Meet B Poetic

I absolutely loved these vintage fabric flowers by b. poetic the second I saw them! In fact, I wondered how I could have survived so long in tumultuous ignorance without them! Kaitlin hand makes each of these and they're extremely feminine for anytime or weddings. That's exactly how I like my accessories- a hint of romance that's not obnoxious or overdone. I'd recommend these for the bride and they'd make great accessories/gifts for your maids too. And you won't have to worry about them wilting on a hot day like today (at least it's miserable out here in So. Cal...yuck!)

Then I found this adorable wedding banner (below) on the b. poetic blog and that's when I was sure of it...I am an official fan of Kaitlin and b. poetic. And because I'm gushing so much, I just wanted to note that no, there's no sponsorship or advertising going on here. Really. I just really like her stuff.



Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Vendor Parade: Fleurtica

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Fleuretica has been on my radar for some time. I first stumbled across them at a SoCal wedding expo and their booth was amazing- way beyond anyone else. Then on meeting them I found out how friendly they were...and I've been a fan ever since. Located near Pasadena, Fleuretica Floral Design Studio has been getting noticed for their luscious arrangements, playful colors and twists on tradition. I've seen them incorporate fruit, marsh mellows and all sorts of interesting things in the arrangements- and the result is fantastic.

And since they were so nice to lend their expertise to answer my readers questions, I thought I'd post about them today to make all of our days a little brighter.

Congrats to Jose Villa and Our Labor of Love

Flipping through my mother-in-law's most recent copy of Professional Photographer Magazine I wasn't at all surprised to find my two favorite photographers Jose Villa and Our Labor of Love as featured photographers! Of course they would be in a magazine where the true cream of the crop photographers are listed! So congrats to them, and here's a little snippet about each of them.

Jose Villa Photography

Jose Villa Photography is available for travel world wide. He writes, "I am a fine art wedding photographer…ultimately my goal is to craft vibrant, energetic, fine art images that are as unique as the people in the photographs."

(Images courtesy of Jose Villa's Blog)

Our Labor of Love Photography
Our Labor of Love is a husband-wife team that are known for capturing spontaneous moments. They write, "We sincerely hope you're…interested in unique photographs that capture real beauty rather than robo-photos that pasteurize originality. We think you, your family celebrations, your friends and your true loves are beautiful and any images that represent these milestones should illustrate the pure joy in these moments."

(Images courtesy of Our Labor of Love's Blog)

Vendor Parade: Savadelis Films, Part One

(Click to watch Fever in Quicktime)

I'm very pleased to start this year's Vendor Parade with amazing videographers, Savadelis Films! Chuck and Jewel Savadelis come with high recommendations from a top wedding planner. Chuck and Jewel formed Savadelis Films six years ago with the goal of creating beautiful personal movies of life's events. Chuck was formerly a freelance commercial photographer with a background in fashion, architecture and executive portraiture. (Cool fact: he has even photographed three U.S. Presidents!)

They started a blog to show brides and grooms examples of excellent wedding movies and just slipped into educating couples about how to evaluate videography, what's new in the field of videography, pointing out what's so great about a current movie, and mentioning other great wedding professionals with whom they've had the pleasure of working with.

They have a great video to share called Fever. Jewel wrote about the couple, "This urban, sophisticated couple celebrated their wedding at San Francisco's City Hall. This stylish couple and their guests really knew how to have a good time."

Fever Movie in Quicktime
or
Fever Movie in Windows Media

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

New Year 2009

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This is the Miller's wedding from New Years Eve 2007. The fabulous affair was coordinated by Christina Baker St. Louis Wedding Consultants and catered by the entire staff at the Coronado Hotel of St. Louis.

There are so many things I love about this wedding. Jeannie and Jack, the bride and groom, look radiant and so obviously in love. I love that they hosted the wedding on New Year's Eve because it started the new year with a celebration of love. And as you can see, they were clever enough to allow the Christmas decorations do most of the hard work for them. Though I wouldn't ever recommend a wedding the day before/of/after Christmas, I love the idea of a New Year's wedding.

The wedding was shot by the ever so talented Jon Koch. He has a very classic style full of vibrant colors which he refers to as "Fine Art Documentary," that is, photojournalism melded with fashion and fine art aesthetics.

