My Best Friend’s Wedding

Wedding Style

If you’ve been around Apartment 34 for quite some time, you’ll remember I went through a phase of being in love with weddings. Of course that coincided with my own, and while we don’t talk about them much around here anymore, truth be told I still love them. I love the details. I love all the amazing talents, designs and inspiration that go into designing a beautiful wedding. In fact, this genius wedding DIY is still on one of our most popular posts to date. But when it’s your best friend’s wedding – well – things feel extra special.

That was certainly the case when my bestie Cassandra of Coco+Kelley got married last June. The details were perfect. Cassandra went for a Tuscan-inspired, old world European vibe and it was just so good. Everything was thoughtful, sophisticated but not over the top. You had to be paying attention to appreciate all the little details, which of course I was!

The tables had a beautiful palette of dusty pinks, peaches, golds, lilac and green. Custom drink and dinner menus and place cards featured gorgeous calligraphy and whimsical illustrations.

We bridesmaids were all gifted super cool rose gold rings with a faceted Swarowski crystal, each with their personalized velvet ring box. See – I’m tellin’ ya Cassandra thought of every details.

Cassandra’s wedding is featured on Green Wedding Shoes today (another awesome OG in this blogging game) and seeing all of Katie Parra’s gorge photos takes me right back to that amazing moment. Kinda wish we could do it all again! Head over here to check out all the details.

If you’re curious about our wedding inspirations past, CLICK HERE.

Now’s the Time to Wear Your Summer Whites

Fashion

I’ve also had a thing for white clothes. Practical? No. Fabulous? Absolutely. And now that summer is officially here (woot!), it is the perfect time to break out your summer whites. When I spied the White Collection by Elizabeth Suzann I immediately wanted all the things!

Jumpsuits, dresses, crop-tops – oh my! The collection is actually intended to be bridal. I can totally see how a modern bride might rock any one of these looks. They’d even be great for a rehearsal dinner, the reception or as a getaway outfit, but I also want every single piece in my wardrobe. There’s nothing more classic, or easy to wear. You just have to carry a tide stick with you at all times.

What do you think? Is white a staple of your summer wardrobe too?

Here’s a few more summer style ideas!

8 Unique Wedding Gifts for the Style-Lovin’ Couple

Fashion

Well people, it seems that it’s time to batten down the hatches, clear those calendars and warm up the ole liver—wedding season is in full swing. Just how many are you attending this year??

If you’re anything like us, proactive wedding gift planning is not a strong suit. Typically, about a week out from the wedding, we’ll log onto the couple’s registry to find that the only items that have yet to be spoken for are pillow inserts and a sad looking Tupperware set. “Argh…If only I had placed an order for those monogrammed bath towels two months ago!” you gripe to yourself. Unless you have an incredible backup gift plan – BPA-free Tupperware and hypoallergenic pillow inserts for the coolest eco couple you know? We don’t think so. You’ll need to come up with something for this uber-chic couple, fast. Because if their wedding looks anything like the stunning Australian fete below (that dress — holla!), Tupperware just ain’t gunna cut it.

Knowing the last thing you want to do is spend hundreds of dollars on an entirely impersonal, lackluster gift, we’ve rounded up a list of eight eye-catching items that we’d LOVE to give (and let’s be honest—receive) as wedding gifts (or bridal shower gifts!):

How about you? Is there anything you’ve given (or received) that was off the beaten path, but that you absolutely loved anyway??

GET YOUR SHOP ON

1. > Small Copper Standing Bowl

2. > Walnut Serving Board

3. > French Press

4. > Bocce Set

5. > Wine Breather Carafe

6. > 4 Piece Bar Set

7. > La Brisa Throw

8. > Hasami Porcelain Deep Bowls

Because there’s always someone who really wants to stay off the registry, here’s more unique gifts we’re loving for the cool couple.

copy written by Ali Hartwell, Editorial Intern

images via The Lane

The Ultimate Bachlorette Party DIY

Beauty

So one of your best friends in the whole wide world is getting married and she asked you to be one of her bridesmaids, or even more special, the maid of honor — eek! But before you help calm her nerves, pick up her train or dab away joyful tears on what’s sure to be the most memorable day of her life, you have one job and one job only: throw an epic bachlorette party! Cocktails, pool lounging and much needed girl time are the requisite requirements, but before you jet to a wild weekend in Palm Springs, Vegas or Miami Beach, there are three words you must remember to ensure your epic weekend goes as planned: Bridesmaid Survival Kits!

