going vintage.....

Ingrid Bergman's dress is my inspiration today along with this chic vintage wedding dress I found on the bridal section of the The Frock. All those vintage brides out there, the frock has a great selection of period pieces, check it out.

Okay, off for a holiday weekend. It's St. Ambrogio today in Milan, (the saint of Milano), so we're off to Madonna di Campiglio for a cozy ski weekend. Ciao!

little natale and anniversaries in Italy.............

Our anniversary was this week, so I thought I would share a little sweet moment of our candlelight picnic in living room....After the little feast, we decorated our, piccolo albero di natale = isty bitsy christmas tree....
This is our second Christmas living together, so we have no ornaments, last year we only had white lights, so this year we decided to keep it simple and we made paper snowflakes.

branches, leaves and blossoms.......

A late winter wedding calls for bold leaf branches or blossoms hinting spring is in the air......
At the moment, we are considering, beautiful, rich and shiny dark green magnolia leaves. We have 2 trees in front of our house and this afternoon I clipped a small branch along with some greens from my garden, (top photo and center photo) I like the idea of beautiful greens in different little vases, mixed with some individual subtle flowers. Another blossom to think about would, quince, but it all depends on what's available.

if the shoe fits.....

A little luxury for your feet......
so many choices, Manolo Blahnik, Valentino, Jimmy Choo and last but not least, my new favorite, Brian Atwood.

Accessories are like the icing on the cake......

I love love love anything by, Anthony Nak. Owning a pair of his earrings is definitely at the top of my wish list. These ruby drops and topaz briolette earrings with sapphires, look like little sparkling clusters of grapes......
His jewelry can also be found at Barneys, Twist, Pied Nu
........green with envy is what I feel when I look at these festive earrings from Vintage Textile.

These beautiful Etruscan gold earrings are too die for, I found them on Fay Cullen.
Etruscan jewelry, is so unique and elegant, then again, aren't most things from Italy? Even though the Etruscans weren't not Italic, they did however live in Etruria (western Tuscany, Italy). It would be nice to find a piece for my wedding day, to tie in elements from fiance's country and my new home.

and she wore violet......

I'm seeing violets everywhere!!! Too bad I didn't see these dresses before I purchased mine. I was looking for something a bit more off beat (and something that I could wear again) and was even contemplating wearing color. I would take any of these!!!
Yves Saint Laurent and Carolina Herrera were inspired by the little velvet flower for their collections. Stefano Pilati of YSL said he had been inspired by "violets, which to the Greeks symbolized modesty, humility, and virginity—and the feeling of transition from spring into summer." For his show he laid out a runway of a deep, earthen lawn planted with hundreds of living purple violas. Imagine having an aisle of violets to walk down, how romantic.........a girl can dream, can't she?

Thought I would share this sweet little rose bud. This morning my adorable fiance, picked it for me from the garden. So chic yet so simple displayed in one of my many recycled glass jars..... I've literally been ooooing and aaaahing about it all day long (he is the sweetest)

Vintage violets......

I had my heart set on a small posy of violets for my bridal bouquet but I am told by many florists that this is not possible, as violets are too delicate and won't last throughout the wedding, not to mention unavailable in February. I've been investigating other ways to incorporate them into the wedding and came across these adorable vintage silk & velvet violets on Dolls and Lace. There are endless possibilities to tie them into the wedding, maybe I could sew some on the back of my dress, wear them in my hair or maybe a decorative accent for the ring pillow.....

rossellini ladies....

I've been trying out different hairstyles on my own for my wedding day. I want something natural with a little glamour.....
I love ingrid bergman and isabella rossellini hairstyles, soft pin curls...soft, natural and very glamorous. Beauty truly runs in the family......

cake stands

Since our baker doesn't supply the cupcake stand, I am currently on the hunt to find one. But most that I have come across are a bit tacky. Also, my other dilemma, my fiance, who is from Italy, loves the tradition of cutting the cake together but then also like the "cupcake" idea since its so "Americana" and totally different from Italian weddings. So I'm trying to see if we can have both idea's all in one. And just my luck, I came across a perfect display on Oh Happy Blog! that allows for both, genius!

