Inspire- Me- Monday: Winter Weddings

In continuing our theme from last week (fur shawls) I wanted to do a post on snowy winter weddings. Most brides avoid winter weddings like the plague. I can't complain... it gives me a chance to rejuvenate and take a big breath befor the next busy wedding season... but after these inspiring shots I must say I would love to shoot a dreamy winter wonderland wedding.

How did they do this? I could see myself trying to convince Muriel to "Climb the tree and shake it on three!!!" I need to start a list of crazy things I've done for the perfect shot.  And pregnancy has not stopped me! Half way through my pregnancy I climbed into a horse's feeding troph to get the angle I wanted! :) That's why you hire me ...right?  (Or why you should now that you know!)

BRRRRRR... no coat.. no shoes... you go girl! This is my kind of bride!

Absolutely love that oversized bow.

Love this winter bouquet.

Beautiful alternative to last week's post for the more animal consicous :)

WOW

Love the tall red boots!!

Just love those gloves.

I have a wood sled just like this and boots like this... who's signing up to be the snowy bride?

Adorable

... and this last one is not a wedding but just thought it was a cool artsy picture so I'm throwing it in there for fun!!! Have a great week!

Inspire-Me- Mondays: Winter Fur Shawls

Hi friends and followers. If you live in the DC area you've probably pulled out your winter boots this week with the snow we have gotten.  I know that brides prefer to get married when it's warm and sunny outside... but I saw these fur shawls the other day and I thought they were so chic and lovely. They added luxury, glamour and beauty to the bride's wedding attire. I thought I'd share some with you this week for our Inspire-Me-Monday.  Let me know what you think... I'm diggin' it!

(eww on the mustache!)

Inspire Me Mondays: Vintage Paper Wedding Decor

Howdy friends and welcome back this week for another Inspire-Me-Monday post. This week we're highlighting decor using pages from old books. I, myself collect them for decorating my home, and for various art projects. They're cheap and they're everywhere. My biggest jackpot is usually the public library sales, and thrift stores. They are usually around $1.00 each and you have a beautiful antique treasure to use as decor, or in today's case, to use the pages for projects. Here are some beautiful, easy, and inexpensive ways to use this versatile element.

Hope you enjoyed some of these creative and easy ideas.  Have a great week!

Inspire- Me- Monday: Doily Wedding Decor

  Hello friends!  We're back this week with another curl-your-toes gorgeous post on creative and affordable ways to create beautiful wedding decor using doilies.  Doilies are showing up in everything, from candles, to cake... from jewelry to wedding invites. They're affordable and lend to tons of DIY project. So get your glue guns out and let's schedule an art night!

Let's start with wedding invites. Whether they're integrated via Photoshop, paper doilies, or actual fabric doilies they are a beautiful decor element in invites:
 

I love seeing them in lanterns, wall decor, and even with string lights. That would be an easy DIY project that creates a beautiful touch.

I know this is a home decor image (below), but how pretty would this be at let's say the window of a rustic barn wedding? Love it... just vintage doilies hanging in the windows. These small affordable details really bring tons of charm to the day.



Now... this next one might be a BIT too granola for you, but nevertheless I found it beautiful and creative

They also make for beautiful place settings.

And along the same lines look at these gorgeous DIY candles. Mason jars, doilies, lace ribbon, glue, and tealights... hello to the next art night at my house.

This one below, another candle holder, is my favorite!  The website was in German, but from what I gather it says three easy steps: Use sugar starch and form doilies around a balloon. Dry.  Prick the ballon and remove. Sounds like something I can handle!

And totally adorable... look at this

YUM! I want the recipe for that cake by the way. And of course I saved my favorite for last. This has been in my Pintrest "DIY Projects" folder for awhile and I just adore it. Doily table runners. Love love love!

Click HERE for a DIY tutorial for this easy, affordable, and absolutely beautiful step-by-step table runner.  Awesome!

Two quick items of business:  I know I say this every post but if you haven't already I encourage you to sign up for email notification of my weekly posts.  (On the top right under the "Subscribe" birdcage enter your email address and submit. You will receive an email from Feedburner to confirm your subscription. After you click on that link in your email you'll receive weekly notifications of great ideas, and posts on my latest photography jobs). Which brings me to item #2 on the list. You might notice that it's been a lot of Inspire-Me-Monday posts but not as many of my recent jobs. The reason is twofold. One: is that I usually take the winters off to rejuvenate, and recuperate from the busy summer-fall wedding seasons. It's good for artists to take time to rest and rejuvenate their creative minds to keep producing beautiful work. And secondly, I'm WAAAY pregnant so I thought it might not be very reassuring for brides to wonder if their photographer is going to go into labor during their ceremony. So for the winter enjoy some inspiring ideas and we'll be up-and-running again late spring with gorgeous and artistic photo sessions.

Cheers!

Inspire- Me- Monday: Brooch Bouquets

Happy New Year everyone! I trust you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with those you love.  I had a wonderful time with family and am excited to kick off the 2012 season with an oh, so amzing post. Now I do try to stay up on the lastest trends, but let me tell you, when I first saw these I was completely amazed. They're called brooch bouquets and they're beauuuuuutiful.  Check these beauties out:

Ohhhh my goodness right?!?! Gorgeous... I mean... totally breath taking right?

Sigh.... these are are to die for. Maybe my husband will ask me to marry him again so I can make one of these!

For the artsy bride....

For the elegant bride....

You can make/ buy them by color scheme....

And just look at these gorgeous up close details... just stunning

... are you drooling yet?

Okay, are these just blowing your mind? You can probably tell I'm just slightly a fan. So, you know brides that I'm going to hook you up with the DIY tutorial. Start now collecting from the thrift stores, online, and grandma's jewelry box... and when you have enough check out this fabulous step by step tutorial.

Click HERE for tutorial

And if you're one of those lucky brides that has more wiggle room in their budget but maybe a little less time, or feel on the not-that-artsy side there's actually a few etsy stores that sells them! (like the bouquet below from etsy) . Just type in "Brooch bouquet" on etsy and browse from many beautiful arrangements.   CLICK HERE for one store I found.

Hope you found this post inspirational. I'm thinking of making one to put in a vase in my home as a decoration. How creative right? I think my favorite ones are the ones that are one color scheme like the blues or purple ones.

Enjoy! Leave me a note and tell me which one is your favorite... mine is the first one!

Happy planning!