Swoon-Worthy Weekend: New York State of Mind (and Wine)

This past weekend, Jamie and I (along with our husbands and in-laws) headed up to the Elmira, New York area to attend the wedding of their cousin Becky (we blogged about her bridal shower gift here).  At first, the plan was just to go up and attend the wedding, but once we learned the following two important facts, we decided to make the weekend into a little get-away: (1) it was a 4 hour drive to get up there and (2) there are wineries just a short drive from our hotel.  Wine, as you all know, is the way to these two girls' hearts.

So off we went on Friday afternoon. Due to traffic and weather (both very bad) we got in an hour later than we planned. So our much-anticipated trip to the Glenora winery was shortened to be just dinner instead of the tasting + dinner combo like we wanted.  We were a little bummed ... that is, until we saw this view from the winery's balcony restaurant.

Amazing, right?  And it gets better.  The meal was unreal.  So delicious!  They used a lot of fresh, local food and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  Here is Jamie eagerly awaiting the first course.

We had to take pictures of the food.  I think part of it is because WE WERE STARVING like Chris Farley in that one Saturday Night Live skit, but also because the food was so so delicious and actually kind of pretty.  We both started with a caesar salad, and Jamie ordered the pasta with seafood while I got the lamb kabobs.  We split a creme brulee at the end (which was the one disappointment of the meal: it was overdone - boo).  Here is the food (you will notice a bite in the one piece of crispy bread on Jamie's salad.  I told you: WE WERE STARVING and she could not wait. Not even for a picture)

Of course we ordered wine.  When in Rome (er ... or New York) and all.  We started with the unoaked Chardonnay and also tried some of the Pinot Blanc.  Both excellent and perfect for a lovely summer evening dinner.  

The Glenora winery also has rooms!  We were very jealous of the lucky ducks who were staying right there.  In fact, we are talking about going back for a weekend of wine and uh more wine.  

Of course you know me: I can't talk about a wedding and not post a little of those details!  It was a wonderful wedding!  I'll start by saying how happy the bride and groom and all of their families were.  When the people are happy and smiling, it's going to be a great wedding. And it was.  Becky looked stunning and the wedding was set against a lovely backdrop of mountains, her family's 200 acre farm, a quaint little country church and a reception inn with a view to die for.  One of my favorite parts was their get-away car: they were driven from the church to the reception in a classic Chevy and it was turquoise.  Love!  Here are a few snapshots I took ... I didn't want to post many to protect their privacy :)

And there you have it!  A weekend of wine and wedding in the Empire State.  Jamie and I are already checking our calendars to see if we can squeeze in a visit to the Glenora "lobsters and leaves on the lawn" event in September.  The winery has a lobster bake on the lawn when the leaves are all changing. Yes please!

Ever been to a winery, or to Glenora for that matter?  Share!  

See you swoon,

Note: Glenora Winery has not paid or comped us for today's post.  

Swoon-Worthy Style: the Royal Wedding!

Please tell me I am not alone in waking up to watch the wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton last week?!?  Granted, I am up every day at 5 am, so this was not a big deal for me, but I gotta say, I loved having friends around on email, Facebook and Twitter to buzz about all the glorious details and fashion.  I know the Internets have totally covered every aspect of the wedding, but I'm a sucker for a wedding, so here are a few of my favorite details.

I love her gown.  It is so reminiscent of the gown that Grace Kelly wore on her wedding day that you couldn't help but compare Princess Kate to Princess Grace.

Then that bouquet! I have a soft spot for lily of the valley.  Love the simplicity and elegance of a small bundle of lily of the valley.  

And I know Kate was the bride, but her sister Pippa (love.this.name.) chose some absolute stunners for her gowns!  Her bridesmaid's gown was lovely and chic - and somehow managed to be appropriate for a formal church wedding but sexy at the same time.  And did you see her dress for the after party?  ohmygosh - amazing.  I love pretty much anything Temperley London creates, but this blew me away.

I also *love* Prince William's uniform.  I am a sucker for the red and turquoise combo and have been since I studied in Rome in 1996 and saw a dress with those colors in the window of Versace on the Via Conditti.  

The hats.  Oh, the hats. Jamie and I were emailing that we need to bring hats and fascinators back to weddings in the States.  They are so amazing!  Here are a few of my faves.

