If you are a wedding vendor or a bride-to-be or already tied the knot, you know that details in wedding design are always at the top of the list for most brides and any good blog and magazines. Well, I’m happy to say that Ingrid and Kevin’s wedding held at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort was nothing short of spectacular in every detail of the day.

I’ve always been a details kind of gal. Next to shoes and the gown, details are my second favorite aspect of a wedding that I love to immortalize! Just take a look at the list of awesome vendors that Ingrid selected and worked with…..with a meeting of creative minds like that, well the pictures speak for themselves! Stay tuned for Part II, which includes lots more yummy details from the cake to the reception tablescapes to of course, the bride and groom portraits!

~ Thanks Ingrid and Kevin for letting us do our ‘creative thing’ and being our inspiration! ~

~ The delicious details ~

Bridal gown: Rosa Clara
Bridal shoes: J. Crew
Make up design: Brandy Perkins – Nars – Saks Fifth Avenue of Naples
Bridal jewelry: Judith Ripka
Flower girl dresses: Us Angels
Savvy design and planning: Detailz Event Design
Wedding stationary design: Arabesque of Naples
Beautiful beach venue: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort
Delicious wedding cake: Ella’s cakes
Fabulous floral design: Garden District

 

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings, wedding design by Astrid
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We had such a wonderful time Monday at Grace Ormonde’s book signing party in Sarasota (her book tour is visiting 19 cities)! If you work in the wedding industry, are planning a wedding or just love to look at beautiful images of beautiful weddings and people in love, you have to check out Grace’s new book, “Being in love never goes out of style”. And let me tell you that this 416-page, 10+ pound behemoth is a true source of inspiration and will be for years to come. And yep, that cover is a metallic print, shot by Cheryl Richards. Grace has even provided a few chapters for download in case you’d like a preview, find them here!

A spectacular venue, beautiful lighting, florals and food were just some of the highlights of the evening. Grace personally autographed books while guests mingled and networked. We were very happy to meet some incredible talent in the Florida wedding industry and we also had a blast catching up with our very own Kelly McWilliiam’s from Weddings by Socialites. What an evening!

And for some wonderful shots of the evening at the Sarasota Ritz, shot by Ryan Joseph, make sure to visit Grace’s blog!

Tags: ramblings..., wedding design by Astrid
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Continuing on with Annemarie and Brian’s wedding day coverage, we really don’t want to write a lot down because the images do speak for themselves.

Annemarie and Brian have a wonderful chemistry that was so effortlessly captured. For us it was a process that we relish: ask a couple to be themselves in front of our lenses and voila! Great chemistry, captured emotions and memorable images.

Look at this beautiful couple and tell us that that we don’t have the best job ever!

~ The fabulous and delicious details ~

The gown! Maggie Sottero (Destination Collection)

Beautiful beach venue: La Playa Beach and Golf Resort

Delicious delectable wedding cake: Ella’s cakes

Gorgeous botanicals: Botanicals on the Gulf

Arch design: Planned Perfection

 

And what’s not to love about having a destination wedding on a Naples, Florida beach?

 

Old Florida Style. That’s what you can find at La Playa…..not to mention just the right nooks and crannies for amazing pictures!

 

Living in Europe, Annemarie and Brian LOVE to travel this great planet of ours. For their seating chart, they picked different countries they had visited as the table names….and listed each guest under each country. How cool and original is that?

 

Annemarie selected the most beautiful shade of orange as her main color. It’s really a rich and beautiful tone that is easily implemented in a wide range of ways.

One of her dear friends designed all of her menus and invitations, and of course, there’s a shot of their signature drink, the ‘ABtini’. And another design that stood out for me: Annemarie had one of the most unique cake cutting/champagne flute sets I’ve ever seen.

 

 

Some of Brian’s frat friends gathered around Annemarie, along with Brian, and serenaded her! What girl wouldn’t love that! And last but not least, the infamous Lantern Lane at La Playa….the perfect spot to close out another beautifully unique wedding. Congratulations to you both!

 

Tags: Florida Weddings, Naples Florida weddings, wedding design by Astrid
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It’s that time again….spring is in the air, actually, right around the corner according to WikiAnswers. Wiki says that spring this year is set to start March 20th. So I’m doing pretty good about getting a head start on bridal gown trends for spring and 2010.

Wow. 2010. That sounds so futuristic, don’t you think? I’m happy to see that a little bit of that future glow can be found in some of the bridal gown trends I found.

Just like last my research last year showed, the experts have a bit of the old back and forth on picking trends, so I’ve listed my favorites here along with lots of juicy links, pictures and videos. Next to the cake, the gown is really the funnest to go shopping for….I took out my bridal gown just the other day and it almost made me cry. Yep. The power of that one piece of fabric is really special, so ladies, make sure you follow your gut when picking out your gown. Get what you’ve always dreamed of.

