Archive for June, 2008
Monday, 30 June 2008
I’m really excited today to feature a fantastic photographer, Julia Boggio. You might recognise Julia as being the ‘Dirty Dancing’ bride that took the internet by storm but aside from being internet legend Julia is also an incredibly talented wedding and portrait photographer. Julia has an fantastically original style and approach to wedding photography & some of her photos really are stunning! In terms of style, Julia’s work is also an interesting contrast to popular reportage wedding photography, she actually does a lot of very clever ‘posed’ work and post-production, creating some very special, quirky wedding photos.
Julia was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for us:
ZL: Tell us a little bit about your company.
JB: Julia Boggio Photography offers wedding photography that is fun and glamorous. We find that the couples who gravitate towards us are very design-conscious and often they hail from the arts and media industries. I’ve been photographing weddings for 5 years now, having previously worked as an advertising copywriter. I haven’t looked back since!
ZL: What inspires you?
JB:People inspire me! I love helping people who are unsure in front of the camera become confident and secure in front of my lens. I do a pre-wedding shoot with each couple before the wedding day, so that they can experience what it’s like to be shot by me. It’s amazing how many couples are nervous at the beginning of the shoot and, by the end, they don’t want it to stop. I find that this makes them excited about their wedding photography, instead of viewing it with trepidation.
I’m also inspired by movies, books, magazines, and art.
ZL: What makes a great wedding?
JB: The best weddings are ones where the couples’ personality shines through. My husband and I (infamously) had a movie-themed wedding and our guests really enjoyed it (along with 5 million other people). My advice to couples would be to have the wedding that they want to have and don’t be afraid to do something truly different.
Be sure to stop by Julia’s website for some eye candy & if you’re thinking of booking her be quick, quick, quick as she only does a limited number of wedding a year!
Julia is also planning a fantastic charity event for November. Check out www.thebigidoredo.com if you fancy a great night dressed in your wedding gear!
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Friday, 27 June 2008
Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
My lovely mum came up with the initial idea for this concept & I don’t think I’m going to say much more about it! I’m thinking a Neapolitan icecream colour palette, a retro ice cream van & a ‘candy bar’ with lots of swirly lollipops for the reception!
Photo credits:
Veil & icecream: Brides
Pompoms: Martha Stewart
Ice cream van: Superdry87
Dress: Vintage Studio via Peonies
Bottles: Lorina
Cookies: Peggy Porschen
Cupcakes: BBC Food
Ice cream parlor: PopKulture
Posted in Brown, Design Concepts, Green, Pink, Yellow | 3 Comments »
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
Cute real wedding over at The Bride’s Cafe. Loving these two elements:
Posted in Blogging, Real Weddings | 1 Comment »
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008
In recent years, as weddings have become more and more personalised, processional music (the bride’s entrance music) has also been given a makeover & many couples are looking for something beyond the traditional wedding march (not that there is anything wrong with traditional you understand!). At the too-many-to-count weddings I’ve been to in the last few years, I’ve always found that processional music is a great opportunity to express your personality whilst also setting the tone and developing the style of your celebration.
So….what will you choose?
One of my closest friends had this beautiful track & despite not being at her wedding (!! OK so I didn’t actually know her back then,) the track really captures something of them and their relationship.
Recently, I’ve heard this & this which both work beautifully as processionals. With the Coldplay track the bride entered at the ‘guitar crescendo’ – what an amazing moment!
For my own wedding I chose this (sorry you can’t hear more of it), the lyrics to which are:
“Hold my hand while you sleep
So when you dream I’m there with you.
Home, feels like home
I hurry to make my way home
Cos you are my truth and my light
And when night falls I search for you
Make my way closer to you, closer to you”
I chose this track not only because it’s beautiful but also because the lyrics were really meaningful. Getting married felt like coming home, finding that place where you’re suppossed to be and so ‘coming home’ became a minor theme to our wedding day.
For a long time I toyed with the idea of having this incredible piece (warning: long piece of music but definitely worth it) & I still think it would be incredible at a wedding. Maybe a cathedral wedding. A cathedral wedding with a huge budget where you could have the entire orchestra there ;)
I also recently found this Spiritual from Oh Brother Where Art Thou which I think would work brilliantly at a Christian wedding.
For our exit we also chose this iconic track (nb nothing to do with SATC). A great track that worked perfectly for that moment!
So……tell me about yours…..
Posted in Music, Planning Tricks | 6 Comments »
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Saturday, 21 June 2008
Just back home after a lovely few days in Norfolk. On Friday we took a trip to the beautiful Norfolk coast where we visited the most stunning, unspoilt beach I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear, the sand super clean and the sky the most intense shade of blue. Wedding planning never far from my mind, this beautiful place of course inspired a design concept!
With this concept I was keen to things subtle and resist going over board with all things seaside! Hopefully this board has a good balance of reflecting the surroundings but not feeling too gimmicky.
Central to this concept is the use of light and cleverly bringing the outside in. I’m imagining lots of clear glass, fairy lights, sand filled hurricane vases and tea lights in jam jars. I’ve always loved the idea of a bonfire on the beach and I think this would be beautiful for a wedding. A barbeque of rustic seafood with toasted marshmallows for a midnight snack. Sky lanterns and sparklers just before the bride and groom steal away together. Oh how lovely!
Photo credits:
Hair: Brides
Candles, jam jars, limeade & canapes: Martha Stewart
Bonfire: C J McKeeve
Sky lanterns and beach: Me!
