21 December, 2012

You Asked For It: NYE Pizazz

Hi!
It's crazay last minutes, I know, but I am going to a wedding on NYE.  It's a big, fancy affair and I want to look spectacular!  It's gotta be a dress, though.  Any suggestions?

Ooh, girl you are cutting it close.  BUT.  I can totes help you.  I love flashy, NYE weddings and am totes jellz that you'll be attending one.  Here's what I found ( I looked all ovah the place for a range of price points and stores, in case you are in a weird area with no dress shops.)


First up is the Project Alabama Goldleaf Cocktail Dress.  I found this at Anthro.  Killah.  It's a bit pricey at $258, but it's cramazing!



Next, we have a shift with a kick!  From White House Black Market, this is easily in my top five.  Super cute, super chic and it looks super comfy.  It's also a nice length (I'm tired of super short, you know).  It's also a more modest $130.

I'm kind of living for this silk chiffon number from French Connection.  Great color, great cut and easy to dress up.  You can snag this at Nordstrom for $268. 

I feel like I like this dress from Topshop because of the Peter Pan collar.  Right?  It's 35" from shoulder to hem, so it might be a schoch short, but I see lots of potential.  It's $92.  It can't be wrong...



I found this Eliza J dress at Von Maur.  I kind of love it.  I think it's because of the color...and the jazzicle.  It's only $158 and I like that.





I couldn't help myself, I just had to throw more sequins at you.  So sue me.  Uh.  Muh.  GUD.  I am DYING over this French Connection dress in tribal teal (they're words, not mine).  So delish.  It's also our priciest piece at $298, but it is totally worth the coin, my friend.  Just look at it.

There, doll.  I hope I've given you enough to get you started.  You have a little time, so go.  Browse.  Whatever you choose will be magniff and I'm sure you'll blow their minds (within reason, of course.).
Kisses,
E



20 December, 2012

My New Favorite Bevvie Recipe

So, I love the holidays, it's no secret.  I love holiday parties even more.  This is my favorite thing right now:

{Champagne Jell-O Shots}



1 package Jell-O (I've used strawberry and white grape.  Both are amazing!  I find it's mostly a matter of taste)
1 C hot water
1 C Champagne or Sparkling Wine (Astis and Proseccos are my fave)
Decorating sugars or similar edible flair

1.  Bring water to boil.
2.  Mix Jell-O with water and stir until dissolved (approx 2 min.).
3.  Let cool to room temp.
4. Pour into ice cube tray or other mold (I used silicone hearts. Nauseatingly cute.)
5. Let that shizz chill in your fridge.
6. Once firm, dip mold in hot water for 5-ish seconds.  Use knife to free the edges.
7. Invert over tray or bowl.  Arrange.
8. Do beautiful things with your sugars, Sugar.

Enjoy!

Original recipe here.  I fiddled with the recipe a bit, cause I wanted some extra cuteness.

Photo: martha stewart

19 December, 2012

Technoluxe: Wedding App Round Up

It's been awhile since I featured a piece of the latest wedding technology here on Goldiblog, and I'll tell you why.  While I can see a use for this stuff (especially given my proclivity to remain in complete control of every situation), I think sometimes things like this can encourage couples to stay within the neatly outlined boxes that define our expectations for The Perfect Wedding.  I guess I've always imagined Goldiluxe couples to be a bit more daring and imaginative than that.

That said, I've gotten a lot of requests for app advice for iPad/iPhone.  So, like the faithful little blogger I am, I've collected some of the best the App Store has to offer...starting with some of my favorites.

1.  iWedding Deluxe-The Wedding Planner:  From Serendipity App Company, this is the most comprehensive wedding app I've seen.  It's got the basics like: seating arrangement, budgeting info, contact information, and venue information.  However, in what I think is a HUGE bonus, it's chock full of extras that can help you locate local vendors, manage guest list info and store inspirational photos.  For me, the icing on the cake is the countdown feature that allows you to stay on track as the big day approaches. At $5.99, the thing is basically a steal.


2.  Plan Your Wedding with Mindy Weiss:  This app comes to us from one of the coolest chicks in the biz.  Mindy Weiss is one of the most sought after wedding planners and lifestyle experts evah.  She's been planning amazing events for all our favorite A-listers, including Ellen DeGeneres, Gwen Stefani, and Heidi Klum.  Without sacrificing utility (you know, guests, vendors and budgets) this app puts the user in touch with the latest in wedding trends, including videos from Mindy herself.  For me this app is a little frillier and has a decidedly celeb-centric feel, but it's perfect for the dreamier among us.  You can find this on the App Store for a cool $7.99.  I think it's more than worth it for everything it does.