Real Weddings: Kavitha and Ray

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Meet Kevin Lam , the talented photographer from Toronto. Meet Kavitha and Ray. He is a PhD and she is an MD. Both are smart, fun and beautiful. Both are completely green for the environment (they even made sure their alcohol was green) and they are completely smitten with each other!

Kavitha and Ray wed at the Vaughan Estates at Sunnybrook, Sri Lankan style. Then they slipped into American traditional wedding attire and danced the night away! And she got to wear two amazing dresses!! I think both of Kavitha's dresses are simply stunning!

Personal Note: Thanks to Kevin who I discovered online. I asked him to share as I was super impressed with his work. The quick facts are that he is based out of Toronto, Canada (good to know for all of my Canadian readers). He combines his passion for photography and a genuine desire to learn about people and cultures to explore the world through his camera. His photographs have been featured in various publications, Web sites, advertising, and film.

DK Designs: Clay Flowers Giveaway!

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Diane of DK Designs is having an exciting giveaway of her amazing clay flowers! One entry per person per day. Be sure to email all your friends to let them know about this fun giveaway! Special thanks to Snippet & Ink and With This Ring for helping spread the word about the contest!

This contest has closed.

Gardenia Hair Flower - $20 value:

Gardenias are a very popular flower to wear in your hair on your wedding day. Why not try a handcrafted gardenia hair flower! This way it will last you through the ceremony, reception and beyond! The gardenias are slightly off-white, but not ivory. They are 3.5 inches in diameter and are VERY lightweight. The flowers are attached to a U-shape hairpin to fit securely in your up-do or low-do hairstyle.

Passionate about Peonies - $100 value:

This arrangement is called, Passionate about Peonies. It measures 6 inches high by 7 inches across the top. It's filled with light pink and fuchsia pinkish-red peonies, both in full bloom and in bud form! The full bloom peonies have over 30 petals, all handcrafted one petal at a time. The flowers are arranged in a 3 inch square white ceramic cube vase. If you love peonies, you will absolutely love this floral arrangement.

Gardenias in Something Blue - $75 value:

This beautiful light blue latte cup is brimming with gardenia blossoms! 2 buds, 2 half open and 3 full gardenias mixed with some light blue floral fillers finish this piece off. It measures approximately 6 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches high. It's clean, stylish and sophisticated. This would make a great gift for a bride or even a centerpiece for a bridal shower!

The flowers are all handcrafted by the artist featured on the Martha Stewart Show, utilizing CLAYCRAFT by DECO soft clay, which enables the artist to create lifelike flowers one petal at a time. Diane’s work has been featured in For the Bride Magazine, In Style Weddings Magazine (via http://www.estiloweddings.com/) and Pacific Rim Weddings Magazine. The bulk of the Diane's work is in custom bridal bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and other floral decor.

(Contest ends at 12 midnight, November 7, 2008. Winners will be randomly selected. You will not increase your chances of winning by purchasing a product from DK Designs or Smitten Invitations. You do not need to be married or engaged to enter, simply omit the wedding date in your entry. One entry per person per day. Winners will be notified by email and will be announced on Melissa's Smitten blog.)

DK Designs: Clay Flowers

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I discovered Diane of DK Designs and I was amazed!! So amazed that I invited her to tell us more about what she does. She has kindly answered all my questions and you can read even more on the DK Designs Blog. Her clay flowers are so stunning that I hardly trust the photos- but it's true, she hand creates each flower. To see how she does it, you can watch her Martha Stewart video segment.

Q: What are the advantages of clay flowers?

A: Clay flowers are a great alternative to fresh for several reasons: They will not wilt or turn brown due to excessive heat on a hot summer day. It's a keepsake after the wedding and with a little bit of care (no prolonged exposure to direct sunlight/no contact with liquids/water), your flowers will be as beautiful as the day you got married years and years from now. You can customize any color you wish, even if it doesn't exist in nature. You can order flowers that aren't in season or are sensitive to the elements (hydrangeas, lily of the valley, peonies, plumerias, etc.) If you had your heart set on gardenias and they are not in season, it's a perfect solution... clay flowers! Cost - for the most part it's pretty comparable. Price is dependent on size and style of bouquet as well as the flowers you choose. In some areas depending on the complexity or amount of labor involved in making a particular flower, it may be more, but they are handmade by me and it will last you for many years to come.