• So what’s the big trend I see a lot of right now? One-shoulder styles. It seems that First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off this trend when she wore the one-shoulder Jason Wu creation to the President’s inaugural Ball. It’s elegant, regal and classic in all the right ways. And her gown would make an absolutely beautiful wedding gown, wouldn’t it?

• And here’s an example from one of my beautiful brides, Annemarie, who got married at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort here in Naples, Florida. Her gown, an absolutely breathtaking design from Maggie Sottero’s Destination Collection really stole the show. It’s a one-piece with a corset closure and a single floral embellished shoulder strap made of billowing chiffon. Check out the gown’s url right here!

 

• A trend after my own heart: black! Whether it’s a bit of black in the gown’s details or yep! A totally all-black gown, black is not just for goths anymore! Want to check out an all black gown? AND it’s one-shouldered too AND it’s shot by the fabulous Jose Villa AND it’s worn with red boots? Check it out here at the Once Wed blog or here at Jose Villa’s blog! And for a few more selections of some totally fabulous black gowns, check out this post, BLACK GOWNS WITH BIG IMPACT I {heart} romona keveza I am Woman… Watch Me Lure over at the Knotty Bride!

 

• I’m sure that if you are a bride researching for ideas, trends etc. you haven’t missed the fact that vintage is very, very popular right now. Goes to say that 50’s flair in bridal gowns is a very hot trend this year, too. Think high necklines, tulle skirts and tea-length styles on the runways. I love this look, birdcage veil and all and if you can’t find it, have Unique Vintage make it to order for you!

 

• Another hot trend for 2010? Bows! Big, tiny, huge, droopy or structured anything goes when it comes to bows! The beautiful gown below belongs to one of my brides….Michelle’s gown, from Casablanca Bridal, has a really different half bow with tails and a lovely rhinestone detail. Beautiful!

 

• Metallic touches! Add a touch of futuristic metallic fabric to your gown and you are set to shimmer all night long! I’d love to pair this up with a black gown. Yum!

 

• Touches of flowers or anything garden-inspired like vines and leaves! LOVE it! As you can probably tell from our website and blog design is that I’m a nut for garden inspiration….And I’ve seen some really lovely gowns with touches of garden love. Here are a few that I found and love!

 

• And how fab is this gown from Spanish designer, Jorge Terra? I love it when I find a new designer I can’t stop gushing about. This gown would look SMASHING on the beach here in Naples!

 

• Coming in to round out the list are couture cover-ups! Gone are the days of the plain Jane wraps….say hello to ultra-sophisticated and ultra-unique from floor-length coats to airy boleros to detailed capelets. What’s not to love? Jorge Terra has some again, unique and really stunning cover-ups! If you are looking for some inspiring ideas, head on over to his website here! If you’d like to see a nifty slide show of his 2010 Bridal Collection during the Madrid Cibeles Novias (bridal fashion shows that feature the latest in bridal trends Made in Spain), visit the CanalBoda (wedding channel in Spanish). And isn’t that turquoise cover up absolutely stunning? Makes me wish I could plan my wedding all over again!

Tags: gowns, cakes and shoes, ramblings..., wedding design by Astrid
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Living in Naples for most of my life, I sometimes take it for granted just what a beautiful area this really is. I was recently at the beach on a family outing and as usual, we brought home a pail full of lovely shell beauties. It got me thinking that this is really what destination weddings are all about. Something different, something beautiful and something that inspires feelings. A lot of my brides come down here ready to enjoy the beach-themed wedding and often ask me for ideas on gifts for their maids of honor or bridesmaids. They often times say that they want something unique and something that will remind the recipient of that very special day. So I went hunting at some of my favorite little shops on 5th Avenue here in Naples and had to post this!

These little treasure seascape pyramids are handmade right here in the USA by Pam Smith and are filled with, you guessed it, sand and shells! All of these little yummies are encased in beveled glass. When I saw these I thought, how beautiful and unique! They would make the perfect little gift to thank that special bridesmaid or family member for all their help. And think of the memories they would conjure up later on. Fabulous! Find them at Random Acts of Art on 5th avenue, Naples, Florida! And if you’re a mom, check out Pam’s water prisms! Fill them up with water and hang thme up in your kid’s room and let the sun shine through for the most amazing prism rainbows ever!

 

 

 

Rani, the fantabulous owner of Random Acts of Art, also showed me these beautiful little ‘flower pillows’ made by Evan & Kyanne Livingston. These small vessels are glazed on the inside so that you can fill them with water, place flowers in them and voila! Beautiful and unique flower holders. Wouldn’t these be a great way to say thank you!

 

 

If you are visiting Naples, make sure to stop in and visit Random Acts of Art for some truly unique and fun handcrafted art! Not in the area? Visit the website for online ordering. On Twitter or Facebook? Follow Rani and become a fan!

 

Tags: wedding design by Astrid
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