I love Jimmy

Inspired in part by this Bridal Rehab blog, I went browsing on the Jimmy Choo website again. Not a good idea, since I can't afford anything on there, nor do I have a lot of places I can wear 4 or 5" heels. But a girl can dream. So here are my new favorite shoes, which look a lot like some of the other shoes I have posted lately. But these are gold. And that changes everything.

Cutest wedding guest EVER

I might be slightly biased, but this weeks Wordless Wednesday post features pretty much the cutest little girl ever! She's the best looking guest from this weekend for sure.

Check out what this adorable dress looked like after her day of fun here.

*note, this picture was taken by my husband. You are welcome to use it, but please let me know first, and link back to this post. Thanks.

Shoes with bling

I'm getting in a little shoe fix today. I am obssesively hunting for these Christian Louboutin shoes that I saw on For Real Weddings this morning. I love the whole inspiration board she created, but I really must have those shoes. I've been looking for them for a couple hours and am not having any luck.

In my search for the above shoes, I did find these that I really really want. I do love the sparkly ones.

On the 'shoes I can afford' list, I saw these babies on postcards and pretties today. How cute are they? And for $30?!?! Awesome!

My last pair of goodness was a twitter find. The Budget Babe linked to these awesome Ivanka Trump shoes that would be stunning for a wedding. I love the sparkle!

Happy Tuesday peeps. It is time to go enjoy this beautiful, sunny Seattle day!

Erin and Mary tied the knot!!

This weekend was crazy fun! As much as I love weddings, FAMILY weddings are even more awesome. Now that the festivities have come to an end, I am exhausted! It was a whirlwind weekend full of lots of activities - my sister-in-law and her other half (**note to self: must find out how they are referring to each other now.) live on the east coast so they opted for a whole weekend of celebrations here in Seattle. I loved having so much time to visit with everyone!!

I will give a wedding recap later, when we get the pictures back. But I wanted to leave you with two little wedding tips I brought out of this weekend.

First tip. Photo booths rock. Seriously rock!! Special shout out here to Say Cheez Photo Booth for providing all the props and fun. Here is a sampling of the photo strips my little family of five came home with (taken from my smart phone, the quality is much better in person, I promise). SO! MUCH! FUN!

Second tip. Think long and hard before you drop a lot of money on the kids attire. Princessy dresses on toddlers look beautiful at the beginning of the day. But here is what happens at the end of the day, after the toddler has eaten chocolate cupcake and danced and run and had lots of fun.

It is the sign of a good time though, right? I especially love the string of tulle hanging from the skirt.

I promise to post pics of the happy couple and the most beautiful sunny Seattle day soon. But for now, it's time to get out here and enjoy the fireworks! Happy Independence Day!

Pride and Marriage Equality

Photo Credit: KING 5 news

It's Pride Month for various organizations around the country, trying to teach tolerance and acceptance of the gay community. In the wedding world I am seeing lots of posts this week, especially after the legalization of same sex marriage in New York. Having just attended the Seattle Pride Parade, I am inspired and passionate about marriage equality and felt it was time to put in my two cents.

This morning I read a great wedding graduate post on A Practical Wedding as part of their pride week. Written from one of the brides perspective, it included a piece of their ceremony that made me want to stand up and cheer, and I hope they don't mind that I share a bit of it here (but seriously, go read the whole post because it is awesome. And while you are at it, check out their blog too).

"... to those who might oppose why we're here today, I have one thing to say: you've already lost. Our generation doesn't care. Despite all the sham and drudgery in this world, we realize that love, where it can be found, should be revered, protected, and consecrated. Period."

I love this. So much. Why in the world would we want to discourage people from loving each other? I will never understand the reasons those opposed throw out there. Who cares WHO you love as long AS you love. Bring happiness to this world, find a place to belong, a corner of the world where you are loved and cherished ... that's what its all about. It shouldn't matter to anyone who you curl up with at night, who you choose to sleep with, who you fall in love with - it shouldn't matter. As I tell my kids, "as long as the person you are with makes you happy, treats you with respect and isn't doing anything illegal, I will be fine with it".

