I’m super excited to share this wedding with you, and not because it’s gloomy and gray in Boston, and this wedding is anything but… but that certainly helps.

My beautiful friend Copley and her handsome, charming husband, David’s married last October at a beautiful church ceremony in the perfection of Palm Beach in front of their closest family and friends.

Copley is the perfect combination of class-act and gooftastic. The girl could find herself to a good time in a paper bag. She’s just that awesome. So I had no doubt that this wedding would be a fantastically fun, and classy affair.

The couple welcomed guests to an amazing party the night before the wedding at the society of the four arts sculpture garden. Stations filled with sliders, seafood, and a decadent table of desserts including mini whoopie pies and cute little cake pops.

The next day, trolleys chauffeured guests to a beautiful church ceremony, and the amazing photographer, Richard Graulich captured the day beautifully.

Check out that beautiful bride, and her stunning bridesmaids…

From the bride: When David and I discussed our vision for the big day, we both agreed that the most important thing was to make sure all of our guests had a fabulous, unforgettable time. To that end, we added little touches like an old-fashioned photo booth, a candy buffet, and buckets of black and white flip flops for dancing.

good looking group…

And while they were taking pictures, this amazing cocktail party and ocean-side reception was waiting at The Beach Club, in Palm Beach. This was the cocktail party to end all cocktail parties. Signature cocktails, a full raw bar, and a beautiful ocean-side setting greeted guests.

From the bride: There were so many highs over the course of the day and night, but one of my favorite moments was watching all the guests arrive at sunset during cocktail hour while the tunes of a steel drum were carried over us by the ocean breeze. We were very grateful when the photographer stole us away from the fray a few times and we were able to have a private moment to take it all in.

Not only was Copley’s beautiful sister her MOH, but she also contributed beautiful details like hand-painted table markers on pieces of driftwood and seat assignments on an old weathered window.

Wouldn’t you want to be at THIS wedding? Come on.

Yes. You would.

Between the band and the photobooth, and the amazing, amazing food, and dancing.

From the bride: Though David might say his favorite part was watching me walk toward him down the aisle or not tripping on my dress during the first dance, I’m pretty sure the true highlight for him was getting hoisted into the air by his groomsmen and tossed into the pool.

From the bride: My advice to future brides is to take surprises in stride and to not sweat the small stuff. When it’s all over, you will have some great stories and you’ll be happy you didn’t let a few flubs overshadow your wonderful wedding memories.

Vendor Information:
Photographer: Richard Graulich
Wedding Consultant: Alice McMullin
Florist: Aldo Floral Design
Hair: Melissa Peverini
Makeup: Katherine MacDonald
Reception Venue: The Beach Club

I know… every once in a while I fall in a black hole and no one can find me.

Never fear… I’m back.

Happiest of new years to you all. I hope your new year is starting out wonderfully and has already been filled with fun and adventure. It’s another crazy wedding year, and all kinds of crazy things are about to get going. Before we get into the new year though, I have a beautiful Real Wedding to share with you all.

Stay tuned for some seriously beautiful photos from my beautiful friend Copley’s amazing Palm Beach wedding. You will wish you were there too.

More to come!

Kristen is one of the happiest people I know. I had the pleasure of working with this lovely lady, and for awhile I didn’t think this “Vince” character actually existed. But once I met him, I realized how wonderful he is, and how sweet the two of them are together. These pictures are oh so NYC chic, and perfectly fun and happy in Grand Central Station, and on the streets of Manhattan by the super talented Brooke Allison Photography. Congratulations KV & Vince!

Seriously. How cute are they?

AMAZING at Grand Central.

Kristin and Dan are maybe the most fun people ever. Take my word for it. If you don’t believe me, take a look at these seriously A.MAZING photos from Baltimore photog Elizabeth Ryan Photography. LOVE.

Plus their super adorable pup Kooper came along for the day.

Too cute.

Outfit change and more smiles

These might be my favorite. Genuine happiness.

Amazing. Click over to Elizabeth Ryan Photography for more photos from Kristin & Dan’s engagement session, and leave your comments there!

