Bridal Accessories and Fashions: Francesca’s Collection

Well here we are finding ourselves in the midst of wedding season! So whether you are the bride-to-be, a bridesmaid, friend or family member of the soon-to-be married, you’ll eventually find yourself on the hunt for that perfect summery dress and fun accessories right? What do you plan on wearing to that bridal shower, bridesmaids luncheon, rehearsal dinner, or just night out with your girls?? Well there are lots of options out there (thank goodness) but I thought I’d share one of my favorite stores, Francesca’s Collection. I was super excited when they opened one up here in Gainesville. I’ve purchased several amazing dresses from Francesca’s for other bridal showers I’ve attended and always find them to be super affordable. I love their totes and clutches…would make for great bridesmaids gifts too don’t you think? And I think they have a pretty sweet collection of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets too. I honestly usually find myself lost in their hodge podge of random gifts section of the store…with gifts that may warm your bridesmaids’ hearts and others that will just make them flat out laught out loud!

Here are some picks that I thought were perfect for this spring and summer!

Sunny Surroundings Dress (left); Plum Pleats Dress (right)

Jungle Clutch (left); Sun Kissed Clutch (right)

Surprisingly other than my own, there is actually only one other wedding that I know of taking place in my “friend circle” this summer. I haven’t started shopping for my own events just yet but plan to get on that asap! Yay!

So what stores are your favs? Have you been invited to a million weddings or bridal events already?

Pretty Threads from Plum Pretty Sugar

Love, love, love everything about Plum Pretty Sugar’s apparel and accessories. When I was introduced to the store not too long ago, I couldn’t help but fall in love with their gorgeously chic flowery prints and soft and smooth styles. Their apparel line includes several lovely kimono robes, tunics, cami dresses, and their pretty little accessories including headbands and jewelry blooms!

Perfect bridesmaid gift idea don’t you think? I’ve had my eye on both their kimono robes and jewelry blooms for my own bridesmaids actually (and um, of course one for myself). Brides and their bridal party have been decking out these cozy threads lately and everytime I see pictures I get slightly jealous. I. Must. Have. One. =)

Pretty don’t you think?

Real Wedding: Rebekah and Tim’s Sweet Maine Event

I have a really lovely destination wedding that took place in the town of Freeport, Maine located right off the coast. While this wedding wasn’t techinically seaside but held at the Harraseeket Inn, Rebekah and Tim incoporated many seaside elements that Maine has to offer and thought it would fit in perfectly here on Oceanside Bride. =) 

I absolutely loved, loved, loved Rebekah’s dress and thought it was a perfect destination wedding gown. It was designed by Nicole Miller and was bought from her store in Soho in New York where Rebekah and Tim live.  It seemed to incorporate everything that makes the perfect dress- a little bit of sexy, class, elegance, and overall looks COMFORTABLE!  Big thanks to Kim Chapman for sending us yet another little pretty Maine event our way!

From the lovely bride: We met online back in 2004 – my friends had set up a profile for a dating website after I had a bad break up, and Tim was the first person I met online. I kept him at bay and made him talk to me on email for the first couple of months. But he made me laugh and finally we met and became friends at first and then, we just fell for each other.

My family has a house in the town next to Freeport, and the Harraseeket Inn is a classic location. Also, the Maine coast offered lots of things to do for people from out of town, whether driving to the ocean or kayaking or relaxing. Plus, Freeport is a fantastic destination for people who love to shop.  

Because the wedding was a destination wedding over a long weekend (Labor Day), we had a pre-wedding party at my parents house about 20 minutes from the wedding locale. It was just so much fun, very relaxed, with barbeque, a band and a bouncy castle for adults and kids to hang out in. We all just hung around their house (there’s a pool so we could swim) and in the evening, had a fantastic time. It allowed people to meet ahead of the wedding, so when the wedding took place, people knew each other.

We decided not to have an official marry us, but our friend who knew us better than anyone else. Kyle became ordained online and wrote up a speech and married us. In addition during the ceremony, we wanted it to be just us up there, but wanted our close friends to somehow take part, so rather than have a wedding party, we had our very best friends read passages from our favorite books.

We also are not fans of wedding cake, so we had the Harraseeket recreate Junior’s Cheesecake, the famous cheesecake from New York, with various toppings to add. It was delicious!

As a giveaway, we decided on a little box of local sweets from Freeport, which included a chocolate moose, a candy lobster and salt water taffy.

What challenges (if any) did you face while planning your wedding?

None.  Maybe the threat of a hurricane, but nothing you can do about that!

Please tell us about your favorite wedding moment!

The whole wedding was fantastic! We just danced and had a blast.

What is your best advice for other couples planning a wedding right now?

1. Don’t sweat the small stuff. We’re very relaxed people and there was a hurricane supposedly headed to us the wedding weekend, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we just said, if it hits, inside. If not, outside. Whatever.
2.  Remember it’s your day, which means you only need to talk to the people you want to talk to. Our wedding day was spent dancing and laughing.
3. Eat!
4. If you want to go on your honeymoon right after the wedding, be sure to reserve the first couple of days to just relax. We took a “mini-moon” immediately following the wedding, going to Cape Cod where we sat by the beach and didn’t speak to anyone. It was worth it. We slept for 24 hours straight. And then, we took our real honeymoon in December to New Zealand.

Um, I want to go to New Zealand! Seriously- perfect honeymoon location don’t you think?  Thanks to our happy couple and to Kim Chapman again for sharing the beautiful wedding day with us and all the fun planning details.  Thanks Rebekah for the great wedding advice!

Bride/Groom:  Rebekah & Tim

Wedding Date:  Sunday, September 5, 2010

Location: Freeport, Maine

Approximate Guest Size:  100 people

Ceremony Location/Venue: Harraseeket Inn   

The Creative Team Behind the Scenes

Photographer: Kim Chapman Photography / Invitations: Brunswick Printing / Flowers: Ruby McDermott (hired by Harraseeket Inn) / DJ: Joe Farren / Hair & Makeup: Michele Lehr Studios

This wedding was submitted via Two Bright Lights!

Valentine’s Day Shoot from Carmen Santorelli

This stunning photo shoot comes from Carmen Santorelli Photography submitted via Two Bright Lights!  This oh-so-adorable couple got together with Carmen on Valentine’s Day in New York to shoot these amazing photos.  I love parasols in any photo and they make a great addition to a beach wedding as well!

Soooo now onto the finest detail of this shoot- the bride’s dress! This beautifully designed Yigal Azrouel dress would make a breathtakingly gorgeous destination wedding dress. Very Audrey Hepburn don’t you think? But what is my favorite part of the dress you ask? I simply love, love (did I mention love) the open back! I think it adds the perfect amount of sexiness + creates the perfect gasp effect in your groom.  I also adore the small detail of the wrap around effect and knot tie to the side. 

And now let’s take a closer look at this beauty…

Ahhhh, stunning. Thank you so much Carmen for sharing this lovely love day shoot with us! 

Photographer:  Carmen Santorelli Photography  
Hair Stylist and Makeup Artisti:  CheVogue
Floral Designer:  City Blossoms
Wedding Dress Designer: Yigal Azrouel