ideas from a few weddings we have done to get your creative wedding juices flowing – no matter what color your wedding is!

Image Credits (Top to Bottom , Left to Right)

Kathy Blanchard at Rust Manor in Leesburg

Love Life Images at Dumbarton House in Georgetown

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC

Documentary Associates at the Ronald Reagan Building

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building

Mary Kate McKenna at Shepherd’s Hey Farm in Comus, MD

We love introducing sponsors that offer interesting items.  Since fall is just around the corner and many of you are prepping for your spring weddings as well- we love these options at WeddingFavors.org!  The autumnal bookmark favor, tins for DIY favors, cherry blossom fans for your spring Cherry Blossom Wedding in DC and these cute little topiary place card holders!

They have an exhaustive list of favors for weddings and bridal shower favor ideas!!!

Get a 15% discount by entering ELEGANCE15 for orders over $49!  The coupon expires on July 31, 2011 – so hurry!

Let us know what you choose for your wedding!

We are so proud of our new issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!  It is chock full of summery goodness!  Plus we have two featured weddings it from local photographers and vendors!  A must see issue!  Click on the cover above to check it out!

We have a beautiful summer farm wedding coming up this weekend – I can’t wait to showcase it for you.  We are not having a lemonade stand but more of a fruit infused water station.  But I love lemonade stations year round.  Even if you are not having a summer farm wedding…you can create the feel of one by having fun little details (like lemonade stands) that remind your guests of a day on the farm!

Why not have this adorable bathtub at your wedding?  We used it at the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Anniversary Party at the Decatur House in December to serve water in mason jars!  Available at DC Rental!

Our in-house antique bottles and mason jars always lend a farm feel,  Mary Kate even made these cute table number boxes for her centerpieces! Adorable!

Go with loose arrangements and fun and vibrant linens like this “In Style Fuchsia” from DC Rental!

Then, from one of my favorite outdoor weddings from last fall at Rust Manor – so fun sodas and straws!!!  So much fun!!

There are so many options for that fun farm summer feel at your wedding – even if you are indoors at a hotel!  Let us show you how!

(photo credits/top to bottom: Ralph Alswang, a little bit of whimsy photography, Mary Kate McKenna, DC Rental, Kathy Blanchard)

Uh – hello!!!  How cute are these recycled wood Mr. & Mrs. signs??  Etsy Seller William Dohman has these signs along with a bunch of other cute and succinct signs like “Holla”, “Love”, “bon jour” and more!  LOVE THEM!!!

Ok – you have heard me say it a few times – but Ginkgo trees are wayyyy more native to DC than Cherry Blossoms folks!  These adorable appetizer plates from ETSY Seller Hope Johnson are as cute as they can be and perfect for your cute new apartment in downtown DC!!!

Loving these “happiness” eco-friendly shower curtains from Kontextur!

I have a bunch of new ideas brewing for you!  Stay tuned for more real wedding decor as well!  We are at the Cosmos Club and the Bethesda Hyatt this weekend – lots of fun stuff at both weddings – can’t wait to share!

If you are at the beginning of your wedding planning process (or you are about to propose) – you need to start thinking about your rings.  Whether you are shopping for an engagement ring or your wedding bands – first place I recommend to start is Brilliant Earth.  This week through Sunday they are giving away the below pendant (with ethically sourced green sapphire) with any ring you purchase!

Looking for a great organization to donate to in lieu of favors?  Here are a few of our favorites:

The National Wildlife Federation is located right in our area and has been teaching children and educating the public about protecting the environment for the past 75 years.

EDF has one of the most effective ways of helping to save the environment through its extensive network of corporations and key players around the world.  They also have a handy Seafood Selector that helps you determine the best eco-fish to serve!

We are in love with Kiva.  An amazing online community letting you donate to help microfinance individuals in poverty to empower them and create opportunities.

REALLY wanting eco-friendly favors – something your guests can walk away with?  Go local by using the local ETSY tool to buy from a local artisan – here are a few we are loving:

Having a garden wedding?  Why not get a vintage chalkboard – write their names out by tables and have these adorable magnets from SophiePine attached to it as giveaways for the ladies?  This way – you only need to buy about half as many favors and they will give a great decorative look as guests look for their tables! Click on the phone to buy!

