Summer Weddings

If you're like me you've noticed that everyone around you is getting married.  Tis' the season for wedding bells.  For most retailers the peak of their sales occur during the holiday season, but in the wedding industry 'Bridal Christmas' happens between March-July.  This is the time everyone wants to get married, possibly because its usually the time where it's not too hot or cold to have an outdoor wedding.  With summer weddings you can expect to see a lot of bright colors and interesting floral arrangements because this is the time everything is in bloom.  Here are just a few pics of recent trends I've noticed.  It looks like a real shabby-chic style with lots of vintage accents.

Special Occasion

The first thing to do when planning your dream wedding is to figure out what type of occasion you want it to be.  There are many different themes ranging from formal to laid back and casual.  Think about your personality, are you the type of couple who likes structure and status, or are you the nonchalant laissez faire type? The worst thing you could do is try to force a particular style on yourself when it doesn't feel natural.  Here are a few example of weddings, once you have chosen one everything else begins to flow naturally.

White Tie:
This is an extremely formal occasion where the men are instructed to where white ties, shirts, vests, and a black tuxedo.  The women are instructed to wear long formal dresses.

Black Tie:
This is a formal event where men where either a tuxedo or dark suit and women where either long or short formal dresses.

Cocktail:
This type gives a little more leeway  between formal and casusal.  Just think of it as what you would wear to church or a night out on the town.

Outdoor:
For these types of events there needs to be a happy medium between style and comfort.  Feel free to dress up in cute floral designs with flowy fabrics, and men can wear nice button downs with khakis.  Flip flops may even be a necessity on a beach.  Be mindful of the weather.  

Love Is In The Air

I'm not exactly sure what was going on in the cosmos over the weekend, but whatever it was it resulted in 10+ of my friends either getting engaged or married!  I suppose I just missed the memo that we were supposed to find our soul mate over the weekend, but none the less I am very happy for all of the lucky couples out there.  One in particular touches my heart in particular.  Now I'll admit that I was in complete disbelief when my cousin told me that her and her long-time boyfriend got married yesterday.  It wasn't so much that I never thought she would do such a thing, it's just that no one was given a heads up.  I still don't think her mother believes it, but it's true.  I approve because they are both great together and the reason they did it was for financial/legal reasons. Since all they did was basically sign a marriage license, I don't count it as a wedding.  Thus, I have been enlisted to help plan her real wedding that will take place a year from now.  Given that wedding planning is my part-time passion I was overjoyed.  In fact after I got over the initial shock I went straight into planner mode.  It's not often that someone in our family gets married so that makes this a very special occasion.  My heart goes out to all of the luck couples, and to my readers get ready for wedding themed posts!

What's In My Headphones?

Over the last week or so I had been re-exposed to the artist Lana Del Rey.  I had heard her music some time before, but never gave it my full attention.  Well after hearing her song Brite Lites on YouTube with one of my favorite choreographers dancing to it I fell in love.  So like I do with any new artist I like, I downloaded all of her songs including her new album Born To Die.  I love this album because she managed to perfectly execute great lyrics, mesmerizing vocals, and retro-inspired instrumentals.  In one word... Musicality! Her style is a classic combination of 60's pinup/gangsta/awesomeness... she kinda reminds me of Santigold.  Any artist who can make pictures appear in my mind with their music automatically wins me over.
Any who... Here is a clip of her work you can decide for yourself.