The Blushing Brides{maids}

Last week was my Blush Pink week, and I've tried {oh how I've tried} to move on from this absolutely romantic color, but I just keep finding more reasons to let it hang on a bit longer.  Today, I wanted to inspire you to let your girls blush a little too.  I have to honestly say, this is my favorite color right now! 

Found at Adrienne Gunde Photography

Absolutely adore the fun comfortable {and definitely wearable} dresses here!  These were found at Design - Conundrum

The long dresses are just gorgeous!  You can find these at Two Birds Bridesmaid

Dress by Amsale

What color will your girls be wearing?  Do you have a favorite designer?  Leave a comment and tell us. 

Happy Wednesday!

Theme Thursday: Peach and Gray Elegance Summer Wedding Inspiration:

I really am one for color.  When bold colors were everywhere it was so fun and easy for me to envision a wedding design.  As soon as the softer tones started to come back I panicked  little, because, to me things should POP.  As brides started contacting me with soft pinks, grays, beige and white I really thought I wouldn't like designing these as much...Boy was I wrong!  I LOVE the soft peach, pink, white and gray tones for this wedding design. 

And how fun would a cart, full of fresh fruit {mostly peaches of course} and flowers, be for your wedding favors?!

Using soft peach drapery to highlight the reception area, shot glass sundaes, a gorgeous bouquet and a lovely cake!!  What do you think?

The Fit Bride: Simple In-Home Workout!

The hardest part of an exercise plan is getting started.  Try to use the motivation of looking great for your wedding day to get you going.  Once you have made that decision to get healthy it is best to have a plan to follow.  Below is a short in-home workout that will be effective and get you going in the right direction. 



Find a place in your house with enough room to move freely and dress in comfortable clothes.  The exercises are described below with pictures to help you with the form.  Try doing each exercise 10-20 times twice, with a one minute break in-between each one.  Keep moving to keep your heart rate up and burn the maximum amount of calories. 

Warm Up - Jumping Jacks (1-3 minutes)


Split Squat -  Wide split with weight staying on the front heal.  Drop down until your back knee almost touches the ground then return to start.  Keep your head and shoulders up to keep back straight.  Switch legs!


Standing Punches - Stand in an athletic stance with feet shoulder width apart.  Fully extend one arm out and back and then switch.  Move quickly as if punching a heavy bag.   Use anything around the house as weight (cans, milk jugs, etc).

Squat Jumps - Squat down until knees are at about 90*.  Keep head and shoulders up and jump as high as you can in the air.  Squat back down and repeat.

Bentover Flye - Grab the weights you used for the punches.  Bend your knees and while keeping head up bend over at the waist to 45*.  Keeping arms straight, flye out to the side like you are flapping your wings.

Seated Twist - Sit on the ground with your knees bent.  Hold something heavy in front of you and lean back until abs become activated.  Twist your head, shoulders, and weight from one side to the other making sure you don't sit back up.

Squat Thrust - Start in standing position then crouch down to place hands on the ground.  Kick your feet back into a push-up position.  Then return back to the standing position.  Jumping at the end would be a good way to make this one harder.



If you have any questions about this short program or would like to learn more please e-mail me at andy@hfhonline.com.

Goodluck and Get Fit,
Andrew

Theme Thursday: Tangerine and Pink Wedding Inspiration

The sun is finally shining and the weather is getting warmer every day.  Tangerine Tango - the color of the year - is such a fun color so that is what I had to go with today!  Seductive, yet bright and encouraging...I love it!

What are your wedding colors?  Are you incorporating Tangerine Tango?  Please do share!

Theme Thursday: Hot Pink Inspiration

I have seen a lot of weddings that incorporated a number of different shades of pink into their decor.  I have to be honest and say that hot pink/ fuschia was never really one of my favorites...until now.  As I was looking at Pantone's wedding colors for 2012 I thought I'd give it a go with Cabaret {which to me looks very hot pinkish}.  I took some time looking at the colors and getting a feel for the sort of elegant wedding that could incorporate this color and this is what I came up...what do you think?

I gotta say...I like it!

Happy Thursday everyone.

The Fit Bride

Shape - Up:  The 6-month fitness plan

It is ENGAGEMENT season!!!  Did you know that December is the most popular month to get engaged and, about, 70% of brides want to lose weight before their wedding? Good news!! Starting this month, I will be working with a fitness expert to help you all get fit in 6 months. Keep watching for more information and make sure to share this with your friends!! You don't need to be getting married to get fit!