This all hits close to home for me, because this weekend, as everyone around the country is celebrating Independence Day, my family will be celebrating the union of my sister-in-law and her girlfriend. We are coming together to celebrate their love; the fact that they are happy and willing to commit to each other for life. And who wouldn't want to celebrate that? It's going to be one hell of a party - because this family KNOWS how to throw a party. And what better excuse to party than to celebrate a marriage!

I found this on the APW facebook page, and I think it just sums it all up.

“Personally, I am very excited about “gay marriage”, or as I like to call it, “marriage”. Because I had lunch this afternoon, I didn’t have “gay lunch”. And I parked my car, I didn’t “gay park” it.” – Liz Feldman

I also loved how my sister-in-law, who hates the term lesbian, put it to her girlfriend (and I am paraphrasing here). "I just love you. Why does it need a bigger label than that?"

Word.

Cutest little flats under $100

I have a bride who is a little taller than her husband to be, so she wants to wear a shoe with no heel on her wedding day. She's getting married in the spring, and her colors are blue and green. In honor of her today, I bring you some of my favorite shoe finds of the flat variety, all under $100.

1. Custom Bridal Flats from Etsy shop HydraHeart

 

2. Gisenna by Chinese Laundry

 

3. Leona Satin Flat by Vera Wang

 

4. Kortship flat by Steve Madden

 

5. Reva ballet flat by Tory Burch

 

6. Festive flat by Corso Como

 

 

You have to check out Tom's wedding line too. I love their white glitter shoes and their grosgrain ... I can't decide which I like better. These are the most comfortable pair of shoes I own! And you can feel good about buying these shoes because for every pair you purchase, they donate a pair to a child in need. Love that.

A couple more that I found that didn't quite make my top picks, but are still noteworthy mentions.

Cute flats from Chinese Laundry here, currently on sale at Macy's for under $40!

Look at these cute ballet slippers for the bride, here. They even come in their own embroidered bag and are marked at $24!

Happy shopping!