I don’t care what people say – cupcakes are a current fad – but cookies will remain!  Don’t have a family recipe?  CookieCrowd on Etsy has these yummy cookies – they are located in Southern VA!  IN fact – you could just have a big cookie bar!  Get 10 different kinds of cookies and let your guests have at it!  Too many people are doing cupcake stations! It doubles as your dessert if you forgo the wedding cake and a favor for those that just want to heist a few for the ride home!

LostRiverRags on Etsy has an amazing assortment of soaps that are made with natural and soy ingredients – perfect for gifts for your wedding party!

There is so much more I can write about – but I will leave that to future blog posts!

I hope you are doing some sort of earthy activity today for Earth Day.  Don’t have a project in mind?  Skip the gym and just go for a walk or dust off your bike!  Heck – you might even think about biking to work instead on those upcoming sunny spring-fall days!  Why not try to find a local farmer’s market and buy your produce there today?  Check your grocery list – are there things on it that could be switched to more earth-friendly or local companies?  Maybe just making a pact with yourself to recycle more.  You would surprised what you can recycle these days (or even reuse).

Earth Day Network can Help you plan your day today.

About.com has a list a few activities you might want to try locally.

A few fun activities were listed yesterday on WashingtonPost.com

You can also find activities all over town to do tomorrow if you have to work all day - The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has a clean-up every year.

Be creative and get earthy today!  Start a green habit today which will hopefully create a healthier, cleaner and greener wedding and lifestyle for you!

p.s. – If you were looking for a link to the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Spring Mini Mag today – we will hopefully post it at some point today.  3 of our platforms for the magazine route their services through Amazon.com which is currently out of service.  As soon as their services are back up – we will post the Spring Mini Mag!

Dreaming about your wedding day but worried how to keep it stylish, fresh and eco-friendly at the same time?  This 4th Installment for Earth Day Week is about how to keep the flowers and the details green!  That is what we specialize in.  Eco-friendly flowers and details is what makes your wedding yours.  If you are like most couples, hundreds (if not thousands) of them have gotten married at your venue before – so the only way to make it special is with floral designs and personal touches.

Working with a logistical team and local farmers, distributors and nature itself, we design an overall design scheme for you to help fit your style!  From flowers that are grown in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Holland (the last two have some of the toughest fair trade and wage laws in the world and Holland practically invented the cut flower trade).  Using a combination of carbon offsetting, commercial flights (as opposed to Fedex or UPS) and sheer information and research – we are able to provide you with the best possible options.  Our inventory boasts thousands of pieces of glassware from small to large.  We don’t charge a “rental” fee for them like most florists do – we just simply pick up our stuff at the end of the night.  With most weddings – we will take any leftover flowers to a nursing home (complimentary).  If not – we also compost!  Our in-house paper and glass lantern inventory is extensive and in every color imaginable.  And…if we don’t have it in stock – we will get it for you!  We have even used leftover beading from Christmas tree decor for a bridesmaid’s bouquet!  We love to upcycle and reinvent weddings.

In conjunction with our flower department and lighting, we have all sorts of decor and favor options available for you.  We have LED lights for our paper lanterns, in-house glassware (like mason jars for serving lemonade on a sunny wedding afternoon).  We also have over 500 pieces of vintage and modern glassware just for candy and food bars.  If your venue or caterer only has trays – we have trays, footed candy bowls, 3-tiered petit four/cupcake plates and more.  We have our own carpentry team in house to custom design mandaps, chuppahs, arches, trellis’, chalkboards, directional signs and more.

We help take your dreams and ideas and make them a reality with the extensive collection of items we have in our inventory to the extensive reach of vendors that we work with in the DC area.  We have an extensive information database gathered from around the world with our magazine team of writers, photographers, interns, researchers and photo editors (Eco-Beautiful Weddings).  There is simply no other event design firm in the DC/Baltimore area that has as much experience, inventory and knowledge about going green as our team here at Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.!  Go green for your wedding today – email us inquiries @ eleganceandsimplicity.com!

