'dorable

J. Crew's new fall bridal lookbook is up on their website. Love the gowns, love, love, love... they are all a little quirky and adorably sweet. I'm not as enamoured with the hair, but they're not selling hair now are they? I suppose they get a pass.

{shades of autumn}

{zara via krisatomic}

monday is the new friday

This is more of a Friday afternoon type post than a Monday one, but I've got parties on the mind! Niko's first birthday is coming up on the 18th of September and we're going to have a little get-together outside on our new deck. How better to celebrate than with a cocktail? Kidding! But not really! There will be cake and balloons and all sorts of fun kid stuff, but among all those other things I thought I'd whip up a delicious cocktail for the grownups, something smacking of the coming fall, but still refreshing. What to mix, what to mix...? My search brought me to this delightful recipe from Dale Degroff (via kitchn), from what I read of the comments, the sum in greater than it's parts:

Whiskey Peach Smash
makes one drink

1/2 peach, cut into thick slices
3 or 4 fresh mint leaves
1 lemon wedge
1 ounce water
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces whiskey (Degroff suggests Canadian whiskey, but bourbon also works well)
1 sprig mint
1 thin peach slice for garnish

Muddle all ingredients except whiskey in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and whiskey. Shake and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass and garnish with a peach slice and a sprig of mint.

{bejewelled}

{j.crew bracelet; via mint}

{sasha}

{images: this season's must-haves, sasha pivovarova by david vasiljevic for h&m magazine autumn 2010, styled by veronique didry via smile}

{perfectly elegant}

{images: moodboard}

Sneak Preview: Lisa & Nik's Wedding at The Dairy, Waddesdon Manor

Look out for more pictures and details from Nik and Lisa's wonderful wedding coming soon!

Photo credit: www.stuartbebb.com

{parisian chic: leopard print}

{via net-a-porter}

need a light?

Just a smattering of my favorite lanterns for sale at Jamali Home and Garden. They have the absolute best selection (and great prices) for everything from the most random decor stuff (a bag of oak leaves?) to lighting and garden pots.

{ginta}

{ginta lapina by doug inglish for love #4, f/w 2010; fashion editor, rachel zoe via oh}

white owl

White Owl makes these gorgeous passementerie necklaces, among other things. I love the look of the gray, so chic!

fall haul

I have been feeling just a slight chill in the air in the evenings lately, and it's made me excited for the coming fall, my absolute favorite season of them all!
What better for fall than perfect skin, a defined brow, gorgeous lips and a fan of incredible lashes? Don't we all wish?!

Make Up For Ever's Smoky Lash Mascara - I have really skimpy lashes and I have been secretly (secrets out!) been dying to try Latisse, the new prescription balm for longer eyelashes, but am (not so secretly) too chicken for no particular reason. So instead I've been addicted to this mascara which seems to create the appearance of more lashes rather than thicker lashes. Not sure how it works, but my lashes seem to look very natural, just darker and more numberous. Nothing worse than clumpy lashes! I absolutely hate it when mine stick together. It's going to be a bit of a MUFE love fest this post - so hang in there.

Make Up For Ever's High Definition Invisible Foundation - This is so good! The finish is fairly matte, but not at all dry looking. It's really true to it's name in that it's imperceptable when you have it on, both in person and on camera (something I think we are all searching for). The coverage is good, I'd say medium to high. Overall, this is my new favorite foundation - highly recommend trying this one out.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick - (the satin finish was my personal favorite). These are really not like any other lipstick I've tried. They're incredibly pigmented and they stay on like crazy, perfect if you'd rather not be reapplying your lipstick all the time. You need so little to create a really nice looking, lasting lip. I really love the intensity of color these offer - #33 was my favorite - but I was looking for a very 80's pink - so that one might not be for everyone.

POREfessional from Benefit - This reminds me a lot of a much more expensive primer, and it lives up to it's name. I have larger pores on my cheeks close to my nose, and this really helps the make up float over top rather than sink into my pores. Very nice. Love this.

Anastasia Brow Duo - This is a brand I've never tried before but their brow duo is a new part of my everyday makeup - it's so natural and soft looking.

Thanks for hanging in there, I'd love it if you'd share your favorites for fall, and I'm sure our fall bride's would appreciate it as well!

