FCW's Favorite Finds: February 2011

I am happy to report that 2011 has been crazy, busy, and booming for Felicity C Weddings!  Already with one wedding down for the year, there is so much to be excited about.  However, the down side is that my schedule has left little time to blog.  So I wanted to do a quick & fun post featuring the details that have caught my eye in this blur of a month.  From inspiration comes great ideas and I hope you enjoy what has fueled my February.

 Big, fun, and sweet props. Source

Reusable wedding decor. Source

Proposals captured by a photographer. Source

Incorporating family photos into wedding decor. Source

Hostess with the Mostess blog AND the

abundance of incredible details that are begging to

be used in your next party! Source

Tux's are out! I heart groomsmen in black/gray/khaki suits with

pops of accent color. Hello affordable. Source

Wedding or Party: How Good Are You?

If you did not catch the first edition, this is a game that I created after seeing so much amazing decor that is incredibly versatile.  The kind of decor that could be for a bridal shower, baby shower, fabulous birthday, dinner party, corporate event, or even a wedding.  Test yourself and let me know how you did on Felicity C Weddings Facebook page!  Good luck & enjoy!

Wedding or party?  Here is the answer

 

Wedding or Party? Here is the answer

Wedding or Party? Here is the answer

Weddign or Party? Here is the answer

Wedding or Party? Here is the answer

BHLDN: The Letters You Need To Know Now

If you are a fan of the hip store Anthropologie, you have no doubt heard that they have launched a wedding store, BHLDN as of Valentine's Day.  No coincidence I'm sure since this is the greatest gift to loyal fans since, well, Anthropologie opened.  What is BHLDN?  According to their website, "inspired by the Dutch word for “to keep,” as well as countless tales from family and friends of the extraordinary weddings they’d been part of", the geniuses at Anthropologie dreamt up this amazing offering to today's women.  There is a perfect variety of beauty in the gowns, dresses, lingerie, shoes, jewelry, cover-ups, hair adornments, accessories offered on BHLDN's site.

The wedding gowns range from $600 to $4,000 and the dresses (perfect for bridesmaids or for the bride to wear during her many pre-wedding celebrations) range from $200 to $1,000.  There is so much attention to detail and creativity that will appeal to so many ladies I am positive this line will be a HUGE hit.  I'm so excited that more & more stores/ designers are jumping feet first into the wedding industry.  Please take some time to check out BHLDN and you won't be sorry you did.  Enjoy!

 

  Now here for some gown envy.  Prepare to drool:

Inspiration Station: Oscar Is On His Way

I.am.obsessed.with.award.shows.  That is a basic fact about me.  My top three favorites are the Emmys, The Golden Globes, and best award show ever is of course, the Oscars.  Luckily there are more than a few likeminded people in the event planning world and I found a complete Oscar party set up already!  As if that was not enough excitement for me, this post also includes FREE printables to create your own party!  Hello, free is always awesome.

This being said, I have not held a full-on Oscar party yet.  I usually get together with a few girlfriends to enjoy some wine and give our opinions/yell at the tv during the red carpet- and this year is no different.  Seeing this set up makes me really excited for possibly planning a party next year.  I would love to incorporate a pool to see who guesses the winners and maybe add in some delicious desserts in a nod to the nominees- this year I'm making Black Swan brownies and I believe there was mention of True Grits being served.  Since variety is the spice of life, I was really excited to see this post  with some great ideas on creating your own affordable (key word!) Oscars party.  Creating a movie snack area with popcorn, sno-cones, and milk duds will definitely be a hit.  And this post offers more great ideas plus an Oscars themed cake!  It really is up to you on how elaborate you want to be- from Oscar invitations to prizes to framing past winners as decor, there are so many options.  Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy Hollywood's biggest night as much as I know I will!

 

(Source for all 3)

Delicious cocktails are a must! (Source)

Inspiration Station: Super Bowl Wedding Boards

Yes, you read the title correctly.  Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places which is why I wanted to feature the genius from Gig Masters that I couldn't wait to share.  This past Sunday, much like the rest of the country, I enjoyed the classic American tradition of watching the big game with friends, drinks, and great food.  I did a post on sports themed weddings awhile back & so when I saw the great idea of creating Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers wedding inspiration boards, I was intrigued.  To be clear, these boards focus on the color schemes and nods to each city's treasures.  It is a great way to incorporate your man's favorite team without having a 'tailgate wedding' feel.  Without further ado, here are the boards.  Enjoy!

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Football Fever- An American Pastime

Any chance to turn a simple get together into something fun & creative, I'm a huge fan of.  As the Super Bowl approaches, I know that even guys appreciate a nice set up and some thought put into a superbowl party.  I've never held a Super Bowl party and this year I think we are going out to a local bar with friends but I can't help but love all the football inspired party ideas I'm seeing lately.  If you are throwing a shindig tomorrow, here are a few ideas to jazz up your party without a lot of fuss.  Enjoy!