(Photo Credits from Top to Bottom – 1st Bouquet – The Observatory, 2nd bouquet – Marta Locklear, Beaded Bouquet – Documentary Associates, Praying Mantis – Amy Deputy, Triple Centerpiece – Documentary Associates, Hanging votives – Marta Locklear, Blue/Green Lanterns, Candy Bar, Lemonade Stand and Cake photos – Documentary Associates (cake by Cakes by Design), Paris Photo – K Thompson, Blue/green votives + Trellis with paper lanterns – Jennifer Hughes, Escort “card” Chalkboard (with calligraphy from Meant to Be Calligraphy – K Thompson)

_________________________

We are gearing up for the Eco-Beautiful Spring Mini Mag!  Stay tuned tomorrow as it is filled with green contents that you will need to jump on!

I finally have a chance to blog my last big wedding from 2010.  Jennifer Hughes sent these beautiful images over to me from Amy + Daryn’s nautical-themed wedding at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott.

Amy + Daryn chose the beautiful Old Otterbein UMC Church (which has served Baltimore since 1771!!!) for their ceremony.

So many fun and interesting nautical details from the reception…

The nautical knot was perfect for their menu (taken from the design of their invitations).  We designed the escort cards to look like tiny nautical flags (yes we cut each and every one individually and placed in them in sand).  The sand boxes were surrounded by nautical rope along with tiny sand dollars and starfish!  Instead of a guest book – Amy + Daryn opted for fun wooden nautical flags for their guests to write on!

Amy really wanted some fun and different details.  From the nautical cake topper (as created by the pastry chef onsite the Marriott) to the fun decor items we created complete with lifesaver accents!

Stay tuned for more and thanks again to Jennifer Hughes for the images!

We finally have the chance to blog about The Knot’s Market Party earlier this month at Nationals Park!  Above is the cupcake wall we made for Kendall’s Cakes cupcakes!  It was a hit with our Vintage baseball feel!

Levy Restaurants caters at the park and produced a wonderful dessert buffet as well!

Eli Staples Music performed with an amazing jazz band to open up the evening with!

Stay tuned for all the photos from the party in the upcoming issue of The Knot!

The event was also sponsored by Volanni, Everything Linen, Ampa Events, Planet DJ, Midpark Services, Poshbooth

Photography by Amie Otto Photography

The Spring Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is live and a few of my favorite things are in it to win!  Don’t miss out!

Get this vintage frame with a chalkboard for you wedding day!

or

Start your new “NO MORE buying of plastic WATER BOTTLES” regimen with this beautiful reusable water bottle!

or

Have the best doggone salted caramels around for you and your guests!

Just click here to see all the fun stuff you can get for free in the Spring Issue!

It’s Live and we are in Love!  Click on the Cover Above to Check out all the Eco-Friendly Yumminess from the Spring 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

I have been planning The Knot’s annual event at the Nationals Park for a few months now and I am excited about all of the possibilities that are available to brides and grooms!  Yes – you have to love baseball sure – but their facilities are so beautiful too!

Not sure how to have a wedding here?  Go vintage or modern with these ideas:

(Credits – Vintage Ice Cream Bar via Brides, Baseball Tickets via Style Me Pretty by Amorology Weddings, Cute modern Ice Cream invitations from Etsy Designr InkSpot Workshop, Nationals Cookie Favors from A Dozen Eggs, Modern Popcorn Station via Tying The Knot by Bellissima Photography)

Another reason why we love the Stadium is that it is one of the very few stadiums in the country that is LEED certified as well!  Go Green with the Nats!

I can’t wait to show you photos from the event!  Stay Tuned!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/weddings-at-the-nationals-par/feed/ 2 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/bhldn-launch-by-anthropolgie/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/bhldn-launch-by-anthropolgie/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:00:46 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=4669

If you have not been reading our Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog – then maybe you have no idea that Anthroplogie’s answer for the bridal market is going live today and it’s called BHLDN (say “Beholden”)!  Above is my absolute fave of the dresses that I was able to catch a sneak peek of last week!  The Pinwheel tea dress and that amazing headpiece are to die for!  Not to mention the shoes that have vintage and scarce fabric on them!  Take a look at the blog post about this dress and the shoes here!