One thing brides have to understand, it is HANDMADE not by a factory of workers, but by me, petal by petal, not using a production process. It's all by hand. So I even though I try to stay comparable to what they would pay with a fresh floral designer, they may have to pay more just because they are paying for my time to create these beautiful works of art. Plus the fact that it's not going to wilt, turn brown or die on their wedding day! I do have brides often come to me asking me to replicate their bouquet because their preserved one doesn't look good or they weren't able to preserve and now they have a solution to getting their bouquet back!

Q: What arrangements are clay flowers used in for a wedding?
Clay flowers can be used for bridal bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, hair flowers, flowergirl baskets, ring pillows, centerpieces, favors, cake flowers, etc. Pretty much whatever you can do with fresh flowers can be done in clay flowers. More and more brides are realizing that because these clay flowers look so real, that they spend money once and have flowers to last them well beyond their wedding day. I think it's being considered an "eco-chic" way to decorate your wedding day.

They also make great hair flowers - you can wear them after the wedding at a special event or function or just because you want to look a little extra special. So many times I've seen wedding photos with a bride wearing a fresh gardenia flower and the petals have all turned brown.

Cake flowers are another thing that are popular with my brides. They can't afford to do sugar flowers and sometimes would prefer to have something they can take home. I had a bride where we did a custom cake topper to match her wedding flowers in a square shallow vase to match her 5 tier square cake and it looked phenomenal. You almost couldn't tell them from the real flowers at her wedding. Plus it makes a great arrangement to decorate your home afterwards.

Q: How do brides react when they get their clay flowers?
A: My brides are absolutely floored when they see work in progress pictures and they get so excited. They are so anxious to receive the final product. When they do finally receive their bouquets, they are completely satisfied and are so happy they decided to go with clay flowers. Many women who discover me after they already got married, wished they had found me when they were getting married.

If you're interested, definitely book 3-6 months minimum out. I've become increasingly busy with being featured on the Martha Stewart Show , Weddingbee.com (Miss Pineapple), The Wedding Planning Audiocast, TheKnot.com Real Weddings feature, so book DK Designs as you would if you were booking a fresh floral designer. The earlier the better! Depending on the size of your order, it could take 1-3 weeks to create your clay flower creations once I begin the process. I also like to email my brides pictures of the progress which shows them how their bouquets are coming along and makes them feel like they are a part of the process. I absolutely LOVE what I do and I think the end product expresses that. All my brides have been super to work with and so appreciative of my works of art and creating the wedding flowers of their dreams.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

K Chocolatier

K Chocolatier by Diane Khor (former chocolatier to First Lady Jackie Kennedy, and who's chocolate were claimed "The Rolls Royce of Chocolate" by Jill Cordes, The Food Network) has fabulous chocolate favor boxes which can double as table cards. In each flower favor box (which come in cream, moss, pink and red) Diane has four of her amazing chocolates.

I had to know for myself (and I can never pass up a chocolate tasting) so I visited friendly Diane at her store in Beverly Hills. It's a tiny shop, but don't be fooled. When I tasted a dark chocolate "Kranberry" I really nearly melted to the floor. Amazing! The best chocolate experience in my entire life! These favors will elicit "ohhs" and "ahhs" across the room when they are sampled by your guests, as these are grown-up chocolates at their very best.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Vendor Parade: Element Studios

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I'm thrilled to have Element Studios in our Vendor Parade (where we showcase the very best of the wedding industry). I love how Element Studios has an eye for vibrant color, and their romance shots are breathtaking. They perfectly captured Biren and Jane. Biren and Jane merged two cultures, and Jane wore both a traditional wedding gown in addition to her amazing Indian wedding dress. And orange! I adore orange weddings! I think Biren and Jane's wedding is the perfect example of Element Studios' work.

Photographer Paulo wrote, "My wedding pictures are both intimate and candid, revealing the subtle moments of the day. I hope that my love for what I do is evident in my work, and I anticipate having the opportunity to share my passion and integrity with you."

