Fall 2011 D Weddings Features Stardust Real Wedding

Thank you D Weddings for featuring one of our beautiful weddings in your hot-off-the-presses Fall 2011 issue! Last month we posted details about the gorgeous wedding ceremony and reception of Laura and Jonathan, sharing some great photos of their stunning event. This lovely wedding is now gracing pages of the current issue of the fabulous D Weddings. Check it out!

We would be remiss to not again mention our amazing team of vendors on this wonderful event:

Bagpiper: Don Shannon
Ceremony: Perkins Chapel
Cocktail Hour Pianist: Luana Stoutmeyer, Encore Productions
DJ/Emcee: Tommie Evans, Specialty Sound
Floral Designer: The Garden Gate
Lighting: Absolute Lighting
Linen Rentals: BBJ Linen
Reception: The Ritz Carlton Hotel
Reception Band: Emerald City
Photo Booth: BoothBooth by F8
Photographer: Vim Studio
Transportation: Blue Diamond Limousines
Videographer: Sonrise Video
Wedding Planning: StarDust Celebrations, Marsha Ballard-French, CMWP, assisted by Staci Freeman, CWP, and Evie Cozart, TWP

Stardust Now Carries Mary Frances Handbags

Sometimes when planning for a wedding day ensemble, a mother of the bride or groom is looking for that statement piece, that accessory that shows her stunning sense of style while not overshadowing the beautiful bride. We are so thrilled to now offer gorgeous, over-the-top Mary Frances handbags for this super-stylish MOB/MOG!

Mary Frances handbags are exceptionally embellished with jewels, pearls, stones, crystals and a plethora of fabrics and textures! These uber-fabulous accessories are perfect for the wedding day but can be used long after the “I do’s”.

Come by Stardust Bridal Salon in West Plano to ogle these luscious little accessories and maybe even make one the crowning jewel of your wedding day look!

Like StarDust Celebrations on Facebook

We know you like us, we really do. But do you “like” us on Facebook?

That is the best way to get the up-to-the-minute news from all four of the StarDust Celebrations branches: Stardust Bridal Salon, LuLu’s Bridal Boutique, A Bridal Closet and Stardust Wedding Planning.

Not only do we regularly update our page with new products, the latest media coverage and upcoming special events, but we also do fun things like ask brides to post their bridal portraits, share wedding day memories, give their opinions in polls and much more!

We hope to see you on Facebook soon! Give us shout-out when you stop by our page!

Video Demo: How to Measure Yourself for a Bridesmaid Dress

Calling all ladies of the bridal party! When ordering a bridesmaid dress, we always recommend having yourself professionally measured to ensure you order the most appropriate size. But we do understand that there are many times when bridesmaids simply cannot get in to a salon to have that done and must measure themselves. If you find yourself in that situation, would you know how to measure yourself properly? There are many factors to consider…What part of the bust do you measure? Where exactly is your waist? Should you measure higher or lower on your hips? What’s a girl to do?!

As always, we are here to help! Check out another of our handy new features on our fab website – a measurement video! In this useful short clip, which can be found on our bridesmaid pages for both Stardust and LuLu’s, we demonstrate how to measure yourself and how to have someone else measure you. Follow these directions carefully, and you should feel confident in ordering the size that’s just right for you!

Featured Friends Friday: Sonrise Video Productions

Vendor name and company: Steve Allen, Sonrise Video Productions

Services offered: Wedding Films

How did you get started in the wedding industry and when? Video is the absolute best way to preserve memories. In 1995 my wife passed away when my daughter was only 4 years old. Most of the memories she has of her Mom are from the videos I shot of our family playing together. In 1998 I started shooting weddings. I realized the importance of preserving the memories on this day and capturing the beginning milestone of a new family. I like to imagine their grandchildren someday watching the video in amazement. In 2000 my part-time wedding filming career turned into a full-time career.

What sets you apart from other vendors? I like to create an artistic account of the wedding day not just document the events. Over the years I’ve won several awards for creativity for my wedding films. I have an eye for getting creative shots that just seems to come naturally to me. After several hundred wedding shoots I can anticipate when that special moment is about to happen. There are always those special moments between a bride and groom that just tug at your heart strings and need to be preserved forever.

What do you do for fun besides weddings? I love to cycle for exercise. I love watching movies and the “making of” special features on the DVDs. I find myself critiquing camera angles, and coming up with new ways in my head that would have made each movie more emotional.

Why do you enjoy working with wedding planners? Don’t get me started here. Having a good wedding planner is an absolute necessity. The bride and groom don’t need to worry about how things are falling into place on their special day. The more stress-free and happy they are on their wedding day the more it shows in their pictures and video. A good planner also keeps me and the photographer aware of what’s happening next to make sure everything is captured and preserved.

