Design Board: Bicycle Built for Two

I was inspired by this letterpress invitation with a bicycle built for two. Something fun and outdoorsy for this holiday weekend.

Gifts: Monogram Your BBQ!

I've been thinking about these monogrammed steak brands for years. I saw them in a Williams-Sonoma catalog. Mostly because I think it would be really cool to have guests show up to grill some steaks in the backyard, and then you serve them meat branded with your new monogram. Odd, but very cool.

So I think this is a great gift for your groom, groomsmen, father of the bride, or any grilling aficionado. (Heck, if any of you are shopping for my birthday - get me one - oh, and a grill to go in my NYC apartment...) Single, double and triple letter monograms are available for about $39.95.

Other monogram options perfect for your summer outings are this carving board and personalized beer mugs:

Holiday Weekend Fun!

Portable Folding Grill Table from Simplyrustic for $110.00

Monday officially starts the grilling season. And what does any groom love better than grills, some juicy steaks and ice cold beer. (Vegetarians: bocca burgers do apply!) Here are some fun (and useful) bbq products on Etsy - LOVE THEM - to kick off your holiday!

Wild Western vintage cowboy labels on a variety of sauces. Great for bbq wedding or rehearsal dinner favors! From Handykane.

Gourmet bbq rub spice kit. Another great favor - and you don't have to have bbq at the wedding to appreciate it! Only $16.00 from Purpose Design.

This necklace is absoltely hilarious. If you buy this, please send me a picture and I will post it. I think it is adorable and scary all at the same time :-) PinkHelloKitty

Reward your groom's inner griller. This apron with a t-bone pocket is great to store your grill tongs in between flips! Find it in the Snappyshop.

A caddy of bbq rubs perfect for favors. Pictured is zesty pork rub and smokin creole rub. Find this and more from Basil and Things.

Enjoy your holiday weekend! Having a Memorial Day Weekend wedding? Share your pictures!

Inspirations from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair

Originally reported in BizBash Toronto, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair had some very interesting designs that can add flair to any event.

Sywawa Frou Frou parasol. I think this is totally outrageous as home decor, but a great inspiration for what you can do with chainetter fringe. Weddings can be a place to experiment and an outdoor ceremony or reception would be enhanced by tightly packed fringe swaying in the breeze. Translation to wedding decor: fringe hanging off of a chuppah or altar arch, a ceiling treatment in a loft, skirting for your tables or bars, and so much more!

Hiyoshia lamps. What I really love about these is that they are the next generation of the standard rice paper lantern. They are a Japanese parasol and inventive lantern combined. You can enhance the standard paper lantern to use at your wedding. Combine it with patterned paper, paint your lanterns, put colored bulbs instead of standard. Use your imagination!

Dose of Inspiration: Bright & Juicy Summer Wedding Florals

I love the juicy orange tones with bright green leaves. This modern, square arrangement uses a variety of different flowers (roses, tulips, dahlias, & dendrobium orchids) in sections to create a varied and modern look. Adding a candle to the middle gives the entire centerpiece extra glow.

The orange tone continues with bright cantelope-colored pomanders hanging from an altar or arbor. These pomanders are most inexpensively created with carnations (one of the best uses for the "cheaper" flower). A variety of orchids are brought together in this cone arrangement; some strung to hang down to the table level and create more visual interest.

I absolutely love this arrangement because it can be classic and modern at the same time. The purple color of the tulips pop above the wrapped green leaves. The footed glass container allows for just the gathered tulip heads to pop out. Perfect for so many occasions (brunch, bridal shower, casual wedding)!

Using provided linens from your venue or caterer, you can save a lot of money. Spruce up the provided colors with ribbon accents down the center of the table, chargers, custom napkins (not as expensive as you think) and lots of candlelight.

Photos courtesy of Brides and Hostess With the Mostess

Lacey Chic Design Board

A black and white theme based on this Carolina Herrera lace halter dress with simple black ribbon accent and interesting stripe pattern on the skirt. This dress inspired a look that was part classic, part modern with touches of bright color.

Featured Design Board of the Day: submit your boards at momentsbymorgan@yahoo.com!

