flowerartgarden.com

A very lavender creation from Pink Cake Box mixes cake and cup cakes; This stunning lace dress called Yolanda is from Claire Pettibone’s 2009 collecion; a sooo purple bridesmaid dress from Alfred Angelo is lively and “wear-again”; Jessica McClintock does a lavender sash for just the right amount of color; Our own bridal bouquet  adds lavender touches and silver mesh ribbon to the mix, available at The Bouquet Boutique

Photos: Italian Espresso Cup favors make for an elegant, lasting quest gift; a glass and ceramic oil bottle can be used again and again; love the spoon rest…who doesn’t need one when cooking Italian; the towel cake favor is simply cute as can be; a little porcelain wedding favor is a nice memento of the occasion.  All available at myitalianweddingfavors.com

No matter where you live, Fall is a time of year that brings color to mind: red, gold, orange leaves; brightly colored gourds; warm browns.  Autumn is the perfect time of year to add a little color and spice to a wedding.

Photos:  a whimsical cake from the magnificent Pink Cake Box can be a focal point for any Fall wedding.   Amsales’s deep brown bridesmaid dress is made for the occassion or take your colors from nature shown in the stunning photo below.

Our own Fall bridal bouquet picks up the many colors of Autumn in a stylish, updated arrangement.

The Fall flowers shown throughout detail the lush color and warm glow of the season.

Beautiful wedding dresses from Mon Cheri and Vera Wang add color to the mix.  Below, a seasonal centerpiece from Martha Stewart Weddings.

If you’ve never watched an eposide of TLC’s “Cake Boss”, you don’t know what you’re missing (to take a peak go to tlc.com/cakeboss).  Although the cakes take center stage, the real stars of the show at Carlo’s Bakery, Hoboken, NJ, are the guy at the helm, Buddy Valestro, and his large, authentic Italian famiglia.

Cakes drop, tempers flare, icy stares emit from Carlo’s many sisters, and all the while the zany crew turns out masterpieces. 

Photos: Buddy puts the finishing touches on a cake; The crew in front of the shop; a few wedding cakes.

As my followers know, I love the Cymbeline collections: the fluff; the delicateness, the style so unmistakably European.  I tried to showcase just a few wonderful designs but ended up having to stop myself from filling up pages and pages with luscious photos.  Not only is there a design here for just about everyone, but each dress is an example of something totally out-of-the-ordinary.

Brides who cling to “tradition” may not love the lightweight, walk-on-air dresses, from Vera Wang’s 2010 Spring collection as I do, but you can’t deny the artsy style of these designs.  I recently viewed a wedding show on Martha Stewart featuring Vera and this collection.  As she tells it, she created these dresses with fabric weight in mind.  Traditional ballgowns can weigh in at a hefty 40-plus pounds.

We’ve also included some knockout, Vera Wang jewelry, sold at Bergdorf Goodman’s and other stores.

There are several theories on the traditional tossing of the wedding garter but the one I like dates back to 14th century Europe.  Because it was considered good luck to have a piece of the bride’s dress to enhance one’s own chances for marital bliss, guests would rip pieces of fabric from the wedding dress.  I don’t know how long it took to figure out that this was a bad idea, but eventually brides decided to toss their own items, most notably, the wedding garter.

Today, many brides wear two garters: one to toss and one to keep.  Below are two examples of our own custom-order garters.

Flower girls looking all grown up but still retaining that little girl charm.  The Mary’s Bridal Cupids collection knows how to achieve the perfect balance.