We will be including healthy recipes, nutrition tips, excersise routines (I might even get my guru to show us how to do them!!), and a whole lot more to help you get ready for that gorgeous dress!  Make sure to share this information with your bridesmaids and make it a group activity ~ or a challenge...

Here are a few tips for you to get started:

1. Write down your current weight and your goal weight.  Keep an excersise diary and watch your progression.  Don't weigh yourself daily, but do start our plan with weight and measurements.  Do these things monthly and always in the morning, around the same time for accuracy.

2. Start out doing a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio, three times a week.  This could include jogging, walking, running, swimming, elliptical (my personal favorite), biking...you get the idea.

3. By week two you should increase your cardio activity to a minimum of 30 minutes. 

4. Your foods should contain high fiber and low calories.  Make sure to check lables and watch serving sizes!!  This is a great time to start using fresh vegetables in your cooking.  Spinach (fresh, not frozen...only because it's much yummier), kales and broccoli are great!  Fruit is very important too.  A wonderful afternoon snack, if you need a little energy boost...a green apple with peanut butter.  Pass on the snickers.

tip:  if you have a sweet tooth and are craving a candy bar, eat a banana.  The sugars in the banana take care of the craving.

5. Try to avoid any high calorie, greasy, processed, fast-foods or deep fried foods.  Since it is hard to quit cold-turkey give yourself one cheat meal per week, just don't overdo it!  Have a slice of pizza, a monster salad (no iceburg lettuce please.  Use romaine, red-leaf, spinach and load on veggies - not the salad dressing) and a beer for dinner.  This sort of "cheat" meal will curb your carb and greasy food craving but will also supply you with the fibers and healthy nutritional needs.

6. Cut soda!  Water is best, but if you can't stand drinking 8 glasses of water a day, Crystal Light is a great thing to add.  Alcohol is another biggie!  Did you know a wine cooler has anywhere between 180 - 250 calories per serving (depending on the brand and flavor).  YIKES!

7. Don't overdo the excersising.  This can do more harm than good.  If it's been a while, ease into it.  Start with walking or swimming...don't just get out there and run 10 miles!  Join a walking, running or biking group.  If you are doing things with people that will be expecting to see you, you're more likely to show up and stick with it.

Go to this website and find out your weight vs. weight loss calorie count.  You can get calorie information on foods and drinks here and become part of a "community".  I use this!!

http://caloriecount.about.com

And, finally, a DELICIOUS recipe from one of my favorite food sites!  I think I know what I'm making for dinner tonight.  White Bean Chili - YUM!!!  This recipe forgoes the fat from the beef and is packed with healthy fibers.  Enjoy!

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/white-bean-chili-recipe2/index.html

I said this before, but make sure to share this information with your friends.  Let's all work together to make this year the healthiest yet!  If you have questions or want certain information, let us know. 

Happy 2012 everyone!!!

Theme Thursday: Peacocks!

This weekend I am attending a Bridal Open House in my hometown.  I really wanted to use the "Rustic" theme that everyone seems to be loving lately, but I also really wanted to stand out.  This is the board that I put together to follow my theme through {notice the burlap along with all of the bright elegant colors}.

Crazy for the Peacocks!!!

Watch for the pictures from the show next week.  I am bringing my camera so I will be posting pictures of my booth.

Leave a comment and tell me what you think of the colors.  Also, make sure to follow and share my blog for weekly tips, ideas, themes, and all around fun wedding stuff.  

I LOVE this theme!!!

Real Wedding: Bryna and Nick

Well, it has been a long time since I've posted, but it has been a busy summer.  YAY!

This wedding was this last weekend.  July 16, 2011.  The couple, Bryna and Nick, were the greatest bride and groom a planner could ask for!  Nick saw the venue, a barn at a local bed and breakfast, for the first time on Friday for the rehearsal.  Luckily, he loved it.  {I wasn't too concerned...he is a great guy!} 

Friday afternoon was fun.  Family came together from all over, for the first time in years.  The rehearsal was fast, the weather was HOT, and the drinks were cold! 

Saturday was even hotter than Friday so the main thing was to keep ice in the galvanized buckets to keep the water, beer and sodas cold.  I had a "Lemonade Stand" set up so I needed to make sure that stayed cold and filled too. 

As people poured in, about 30 - 45 minutes before the ceremony, the bar was busy!  Bryna and Nick had family members make pies for their Pie Buffet {no cake!} which was a perfect set-up for their reception.  The people kept coming, and so did the pies!  I think they had a total of 26 pies - Blueberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Sweet Potato, Peach, Coconut Creme...and many many more! 