TABLE DECOR: Gardenia's

While in search of simple flower displays, I came across a beautiful image from wedding planner, Mary Mix Events site, of gardenia's displayed in antique silver bowls. I love it! This is what I've been looking for, the silver gives it a more vintage look, as oppose to clear glass. Another thought, is to have them floating in vintage colored glass bowls, such as amber, blue, purple.......
(note, gardenia's have a beautiful but strong fragrance, so, its best not to have arranged on the dinner tables mixed with food, better to have them displayed on coffee tables etc...)

Red Velvet anyone.........

Publish Post

There's nothing better then a perfect slice of red velvet cake. A couple of weeks ago, my mom, fiance and I were taking a coffee break at 71 Irving (my home away from home), between wedding appts. and treated ourselves to red velvet cupcake, yum!........we were all in heaven. The cupcakes come from a bakery uptown called, 2 Little Red Hens.

breaking the ice.........

A couple of weeks ago I ate dinner at my old stomping grounds, The Mermaid Inn in the east village and love that at the end of the meal you receive a little fortune teller.....
What a whimsical treat for each table setting, not to mention an immediate ice breaker! It will have guests talking and laughing as soon as they sit down. I ordered 200 from Momentous Occasion.

archiving unforgettable moments....

Now that we've picked our photographer, I can start thinking about how we would like to archive our special day. Months ago, I remember reading about a small company called, Mac&Cheese, which creates beautiful archival custom photos books. So perfect!

think outside the box

One of my favorite florists, Zezé, 938 1st [52nd] 212.753.0067 not only handles flower arrangements for weddings but also offers a small but magical carriage house as a private dining room. How romantic and cozy that would be for a small wedding reception! Its can hold up to 40 people for a sit down dinner or up to 100 for a cocktail party. You can see the space through one of their approved caterers sites: http://www.bellinyc.com

Luisa Beccaria

Nothing could be more flirty and feminine than Milan's Luisa Beccaria boutique, it sparkles like a "crystal palace." I went to the boutique the other day and fell in love with everything. There's a wide variety of whimsical and romantic dresses for every occasion and if you are more of a traditional bride, she has a beautiful collection of bridal gowns...

three little white dresses

thumbing through my mountain of fashion magazine's, I came across 3 little white dresses for that not-so-traditional bride. I really love the dress by Collette Dinnigan on Kate Bosworth (far left) also the dress on Jade Jagger (middle image) is beautiful and unique made by designer Mamie

jewels jewels jewels

looking to add a little luck of the irish, a nod to my family heritage on my wedding day, I stumbled upon jewelry designer Erin Basin.

* Lucky horseshoe. Irish brides used to carry a real horseshoe for good luck. (Turned up so the luck won't run out). You can get porcelain horseshoes which most Irish brides carry these days, or one made of fabric which is worn on the wrist.

little violets

little purple velvet violets for winter

looking for a not so "wedding, wedding" venue

I'm currently living overseas, so planning an international wedding via internet has proven to be a bit difficult but not impossible. I'm very familiar with the nyc (lived there for 10 yrs) and have seen some fantastic venues over the years but it's quite hard to find something that is unique, intimate and with a sense of personality. There seems to be more spaces in NYC that fit the "traditional" wedding mold. ugh. frustrated.
but here are a few venues that could work for a weddings

632 Hudson

The Old Stone House of Brooklyn, cozy, historical building

The Players, (nyc) an old school club for the arts situated in a beautiful brownstone facing gramercy park with a huge working fireplace, so cozy for a winter wedding. Think great gatsby meets capote cocktail party! Plus it can hold the ceremony and party all in one! Now all I would need is a beautiful winter snowfall to complete the look!

also found........

• the foundry
• brooklyn historical society (beautiful library) and in Brooklyn Heights