 3.  Wedding Budget:  This app from Sevenlogics, Inc. is the first free app on our list.  I think this one gets overlooked a bit because, let's face it, we want one app that does everything.  Wedding Budget just isn't that app.  It is the app for people who have prioritized staying on budget above everything else (which should probably be everybody...).  Using this app, you will be able to break your budget into components (flowers, attire, venue...you get the idea).  From there it will tell you how much money you have left, when payments are due and remind you how much your willing to spend on each category.


4.  WeddingScan:  This Organi Studios app is new to me, but as soon as I saw it, I was a big fan.  Basically, WeddingScan creates a custom registry by allowing couples to scan any item's barcode in any store.  The app uploads all the product information to the couple's WeddingScan.com registry.  No barcode?  No problem.  The app also allows you to take pictures and include descriptions.  Your guests then go to the website to purchase.  Multiple stores, one registry, one place for guests.  Easy peasy.  Currently, this app comes in at $2.99.


5.  Fun Wedding:  This little app from Intellegence, Inc. has been generating a lot of buzz lately.  Designed to be a reference tool, Fun Wedding allows users to keep track of their "must play" and "do not play" lists.  The idea is that with access to over 2 million song titles, broken up into 19 unique charts (eg. father/daughter, mother/son, first dance...etc.) keeping the dance floor packed will be a snap.  The major criticism I've seen is that because you can't preview songs you don't already know, the app loses a little in translation.  But, for those of us that are in love with lists, $0.99 is a small price to pay for piece of mind.  I can also imagine that this app would make communicating with your DJ much, much easier.


6.  Evernote:  Can I just say how ding dang much I LOVE Evernote. I just can't believe it's free! I was skeptical at first as I am of anything that promises to be my organizational savior, but this really is the shizz, so take a big whiff.  The website sums it up better than I ever could: "Capture anything.  Access anywhere.  Find things fast.".  Pretty brill, wouldn't you say!


7.  Pinterest: I really didn't think I could get away without mentioning Pinterest.  To be honest with you, I feel like I waited my whole life for Pinterest and now that I have it, I'll never let it go.  That's how fabulous it is.  By creating virtual pinboards, users can "pin" and organize inspirational photos.  The app (available for both iOS and Android) expands on this idea by incorporating your phone's camera.  Snap the things you love for your wedding and upload them to your board.  BRILL.  I find Pinterest most useful when trying to edit myself.  I am an artist at heart, so it's easy for me to get bogged down in the concept.  Pinterest allows me to cut through the bullshet and get to the point. 


There you have it.  Seven of my favorites.  Feel free to add to this list in the comments.

Kisses,
E


17 December, 2012

You Asked For It: You Say Vintage, I Say Retro

When I saw this in my mailbox, I just had to post it here. 

Hey, G!
Great blog!  I have a question for you though.  What's the difference between vintage and retro?  I see the terms LITERALLY everywhere and I think they're being used interchangeably.  I want to know what I'm getting.  Halp!

You are absolutely right.  These terms are TOTES misused in the age of the blogosphere, and let me tell you, it is making me nuts.  It's one of my five biggest pet peeves.  So, today, I'll set the record straight.  I'm also going to add 'antique' in here, too, because people don't seem to know when to use that, either.

{antique}: This word should be used to describe a work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, etc. created in a former period at least 100 years prior to date of purchase.  Fun, fact: The only known exception to this rule pertains to cars.  A car is classified as an antique when it was made 25 years prior to date of purchase.  Neat, huh?

This wedding dress was crafted in 1912, and is, by definition an antique.

{vintage}:  This should be used to describe a work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, etc. created or manufactured at least 25 years prior to date of purchase. So, yes, the 80's (well, 1980-1987, at least) are finally considered vintage.  Ooh, fun fact: originally the term 'vintage' solely applied to wine.  It's since been hijacked to describe desired items as they cycle back into fashion.  So, all that clothing from the 40's and 50's hanging in your closet?  Your delicious Herman Miller chair from 1962?  That's right, it's vintage and should not be referred to as antique.

Darling vintage wedding dress from the mid-50's.
{Retro}:  According to Merriam Webster, the term 'retro' means: relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past : fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned.  So, basically, anything new that resembles or is designed with an antique or vintage item in mind.  This can, and should be used interchangeably with 'vintage-inspired'.  While I'm at it, I think we can now agree that 'retro-inspired' isn't a thing, either.  It's either retro or it's not.


