It’s rare I get a moment to share these days! Between juggling my favorite little man and a full load of fabby clients, the balance is a constant work in progress!
…..I swear I’m still around!…..
And still FULL of gorgeous ideas and inspiration. In fact, I wanted to share some of the Inspiration Boards I’ve created to help support the planning process for a few clients this year.
Enjoy!
One of the coolest clients ever, this bride loves an industrial, edgy look – with vintage touches and beautiful oddities.
Natural, romantic, muted and marvelous! This early fall garden wedding oozes style and natural beauty [like my bride!]
And this sweet bride was inspired by the ring her dreamy man proposed with: A generous oval solitaire – an example of classic beauty, with an element of unexpected style. Her clearly romantic palette of creams, blushes and metallic golds will warm up her sleek venue beautifully!
And remember this favorite? Stay tuned for the unveiling of the wedding photos – both here and on the Bliss Blog!
I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend! Mine was absolutely perfect – packed with family, friends, fireworks and so so SO much fun!
I’m excited to share some photos from our Bliss 4th of July Celebration! All of the photos [shot by the adorable Katie from Studio This Is] are featured here, where you can also read a bit more about our inspiration…but I wanted to share a few of my personal favorites:
As I described in the feature on Strictly Weddings, we wanted our 4th of July celebration to ooze with glamour and have an ultra fancypants feel. Sequins [along with our stripes]!! So we decided to host the evening on the rooftop of Katie’s home – under the stars, with jazz in the background, the skyline in the foreground and plenty of fun – all loosely inspired by the allure of the Golden Twenties.
Our single dining table was dressed in a dazzling rose gold sequin linen, layered with place-settings of gold, personalized placards featured each guests’ silhouette in gold foil and a rich navy box was mounded with dozens of the most beautiful Red Charm peonies I could have ever daydreamt of.
Martini’s and bubbly, for the most indecisive guest!
Cheers!
The most richly-hued [and deliciously-tart] cherries, ever!
A sparkler bar to illuminate the night after the golden sun melted past the horizon.
Katie and I can never. shut. up.
We Bliss Belles and Beau always love a fun party game! Here we tried to match the preferred cocktail to each appropriate person.
Dinnertime!
And the evening continued waay past all of our bedtimes…but we simply couldn’t have it any other way!
Although my sweet little prince is over eight months old, yesterday’s lovely Chicago weather reminded me of the day that Renny, Katie and Jesse hosted my baby shower last year.
I have yet to post any the beautiful photos, and while I honestly can’t quite remember what life was like before Carter Jackson stole my heart, I do vividly recall just how many special and stunning details The Gang put into my special day.
In a surprising turn of events, Renny, Katie and Jesse decided on a nautical-themed baby shower of Navy, White and Yellow for me. I honestly giggled with glee and shouted my adoration as tears of appreciation and joy trickled down my face.
And here’s why:
A custom navy and white cabana was erected on Renny’s lawn, providing a luxurious backdrop for the single, long dining table contained within. A perfect lunch was put together by Renny, Katie and the help of Nicole of longtime favorite, Blue Plate Catering.
Jesse designed all of the flowers – an undulating collection of perfection in whites, yellows, navy and green. Jesse used milk glass, crystal and hammered gold for all of the pieces and knew precisely what flowers would make me nutty with love: Ranunculus, fluffy roses, hydrangea, whimsical chamomile, privet berry and velvety geranium foliage.
A darling beverage station was set-up in front of the hedges and included mango mimosas, wine, blueberry lemonade and sparkling water.
Guests were encouraged to fill out cards of advice for me. [HELP!]
Even the area to collect gifts was perfectly staged!
The day was nearly as special as my wedding day – knowing how Joel and I had deeply longed for a child. Renny, Katie and Jesse put on the most beautiful and spectacular shower a gal could ever dream of!
SO much love and appreciation to my dear, dear friends!
Ashley Condron + Rachel Reiman = Beauty Dream Team (also reponsible for helping EVERYONE with the prerequisite “Kiki Lip” (a fantastic, bold lip, of course)……
Guests (boys and girls, alike) were encouraged to leave us a Kiki Kiss!
Kara’s favorite cocktail was clearly The Maaaaaavelous: Rosé with chambord, mint and raspberry.
The surprise professional dancers hired to act like guests – then break out into the ridiculous Kiki dance…AMAZING.
People danced so much I thought the floor would give way!
It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to properly post, let alone share some wedding photos. I have found myself with a few bonus minutes and felt compelled to share some photos from one of the more romantic weddings of my year.
Lindsay’s inspiration was pure romance, a la Romeo and Juliet. The bride loved lush, gardeny wild flowers and arrangements that were loose with layers of texture and movement. Jesse Deckard (formerly of Event Creative now of BLISS!) helped us pull it all together with beautiful floral, lighting and fabric treatments.
From inspiration (board) to reality:
The stunning bride dressed in a suite at The Ritz, while the groom spent time at home with some buddies.
This was the private moment where Lindsay and Philip met up for the first time on their wedding day.
The girls wore gauzy barely blush dresses and carried bouquets of garden roses, astilbe, fragrant freesia, dusty miller and lisianthus.