Life lessons and your wedding

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone Neale Donald Walsch

~~~~~~

Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right Henry Ford

Wise words today, quoted on one of my favorite blogs, the Broke-Ass Bride. These quotes are in reference to a big, exciting happening over in Dana's world and you can read about that here. I love how she tied her current experience into her wedding planning experience. That girl can write, you have to check it out.


Stock wedding image from arbutusphotography.com


Planning a wedding is something you've most likely never done before. It's a lot of work. It's dealing with an industry that can be crazy overwhelming. It's a lot of stress.

But in the end, when the to-do lists are done, when the cake and the flowers and the officiant and the attendants and everyone and everything else has come together to make this happen, that's when you need to look back over the last few weeks or months realize what you did.

You stepped out of your comfort zone. You may have doubted yourself for a while. There were probably tears. But holy crap, check it out! You married the love of your life and you threw one hell of a party to celebrate it. Be proud of yourself, hold your head high and go conquer the world! This is your time now, you're new beginning. You earned it. Take the lessons and the love and the empowerment that you are feeling and live your life to its fullest potential.

Just remember to enjoy the moments.

Weddings Dresses under $250?!?

Wait, what?

You heard me right people, gowns under $250.

On my recent trip to the mall, after I found the most awesome sparkly shoes I mentioned in last weeks post, I was wandering through the formal wear section and realized there are a lot of dresses there that would be stunning as wedding gowns for those of you looking for something affordable and still amazing.

Check out the two I fell in love with on the Nordstrom website.

The one on the left, a JS Boutique Beaded Crisscross Matte Jersey Gown, retails for $178. The one on the right, a Calvin Klein Sequin Trim Mesh Gown, retails for $218.

For real guys, at Nordstrom!

Over at BCBG, check out these dresses I found in the sale section.

The one on the left is called the Haute Satin Gown and is marked down to $160.80 on their website. On the right, the Timona Strapless Silk Gown is marked down to $216.00. If you go up even $100-$200 here you get several more super cute options on both their new lines and the sale stuff.

By thinking outside the box a little bit, it is possible to have an afforadble, practicle wedding without comprimising on your style. At JC Penney, for instance, there were some cute and simple dresses under $100. How about this one for a beachy wedding (click on picture to go to their site)?

Give yourself time and permission to explore places you wouldn't necessarily think to look for wedding items and allow yourself to be creative. You never know what you will find out there until you try it!

Sparkly shoes

I was at the mall the other day (you don't even KNOW how long it's been since I've been able to say that!!) and almost squealed when I saw these shoes at Macy's. I just had to share them with you all because I know I'm not the ONLY one that loves me some bling!

These are the Danee Pumps by Nine West at Macy's. They looked all sparkly and pretty sitting on display, it was hard to resist them! But resist I did, sadly.

Then I hit the shoe department at Nordstrom's looking for some Tom's and checking out the sale racks. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a very excited woman wearing the most absolutely TO! DIE! FOR! shoes. Seriously you guys, she was so excited it was hard to miss her! Check these babies out!

Enzo Angiolini Smile and the Enzo Angiolini Sully at Nordstrom

I went online to find better pictures (the one I took on my phone didn't do them justice) and found the opened toed Sully ... I can't decide which I like better. But sure enough, I can see these in my future. I can also see them on a bride, or some bridesmaids ... somebody needs to get married in these!! They are so sparkly!

For a minute I thought I might like them more than my Jimmy's. But then I went back and looked at the picture and realized, no, I still like Jimmy better. But those Enzo's are a close close second.

I do necklaces for your newly engaged friends

Inspired by this piece here on Martha Stewarts Bride Blog, I went searching for necklaces on etsy that were similar. So many cute options you guys!! Click on the pictures for links to the etsy store where I found them.







Local shop betsyfarmerdesigns

  
 

etsy shop martywhitedesigns

 

etsy shop craftybabyxoxo



etsy shop youregonnalovethis



Loving this idea!! So sweet and fun! There are more to find on etsty, check it out here.







These are a few of my favorite things ...

I'm still sorting through the blogs in my google reader (I've found many more awesome blogs to read since my weekend stint at Bloggy Boot Camp; I've got 342 to-be-reads currently sitting in my reader ... I'll get to them all, I promise!). This week I wanted to share a few of the ones that have stood out to me.

Pictures from thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com

one
Over at Martha Stewart Bride (really Martha?? I love this side of you!!) they did an awesome write-up on jello-o shots (here). For real, JELL-O SHOTS!! How cool is that? The best part, there is a whole BLOG on this topic (here) - classing up jello molds ... oh, I'm a happy happy girl!

