what I love: revamping!

More often than not in life, things need a bit of revamping. What is revamping you might ask? Revamping is reconstruction, re-thinking, re-working, re-loving! Great. Well how does it apply to me? For some, like Cher in Clueless, revamping means a new attitude, a new wardrobe and new friends.

Well for me, it was this here blog that needed a bit of revamping - and revamping we did! Along with a new design, we have given it a significantly more appropriate (and fabulous!) name, this, I love. After all this blog is all about those inspirations that we love - those inspirations us that move us and that make us excited to live and learn every day.

So welcome, my loves, to our new and revamped blog this, I love.

Take a look around.

What do you think? You love it?

what I love: macarons!

It is officially the holiday season now that Thanksgiving is over. I know. I got a little carried away last week when I already started posting about gifts, but how could I resist?! The fact of the matter is, though, now the Christmas music is on the radio, the trees are being sold on every street corner, and the lights have gone up. There's no denying it now. With Christmas, undoubtedly comes cookies. One of my favorites (and my love of this week): MACARONS!

photo credit: Culinary Life in Berlin

Macarons simply scream "holidays" to me. Honestly. They're chewy goodness is undeniably amazing with every bite. What's even better? For all my DIY lovers out there, a fabulous recipe from Vanilla Bakery courtesy of SMP. Check it out here: http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/12/03/holiday-diy-project-by-vanilla-bakeshop/

photo courtesy of Style Me Pretty

What do you say? You love macarons? Is there another cookie that you adore more? Please share!

random love: happy thanksgivings!

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone! Make sure to enjoy it with your family + friends!Photo Source: Sherman Chu via Project Wedding

what I love: etsy for presents!

Okay, so unless you've been living under a largely over enlarged rock for the last few years, its pretty likely you've heard of the amazing crafter's online paradise called Etsy. And if you happen to be one of the few that did happen to find themselves under that enlarged rock, let me explain the amazingness which is Etsy!

Etsy is a crafter's (and craft lover's) paradise, and I'll tell you why. Etsy is a place for all people who make things. Whether you make your living with it or you make it in your spare time, you can sell it on Etsy. Whether you've been doing it for six months or doing it for six years, you can sell it on Etsy.

And when I say it, I mean EVERYTHING - from felt cup cozies, to earrings, to hand-bound notebooks, to furniture, to pottery to EVERYTHING! When it first started in 2005, there were just a few hundred items being sold on Etsy. Now, in just the month of October 2009, there were 1,065,475 items sold.

Items are being listed and sold constantly, which is exactly why Etsy is my love this week.

We all have to face the fact that in the coming weeks, there will be many presents to buy - for weddings, for birthdays, but most of all, for the holidays. It is an undeniable fact. Yes, we can wake up at the butt-crack of dawn on Friday and make our way to all those crazy stores and buy our friends and family mass-produced items that, likely, 15 of their friends will also have. OR we can wake up at a sane hour, log on to Etsy.com, and buy our friends and family heartfelt, handmade gifts that mean something. You choose. (I'm going with the latter.)

So my love this week is officially Etsy for presents! What do you think? Check it out and let me know if you love it too!

what I love: sofitel!

Okay, my loves! I'm back from the dead. Well, not so much the dead as the "nearly dead", but who's keeping track?

I have great news for you! Invited has some fabulous new clients who are based in London but are having an amazing wedding in DC. The even better news is we're having their wedding and reception at a beautiful venue (which also happens to be my "love" this week) the Hotel Sofitel!! That's right! This week I love the Sofitel, and let me tell you why! With its French and Art Deco inspired sensibility, it is a surefire location for a beautiful event - no matter the theme! They have a gorgeous Art Deco ballroom with some amazing chandeliers!

And, most importantly, a pretty photorealistic mural of the City of Lights! (Might not be perfect for all weddings and events, but that's the beauty of pipe and drape, right?) Nonetheless this space is perfect for a small and intimate wedding, and I just can't wait to put on a fabulous event there next fall!

