Grace Kelly's Veil

Grace Kelly.... ah the quintessential classic bride. When I was little I remember seeing a photo of her in all her finery and wishing I could be a Princess just like her. I was particularly enchanted with her veil and I still am. Yup, I was the kid walking around with a sheet looking more like a ghost/nun than a pretend bride to be. I vacillated between having a blusher until I saw the above photo and my mind was made up for good. It's traditional, romantic and "bridal".

The masterful couturier Helen Rose, cheif designer at MGM studios, was in charge of creating Grace Kelly's bridal ensemble. She found beautiful antique rose point lace or as it's also referred to as "point de gaze" for the gown and veil. The double petaled roses on the lace is unbelievable; it's extremely hard to come by and only a few places in Brussels still maintain the painstaking art form of making rose point lace. Here are some photos of Grace Kelly's veil and gown housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art:

I also love the row of tiny beautiful bottons on the front

For some reason I always thought G. Kelly's veil was of cathedral length. The panel of lace in the gown gives the impression of a longer veil.

Outdoor Garden

Apparently Jack has a big ol green thumb. The herbs and flowers we planted outside in our window boxes have really flourished. And its all due to Jack; being a farmer's son sure does come in handy sometimes. Well actually all the time. For the first time last night we were able to eat what we grew, what a thought! We made traditional beef stroganoff and picked some fresh dill to sprinkle on top. It's was mmm mmm good. Martha Stewart would have been proud.

Vintage Wedding Ideas

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, orange blossom wedding wreaths were all the rage. Orange blossoms symbolize innocence and purity for the bride as well as a fertility good luck charm. Finding fresh orange blossoms were hard to come by so orange blossoms were either waxed (dipped in wax to be preserved) or made out of wax- "wax orange blossoms". Preserved antique waxed orange blossoms wreaths are a rarity and they usually sell at a high price. Here is a beautiful wreath from French Garden House:

Back in the Victorian era it was very popular for suitors to vocalize their feelings by sending messages to their intended through the giving of a small bouquet of flowers. The art of sending messages through flowers, or Floriography, spawned countless of books and dictionaries on the meaning of flowers. Poesy holders, or tussie mussie holders became all the rage and they are usually handcrafted with lovely patterns out of silver or bronze and sometimes even semi-precious or precious jewels. These are highly collectible items on the antique market. They would also be a wonderful ornamentation to the bridal bouquet and a keepsake for generations to come. Here's a poesy from The Three Graces:

Poesy rings were given as a sign of love and affection and usually had a phrase of endearment, a poem or name etched into the inner band intended to be only read by the receiver. This antique 17th century gold poesy ring from The Three Graces has inscribed, "In thee I finde content of mind".

More Registry Items

As stated in my previous post, Jack and I have accumulated many of the typical registry items together over time. To put things into perspective we are coming on 8 years of being together... in fact we have too much stuff. So our registry will be an eclectic mix of stuff; all of it veering towards the side of necessity and functionality versus frivolity. But it doesn't mean I can't pine over the au courant registry items on the market these days. When our appliances/kitchen finally go kaput these are at the top of my ever expanding dream registry list:

Dyson Vacuum: Who would have thought a vacuum could be this sexy?

Le Creuset Cookware:

Laguiole Knives:

Beignets

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If there was a food item that I could wax poetic it would be the lovely and delectable beignet. Pronounce it with me: ben-yay. Light, fluffy and golden, but with a heartiness that will surprise you it is served with a showering of powdered sugar for that extra punch of sweetness. It's a messy treat, only to be eaten by the brave of heart, for which you are rewarded with a showering of sugar on your clothes. It's the New Orleans culinary rite of passage. And there is no better place than Cafe du Monde to experience this culinary delight.

Cafe du Monde was established in 1862 in the French Market and they pride themselves on being opened 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week except for Christmas Day and hurricanes. As one of the first places to open it's doors post Hurricane K, Cafe du Monde brought a sense of hope and normalcy to the badly beat up city. According to lore the beignet was brought over to Louisiana by the Acadians, 17th century French colonists who settled in Canada's Acadia region and then migrated to Louisiana. Perhaps they wanted warmer weather? I can't blame them!

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I'm forever grateful that the Acadians introduced the fried choux pastry which through time became the puffy square shape pillows of delight we call beignets. It's slightly chewy, not overly greasy version of the American donut but so much better. Hopefully you'll now have the gumption to fly down to New Orleans, sit in a shaded balmy courtyard and eat a beignet with a hot cup of cafe au lait and watch the world drift by. Now that's music to my ears.