That’s right. Starting the trip off on the right foot is so key in making sure the bridal party {and the bride!} have the time of their l-i-f-e. And what cuter way to do it then by leaving a goodie box at each maid’s house, packed full of everything they’ll need to make the most of an ultimate bachlorette weekend?? Because someone is bound to forget their sunscreen at home {or maybe enjoy one margarita too many!}.

These survival kits are so much fun {and super simple!} to make. So on a nice afternoon, invite your craftiest friend over for cheese and wine and the two of you can sit on the floor while gabbing through wedding details and assembling these cute kits. With a heartfelt card from the bride and a few essentials, the ladies will flip. You can personalize your kits however you’d like, but here’s what we packed in ours:

Pre-boarding, the girls will need a great read so pack your favorite magazine {this is currently one of our must-reads}, a sunglasses case to protect their shades and cute matching bridal party luggage tags will make sure no one loses their bag!

Assuming everyone plans to go straight to the pool from the plane, sea salt spray will help master that perfect beach hair {we swear by this one}, good sunscreen is a must and some shaving cream {we love the EOS shave cream with shea butter!} will help with any ahem…last second touchups. Lounging essentials include cute deck sandals, hot sunnies and some paper umbrellas, JUST in case your hotel misses the “we’re here to have a good time!” memo!

What else is in our kits? For pre-night-out prep, these beautiful bath salts from Anthropologie will certainly spoil all your gals, nail polish for hotel room manis-pedis and luxurious Aesop face mask will ensure everyone is looking their best. And you can’t forget the Advil, Emergen-C, a banana and some instant Starbucks; aka the cure for the following morning!

Of course, it’s not only what’s inside the kit that matters, but also how you deliver it! Wrap them up with pretty paper {and a party hat to boot!} and leave one on each maid’s doorstep. It’ll be such a cute surprise for them to come home to, don’t you think? All that will be left for your maids to do is to let their hair down, sip way too many umbrella topped cocktails and celebrate the bride-to-be while looking and feeling good!

original photography for apartment 34 by aubrie pick // art direction + styling by bianca sotelo

Wedding Week: {Backstage Access}

Fashion

With coverage of New York Fashion Week {and now London!} swarming our feeds over the past couple of weeks, it would have felt wrong NOT to share this stunning backstage look at a bridal fashion show. We’re suckers for good behind the scenes moments afterall. And a backstage peek at a fashion show is certainly in a class of its own. While the runaway appears perfect, the frenzy behind the sceens is a raw and beautifully brutal part of the fashion world. We love the perspective backstage access brings to seemingly perfectly executed shows where models just float down the runway. Not to mention, we had to practically pick our jaws off the floor after drooling over Houghton’s Bridal Fall 2015 looks!

Houghton, like our dream editorial we shared earlier this week, nails bridal separates so wearable you really don’t even need to be a bride to rock em! From collared jumpsuits to midi-length tulle skirts, textured short-sleeve sweaters and white leather jackets, there wasn’t one thing we wouldn’t love to wear on our wedding day, or the days post/prior, for that matter. We’ve come to the conclusion that if anyone knows how to master the look of minimally chic silhouettes and risk-takingly, cool gowns for the edgy, fashion-forward bride, it’s Houghton’s designer, Katherine Polk, a.k.a. our Wedding Week unicorn.

For all our top bridal inspiration, including a modern twist on something blue, innovative bouquet ideas and our favorite real weddings, Click HERE!

images via The Lane // photography by Abby Ross

3 Wedding Instagram Accounts Every Bride Should Follow

Business of blogging

Instagram is one of our best cyber friends and it most definitely should be a bride’s best friend when she’s in the throws of planning her big day! Event planners, florists, wedding stylists and photographers are posting so much wedding day inspiration, we can hardly keep up! From bridal editorials to gorgeous engagement shoot locations- it makes a gal’s dream wedding just a “heart” away. So to do all our current brides-to-be out there a solid – and let’s be real – indulge in some of our own wedding fantasies, we rooted around for the creme de la creme of wedding-related Instagram feeds. We promise, these three wedding focused accounts will blow any bride-to-be’s socks off! Get ready to swoon, ladies!!

