5 Tips for Stretching that Wedding Budget!

According to costofwedding.com a typical wedding, will run you $28,000. For many people thats a lot of money. Sure it’s your big day, but your financial conscience is telling you that you should make a budget. This is one time when it’s good to listen to the little voices in your head.

When it’s all said and done guest and family walks away after a lavish wedding event, they are not the one coming back from the honeymoon to a stack of bills.

But don’t despair; if you don’t have the money to spend in the first place here are some tiny things that will make a big difference to stretch that wedding budget to still pull off the wedding of your dreams, realistically.

#1 – Make a budget, and stick to it!
Why, because when you’re tempted to get that $5,000 gown you’ll remember that’s eating away half of your $10,000 budget.

#2 - Avoid popular and expensive dates:
Like Saturdays and summer months. Try a month outside of May, June, and July.

#3 - Cut the guest list.
You don’t really have to invite your cousins’ ex-girlfriend, do you? The more quests equal more money you have to shell out.

#4 - Trim the meal.
Why do a five course meal when you can have a fabulous 3 course? As long as the food is good, no one will ever complain about it not being a 5-course meal. Plus, it’s your day anyway, if you want a 3 course then so be it.

# 5 - Buy your wedding dress at a Sample Sale:
(There are some pretty amazing sample sales in the major cities like Boston, NYC, and Chicago), or opt for more inexpensive options like David’s Bridal.

Also, remember to make a priority list, choose one thing that’s very important to you and spend the money there. You don’t need to go in debt to have a happy wedding; it’s your day and also your budget.
After all ladies, success is in the bank, right?

[image from www.CartoonStock.com.]

Black Bridesmaid dresses at Bridal Market Spring 2008

BLACK BEAUTY
We're always worried about wedding dress etiquette, aren't we? Now,who remembers when no one would dare to wear black to a wedding? Thank goodness we are no longer in the dark ages I'm loving the Black wedding dress trend. And now I've seen a black bridesmaid gown trend,very apparent from Bridal Market. Bridesmaids, rejoice - because you know black is flattering on almost anyone. Who doesn't love a beautiful black dress? Here are some of my favorites from simple designs to more elaborate cuts with various fabrics. Black was everywhere to be seen.

Send me pictures if you are wearing (wore) black, I'd love to see your dress.

I'm especially in love with the first one, the mix of cream and black is so elegant and reminds me of Breakfast at Tiffany's.




1. Jim Hjelm, photo: Luke Walker 2. Pricillia of Boston, photo: Tat Leong
3. Kristie Kelly , photo: Luke Walker 4. Vinyard, photo: Tat Leong

more dresses here

bisous- Yan!

Bonne Weekend- Happy Weekend!

Oh my! Its finally, I mean, Finally getting warmer here in Paris!
Just in case you wanted to check in on the weekend. Here are some cool reads that will keep you inspired.

As Vane gets closer to her wedding this month she shows us how to go about making Hand Made cake toppers - not bad. eh?

And thanks to Peonies and Polaroids, I have a new obsession. These wonderful Encircling Gardens necklace from Twigs and Honey.

Now , not necessarily very wedding-ish news, is that Terrain ( the new home lifestyle store from Urban Outfitters) is now Open! - well only in Pennsylvania, but there's hope that it'll do well and expand to other cities. Oh Joy!

Funky Bridal Shower Ideas

I was reading a post over at Real Simple on unique bridal shower ideas, and I justh thought I had to give my two cents. I loved how funky many of their themes were, like Spa, Yoga and Craft shower! Having your Bridal shpower reflect your personality is a great idea, Why not do the things you love to do? And best of all your guests and freinds are spared from yet another "typical" Bridal Bingo game.


From Right to left: Yoga Shower, Spa Shower and Craft Sower

Earth Day Wedding Ideas: #6 - #10 of our Eco-Chic Wedding Countdown

Today we celebrate Earth day, and there are many couples out there who will also be celebrating their wedding today, and some with an Earth day or eco-friendly theme. For many the act of planning a wedding is a stressful and tedious task, not to mention if you’re planning a wedding that sways slightly from timeworn traditions to creating new practices that are sustainable and organic.
I’ve been slow in follow in up, just because there’s so much information and resources out there now. But here are the rest of my favorite earth day/environmentally friendly wedding finds left on my Eco-chic wedding countdown:

6. Organic Patisserie - The best place to find a caterer who uses organic is usually in your own backyard. Local caterers will uses what’s in season and work with local farmers to get the best organic ingredients available for your wedding cake and delicacies.
A place like Wildflowers in the NYC area creates vegan, vegetarian and organic weddings cakes.