Gem Palace

I wish I could jump on a plane to Jaipur, India so I can peruse the treasures at the Gem Palace. It would seriously be a dream come true. I love how expressive and beautiful Indian jewelry can be; you will definitely make a statement if you wear one of these pieces:


Gold enameled chandelier earrings set with rose cut diamonds and spinel drops

18kt gold, silver and parab cut diamond bracelet.

Turquoise and Gold Collar with Horus Heads

Multi-colored spinels set into 22 kt. gold

Table Linens: Part I

I'm seriously thinking of doing a linen registry. I have to check but I'm sure Leontine Linens offers such a service. Jack and I moved in together while we were dating so we have accumulated many a nice pot and kitchen appliance over the years. What we don't have and need is nice linens. The term linen gets tossed around quite a bit; it encompasses a wide range of fabrics including Linen itself. Prior to the rise and expansion of the use of cotton, most kitchen and bedroom textiles were made out of Linen and the term linen... just stuck. It's made out of flax which makes it durable, highly absorbable and crisp (especially when bleached white). It's soft to the touch and oh so lovely.

People play with quantities and colors quite a bit when it comes to creating a table linen set. I've been told by several design consultants to not be afraid to mix colors and patterns and make a bold statement. If you have your formal china pattern picked out then you can coordinate your linens to match or coordinate your china pattern. Yes... match. The famed linen establishment E. Braun & Co among others can embroider the exact design of your china pattern. Talk about service but it will cost you a pretty penny!

Image Source: A setting by E. Braun & Co that matches the Bernadaud "Constance" collection

For a more formal setting I love the look of a billowing crisp white linen hemstitched table cloth with matching napkins. For casual dining we will probably do a mix of color and pattern. A piece of advice given to me that I thought I'd share was to bring in measurements for your dining/kitchen table so that the tablecloth and runner are the appropriate size and shape. A good rule of thumb is to not let them overhang more than 12 inches on the side.

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I think Runners are practical and fashionable; a must have for the table linen trousseau. You can lay one down the center of the table to create a spot for serving dishes and centerpieces while adding style to your table.

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Here's a lovely monogramed dinner napkin design from Leontine Linens. If your adverse to monograms then you can with a solid color, a pattern or slightly embellished with hemstitching or embroidery. Dinner napkins are typically 20 inches square.

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For Part II I'll do a little post on antique linen kitchen towels and my favorite Madeira cocktail napkin designs by Marghab!

Leontine Linens

Can I sleep here please??

I heart Leontine Linens. I'm not the first to blog about LL but I have to say it's wonderful to see this linen store take off and do so well with Jane Scott Hodge's at the helm. I used to walk by the store on Magazine Street in college and wish for the day that I could own nice linens. Once we buy the condo we have been scrimping and saving for this is the first place I'll go to for all of our linen needs (All images via Leontine Linens).

Here's a look at the gorgeous Magazine Street location:

Bella Blooms Floral

I've got flowers on the brain and these arrangements make me happy and remind me of summer. They were created by my new favorite florist Dee at Bella Blooms Floral . She's creative and fun. She's fairly new to the floral industry but she is taking New Orleans by storm. Check it out:

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Sitting Pretty

I'm thinking of following the time honored Southern tradition of getting a bridal portrait done. I'm painfully shy in front of the camera and I'm worried about how to pose and smile. I have all the confidence in the world in our photographers but not allot of confidence in ME. I've also been thinking of how I want the bridal portraits to look. I don't want it casual but having it super formal is not me either. I've been thinking about it more and more and what better way to get inspiration than from the master of portraits himself, John Singer Sargent. I would love to infuse a little of the styling effect used in his portraits; a touch of whimsy and grandeur in all my finery but still make it my own without coming across as pompous.

Sargent is famous for his portraits of the aristocracy in the age when dressing up for dinner in your pearls and finery was commonplace. I love his gorgeously detailed portraits; you can almost feel the satin, velvet and tulle just from looking at his work. Most of the elegant ladies he painted he styled on his own with very few props but against lavishly draped backgrounds. Furniture was typically used, or architectural details like pillars and windows as backdrops. Props included a dazzling showcase of jewelry, fans, feathers or an Eden like display of flowers. In a city like New Orleans, grandeur, whimsy and the avant-garde are intermixed on a daily basis so the city itself will serve as a great backdrop for what I have in mind.