What do you say? You love?

love: coming soon!

Ok, I have a good excuse - a really good excuse - for why there was no featured love this week. I had the swine flu. For real. Well, it may have not been the swine flu. It may have been the regular old flu, but all I know is it took me out. OUT.

So there was no featured love this week, cause the only thing I loved this week was water, orange juice and my sofa.

Next week - I promise, there will be love again!

what I love: you are the best thing, ray lamontagne

Alright ladies, there's a new man that must take a place in your life. Trust me. You really want him in your life. His name? Ray LaMontagne.

Photo Credit: RayLaMontagne.com

Let me tell you: he is the BEST thing. "You Are The Best Thing" simply - Rocks. My. World. If you haven't heard of him yet, you need to now. I'm loving his songs for first dance ideas, recessionals, anything really! But what better sentiment to begin your life together?! Truly the "Best Thing".

Last week, I was lucky enough to see him live, and I died for it! He's amazing in concert with a cool, laid-back tone while delivering each line like he's got his woman standing right there in front of him - telling her just how great she is. Whether he's singing "Let It Be Me" or "You Are The Best Thing"


So what can I say? What I love this week? I love the "Best Thing" and the man behind that sexifabulous music, Ray LaMontagne.

what I love: papertape films

Okay my love-lies! I was away for a bit with last-minute clients who flew in from London. Needless to say, I was strapped for time! Strapped for time = no time for love! Though not to fear, as my Wednesday love is back this week!

What do I love this week, then? The answer is PaperTape Films!

For those of you who fell in love with 8mm film back in the day and never truly identified with the digital age, PaperTape Films is for you! I absolutely adore their work, no matter the city or venue!


In every video, they garner this very vintage quality to each frame that a normal digital videographer just can't do - even with all those fancy editing tricks! They're work is simply astounding.


Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.
You'll soon find yourself a believer.

This week I love PaperTape!

All photographs: credited to Paper Tape Films.

love: to be continued!

I know I've been pretty bad over this last week with updating my loves. With last minute clients flying in from London, this week's schedule was thrown for a bit of a loop! Though I swear that a new post will soon happen!

This Wednesday check back for my new love!

It's a fabulous one!

what I love: 9tailors

Alright, ladies. I've got a fabulous treat for you this week! Samantha Shih of 9tailors has come to tell you all about what she loves this week! Who would have guessed it? Of course - she loves a tailored shirt! If you love a tailored shirt too, let her know and she may well just give you a deal!

Here she is!

Ready to “Get Groomed?”

Photo by:Lens CAP Productions

D.C. Brides - So much attention is placed on the bride and bridemaids, but what about the groom and his attendants? It’s time they get some attention!

9tailors is the premier online custom tailor that makes dress shirts for grooms and groomsmen. While the white shirt is definitely a classic, a bride shouldn’t feel like she has to default to this color. Having ivory, blue, coral, mint, cream or citrus in your wedding? With over 600 types of fabrics to choose from, a bride can find a shirting fabric that matches her colors scheme. And, the best part? All custom dress shirts start at $60.00.

Photo by: Christian Schlubach

Here's what one groom had to say:

“9tailors made the shirts for the my groomsmen in my wedding. Not only were the shirts exactly what I asked for (cuffs, collar, color were just as I envisioned), the fit was amazing. All four of my guys raved that their shirts were the best fitted shirts they've ever had. Sam and her crew go through the whole process with you, from choosing the design, to the final fitting. We all loved the shirts as soon as we put them on. But since Sam was so diligent about following up and insisting on quality and the right fit, I know that if we had had an issue she would have fixed it to our liking. I know that I'll be going back to 9tailors! And I have a feeling I've won over a few groomsmen and many guests at my wedding as we got many compliments!”

- Max, Boston

Photo by: Christian Schlubach

Wedding parties will receive a 20% discount when they mention "Invited." Offer good through October 31, 2009.