two
Knotty Bride did their own top ten list recently (here), and though I loved everything on it, you have to check out their number seven. Mixing real flowers with paper ones is just so flippin' awesome I can hardly deal!! I especially love the newspaper flowers - I'm thinking taking copied pages from your favorite book (I'm a book worm, forgive me!) would be such a personal statement. It could also be a great way to use pictures of those that you want to memorialize and carry with you (oooh, new idea!!!) Awesome!! Send me pictures!

three
Broke-Ass Bride (umm, could there be a better blog name??) wrote up a little bit about HONEST thank you cards (here). OMG, so funny. I highly recommend, in the middle of your thank you note writing frenzy, you write one or two like this just to get the sarcasm out of your system. My favorite line: "Thank you for the [xxxx]! I don’t remember registering for that, and I can’t imagine why I ever would." Love!

four
Over at A Practical Wedding, check out the story of a not-so-perfect proposal (here). I love this so so much, because not everyone has a story that consists of angels singing and soft focus perfection. Mine, for example, was wonderful but consists of much swearing. On my part. Before AND after the proposal. I would LOVE to hear your stories, oh faithful readers, of how you came to begin your journey to wedded bliss. As one reader on APW commented, "... any relationship that is solidified over a good temper tantrum is one that’s sure to stand the test of time."

five

Emmaline Bride is just the sweetest little blog, and sometimes they blow me away with their amazing freakin ideas. Check out their 'something blue hem' here. You guys, I even had to borrow a picture to show you myself. I think this might be the best idea EVER. I tweeted it, I facebooked it ... I seriously LOVE IT. You could go so many places with this one. You could stitch your name into it, or you could use your favorite color (ummm, hello hot pink!!); I might just pull out my twelve year old dress and add this detailing to it. LOVE IT.

Catching up ... check out the shoes!!

I've been pretty lax in the blog-o-sphere the last couple weeks, what with my vacation, a wedding show, sending the husband away for the holiday weekend and numerous other excuses. So today I am going to share my favorite blogs as I try to wade through the 458 sitting in my google reader. A big thank you to those bloggers out there who weren't slacking on their writing quite as much as I.

Since it's Tuesday, I wanted to take a minute to celebrate the shoes I've seen in these blogs. Ooooh, and there are some awesome ones. I will start with these, which remind me of the two weddings I'm working on with a blue and green theme - how much do these rock!? Bridesmaids, moms, even a little color splash for the bride. Cute cute! Click on the picture to link to them directly, or click here to read the blog that featured them originally.

 

And to keep with my designer theme, because I am now officially addicted to designer shoes, check out these Christian Diors I found on the Magnolia Rouge blog. Click on the picture to do the whole sticker shock thing. But wouldn't these be great for a sassy bride? I love them.

I found a few other gems as well, so follow along for some link love. (Click on the word 'here' in each bullet)

• Look no further, bridal perfection is here 
• Some serious blingy love is right here 
• You know how I love my Jimmy's; click here for some ballet flats to love
• This shot here is a for the kids out there, click here for the cutest little cowgirls EVER.

And finally, to commemorate my new found love for Tom's (thanks to my trip to San Fran, one of the girls introduced me to them and they pretty much rock), I found this picture to share on Swatchbook Weddings.

The gold ones are sold out now, but there is a whole wedding line to choose from. And the best thing about Tom's is that for every pair of shoes you buy, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Love that.

A little pampering is good for the soul

One of the things I love about my job is getting to know other local vendors and seeing them in action. Yesterday I got to check out the team at Kathy Evans Beauty Studio in downtown Kirkland and I’m hooked!

Kathy and I met at the Weddings in Woodinville tour last January. She impressed me with the fact that she was down to earth, friendly, and not all fussy and haughty like some of the other make-up folks I know, and I decided I wanted to get to know her better. Not all vendors are responsive to these “off hours” meet-ups, but Kathy invited me in to her studio so I could look around, meet her team and see what she does for clients.

I was lucky enough to experience the full treatment at her studio and I want to tell you about it, because it pretty much rocked. I am not one to get my hair styled and make-up done on a normal basis. Sometimes I am not one to put on make-up and style my hair at all; I don’t like to fuss over myself, it’s just not my style. Normally, walking into a high end salon is a little intimidating. But not here, folks. Kathy has created a space that is welcoming and comfortable. It’s a high end salon and you feel that when you walk in, but it’s a high end salon that you are invited to be a part of, one that you know you will walk out of feeling like you, only better.

