Trends We Love: The Unity Painting

We love that couples are continuing to find ways to personalize their weddings, to break out of the molds of weddings past and do something that is unique and representative of them. One great way to do this is to put a personal twist on an existing tradition.

We've seen this a lot with the unity ritual during the wedding ceremony. Initially, couples lit a unity candle, but soon that gave way to other unifying symbols, such as unity sand or unity flowers. One of the cooler new takes on the unity ceremony that we've seen - and loved - lately is the unity painting.

There are so many ways you can do this, the possibilities are endless! Many couples simply use two paints that are tied to their wedding color palette and either pour them down the canvas from top to bottom or swirl them around.

Others are incorporating personalization to make the piece more meaningful as it hangs in their new home. This couple added a large vinyl initial to the canvas before the paint was poured and once the paint is dry, they peel it off to reveal their monogram in white amidst the paint.

Another way is to incorporate your wedding date:

And this bride took it a step further but placing lyrics from the couple's first dance on the canvas in vinyl letters to be removed once the paint dried; she spray-painted the canvas black once the letters were affixed and then they poured paint for their unity ceremony:

If the poured paint isn't your part of your vision, you can get a little more creative by actually painting something during the ceremony, like hearts or something more abstract:

 

This couple painted a simple heart during their ceremony then used the canvas as their guest book at their reception:

Again, there are so many options, you're truly limited only to your imagination! Well, and possibly your wedding venue's policies, so be sure to check with your facility contact! This does work best in an outdoor ceremony setting, but even if you're marrying inside, just ask to see if it's a possibility for your wedding day! Happy unified painting!

p.s. One word of caution: of course you'll want to be careful not to get paint on your wedding gown; we would NOT recommend finger-painting, no matter how much your and your fiancé's inner children like it! ;)

image sources: Chris Diset Photography, Cloud Seven Photography, Etsy, Gracenote Photography, Pinterest, TWA Photo and Wedding Chicks

Trend Alert: A Return to Formal Portraits

The pithy saying that "everything old is new again" really does hold true in weddings. One such return to the traditions of yesterday is formal portraiture. While couples still love the candid, photojournalistic approach, they are now opting for some more traditional, formal shots in addition to capturing the moments. And brides are also returning to the concept of the bridal portrait, which had declined for a few years. Here are a few lovely examples:

This formal wedding party photo is uber traditional. photo: Graham Hobart

Special formals with grandparents become family treasures. photo: Joseph Mark



Not only is this an old school pose, but the neutral, non-smiling expressions have
"tradition" written all over this. photo: f8studio



A beautiful, sophisticated formal of the wedding couple makes a perfect image to
frame and display in the newlyweds' home. photo: Sil Azevedo

You can't get more traditional than a bride in her gown with her veil and
bouquet in the church! photo: Sil Azevedo

This fabulously old school photo is taken with a special camera.
Gorgeous and classic! photo: Justin Goode

One of our favorites! Love the bride's expression and the outdoor setting is the perfect
complement to the stunning bride. photo: Al Gawlik

What do you say, brides? Will you have some formal portraits taken to commemorate your wedding?

Video Highlight of Ketty and Alon's Beautiful Anatole Wedding

We shared some fab pics from Ketty and Alon's gorgeous wedding at the Anatole a few weeks back. But here's the video highlight from A Very Special Day, bringing the fantastic event to life. Watch and enjoy!

 Ketty and Alon Highlight from avsdpro on Vimeo.

If you recall, we told you this was a fun-loving couple! Don't you agree?!

This was such a great event, we're giving our vendors an encore shout-out!
Bakery: Frosted Art
Bridal Gown and Accessories: StarDust Celebrations
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Hilton Anatole
Florist: The Garden Gate
Lighting: Marcus Rollins
Linens: SEAT by Design
Makeup: Elan Makeup Studio
Music: Ceremony/Reception DJ/Emcee - Marcus Rollins, Reception Band - Cuvee
Photography: Helmutwalker
Rentals: Ducky Bob's and Liland's
Videography: A Very Special Day Video
Wedding Planning and Design: Weddings by StarDust

Proper Cleaning and Preservation of Your Bridal Gown

You’ve invested in your dream gown, and you truly were Princess for a Day!

Now that the celebration is over, you’re back from your honeymoon and settling into newlywed life, you’re pondering what to do with your wedding gown. Unless you’re planning to trash that dress – which, of course, would absolutely break our hearts! – you’ll want to at least have your gown professionally cleaned by a reputable company with bridal gown experience. Or, you may consider heirlooming that vital piece of your marriage history to share with your children and grandchildren!

Heirlooming preserves your gown from discoloration and insects. And when stored properly, it keeps your gown in pristine condition to be worn again in the future, perhaps by your own daughter or even granddaughter! The process is simple: bring your gown into our salon, where one of our preservation experts will examine the gown to identify and make notes of any noticeable spots or stains. The gown must be cleaned first, as it must be free of body oils, makeup, lotions, perfumes, sweat, dirt, tanning lotion, etc. The turnaround for gown cleaning and heirlooming is 4-6 weeks and the cost ranges $225-$500, depending on the fabric and gown detailing.

After cleaning, the gown is placed in a museum and archival quality box with acid- and lignin-free tissue paper and cloth. A zippered cloth covers the box, which will not be sealed.

Make sure you entrust your gown to a company that knows the proper care of a valuable wedding dress!

Poor care and improper storage lead to damaged or destroyed bridal gowns!

Do not let this happen to you!

Questions? Call our wedding gown heirloom experts at 972.781.1619 or stop by the salon!

Real Wedding: Oved-Milwicki

A spotlight on this FAB-U-LOUS wedding is long overdue! We gave Ketty and Alon’s gorgeous event a nod in our 2013 planning highlights post, but this is one wedding that definitely deserves a standalone shout-out!