What is your favorite thing about working w/ a StarDust Celebrations (SDC) planner? StarDust Celebrations planners are always on top of things. Little things will always go wrong at weddings. The SDC planners seem to spot these things before they happen. It’s these things going on in the background that no one notices. That just means they are doing a great job.

Do you have any funny or memorable stories you can share about working with one of our planners? I just always have a great time working with these ladies. Their cheerful attitude seems to be contagious. Who could not be happy to see “little” Evie smile? I love to tease Evie about being short. We get along so well.

What is the best single piece of advice you could give to brides? I have been a member of several wedding organizations and associations over the years. From time to time they have bridal panel discussions. Past brides talk about what went right or wrong at their wedding. One of the questions is always “What was your biggest regret?” Inevitably there is always a bride who regrets not hiring a videographer. The whole day will be a big blur when it is over and the only thing left will be the pictures and the wedding film.

I once met with a bride who wasn’t sure if she wanted a film made of her wedding. As she watched my wedding demo I could see her eyes tear at the emotions being brought out on the screen. I told her, “Imagine that this is a video of your young grandparents getting married years before you were born. If this was your grandparents’ video and there was only one copy, how much would you sell that copy to me for?” She told me she wouldn’t sell it for ANY amount of money. She then realized how important it was to have a good wedding film made of her special day.

Be sure to check out Steve's website for more info and to see some demos: http://www.sonrisevideo.com/!

First Official Photos of Candice Crawford in her Custom St. Pucchi Bridal Gown

We don’t know where or how Miss Lauren Scruggs got them, but we are so excited to pass on the first official photos of the gorgeous Candice Crawford in her custom St. Pucchi bridal gown from Stardust. Lauren posted these on her blog, lolo, last night and we were so excited that St. Pucchi shared the link with us immediately via Facebook!

The now-Mrs. Tony Romo was every bit the glowing bride and modeled the perfect marriage between fashion and beauty.Candice made a bold choice with her departure away from the ever-popular strapless wedding gown by choosing this fabulous design featuring the high collar and plunging neckline. The fitted bodice then exploded into a full skirt of stunning folds of silk, a perfect choice for Candice’s flawless figure. It is so amazing to work with a bride who knows exactly what gown is best suited to her body type, and Candice certainly knows what works for her!

Candice customized the gown by adding the keyhole back, borrowed from a different St. Pucchi gown, and added more appliqués, sparkling crystals and ostrich feathers to give the gown additional dimension and texture. The final result was absolutely stunning, the perfect culmination of Candice’s dream bridal gown!

Photography by Karlisch+Wrubel

Color Splash: Purple Reign

Color is back and in a huge way! One of our faves right now is fabulous purple! Elegant and regal or whimsical and youthful, there is a shade of this gorgeous color for everyone! Here are some luscious finds in the royal hue.

Pronovias Trunk Show this Weekend at LuLu's

Join us at LuLu's Bridal Boutique this weekend for our fabulous Pronovias Bridal Trunk Show. These gorgeous wedding gowns are simply divine! No appointment necessary.

Way to Go, Mavs!

Congratulations to our amazing Dallas Mavericks, 2011 NBA Champions!

Marc Serota/Getty Images

We have been rooting for you all along and are so proud of you guys! Will we see an increase in true blue as a wedding color as a result of these awesome fellas?

Only time will tell, but we think “Maverick Blue” is a gorgeous accent color that complements bridal white just fine! Go Mavs!

Late Night Treat Fun: The Snack Box

Looking for something a little fresher for your late-night reception snack than the been-done passed treats such as mini-burgers and tiny shakes?! We so love The Snack Box right now for tasty treats created onsite during your event! This mobile snack bar features attendants that cook up delicious mini-donuts right before your guests’ eyes (and noses!). The demure delectable delights are then embellished with chocolate, vanilla or raspberry icings, a cinnamon-sugar mix, sprinkles and more, and are served hot and fresh to guests. The Snack Box also offers funnel cakes or fried candy bars and cookies as additional onsite-prepared delicacies.

The company has been steadily expanding their offerings since its inception and now presents several ready-made deliverable options, including candy and caramel apples, cinnamon roasted almonds and their newest product – customized chocolate bars. The large chocolate bars, perfect for favors, can be made in white, dark or milk chocolate and then endlessly customized by adding your choice of some 40-plus toppings. Oh my!

We have used this fun onsite donut station at a couple of our clients’ wedding receptions, and it is always a huge hit! Guests can’t get enough of those donuts’ sugary goodness, and they’re a great way to kick up the energy to keep everyone dancing! Bon appétit!

Foot Jewelry for the Beach Bride

Planning a beach wedding? You’ve given so much thought to your gown and what you’ll wear in your hair, but what to do about shoes?! Heels hardly seem sensible and sandals will fill with sand. That's probably got you thinking "I guess I'll just go with bare feet..."

