Love Storm

Trust me. Le Love will be your new blog obsession.

i carry your heart with me

I love words. I always have. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a poet when I grew up. Can you imagine that being your job? Sigh...a girl can dream. Regardless of my transition to corporate America, I'm so looking forward to instilling our wedding ceremony with a few select poignant readings.

We have asked my youngest brother to read something at the ceremony (he's also a groomsman). We are best friends although he lives across the country from me. I'm so excited for him to have such an important part in our ceremony. I had initially thought I wanted to find something non-traditional for him to read. But I keep coming back to ee cummings:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than a soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

ee cummings

Sweet Home Chicago

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I'm on a mission to gather the most fantastically inspirational Chicago wedding images. I miss being in my hometown and I'm so looking forward to getting married there. I want to make sure we have some true Chicago pictures with a twist.

Inspired By

I've been collecting must have wedding day photos since our engagement. Seriously what did brides-to-be do before the blogosphere??

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What are your must have wedding day shots?

Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

Ranunculus

Save the Date?

I've been on the hunt for Paper Inspiration. I spent all of last night oogling Oh So Beautiful Paper. I have found that I have a thing for flourishes and swirly script. I believe that I have found my Save the Date inspiration.

I'm thinking of changing the AND to an &.

What do you think? Simple and Sweet?

Le Sigh Signage

I love the idea of seat markers for M and I as we are not going to have a sweethearts table (too old fashioned for our taste).

How cute are these seat markers using the couple's pet names for each other?

Dipping A Toe in the DIY Pool?

I'll be the first to admit it...I am not crafty. I wish I was. I spend hours reading about the fabulous DIY projects of my fellow wedding bloggers and admiring wistfully the beautiful outcomes. I'm thinking though that with all of the fantastic inspiration and step by step tutorials (thanks friends!) I may just try some out for our wedding.

After all...I still have 11 months to get my feet wet...

I saw the DIY Fabric Flower Headpiece on EAD a couple of months ago and thought "Hey maybe I could try this?" Briana had provided a step by step tutorial so I added a bookmark to the page and promptly filed away for later.

That was until this morning, when Briana posted the DIY Fabric Flower Headpiece in action during one of her recaps.


AndrewandJessicablog.com via EAD

How sweet does it look in that lovely updo? So that made my decision easy...I'm going to try it this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!

Are you new to DIY? What was your first project?

A Veiled Kiss

Jessica Peterson Photography via Snippet & Ink

Pictures like this make me want to lift my veil ban. So lovely.

Rose and Radish...and Registry?

After registering for the "serious" stuff like china, I'm excited to start looking for the funkier details that will make up our home decor as newlyweds. I have loved Rose & Radish for quite some time but have yet to purchase something for myself.

They have a funky collection of home details that you will not find anywhere else. I was SO excited to see that they have a registry option on their site.

Sarah Cihat Rehabilitated Luncheon Plates

How cute is this set of plates from Sarah Cihat? I adore them.

Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg Nest Votive

How fantastic is this delicate votive candle holder...woven to look like a nest?

I struggle though with the unique registry dilemma. I'm sure that most of our guests are used to popping by the local Crate & Barrel or Bloomingdale's to pick up a wedding gift. I'm not sure that all of my parent's friends will feel comfortable with this funky online site. So my concern is that M and I will end up with all of our traditional housewares filled and an empty registry at Rose & Radish.

Did you register somewhere off the beaten path? How did your guests react?

An Inspired Color Palette

I am currently obsessing over the color palettes on The Inspired Bride

She uses a beautiful central image to pull out complementary colors that are elegant and sweet for wedding inspiration.

How sweet is this every day inspiration??

Sweet Give Away: Dress Sketch

A Mountain Bride has partnered with Megan Hamilton Weddings for an exciting giveaway! You can win a custom and collectible sketch of your dress, here

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Bridesmaid Dress

Chloe & Reese via Snippet & Ink

Now this is the bridesmaid dress I had been picturing before I found these. How cute? There are about a million colors to choose from. A girl can dream, right?

Peony Love

Courtesy of David Murray Weddings via Pink Galoshes

Vera Wang...Yes Please!

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I have to gush for a minute. It is about Vera Wang and her lovely salon and employees on Newbury Street in Boston. I wish that I could go back every day and try on beautiful dresses and be gushed over by sweet and helpful women.

The dress hunt was a short one for me. I was in fact quite nervous to start looking for dresses...because you see I don't like being the center of attention. (Tell that to my soon to be 200 guests) My two best girlfriends were in town one weekend in early June and convinced me we had to go to a bridal salon...just for fun at least! We went to L'Elite on Newbury Street and were less than impressed by the snooty service. Still after trying on a number of dresses...I thought I found the one.