Both the ceremony and reception took place at one of my very favorite venues, The Ivy Room. The seriously gorgeous weather cooperated for their outdoor ceremony, held in the charming courtyard of the venue.
Guests moved inside for dinner and dancing where a beautiful restaurant – style meal awaited them, compliments of Entertaining Company. Soft chiffon curtains were added to frame the beautiful Juliet-style doors. Taupe linens were paired with rustic farm-chairs.
Two centerpiece designs adorned the dinner tables. A single low, lush and gardeny arrangement in worn silver footed bowls graced one half of the tables while brushed silver candelabras and smaller, varied arrangements were displayed on the alternating tables. Flowers included garden roses, delicate chamomile, privet berries, garden stock, astilbe, lisianthus, andromeda and hydrangea.
A single ivory majolica spray rose accented each napkin.
The bride loved daisies and had Sarah’s Pastries create the whimsical confection (this was Sarah’s last weekend of producing wedding cakes, tear).
The couple and their LOVELY families enjoyed every minute of their féte, dancing the night away to a unique playlist from Front of House packed with loads of salsa and latin-inspired tunes.
Unlike the brides’ initial inspiration, this love story has simply one of the happiest of endings.
Well, well, well! I wasn’t certain I’d see the day – the light at the end of the tunnel! Yet – here it is…staring me straight on! My lastwedding of the summer is this weekend – and I can’t wait for it to come together!
As you’ve certainly noticed, life has gotten the best of me lately. Both with a summer jam-packed with dreamy client weddings as well as the early preparations for our first bébe later this fall…However, I am excited to get back in the swing of things with The Art of the Occasion!
And oh, I’ve missed you so…
And, so, I can’t think of a better way to get my feet wet again, then by dedicating a post to our darling new website – unveiled this summer.
You MUST pop on by and check it out! Here are some of my favorite features:
Just another day at the office…
And so we’re now three! Learn more about Renny, Katie and I here…
So…what IS Bliss?
Be sure to peruse the updated photo gallery featuring our wonderful weddings and clever events!
Hear about the Bliss Experience – straight from former clients…
Love our adorable contact page. How mad-lib of us!
The website was an absolute labor of love – Renny absolutely logged the most hours – at all hours of the day – but we hope you love it as much as we do!
[And a VERY special thanks to the insanely talented team at Cheree Berry – there was no one better fit for the job!]
Perhaps you’ve scoured the pages of the newest issue of CS Brides and noticed the humbling presence of Bliss! If not – you must check it out! If you’re unable to get your hands on a hard copy, check out the digital edition here!
One of my favorite projects of this year was a photoshoot that the editors of CS asked us to be a part of. The challenge was to put together a celebratory scene using the colors blood orange and tangerine. The interpretations among the three planners were pretty fun to see!
While I’m still waiting for heaps more photos from the shoot, I wanted to share the few I have. Check out the feature here on page 170!
The late spring day was spectacular! When approached to be involved, we immediately claimed my favorite little locale – Ava Terrace at Public.
The beautiful vintage china, flatware and glassware was from a favorite new vendor, Small Masterpiece, who flew in from LA for our shoot.
While we ended with favorite industry friends at The Ivy room, the evening began in one of my favorite settings in the city, The Waldorf [I still refer to it as the Elysian] for a fashion show hosted by CS Brides and Belle Vie. Perfectly nestled in between my two favorite wedding goddesses, we watched the show from our snappy front row seats.
And between sips of Dom and nibbles of house made macarons, we witnessed gorgeous gowns by the likes of J. Mendel, Valentino, Lanvin and Elizabeth Fillmore float down the runway.
Here are a few of the fancy frocks:
While I’m still jealous of all of you covering Fashion Week in NYC, this certainly helped take the sting out a bit.
A special thanks to Jesse of Event Creative for hosting us and for the fab design!
Whimsical bridal and parties line for Anthropologie, BHLDN opened it’s second location this week, here in Chicago. Renny and I got a bit of a sneak preview of the stunning setting, gorgeous gowns and fabulous finds Monday evening at a private event hosted by Martha Stewart Weddings.
The two story boutique is so thoughtfully designed, I wanted to move right in! It’s such a beautiful balance of worn, antinqued furnishings with some wonderful, rich details.
On the second level, you will find a couple of salons hosting their bridal gowns, previously only available online. With prices ranging from $1000-$6000, there seems to be something for many a boho bride.
From veils, to shoes, to jewelry and accessories [you can even find something for your man!] you can certainly pull together a fabulously curated total look.
Host Darcy Miller is even more darling and engaging in person!
The store is officially open, I seriously suggest checking it out! [And then popping across the street to the Elysian for champers to celebrate your finds!]
[image credits] unless otherwise noted, all photos shot by me
I recently created this pretty-little-ditty for a LOVELY summer 2012 bride. And while we ultimately found ourselves swept off our feet by another color story [a lady never reveals such secrets], I had to share this poor cast-off beauty as some summer inspiration. Hang in there, Chicago…
Hope you have a great weekend – mine will be spent in meeeeeeeeetings [invitations, florals, tastings – oh my!]