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Sneak-Peek: Element Studios

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I couldn't resist! Here is a sneak-peek at Biren and Jane's wedding. Monday you'll see more when I'll have Element Studios of Hawaii on our acclaimed Vendor Parade, where I showcase the best wedding vendors in the industry. Mahalo!

Jose Villa: Christiana and Scott

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Christiana and Scott were married at Wave Hill in the Bronx a few weeks back. Christiana and Scott incorporated blue grass music, crafty details, and crisp colors into their wedding. All this was captured by none other than Jose Villa- and you can tell. His work leaves me looking at the pictures again...and again...and again. That's when you know you're smitten.

Jose Villa has been featured in top wedding magazines worldwide, including Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, The Knot, Instyle Weddings, and many many more. Jose Villa was recently listed by Pop Photo as one of the 10 best wedding photographers in the world for 2008.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Bakery Bar

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These are some of my all time favorite wedding cakes from one of my all time favorite wedding cake stores, Bakery Bar. Their cakes are scrumptious, modern, delightful, whimsical and fantastic. And great. And fantastic...did I say that already?

"All cakes come with your choice of one of our signature fondant decorations and an inscription, if desired...All of our decorations are made of fondant and are hand colored, rolled, cut and shaped by us. Details may be added with royal icing, edible luster dusts, and dark or white chocolate."

My favorite new idea comes from their wedding cupcakes- see how they have a great mini cake on top? With the mini cake there's room for cake toppers (which I adore) and then the bride and groom can have the traditional one year cake as well...if it isn't eaten before!

Bellydance for Sensual Fitness

Are you looking to slim down and tone up before your wedding? Try bellydancing! I myself am taking a bellydancing class (that's my bellydance instructor Nar to the left- keep in mind that these photos were taken after an hour of dancing so we don't look our best!)

It's a whole body workout, but you with all the stomach emphasis you'll be ready for your honeymoon bikini besides your wedding dress. Plus it's relaxing and sensual and even a beginner (such as myself) can easily pick it up. Best of all you get to wear great wraps and use scarves. Nothing could be more feminine!

My dance instructor is the extremely talented Nar. She's great at breaking down complicated steps for novices like myself. Even better, she bellydances for weddings and events and is one of the better bellydancers I've seen (and I've seen quite a few). If you'll be in need of a bellydancer in the So Cal area, be sure to call Nar for bellydancing.

Bellydancing is customary in Middle Eastern weddings and can be a great source of entertainment for your guests during your cocktail hour or reception. And bellydancers are great to get the party started as they often bring guests up to dance with them.

As for your bellydance training, if you don't have time for an actual class, I'd recommend Neena and Veena's Discover Bellydance on DVD. They make it very simple to understand the movements and then you can workout on your schedule.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Events by Evonne: Jeff and Rhonda

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Evonne of Events by Evonne shared the wedding of Jeff and Rhonda with me. They were married on June 7, 2008 at The Plantation Golf Course and had their reception at The Plantation House Restaurant in Mau`i. Words on the street is that Jeff and Rhonda met through a blind date and to thank their guests for their support they had a miniature cake for each guest, each about four inches round.

Evonne wrote of the wedding on her blog, "Rhonda picked the most beautiful colors for her wedding - turquoise blue, apple green and espresso brown. We had brown linens with blue chair sashes, green and blue fabric swags for the stairs railing, green and blue silk napkins, brown ottomans with blue and green pillows... The combination was unbelievable."

"Guests enjoyed their pupus (appetizers) and a blue Signature cocktail, while a Hawaiian duo serenaded them. The dinner reception included an 8 course wine-pairing menu. That was the most extensive menu I have ever seen of all the weddings I have planned on the islands. To top it off, each guest got their own individual wedding cake."

And if you're going to be married in Maui, put Evonne at the top of your must have list. Events by Evonne is a full service wedding and event planning, coordination and design company, founded by Evonne Wong, who has planned over 300 weddings and events both on the beautiful valley isle of Mau`i and in the San Francisco Bay Area.

(Note from Melissa: Evonne is also extremely friendly and well connected in the wedding industry. In fact, you should just plan your wedding to be in Maui just so you can work with her, it'd be well worth it!)