Jose Villa is a wedding photographer extraordinaire. This man captures some of the most stunning weddings on the planet and pours out his wealth of knowledge by always sharing vendor info for brides looking to recreate the same dream. He will fill your feed with everything from gorgeous tabletops to idyllic locations and editorials. If there’s one person to follow, it’s him {and we’re totally not biased, even though he did shoot Erin’s wedding!} Unreal.

A completely different aesthetic, but a master just the same is wedding and lifestyle photographer, James Frost. If you react the same way we do, “Holy crap, how does he do that?!” is likely the first thing that’ll come out of your jaw-dropped mouth when scrolling through his feed. With breathtaking vistas in the background, his engagement photos, no doubt, top the cake!

We first fell in love with LOHO Bride, a local San Francisco bridal boutique, because of its name – LOHO standing for a bride who is in a League of Her Own. Artfully curated, this feed is for the badass bride- full of edgy style, the latest bridal trends, behind the scenes looks and downright beautiful inspiration. There’s a little bit of a boho vibe, mixed in with a touch of minimalistic chic and we’re just obsessed with the mood of this account!

We’re curious – are there any bridal accounts you’re obsessed with? We’d love to add a few more to our must-follow list.

Addicted to Instagram and on the hunt for more inspiring people to follow? Click HERE for our past top picks.

Holy Matrimony! The Most Epic Wedding Floral DIY

Decor

As we’re sure you’ve noticed, photobooths are totally a thing at weddings these days. They’re a chance for people to act silly and enjoy themselves while providing you endless laughter and entertainment while sifting through photos months later. Sure the fake mustaches, silly hats and drunken group snaps may be starting to feel a little….tired, but the perfect place for a photo-opp is not just a trend, it’s a necessity! Your photographer is never going to get to snap candid pics of all your guests and besides – offering up an activity is furn for everyone. But we’ve been feeling ready for a fresh spin on the idea and thought you might be too. So if all those neon boas and oversized plastic sunnies are not really your pinky-in-the-air cup of tea, we’ve got the most epicly chic alternative for you! You’re going to love this wedding floral DIY.

Instead of hiring a company to create a photobooth backdrop for your wedding, or renting a clunky actual booth, we urge you to give this simple DIY a try! A fresh floral garland balloon backdrop is not only gorgeous and sophisticated, it’s SO versatile. Dot these babies throughout the dance floor, position them behind the bride and groom’s reception table, use them to create a stunning alter, the list is endless! You only need a few things to recreate this look – the most important being some gorge blooms – and thankfully florist Natasha Kolenko is here to walk us through mastering the fresh floral garland!

How To Master The Floral Garland

You’ll Need:
> Thin gauge wire
> Pliers + floral sheers
> Fresh flowers + greens
> 36 inch round balloons

STEP 1: decide how long you’d like your garland to be. Cut a thin gauge wire to your desired length.

STEP 2: Choose your greens for the base of the garland. We used Ruskus and yummy smelling Jasmine vine as our base for a full, lush look. Trim excess stems from the greens and begin wrapping the stems around the wire until secure.

STEP 3: To add blooms to your garland, make bunches of 2-3 and wrap their stems together with wire, leaving approximately two inches of wire at each end. Use the ends of the wire to attach floral bunches to the garland. We used Anemones, white garden roses and white Tulips for a clean, crisp look.

STEP 4: When you are happy with your floral garland, wrap the wire on one end around the knot of the balloon. We used 36 inch round balloons and you can see in the pictures how the varying lengths and weights of the garlands affect the way they float. We love the idea of having some longer garlands draped on the floor with some shorter ones looking like they’re suspended in the air and, quite literally, floating around the room!

These balloons are simple and elegant and we love the way they just float effortlessly and dreamily around the space. Experiment and have fun with these massive balloons. They’re not only great for weddings. We think they’d be perfect for birthday parties, baby showers or any event you’re looking to make a giant statement.