Perfect Mesh of Wedding Cake & Wedding Cupcakes

Came across this cupcake tree stand at Pink Cake Box. It is an idea I haven't seen before and one I love. You HAVE to cut the cake at your wedding. I know, I know, I agree that its your day, etc. etc. You still have to cut the cake. 30 years from now, if you don't, you will wish you did. This is the perfect combination. An upper tier to cut (or save for your first anniversary) and lower tiers of amazing cupcakes. In addition to being a more whimsical dessert, cupcakes let you give your guests a wider variety of flavors, and also help serve dietary restrictions (sugar free for diabetics, gluten free for celiacs, etc.). These cakes strike me as more birthday than wedding, but you get the idea!

Elegant Invitations for Destination Weddings

Wedding Paper Divas have teamed up with the Islands of the Bahamas to create four beautiful wedding suites. I think this idea is a great partnership and perfect for those of your planning destination weddings (or anyone who wants more of a Caribbean flair at their local shindig). These designs are elegant with a touch of Carribbean class (different colors are available for the designs I've featured). Go to their website and enter to win a dream honeymoon to Kamalame Cay.

Accessorize! Nelle Handbags

Love these Nelle Handbags. On my search for the perfect bridesmaid gifts (and let's face it, awesome bag for me to carry on my wedding day!) I keep coming across more and more amazing, handmade clutches. I love the aubergine above and the little tuxedo wallet is super cute!

Thanks to Polka Dot Bride!

Shower & Bachelorette Party Planning 101

This is a repost from one of today's Wedded Bits posts. Even though the tips were simple, I really loved them. We are holding my shower and bachelorette on the same day, and I am really looking for to it.

"One of my best friends (we go way back to the first grade) is getting married in July and I'm in the bridal party. There are seven of us in all who will precede her down the aisle, so it was our obligation and great privilege to raise a glass (then another and another...) and wish her well at her shower and bachelorette party. Fresh out of this experience, I thought I'd share a few simple things that helped make the show run smoothly and keep the guest of honor on her toes. (In addition to being a bride, I'm guessing chances are good that you're someone's bridesmaid too.)

1. Plan the parties back to back. This was the bride's idea and it was a really good one. With the shower early in the evening on Saturday, the transition to the bachelorette party later that night was very natural. The day was much more exciting and festive because of it.

2. Be organized. The bride's sister, her maid of honor, could give seminars on being organized. Everything went right because she was so on top of it all from the first day of planning. The shower was a group effort—we each had responsibilities for the prep and day of—but having one person take the lead was key.

3. Add the unexpected. We planned a few small twists for the bride to make the day more memorable. We gave her a customized photo book at the shower and cute personalized tanks at the bachelorette party, which had a subtle Hawaiian theme (a nod to her honeymoon destination). There were some other fun things I won't mention. We were celebrating a bachelorette, after all.

4. Be prepared for the day after. My friend's fiance lovingly armed his bride-to-be with the basics: bottles of water and Advil. This made me laugh. I'm not sure she needed the painkillers, but busy brides have little time to rest, even when they're out late the night before." —Michaela Garibaldi, assistant managing editor, Modern Bride

See more from the Wedded Bits Blog

The Kate Winslet of Wines

I had to mention the best wine line I've heard in quite some time. Swirl Events (a fantastic company that can provide great wine tastings fit to any event or theme) included a review of Champalou Vouvray's Chenin Blanc in their latest newsletter:

"Champalou is a stellar estate operated by the husband and wife team, Olivier and Catherine Champalou. Olivier tends the vines and Catherine oversees the winemaking.

Their lovely 2007 is complex with green apples, sweet ripe cantaloupe, stone fruits and great acidity. The key to balance with any wine showing residual sugar is acidity. It's the Yin to residual sugar's Yang.

The acidity in the Champalou does its job fabulously, providing a supportive backbone to the sweet, plump fruit.

As a varietal, I'd compare Chenin to Kate Winslet. It's secure in its full-body and compels in each and every role with intensity and class. "

Love it!

Victoria's Secret Bridal Event with Mindy Weiss!

Adorable display on a dress form was showcased at the bottom of the escalator.

Jeff Leatham created a beautiful table display incorporating Victoria's Secret bridal lingerie.

Oh la la, Sunday my fellow bride (and client) Paige and I went to Victoria's Secret's flag ship store ("their most luxurious location ever") in NYC for a private bridal event. Cocktails and breakfast hors d'oeuvres were served by Creative Edge Parties. Beautiful black dress-clad sales associates were everywhere, ready to provide bra fittings, personal shopper services and anything else we could have possibly needed.

