military bridal gown giveaway by mon amie

attention all troops (and readers)! i've just discovered a wonderful, timely, and supremely generous offer from one of california's premiere bridal salons — for the seventh year, mon amie bridal salon will be giving away 100 bridal gowns to military brides-to-be...for free.

the details

date: october 17th, 2010

estimated time: 10 am to 4 pm

place: marine corps air station - miramar office's club (building 4472)

to be considered, brides must be engaged, be on active duty in the military or have a fiancé on active duty. all military brides must show id, copy of deployment papers, orders or other qualifying proof. brides do not have to reside in the area where the giveaway is taking place.

to learn more visit mon amie. and the best of luck to all. :o)

beach wedding ideas • seahorses

i love beach weddings. and while i adore the more traditional beachy elements like starfish and sand dollars, i am simply wild about the seahorse — there's just something inherently whimsical about it that adds a cheerful playfulness to any beach wedding design aesthetic.

these are merely a few of my favorite ideas, all featured in muted blues and sandy earth tones, which helps keep the design scheme sophisticated and breezy. the best in the bunch? those hand-knitted cupcake toppers. crazy fun.

design and photo credits

clockwise from top left — {beach wedding invitations} paper olive • {cupcakes} diy via fat orange cat studio photography • {seahorse totes} beachik via etsy • {vintage spoon} beach house living • {candles} escape concepts • {napkin ring} pottery barn

organic chic wedding invitations

a friend recently enlisted me to design her wedding invitations, with three very specific design requirements: simple, chic, and organic. below is the resulting suite i created for her, and i think it is already a favorite.

the lush tree silhouette is clearly the organic focal point, but i also brought in tactile elements like white linen paper and mailer boxes, as well as natural dupioni silk ribbon as a clean, fresh accent. the entire look is proof positive that you don't always have to be over-the-top in your presentation in order to make a unique first impression.

plus, anytime you can keep that impression green by celebrating the beauty of earth's natural elements, i'm always a fan.

louboutin love • tahiti in spring

okay, these heels are ridiculous. and by ridiculous, i mean out of control fabulous. i just finished browsing the christian louboutin spring 2010 collection, and these (called tahiti) jumped out at me beyond any other pair.

the soaring high heel, the classic red sole, the super chic white with demure black piping, all paired with a dramatic, whimsically exotic flower make these louboutins equally perfect for a black and white wedding, a little black dress of your favorite pair of jeans.

some people dream of tahiti. i dream of these shoes. :o)

inspiration file: pacific weddings

when looking for design inspiration, one of my favorite things to do is comb through the covers of old wedding magazines (yep, i keep 'em). the cover shots are often noteworthy, and always have an extra something special about them worth a second (or third) look. after all, if they weren't amazing, they never would have wound up on the cover in the first place.

i recently ran across across this summer/fall 2008 issue of pacific weddings, and my breath caught in my throat. the bright and cheerful yellow, the mix of floral textures, the bejeweled bouquet band. has memory lane ever been more lovely?