Cupcakes: Rebecca Thuss
Gown: Stephanie Allin
Sandcastle: A Merry Monk
Posted in Blue, Design Concepts, Green, Orange | 1 Comment »
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Today the lovely Maria Cooke of Ritzy Bee Events has been kind enough not only to feature us on her fantastic blog but also to spend some time answering the same questions so that they can be featured here. For me it’s fascinating hearing about both the people behind these fantastic blogs and also the American wedding industry. We’ve also included some photos of one of Maria’s weddings, you can see more here. Here goes:
Q. Tell us a little bit about your company
{rb} Ritzy Bee Events is a boutique style event planning firm specializing in weddings, social and corporate events in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC area. I launched the company two years ago after working as a corporate event planner for seven years prior. I named the company after my love for bees…and the fact the word {bee} also means “a social gathering in order to perform some task”…how perfect for event planning! We launched the {ritzy bee blog} www.ritzybee.com in late February of 2008 to have a forum to highlight ideas, trends and tips for all of the little details surrounding weddings.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the American wedding industry?
{rb} The American wedding industry is enormous…with 2.4 million weddings taking place each year in the United States with an average of $30,000 {U.S. Dollars} spent on each wedding it only continues to grow. Many American couples are marrying later, have less time, and more disposable income with established careers, so they can afford to hire a wedding planner to handle the details which is fortunately a very good thing for us!
There are endless resources it seems for just about every aspect of weddings…from dresses…to invitations…to favors…it can be downright overwhelming to know where to start and who the reliable resources truly are. In the past 5-7 years there has been such a surge of wedding resources on the internet…from blogs to message boards at wedding related websites, brides-to-be have such an incredible wealth of information at their finger tip’s!
Q. What locations are popular in DC & Virginia for weddings?
{rb} Couples in my area are so lucky and have so many amazing venues to choose from. With so much rich history…many couples choose to have their weddings in historic locations such as Mount Vernon {George Washington’s home}, other historic manor’s such as Oatlands or in one of the many beautiful old historic buildings in Washington DC that have such amazing architecture and presence. Virginia and Maryland also have beautiful, scenic backdrops from the mountains to the beaches. Wineries & vineyards are becoming increasingly popular locations in my area too!
Q. What are the current trends in the wedding industry you are seeing there?
{rb} I would say the top trends I am seeing now are:
Beautiful, bold and unique color palettes such as navy blue & marigold yellow or fuschia pink & teal blue are being used in all the little details of weddings from invitations to favors
A move from more formal, sit down dinners with a 3-4 course meal…to more of a relaxed, cocktail/lounge type set-up where heavy appetizers and food stations are set-up for guests to enjoy movement and the freedom to mingle with a lot more guests.
A focus on making sure guests have the absolute best time and feel comfortable versus just what the couple wants. With costs for traveling on the rise, couples want to show appreciation to their guests for traveling such great distances to join them on their big day!
Midnight snacks or a send-off food station serving things like donuts & milk, mini-fries and burgers, etc. are very popular right now! Guests love this!
Q. When you aren’t busy planning weddings, what do you enjoy doing for fun in your spare time?
{rb} I feel like I spend my time playing catch-up on my blog when I have spare time…but I enjoy spending time with my wonderful husband…we are addicted to the TV show LOST! We also enjoy visiting vineyards, traveling, fixing up our house and I love spending time with my friends and family!
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Tuesday, 17 June 2008
A couple of pictures from Sarah and Rob’s beach side wedding.
I had all of 2 seconds on the day to grab some shots and these really do not do the wedding justice but hopefully we’ll have some professional shots in a couple of weeks.
Rob and Sarah chose sage green and lilac for their colour scheme whilst their table centers were rose and rosemary arrangements in cube mirrored vases. The whole event was simple and elegant and perfectly reflected Sarah and Rob’s sense of style and design.
Congratulations to the lovely Sarah and Rob!
Posted in Real Weddings | 1 Comment »
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Monday, 16 June 2008
We’ve got lots of exciting things to blog about this week but to start things off I think it’s about time for a new Design Concept. So voila!
I’ve had the colour palette for this concept for a while now but it’s only in the last week that I’ve come across the photos to complete the board. I really can’t get enough of navy blue at the moment and I just love how fresh it looks when teamed with the sunny yellows. This concept has French, preppy feel and I’m imagining bold patterns, golden sunshine and maybe freshly squeezed orange juice cocktails? Perhaps miniature pan au chocolat at midnight?
I chose white peonies and yellow ranunculus for flowers as I think their fluffy texture is a great balance for the crisp lines of the stationery and the beautiful Oscar de le Renta gown. I think the gown is stunning but more about that later this week….
Photo Credits:
Wedding cake: fcmulle
Gown: Oscar de la Renta
Table setting: Martha Stewart Weddings
Bouquet: Brides
Invitation: Linda & Harriet
Ribbon: Cox & Cox
Dress: J Crew
Ranunculus: FrogMiller
Necklace: Nutraj via Etsy
Posted in Blue, Design Concepts, Grey, Orange, Yellow | No Comments »
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Friday, 13 June 2008
So it’s all super busy over here today. Tomorrow we have Rob and Sarah’s beach side wedding so we’re packing up all our bits and bobs and crossing our fingers for good weather. Hopefully, I’ll have some pictures for you on Monday but in the meantime I just stumbled over Linda & Harriet and I am in LOVE!
Sometimes you see something so beautiful it makes you want to get married all over again!
Have a lovely, sunshine filled weekend one and all!
Posted in I Heart, Stationery | No Comments »
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