Need help styling your groom? Contact a Wedding Specialist weddings@9tailors.com or at 909-90-SHIRTS (909-907-4478).

what I love: style me pretty's style circle

Okay, I don't know if you've checked it out yet, though I'm certain you've heard word of it on the streets: Style Circle. Style Me Pretty (yes, the fabulous blog with all things weddings) has created an amazing Circle of wedding lovers.

The Style Circle is composed of all those who love weddings - a place for them to chat, share concepts, color schemes, and best of all (what I love) inspiration boards! They have this magic inspiration board maker that provides the format, the pictures, the ideas - the everything! It's amazing, to say the least.

Look at what I produced in no more than 15 minutes!

Credits: Docuvitae, Karen Wise, Millie Holloman Photography, Raya Carlisle Photography, Jose Villa

You don't have to be jealous of this awesome inspiration board though, because you can hop right on over to the Style Circle and make one yourself - right quick! Trust me (I don't have to ask) you'll love, love, love it!

random love: sloan photography

Okay, I love this so much that I had to throw in a little something special on a random day, I know. But I just couldn't wait! Trust me!


You'll love Sloan Photography too - especially when you see these amazing photos of Stacie and Geoff during a recent "in love" photo session.

Now they're based in Arizona, so don't get your hopes up yet... but I'm pretty sure that for the right price you can export their amazing talents to any town!

all photos courtesy of Sloan Photography

I can't tell you in any words how much I love this photo session! What do you say? Do you love?

what I love: love!

Okay, I must admit: I love love. I'm lucky enough to be in an industry that surrounds itself with it, and I'm lucky enough to witness it on a nearly daily basis. (So far not a single bridezilla has come through the doors of my office!) So what better thing to love this Wednesday then a poster that screams LOVE - literally!

MadeByGirl has created a poster that I adore. They call it Love Candy.

Appropriately named because it comes in an array of colors that are all reminiscent of a trip down to the local candy store.


All I have to say is, "MadeByGirl, I love."How adorable, right? What do you say? Do you love, love this Love Candy?

what I love: fonts for peas!

Alright all you DIY brides out there, I have a special "love" for you this week: Fonts for Peas! Have you ever wanted to personalize a note, letter, or placecard, but you just don't want to spend all that time handwriting each item? Well for you I present Fonts for Peas!


Fonts for Peas is the brainchild of a wonderful couple - Kevin and Amanda. They decided that they wanted to provide for all us lucky people the possibility of fabulous handwriting fonts! More importantly, they decided that they wanted to provide us the opportunity to make our OWN handwriting into a font!

Here's how it works: you write down all the letters from A-Z with a felt tip pen


scan your image in, send your .jpg over to them


and don't forget to name your font!


How great is this?! I can't help but adore all of the fonts on their site! I almost don't want to ruin it with my one of my own! Though one must admit, this does provide - for the DIYer - the possibility to truly personalize all the place cards, table names, menus, welcome notes, (the list goes on and on!) for their wedding without all the extra work!


So undoubtedly, what I love this week is Fonts for Peas. What do you think? Do you love it?

All Photo Credits: Fonts for Peas

what I love: details!

This week I have a very special surprise for all you readers - we have a guest blogger! I wanted to introduce Allison O'Grady, who will be telling us all about what she loves this week. How about I let her introduce herself? Here she is...

First of all, thanks to Pavaune for allowing me to guest post today! I absolutely love weddings and though I am not even getting married, I spend way too many hours each day looking at wedding blogs, photos and Etsy wedding shops!

My name is Allison O'Grady, and I am the owner of the Aspiring Couture online boutique. We even have a small wedding dress section. I have a blog, Aspiring Couture , where I display aspiring designers. I show my favorite wedding ideas on Wednesdays over on my blog, but today I get to share some of my favorite wedding ideas for you!

And now, on to what Allison loves this week:

Attention to detail. Aaaah, how I love those little details that you notice out of the corner of your eye, those little things that make your wedding yours. Without details, all weddings would look pretty much the same. It is important, when planning you wedding, to focus on the details and create a space which represents the two of you to the world for the first time!