Anybody want to talk about the royal wedding today?  Pretty please?  What was your favorite dress and favorite hat?  I loved Kate's wedding gown and Pippa's green dress ... and I love love love Carole Middleton's {Kate's mom, first hat picture above} hat the best.  

See you swoon,

Swoon-Worthy: Colleen & Craig's Wedding {part 2: the details}

On Wednesday, I blogged about Colleen and Craig's fabulous wedding at the Morris House Hotel back in September 2009.  Jamie and I coordinated the big day and also created a bunch of details for the event.  I was so proud of the work that we did - it was all very custom, very pretty and very, very affordable.

Colleen's color palette was sage green and soft cream with pops of navy blue and copper.  We had a ball putting together all the little touches that made her wedding day so infused with her personality and that made the guests feel that everything was incredibly special and personalized.  Here are some of the things we did:

* Petal Cones*

Colleen wanted her guests to toss flower petals as she and Craig recessed up the aisle.  So, we created these little DIY petal cones to hold dried ivory rose petals, baby blue hydrangea blossoms and light green shamrocks (the bride and groom are both Irish, so the shamrocks fit).  We ordered pretty patterned paper from Paper-Source, made a cone shaped holder, added a custom label with instructions to the guests and used an ivory satin ribbon to hang from each chair.  Cute, no?

* Free Form Crystal Chandelier *

Colleen really loved the look of crystal chandeliers hanging from wedding tents, but Jamie and I knew our limits, and hanging real live wired chandeliers was definitely beyond them.  So we created our own by using long strands of faux crystals and making them in a chandelier-swag type shape.  We had to use an 8 foot tall ladder to create this.  Well, Jamie used the ladder, while I held it steady.  The chandelier looked nice during the day but really stood out beautifully at night.

* Placecards*

We saved a bundle on placecards by doing them ourselves.  Rather than pay a calligrapher to do it, we used a pretty font (appropriately named, "Beautiful") for each guest's name.  We printed on ivory card stock and mounted on navy placecards from Paper-Source.  Colleen bought sweet silver cups and had the florist fill each cup with an ivory rosebud, while we propped the placecard on the top.  The end result was so elegant.

*  Photo Booth Sign*

Colleen and Craig hired Shutter Booth Philadelphia for their reception.  The photo strips from the booth served as their guest book and favors for the guests.  It is really fun (and funny) to see the progression of the photos as the night went on.  Ha.  Colleen wanted us to create a sign for the photo booth to let people know that one strip was their favor.  We jumped on it and made this little number and had Kinkos print it on foam board.

* Reception Tables*

Colleen had a vision of dining under the stars with lots of sparkle and candlelight, and we were happy to help make that happen.  We created custom menu cards for each person, wrapped a thick navy velvet ribbon around each menu and gently placed a leaf under the ribbon.  The full effect was just gorgeous.  We also created custom table numbers for each table, which were so simple by printing on ivory card stock and mounting on navy card stock.  Colleen chose sage pin-tucked silk tablecloths and stunning ivory florals to tie everything together.

* Bar Area*

The bar area (where cocktails and the after-party were held) was a challenge.  It was dark and kind of dull, and Colleen wanted it to feel as pretty as the tent area.  So we helped with that.  We hung clusters of white paper lanterns all over the room and suspended them from the ceiling with sage satin ribbon.  For the bar itself, we created custom drink stirrers for their signature cocktail (the mojito).  These sweet stirrers said "i do!" and "oh happy day!" on them and were made with card stock and some bamboo skewers.  We also created a bar menu entitled "Libations and Such" which listed out all the drink offerings at the bar.  Finally, Colleen saw lollipop trees in a wedding featured in Martha Stewart Weddings and wanted them at her reception.  These look tricky but are so easy to recreate.  We made custom signs for these that said, "Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker" and put them on the bar.  They were a huge hit.  An even huger hit was the Irish Car Bomb station that Colleen surprised her groom with.  Even that got a shot of pretty with the custom sign we created that said "Bombs Away! Irish Car Bombs".  Gotta love a wedding where even Irish Car Bombs get a little swoon-worthy attention.

And that about wraps it up!  Colleen's guest list of about 100 people made projects of the scale much more manageable, and we had a lot of fun putting it all together.  If you'd like some help making a party more swoon-worthy, give us a shout! We'd love to help.  And because I cannot close a wedding-related post without one last shot of the happy couple, here you go!

See you swoon,

{all photos courtesy of Eric Mencher Photography}