And now that you’ve mastered the floral garland, use your skills to drape a garland across a table or around benches during the ceremony. All that’s left for you to do is to let your creativity soar!

original photography for apartment 34 by emily scott // art direction by bianca sotelo // florals + styling by natasha kolenko // florals c/o torchio nursery – visit them in the San Francisco flower mart!

Wedding Week: {Saying Yes to THE Dress}

Fashion

We’re so excited – it’s that time of year – time to kick off the craze of wedding season with our annual Wedding Week! For the next five days, we’re bringing you everything wedding – at least the pieces of the wedding world that we’re obsessed with. We have an ah-mazing lineup {if we do say so ourselves!} – that we’d bet even our singles out there will appreciate!

To start things off, we decided to indulge in a little bridal fashion fantasy. Since it’s every little girl’s dream to have their own version of a fairytale day, we teamed up with one of our favorite photographers, Emily Scott, to dream up just that – our fairytale bridal editorial, starring THE dress!

It’s certainly not easy to plan a wedding, especially when the goal is to only have one in your lifetime. As we were researching wedding trends and bridal stories most were pretty, but too feminine, cool, but redundant, show stopping yet not as minimal as we’d prefer our pretend ‘dream day’ to be. So we attempted to create what we felt was missing in the bridal world at the moment! How do you think we did??

We knew what we wanted: edgy, modern and sophisticated with a touch of timeless glamour. So we started with a mood board {something every bride or pretend-bride {us!} should do!}. Our go-to inspirations were Solange Knowles’ wedding, duh, oh and of course, Jenna Lyons in that to die for floor length, feather skirt! Drool. Once we confirmed that a minimal, clean, yet unique gown was what we were looking for, we headed to Lovely Bride, a new bridal salon in San Francisco, to find the perfect dress. Through a sea of tulle {too big!} and sequins {too much!} we laid eyes on the winner. You know how they say when you know, you just know? We knew. We immediately said ‘yes, to the dress’- a sleek, modern two-piece Carol Hannah.

We loved the idea of a two-piece – something brides should totally consider if they want something edgy and different and… way easier to get into! The croptop style Silk Jersey Ballet Tank was flirty and drapey, yet athletic and cool. We tucked it into the Le Ciel Skirt that had the most gorgeous waist detail and ethereal flow. With a fringy chiffon jacket over top and minimal gold jewelry, the look had the picture perfect balance of sass and funk.

To accompany our spunky style, we needed equally spunky hair and makeup. Camille Monique took our vision: a beautiful balance betwen hard and soft and nailed it! We went with a bronzy, gold eye – not too dark – with a softer cheek and a fresh apricot lip. To get the look, Camille used Make Up For Ever New Equalizer in Smoothing {to prime areas like around the nose}, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal {as a base highlight to shine through the foundation}, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer {to conceal under eye circles and at high points on face}, Face Atelier to contour face, Dior 5 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palette in Versailles and Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Biscayne Park and Lodhi. A loosely, slicked back hairdo provided the perfect amount of edge which our model, Laura, took from there!

Oh, if only we were getting married {or renewing our vows!!} any time soon! How we’d die to look this gorgeous.

We hope this modern take on bridal style inspires some of you who are, in fact, tying the knot this year! How exciting! What does your fairytale wedding entail? We’ll expect to see some pictures, post-knot-tying.

P.S. We have a super sick floral-decor tutorial tomorrow that you will not want to miss!

Need more wedded bliss? Check out our favorite posts from Wedding Weeks past HERE and our Wedding Style Pinterest board HERE.

original photography for apartment 34 by emily scott // art direction bianca sotelo // styling emily scott // hair and makeup camille monique // model laura stern // dress c/o lovely bride

Idea To Steal {24}: Modern Wedding Bouquet

Fashion

We’re big fans of making a statement down the aisle, so when we saw this wedding “bouquet” we thought it was the perfect fit for a bridal themed Idea to Steal. Have you ever seen an oversized bloom replace a classic bunch bouquet? We certainly hadn’t. And while traditional blooms are always nice, a singular ginormous protea is rather stunning – wouldn’t you agree?!

What are your thoughts on taking a single stem down the aisle? Is it artistic and bold or a statement to be filed under “things you wish you had done differently on your big day”- like that hairstyle your mom rocked at her wedding?!

image via Greenhouse Wedding Shoes // photography by The Love of Yours Photography

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