Money-Saving Monday: J.Crew Wedding Gowns for under $300 !

Ursula/J.Crew Wedding

 I know it's not Monday yet but I'm so excited about this week's finds. I was browsing the virtual racks of cyber-space when I came across these gorgeous dresses for under $300. Some of them are regularly priced under $600, which is still great. But there are a few hidden gems that are marked down. And if you act now you can get an additional 40% off all final sales when you use the promo code "Style40". But you have to hurry because it expires tonight at 11:59pm.

Sinclair/ J.Crew Wedding

Shhhhhhh, it's a secret... Well, that's how J.Crew makes it seem anyway. You don't get to see the sale price until you actually click on the dresses. Here are the links to both the Sinclair and the Ursula. Both are regularly priced at $595 but are on sale for $479.99. And with the promo code ("Style40") it will only be $287.99 before taxes!!!  As of right now the Sinclair is only available in sizes 12-18 which is a good look for my bodacious beauties because typically the larger sizes are sold out quicker due to the fact that most retail chains carry smaller amounts of larger sizes. The Ursula is available in all sizes.

So Hurry!! then go to my shop, Beyond A Veil,  to find the perfect accessories to go with these simply elegant dress. Hey I know you have the money. I just saved you over $300 !!

Conquering Your Color Scheme



www.sweetandlovelylife.com

So it's time to plan the wedding of your dreams. One of the first big decisions that you must make is the colors and theme. You probably have already had this whole thing mapped out in your head since you were six (or if you were anything like my daughter is, 3). I know, I know Barbie and Ken's wedding colors were the perfect shade of turquoise and fuchsia, but a lot has changed since then. For one, you have a real live breathing partner with real human emotions and opinions to take into consideration.

First think about some of the reoccurring themes and intimate moments you and your fiancé share. Where was your first date? Which shirt of his makes him look the most handsome? Where did he propose to you? Where was your first kiss? Every one of these moments has a mood that they invoke. And if you were to pick a color based off the most potent of those memories what would it be?



The Perfect Palette

Next think about the season in which you plan on getting married. This will help you decide which tone of your colors will be easier to find and which seasonal flowers will help to enhance your event and help your budget. Let's say for instance your main color is purple. If your wedding is in the spring then you would look at more of a lavender or a paler shade of purple. If you decide to get married in the fall then you would use a richer jewel tone like Plum.

Lastly look at your venue. Is there wallpaper? Is the color of the rug very noticeable? If there are things that really do stand out then why not just work with them instead of against them. Use some of your supporting colors to help enhance the smaller details of the event. Accent colors tend to be on the opposite side of the color wheel, but that doesn't have to be literal. The opposite of purple is yellow, and camel (a yellowish brown very close to khaki) works great with all shades of purple and is basically the matte version of metallic gold.

Color schemes have proven to be one of the most stressful aspects of planning a wedding, and being that I was a visual-art major you could argue that I am a bit bias. But thanks to the Internet there is a lot of help out there. There are millions of websites with idea boards and examples you can reference. My favorite is The Perfect Palette; they have so many examples to choose from that you can look up based on color and/or season. Pintrest is also a great place to look (there are millions of girls out there planning their make believe weddings). Also doing a Bing image search can help you get a few inspirational pictures that best illustrate your colors, theme and mood.

Good Luck!

Big City Engagement Shoot

Once Wed

I found this amazing photo shoot on one of my favorite sites Oncewed.com and am obsessed with its perfection (hence the bold print). This bride-to-be's style is spot on; the tulle cocktail skirt pair with the shimmery t-shirt, the chambray blouse with the dark denim shorts and the long sleeved lace cocktail dress.

OnceWed

what makes this shoot so flawless is its simplicity. The Brooklyn Bridge, the apple blossoms and their front stoop are just backdrops to their love story.

Big thanks to Once Wed for showing us yet another inspiring and beautiful shoot.

DIY: Burlap and Lace Rustic Wedding Vase

Phew! It's been awhile but I'm back. I've been haunted by the desire to get back to writing and most importantly creating new pieces for the last phew months.
Now that my family is finally settled into our new beautiful home here in Atlanta I have finally been able to start creating and start a few article concepts.

I've been focusing a lot on honing in on my niche. Who am I designing and writing for? How do I fit into her lifestyle? I now have a much better grasp on my customer and I'm really excited to show you what I've made for her.

Meanwhile, with the loss of so much of our stuff in hurricane Superstorm Sandy it became hard to recognise what we still had and what we need to pick up. For Mother's Day my dear sweet hubby gave me two dozen roses and I realized that we no longer owned a flower vase. At firsts I used the plastic pitcher but then I spotted a milk carton in the recycle bin and got this idea for a cute and quick vase that can be used for center pieces and other table decor.


                                                      This is what you will need:                                                                                          

Cardboard milk carton
Burlap
Scissors
Glue gun
Lace
Other decorations and doodads

1. Neatly cut the top off your carton. Measure your burlap by lining up the top edge of the carton with the clean edge of your burlap and wrapping it around your carton. Add about a half inch to the length to be safe and cut. Make your length cut by measuring the length of your carton and adding two inches.

2. Because burlap has so many spaces, only hot glue horizontal lines at the far sides near the corners to reduce glue exposure. Start with just one line of glue and press your burlap on the carton making sure everything is lined up correctly. Wait till your first line is dry before you move on to be sure that nothing shifts while you rotate the carton to the next side. Once you put down the glue pull the burlap tight with one hand and flip over the carton with the other pressing down for 10 seconds. Do this with all four sides.

Tip: I was able to get rid of the exposed glue by rubbing the hot edge of the gun nozzle along the edged of the carton.

3. Cut flaps on all four corners of the bottom of the burlap.

4. Glue the bottom flaps down, doing the opposites side first (as seen here).

5. Fill in any gaps that may appear at the top of the carton with glue and smooth burlap to the sides.

6. Add lace or any other decorative pieces that suite your event.
Tip: Because lace has even less space to glue down, I glued into the small circles that are in the middle of the pattern and placed small pearl embellishments over them to cover the exposed glue.






Well I hope you like my first official DIY. There will be many more to come. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any clarification for any of the steps. I'm glad to help!