Hinda & Jeff

We will wrap up October with a Real PINK Wedding. Hinda and Jeff were married on August 15th at the Marriott Evergreen Resort. Hinda chose a fun and preppy color palette of navy + hot pink. The girls wore navy and Hinda gave each of them a hot pink fabric flower to wear how they would like. Some chose to put it in their hair and others on their dress. Hinda also chose different pink flowers for each bridesmaid and the groomsman they walked with had a coordinating boutonniere. Hinda really wanted to wear a gardenia in her hair, but because gardenia's are so delicate and it was so warm, we knew it would brown easily. So, Hinda ordered a ceramic gardenia from etsy and it was perfect!


The reception had more fabulous pink and navy details and a very festive LSU Groom's cake!


A few other details I loved...

The groomsmen's coordinating navy and pink ties


And two details that include carnations, which I really do think are pretty in mass: the navy and white escort cards were placed on a bed of hot pink carnations- so fun!


And the hot pink pomanders complete with navy ribbon on the reserved ceremony rows.


Congratulations Hinda & Jeff! Thank you to the fabulous photographer Robin Nathan for these pretty pics!



Happy PINK Friday!

Love this pretty pink pic from Elizabeth Messina.


A Real Ashley Baber Weddings PINK wedding to wrap up Breast Cancer Awareness Month on the blog tomorrow.

PINK favor ideas

Obviously these cute DIY favors from Martha Stewart can be made to match your wedding colors, but we especially like them in PINK this month!

Soft PINK and pretty


Found here {Unsure of the original source, but I believe the majority of the images are from Martha Stewart. Please let me know if I should credit you!}

Charis & Lorenza

Charis and Lorenza were married on August 29th at Chateau Elan just North of Atlanta. I adored Charis' Monique Lhuillier lace gown and Jimmy Choos with the blue soles for a little something blue!


Charis thought of so many sweet touches including this custom ring bowl from Paloma's Nest and custom cuff links for the Groom featuring the couples wedding date and one of their engagement pictures.


It was a gorgeous day at the vineyard! Charis took some photos before the ceremony began.


How cute are these flower girls!?


The bridal party headed out to the vineyard for photos after the ceremony. The girls all wore Two Birds Bridesmaids dresses, which are so fun!, tied in a different way.


Charis and Lorenza made a photo post card for their thank yous that includes this great shot...


Onto the reception! Love this first dance shot!


Charis had great paper details- all coordinated in black & white damask with the couples name and wedding date.


Charis' cake was beautiful! It was designed to match the lace on her gown and even had a matching brooch!


Both Charis and Lorenza are Physicians, so the Groom's cake was perfect! The prescription on the bottle next to the cake reads "Love Charis every day for the rest of your life." Cute!


Sparkler exit!
Congratulations, Charis & Lorenza! It was so much fun to work with you both through the wedding planning process. Thank you Rashida Harrington for sharing these beautiful pictures!

Fabulous Frock Friday


We love it when our brides wear fun heels that peek out from under their wedding gown. And I love these PINK Christian Louboutins. Happy Friday!

Impressive PINK causes

I am often impressed with various vendors in the wedding industry because of their business savvy or line up of amazing clients and weddings. I am impressed with these three ladies on both a professional and a personal level for their involvement in these three breast cancer charities.

Up first- Linda Murray of the amazingly talented photographers David Murray Weddings. Linda created Project Pink after producing the award-winning documentary The Breast Cancer Diaries.


"Project Pink offers help and hope to young women with breast cancer. It began with the acclaimed documentary film The Breast Cancer Diaries and turned into a cause. Project Pink partners with cancer care centers to provide outreach and support through screenings of The Breast Cancer Diaries and through Project Pink Swag Bags. Our hot pink swag bags are designed for young women undergoing chemotherapy. Each bag has a DVD copy of The Breast Cancer Diaries; a pink diary; pen and other goodies provided by local sponsors." Contact Project Pink to get involved or donate products.


Liene Stevens of Blue Orchid Weddings and Splendid Communications is on the board of Pink Initiative. She was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to let us know more about this charity that was started by wedding photographer Emilie Sommer of emilie inc.



"Pink Initiative is a collection of wedding industry professionals and private donors dedicated to funding awareness, outreach, education and research for breast cancer." Here is how wedding vendors can become get involved in the cause and become sponsors:

Sponsorship requirements are twofold:
1. You must donate quarterly or annually to the Pink Initiative.
2. You must display the Pink Initiative logo on your blog and/or website.

In return, Pink Initiative will list your business name and link on our website. We will also keep you posted with regular updates of our fundraising goals and outreach opportunities.