The one thing that stayed with me from our first meeting together was when she talked to me about her clients and the experience she wants them to have. She isn’t one of those make-up artists that will pile on the make-up and make you look like someone else. If you are someone that normally wears very little make-up, you are not going to leave her salon with that stage make-up feel because that just wouldn’t be comfortable. You are going to leave looking and feeling like you, but a more dressed up version. She really listens to her clients; she interviews them as much as they interview her so she can get a feel for who they are.  There’s even a questionnaire.

When I first got to the salon for my pampering, I sat down with Sandra to have my hair styled. Ummm … heaven. There is nothing better, in my opinion, than having someone do my hair. I love the scalp massage when its getting washed, I love that I am not the one fighting with the hair dryer and the flat iron and the product, and I especially love that when all is said and done, my hair looks awesome! The product she used was light and smelled great! My hair didn’t feel all stiff and “done”, I could still run my hands through it. I still looked like me, just with slightly bigger hair. Big in a good way, it looked awesome and fun and sassy – exactly the look I always TRY to achieve.

I sat down with Kathy next. I just love her. She is so easy to talk to and she genuinely loves (and is great at) what she does. She doesn’t sell any of the make-up she uses, which I like. To me this speaks to the fact that she really knows all the products out there and is going to use what works best for each individual person; she’s not limiting herself to specific brands. And because she knows it so well, she can tell you where to purchase particular items if you so wish - I loved the tinted moisturizer she used on me and am going to run out this weekend and pick some up.

The time went by quickly as we sat and chatted. Kathy is easy to talk to and easy to relax around. It was fun to sit in the chair and let her do her thing, it was easy to trust her. She helped me feel comfortable, confident and relaxed, and I frankly looked pretty awesome when all was said and done.

We had hoped to have a photographer there to document the process, but at the last minute she was unable to join us. I didn’t think to have anyone take my picture at the studio, so here is a super classy self portrait.

Thanks to Kathy and the team over at her beauty studio. What a fun afternoon! And to those of you in the greater Seattle area, the next time you have a reason to kick your look up a notch (a wedding perhaps?), I highly, highly recommend you check out the lovely ladies over at Kathy Evans Beauty Studio because they pretty much rock.

Wedding Voices: Michelle

My friend Michelle recently sent me this story about her elopment a few years ago. Her story goes to show that everyone can get married their own way, with their own style. I love it, and it's such a good reflection of her. Thank you so much for sharing Michelle!!

We are kind of low-key, private people, we tend to not do standard things, and maybe we’re also a bit cheap. The idea of a big, traditional wedding didn’t appeal to us at all. Neither of us was keen on being the center of attention, dealing with the drama of invites and wedding party choices, the stress of putting on a big production, being inundated with gifts at a time when we were trying to consolidate two households of stuff, nor spending a ton of money that could be put towards other more practical things. I’m kind of a tomboy, so wearing a dress at all, let alone a wedding dress, seemed inconceivable.

We wanted to be married, without a lot of fuss. Vegas didn’t seem like a good option, as it seems to come with a certain implication that you did it on a drunken whim. We initially researched getting married on a cruise, but it turned out that getting a marriage license in an out-of-state port-of-call is complicated, and cruises charge a lot for the service of arranging things for you. Apparently the old lore of just getting a ship captain to preside over the ceremony doesn’t work in modern times!

We happened to look at the website of Rosario Resort on Orcas Island, and our eyes were caught by a link that said “elopement package” (which they no longer seem to offer). It was just what we were after: all we had to do was show up with a marriage license and rings, and they handled the rest. The package included a suite in the hotel, a wedding cake and bottle of champagne delivered to our room. They booked a “wedding officiant”, and she brought two witnesses. Our appointment with her was on Saturday afternoon. We drove up and rode the long and beautiful ferry ride over on Friday morning, and spent that day and most of the next just exploring the island: driving around, swimming in the pool at the resort, walking the boat docks, doing the Rosario resort historic tour activities, checking out the shops and beaches and eating out.

We didn’t even change clothes for the ceremony, just wore our shorts and t-shirts. I think we were both still nervous, despite not having a crowd to watch us, so I felt thankful for the privacy. Our little ceremony was outside on the classic bridge at Rosario, amongst the lawns and ponds. It was sunny and hardly anyone was around. It took just twenty minutes or so, the officiant, Sandy Playa, did a nice job of offering a simple but meaningful set of vows; her husband played a little acoustic guitar for ambiance, we signed our paperwork, they took a couple of snapshots of us, and they were on their way.

