roselabiche: très chic tees

{ orchid -- ruffled tee }

ok, this is only loosely bridal. i could make a case for a bachelorette night-out or over a simple white skirt at an uber-casual affair. but i have such an etsycrush on rose la biche's shop! and i'm *so* not a ruffle kind of girl.

french globetrotting san francisco-based designer lucy sounds like a trifecta of cool. i *heart* you, ruffly amelie tees.




more at roselabiche.etsy.com

head = dressed.

I love the new stuff up on Headdress Couture. Aside from awesome new hair accessories for your wedding day, they also have some killer new veils. I love that they're all little edgy, but just edgy enough to be interesting, not like "over the deep end" edgy. The photos are amazing! Check them out.

trixiedelicious: alternative china

{ seven deadly sins ornate set }

have i really not mentioned trixiedelicious? her shop was one of the first i 'hearted' when i joined the crack den etsy community... hey, everyone needs a vice. or seven.

her work truly speaks for itself -- perfect visual irony, not for the dainty or blushing. wicked gifts! more hand-painted kiwi insouciance at trixiedelicious.etsy.com

what's cookin'?

hello all! am cooking up a little something behind the scenes, more info to come. there just might be a lag in posting. or i might use the blog to procrastinate. like right now. {blink blink}

[can i just say: thank god blogs did not exist when i was in college. am dating myself, but seriously. i'd probably still be in my second semester.]

in the meantime, check out this great interview! offbeatbride and diybride have combined to form an awesome bridal voltron ... er, sorry. ariel offbeat interviews khris d.i.y. about the dangers of 'craftier-than-thou' syndrome' -- especially perilous for already-crafty folks who think: what the hey! i'm crafty! i could hand-quilt 175 leather and straw save-the-dates -- i can whip up four sets of bridesmaid jewelry the morning of the wedding -- no sweat. (one of those scenarios is true.)

if you're interested, discuss further at diybride.com

i think i have a shoe fetish

Not so much into the uber-fanciness from yesterday? Try these on for size! I saw these over on Brooklyn Bride a week or so ago, and thought I'd round out your shoe selection. A bit more casual, but no less amazing. Call me crazy, but the green patent leather ones are my favorites. And the patterned ones for a garden wedding would be sublime with a tea length dress. All from J. Crew.

well heeled

I wore a short dress for my wedding so finding fabulous shoes was really important to me. Lucky for me these babies weren't around then, I think I would have had to loosen the purse strings and splurge! Amazing art deco style Prada Pumps with gorgeous detailing on the heel, and two adorable little bows across the vamp, available at Bergdorf's. LOVE.

cabin fever! spring thank-you sampler

{ spring leaves -- set of six cards + envelopes }

snow? rain? grey day? if you don't live in florida, (and aren't my mom, who *loves* to call in february and say things like -- hold on darling, i can't hear you over the pool pump) (gah!) you might also be feeling that crazy old yearning for songbirds, pastel sorbet colors, anything linen or open-toed, and -- for the love of god, a leaf! a petal! a single crocus! anything. usually it hits me mid-march, am a bit early this year.

in that spirit, here are a spring dozen of fresh thank you note sets, in varying numbers. many of the sellers can make up a batch in however many your gratefulness or etiquette dictates. especially nice for spring/summer weddings.

cake-speration.

I justify this huge image by saying that you need to see these cakes up close and personal in order to appreciate the amazing detail. Living in the Brooklyn area? Lucky! Contact Jolly Be Bakery and get yourself a cake!

fancy, in a good way.

These remind me of a gorgeous princess from a far-off land on the day of her wedding to the prince of her dreams. Who? who? I ask does not want to be reminded of that? From taj taj jewelry, consisting of fine gems combined with 18K gold.
If anyone out there gets Martha Stewart Radio on Sirius, you can catch me on at 10:30 AM, talking with Betsy Karetnick on Morning Living about wedding invitations. I must admit, I'm a little nervous. Wish me luck!

jonabags: clutches and wristlets

{ bizarre bouquet makeup bag }

fresh custom clutches and wristlets -- great gifts for your bridal party. since there's a discount for 6 or more, you can get one for yourself as well, sneaky sneak.

colorado-based jonabags loves custom work and working with brides-to-be -- and her bags are just... happy! little zippered celebrations. this tip courtesy of mrs. violet, from weddingbee.




more at jonabags.etsy.com

wood and metal wedding rings

I realize that there aren't too many guys out there visiting my blog on a daily basis, so I don't post about guy stuff all that often. I may be wrong, but I doubt there are many grooms cruising the blogosphere for inspiration on their wedding rings. But who knows? Maybe I'm completely wrong and offending a large chuck of highly involved husbands-to-be. More likely than not, you (the loving fiance) will just tell them about these precious metal and wood inlay rings later, and they'll think you're the smartest most thoughtful, considerate, stylish lady ever. Available on Etsy from Rob and Lean.

again!?

So as many of you already know, the Post Office is raising rates AGAIN (to $.42) on May 12th of this year. This seems particularly annoying because the rates went up by 2 cents last year at this time, throwing all the brides at the height of wedding season into a tizzy because they couldn't get good stamps at the new rate. We will surely go thru the same awkward phase again where our only choice for postage will be the Liberty Bell and no doubt a commemorative set of Chewbacca portrait stamps or some such unattractive nonsense. To boot, it doesn't appear as though Zazzle is offering a $.42 option just yet... Arg! So where does this leave us? Had I the choice, I think I would go with The Bell. It's not horrible, it's nothing. It's neutral. It's better than Chewy. What is everyone doing to get around this?

brooklynbookbinder redux: thank you cards

{ chocolate brown merci cards -- set of five }

la la! in addition to gorgeous heirloom-quality albums and journals, maggie campbell has added wonderful letterpress thank-you notes. worth an update!




more at brooklynbookbinder.etsy.com

black white and yellow all over

Can someone with seriously beautiful skin (or someone who has bridesmaids with really beautiful skin) adopt a cheery yellow, white and black color scheme and take advantage of the kicky printed sheaths from Nicole Miller this season? Please? And send me pictures? Awesome. I will be waiting by the computer.

lhcalligraphy: addresses + maps

{ hand addressing -- cezanne script }

more lovely handwriting on etsy. while lhcalligraphy's is a brand new shop with no feedback as yet, several of laura's scripts look quite fetching, and she also does charming maps and place cards. more at lhcalligraphy.etsy.com

{edit! 28 march: see a great interview with laura over at snippet+ink!}