This tea length number by Oleg Cassini while retro, is neither vintage nor antique.
Okay, so unless you've been living under a rock for the last  five years (at least), you've noticed the near obsession with 'vintage weddings'.  As we now know, there is no such thing. As such, these terms are bandied about willy-nilly and have cost a lot of people a lot of money.  Do not let someone talk you into something that isn't worth the price tag. 

Kisses,
Erin


10 December, 2012

Luxe Life: Kori + David

Okay, this is a good one, y'all!  This Luxe Life submission comes to us from a high school friend of mine.  Kori was pretty much the baddest chick I knew.  She was so vibrantly, honestly herself at a time when the rest of us were just trying to fit in.  I don't have a lot of high school memories without her in them...I always admired how kind and sincere she was, even when things got shitty.  I wish I'd had the words then to tell her. 

So, she married some guy who's just as rad as she is from what I can tell.  They had this amazing wedding filled with personality and pizazz and she was nice enough to share it with us (and in her own words, no less!!)!  So here we go!


The Bride's dress was a compilation of many ideas rolled into one.  The veil was her "something borrowed. Something blue was in the form of her shoes and jewelry.  Something old was her great grandmother's
wedding ring, and a vintage petticoat found on eBay. The new items included the lace shrug and Watteau train, trimmed and created from the length of the dress itself, converting it from floor length, to tea length.

Color theme was selected via the couple's birthstones.  Sapphire blue for the bride and peridot green for the groom.  These colors are not only reflected throughout the wedding decor but in the wedding rings as well.

No live flowers were used in this wedding, but hand created paper origami ones were!  The bride spent many a winter night hand crafting her own bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets and 25 boutonnieres.  Some of the items were inspirations from DIY wedding craft books and others were found in origami tutorials
online.  Some words of advise--find a good glue that dries to paper quickly or you'll be sitting there holding your flowers together all night long.  Scrapbook paper can be found anywhere, but the bride's favorite was found at Hobby Lobby, as it was easy to fold and bend and stayed in place the best.


Instead of a typical unity candle or sand vase, the bride and groom opted for an original unity painting which the bride painted herself using acrylics.  During the wedding, they used a giant paint marker to sign their initials on a heart painted in the middle of a tree. Their painting is ceremoniously hung in their apartment living room now :)


  Another unique feature of this wedding is that there is no maid of honor, but a man of honor!  The bride's best friend from college stood up as her right hand man and her other girlfriends (one from high school, one from college, and one post college) graced her side just as loyally.

The guest book was sort of premade, and sort of hand made by the bride. It was created from one of K & Company's smashbooks. These scrapbooks are pre printed with a theme, but then it's up to the scrapbooker to fill in the rest and "smash" whatever they can into it.   A pen that doubles as a glue stick adorns the side, ready for guests to both sign a note, glue it, and smash it into the book!  It also includes sealable pockets that are perfect for wedding programs, cards, and toast speeches.

Both the bride and groom took pride in helping design the cake.  Not only did it fit the color scheme, but an inside joke as well.  The bride works for Apple computers, and both of them are avid cyclists, hence the cake topper.



To save money and be generous at the same time, the groom opted to buy his guys their shoes (Classic gray Chuck Taylors) as their gift, as well as give them comfortable footwear to stand in all day.  And let's face it,
the whole wedding was meant to be fun, a little bit trendy, and a whole lotta different a.k.a, not your typical Midwest wedding.

Other penny pinching and fun DIY projects included creating poster-sized menus to stick on the wall of the reception, a home-made photobooth which was a hit with kids and adults alike, and table centerpieces put together from glass vases from the local thrift shop.

Overall, the couple's goal was to throw a low-cost, fun, a-typical, and meaningful-to-them-wedding.  They threw out all of the expectations and chose everything from the colors, to the cake, to everything, and made sure it was significant to them, even if there was hidden meaning behind it.  Their best advice to other future wedding planners is this:  Do not be afraid to go out on a limb and be creative and do what you want to do.

Side note---None of this could have been done alone, so a special thank you goes out to the imagination and help of friends and family who all pitched in to make a very special and flawless day.

More Kori + David cuteness!  Enjoy! 





All pictures submitted were shared with permission from
Photographer Hanna Jorgensen
Blog
Facebook