Robin Fisher and I were invited to tour all of the URBN family buildings at the Navy Yard in downtown Philly.  Their food court/gym space (to the right above) can also be rented out for weddings!!! Seriously a dream space for a wedding planner like me!  All of the buildings had some sort of eco element to it.  Whether it was the original Urban Outfitters sign as decor or reclaimed wood for flooring or steps, I was in love at first sight!!!

After touring their various facilities they brought us to their own bed and breakfast which was set up with 4 lovely coordinated rooms filled to the brim with their various special occasion dresses, upcoming decor items and bridal gowns.  They started off with the bridal fashion show with a candy bar and sushi!  It really was a wonderland and quite dreamy to say the least!

One of the dresses that we did not get to see on a model is this gorgeous gown with navy blue accents on it!  Just divine!  I really would love to see a bride pair it with these gorgeous yellow shoes!

The shoes, the candy, the accessories…everything was amazing.  Anthropologie’s BHLDN line will be the biggest line to hit the market in years and they will continue to grow!  Check out their website today as it will be the most coveted and most talked about wedding website on the block!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Our Anniversary Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is live!  Click above to see the new issue!

Although we still don’t have the photos from the photographer yet, I wanted to share this quick sneak peek photo I took with my blackberry!  This wedding was out at Strong Mansion.

The bride and groom really let me have some creative license and we got to use a ton of our milk glass and mason jars.  I love the contrast of the bright fall flowers with the chocolate pin-tuck linens.  The flowers that are shown here are blue thistle, dahlias and local hydrangea!

Hope to show you more of this beautiful wedding soon!

Cheers!

Yes we are supposedly in the middle of fall (even though it feels like spring time here in DC).  However, I still have a few brides and corporate clients asking about possible favor ideas for their fall events.  I love edible favors as they always get consumed, and if done right, can be green at the same time.  Take for instance this Maple leaf sweetner/lollipop from above made with 40% organic maple syrup, made in the USA, gluten-free, and just downright cute!  Click on the photo above to learn how to purchase them from Dream Green Weddings!

How adorable are these edible chocolate cocoa bean acorns???  Click on the photo above to see more from this fabulous Etsy Designer Andy’s Specialty Sweets!

Caramel – to me – is the national pastime of the fall season!  Think hot caramel lattes, caramel covered apples and caramel-laced apple cider!  Yum!   The Caramel Jar sells these handmade caramels from PA – wrapped in parchment paper and sent to you in a mason jar!!!

These chocolate orange cardamom cookies are perfect for a fall event  The Groovy Baker in New York does an amazing job!

The food possibilities are endless!

Have a sweet fall weekend!

Grab a cup a coffee or a glass a wine and get ready as this post is long!  There is simply no way to break up  this post into smaller parts!  The details of this wedding are just so much fun and better to see all together!  We have done two previous posts on the decor of the ceremony and cocktail hour (along with 3 teaser posts!) Now the finale!

Even with this overall Atrium room shot at the Ronald Reagan Building – you still can’t see all the stations of fun at this wedding!  To give just a little backdrop – Jordan is a school teacher – so some of the props might make more sense once you see them!

To bring in the true school spirit – we ordered some basic student high school lockers and painted them for the couple.  We still have them – so let us know if you want them for your wedding! It was the talk of the wedding and everyone had so much fun looking inside and seeing all the fun photos [if you look closely enough here - you can see her dad Rick Scott (who is currently running for Governor in Florida)].

Another fun station was the “Map Station”.  Since both Jeremy and Jordan love to travel so much – they wanted to see where everyone else has traveled to.  So we placed pink and green pins on the maps for where Jordan and Jeremy have been and asked the guests to place the yellow pins (as shown in the letters J) on the map for where they have been.

Then we had the photo booth.  I will most likely do a whole other post just on the photos from the photographer (Documentary Associates) that took the photo booth photos as they were hilarious!