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I thought it was the one when I tried it on and my girls starting crying. I loved the draping on the Reem Acra grecian dress and how it nipped my waist. But I couldn't get out of my mind that my mom was not there to see me try it on. Luckily, she was coming into town the next weekend and there just so happened to be a Vera Wang Trunk Show that same day.

(This is not the dress...I just thought it was a lovely picture)

My Vera experience was unbelievable. The space is elegant and you really feel like a bride. Everyone was so lovely especially my consultant Julie. Let me just say...when you find the dress...you don't just think you know. You Know! The first dress I tried on was it. All I'm going to say (because I'm superstitious) is it is from her 2010 collection and May/June 2010 brides will be among the first to wear the collection. It was surprisingly affordable...even more so than the Reem Acra which was from the 2005 collection.

My advice for all you brides on the dress hunt. Even if you don't think you can afford a designer dress or are not interested in a designer dress...set up an appointment at a studio just to try some on. If only for the experience.

Melissa Sweet Trunk Show

July 30 - August 3 at Priscilla of Boston

Le Love

Currently obsessed with Le Love

The Original Inspiration

It's funny with a long engagement to see how your vision shifts and evolves throughout the course of planning. Every once and a while I go back to the original source of inspiration that I plucked from Martha Stewart Weddings. I loved the warm citrus colors and the fluffy poms just tickled me.

How did your inspiration evolve?

Hair-y Tales

I'm having a dilemma...a fashion dilemma that is. See, I never really thought of myself as a veil bride. Much to my mom and dad's chagrin. When I was trying on my dress at Vera and they put a veil on me...it looked like a costume to me. Kind of cheesy. Now you probably think I'm crazy to say that a Vera veil was cheesy...but that just demonstrates how veil averse I am.

Yet I want something different in my hair for the wedding. Some sort of "ornamentation". I considered a fascinator and a bird cage veil for about 2.5 seconds before I realized how not me those were as well. (How I wish they were though).

So then I found a picture in Elegant Bride way at the beginning of wedding planning that I failed to cut out. (Shame on me!) The bride had an organic and bohemian updo. It was slightly wavy and loose with a few braids woven in among a ribbon and metallic headband. Really sweet and kind of some bling at the same time.

So now I am on a headband mission. I started on Etsy and have not really been able to find exactly what I am envisioning.

The closest I've seen is from the shop Woomi. But I'm not sure that it's quite right. It looks a bit to hard for me. Does that even make sense? I'll continue my quest but if you see anything that is similar to what I've vaguely described please let me know!

Have you struggled with the to veil or not to veil question? How did you make your decision on the headpiece?

Individual Centerpieces

I've begun pondering flower arrangements and centerpieces. The flowers will be the main color source for our wedding so I'm really looking forward to starting on these. My mom and I are going to meet with some florists when I go back to Chicago in September but in the mean time I've been gathering inspiration along the way.

I'm leaning towards using multiple smaller centerpieces rather than one large arrangement per table. I like lower and fluffier arrangements rather than tall and elaborate.

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How great are these arrangements strewn across this long banquet table?

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I love this close up with the different sizes and number of blooms in the white ceramic cafe dishes. I'll be bringing this one to the meetings for sure.

Bridesmaids Anyone?

So I think I may finally be making a color decision and it is mostly driven by the new Vera Wang "Maid to Order" collection that I stumbled upon. I never thought I would be a Vera bride but after a trip to a trunk show in her salon on Newbury with my mom...I became one! (More on that story later) I am OBSESSED with my dress but it has impacted my vision for my 'maids.

I had initially thought I wanted a super cute and short cocktail dress with pockets. Chic and Cheap was the vision. (unfortunately not Moschino style) That all changed when I bought my dress which is long and flowy. Feels very organic and light...so I started envisioning bridesmaid dresses with the same look and feel. Less structured and more airy.

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May I introduce you to Christina? This gorgeous Vera Wang bridesmaid dress is perfection! Exactly what I was looking for. And the cactus color will really compliment my latest and greatest color palette of Apricot and Champagne.

Can't you just see my ladies wearing these fantastically light dresses and clutching a bouquet of apricot and peach ranunculus?

Love it!

Cake-spiration

Wayne Yuan via Style Me Pretty

This is the cake for me. Simple and sweet. With a fluffy floral garnish.

The Story of Us

After all of this wedding talk, I figured it was probably time to share the story of how it all came to be. M and I have been dating on and off since we were 18. (wow!) We met our freshman year in college and immediately clicked. Well...I was shy at first and thankfully he was persistent to the point that he kissed me for the first time in a frat basement when I had both hands occupied by red plastic cups filled with watery beer. (romance, anyone?)

We have spent the past 8 years more on than off but did spend some time apart when I was abroad in Florence and M was chugging along through his engineering degree in Boston. We ended up back together as we graduated college and continued long distance for two years as I worked in advertising in Chi-town (wah wah!) and M was in the ATL pursuing his masters in engineering. (I landed a smarty!) When M graduated we both decided to move back to Boston together after all 2 years apart was enough for us and we knew it was the real deal.