With Etsy, Twitter and so many other social networking sites, it is now easier than ever for aspiring artists to debut their products. Finding those creative ideas that represent you as a couple has never been so simple. I have become so inspired by many blogs, Etsy shops,
etc. which offer these creative new ideas that have never been done before. I wanted to share some of my favorites and give you an idea of how to use other people's ideas to create your unique wedding!

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

I had the idea a long time ago to have personalized M&Ms at my wedding, but in jars for people to grab from is such a cute way to do it!

Photo Credit: MoodLites

I love lights, so I love this idea of colored paper flower lights! Having tons of these around would create unique lighting for your reception.

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

I love the idea of hanging paper lanterns as well! Decoration and function! That's the best. Plus you can see many different ways you can use lights to create your own ambiance.

Photo Credit: Corkey Creations

Here is a simple and small detail, but it is more original than just normal wine corks, don't you think? Details as small as these will be noticed and often get most people raving about how perfect your wedding was, right down to the place card holders!

Photo Credit: Unknown

See the chandeliers? The pillows? All these details make up this relaxed and creative-looking wedding! When looking at pictures, find those small things that really tie the area together and use those in your own planning.

Photo Credit: Unknown

This is my favorite! I love this picture for the dress, the couch and the
colors! I love the collar of the dress, though I may not want that for myself
necessarily. I think that it would be perfect for the bridesmaids though. They wouldn't be wearing normal "bridesmaids dresses" and would add something unique to the look of the wedding.Perfect!

There are my tidbits for the day! I hope I have inspired some
fantastic ideas inside of you all which will fit your wedding
perfectly!

It looks like Allison is loving those details this week! What do you think do you love, love those details?

what I love: garters!

Okay, ladies (and gents, if you're out there) there's a tradition that some of us have forgotten about or decided to do away with or thought was silly, etc, etc, etc - that must come back. That tradition is the garter!

This week I'm loving garters! A garter has a long and sorted history, as one of my favorite garter makers in the industry outlined for us. But let's remember, the history of the garter doesn't define it's present. Because let me be the first to tell you - it's "present" is undeniably fabulous!

Photo credit: Josh Root

At one point in time, the garter may have just been a tool to hold up one's socks, now they're a tool to get those socks kicked off right quick! I assure you that the right one will do wonders! If you want it to scream "sexy", there are sexy ones.

Photo Credit: The Garter Girl

If you want it to whisper "demure", there are demure ones.

Photo Credit: The Garter Girl

But no matter what you want your garter to say, ladies, I say, "make sure you've got one for your big day"! Garters are what I love this week? What do you think? Do you love them too?

what i love: tangerine

Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty

Many of us out there think that as soon as the summer sun has begun to set, we can no longer include bright colors in our color schemes. Au contraire! Tangerine is a fabulous color that, due to its warm tone, works amazingly well in all spring, summer and FALL color schemes - and it's beautiful to boot!

It can be incorporated in little details - just like in the perfect wedding featured above, or it can even take center stage as your bridal bouquet! Don't forget that you can pair it with any beautiful neutral in order to complement nearly any wedding theme or ambiance!

What do you think? Do you love, love tangerine?

Photo credit: Martha Stewart Weddings

what I love: twobirds dresses

All I have to say is "Love!" If you haven't ever heard of TwoBirds, it was founded by the fabulous Ariane Goldman, who finally decided enough was enough when it came to tacky (aka tackalicious) bridesmaids dresses. So she decided to come up with a solution, and TwoBirds was born. Thank God it was!

Photo Credit: TwoBirds

TwoBirds is the first dress I recommend to a bride who has yet to decide on what she wants her bridesmaids to wear, and here's why: the dress is completely customizable. The fabric is a unique quality jersey that falls beautifully on any body. Most importantly due to the nature of the dress, it fits - literally - any event, from a coast to a castle!

Photo Credit: TwoBirds

So this Wednesday I'm in love with TwoBirds dresses... let me know if you're in love too!

invited on aspiring couture!