7. Recycled Invitations – Now I now not many would want to just send out email invite to save the life of a tree, but there is another option available, why not use a company that uses recycled paper for their invitations? Such as Seal and Send, I found on the Treehugger website. Some companies even go as far as using soy-based ink. I found this beautiful one from Green Weddings feature on Ivitesite




8. Digital photography – Choose a great wedding photographer who will agree to photograph your wedding digitally. Eliminating the negatives minimizes chemicals and putting the preliminary proofs online saves paper. Many photographers nowadays do this, but still this is a conversation to have with your photographer.





{photos above by Olivier Lalin}

9. Fresh Food- Use seasonally available fruits and vegetables, that way you can ensure that your food didn’t travel from who knows where to get to you, unnecessarily using up gas oil. Ok, we all know that you might be planning for your spring wedding in summer the year ahead, so when you meet with caterers you might be taking food that’s in season then. Also have a conversation with your caterers about what you’re expecting and it might not be able to do a tasting that far in advance.


10. Fair Trade produced fabrics – It’s not hard to find wedding dresses and even men’s clothing now with sustainable fabrics such as "peace silk" where the worms have not been killed as I mentioned in #5.


Perhaps you're eco-conscious and thinking of tying the knot let me know what you're planning! I'd love to hear many more ideas! there are so many wonderful sustainable options available today than before, making the decision to go green is beautiful can still be produce a stunning and fun wedding.
Bisous- Yan!

Inspiration: Camille Soulayrol

Happy Monday! For today’s inspiration I am under the charm of Camille Soulayrol. I originally found out about her through one of my favorite French blogs: Nabe Fabric. Camille is a French stylist, author and creator d'image. Her style is colorful without being overwhelming, classic without being too old fashioned and I especially love her "je t'aime Paris" post cards.

Here are some of here work featured below, taken from her website. Go have a look it might give you some inspiration for an engagement party, wedding theme or decor ideas.





Bisous- Yan!

Getting married and pregant? Stylish wedding gown options.

Being a new mom, I have a whole new appreciation for life and a couple things in particular. I've learned that sometimes it’s good to get caught up and consumed in a moment, especially if that moment will last for 9 months! It’s common for many women, like myself to have the most amazing glow and feel their best when there is a pea in the pod. Having your wedding day while pregnant is really beutiful. 

So with that said, I thought I’d dedicate this post to all the mommy-to-be/Brides-to-be out there. I was delighted to see so many sweet, sexy and simply beautiful dresses for pregnant brides! I’ve created a little peep show of some of my findings below. Have a look and let me know what you think.


Im in love with this dress- off the shoulder and sexy lace details and oh the price is oh so nice, under $500 on the Pea in the Pod website.



Juliana Margolis looks gorgeous at here wedding at seven months pregnant.






All these four dresses from Sarah Houston Maternity. Her couture gowns are whimsical and romantic, many made from stretch silk, english lace and chiffon. They are available in sizes to fit brides at any stage of your pregnancy.






There dress can be found at Maternity Bride found by Jessica Iverson who said that she too was once a pregant Bride. She says that not finding a wedding dress she "was consequently inspired to begin Maternity Bride, and raise the bar in maternity bridal." Not only are the drsses made to fit they are affordable.

Congratulations on the two celebrations!
Bisous- Yan!

Wedding Portraits Photograph in Paris

Now, I know many of us are used to having our pre-Wedding portraits taken, right? But I've found that more and more couple are going for the post-Wedding portraits option as well. Especially here in Paris. This might be a wedding trend on the rise as I've been getting many requests from brides traveling from another country, to have their wedding photos taken in the city of love, Paris.

Unfortunately, Paris is not like many tourist vacations when it come on to the issue of getting hitched( I'll get into more details on what it takes to get married in Paris France in another post). There is a long and what many couple might find to be a laborious process to getting married here, so many couples opt for the option of performing the official ceremony in their native homeland and traveling to Paris for another ceremony and/or photoshoot.

My philosophy is Never say never. Don't be discouraged if Eva Langoria did it, so can you!! I'll cover that, as I mentioned, in another post. This one I'll be showing some photos of some of my clients who had their photoshoot in Paris. I decided to go for a 1950's feel with the photoshoot as you can see from the hairstyle and suit. They were driven around Paris in a Mercedes and taken to the most beautiful and breathtaking places around Paris; Tuileries Garden(Jardin des Tuileries), Pont des Arts, Seine River, Eiffel Tower and The Place de la Concorde. Many thanks to all my friends and vendors who made it a memorable day for my clients who traveled all the way from Hong Kong. And congratulations to the lovely couple who actually got married a year ago. Carrie( the bride even purchased another dress specially for the occasion!)