Back in Boston, we are still the same goofy couple who fell in luuuurve at 18 but enhanced by a grown up understanding of what it means to be with someone that is your confidante, best friend, and partner in life.

And then of course there is our lazy beagle who makes us both super happy...Edison.

Escort Me

If there was an English Rose Garden in downtown Chicago, I would have opted for an afternoon garden party wedding and used this escort card set up in handgrown wheatgrass to direct our guests to their seats..

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Link Love: It's Pretty Good

In the course of wedding planning, I have found, as many new brides-to-be, that some of the truest inspiration is available at our fingertips on the blogosphere. I am a Google Reader addict...checking it multiple times a day while I should be working.

Interwoven in my wedding blogs there are a few beautiful blogs that are not wedding specific but have me more inspired by the photography and creativity.

It's Pretty Good is one of those blogs. The author, Mary, posts sweet and simple organic images with captions interspersed.

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It is a cheerful reminder of the beauty that we see day to day and has often brought a smile to my face during the rainy summer we have had here in Boston.

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I seriously encourage you to all add It's Pretty Good to your daily blog reading.

What are some non-wedding specific blogs that have inspired your wedding planning?

Registry Bliss: Bloomingdale's

Wohoo! I was so super excited to register from the day we got engaged...I have been dreaming about having free reign in some of my favorite houseware stores. M and I decided to take our first dabble in registry bliss today. We headed over to Bloomingdale's in Chestnut Hill (can you believe there is not a Bloomie's in Boston?) this morning.

We started with our fine china and crystal stemware. I had a couple of patterns in my mind but I knew that some would be a bit too girly for M. We ended up deciding between a Kate Spade pattern and Lisette by Waterford. The Kate Spade pattern was simple with a funky navy polka dot accent plate. But I love the whimsy of the Lisette. Surprisingly I was able to convince M that was the china for us. So began our registry...

We moved on to crystal stemware and landed on something a bit more classic to balance the pattern of our china.

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We choose two wine glasses from the Mondavi by Waterford collection and complimented the stemware with a cut pattern champagne flute and a standard wine goblet from the housewares section. We called it a day after those decisions...after all I didn't want to finish all the fun in one day!

Where did you register? Did you have a tough time making those decisions with your fiance?

Inspired Decor

I adore this picture and think this would be a sweet addition to the Chicago room.

We are rather limited by the museum decor guidelines, including the small detail of NO candles. (that's a whole different sob story)

But I think we could get away with this and perhaps find a few fantastic reflective pictures along the way.

I wish I knew the source on this picture...please let me know if it's yours and I'll add a link.

Revealing the Picture Perfect Venue

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After a full day of venue hunting (we also checked out The Peninsula for kicks), I was feeling disheartened. We were only in Chicago for two days and I had planned on leaving with a place and a date that we were going to get married. As we were about to get on Lake Shore Drive to head back to the burbs, my mom suggested that we check out the Chicago History Museum. She made no promises but thought that it might be worth seeing the event space.

I had never been there so I was not sure what to expect. The museum is right on the park that overlooks Lake Shore Drive to the lake. In the summer the greenery is in full bloom and the Uihlein Plaza offers a unique panoramic view of the park.

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We walked up stairs into the Robinson Gallery and I started getting a bubbly feeling in my stomach. It was gorgeous and fresh with beautiful periwinkle blue paint and a fantastic chandelier. Cocktails anyone?

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We made our way into the Chicago Room...and that was it for me. It was truly the vision I had in my mind. Hardwood floors flanking a black and white checked dance floor. Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass windows earmarking the high walls. And huge windows overlooking the park and the Uihlien Plaza.

Luckily M felt the same way and we immediately began inquiring about dates that were available. And there you have it...we will be getting married at the Chicago History Museum on June 26, 2010. A ceremony on the plaza followed by a reception in the Chicago Room.

Yummy Colors

I'm currently obsessed with the purply blue simple but chic color palette over at In This Instance feature on "Market Chic Table Decor".

Searching for the Picture Perfect Venue

M and I were engaged on Friday, March 27. On Saturday, March 28, the research began for the perfect wedding venue. It's funny how when you call your friends to tell them the great engagement news, the first questions are when and where are you getting married. No matter how soon after you are engaged they receive that call (even within minutes). I know -- I'm guilty of it as well. But I wanted to have an answer so I began researching online and planning a trip to Chicago to see the venues in person.

We went to Chicago the next weekend and had several venues on our itinerary to see. I knew I wanted June wedding in a unique space. Something other than a hotel ballroom so that helped narrow down our search. I also knew that I would need a venue that would have two distinct areas - for the ceremony and the reception. So we began bright and early on Saturday morning.