We kicked back the rest of the weekend, with no pressure, no place we had to be, and nobody to whom we were accountable. Rosario and Orcas Island are both big wedding destinations, so there were multiple huge and expensive wedding happening while we were there. While we drank martinis on the patio lounge chairs by the pool, we sat back and watched brides struggling through soggy lawns in high heels, hovering mothers, the drunken guests, sweaty, swearing boaters coming in from the mooring docks unawares of weddings in progress, island deer wandering through begging for food (and a dead one in the resort driveway Sunday morning!), and stressed out wedding planners arguing with wait staff on the sidelines. We sat back and laughed and knew this was the right decision for us. Some people love a white wedding, and I applaud them for doing what they want; but me, I just like simplicity.

We told almost no-one in advance that we were going to do this, but none of our family and friends were too surprised when we got back and told them. That’s just our style. Since we live in a small town and did several pre-marriage errands locally, we thought for sure we’d be spotted looking at rings and someone would make an embarrassing fuss. But nobody was the wiser.

We didn’t want to mess with photography on our wedding weekend, so later, I had a photographer come to our farm and take some portraits of us in our “native environment.” Phil Maland is a coworker of mine at Philips and just does portraits as a side hobby/business, but he is really good and charges modest prices. Below is one of my favorite photos of us on our tractor.

 I can’t remember how much we paid for the Rosario “elopement package” but in retrospect we probably overpaid a little in our desire to keep things simple for us. The hotel and buildings at Rosario are sadly very run down, so our room wasn’t that nice even though it was a suite. If we had done a little more research, I think we could have found a classier place to stay on the island, booked our own wedding officiant, and probably saved a few hundred bucks. It might have also been wise to have investigated the officant a little more too- we got lucky in that she was great, but she might not have been! But overall, it was really, really nice to be able to “just show up”. We totally enjoyed the weekend of relaxation and have great memories of the time spent and just doing things “our way.” And the twenty thousand dollars we didn’t spend on a wedding is now a big, brand new red barn on our farm!  

Snohomish Wedding Tour

What a fun day at the Snohomish Wedding Tour! This was my first wedding show as a vendor, so I went into it not knowing what to expect. It was pretty fun – not nearly as nerve wracking as I thought it would be. I’m not terribly comfortable when trying to sell my own services, I always prefer word of mouth and testimonials do that. I tried to just be myself and chat with couples, figuring if they are looking for a planner and we hit it off, well then these are my people and we’ll have a blast working together.

I met some pretty fun couples. I tweeted earlier about a bride who is getting married at Timberline Lodge – I totally want to go to that one!! Seriously, I can’t imagine it could be more heavenly than watching the happy couple say I do up at the Magic Mile, then strapping on my snowboard for a ride down. Granted, they are getting married in the lodge not right on the mountain (hmmm, maybe not??!). But still. It’s fun to think about!

I heard some great engagement stories and I am crossing my fingers that they email them to me so I can share them with you all here on this blog. One oh so savvy groom-to-be planned ahead on a trip to Teatro Zinzanni; another one got all the brides friends involved, had to get the security guards okay … well, the best part of the story was listening to these two tell it because they were just so darn cute about it!

One of my favorite moments today was when I was chatting with a cute woman in her 60s who was touring because "someday" her daughter was going to get married and she wanted to be prepared. She said she goes to lots of wedding shows, but has never told her daughter. Love it!!

Though I am obviously hoping to get a few more happy couples to work with as a result of the show, it was just too much fun chatting with all these cute, giddy newly engaged couples. All in all a fun day for sure! A special shout out to all the vendors I worked with today - it was cold, but we had a good time!

Celebrate Catering | Blue Wing Photography | Modern Mood Design (floral) | For the Love of Cake | Bridal Hair and Make-up Northwest | Pour Girls and Some Guys (liquid catering)| Arbor Gardens | PJ Parsons (DJ)

Be sure and check out Blue Wing Photos facebook page, she's going to upload all the photos from her photo booth - what a hit that was!

Cutest Flower Girl EVER

Check out my little cousin Samantha, she was a flower girl in a wedding recently and the pictures were just too cute not to share with you all. Love her!! And that dress!! Are those pockets in there?!

Amazing Wedding Music Video

Every once in a while I just feel the need to jump up and down and scream YES YES YES! Nailed it!!