Special thanks to my Hair Stylist Lexi DeRock and talented photographer Olivier Lalin!

#5 Eco/Environmentally friendly Wedding Dresses

Are you in the process of planning that perfect eco-wedding and have yet to find that "Perfect" wedding dress? Going Green, doesn't have to mean you have to give up your vision of a beautiful wedding dress for a shabby hemp dress. Thank heavens there are some sexy sustainable option available today than before, like these two wedding dress designers I've found and want to share with you.

Olivia Luca in the U S
At Olivia and Luca their Fair Trade Handwoven Silk Organza is Handwoven in small villages on very old family looms. Weaver are paid Fair trade prices and the sale of these fabrics provides much needed additional income for the villages. No dye, no bleach, sustainable.

Gaiahouse in the UK.
At Gaiahouse they only use pure, organically grown, vegetarian silks known as “Peace silks” because the silk worm is not killed during the production process.

I really like these designers because they make elegant and sexy wedding dresses, very similar to many mainstream designs except you're doing something good for the environment. I'd love to hear about other designers who are going green. So let me know what you're doing for your eco-chic wedding.

"Wedding by Color" perfect for Brides-to-Be.

I've found this great website where you can share your ideas, wedding themes, advice etc by color. Its amazing really, I was browsing on many of the pages and found some pretty inspiring stuff from brides probably just like you. And for that reasons its also a great place to kind of visually plan your wedding day because it allows you to create a wedding blog/planning book, be a apart of a community with people who understand everything you're going through with your planning: other Brides-to-Be!

For example, under the category color Chocolate, I've found one couple who have 56 days left to their wedding and it gives you details such as who did their invitations, what it looks like, wedding venue pictures etc for Marla and Adam

The website also has a list of wedding vendors in your area. The only problem I have is that it seems to be limited only a few states.

Check out Wedding By Color, I think it'll be worth it if you're planning your own wedding.

#4 - Environementally friendly wedding Favors

Excusez -moi in my tardiness to follow up with my Eco- Chic Wedding countdown from Tuesday's. But I was so caught up this week with the planning of a couple events. I'll say more later when I post about my latest elegant wedding portraits in Paris.

So, for #4 on the list I've found the cutest wedding favors: flower seeds! what better way to be good to the earth while celebrating an eco-friendly wedding and reception.

#4: Give your guests Flower Seeds in this beautful envelope as wedding environmentally favor. When they bloom they'll remember you and your special day. They have a variety such as :Sweet Alyssum, Dame's Rocket, Siberian Wallflower, Candytuft, Poppy, Lemont Mint, Baby's Breath, Sweet William Pinks, Baby Blue Eyes. And how cute it it that it says " All things grow...with love"!

Oh and with the Share and Blossom Plantable Favor, you can plant the paper pot and wildflowers will grow right out of the paper!

Would you use them in your wedding?

Eva Longoria's Wedding Planner, Mindy Weiss, publishes a new book!

I remember it was just last year July 7th, 2007 when Television star Eva Longoria, of Desperate Housewives and Basketball Pro Tony Parker, of The San Antonio Spurs tied the knot at Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois church here in Paris and partied-it-up at Chateau Vaux-le-Viconte for their reception 20 miles outside of Paris. The lavish affair had the Parisian media going crazy there were photographers everywhere. Well, the brain behind the big event, Mindy Weiss, has come forth with a wedding book.


She's just written what appears to be a comprehensive guide to planning your big day like a star. The book is called "The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day". I'm sure us girls will be delving in for some style and decor tips.
I'm yet to get my hands on a copy, but if you have let me know your thoughts. I think its available at all major bookstores but you can also get it at amazon.com



The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day

#3 Eco-friendly wedding rings

Back in college I was a huge Dave Matthews Band fan, and I remember reading an article somewhere about him, his wife, and their unique receylded rings: their rings were fabricated out of pennies from the year of their birth!

He said "That’s an idea my wife and I had. We found three pennies from the year she was born and three from the year I was born — which is a more difficult task than you might imagine — and had them melted down and turned into a band. It turns my finger green, and the ring itself changes color. I’ll get out of the tub and it’ll be almost black, and then I’ll be walking down the street playing with it and I’ll look at it and go, “Oh, my goodness, it’s like a brand-new penny!” It’s very satisfying."