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Our first stop was the gorgeous Harold Washington Library in the South Loop. It was my dad's suggestion (a wealth of Chicago venue knowledge) and I was prepared to be wowed after we looked at pictures online. We had to navigate through the library stacks to actually get to the venue space. When we arrived in the reception hall, I was in awe of the high glass atrium ceilings and the large space. Yet underwhelmed by the seafoam green and blue tile and paint. We went to see the ceremony space which was a small rugged room (I'm not a fan of rugs) which would probably not fit more than 50-100 guests. We checked out the bathrooms (I've learned - ALWAYS check the bathrooms) and they were like any public bathroom...kind of gross. Most certainly did not go along with my vision of a spa like bathroom experience for my guests. Don't ask me why I even think about this stuff.

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So we were off to our next stop, The River East Arts Center. I was excited to see this space as I had gone to a work event here previously and remembered how pretty it was. Also, with my art history background I thought it would be so fitting to get married in an art space (with disregard to the fact that M is an engineer and not at all artsy). The River East Arts Center was as pretty as I had remembered and the coordinator we met with was great. We had some concerns upon leaving though. One there were not two distinct spaces, instead the ceremony would have to transition to the reception space during cocktail hour. Not ideal but was it a deal breaker? Also, the issue of price. It was by far the most expensive venue we were looking at and we had heard rumblings of foreclosure. And finally there was only one catering option and I was not sure that I was ready to close that door as well.

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I was secretly giddy about our third stop of the day. A small but truly uniquely Chicago space called The Ivy Room @ Tree Studios. It was a historically restored building that is mostly used for artist galleries but has a spectacular courtyard that could be used for the ceremony and cocktail reception. The venue did not disappoint. It was thrilling to see the courtyard and I could imagine M and I saying our vows there. The reception space was hardwood floor and we looked through many inspiring pictures with the coordinator, Donna (she was fab) and were picturing our wedding there. Until we asked about the rain plan. Duh, duh, duh....

The rain plan would relegate our guests to the ceremony in the reception space and cocktail hour in a windowless rugged basement. It wasn't terrible. But picturing almost 200 of our nearest and dearest crammed into the tiny windowless space was uninspiring. So we left...feeling slightly less hopeful than we had upon arrival.

So what did we do next? My mom had one final suggestion that we visit on a whim...more details to come.

Bridesmaid Invites

I've been inspired by my best friend and soon to be bridesmaid L. She is getting married on May 1 and just asked us to be bridesmaids with the most adorable cards I have seen.

So I've been all over Etsy searching for an adorable bridesmaid invite for my bridal party. I love the cards with the dress silhouette on the front.

From Pink Avenue Brides

From Design with Style

Or maybe something a bit more sassy...

From Little Lady Company

What do you think?

Ceremony Location in My Dreams

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M and I are really struggling with our ceremony location (more on that later) but wouldn't it be delicious if we could just say our vows on the top stop of this beautiful stone building?

Honeymooning Thoughts

M and I spent a week at the Mandarin Oriental in Riviera Maya in January. Let me say it was a spectacularly luxurious vacation which ended after days of sunbathing with mango margaritas with a very romantic couples spa massage.

We're going back and forth about where we will honeymoon and we need help! We don't want to waste time on a long flight but want to really feel like we have gone someplace that is different and exotic.

Greek Isles? Aruba? Caymen Islands?

Inspiration without the Board

So it's been a bit tricky for me to put together the inevitable bridal inspiration board. Simply because I change my color crazed mind every two seconds. I wish I was the bride to be with a color theme in mind as it would help me to shape the cluster of boo-tiful images in my mind that lead to June 26, 2010.

Alas, I'm still at square one (which is currently light pewter, champagne, with a pop of apricot).

Regardless, I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of wedding-y goodness photos saved to google reader (love it) and some of my faves are below.

Unfortunately most of these were clipped before I started noting the source (with the Martha exception below) so if an image is yours please let me know and I will source ASAP.

Adore this for a fun favor.

Bistro inspired menus...yum

Simply Candle Chic

Chicago...A Bride's Kind of Town

Surprisingly I'm not like one of those typical chickies who has dreamt about her wedding her whole life and has it all figured out well before the ring is slipped on my tiny little finger. Sure after spending 8 years with my boyfriend and seeing a few of my best gals getting engaged, I had started to think about walking down the aisle but the only thing that I knew for sure was that I wanted a real Chicago CITY wedding

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I dreamt of fantastically Chicago wedding pictures like this. A perfectly romantic kiss surrounded by the city that I love.

Therefore when the ring was slipped on my finger by the lovely M (more on that story later), I had a few of the "tough" decisions already figured out. Little did I know the thousands of decisions that lay ahead of us on our wedding planning extravaganza.