A Royal Occasion

It’s almost here, only a few days left until the royal wedding. After years of being together Kate Middleton will be officially joining the royal family when she and Prince William tie the knot on Friday April 29, 2011. To celebrate this day in history and the extravagant wedding, we’ve compiled a few pictures and interesting facts about Will and Kate’s upcoming nuptials. Notice how similar Prince William and Kate’s engagement picture is to his parents.

- Kate is only 29 years old but is still the oldest woman to ever be married into the royal family. Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana was just over 20 when she married his father back in the early 80s.

- Close to 4000 applications for street party licenses have been submitted from the public for them to celebrate the joyous occasion in their own way.

- It seems they are being smart and taking steps to make their marriage last, like waiting a little longer to get married. As well as they are allegedly signing a pre-nup.

- Rather than getting gifts they have chosen to ask guests to donate to one, or some, of the 26 chosen charities.

- Prince William will not wear a ring after their upcoming marriage, but Kate will wear rather a gold ring passed down to William from the Queen.

- Guests who have participated in the military will be asked to wear their dress uniform, while woman can wear elegant afternoon dresses with or without a smart coat and hat.

- William and Kate's wedding reception will have 600 chosen guests who will enjoy a lunchtime buffet, where as his parents Charles and Diana who celebrated with only 120 guests.

Picture with zoomed in ring from Arzelles, picture of invitation from The Lux Beat, engagement picture from The Frisky, information from  Foyles

Shabby Chic Wedding

What exactly does shabby chic mean? Well it looks a little like a few themes all rolled into one. Vintage, classic, romantic, and glam describe this wonderful style that you might be looking to use for your wedding décor. Pastel pink in any deviation will be a staple in your shabby chic wedding, along with other pastel colors of your choice. White, cream, green, and antique turquoise are great complementary colors for a shabby chic wedding. Three things to make sure to add in your decor are floral prints, ruffles, and creative lighting. Like in the beautiful hand painted table number frame we picked, floral print was used as the background for the number. You could also use floral patterns in your linens, cake, flower girl dresses, or wedding invitations. Ruffles would look great on your wedding or bridesmaid dresses, sweetheart or cake table linens, or on your shoes. Lastly creative lighting is a great way to generate a glam feel for your wedding. Using chandeliers or metal lanterns outside are stunning and also make your shabby chic wedding very intimate.

Tent with turquoise table picture from Beautiful Little Weddings, floral frame table number picture from Elizabeth Anne Designs, hanging dresses picture from Junk Shop Bride, barn wedding party picture from My Wedding Concierge, pink and white table under tent picture from Ruffled Blog, handkerchief, chandeleir, and white flower pictures from Style Me Pretty

Top Ten First Dance Songs

 Photo courtesy of Katie Mosley Photography

We have complied our ten favorite choices for the best first dance songs, all the way from Train to Elvis. We hope one of these classics will be the song you choose to help commemorate your special first dance. The songs “At Last”, “Stand By Me”, and “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” are the slightly older favorites that are more well known. While Tran’s “Marry Me” is a more contemporary first dance song, it was also featured on ABC’s The Bachelor when Brad Womack proposed to his now fiancé Emily Maynard.



1. Etta James- At last


2. Train- Marry Me (Note- watch the couples in the beginning, it is part of the video)


3. U2-Iris


4. Michael Buble- The way you look tonight


5. Van Morrison- Crazy love


6. Lifehouse- You and Me


7. Ben E. King- Stand by me


8. Elvis Presley -Can’t Help Falling in Love With You


9. Israel kamakawiwo'ole -Over the Rainbow


10. Edwin Mccain-I’ll Be

Top Tips for a Summer Wedding

Summer is just around the corner! By taking the right steps, the blistering hot weather does not need to get in your way of having a beautiful summer wedding. We just love these peachy colored summer photos. Summertime weddings in Texas can be hard to perfect so we have some tips to cool down your special day, and make your wedding run a bit smoother.



1. The wedding cake

Make sure that if your cake is going to be exposed to the heat and the sun’s rays, that it is covered in fondant rather than butter cream. This precaution will help ensure that your cake does not end up dripping down the table before you and your husband even have a chance to feed it to each other. Using your ceremony canopy to show case your cake during the reception is another great way to limit the sun’s rays from shinning on your cake. Depending on where you live, you might want to fashion a tulle net to cover your cake to avoid bugs or falling leaves and flowers.

2. Hydration

You will want to make your guests as comfortable as possible. Keeping plenty of beverages on hand will help keep guests from getting too hot or dehydrated. Along with fun summer mixed drinks also consider having lots of non-alcoholic alternatives. This will allow for many choices for the younger guests and for those who have gotten even more dehydrated after having their share of alcoholic drinks. We love the idea of passing around iced tea and water as your guests are seated for your ceremony. Don’t forget the ice!

3. Flowers

Flowers are known to wilt with the heat of the summer and need careful attention to keep them at their best. To ensure flowers are as beautiful as when they came from the florist consider using flowers that have a stronger stems as they will be able to withstand more heat and still keep their shape. Flowers such as cala lilies, mums, alstromeria, or sunflowers are great to use for an outdoor summer wedding because of their beauty and durability. Regardless of the flower type it’s always a good idea to keep them in cold water and out of the sun as long as possible. Keeping bouquets and centerpieces in a fridge until ready for use will also help to preserve them.

4. Favors

Favors are a fun way to let your guests feel included and show them how much you really appreciate that they are sharing your special day with you. During your summer wedding choosing favors that will help your guests cool off will definitely be appreciated. Some examples of summer favors for an outdoor wedding could include sun umbrellas, personalized paper fans, water bottles, battery operated fans, sunglasses, or flip flops.

 In addition to these top 4 tips other things to think about include; using lighter colors to make things nice and bright, and also to help keep cool. If you have a covered reception area make sure that there is still a nice breeze coming through. Choose chairs that are not metal as they will heat up in the sun, or choose seat cushions to keep your guests cool and comfortable throughout the reception. Make the reception attire more casual rather than formal, and provide freshening up kits in the restrooms.


Most importantly, keep in mind that you want to be able to have a good time with your guests and the more comfortable you are the more enjoyable and memorable your wedding will be. How will you be keeping cool at your summer wedding?

Grass escort cards picture from Aileen Tran , outdoor dinner table picture from Beauty Style Watch, drink cart and flower on tree pictures from The Knot,  cake from Elizabeth Anne Designs, bouquet picture fromReception Wedding, flower gift boxes picture from Sellerby, hair picture from The Bohemian Bride

A Southern Wedding

If you live in the land of “Hey y’all” and where everyone has that charming drawl, a southern themed wedding may be in your future. Even if you don’t live in the deep south it’s a beautiful style to accompany any wedding in any location. It has a real presence of nature, happiness, and family that is represented with the decor, the details, and the simplicity of everything. We’ve put together a few photos with some southern charm to give you a little bit of inspiration for your southern inspired wedding. We love the idea of putting out a lemonade dispenser, which really does express true southern comfort. It is also very popular in southern weddings to have the ceremony, reception, or both outside to show the beautiful landscapes. Especially in front of a colonial or antebellum style home, the architecture is a stunning backdrop for your nuptials. On top of the visual appeal of the south, it really is a fun and easygoing atmosphere that you and your guests will enjoy your perfect day in.

Stationary, cake, flower girls, couple in the willow tree, and table photos from Once Wed. House, lemonade, chandelier, and bride photos from Sugar Plum Invitations. Couple walking away is from Heathers Photography Blog