1. Create football decor in a snap. A lot of grocery stores have cheap paper table clothes with football themes or you can go the extra mile and create your own.  You can buy some green felt and iron on the 10, 20, 30 lines or you can buy a foot of AstroTurf and put down white tape for the lines. 

 

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2. For those who plan in advance, football invites are a fun way to get people excited for your party!  You can either order invites online or set up an Evite with a football themed background.

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3. If you have kids to entertain, set up a table just for them.  Set aside a room in the house with a tv, games, so they can run around and not interrupt the big game.  Make sure there are kid friend food and lots of napkins!

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4. Superbowl is about 3 things; the big game, the commercials, and THE FOOD.  Keep guests happy with a balance of 'real food' like chili, pulled pork (both great crockpot dishes to make your prep easier), 'finger food' like chips, dips, veggies and some sweet desserts.  This is a key way to get creative and as long as it is delicious & looks football related, your party guests will be happy.

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Vera + David = True Bridal Love

Fresh off my over-the-top excitement from seeing Vera Wang's spring 2011 bridal collection on the runway at Unveiled in DC, I came across the miraculous news that Vera, the wedding goddess, is teaming up exclusively with David's Bridal for a Spring 2011 collection called "White".  I know.  I will give you a second to let that sink in.  Starting February 11th, 150 select stores will feature the White collection which ranges in prices from $600-$1,400 in sizes 0-14 along with accessories.  Vera is going to add onto the collection mid-year with bridal dress sizes 16-26  and bridesmaids dresses 0-26.

Please, please, please go to the David's Bridal website and check out the White collection section.  There is a Q&A section with Vera about the collection details as well as a preview of the gowns and pricing AND Vera generously posted two videos- behind the scenes and designing the collection!  I must mention that I found out about this amazing venture from my friend Joe who sent me this link to Tom & Lorenzo's blog.  All the model pictures are from their post and if I do say so myself, you should do yourself a favor by checking out their fabulous blog!  The same day I started working on this post I finally finished my January issue of Glamour magazine & to my surprise, Glamour had an article about Vera's new collection so I was able to mix in collection pictures with actual brides.  Without further ado, enjoy the preview pictures!

Gown, $1,000, sash, $38, White by Vera Wang. Source

Gown, $600, veil, $148, White by Vera Wang. Source

From Tom & Lorenzo's blog:

Washingtonian's Unveiled bridal show

I am so thrilled to finally be sharing one of the most exciting events I have been to in...ummm forever.  When I saw Washingtonian's Unveiled bridal show pop up across my beloved Google Reader, I really couldn't hold my excitement.  Besides going to Georgetown to see the best of the bridal industry in DC, there a VERA WANG RUNWAY SHOW!!!  I have been in love with Vera since I first started reading bridal magazines in high school as she epitomized bridal elegance and design.  She is a legend, a rockstar, a trend setter, she who is synonymous with weddings, and I honestly could not believe that I would see her new collection in person!  After first seeing the post about the show, I immediately emailed the info to my bestest who is getting married this Labor Day and luck of all luck, she lives outside DC and she was free the day of the show (extremely rare occurence).  So we boarded the metro on a cold and bright January 23rd full of excitement like two little girls waiting for Christmas.  And let me tell you, this show did not disappoint in any way.

There was such a variety of vendors, our first stop was the Bloomingdale's room complete with a full table set with 10 different sets of china, glassware, silverware, and everything your little heart could desire for your own registry.  Although we didn't go in, there was a panel of experts to answer any and all your wedding questions- how fun!  There were two floors of vendors; stylists from celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson Salon giving girls mini makeovers, a fun photo booth, honeymoon travel agencies, event planners, florists, and a stocked bar which made perfect pomegranate champagne just to name a few.  All the attendees received a Bride & Groom tote bag with the latest issue of Washingtonian Bride magazine and tons of favors (chocolates, lipgloss, and cookies- oh my!) along with info cards from the vendors.  

One of my highlights of the day was meeting the fabulous girls from Atrendy Wedding since I love, love, love their blog.  I even took a picture with one of the planners after discussing my best friend's wedding theme in great detail.  The amazing Rodney Bailey photographers were in full force documenting the event and especially the Vera Wang runway show.  Which was completely perfect and breathtaking.  The runway show was the end to a four hour upscale wedding fest which completely blew me away.  I went as a best friend first and a planner second and I came away even more in love with my job than I was before.  Helping people plan their biggest day is an honor and to be at an event with so much excitement was really special.  Now for the pictures!  The first set of completely unprofessional photos are by me and the second set are by Rodney Bailey.  Please check out the FCW Facebook page this week for the uploaded videos I took during the runway show.  Enjoy!

 

Bloomingdale's registry room

  

One of the Atrendy Wedding girls & me