Spotlight on CHRISTOS

I am currently in love with the soft, whimsical designs and pretty, southern belle inspired tiered creations from Christos.

The gowns below are from a combination of Christos' most recent lines - Fall 2010 and Spring 2010.

If you like one of the gowns from a previous season, don't worry! Just contact your local Christos store for more information and they can find out if they can get it for you. Or just give them a call to schedule an appointment.

For more designs from Christos straight from the runway, click here.

Some of my favorite gowns of the season...

For all of you brides out there trying to find the perfect gown, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite gowns of the season.

Starting today I will share with you different designers that I just love and the gowns that take my breath away (Cue: Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis video montage from Top Gun...).

Stay tuned...

A new song to love for your wedding: Daisy Chapman's Umbrella

The wonderful and amazingly talented Pilley Bianchi - the founder of Bianchi Musica - a specialist in string wedding music, introduced me to this beautiful version of "Umbrella.

Originally sung by Rihanna, Daisy Chapman, in the words of all the American Idol judges, "made the song her own."

It is enchanting and heartfelt and definitely something to consider for your wedding. Just listen and enjoy!

To listen to a sample of Umbrella, please click here.

I just love it and can't stop playing it...it is crazy pretty...

Debrief on Urban Wed NYC event

Last Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of attending Urban Wed - a bridal event hosted by Vané Broussard from Brooklyn Bride in Union Square in NYC.

The event was beautiful, a lot of fun and chock full of great vendors.

Before I share info on the event with you, I just want to say thank you to Jen Huang for all of the amazing photos seen below - they perfectly capture the event!

Here are some of my favorite highlights from the event:

• Meeting the lovely Sam Walls Beasley from Samuelle Couture - her designs for wedding gowns are absolutely beautiful...so light and flowy. On her website you will also find some pastel creations that are out of this world and reminiscent of the perfect french macaron...

• Chasing the trays of food from Cobblestone Catering. As I may have already mentioned in previous posts, I am a huge foodie. I love food. So when it comes to catering, I absolutely adore finding great caterers with amazing food. I firmly believe that wedding food, can be wonderful food, not just a cold piece of boring chicken. I was thrilled to taste the culinary delights from Cobblestone. All of the food was uber-flavorful but I have to say - the short ribs were my favorite! So delish...

• Loving the gorgeous calligraphy and personalized stamps created by Bryn of Paperfinger. Her work was so outstanding that I am planning on buying a stamp for Stellina Events! Gotta love discovering new finds...the stamp would be perfect for your own Save the Dates, invites, thank you notes, your business or just because!
  

• Admiring the table decor and wall design done by Barb of Hatch Creative Studio. The look and feel of all of the elements was so unique, fun and fabulously creative that I had to show you all of these pics. Just take a look - the photos speak for themselves!

• Chatting with Betsy from Nine Cakes all about my favorite french macarons and admiring her wedding cakes and cupcakes for the millionth time. What bride would want to pass up working with a lovely cake maker to design a beautiful cake that is as delicious as it looks?!!! For more info on my wonderful thoughts on Betsy's creations at Nine Cakes read this.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Checking out the pretty, chic and affordable (!!!) bridesmaid dresses from 57 Grand. These dresses have style and are designed with a bridemaid's needs in mind (ie: she can wear it again - depending on the style and accessories they can be worn at night, at the office or to a party). I especially love the bow belt on their Riverside dress.

• Enjoying the sweet sounds from the talented musicians of Elan Artists. They created an elegant ambience to the event making it all the more special. Definitely contact them for your upcoming wedding if you are looking for live music whether for a string quartet, a jazz band, Celtic music, or Caribbean - they have a ton of options to fit your own personal style.
  

What a great event!!!

A pretty color palette perfect for welcoming spring...

I have recently fallen in love with a color palette. During my preparation for the Brooklyn Bridal Show I wanted to say "hello" to spring and keep things happy and cheerful so I designed my table with arrangements of coral, pink, yellow and orange hued roses.

The following weekend I attended an event hosted by Sierra and Juliet of Poppies and Posies (see top two photos above by the fabulous Jen Huang). When I walked in, I was so excited to see that they too loved this palette. The room was full of colorful, quirky and joyous poppies in shades of bright coral pink, yellow, and orange. For more pics of the event click here.

So now I wanted to share this brilliant color palette with you to be inspired for your upcoming spring wedding. These colors are perfect for those looking for a fun, bright and happy ambience for their wedding day. You can add hints of antique turquoise (see the typewriter pic above) to make it a bit quirkier or keep it simple and add some wildflowers to play up the natural elegance.

This palette could also be used for summertime weddings, especially if you go a bit brighter with the colors, while for spring you want to try and keep it a bit softer.

Complimentary tickets to The Wedding Salon in NYC - April 12th

To all Stellina Events blog readers,

I am thrilled to be able to offer you complimentary tickets to the upcoming Wedding Salon event in New York City.

The event will take place on Monday, April 12th from 4-9pm at The Roosevelt Hotel. The hotel is located at 45 East 45th Street between Madison Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue.

There will be a ton of vendors at the event (like Sylvia Weinstock for example) so you should definitely check it out!

To order your complimentary tickets ($50 value, Admits 2 people), please go to www.weddingsalon.com and use the following promotional code: STE4C

See you there...

xoxo,
Amanda

Going gaga for Telephone? How about a 4th of July party to accompany your wedding festivities?

I just love the new Lady Gaga / Beyonce Telephone video and am finding it quite addictive, especially when I am on the bike at the gym - definitely a way to stop me from getting bored while trying to prep for summer!

I especially love the costumes the girls are wearing in the diner - probably my favorite bit of the video. They remind me of Wonder Woman but with a modern, risque twist. In fact, this scene inspired me to write this post...

If you are having a late June or early July wedding, why not throw a 4th of July party for your friends and family as part of the wedding festivities?

You can go fun and crazy with Gaga and Beyonce inspired attire (as risque or conservative as you like of course!) and dress up the entire space with kitschy Old Americana decor.

From old school Diner signs and menus to American flags, lunch boxes and dart boards. You could serve the food on diner-like plates.

The menu could include all of your favorites from an all day breakfast (pancakes, waffles, eggs) to burgers, franks, chicken and don't forget the fries! Be sure to top off the menu with ice cream sundaes and apple pie. Yum...

Whether you plan it as a rehearsal lunch/dinner party, a day after the wedding BBQ or an engagement party - keep it quirky and not too serious.

Remember: The key is to make it fun!

P.S. I thought you might appreciate the pic of me at my last 4th of July BBQ soiree. We decked out the house in American flags, served salads and BBQ steaks with homemade lemonade and blasted good ol' American rock and roll...definitely a party to remember!