Wedding photography courtesy of Element Studios.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Rules of Engagement: The Ring

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Alright men, this one's for you. It's likely that if you are reading this you're already engaged but I know there are some that are not. Let's discuss the engagement ring. Here's what I learned with help from Abazias, diamond experts.

The Four C's: Carat, Clarity, Color and Cut.

I was surprised from what I learned. Did you know that Carat has to do with the weight, and not necessarily the size? You can have two diamonds that look identical yet one will have a higher carat. Who knew? Or that clarity is a good area to sacrifice in order to save costs? I didn't know, but it turns out that small inclusions are internal flaws that are often only visible to a trained professional, so you don't need a flawless diamond for it to look amazing.

Color is a fun area, as diamonds can actually be many colors, even black. These are deemed "fancy," such as the pink diamond shown above. All other diamonds can have different amounts of inclusions that affect their color, "D" being the most colorless.

I think if I were proposing the trickiest part would be the cut. Mainly because this is only based on your fiancé-to-be's preference. Ask her best friend, her parents, or watch her closely for her preferences...and don't feel that you have to propose with the final ring, you can have an inexpensive "work in progress ring" for the night of.

The ring pictured in row two is my "dream ring" created from Abazia's Ring Builder, which is pretty awesome. It allows you to shop from over 100,000 diamonds and then preview them in your band. I had a little too much fun I'm afraid as my ideal ring cost $63,000.

Top: ring in box photo courtesy of Martha Stewart, two sparklers photo courtesy of Martha Stewart, engagement rings photo courtesy of The Knot, stacked diamond rings photo courtesy of Martha Stewart. Second Row: dream solitaire ring available through Abazias, cluster ring photo courtesy of Martha Stewart, wedding bands on apple photo, photo courtesy of Ann Hamilton, loose diamond, photo courtesy of Abazia's diamond blog, pink diamond, photo courtesy of the Natural Color Diamond Association.

Jon Koch: Ellen and Jeremy

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Please welcome Jon Koch, the talented photographerwho did the photography for Ellen and Jeremy's wedding. Based out of St. Louis, he travels the country to create breathtaking wedding photography. He has a very classic style full of vibrant color. He refers to his style as "Fine Art Documentary," that is, photojournalism melded with fashion and fine art aesthetics. And no wonder, his bouquet photograph looks like it could be hung in a museum.

I loved Ellen and Jeremy's wedding for all the fun colors and details they incorporated to make their wedding personal and fun. The black and white theme accompanied with teals and blues is such a refreshing twist on formal. The wedding was held at the Missouri History Museum and coordinated by Proposing Dreams. Thanks to Jon Koch for sharing his amazing work.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Seven Years to Santa Clara

This is a very touching video of Nicole Calio and Brian Glynn who waited seven long years to be wed. Filmed at the Santa Clara Mission, it's a sweet introduction that plays like a trailer to a beautiful love story.

It was created by Cinematic Studios, a talented firm based in the San Fransisco Bay area. They have a distinct visual style and a friendly team. Please feel free to contact Hilarie at hilarie@cinematicstudios.com and tell her Melissa's Smitten sent you!

Meghan Aileen: Ryan and Linda (two)

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Isn't Meghan Aileen's color photography lovely as well? Their wedding at the historic El Cortez Hotel clearly was the romantic location Ryan and Linda desired to celebrate their wedding.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.

Meghan Aileen: Ryan and Linda

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Ryan and Linda were married on April 26th in San Diego at the beautiful El Cortez Hotel. Meghan Aileen wrote about their wedding, "For every wedding based on the couple’s taste, I work on a number of the images to look like different types of aged black and white film. The nostalgia of this type of image as well as the element of timeless aesthetic, is very fitting for weddings I believe…and I love it!"

Meghan Aileen's documentary style combines the nostalgic look of vintage film photography and the versatility of modern digital color. She is acclaimed for being able to anticipate a moment, and for her ability to capture personality in her images that will speak to your heart for years to come. I love her vintage take on Ryan and Linda and you'll be enchanted tomorrow when you see her color work. It's her meld of the two that's perfectly lovely.

Vendors in the Parade may or may not sponsors of Melissa's Smitten Blog, but are strictly selected for the Vendor Parade for their sterling reputation and outstanding work.