Hello everyone! I don't know if you've heard about a fabulous little blog called Aspiring Couture, but its a great new venture by the wonderful Ms. Allison O' Grady.

Photo courtesy of Aspiring Couture

She has taken to discussing weddings every Wednesday, and this Wednesday guess who she decided to feature - the lovely and talented owner of Invited, Pavaune Pearson, herself!

Check out the blog feature, and let me know what you think!

what I love: wednesdays

I wanted to get everyone ready for a new weekly feature that will be coming up in the very near future - What I Love: Wednesdays!

Each week myself, or one of my trusted experts in the wedding and event industries (and related fields) will discuss what they are in love with now. You'll be kept up to date on the freshest items and ideas happening in the industry from only the best in the industry!

Keep an eye out, as this feature will be here before you know it!

why: hire a planner?

Excerpted from Elizabeth Anne Designs

I have to tell you this is one of the best and most concise explanations I've ever seen as to why you need a planner for your wedding day - more than you might know!

"I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked this question! Hiring a planner is the best investment you can make in your wedding.

Whether you hire one for the day of or the whole process, a planner can take the pressure off and make the planning process more fun and less stressful. Or course, if you watch those “reality” shows, you may ask yourself - “are they for real?!” Well, unfortunately, yes they are. Be careful! Just because someone planned their own wedding and is now charging dirt cheap prices for helping you, doesn’t make them a wedding planner. Florists are not wedding planners, the event coordinator at the club or the hotel is not a wedding planner and your Aunt Sally may be more than willing to help out, but she is not equipped to handle emergencies on your wedding day.

You want a planner that is there for YOU- from beginning to end! This is the most important day of your life! Don’t entrust it to just anyone. Ask questions, do your homework and get references."

what i love now: trash the dress shoots

Photo by K & K Photography

I have to say that one of my favorite trends emerging in the wedding photography arena right now is the "trash the dress" shoot!

If you've never heard of a "trash the dress" shoot, it is simply a day-after (or week-after, month-after, year-after, etc) photo shoot where you get to trash that beautiful white dress you wore on your wedding day. The thing to think about is this: when will you ever, ever, ever wear that gorgeous dress again? More than likely, it will be hanging in your closet for the next only-God-knows-how-many years doing nothing but attracting moths - so why not get some more beautiful (and fun) photos out of the dress before you have to get it cleaned and put away? Here is an example of a fabulous "trash the dress" shoot that some of my favorite photographers, K&K Photography, did just a bit ago!

What do you think? Could you see yourself getting down and dirty in your perfect, white wedding dress?

it's my birthday!

It's my birthday!

Has anyone noticed that as you age, your birthdays become less and less eventful? Honestly, being an event planner, one may believe that I would have the most beautifully detailed birthday parties for myself. (Surprise, I don't!) But if I did have the time to plan one and the perfect location to hold the event, these are just some of the details I would include for my day!

Keeping it bright with a lemon-y yellow theme, since a birthday is a celebration after all, and what screams celebrate more than yellow? I love the contrast of that beautiful purple with the yellow in those orchids (one of my favorite flowers, mind you)!

What ideas do you have for fabulous birthday color schemes?

invited on districtweddings.com!

I don't know if you've heard about an amazing little blog called District Weddings, but if you haven't - here's your introduction! They discuss all weddings, all the time, always DC. They have fabulous interviews, tips, real weddings, etc and on that note, they recently interviewed Invited!
Check it out here!

new brides and grooms!

Hello new brides and grooms!

What a fabulous time! The excitement of the upcoming events in your lives and the fun planning process about to ensue! Though this may not be the case for everyone - and whether it is or isn't, one can guarantee you're going to need help somewhere along the way. That's where we come in. When the planning gets tough, not so fun anymore or you just don't know where to begin, we step in and help lead you along the planning path!

Trust me. It doesn't have to be scary or frustrating getting ready for your big day, so let us help you make it enjoyable!