This is just a teaser… and teaser it is. Wait until you see the whole thing.

Jen + Ken {Wedding Trailer} from LaFrance Films on Vimeo.

Do not buy your invitations at Staples…. or Target… or anywhere else that sells post-its, staplers and those gnarly dry erase markers in a four aisle vicinity.

Just don’t.

I’ve talked about the importance of wedding etiquette here before, but apparently I need to repeat myself.

I don’t like to repeat myself.

But it appears, as of late, that there are certain considerations that are being left at the wayside, and really… by now, you should know better. Here are a few quick topical points to remind you to lose the tacky, and act like a normal person during wedding season. This is a rant. I’m not even going to try and pretend it’s anything but.

Bridesmaids

Let me remind you AGAIN that being asked to be in a wedding is a privilege.  You were asked because the bride WANTS you to be a special part of your day. Try and act like you’re happy about it. If you’re not, and you’re not going to be able to fake it, do like D.A.R.E., and just say no… to weddings.

Seriously. DO NOT under any circumstances complain to the bride about how much money this wedding is going to set you back, how much you hate the bridesmaid dresses she picked, how expensive the hotel rooms or flights cost, how much you hate your makeup or your hair, especially if she’s PAYING FOR IT, how you can’t bear the thought of sitting at a table FILLED with couples, or really anything else. Your job is to be supportive, and helpful, and GENUINE. If you can’t do that… sail away sista. We don’t need that kind of juju here. And guess what… odds are that your friend the bride has been in her share of weddings too. She KNOWS how much weddings cost. She probably spent a boatload on yours. Be supportive or go home. Stop your fucking wining. It’s really not attractive, to me or any of the groomsmen.

The “Plus One”

Everyone knows I have strong feelings about this. I am not 17, although sometimes I wish I still were. At this point in life… EVERYONE on your guest list should get a plus one. Brides, if for some reason you cannot afford to do this, have a conversation with your friends first, explaining the situation. Most people will understand if it’s brought up ahead of time. They’ll avoid feeling slighted or blindsided when your invitation arrives without “and guest”. But really, you should invite friends with a guest.

You should ESPECIALLY do this if:

- The only other people they know that are going to the wedding are couples

- You, as the bride OR groom, are not even aware if your friends are dating anyone because you’re so wrapped up in your own world.

- You want to keep your friends

To be fair, not everyone will actually bring a guest, and there’s something to be said for flying solo to a wedding. But the extension of a plus one is almost obligatory at this point. At least give your guests the OPTION.

Thank You

Seriously. Did you fall asleep for the first 2 years of your life when your parents taught you how to say please and thank you? Somewhere along the line, people forgot to say thank you. “Thank you for asking me to be a part of your wedding.”;”Thank you for coming.” ;”Thank you for this beautiful, and functional toaster.”; “Thank you for inviting me, the wedding was wonderful.”

HELLO!?!?!?!

Are you kidding?

BRIDES: You absolutely MUST write thank you cards for any and all gifts you receive for any event through-out the wedding process. No exceptions. Do it, and do it fast. You don’t really have a year.

GUESTS/BRIDAL PARTY: You absolutely MUST say, “thank you so much for including me in this special day. It was a beautiful wedding and one hell of a party” when your friends return tan and relaxed from their honeymoon, wanting to relive their wedding.

Thank you Guy Kawasaki… for mapping it all out for us. How true. How true.

How to survive wedding season [flowchart]

Well kids… the day finally came, and this MOH is STILL recovering from the biggest party EVER. Most of you know that my ginger haired bestie got engaged, was showered upon, bacheloretted, and finally… got married a few weeks ago, and when I tell you it was the most amazing day, and THE most amazing wedding I have ever been to… that’s saying something.

Every single detail from the signature drink (The Madison- Sweet tea vodka and lemonade named after the couple’s precious pup, and their college alma mater) to the table linens, the flower arrangements, and her custom dress, were absolutely perfect, and perfectly unique to the bride and groom… just the way it should be. So enough of this chit chat… how about some eye candy.