(You can’t have a photo booth these days without props – we got these from Etsy!)

A couple of days ago we showed you the program we designed…here is the menu that matches!

There were so many flowers everywhere at this wedding that there just is not enough room in this post to show them.  We had tall arrangements filled with green and white dendrobium orchids along with jaguar pink orchids and yellow mokara orchids!  The two long head tables for the wedding party had lots of fun different shaped vases filled with seasonal local flowers including local hydrangea, peonies and roses.

One of the funniest things about this wedding is that Jordan wanted to possibly trip up the guests by numbering the tables with prime numbers (take a look at the photo above this one and you can see that table number is #29).  Carla David Design did such an amazing job with these table tents, the map station, soda station and lemonade/pink lemonade/limeade bar signs (below).

And now…the cakes!  Cakes by Design did such an amazing job!  I still can’t get over how she was able to create Jordan and Jeremy’s dog and how she used the decor on the groom’s cake to look like the masses/crowd (GENIUS!)

And…their super fun candy bar!

It was an amazing party and we had so much fun designing it!

Congratulations Jordan & Jeremy!

Wedding Planning, Floral Designs & Decor, Lanterns, Stationery, Candy Bar – Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.

Venue & Catering - Ronald Reagan Building

Photography - Ralph Alswang

Band + Ceremony Music - MSE Productions

Videography - Blue Sky Films

Lighting & Fabric Draping – Ampa Events

Cake – Cakes by Design

Linens – Table Manners

Bridal Styling – Polished Image and Style

Hair – Elegant Hair by Giselle

Make-up – Carola Myers

Detail Signage – Carla David Design

Photo Booth Photography – Documentary Associates

Rehearsal Dinner – Arts Club of Washington

Transportation – Chariots for Hire

Accommodations – Willard InterContintental

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/jordan-jeremys-reception/feed/ 3 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/floral-designs-for-candace-and-chris/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/floral-designs-for-candace-and-chris/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:02:33 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=3690

I can’t begin to imagine how many blog posts I will do for this wedding – so I am not even going to try to number them!  Candace and Chris Ourisman’s wedding was a showcase wedding beyond my wildest dreams.  Candace had such amazing ideas and she let me be as creative as possible with the decor aspect.  She wanted a real eco-chic, modern, shabby-chic, gorgeous wedding.  I think we nailed it!

You will see from all of these various photos that we took a lot from our inventory and infused a few new pieces.  We had a ton of tea cups, vintage frames, mason jars, and glass milk bottles already – but we added a few new antique items for this wedding.  New items included things like milk glass and vintage tea cups from our local antique shops.  Almost all of the pieces we used in their centerpieces were actual antiques!

Candace chose a beautiful color palette of whites and greens with touches of turquoise here and there!

We had such a fun time with turn-over for this wedding.  Above are floating floral designs that we hung above the tapenade station during cocktail hour.  Stay tuned for what we did with them after dinner!

More to come from their wedding this week!

(Of course – a HUGE Thanks to Jennifer Domenick from Love Life Images for these amazing photos!)

For those of you who do not follow me on Twitter – I thought I would go ahead and post the three images that I posted to  Twitter the day of Jordan and Jeremy’s wedding on June 26, 2010.  Keep in mind all of these photos were taken by my Blackberry – so they are not the finest in photography!  Those will come shortly from Ralph Alswang!

As you can see – this was a very bright and summery wedding!  I can’t wait to show you all the pink, yellow and green yummy details.

We created our signature photobooth for Jordan with her colors and style from her wedding.  Above is Jen Franz from Documentary Associates who took the photos at the photobooth during the reception! I can’t wait to show some of the funniest photos I have ever seen from a photobooth and the funnest props!

Now this photo is really terrible and does not show the true essence of this decor piece at the reception.  We brought in actual school lockers that we painted in their wedding colors!  We still have the lockers in stock as we just could not part from them!  Inside the lockers were her stuff, his stuff and then in the yellow locker – their stuff.

There is so much more to show – so stay tuned for the professional photos – which will be so much better than these!  But I just could not wait to show these to you!