The entire store was closed save for about 50 lucky brides and their special guests. The bra salon on the second floor became a stage for Mindy Weiss who discussed her experiences (she loves Heidi and Seal - who renew their vows every year with a fantastic theme party! This year's theme is TPT: Trailer Park Trash). My favorite take away: Mindy hates favors! I totally agree. Unless there is something inherent to you as a couple, I hate when money is wasted on meaningless somethings that people leave on the table anyway. Other trends:

• Florals are leaning towards more low centerpieces - no more high fluted vases. And clusters of smaller vessels on one table.
• Food is still mostly comfort foods. People want formal sit down dinners, but they don't want something fancy that their guests won't recognize on the plate.
• She is seeing a lot of DJs for weddings now (which probably has something to do with the economy) but cautions brides to make sure they interview them well. The WORST thing you can have at your wedding (aside from a beligerent great aunt) is a bad DJ!
• Trends in colors include purple (aubergine and lavendar), navy blue is the new black, and bringing color into your reception with just the flowers.
• Pack for your honeymoon early - start thinking about it now - Mindy sees a lot of stress in her brides the week of the wedding over what to pack for the honeymoon

Bride cotton panties that I can't find anywhere else: "Bride", "Hitched"

"Newleywed" (They also have pink and white binkins with a variety of crystal emblems - just married, newleyweds, an engagement ring icon, kissing lips, bride - Paige loved them!)

In addition to Mindy's fantastic advice (she really is wonderfully sweet and seems easy to talk to), Jeff Leatham provided gorgeous floral displays around the store. Apparently Jeff will have his own reality TV show on TLC airing sometime in the next few months (and yours truly was interviewed along with my beautiful bride sidekick Paige - look for us!).

The Victoria's Secret store on 58th & Lexington in NYC is gorgeous. They offer personal shopping parties. Bring in your bridesmaids and all of your dresses and they will help you find the best undergarments. Something that was said (and I really don't think it is a good point, even though clearly we were in a lingerie store where they were trying to sell us merchandise) is that so often we think about everything on the outside: dress, shoes, veil, jewelry. We need to make sure that we feel like just as much of a woman underneath of our wedding day.

And I will tell you, Paige and I made several trips to the dressing room and loved the merchandise at the 58th & Lex store! They have some signature pieces that you can't get anywhere else. We've decided that we need to start doing honeymoon layaway if you will. Buying a piece or two every few months, hiding it and banking everything for the honeymoon! What an easy way to spread the cost out across the year. Happy lingerie shopping!

Beautiful purple hydrangea and mokara orchids highlighted the color trend of the season: aubergine and lavendar.

Even the shapewear was gorgeous!

Vacuum Cleaner Heaven: Bissell CleanView II

If you read on a regular basis you know that I don't ever talk about cleaning products, gadgets, etc. Unless they borderline unnecessary and belong on a gift registry, I usually don't think about them all that often. But I had to write about the Bissell CleanView II (for no other reason then I fell in love with it this morning).

Back story: My lovely husband-to-be decided a year and a half ago that he just had to have these two little kittens he saw on craigslist. Someone had found them living in an alley in a flower vase (both of them squished in there together). I won't go into details but since we've delt with waaaaayyy too many vet bills, unfortunately one little kitty not making it, and pounds and pounds and pounds of kitty litter - all over my carpeted apartment. Needless to say I've been fighting with a vacuum for over a year. On my hands and knees trying to get those stupid little pieces of clay up whenever someone was coming to stay in our apartment - hell. The vacuum finally died three weeks ago and I admit, I've been lazy. I didn't want to spend the money (even contemplated taking the vacuum to a repairman because I thought that would be more "recession-friendly"), but finally Wednesday I said: no more. We went to Target and got the vacuum above. It sat in the packaging until this morning. When I turned it on, I swear the heavens parted. Not only did it pick up all of the dust and grime on my floors (I had to empty it twice before I was fininsed), it picked up all the litter without even using one of the many attachments.

Thank you Bissell for helping to keep our home happy, and making sure that I don't try to kick my little kitten out on his behind before our wedding....

Wedding Bouquet Charms - Personalize Your Flowers

I love these personalized bouquet charms from Cherry Creek Charms. Every item is made to order by Heather Gill. The range from only $20 - $40 and are made of fine silver. They come on the blue ribbon (as pictured) so they can serve as your something blue (such a cute touch). My favorite part is that you can wear them as a necklace, put them in a shadow box, make them into ornaments or more after the wedding. (I'm thinking about getting the one above with the cherry blossom imprint!)