Let’s start with the Rehearsal Dinner. This ginger bride wanted to give her Rehearsal Dinner a quick shot of Maryland charm. Navy blue linens, hammered steel centerpieces filled (personally by yours truly) with peonies and snap dragons. But here’s the best part, every place setting had their very own champagne splits (that’s a half bottle for you asking in your head what the hell a split is). So yes, champagne splits, wrapped in plastic with their very own red and white striped straw, and DIY tissue poms to tie it altogether. AMAZING. Good work on those  Liz, Jaime and Megs. And to top it all off… cookies in the shapes of crabs. Obviously.

Seriously… this is just the rehearsal.

And now… onto the main event.

WEDDING DAY!

The boys went shooting, and put together a bicycle, which was a much needed part of reception decor along with an antique window pane that this ginger bride painted the menu on, (6 hours later) monogrammed welcome bags for guests, vintage mason jars for signature drinks, vintage boating oars for guests to sign, and a DIY seating chart that’s way cooler than yours. Obviously while the men were off at the shooting range, and we were gettin’ pretty… and putting together flower arrangements in what else… mason jars.

and flowers, flowers and more flowers.

there was the getting ready part…

the getting dressed part…

And of course… the wedding part.

Groomsmen with matching socks…

And bridesmaids with cocktails…

Amazing.

There was also a cigar bar ( a surprise for the groom from the bride), DIY ribbon sticks for guests to wave after the ceremony was over, a bagpiper to lead them out, a cupcake truck, and a whole lot of dancing.

DIY Seating Chart

DIY Ribbon Sticks & Monogrammed Program Fans

This will have to do for now… But don’t worry, there’s more to come  from Rodney and the team at Aesthetic Life Studio.

My ginger haired bestie’s wedding day is almost here! So in true bachelorette fashion, this hen party headed to the big bad NYC for a swanktastic girls getaway.

Friday night, we welcomed everyone with Magnolia cupcakes, Thai food takeout, lingerie games, guessing games, and 9 bottles of champagne… nine. There were eight of us. Everyone got a goodie bag filled with bachelorette weekend necessities, (bottled water, advil, granola bars, coozies) and a few “extras” thrown in for good measure. It was a hen party after all.

Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery

Games:
First up the Lingerie Game. Everyone brought something under $20 to surprise the bride. We hung everything on a feather boa and she had to guess who had given her what, and then… put it all on over her clothes. All of it.

Game #2
At the shower in an especially covert operation, I asked the groom-to-be a bunch of questions, and videotaped his answers. I then asked the lovely bride-to-be what she thought her groom-to-be’s answers to these questions might be, then played back his answers. It was a great game, and sweet to  the answers in real time. One question I asked J was what his favorite thing about my gingered bestie was, his answer… “My favorite thing about her is her smile.”

Later we ran into a fantastic vendor on the Highline, who was selling beautiful wooden mobiles with words like “Inspire” “Amaze” and “Hope.” One sign on ground said, “My favorite thing about you is your smile.” This nice gentleman then offered up that sign for FREE to our bride-to-be.

But the weekend was not without good food and good drinks. We headed to Highpoint Bistro & Grill on Saturday for brunch which was delicious and complete with homemade donuts in a miniature grocery cart. Seriously.

Brunch was followed by some pampering at Dashing Diva’s Chelsea location. This was by far, THE BEST Mani/Pedi experience I have ever, ever had. Michael and his team of technicians were absolutely amazing. AMAZING. We all went in together, and were done at the same time. There were only a handful of other people in the salon, but it felt like it was just us. It’s a little pricey, but it’s totally worth it. And it’s all Pink. I mean come on. How can you go wrong? Completely professional. Well done.

That night we headed to La Bottega in the Maritime Hotel in NYC’s Meatpacking district for cocktails and dinner, (WHICH WAS DELICIOUS) and then to the Cabanas Rooftop Bar after dinner. Spectacular decor, and multiple patios and bars to choose from. With one final stop at The Gaslight Lounge before the night was over. One final stop on Sunday morning at Blue Water Grill in Union Square.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of laughter, antics and too much champagne.