Katherine (Ketty) and Alon met in the most modern of ways: on Match.com! But they decided to celebrate the start of their marriage together in a Jewish tradition-rich ceremony and reception at the beautiful Anatole Hotel. The couple was planning from afar so they enlisted help from our dream team at Weddings by StarDust. Fortunately, we were able to provide some serious turnkey service for Ketty and her entire wedding community.

In addition to stellar wedding planning, Ketty found her stunning YSA Makino gown at StarDust, as well as her accessories, and gowns for her bridesmaids and some of her family. And we were happy to dress the gents to the nines in some of our dapper tuxes! We had so much fun helping this fun-loving couple with all of the details of their big day!

 

With a rich color palette of blues, blush and shades of white established, StarDust enlisted the talented Junior Villanueva from the Garden Gate to bring the glamorous vintage design to life. The elegant chuppah was simply stunning, constructed of actual branches and adorned with lush greenery and bountiful flowers!

The sumptuous décor continued into the reception, with lush florals accented by lots of crystal, silver elements and regal blue lighting.

 

 

 

 

Another stunning design element was the display of the gorgeous blue wedding cake, featuring rich linen, lots of elegant sheer draping and its own chandelier!

 

And in a fun twist on the groom’s cake, Alon opted for apple crisp in mason jars (you know how much we love food in jars!!!).

A sweet sendoff for this fall wedding included hot chocolate favors for guests – amaretto flavored, no less!

And did we mention how fun this couple was – see for yourself!

 

 

We enjoyed this couple and their wedding so much that we selected it to be featured in D Weddings:

And apparently, the couple was happy as well, since Ketty posted this sweet review on Google:

“StarDust Celebrations made wedding planning so easy for me and my family. I started planning my wedding while living out of state and they helped me narrow down venues and even took my mom and sister to check them out without me to even further decide. They took the chaos and headache out of everything, and whenever I had questions or concerns, they were super prompt in responding and easing my mind. I would definitely recommend StarDust! Cannot say enough good things!”

Thanks, Ketty and Alon, for the love, but more importantly, for entrusting us with your beautiful day! We wish you a lifetime of love and laughter!

Our Awesome Vendor Partners:

Bakery: Frosted Art

Bridal Gown and Accessories: StarDust Celebrations

Ceremony/Reception Venue: Hilton Anatole

Florist: The Garden Gate

Lighting: Marcus Rollins

Linens: SEAT by Design

Makeup: Elan Makeup Studio

Music: Ceremony/Reception DJ/Emcee - Marcus Rollins, Reception Band - Cuvee

Photography: Helmutwalker

Rentals: Ducky Bob's and Liland's

Videography: A Very Special Day Video

Wedding Planning and Design: Weddings by StarDust

Trend Alert: Bridal Blues

Something Olde, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, A Sixpence in your Shoe

The “something blue” aspect of the traditional Old English rhyme symbolizes love, purity and fidelity. You have decided you definitely want to incorporate the “something blue” tradition but you’re not necessarily into the garter thing or don’t want to be as bold as wearing blue shoes. How about painting your piggies blue?

Blue nail polish is still all the rage – why not paint your toe nails with blue polish to bring in the ubiquitous something blue?! We love the incredible assortment of blue nail polishes out there. Check out some of the gorgeous shades!

Borrowed and Blue from Essie

Larimar from Oscar de la Renta

Ocean Blue from Sonia Kashuk

Yoga-ta Get This Blue from OPI

Blue Satin from Chanel

No matter what shade of blue you're into, you are sure to find the perfect hue for your something blue toes!

Good Luck/Bad Luck: Wedding Superstitions and Traditions

On this Friday, the 13th, we thought it would be fun to share some wedding-related superstitions with you.

Of course, we all know the ubiquitous “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” This phrase is believed to have originated in Victorian times. The “something old” symbolizes continuity with the bride’s past and her family and traditionally is often a garter of an older family member who has been happily married, trusting that her good fortune would be passed on. The “something new” symbolizes the hope and optimism the couple has in their future and often can be the bride’s jewelry or even gown.

“Something borrowed” is on loan from a happily married family member or friend and can be something like jewelry, a veil or a handkerchief to carry. Finally, “something blue” represents love, modesty and fidelity and hearkens back to ancient Rome. The blue can often be found in the bride’s bouquet, sewn into her dress, a ribbon on her garter, or even her shoes can be her blue, thanks to the huge trend of colored bridal shoes.

There is an often left-out verse in this rhyme – “and a sixpence in her shoe”. The sixpence is an English coin (equivalent to about 6¢), and it’s placement in the bride’s shoe represents wealth and financial security.

Here are a few more interesting superstitions to ponder:
According to Greek tradition, for good luck, a bride should slip a sugar cube into her glove, which will ensure a sweet union.

English tradition and folklore says that Wednesday is the best day to marry while Monday is for health and Tuesday is for wealth – and that Saturday is the unluckiest day to marry! We think millions of brides would disagree since Saturday is, of course, the most popular day for weddings.

Another English belief is that a spider found in a wedding dress is good luck! Eek!

The tradition of the groom carrying his bride over their threshold is to protect her from evil spirits. Awww!

Hindu tradition claims it is actually good luck for it to rain on your wedding day and representative of children in the couple’s future.

It is said to be best to marry on the half hour, when the clock hands are moving up rather than at a time when the hands are moving down the clock, symbolizing the marriage going downhill.

There are so many more funny wedding traditions and superstitions that we could just go on, but we’ll leave you with this last one for now: it is said to be bad luck to shop for wedding rings on Friday, the 13th. Not sure if we believe that, but we are wishing you all the best of luck in your wedding planning and marriages!