I think once I'm all spiffed up in my wedding gown I'll hopefully have the courage to channel the languid grace of Sargent's beauties:

Madame Paul Poirson

Elizabeth Chanler

Lady Agnew

Lady Astor

Singing in the Rain

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Can I go in... pretty please? I am still kicking myself for not going into Madeleine Gely when I had the chance. I just stood in front of the shop, aching to go in but feeling overwhelmed I didn't. I just stood there like an idiot face pressed to the glass. Now that I'm older and wiser I am no longer intimidated! I'm on the hunt for a pretty umbrella and I wish I could take a quick trip to Paris so I could live in this store. More to come on my umbrella hunt!

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Madeleine Gelly was founded in 1834 and it is located on Boulevard St. Germain. The store is crammed with beautiful umbrellas from floor to ceiling along with walking sticks, parasols and other beautiful accessories. In 2002 Alexandra Sojfer took over her family's umbrella business founded by her grandfather Georges Gaspar and joined forces with Madeleine Gelly. They offer a variety of umbrellas in various sizes, colors with a price range that is accommodating. Everything is handmade with the finest materials and the cost is worth it. If you have an antique umbrella or one that needs fixing they also restore and repair on the side.

Bo Diddley and his beat

Always imitated but never surpassed!

Library Theme

Milton H. Latter Library in New Orleans

Jack and I are nerdtastic sorts of people and we love to read. Love it so much that a fun night out would consist of deep dish pizza from Pequod's and a hop across the street to our local Barnes and Noble for a latte and a good read to finish the night. So incorporating our favorite past-time into our wedding celebration sounds like a good thing, no? We totally jumped on the library themed wedding bandwagon but at the same time we are hoping we can convey subtlety and nuance and give it our own sense of style. Here's hoping.

It helps if you are actually getting married in a library for starters. I had an imaginary meeting of minds with SJP's character Carrie from SATC -TM when she commented on how much she loved the smell of library books. Libraries have their own sense of mystery and elegance and I think they make wonderful venues; especially one's rich in history that offer architectural delights to boot. We are thrilled to have finally booked our reception site at the beautiful Milton H. Latter Memorial Library and we can't wait to celebrate our wedding at this gorgeous historic venue (NOTE: Our wedding venue changed. We still love the theme though!!!)

I'm currently focused on finding inspiration for a library themed invitation set. Speaking of which, Kathryn over at Snippet & Ink has been a wonderful wedding design source and her inspiration boards provide all the eye candle you could possibly handle. Kathryn's board #164 aptly titled "Erudite Elegance" seems like a good place to start:

I love the idea of having the library theme carry into the stationary set. Use the Dewey decimal system from Speak Quietly:



Or use a book as an invite with a bookmark showing you the invitation hidden inside from Sesame Letterpress:

Stylish Notebooks

By all appearances I seem too have an organized life but that's all on the surface. I have a bad habit of writing notes on post-it's and they always get lost. It would be nice to have something small and convenient that I could stick in my purse so I can jot down all the minutia I have running through in my head. Or even better something to house all my various notes for my thesis work.

All I need is something lined, small enough to fit in my purse, perforated edges and pockets preferred with a little design flair. Here are my favorites:

Miquelrius:

Moleskine:

Russel and Hazel:

La Foce

All images via La Foce

We originally planned on traveling to Tuscany for our honeymoon. Although winter in Tuscany is breathtaking it is nonetheless cold during the Christmas season. By the time December comes around we are going to be ready to leave blistery cold Chicago for a little warm weather. We did consider the benefits of traveling off-season. For one Tuscany will be devoid of tourists like ourselves and that is a definite plus. I can picture the museum lines being slightly shorter and getting a glimpse of country life without feeling like I'm part of a herd. And everything is generally cheaper; from the tickets to accommodations. There are so many different options to choose from in the Tuscan countryside but the one that stood out the most was La Foce in the Val d'Orcia. Its beautiful, affordable, close to the famous wine towns of Tuscany and offers a variety of activities to choose from. The villa and it's gardens are world renowned and the history of the area is fascinating. The garden layout was designed by Cecil Pensit and if you are interested in perusing the history and designs further you can buy the book on La Foce here. I'll let the images do most of the talking: