Featured Stationary Designs by East Six

Take a sneak peak into the design set that East Six created for my clients Jennifer & Vincent. We are counting down to 26 days until their wedding! The invitations helped us to set the mood, and we can't wait to show the guests what else we have in store. If you are interested in the ultimate personal design for your save the dates, invitations, escort cards, table numbers, place cards, menus, everything, contact Marina and Stacey at East Six.

The entire design suite!

Escort cards

Foil-stamped, custom monogrammed stickers (we are actually going to use them on glass vases in the centerpieces)

Menu cards

Interior of programs

Exterior of programs, closeup

Exterior of programs

Invitation

Reply card

Reception card

Outer envelope - this was one of my favorite parts!

Invitations, closeup

Fantasy Bridal Shower

Victoria's Secret does their holiday fantasy bra every year - well this is my holiday (or not-so-holiday) fantasy bridal shower of the year. With the engagement rate spiking around Christmas (who can blame you, glowing trees, walking in winter wonderlands...), I figured it is about time to start dreaming up the perfect bridal shower. Why not dream big - your mom or your maid of honor is footing the bill (just kidding :-).

This is straight from Resource One and the photo was so well shot that I had to piece it together in four different sections. The serpentine table is covered with pink textured table skirt and top. Stools are covered with sweeping pink fabric and custom cow print cushions. Triangle plates save space on the unique table top, each with a off-set knife and fork. The middle of the table features a low, swirling wall of two-toned pink florals and silver cabaret lamps. Floating flower orbs decorate the buffet. Circular pink area rugs dot the carpet for added whimsy.

Perfect for your fantasy bridal shower, bachlorette party - or a few years down the line - a spoiled daughter's birthday party!

My Favorite Holiday Looks

I don't think that this picture exactly does it justice, but the peacock feather is officially my favorite holiday decorating accent this year! I passed by a window near Bryant Park a month or so ago and saw a tree made out of peacock feathers. Certainly nothing unusual or unheard-of, but it spoke to me. An unusual way, but still festive, peacock feathers add a bit of glamour to your holiday table settings (wedding or non), even add them after the holidays - this bird struts its stuff all year. I tucked a single feather into each napkin at our holiday party last week. Ask your florist to include the feathers in coordinating arrangements. (If they are too tall or too dramatic for lower arrangements, incorporate them into taller ones flaking doors or on the escort table.) Even mix them up with a bunch of other non-traditional materials and have guests shower you as you leave the church or reception! The motto of the peacock feather - be glamorous, strut-your-stuff, have fun (the motives of most brides I've known...)

Also non-traditional, I love this pattern of chocolate brown, aqua blue and winter white. Silver accents create a bit of sparkle. I also love the romantic reindeer as the napkin treatment - swap for a less holiday-specific accent if necessary! Create centerpieces solely from vases full of ornaments in your color palette, float ornaments in the base of potted plants (or miniature evergreen trees), do away with florals and feature an ornament holder only, or create a vase with floral foam and ornaments.

Honor the feeling of the holidays without donning red and green! Share your winter wedding pictures, send them to momentsbymorgan@yahoo.com. Favorites will be posted as inspiration for all of us.

Design Ideas

Silver damask print helps add elegance to this holiday setting. Single bloom place cards are easy to assemble and keep floral costs down.

http://www.blumebox.com/

Add your own embellishments to your bloombox. Shown above in silver, jewels were added to blue ribbon to add a unique touch to ivory roses and hypericum berries.

A photo from one of Accent Decor's latest showroom. Use the pieces above to create many different table-scapes. Small gold and silver trees are perfect accents for the restroom at your reception. Tall bubble vases keep sightlines open at ballroom tables, while still providing plenty of room for flowers or other interesting touches. Give candles a new look by placing sparkling gold pillar candles in the smaller bubble vases on an escort table or a buffet.

Shimmering Moet

Looking for the perfect holiday gift (for that over-the-top girlfriend), looking for something truly spectacular to impress your future mother-in-law? Or do you just want something else monogrammed?

Moet & Chandon has opened a crystallization boutique in New York City (Soho) through December 30th 2007. On Fridays, Saturdays & Sunday from 11am - 8pm, you can bring any pre-purchased Moet & Chandon 750ml or 15L bottle to be personalized with Swarovski crystals.

Up to 7 characters are allowed. The service costs about $30 and takes 24 hours. Go to 455 West Broadway between Prince & Houston Streets.

Maybe it is time to think about outrageously-awesome favors or thank you gifts.....

Moet Soho for more information!

Update Your Shoes

A great idea from Charles & Marie. Check out Absolutely Audrey for a complete line of adornments for your shoes. Whether they are what is hiding under your gown, or just a pick-me-up for your favorite pumps, revamp your shoe closet!

Another sentimental idea: why not grab your mother or grandmother's earrings, clip-on earrings, or broach to adorn your wedding shoes. A great way to honor someone on your special day!

New Tabletop Look from Party Rental

Oh the amazing things that you can find at rental companies. If you live near a major city, make it a point to take a trip to various rental showrooms. Each company has its own invetory and its own style (don't forget to include some prop houses too if possible!). If you can't get to a showroom, search design portfolios on their websites (usually a mixture of designs that in-house reps create and designs put together by event planners using their products). You can create any look without having to purchase a thing!

Get the Admiral Brocade Table look above from Party Rental Ltd.. Ask for:

• Admiral Brocade tablecloth (its reversible too!)
• Elite White Square Charger, Dinner & Lunch plates
• Carnegie Hill flatware
• Riedel Red & White Wine glasses
• Blue Ring Tinted glasses
• Chocolate Church Linen Napkin
• Square Lucite Napkin Ring

Not included in this list are a variety of hurricane shades, pillar candles, and votive candle holders. Go crazy and create your own style - for your Thanksgiving table, your engagement party or your wedding!

Eco-Chic Gift

Interested in going green for your wedding? Looking for ways to negate the carbon footprint? How about just subtley suggesting to your gas-guzzling, paper-wasting relatives that they should try to have a good impact on the environment.

Try this eco starter kit including a reusable, aluminum water bottle, a resuable grocery bag (bonus - some stores will give you a discount for bringin your own bags!), an energy-efficient CF light bulb, and an organic cotton t-shirt. Package sizes vary, price range is about $40-$50. You can even have them customize the packaging! Go to GreenSender for more information.

Fun Ties for Your Groomsmen

Suggested by a new blushing bride-to-be, Sarah, check out Vineyard Vines. At first glance, this might seem a bit too preppy for your taste. Take a closer look at the ties and cummerbunds.



Having a casual day wedding, or does your groom really want to express his personality. Let him choose ties in various colors all sporting his favorite gold motif. Or, ensure perfect coordination with your color scheme, and let each groomsman pick out his favorite pattern in your chosen color.



Look at the fun patterns available below:






A little pricey, but a great gift to groomsmen, and a great way to personalize the day for everyone involved!

Favor Buzz

Lagrange 34 has new chocolate line with contemporary design. There are six different shapes available, and they come in their own attractive packaging.

Bridesmaid Gift Idea

For gifts (or just for you!), you have to check out e.l.f. (eyes lips face). They have great products and just about all of the makeup and accessories on their site is only $1. I know that I am going to fill a shopping cart after I post this... Check out some of the gift sets below:

Starter Kit $5

2 Go Kit for $5

Gotta Have It Kit $25

Adorable (and Useful) Bridesmaids Gifts

Straight from the recommendations of one of my favorite future Brides, Maureen, Pouchee:

Available in black, red, khaki and pink with an adorable polka dot stripe at the top. It is about 7" x 5" and holds the essentials from your purse, making it very easy to switch from fantastic handbag to fantastic handbag each day. I has 8 outside pockets and 5 inside pockets.

The Purz-n-izer is a bigger model that can fit everything you need in your purse on a daily basis. It comes in three sizes: Small (7.5" x 5" - the same as the Pouchee), Medium (9" x 6") and Large (11.5" x 7.5") It also comes in fun patterns and colors, including: Pinko Polka Dot (pictured above), Black Tied, Pussy Cat, Bongo Blue, Solid Gold, and Black Jack Black.

Purseket is a larger type of product with a different look. It's many compartments fold to surround the outer walls of your purse, and the flexible shape allows it to fit into a variety of handbag sizes. Purseket also comes in various sizes: Small (7" H x 20" L), Medium (7" H x 26" L) and Large (8" H x 36" L). The patterns are a little more interesting than the other models, including a black and pink purse patterns, polka dots, French gold fans, bold pink circle patterns and more.

All of these great gift ideas are between $20 and $25. I suggest you look for someone who can embroider them with your wedding date, "Maid of Honor," "Mother of the Bride," and more!

Design Idea: New from Jamali

Everything below is new in the holiday section at Jamali Garden. I hope they inspire you!

Silver Royal Murex Shell - something really different that I haven't seen before. This works in the holiday season or for a summer beach wedding.

Red glitter coral fan. Again, this is something that will work outside of the holiday season. Though with the dark color and glitter, it is best for night weddings.

Platinum Bay Leaves Garland. This is also available in pre-made wreaths and sprays. Something to add texture to a gold color scheme. Great for night-time, formal weddings.

Peacock Spray - so different. You could use this as filler in a floral arrangements or to create a unique bouquet. This is for the Bride willing to be daring!

Multicolor Bead Garland - great to use around candles, inside clear glass vases, and more.

Multicolor Ball Spray - great again for filler in a floral arrangement. This is probably best for a colorful spring wedding or a bridal shower. You could even make entire arrangements out of this. A little floral foam under other flowers and these colorful balls can jump out of arrangements on your tables. Hit them with a pin spot at night and they will sparkle all over the place.

Crystal Garland - drape on branches at your escort table or around your cake.

Amber Crystal Drop - perfect to hang from the back of chairs with beautiful ribbon. Try the back of every other chivari, or similar, chair at your dining tables (works best with gold or brown chairs).

Blending Traditions to Form Your Perfect Union

The world is getting smaller; email, Internet, Google Earth, blogs. People from all over can connect with each other in an instant. It can therefore be expected that traditions from around the world are being brought into traditional Anglo-Saxon weddings. You no longer have to be a part of a religion or race to feel a special connection with specific customs and traditions. Below you can find a compilation of traditions that you can personalize and put into your ceremony or reception:

Unity Candle
I talked about unique unity ceremonies in a previous post. This has become a standard in a lot of American weddings. It usually consists of the Bride and Groom each holding a lighted candle to light a third, larger candle, together. There are a lot of variations, and this is a great way to include parents and grandparents, even children, in your ceremony.

Music
You might want to incorporate Scottish bagpipes to honor your fiance's heritage. You may want to include a full Gospel choir that reminds you of your childhood Sundays. More Eastern influences can be represented with ringing a Tibetan gong, including Flamenco dancers at your reception, or even something as simple as honoring the Bride's passion for ballet with a performance at the ceremony.

Handfasting
This custom started as a Pagan ritual, but is now incorporated into modern services. It consists of the couple's hands being tied with rope to symbolize their union. A great addition to this is including children from previous marriages: the children can be the ones binding your hands, showing their approval of your marriage. (By the way, this is most likely the tradition that started the phrase "tying the knot.")

Sharing of the Cup
This can be seen in many forms in various religions and cultures. The Bride and Groom drink of the same wine glasses (sometimes parents are included as well). Japanese couples who participate in Shinto weddings use sake to create the bonds of new family. French couples drinks from a coup de marraige (marriage cup) that has double handles during their reception. Irish guests gather round the couple and toast with mead.

Color Red
In the Chinese tradition, red is the color for joy and luck - the perfect accompaniment to your special day. Incorporate red into various aspects from linen to candles to favors.

Pretend to be Mary Poppins
That's right! English tradition says that it is good luck for the Bride to be kissed by a chimney sweep when she leaves the church. (Just be sure to have a handkerchief ready to wipe off the soot!) Brides also may wear a small horseshoe somewhere for good luck. A great twist on saving the top layer of cake, the British save the top layer to be eaten at the baptism of the first born child (not on the first anniversary as in America).

Breaking of China
No - not the Greeks - the Germans have a night called Polterbend (rumbling night) where everyone gathers around the Bride and Grooms and breaks china to scare away evil spirits. Purchase cheap chine - Dollar Store anyone? - and incorporate this into your dual bridal shower! Just make sure to watch out for your hardwood floor....

Turkish Shoes
Have all of your bridal attendants sign the bottom of your shoes. The name that wears off first will be the next to marry! (I guess this one depends on whether you are a big dancer or not...)

Veils of Fire
In Ancient Greece, Brides wore veils in red and yellow which was said to keep evil spirits and demons away. Greek Brides, even today, carry a lump of sugar with them on their wedding day to ensure that they have a sweet life. (It is little traditions like this, gathered throughout the years, and practiced by so many people that make a wedding day special! A moment that only you may know about, but a thought that will stay with you forever!)

Jewelry of the Dynasties
In Hindu, Pakistani and Muslim traditions, the Bride will cover her hands and feet in henna about a week before the ceremony. This process is called mehndi and done by a professional artist - other women in the bridal party can join in as well! This started as a way to mimic the jewelry worn by rich Muslim brides.

Luck 'O the Irish
Irish Brides also carry horseshoes for good luck (though no longer ones that were on the foot of a horse only three hours prior...) Bells are said to keep away evil spirits, so bells have become a traditional gift.

Luck Charms from Around the World
Horseshoes in Ireland and England are concealed on the Bride. Swedish Brides are given a gold coin by their mother to put in the right shoe and a silver coin for the left. Irish Brides usually put a penny in their shoes for good luck. Mediterranean countries practice the giving of Jordan almonds to represent the bitter and sweet sides of marriage (these can also be symbols of fertility). The evil-eye is a good luck charm worn by attendants in Greece to ward off evil spirits. Japanese Brides give kohaku manjyu, steamed buns with sweet bean paste, one red and one white. The Japanese believe guests at a wedding bring luck, so the Bride and Groom thank them well for attending! Finally, orange blossoms have long been a symbol of purity and chastity. They symbolize everlasting love and have been incorporated into crowns in Spanish weddings and even into the wedding of Queen Victoria.

In any instance, gather your family and friends and talk about traditions. It can be something as sentimental as wearing your mother's wedding veil, or as simple as having a sleepover with your little sisters on the eve of your wedding. Create your own traditions - start a wedding cup to be passed on to your traditions. In the family of a close friend, the women gather favorite recipes and put together a family cookbook. Maybe you have a pact with your girlfriends to all have a bridal breakfast on the mornings of your weddings. Think about it, incorporate a few traditions old or new. The small details make your day special.

Written with the help of Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette, 2006, harperCollins Publishers.

Custom Bed Linens

Just when you thought registries were safe, introducing Inmod - a way for you to design your own bed linens.

Step 1: Select a fabric.

Step 2: Select a pattern

Step 3: Select a base color

Step 4: Select an embroidery color

Step 5: Add it to your cart!

Enjou Chocolat

Enjou Chocolat is available for a variety of favors. They can create just about any shape of chocolate with custom molds. Interesting pieces they have done:

Chocolate Beer Bottle

Chocolate Chess Set

Chocolate High Heel

Chocolate Sushi