How romantic! and good for the environment too. I've found two online retailers who pride themselves in eco-friendly bridal jewelry.

Green Karat
Celestial Love Price: $475.00
Green Karat says they want to end destructive gold and diamond mining and that they are "Effecting Change Through Recycled Gold"



and fellow blogger Emily Anderson talks about eco-rings on her blog
by Ingle & Rhode
Sarah Sheridan's Lumens Wedding and Engagement Ring Set is pictured below



Its a 18ct white gold, set with a 0.4ct round brilliant diamond. The website says that the price varies depending on diamond.

Ingle & Rhode has as strong moral standing on the issue of "blood diamonds" stating that "we only buy diamonds we can guarantee are conflict-free, and our diamond cutters and polishers work in good conditions. Our gold is fairly traded, and mined without the use of cyanide or mercury. 10 per cent of our profits fund health, education and development projects within communities with whom we trade. "

Just one more choice available for an absolutely fabulous eco-friendly wedding!



*Dave Mathews interview taken from Blender Magazine

Celebrations Link Love April 6-12, 2008

Wedding Fanatc is giving us the low down on getting expencive looking invitations for cheap(er).

The Bride's Cafe has a fabulous poll on wedding shoe styles!

Brooklyn Bride is celelbrating one year of wedding blogging- Yippee! Head on over for a chance to win a Twigs + Honey original hairpiece!

Junebug Weddings has a great article on one of my favorite websites Polyvore.com
"It gives a fantastic way to create gorgeous inspiration boards for your possible wedding day looks"

[image from junebug weddings]

Eco-Chic Wedding. Day #2: Organic Roses

For Day two of our 12 day countdown to Earth day ( April 22nd), I'd like to suggest organically grown flowers for the wedding celebration, whether it be for the bridal bouquet or for overall decor. There are many resources with beautiful flower options, here are two I found online that are owned an operated by small farmers.

Get Organic flowers from:

Organic Bouquet
One Dozen Linen White Roses
Price: $49.95

California Organic Flowers
Champagne and Cassis (24 stems)
Price: $59.95

Eco-Chic Wedding count down to Earth day!

In honor of all the great eco stuff I've been finding. I've decided to dedicate the next 12 days as a Countdown to Eco-Chicness, wedding style!!!

Seriously, gone are the days when going vegetarian meant only tofu and shabby hemp skirts. With all the goodness I've found I'm here to tell you that Vegetarians, vegans and all around Eco-friendly people (like myself) are "bringing sexy back" :)


To start the countdown, I've found these oh so sexy animal friendly shoes from Georgette. Twin sisters who work with natural fabrics and luxurious Italian faux leather run the company

You actually can find cute looking shoes for you and your bridesmaids that can also be worn after the wedding.
Eco-Chic Wedding Day One:
Eco-Freindly shoes from Georgette

Vintage Wedding Dresses online

There is a site that I really like for their vintage dresses, and I had no idea they had wedding dress too. Until now! Imagine my surprise, if you're in the market for something special and "something old"  check out their stock.



Posh Girl Vintage/Bridal

They even have dresses from the 1940s!
And best of all, all the dresses are in great, almost perfect condition.

Raison D'etre...

I've been toying with the idea of being an event planner for some time now, and have been very happy to see the opportunity fall right into my lap these past months here in Paris!
I've been asked to plan two events for couples coming to Paris. The first is to get married and the second is to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Both couples reside outside of France and will be coming from their respective countries, specifically to celebrate their event in this wonderful and romantic city of lights.

Before here:
I've been in marketing for years now so I've had the experience of planning promotional parties and corporate events. But this new task was by pure chance of association: I'm friends with a few paople in the wedding business here( wedding dress designers, photographers, wedding planner and fleurits),so when a freind of mine needed help I offered up my help excitedly.

Why create this blog?:
I've since come to realize that its somewhat difficult for English speakers coming to France, especially paris, to organize their events from their respective countries. They aren't that many wedding planners here who speak English as a mother tongue, who truly understands the global wedding atmosphere coming from a different country.

So with that said I'm chartering a new path as a Go-To Guide to planning your engagement, wedding, anniversary , or divorce celebrations her in Paris with unconventional style and elegance. My goal is to offer an alternative that couples can go to and trust that they will get the pertinent information on what is needed by foreigners to get married in France and event planning that optimizes every dollar or your hard earned money to create your ideal paris celebration.

I look forward to sharing my journey with you on this blog

Cheers!