Why not make it a little more special than just a barefoot occasion with “barefoot sandals”? Beautiful foot jewelry from Simply Charming is perfect for the bride marrying on the beach! Practical and pretty, this crystal foot jewelry, made with Swarovski elements, gives a little more oomph to your seaside bridal ensemble than just bare feet.

We are thrilled to offer this fun beach wedding (or honeymoon!) option at our Stardust Bridal Salon in West Plano. Come in soon to check out this elegant and perfect beach footwear solution!

Candice Crawford’s St. Pucchi Bridal Gown is from Stardust

Now that the big event has happened and the “I do’s” have been said, we can shout it out to the world: we sold Candice Crawford her custom St. Pucchi bridal gown! That’s right – the celebrity bride came to Stardust Bridal Salon to bring her dream wedding gown to life. Candice attended her initial appointment with us very soon after becoming engaged, and we’re not sure we’ve ever enjoyed a group of such gracious and beautiful ladies more! The lovely friends and family members accompanying the then-future Mrs. Romo were completely focused on helping Candice find the perfect gown for her. The fun appointment was all captured by a videographer who accompanied the party.

This gorgeous St. Pucchi Couture bridal gown was the
starting point for Candice Crawford's custom gown.

The bride knew exactly which gown she was drawn to, having kept a photo of the dream dress for some time. The moment she put on the stunning St. Pucchi Couture sample (pictured right), the entire entourage was left breathless. It’s the kind of moment when the image is forever seared into the brain as the gown seemed to be designed just for Candice. She has the perfect body type for this gown, with her elegant posture and graceful neck and shoulders perfectly showcasing the Queen Anne collar. The former beauty queen did try on one or two other gowns, just to be sure there wasn’t another wedding dress better suited to her, but there was no doubt that the first St. Pucchi gown she tried on was THE gown.

Candice customized the pure silk gown by adding a keyhole back, additional crystals and ostrich feathers, as well as additional flower appliqués to bring the plunging neckline up a bit. The lovely bride was treated to a visit with St. Pucchi's head designer, Rani Totman herself, during one of her fittings. The final product was truly a work of art, especially when the lovely bride put it on! We feel honored that the lovely Candice Crawford chose Stardust as her bridal salon and wish the new Mr. and Mrs. Romo a lifetime of love and happiness!

Real Wedding: Davis-McCullough

We were thrilled to round out a great year of wedding planning during 2010 with the fun and sweet celebration of Lauren and Troy. The bride met her groom while they were attending their alma mater Auburn, through Auburn Christian Fellowship. In a hectic December, Lauren finished up and graduated college all while preparing to marry Troy! We were happy to step in and take some pressure off of her!

The couple chose to wed in the DFW area because Lauren’s family lives here, and they settled on the beautiful Ashton Gardens in Corinth. The lovely venue is on beautifully forested grounds, giving the site a feel of being far-removed from the hubbub of the big city, yet is still easy to get to! Lauren fell in love with the venue because it allowed her to have the feel of an outdoor wedding in the middle of winter with the glass enclosed chapel.

Lauren and Troy’s color palate of navy, ivory and silver, with tiny touches of green, looked so natural and beautiful in the window-walled chapel and ballroom at Ashton Gardens. The soft lighting of elegant chandeliers and flickering candles reflected off of all the glass, giving the space a very romantic, magical and intimate feel, which is just what the couple was after!

The couple celebrated with a fabulous station dinner, and the highlight in the bride’s mind was the fabulous gourmet mac-and-cheese bar! The couple wove sweet and personal elements throughout the event, and one of our faves was the use of some of their favorite locations around Auburn as table names. Lauren and Troy took it a step further by having framed photos of them in front of each location on the tables as part of the décor. So cute!

Guests were delighted to be sent home with fabulous Sprinkles Cupcakes as their favors. And they were reminded again of Lauren and Troy’s beginning at Auburn, as the fun-loving couple gave their school a nod with their send off through the shaking of orange and navy blue streamer pompoms!

Congrats, Lauren and Troy! We wish you a lifetime of love and laughter. Thank you for letting us be part of your wedding day!

Here are the wonderful Wedding Vendors who helped bring this special day to life:
Cake: Delicious Cakes
Ceremony and Reception: Ashton Gardens
Ceremony Music: Gyros String Quartet
DJ/Emcee: Jeff Hornok
Favors: Sprinkles Cupcakes
Floral Designer: Sahana Creative Floral Design
Photographer: Joy Neville
Transportation: Romantic Remembrances, 1958 White Rolls for couple’s send-off; Blue Diamond Limousine, Coach Bus for guests
Videographer: When it Clicks, Daniel Estrada
Wedding Planning: StarDust Celebrations, Marsha Ballard-French, CMWP; assisted by Staci Freeman, CWP and Evie Cozart, TWP