You guys, this video freakin rocks! I stumbled across it on Martha Stewarts Bride blog (which I will link to below) and watched the whole 4.5 minutes. I read a lot of wedding blogs, I see a lot of pictures and videos each day. I will admit to skimming more than reading certain things, and normally a wedding video filled with people I don’t know doesn’t hold my attention for long. But when you make a music video out of your reception, and sing along to some Black Eyed Peas …

Nailed it!!

I am a sap when it comes to weddings. I tend to mist up at one point or another during the ceremony so I always carry Kleenex with me, not to mention waterproof mascara. Watching this awesome video was so much fun, and the sappiness caught me by surprise. I had to wipe my eyes, but then I got right back to the grooving. Seriously, take 5 minutes out of your day for a smile and some toe tapping good music that EVERYONE will be able to sing along to. Do it do it do it.

Click here to visit Martha’s blog and read the story behind the video first. Then watch the video. It’ll make you smile, I promise!

Shoes that make me swoon

Oh my GAWD you guys!! I think I found a pair of shoes I might love MORE than my Jimmy's. For real! Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to actually buy them! Check them out.

I'm pretty sure I would wear these EVERYWHERE. I love them. I love the flower details, I love how they are so feminine and pretty. Sigh. I want them. But how do I order them? Click here to visit the Pretty Ballerinas website and tell me if you can figure it out. I emailed them, I'll let you know. Crossing my fingers that I can actually afford them. **UPDATE** You can buy them through their store in Canada. These babies retail for $265 + tax and shipping. Sigh. I wish I could afford my shoe habit.

My friend Spicy over at Celebrity Smack has been tweeting about these awesome shoes from Mojo Moxy and I am doing my best to win a pair. How awesome are they?

Continuing my designer shoe fascination, I stumbled upon these beautiful Badgley Mischka's over at My Glass Slipper. I'm slowly getting hooked on this brand, I pretty much love everything I see. Check out these lovelies.

They are just regal, aren't they?

On the more affordable front, take a look at these I found, of all places, on Amazon. Who knew? I think I love the brand name (Bordello) as much as I love the shoe itself. And check it out in red too.

Finally, because I was curious, I bring you one of the world's most EXPENSIVE shoe. These babies ring up at a nice round $1million.

Hmmmm. Not sure I see it, but I hope they are REALLY comfy.

I hope you're having as much fun as I am with this shoe thing! Happy Tuesday.

What about the groom's attire?

I had a fun conversation with one of my grooms-to-be and his family this weekend. They were discussing the fact that, though they know they have to wear a boring old tux or suit, "wouldn't it be fun if we could wear ..." and off they went, dreaming up their perfect attire.

This has inspired me to find some groom fashion for you today. So check it out, here are some funky, offbeat grooms having a little fun with their wedding day attire.

This morning on OBB's Monday Montage, it was all about blue. Check out the awesome, comfy casual look this groom and his dudes are sporting. I love the khakis on the groomsmen!

This BMX wedding (again from OBB, they rock!) was most awesome. Check out the link, there are some pretty cool pictures, but my favorite is this one of all the groomsmen. Green tie, green shoes ... very chill.

Click here for a link to a great thread of pics from offbeat bride, they did an article a couple years ago on this very subject.

You guys, I so wish I was at this wedding. 80's night. Vegas. What more could you need? This one was written up on a few of the blogs I read, but I'll give props here, back to Offbeat Bride.

Over on Rock n Roll Bride, they featured this ecclectic group of friends, and they are all totally rocking this laid back look. Mostly I love it for the chucks. You just can't go wrong with chucks on the wedding day, right?

Finally, why not have a little fun with your outfit, create something a little more unique? Use this contest as inspiration and make your own Duct Tape suit!

Fascinating Fascinators

Hair fascinators fascinate me. I love them. I love that they are trendy, only because it makes them easier to find (I’m not usually one to jump in to trends with both feet). I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you today.

First, if you are into this as much as I am, you HAVE to check out Erin at Serephine. I met her at the Weddings in Woodinville show and she is just too cute, and her pieces are amazing. This is the one that caught my eye today, but there is always something catching my eye when I visit her page.

I love the look of the Anthropologie wedding shop, BHLDN. It's a little pricey, but I am totally grooving on this headband.

Then there is my favorite artist haven, etsy. Check out this sweet little look from Etsy shop minelolly. I love it, and I love the price! I may have to add it to my little collection.

I have spent the last hour on etsy, looking at headbands and fascinators. It's addicting. So I'm going to walk away now. But I want to leave you wondering with me; can you tell me why these came up in my search for wedding hair fascinators on etsy? I'm not sure they compliment the wedding day wardrobe. Adults only on this link - don't click while the kiddies are around, you might have some 'splainin to do.