We are doing a fantastic and new type of bridal show that I can’t wait to showcase here after the event!

While you wait for those photos – thought you might like to see some of my favorite Etsy designers in the wake of Valentine’s Day! Yes – love is still aflutter!

I totally dig this ring!  So cute!

And this ridiculously cute recyled bottle cap necklace pendant!

Beautifully packaged organic pink grapefruit soap!

Simply divine earrings – not just because they are vintage – but because they are the exact colors from my wedding day! I want them!

And this adorable retro skirt!  I know 4 people that could rock this skirt out!

As always, click on the photos to buy from Etsy!

Cheers!

~Katie Martin

1st – Lake Champlain Chocolates – One of the 1st I ever tried!  Loved them – They have some great packaging for favors as well!

One of my friends gave me the Vosges Organic Dominican Republic (DR) Chocolate Bar!  Obviously I dig it because my husband is from the DR, but also because his family owns a cacao farm!  I have actual tasted a cacao while in it’s fruit/nut form direct from the tree in both the DR and Nicaragua (amazing and not what you expect really).  The process of making chocolate is a strange one (not sure how they figured it out), but one that I am so grateful I learned about.  Vosges has some of the greatest chocolates in the world and they have quite a green mission statement – which you can read here.

Possibly the most ridiculously rich and most expensive natural organic chocolates that I have ever tasted are from Richart. It is a French company that says nothing about being organic or going green on their website.  However, I have visited 2 of their stores and have just never wanted to leave.  The idea of going to a chocolate store and comparing it to an experience of being at a museum is probably preposterous to you.  However – to me, when I eat chocolate – it is an experience.  I can taste the nuances in each type of chocolate I eat.  Richart is probably the most fascinating chocolate I have ever tasted in my life.  These are the chocolates that you give on Valentine’s Day!

Happy Indulging!

~Katie Martin

As promised, here are more photos from the real wedding that was featured in the most recent Washingtonian magazine.  We are super excited about Kate and Mark’s wedding and I will do a follow-up post sometime in the new year about their engagement photos which were even cuter!  Another eco-friendly wedding shot by Tom Van Veen & Ashlee Wilcox of Documentary Associates with our floral designs!  Such a fun wedding!

Kate had her chivari chairs custom painted with the help of her sister Arney who used to work for one of the best wedding caterers in the DC area.  We were so happy that Kate let us have free reign over making her floral designs to match their vintage and whimsical style wedding.  The lapel flowers were finished with hemp twine and the bride’s dress was by Lela Rose (manufactured and designed in New York City!)

The programs were beribboned with various shades of raffia and ribbon by the bride and her sister.

Every single detail of this wedding was well thought out – down to the vintage typewriter as the “guest book”.

Congratulations Kate & Mark!!

(and to our wonderful friend Arney too – sister of the bride!)

~Katie Martin

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/washingtonian-real-wedding-feature/feed/ 3 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/a-few-thoughts-on-love/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/a-few-thoughts-on-love/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:17:16 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1576

I love it when my clients come in and they are bursting with love.  Clients like that are the reason why I love what I do. Weddings should be all about love. Yes, wedding planning can get hectic, but don’t let it get it in the way of love.

I want to throw around a few fun ideas I found centered around the word love on Etsy.  Most of these items are great for wedding decor. However, anything you see here can be used in your home.

Think about your purchasing for your wedding.  Find ways to reuse these items.  Home decor from your wedding will bring back memories of the day you got married on a daily basis.

Weddings tend to be a feast for the eyes for your guests.  Why not keep that amazing decor for your 1st home together?

Congratulations on your engagement!

Happy Planning,

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/a-few-thoughts-on-love/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/1516/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/1516/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:30:31 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1516 One look at those fabulous shoes and you’ll know what inspired this collage. Sophisticated, chic and a little theatrical, they are the perfect foil for a black and white color palette with dramatic details.

Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Invitation: Wedding Paper Divas
Bouquet: Martha Stewart
Cookies: Epicurious
Gown: Ulla Maija
Hair: Pip Pip and All That
Parasol image: Green Wedding Shoes
Place setting: Style Me Pretty