At 4:15 people took a lovely walk through a gorgeous garden, with water fountains, to the backside of the property.  They walked along the pond with the waterfall rushing down the rocks to the far back largest Weeping Willow tree I've ever seen.  As 4:30 rolled around it was time to gather the groom, flower girls, the adorable little ring bearer and the family members.  It was the most relaxed processional I've ever witnessed.  The flower girls and ring bearer just kind of did their thing walking down the "aisle"...it was great!

As soon as Nick and the officiant, Sam Gorski, got to the opening in the willow, it was time for Bryna and her father to make their way down.  She was a little nervous, but so excited!

Their ceremony was short and sweet - about 15 minutes. 

As soon as it was done, people made their way back to the barn for some cold refreshments and food.  The catering was done by Rockman's Catering and the menu was all Bryna and Nick's.  All of the food was from family recipes.  Bryna wanted a very laid-back, picnic style reception and that was most definately what it was.  The guests didn't have to wait for the bride and groom to show up, they just got to eat.  We had Honey Baked Chicken, Prime Rib Sandwiches {with the cutting stations}, a ton of sides and salads.  Bryna had also gone to a local farm and bought a TON of fresh fruit.  This was laid out on a table in baskets, like you'd see in a farmer's market.  The best thing of the entire day was when Bryna and Nick both told me everything was better than they imagined it could be!

So, this was part 1 of the wedding day.  Part 2 was full of a live band - not your typical wedding band either!

The Rooftop Jumpers filled the rest of the night with loud, funky music that EVERYONE danced to.  I never thought I'd be at a wedding with a cover of a Ramone's song being played and the groom's father bouncing around on the dancefloor.  It was great!

Now, Bryna and Nick will be off on a 4 month honeymoon camping and hiking across Europe.  I wish them all of the happiness in the world!

Summer Wedding Tips and Ideas

With the weather changing, flowers blooming and a lot more sunshine to be had by all, May through August - with good reason - are the most popular months for weddings. 

Here are some tips and ideas for you to be able to take full advantage of your summer wedding.



The outside setting
Take advantage of the longer days with a later afternoon wedding.  With the sunset behind you, you don't really need to spend a lot with decorations.  Use a flower garden as your nuptial site, a huge, green willow tree, or your families backyard. 

Summer wedding attire
With most of the wedding gowns being strapless, the summer bride is LUCKY!  Be sure to choose a gown that will fit with your location.  If you're getting married on a beach, a simple, light silk, linen or chiffon is perfect.  You could use beautiful hats in your party for a garden wedding, or you could decide to go barefoot for your beach wedding. If you are still getting married in a church and having an indoor/ outdoor reception, something a bit more formal, but still a light weight material is what you will want to find.  Make sure your girls are comfortable with a lighter dress and the guys could go with a linen suit or a pair of khakis and a nice button up shirt and dinner jacket.  And, of-course, a tuxedo is always appropriate for the more formal weddings. 

Summer hair and make-up
You will want to keep humidity in mind when choosing what to do with your hair {all of you!}.  Don't fight your hair, work with it.  Most professionals can design an updo for you that will look fabulous all day.  Keep your make-up light and natural.  You will be more comfortable and it will just look better!

Summery wedding favors
This is a great time to use some delicious fresh fruit for favors for your guests.  Work with your planner to find the perfectly colored, perfectly ripe peach or chocolate covered strawberries.  Also, make sure to offer your guests water {if getting married outside}, a beautiful wicker fan {which can double as your ceremony program} or a personalized parasol to block the sun.

The flowers
Well, this is easy!  It's summer and flowers are everywhere!  There are so many choices, so to help you narrow your choices here are some favorite options:
Hydrangeas, Roses, Lilies, Lilacs, Calla Lillies, Orchids, Stephanoitis, Mums and Zinnias.


Are you having a summer wedding?  Tell us about your details! Gown, flowers, food, decorations...we all want to know!

You May Kiss the Bride

Friday is here, the wedding has happened and it was all sealed with a kiss!

Acutally there were two kisses - good for them! 

When you are pronounced husband and wife and get to have your first kiss as a married couple, will you do it?  Are you the shy type and just want to get it done?  Will you be so caught up in the moment and all of the excitement so that your parents will blush?  Here are some of my favorite "You may kiss the bride" moments.

And, of course, the best kiss of all!

Okay, a couple "non-wedding" kisses, but still pretty sweet smooches!

Fashion Friday - Funky

I love love love bridal fashion and these dresses just made my day!

Enjoy.

 Who knew you could wear your cake?

 And, in case you get bored, you will not run out of something to read.  Yep...this is newspaper!

 These girls are just adorable!

Cinderella shoes!  I love these!!