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