Liene says, "We encourage members to come up with their own grassroots efforts to support Pink Initiative. Some examples of our members efforts include raising money through running a marathon, hosting a up a networking golf tournament for event professionals, doing special boudoir or portrait shoots and donating a portion of the proceeds, and so on. Really, the only limit is your imagination." Anyone- including brides- can make a donation here. This would be a great donation in lieu of wedding favors as Liene demonstrated for her recent tablescape shoot with Bride and Bloom Magazine...



I am also so impressed with the efforts of Lei Lydle, founder of AtlantaBridal.com, who sponsors the Atlanta Brides Against Breast Cancer event each year.


You may just find the designer gown of your dreams at a fraction of the cost all while benefiting an amazing charity {Making Memories} at the annual Brides Against Breast Cancer gown sale. The annual event typically takes place in early Spring. Check AtlantaBridal.com frequently to learn when and where the sale will be in 2010.

Please make the time to get involved with one of these amazing causes today.

Get Married Magazine PINK Cover Shoot

Gorgeous cover shoot full of PINK details for the new Get Married Magazine shot by Elizabeth Messina. Brilliant.

PINK Bouquet and Boutonniere Inspiration

Photos found on:
Row 1: MS, Loop Flowers, MS Row 2: All MS Row 3: MS, MS, Project Wedding Row 4: Project Wedding, MS, MS

Robin & Neill featured on the Completely Unveiled Blog!

Yay! We are excited to see Robin and Neill's wedding on Weddings Unveiled Magazine's Completely Unveiled blog today! This is definitely one of our favorite weddings!

Eco-Chic Tablescape

We were recently given the task of designing an "Eco-Chic" themed tablescape for the Atlantan Brides Evening of Bridal Luxury at the Hotel Palomar. I so often see "Eco" designs that are, for whatever reason, modern and usually green in color that include things like wheat grass and succulents. I wanted to go a different direction and show that "Eco" can be pretty, soft, romantic... Here is what we came up with!


I conceptualized the design based upon a couple getting married at their family farm. The Bride and Groom want to be sure they have a very minimal carbon footprint with their event, so they used all local, sustainable, organic and recycled materials whenever possible. We recycled existing glassware for vases- pieces that family and friends provided- which also makes the table settings sentimental. The base linens were made of recycled bottles and the hemstitch overlay was rented from a company that uses eco-friendly cleaning practices. We used bamboo when possible because it is a truly sustainable and renewable resource {It's the fastest growing plant on this planet; it grows without pesticides or fertilizers; and it requires very little water to grow}. Our plates and flatware are biodegradable bamboo and the lovely stationery from Luxe Expressions was all letterpressed on bamboo paper from Smock. The guest book created by Ross Oscar Knight had mounted photos of the couple's engagement shoot in a recycled paper journal. Even our exit was oh-so-eco-chic! A bicycle adorned with a "Just Married" sign and cans strung from twine.

Thank you to David and Kevin of Chelsea Floral Designs for providing us with the perfect flowers to complete "the look." And I stumbled upon the best eco-friendly boutique while resourcing items for this project. The EcoEmporium in West Midtown has a wonderful selection of eco-friendly items for weddings including the bamboo plates and flatware we used, registry items such as this recycled glass collection and organic cotton bedding. They even feature eco wedding gowns from Natural Bridals.

Thank you to Laura Stone of A R T S T A R photography for taking these beautiful images and sharing them with us!

Kaitlyn & Sam in Weddings Unveiled Magazine

If you have not already done so, be sure you pick up a copy of the latest {and always gorgeous} Weddings Unveiled Magazine. We are thrilled that Kaitlyn and Sam's wedding {the FreeWedding} was included in the Fall issue that is FULL of amazing inspiration. Be sure you also check out the Weddings Unveiled blog: Completely Unveiled.

Fabulous Frock Friday


You know we had to do it-- a PINK gown! This gorgeous gown comes from Vera Wang. I love the ruffle detailing.

October!

I absolutely cannot believe it is already October. Last year we dedicated the entire month of October to Breast Cancer Awareness with as many pink posts as possible. My mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer {it appears she will be fine}, so this year this cause is especially close to home. I intend to really try to do this again this year with the majority of the posts {besides real weddings} this month to include some PINK! To get us started, I adore this pink board from Snippet & Ink.


Top row from left: room with wallpaper and radiator via This is Glamorous, peach ranunculus bouquet by Saipua, pink and gold stationery from Martha Stewart Weddings, Twigs & Honey vintage bridal fascinator photo by Elizabeth Messina
Row 2: silhouette sugar cookies photo by Sarah K. Chen, vintage floral print dress with sweet pea bouquet by Wild at Heart via {frolic!}, peach and sepia garden rose bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings, gold jewelry and dish via Perfect Bound
Row 3: guest book from Wedding Style Guide, gold orchid and millinery flower bouquet and cornucopia napkin place setting both from Martha Stewart Weddings, afternoon tea via Design*Sponge

Ladies: Please do your self-exams and if you are eligible, get a mammogram!