Behind the Scenes: Lillibrooke Manor Wedding, Maidenhead

Yesterday we had the pleasure of co-ordinating Tamara and Nathaniel's wedding at St Lukes Church and Lillibrooke Manor in Maidenhead.

It was fantastic to work with them to help plan their day, they are a lovely couple and had so many wonderfully unique ideas to incorporate into their wedding.

This video shows a small part of Janet and I setting up in the morning. The day began with an hour of steaming open freeze dried peony heads- fiddly, but worth it when you can not rely on fresh ones being available, they looked beautiful on the arrival drink table.

We moved on to the church to sweep away debris blown in and move papers from the doorway, before organising the confetti, spare readings, reserved seats and order of services.

The next stop was displaying road signs to direct guests to the remote manor house, after our sat nav directed us the wrong way up a one way system on the first visit we decided this was a must!

We then ran through some checks with the catering company, resulting in a quick dash to buy the missing raspberries needed for the arrival drinks and locating the lost desserts still en-route from London.

Janet and I then unloaded the decorations we had been storing and set to work on decorating the barn with many items that reflected their personalities and Zimbabwean roots. This included scattering the national flower, Gloriosa, on the top table, name settings in elephant favours, an elephant cake topper, safari animal table names, table plan, guest book, card box, wine with personalised labels, gifts under the top table, child seating, toys and much more.

The DJ arrived early to build his equipment, after showing him the space we tested the back up music we had for the wedding breakfast and the first/second dance songs.

The courtyard was the next location to organise the garden games, throws, flowers, arrival drinks and the string trio, but moments before the Routemaster bus full of guests pulled up the rain started to fall so a quick turn around and the set up was duplicated inside the adjoining small barn.

This was all simply the preparation, look out for our next post on the wedding celebrations. We can not wait to share some of the photos with you and less wobbly professional video footage, including all of the great supplier details who all made the day so special.

{divine idylle}

{editorial: divine idylle, model edita vilkeviciute photographed by camilla akrans for numero 116 september 2010 via smile}

{lara}

{images: lara stone by mert & marcus for vogue US september 2010 via fgr}

Book your free wedding consultation - Wokingham & Maidenhead fairs

These short 20 minute slots are an easy way to quickly gain expert help and guidance from experienced wedding planners from SugarBlossom.


Meet with us to discuss a wedding issue or to ask any questions you may have about wedding planning, such as choosing your venue, your theme and styling, money saving tips, choosing and managing suppliers or wedding etiquette.



We are taking a limited number of bookings for complimentary wedding consultations at:

• Fredricks Hotel, Maidenhead
  Sunday 5th September
  http://www.fredricks-hotel.co.uk/
  
• Wokingham Town Hall
  Sunday 3rd October
  http://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/

Both fairs are free to attend and open from 11am to 3.30pm.



After each consultation you will be given a SugarBlossom Wedding Planner to check you are on track with your all important tasks.



Simply click here to let us know which fair you will be attending and your preferred time to meet.



We look forward to hearing from you,



Hannah and Janet

http://www.sugarblossom.co.uk/

info@sugarblossom.co.uk

0783 225 4187, 0118 988 7988

succulents!

Oooooo. Succulents! Sold in collections of 100, 18 or 6, these are perfect for favors or centerpieces! From Succulents Galore.

tuesday mourning

Seeing's how it's Tuesday morning, I thought it apropos to post about this little shop, Tuesday Mourning. Illustrator Merrilee will do a custom portrait of you, our you and your sweetie, or say... of your two best friends on the occasion of their wedding! What an adorable engagement present! I love her style so much. I have illustrator envy.

{enchanted}

{alexandra agoston by by chris searl, styling by mark vassallo for harper’s bazaar december 2009 via wildfox}

{lookbook: a.p.c.}

{images: a.p.c.}

{noir}

{p.s.} more of this beautiful editorial at {this is glamorous}

{ylonka verheul, melissa tammerijn and marlena szoka by indlekofer & knoepfel for vogue germany, september 2010 via oh}

{inspiration: big hair & sunglasses}

{editorial: she's always a woman, alana kuznetsova by david slijper, stylist - anne-marie curtis elle uk, september 2010 via oh}